“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it.”
A sidelong look revealed the pleased expression on his face. No matter how much they bickered—and how many times he accused her of being “annoying”—she knew her brother loved her and desperately craved her approval.
Since he’d come to live with her, Mia had made an effort to be the parental role model he’d been lacking all his life. She helped him with homework, attended all his games, went to every parent-teacher conference. She was twenty-six years old, way too young to be the mother of a teenager, but she’d accepted her situation. You had to play the cards life dealt you, after all, and she didn’t regret taking on the mom role. If anyone deserved to live a normal life, it was her brother.
“So listen…”
Danny’s hesitant voice instantly raised her hackles. When she glanced over and saw the cautious expression on his face, she grew even more uneasy.
“What’s up?” she said.
“I just wanted to tell you this so you won’t be blindsided if she actually shows up, but…”
Mia’s shoulders stiffened. Shit. She knew exactly where this was going.
“Um…” Danny cleared his throat. “But yeah, I emailed Mom yesterday to tell her about the game. You know, just in case she’s in town or something and wants to…um…you know…come see us.”
A sigh the size of California lodged in Mia’s throat. Along with visible discomfort, there was a flicker of hope in her brother’s eyes. Fucking hope.
God. That woman deserved to rot in hell for everything she’d done to this kid.
“I see,” Mia said in a guarded tone. “Well…look…I understand why you…I mean, I know you want to…” She finally released the sigh, at a loss for words. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up, hon. She’s…”
Not going to come, her internal voice finished.
Danny gave one of those teenage I-don’t-care-about-anything shrugs. “I know she won’t show. I just wanted her to know about the game, okay?”
Mia nodded. “Okay.”
With that, her brother leaned forward and twisted the volume dial. A 50 Cent track blared out of the speakers, with a baseline so heavy it caused the entire truck to vibrate, but Mia didn’t make a stink about it. The mood had turned somber, a common occurrence whenever they spoke about their absentee mother.
A few minutes later, Madison High came into view and Mia pulled up at the curb in front of the school. She stopped the truck just as the bell rang, turning to Danny with a pained smile.
“Have a good day, kiddo. You’ve got work after practice, right?”
“Yup. Lates, Mia.”
Danny hopped out and slung the strap of his backpack over one shoulder, then dashed across the manicured lawn toward the front steps of the brick building. As she watched him disappear through the doors, a wave of sorrow washed over her. He was such a good kid. Smart, sweet, talented.
Their mother was a damn fool for abandoning him.
Swallowing her resentment, Mia put the truck in drive again and sped away from the school. She had exactly twenty minutes to get to the new jobsite, but fortunately, traffic was surprisingly light as she headed across the bridge into Coronado.
The idyllic island was so small that it took no time at all to reach her destination. She was even five minutes early as she killed the engine in front of a pretty white house with an unkempt front lawn and a four-door sedan parked in the driveway.
All her gear was in the back, but she left it in the truck and headed for the front door instead of unloading. No point in lugging any equipment until she knew for sure what the clients wanted from her.
She was just raising her hand to ring the bell when the door swung open to reveal a pretty brunette clad in black leggings and a bright pink T-shirt.
“Hi!” the woman said, sounding breathless. “Are you Mia?”
She nodded and stuck out her hand. “Sure am. And you must be Miranda?”
“Yep.”
As they shook hands, two children appeared at Miranda’s feet and peeked up at Mia.
She couldn’t help but smile when she saw them. The kids were utterly adorable, carbon copies of their mother with dark hair and big brown eyes.
“Are you gonna make our garden pretty?” the little girl exclaimed.
“I’m going to try,” Mia answered cheerfully.
“Can you put a baseball diamond in the backyard?” the boy chimed in, equally thrilled.
She fought a laugh. “I don’t think so, kiddo. Not unless your yard is the size of Yankee Stadium.”
The boy heaved out a big sigh. “It’s not.”
“Then I’m afraid we’re outta luck.”
The children’s mother seemed to be fighting a laugh of her own. “Let me just take these guys to the car. I’ll be right back.”
The trio headed for the sedan, and after Miranda got the kids settled inside of it, she hurried back to the front stoop. There was a funny look on her face as she studied Mia.
For so long that Mia started to feel uncomfortable.
“You’re a lot prettier than I expected,” Miranda remarked.
Um.