Page 39 of Protective Phlox

Smiling. I patted his shoulder. “You’ll get used to it,” I teased.

“I don’t want to get used to it. I want every time Cutter says that word to be like the first time all over again. I never want it to get old.”

“Dad, can you come push me,” Cutter called out. “My feet don’t touch.”

“Twice in ten minutes and needed, you’re on a roll,” I teased as my phone rang. I pulled it out and groaned. “It’s my mother. I’ll take this. You two have fun.”

My mother was the queen of ruining moments. She ruined my first time having sex by showing up at my college dorm room as a surprise. Who shows up at their daughter’s dorm room at nine-thirty on a Friday night for a visit? I never saw Mark again after that night. She ruined my graduation by getting drunk. I missed walking across the stage when my name was called because I was dealing with her.

My mom didn’t have it easy, and I understood that. She had lost my dad when I was young and then married a serial rapist. Their son had turned out the same way and ended up killing our younger sister to shut her up. She didn’t openly admit to knowing what happened, but there was no real shock in her voice when I told her about the charges against my ex-stepfather. Still, it was no excuse to turn your life into a train wreck and, in the process, try to derail mine at every turn.

I hit Accept.

“Mom, I already told you, I don’t know when I can visit,” I said right away.

“It’s not your mom,” came a male voice that I recognized immediately.

“Shawn?”

“Yeah, it’s me. It’s good to hear your voice, Anna.”

My heart jumped in my throat as Nathan looked my way. His eyes darkened, and I knew he heard me say Shawn. Great, just great. I never wanted to speak to my ex-fiancé ever again, so it really shouldn’t have shocked me that my mother would arrange for him to call. It was so typical of her.

“Why are you calling me from my mother’s phone?”

“She’s in the hospital and asked me to call you and let you know that she had a cardiac event.”

“What?” I closed my eyes and shook my head. “And why isn’t the hospital calling me?”

“I’m your mom’s emergency contact. I thought you knew,” he said, and I bit my lip and walked along the path that wrapped around the front like a small track.

“No, no, I didn’t know that. Why would my mother choose you, my ex, over her daughter?” I tried not to sound hurt and betrayed. It shouldn’t be a shock, but this was out of left field.

“Because you’re not around. Anyway, she goes in for surgery tomorrow, and I wanted to make sure you knew in case you wanted to be here.”

I’d done nothing but take care of her after she split from my stepfather. She drank too much. I helped her to bed. She was rude to someone. I apologized. She stole from the local store by accident because she was too out of it to remember. I got her off and paid for the goods. She wanted to get clean. I dropped her off at rehab. This was the biggest slap in the face I’d ever received, and it hurt worse. No matter how much we argued or how angry I was with her, I’d always been there. But now I was the outcast, and my ex was beloved? You had to be fucking kidding me.

“Text me the hospital and the time of her surgery. I’ll be there tomorrow,” I said, and then stomped my foot, wanting to throw my phone in a childish tantrum.

“Mrs. Mikhailov?” I leaped and turned, smoothing down the front of my outfit. “Is there something wrong?” Dean Montgomery was staring at me over his glasses like an old librarian.

“Oh, there was a spider. It crawled over my foot,” I lied, praying the dean hadn’t heard my conversation.

“My wife does the same thing. She is petrified.” I really didn’t care about them one way or the other. “Here are the pamphlets and paperwork to enroll. We look forward to you and Mr. Mikhailov being in touch.”

Nathan and Cutter were on their way over, and I gave the dean a curt smile as he turned to leave.

“You want to tell me what that was really all about,” Nathan asked.

How was it that the sun could be shining, birds singing, and butterflies flitting about, but you could still get a call that made it feel like you were in the middle of a thunderstorm with torrential rain? I glanced up at the school and the zillion cameras, located so close together that I thought they were lights at first.

“Nothing important enough to ruin the rest of our day. Cutter, what did you say you wanted for lunch?”

“Ice cream,” he cheered.

“Ice cream? You really want ice cream? I didn’t think you liked that stuff,” I teased, and Cutter screwed up his adorable little face like something smelled.

“I love ice cream. My favorite is chocolate.”