Flowers on Main

“I’ll run by the house and pick it up. Bye, Jess.”

When she disconnected the call, she saw her mother regarding her with a bland expression.

“Have you palmed me off on Abby now?” she inquired lightly as Bree whipped her car out of the parking space.

“It’s not like that,” Bree said, but of course it was exactly like that and they both knew it. “I’m sorry if it sounded that way, Mom. It just seemed to make sense for you to stay there.”

Because she felt guilty, she turned toward Myrtle Creek rather than going straight to Gram’s. It wouldn’t kill her to be polite to her mother for an hour or so.

“Since Abby’s made peace with me and the rest of you haven’t, that’s what you mean, isn’t it?” Megan said. She met Bree’s gaze. “Did you know your father came to see me in New York a couple weeks ago?”

Bree swallowed hard and shook her head. “I had no idea.”

“He wanted me to come back with him then.”

“Why?” Bree blurted. Was Gram right? Were the two of them getting back together? Bree didn’t even want to consider the possibility. Unlike her younger siblings, she’d never longed for a reconciliation.

“He wanted me to come here because of you,” her mother said.

“Me, but I didn’t …” Her voice trailed off.

“You didn’t want me here,” Megan finished for her. “I can see that. Your father seemed to think you might need me, whether you want me around or not. After we spoke the other day, I sensed the same thing.”

“Mom, it’s a little late for you to pop up and want to have heart-to-heart chats with your daughters. We all grew up without you. Gram did a good job filling in for you.”

“I know that. Believe me, no one is more grateful than I am that she was here. And I don’t expect any of you to bare your souls to me, but I am older and perhaps a bit wiser. I’m also a good listener, if you need to talk. Most important of all, I love you and I’d never judge you. You can tell me anything.”

Bree gave her a bewildered look. “What do you think there is to tell?”

“Was there a man who sent you fleeing from Chicago?” Megan asked, her tone gentle. “Someone who broke your heart?”

“There was a man in my life there, but he’s not the reason I left.”

Her mother regarded her calmly, her expression patient.

“At least not the whole reason,” Bree amended. “And I really do not want to talk about Marty or Chicago. I have a whole new life stretched out in front of me. That’s what I’m focusing on.”

“And I applaud you for that. Sometimes, though, the past has a way of catching up to you.”

“Tell me about it,” Bree murmured, thinking not of Martin Demming, but of Jake.

A light sparked in Megan’s eyes. “Now, there’s definitely a story behind those words.”

“Mom, let it go, please. I don’t need or want your motherly concern. I don’t need advice. I’m handling everything.”

“If you say so,” Megan said quietly. “But I have to wonder.”

“Why? Why can’t you just believe me and drop this?”

“Because we’re halfway to Baltimore when I was almost a hundred percent certain you said your appointment was in Myrtle Creek.”

Bree glanced at the signs as she whizzed past and realized her mother was exactly right. She’d missed her exit twenty miles back.

“You could have mentioned that sooner,” she grumbled as she turned the car around at the next opportunity.

“I thought perhaps you’d decided to take me straight to Abby’s office so you could dump me on her doorstep.”