Mia shook her head. “I should have quit the bookstore the minute Shelby showed up. I never should have trusted her.”
“This isn’t about Shelby’s trustworthiness,” Carmen said. “It’s aboutyouhaving a problem and your father and I wanting to help you fix it. But we can’t do that if we don’t know what’s going on. So I’m grateful Shelby said something about it, and I think one day you will be, too.”
“Don’t hold your breath.” Mia turned to walk away and Carmen reached out the gently take her arm.
“Trust me.”
Her daughter looked back at her with furious, tear-filled eyes. “I’m not going to college,” she said.
“Fine. I don’t care about that. I care about you. I want you to be happy. And I don’t think you will be until you work on this. Can you give me a chance to help you?”
Mia stood rigid. Carmen gingerly stepped forward, and Mia let her put her arms around her. Neither said another word.
Forty-Eight
Doug waited for Shelby and Hunter outside the apartment door. He had dark circles under his eyes and fidgeted with his phone.
“Thanks for coming by,” he said, accepting their hugs. “I want to update you guys before we go in because she just calmed down and I don’t want to get her upset all over again.”
“Just let us see her,” Hunter said impatiently. Shelby touched her arm:Relax.
“What’s going on?” she said.
Doug took a breath. “She’s having a lot of bleeding. The placenta previa is getting worse so she’s being hospitalized tomorrow.”
“Are the babies okay?”
He nodded. “The delivery will be a scheduled C-section, but the doctor is waiting as long as possible.”
Shelby wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging herself. Doug looked scared. She didn’t blame him.
“Are Annie and Pam headed back?” Hunter said.
“They’re meeting us in Boston.”
Hunter pulled her keychain from her bag and unhooked a key, handing it to Doug. “You can stay at my apartment for as long as you need.”
“That’s very generous, Hunter.”
“I want to see her.” Now Shelby was the one who was impatient. Doug said since they were there, he was going to run out and do some last-minute errands.
Inside, they found Colleen in bed watchingBooksmart, her favorite movie, on her laptop resting beside her. Her face and eyes were puffy and red. After Shelby and Hunter took turns hugging her, Colleen turned to adjust the whirring fan on her nightstand.
“It’s so hot in here,” she said. Shelby and Hunter shared a glance. It wasn’t the least bit warm in the room.
“Doug told us the game plan,” Shelby said.
Colleen closed her laptop. “I guess now I really have no basis for arguing with my parents about selling the store.”
“Don’t worry about that right now,” Shelby said.
Colleen had a faraway look in her eyes. “I thought this time in my life would be all about Land’s End. Being a bookseller.” She turned to Shelby. “I’m not ready to be a mother. I’m not a housewife. I’m not even a wife!”
“Colleen, Doug would marry you tomorrow,” Hunter said.
She looked at her. “Do you know he never proposed? He never askedifI would marry him, he just asked mewhenI wanted to get married.”
Shelby understood the distinction she was making, but she also thought maybe Colleen wasn’t thinking clearly. She didn’t blame her.
