She was going to be sick. And now it felt like she couldn’t suck in enough breath. Her heart was breaking, cracking, and crumbling until it was dust in her hands. Why wouldn’t he have told her?
“Anyway, he didn’t come back to Rocky Ridge after that. And the girl moved away. I don’t know what became of them.” The woman glanced out the window, even though Mack and Bridger weren’t there anymore. “It’s so nice that he’s finally figured things out, don’t you think? Do you think perhaps that little boy is his?”
Lacey didn’t wait to hear the rest of their conversation. She shot out of her seat, not caring that her hair was still wet and not yet styled. “I need to get some air.”
“Lacey—” Angela called after her, apparently noticing that Lacey was distressed.
Waving a hand in the air, Lacey strode toward the door. There was too much going on in her head and her chest. She felt like she was going to pass out. All the memories of when she’d found out she was pregnant and her boyfriend telling her to ‘take care of it’ came rushing back. When she’d refused, he’d argued. There was no way he was going to let an unplanned pregnancy get in the way of his future.
So, she never sought him out. Not for child support, not to notify him of the birth. Not even when she’d fought to get custody from her parents. She was on her own.
Lacey lost track of time outside as she waited for her mother and sister to finish up. Angela looked worried, but she didn’t say anything.
Her mother was a different story. She immediately jumped down Lacey’s throat with her concerns. “I take it that Mack is the young man you’re seeing?”
“Mom—” Angela started, her tone warning.
Their mother didn’t heed her at all. “Did you hear what they said about him?”
Angela stiffened and glanced between the two of them, not understanding what this conversation was about.
Lacey flinched. She was trying not to overreact. Mack deserved to tell his side of the story. Right? But then again, men like that—when they were pushed up against a wall—they made excuses.
Her stomach dropped even lower, and she couldn’t find her voice so all she did was nod.
“Are you sure you want to keep seeing him? I shouldn’t have to remind you that this isn’t about your happiness. This is about Bridger’s safety.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Lacey snapped. “Bridger is the most important thing in my life. I’m not going to let him get hurt.”
“But you can’t control that, can you? Not if you’re letting the wrong people into his life.”
Lacey bristled under her mother’s judgmental tone. Questioning Lacey’s decisions had been something her mother was known for. But to judge Mack when she hadn’t even met him yet? Laceywas seething. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “You’re wrong, Mom.”
She expected her mother to argue back—maybe even threaten to have CPS look into Bridger’s living situation. But she didn’t. All she did was shrug and walk away as if none of this was worth her time.
A gentle hand landed on Lacey’s arm. “It’s going to be okay,” Angela insisted. “What happened in there?”
Lacey shook her head. Her sister had warned her about this, and the last thing she wanted was to be told as much. “It doesn’t matter. Gossip is just gossip, right?”
“Lacey—”
Pulling away from her sister’s touch, Lacey followed after their mother. As much as she wanted to believe what her head was trying to tell her heart, she couldn’t deny just how defeated she felt.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Mack glancedat Lacey out of the corner of his eye from where he sat on the floor playing a game with Bridger. The kid was a whiz, pulling out the blocks so the tower didn’t shudder at all.
Lacey had been quiet since she’d gotten home from work. He’d known the relationship with her mother had been strained to say the least. And now with Angela pulling away, Mack hadn’t been surprised to find Lacey in a bad mood.
He couldn’t blame her for being upset. That was something they had in common. While he did feel his parents loved him, they didn’t exactly support him in the way he thought they supported Caleb. On more than one occasion, he’d been left feeling brushed aside and insignificant.
He eyed Lacey once more. She wasn’t acting like her mother didn’t care, though. She was stewing with something, and she had yet to open up to him.
He’d let it slide for the time being because Bridger was more than aware of his mother’s less than stellar mood. As such, thekid had grown quiet himself. Mack had never seen the kid so reserved before.
Mack flashed Bridger a smile. “You’re really good at this.”
Bridger nodded, but his expression remained sullen. “That’s because I practice. Mom says that the more you practice at something, the better you get.”
