Page 41 of Unravel Me

I can’t believe I was going to let Jackson deprive me of a life without a dog.

Mabel begins showing off her other tricks, offering me alternating paws without even being prompted, when the sudden crunch of tires on gravel startles me. I turn, squinting against the bright morning sun as a car drives down the driveway towards the house. My body freezes as my stomach drops—a sense of urgency to get out of here takes over me. I take a few sips of coffee, torn between going inside to hide or being a darn adult, and staying put.

Before I reach a decision, the car stops and out steps a woman with grayish blonde hair knotted on top of her head. Mabel ends her pony show, galloping down the steps towards the stranger.

“How’s my grandbaby! Your papa sure is feeding you well, Miss Mabel!” I can’t help but smile at this woman’s sweet demeanor, but then that smile turns to dread.

Grandbaby…holy shit, this is Rhett’s mom.

Smoothing my braid, and rubbing my tired eyes, I pray I don’t look like I just rolled out of her son's bed.

A box of leafy greens rests on his mom’s hips as she walks toward the porch, a curious smile on her lips. Her blue sundress hangs over yellow rain boots, and as she gets closer, I can see her and Rhett have the same eyes.

“Well, you are certainly not my son,” she chuckles, and I stand, taking a few steps to close the gap between us on the porch.

“Hi there, I’m Audrey. Rhett’s inside. I was actually on my way out.” I nod towards my SUV, even though all my stuff was inside. Including my shoes.

“Nice to meet you, hon. I’m Renee, Rhett’s mom, obviously. And please, don’t leave because of me! I was just dropping off some stuff from my garden.” She offloads the overflowing box onto the table by the front door.

“Wow, did you grow all of that?” I can’t hide the awe in my voice and notice a twinkle in Renee’s eyes as she admires all the produce.

“I did!” She nods proudly. “Rhett surely told you that he grew up on a farm. When he was little, we grew strawberries, corn, beans…you name it. If I wanted to try growing it, my husband would find a new patch of dirt to make it happen.” Her eyes glazed over in a sad but lovely way. “I’m retired now, but I still hobby farm a bit, and sell produce at the farmer's market. Nothing big like it used to be.”

“That’s really admirable, though. A lot of people can’t say they grow their own food.”

“You have a garden?” his mom asks, and I shake my head sheepishly. I’ve never even attempted to plant anything. Jackson said when we finally had our house, we’d hire a gardener to put in a rose garden in the backyard, like it was some grand gesture. He thought they were my favorite flower, no matter how many times I reminded him it was blue hydrangeas.

“Oh no, I can’t even keep a mint plant alive on my window seal.”

“Hmm. Just keep trying, you’ll get it. Gardening truly is the best free therapy.” She laughs and I smile because it’s contagious. Must run in the family. A family I have no business meeting. This is just a summer fling, and flings are meant to be quick, and dirty, and secret in my case.

Relief floods me as Rhett appears in the doorway.

“Mom! What are you doing here?” Rhett's voice rises an octave, but he pulled her into a hug regardless. Behind her back he mouths I’m sorry and I wave my hand, dismissing it.

“Oh, you know, just dropping off a few things. And meeting your lovely friend, Audrey.” Her eyebrows shoot up and my cheeks grow hot.

“I’ll let you two chat, I really should be going.”

“You sure?” Rhett says at the same time his mom interjects.

“Where did you say you’re from?”

The question catches me off guard, but I hold my coffee mug to my chest and answer politely. “I’m from Connecticut originally, but I live in the city now.” I smile tightly, unsure what she’ll make of that.

“Oh, how lovely, and how did you two meet?”

“Mom, I think Audrey is trying to get out of here,” Rhett adds, leaning against the house. The cheerfulness was gone from his demeanor.

She slaps his chest with the back of her hand.

Rhett answers for me though. “I was doing work in her building. We met a few weeks ago.”

“You know that’s how your father and I met.” Her expression is dreamy again and Rhett fidgets, but his small smile for his mom doesn’t falter. It’s clear he loves her, and it’s endearing to see a parent and adult child relationship that doesn’t look like ulterior motives and control.

“Oh, really?” I ask, curiosity piqued.

Renee’s hands come together as excitement blooms in her blue eyes.