Mack raked a hand through his hair as he sat at the kitchen table. He’d only just left her apartment. It was late. Everyone was asleep, and yet his own nerves wouldn’t stop buzzing. The way she’d looked at him—he’d known that she was hiding something. He’d seen all the ways Lacey was capable of shutting someone out.
It was more than simply pushing him out the door or refusing to take his calls. She’d needed to say something, and she’d refused. Whatever it was, he knew it would fester until it inevitably came between them.
He couldn’t let that happen.
Shoving his hands into his hair again, he rested his elbows on the table. How was he going to get her to open up to him? Why couldn’t she see that she wasn’t alone anymore? Maybe she didn’t trust him.
Which was why he kept coming back to the same old thought.
He’d always be a disappointment.
“Mack? What are you doing up?”
Inwardly, Mack groaned. His mother meant well. He knew it. She’d only ever wanted the best for him—for all her children. The fact that her desires didn’t translate well to him was only a minor issue in the grand scheme of things. She loved him. She simply wasn’t thrilled that he wasn’t meeting his full potential.
Lifting his head, he peered at her through the darkened kitchen until she flicked on a light. He winced. “I think the proper question would be what are you doing up? I never went to bed.”
She studied him from where she stood by the doorway, a frown marring her usually serene features. Then she approached and pulled out a chair. “A mother always knows when something isn’t right.”
Lacey probably had a similar intuition.
His mother placed a hand on his upper arm. “What’s bothering you? Why haven’t you gone to sleep?”
Based on the way she’d reacted when she found out he was interested in a woman who already had a child, he wasn’t ready to hear her judgment for when she learned that he was floundering in a relationship he wanted so desperately to work out.
His jaw tightened, and he looked anywhere but at his mother. “Just… life.” That was about as descriptive as he was willing to get—especially with his mother.
She didn’t move. He didn’t have to look at her to know that she wasn’t taking what he was putting down. It was only a matter of time before she told him to just spit it out.
But she didn’t do any such thing.
“Is this about that woman you’re seeing?”
He stiffened against his will, giving himself away.
His mother sighed. “Sweetheart, you need to be careful.”
Mack shot her a disgruntled look. Whatever it was she was about to say, he knew it wasn’t going to be good.
She pursed her lips together and sighed again. “Do you really think you’re ready for the responsibilities…” Her eyes darted away, and she clasped her hands together in front of her on the table. “Babysitting a child is very different than raising one.”
His back went rod-iron straight. “Are you saying that I shouldn’t be dating her because I’m not ready to be a father?”
She didn’t have to say a single thing. The truth was written all over her face. He couldn’t tell if the ache in his chest was from that knowledge alone, or a combination of believing Lacey might be feeling the same way.
He rubbed at the spot over his heart with a vengeance, fighting the urge not to yell at her or start an argument that he wouldn’t be able to win.
“I know you’ll be ready when the time comes?—”
“What if that time is now?” he blurted.
Her expression didn’t change one bit. Nor did she respond to his question. “It’s not just that, honey. I’ve been thinking a lot. And how much do you really know this woman? She’s so young. And she’s alone. What would stop her from using you?”
He wouldn’t have been more shocked if his mother had slapped him clear across the face. Maybe this was his fault. Maybe he should have brought Lacey by sooner so she could interact with his family. If his mother had actually gotten to know her, she would have never made such an assumption. “She’s not like that,” Mack snapped. “She’s almost too independent. It’s actually infuriating.”
His mother offered him a patient smile, one that only added to his frustration. “All I’m suggesting is that you be careful. Not everyone has your heart.”
He shot out of his seat. “My heart? Are you serious? You can’t tell me that you think I’m a good person while at the same time lecturing me on my choices. I know I’m not the pride and joy that Caleb is. And I’m definitely not your baby who could do no wrong like Noah.”
