Page 146 of What Doesn't Kill Her
“Did you know about this?” Kellen asked Max.
“No, I didn’t see this coming. But it does make sense, except for—” Max stopped short.
Kellen understood his train of thought, and he was right. She knew he was. Taking Annie’s fragile hand, Kellen held it. “I would love to come to Yearning Sands and take it over as managers, but we can’t. Rae is our first priority, and the school system in Cape Charade isn’t good.” She realized what she’d said and winced. When she decided to own motherhood, she went all the way.
Max got it, too, damn him, for he murmured, “The keys to a minivan are within your reach.”
“Shut up,” she said.
Verona leaned into the conversation. “But the resort is an ideal place to raise a child. Isn’t it?”
“In the summer when there’s no school, yes,” Kellen agreed. “To be out there on the coast, running free... Yes. It would be good for Rae.”
“I have a thought.” Kellen’s new mother-in-law looked bright-eyed and enthusiastic. “I was a grade school schoolteacher before I retired. I can move with you to Yearning Sands and homeschool Rae.”
Kellen felt faint, and not with joy. They were just married, and already Verona wanted tolivewith them?Permanently?
Verona pulled her chair close to Kellen, excluding Max, excluding Annie and Leo, and in a low voice, she said, “Look. I know we haven’t gotten along. I didn’t trust you. I didn’t believe you. I didn’t like that you...that you saw Rae and didn’t instantly love her. But the way you did it was better. You got to know her, then you loved her.”
“Yes. Yes, I did. We bonded.” Kellen wanted to laugh as she remembered Rae’s Monster MegaBond speech. But now was not the time.
Verona continued, “I’ve been with Rae since she was born. I love her, and she loves me. You’re going to be working. It’s a big resort. I can stay out of your way and still be close to Rae. And I am, if you’ll excuse my confidence, a damned good schoolteacher.”
Kellen took a breath. Everything Verona said about Rae was true; she loved her grandmother, Verona loved her, and most important, when Kellen had been unconscious and then missing, Verona had been there for Rae and Max every minute, and that could happen again. In fact, it might be necessary. “Then I think that’s a great solution,” she told Verona. “I think that’s exactly,exactly, what we need to do.”
“It won’t work forever. Sooner or later Rae will need higher education, more than I can give her, and we’ll have to move.” Verona had clearly decided she would be part of the household forever. “But she’ll have the best educational foundation any child could ever have.”
“She already has an amazing vocabulary.”Which sometimes isn’t comforting.
Verona smiled smugly. “She tests at the top of her class in every subject.”
Kellen offered her hand. “Well, then. It’s a deal.”
Verona shook her hand, then pulled her into a fierce embrace. “In the Di Luca family, we hug.”
Kellen stiffened, hesitated, then relaxed and hugged her in return.
Verona pushed her chair back, whisked tears from the corners of her eyes, looked around and announced, “It’s settled, then. We’re moving to Yearning Sands.”
Annie and Leo and the other guests at the table, Di Lucas and otherwise, clapped in appreciation and congratulations.
Max slid the key into his inner suit pocket and helped Kellen to her feet. “Although this is, of course, our favorite table, we should visit our other guests.”
They exchanged cheek kisses with all the relatives, and as they moved on, he said, “That was a good thing you did.”
“Your mother’s right. It is the best solution.”
“You didn’t have to go for it.” He turned Kellen to face him. “You do know you didn’t, right?”
“I know. I just... The resortwillbe a great place to raise Rae, and I’ll have a job, and you’ll have a job.”
“No doubt. We’ll be working all the time.” He sounded satisfied.
“If she can get a quality education there—and I know your mother will see to it—then we have everything we need.”
“Except time.” The bitter words slipped from him.
“Then we shouldn’t waste what we’ve got.” She joined their hands, leaned her body close, matched their lips and whispered, “Shall we leave on our honeymoon?”
