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“Jace, do you hear how she talks to her mother?”
His son turned and shot Merry a disapproving look. “You should be nice to Mrs. Winters. I wish I had a mom like her.”
The room fell silent. Clark’s chest twisted up in knots at Jace’s admission. It had been just the two of them for so long and it wasn’t until recently Jace started asking questions about his mom. Clark told him Patrice wasn’t ready to be a mom, but she’d done the best thing she could do for him, and that was letting Clark raise him. He didn’t know what else he could say, but Jace had simply shrugged and moved on to a new topic, so Clark thought it wasn’t a big deal. He’d always been afraid that as he got older, Clark might not be enough for him. That he might crave that maternal bond he was missing.
“That was a wonderful thing to say, Jace. Thank you,” Victoria murmured, her eyes shimmering.
Merry leaned over and tapped Jace on the shoulder. “I wasn’t being mean, I promise. Remember when I talked about teasing your dad when you get a little older? That’s what my mom and I do. I love her very much and we like to play.”
“My dad and I pretend we’re pirates when we cook dinner. He’s the captain and I’m his first mate.”
Clark coughed when Victoria and Merry sent him amused looks.
“That sounds like a blast,” Merry said. “Our parents raised us to believe that the more families play with each other, the more love there is between them.”
“Then my dad loves me a lot.”
The adults laughed.
“I am sure he does.” Merry leaned over his shoulder and spoke in a stage whisper, “Now, get your game face on. I wanna see you kick my mom’s butt so I can take you on next time.”
“Forget it. I am the chess master!” Victoria crowed.
“Nuh-uh,” Jace said.
Merry climbed to her feet. “I’ll be right back to watch. I’m going to grab something from my car.”
“Speaking of your car, I need you to go to the grocery store for me tomorrow.”
“I knew there had to be another reason you wanted me living so close.” Merry crossed her arms over her chest, shooting her mother a scowl. “It couldn’t just be because you love me and missed having me around.”
“Of course I missed you…doing my grocery shopping.”
“Nice, Mom.”
Victoria let out a wicked laugh and Chris turned from the sink with a grin. “Why is my wife doing her witch laugh?”
“Excuse me? I do not sound like a witch!”
“You kinda do, Mom,” Holly said.
Victoria pointed a finger at her. “Watch it, my pretty, or I’ll put a spell on you.”
“Do you need help?” Clark asked Merry, surprising himself.
Merry’s smile still had a crazy effect on his heart rate.
“Sure, that would be great. I bought an espresso machine, but it’s too big for my counter space, so I figured I’d bring it up here and it’s heavy.”
“Oh, an espresso machine,” Victoria chimed in. “I’ve always wanted one of those, but your father says we don’t need it.”
Merry sent her mother an arch look. “Well, it’s a good thing your daughter didn’t want to drive all the way back to Twin Falls to return this one. Just remember who paid for it.”
“Rude,” her mother said. “You should remember who kept you alive for eighteen years.”
“And while I appreciate you doing so, I know how you like to commandeer things.”
“The way you commandeered my favorite boots when you were in high school and then ruined them?”
