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“Because you were busy telling me about what had happened earlier?” he reminds her, and I don’t miss the frown he directs at his older son.
The woman visibly flinches, her gaze darting to Daniel’s slumped form sitting at the dining table. “True. But still, you should have told me! I could have prepared more food.”
“I’m sure whatever you made was more than enough.”
“It’ll have to be.” She takes a towel and wipes her hands. “Miguel, I heard you went to visit your family.”
“I did, yes. My best friend got married this summer.”
“Well, that’s nice. You finally got your head out of your butt, you’ve been sulking around for way too long as it is.”
“I haven’t been sulking around.”
“Oh, please.” She gives me a pointed look. “As if I don’t know what sulking looks like when I see it. You know I raised boys of my own, right?”
In her late fifties, Mrs. Maxwell has been working for the Walkers since Daniel was born. She might look like a sweet grandma with her silver hair and glasses perched on top of her nose, but you’d be fooled. Deep down, she’s a no-nonsense lady. Nobody in their right mind would dare cross her. I think that’s why Blake loves her so much. With two boys in the house, they needed somebody to keep them in line. God knows Reina isn’t the one who’d do it. Blake’s wife is usually too busy shopping and hanging out with her friends to spend much time with her sons, any time with her sons, really.
And on that note.
“Where is Reina?” I ask, looking around the room, but I don’t see any sign of his wife.
My eyes land on Blake, and I notice his back has stiffened at my words. Closing the fridge, he slowly turns to me, a beer bottle in one hand and a bottle of water for me.
“You haven’t told him?” Mrs. Maxwell asks, a frown appearing between her brows.
Guilt flashes on Blake’s face, his cheeks heating under Mrs. Maxwell’s watchful gaze, like he’s a kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar just before dinner. “He was busy!”
“Haven’t told me what?” I ask slowly, shifting my attention between the two. “What’s going on, Walker?”
Blake hands me the water before taking a long swig from hisown bottle. I start to do the same when my best friend blurts out: “Reina left me.”
The cool liquid gets stuck in my throat, and I start to choke.
Reina left him?
Patting my chest a few times, I manage to suck in a breath so I croak out: “She what?”
“Don’t look so surprised. I wasn’t. Not really.”
“She left you, and you weren’t surprised?” My tone is more high-pitched than intended. I glance toward the table and spot the way Daniel’s jaw clenches almost imperceptibly.
I guess that explains everything.
Daniel’s sulking even more than usual. Levi’s clinging and anxiousness.
It all made perfect sense now.
Mrs. Maxwell lets out a loud harrumph before turning her attention back to the stove and lunch.
Levi runs into the kitchen breathlessly, and I decide to drop the subject. For now, at least. I didn’t want to talk about this in front of the boys.
We all sit down to eat, and Levi talks our ears off as he tells me about all the things they did over the summer, pointedly ignoring the topic of his mother the whole time.
Once the lunch is done, Blake makes both boys help Mrs. Maxwell with the cleanup before they can leave, and we take our drinks to the back porch.
“Seriously? You didn’t think to mention that Reina left?”
Blake gives me a pointed look. “Says Mr. Closed Off and Broody.”
