Rachel didn’t doubt that. Josh was basically a good kid. He didn’t whine, he
didn’t ask for a lot. His passions were simple—anything sports-related and the
occasional computer game. That was it. Christmas and birthday presents revolved
around whatever sport most had his interest. As they had for the past three
years, spring and summer meant baseball.
Los Lobos didn’t have a Little League team, but there was a county league. Josh
insisted they sign him up the first hour they could, something she was happy to
do. He was eleven—she figured she had all of two, maybe three years before he
became a raging male hormone and then all bets were off.
“Dad said he would buy it for me but I had to check with you first.”
At least she was driving and had an excuse not to look at Josh. Because she
couldn’t—not without him seeing the rage in her eyes. Damn Greg, she thought
bitterly. Of course he could afford to buy his son a new glove. Greg only had
himself to worry about.
Her ex-husband made a good living as a Los Lobos county firefighter. He also had
excellent medical benefits—something she’d lost after the divorce. Even more
annoying, his schedule was a ridiculous twenty-four hours on, twenty-four hours
off for six days, followed by four days off. Which gave him plenty of time to
play, and play he did. Add in the fact that he’d moved back home with his folks,
so he basically had no living expenses, and the man was swimming in both cash
and time.
Don’t think about it, she instructed herself. Dwelling on how good Greg had it
only made her angrier. She had to remember that the man paid his child support
on time. That was something. But as for the rest of it—she couldn’t help
resenting how easy he had it.
Yes, she did well at the salon. She was able to support herself and her son. The
child support covered the mortgage, and she paid for everything else. But it
wasn’t like there was a bunch of extra cash at the end of the month. She was
doing her best to build up an emergency fund and keep current on household
repairs. There wasn’t anything left over for things like baseball gloves.
When she was sure she could speak in a happy, excited tone, she said, “Go for
it, Josh. You need a new glove. It’s great that your dad can afford to get it.
Do you already know what you want or do you need to do some research?”
“I know exactly what I need.” And he was off, describing the glove down to the
kind of stitching.
Oh, to be that young and innocent, she thought with regret. To trust that
everything was going to turn out the way it was supposed to. To believe in
happily-ever-after.
She’d been that way, once. She’d had hopes and dreams—mostly of finding her
handsome prince. And when she’d laid eyes on Greg, she’d known, just known, he
was the one. Back then everyone had believed he was the one. Greg had been the
guy every girl wanted.
And she’d been the one to get him—right up until he’d cheated on her.
She turned the corner, then pulled into Lena’s driveway. Josh was out of the car
before she’d come to a full stop.
“Bye, Mom. See you later.”
He ran into the house without bothering to knock. She was still shaking her head
when her friend Lena appeared on the porch. Lena turned back to kiss her
husband, then hurried to the car. She got inside and waved the bag she held.
“Great cheese and dark chocolate. Am I good to you or what?”
They hugged.
“You’re the best,” Rachel told her. “Thanks for coming over tonight. I could use
some girl time.”
“Me, too. Tell me the wine is red.”
“It’s red and there are two bottles.”
“Perfect.”
She and Lena had been friends since elementary school. They were physical
opposites—Lena was petite and curvy, with brown hair and dark eyes. Rachel was
taller and blond.
They’d played together, dreamed together, and when they’d grown up, they’d been
each other’s maids of honor. They’d married young and then had sons within a few
months of each other. But things were different now. Lena and Toby were still
happily together.
“What?” her friend asked. “You’re looking fierce.”
“Nothing. I’m fine. Just the usual crap.”
“Greg?”
Rachel sighed. “Yes. Josh needs a new glove and his dad is going to buy it for
him.”
Her friend didn’t say anything.
Rachel turned onto her street. “I know what you’re thinking. I should be
grateful he’s an involved father. That the extra money he has could be spent on
women and drinking, but he spends it on his kid.”
“You’re doing all the talking.”
Rachel pulled into her driveway. “I just wish…”
“That a really big rock would fall on him?”
She smiled. “Maybe not that, but something close.”
Because it was Greg’s fault their marriage had failed. He’d chosen to have a
one-night stand with a tourist. She’d known the second she’d seen him—had
guessed what he’d done. He hadn’t tried to deny it, and that had been that. Her
marriage had ended.
When they got back to Rachel’s they poured wine. Rachel eyed the beautiful wedge
of brie and knew there had to be maybe five thousand calories in that chunk of
soft goodness, and she honestly couldn’t care. Had she put on weight lately?
Probably, but so what? Her clothes still fit, at least the loose ones did. She
worked hard and deserved to reward herself. It wasn’t as if she had anyone to
look good for.
She sipped her wine and knew that the right response was that she needed to look
good for herself. That she was worth it and all those other stupid platitudes.
That if she wanted to feel better, she had to take better care of herself. All
of which didn’t get the laundry washed or the bathrooms cleaned.
“You need to get over him.”
Lena’s comment was so at odds with what Rachel had been thinking that it took
her a second to figure out what her friend was saying.
“Greg? I am. We’ve been divorced nearly two years.”
“You might be legally divorced, but emotionally you’re still enmeshed.”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “Did you have too much waiting time in a doctor’s
office? Did you read some women’s magazine? Enmeshed? No one actually uses that
word.”
“You just did.”
Rachel made a strangled noise in her throat. “I don’t want to think about him,”
she admitted. “I want to move on with my life.”
“Find a man? Fall in love?”
“Sure.”
A lie, she thought, but one her friend would want to hear. Fall in love? She
couldn’t imagine going out with someone who wasn’t Greg. He’d been her first
date, her first time, her first everything. The world still divided itself
neatly into Greg and not Greg. How was she supposed to get over that?
“You’re so lying,” Lena said cheerfully. “But I appreciate that you’re making
the effort to humor me.”
“I want to move on,” Rachel admitted. “I just don’t know how. Maybe if I could
get away from him. But with us having Josh together, there’s no escape.”
“You could move.”
The suggestion was spoken in a soft voice, as if Lena knew what Rachel would
think. Rachel did her best to remain calm when on the inside she wanted to start
shrieking.
Move? Move! No way. She couldn’t. She loved her house. She needed her house and
all it represented. It was proof that she was okay. She would take a second job
to pay for the house, if she had to.
None of which made sense. She understood that. She also knew she was reacting to
a traumatic event in her childhood—the death of her father and the fact that the
family had been forced out of their house a few months later.
Rachel remembered hating everything about living at the Los Lobos Hotel. Looking
back she knew she should be grateful that they’d been taken in, that they hadn’t
had to live in a shelter. But she couldn’t get over the shock and pain the day
she’d come home from school to find her mother sobbing that they’d lost
everything and it was her father’s fault. She’d been so scared. Daddy was
dead—how could he continue to be in trouble?
When she’d been older she’d realized their father hadn’t been a bad man—just
financially careless. There hadn’t been any life insurance, no savings.
When she and Greg had married, she’d been focused on buying a house. They’d been
young and it had been a financial struggle, especially with a baby, but they’d
made it. This was her home—she was never leaving.
But the price of that was living with the ghosts of her lost marriage. Greg’s
memory still lingered in every room.
“Maybe I could get someone to do a spiritual cleansing of the house. With sage.
And salt. Do you need salt?”
Lena briefly closed her eyes. “I love you like my best friend.”
“I am your best friend.”
“I know, so please understand why I’m saying this. The problem isn’t the house,
Rachel. It’s you. And there isn’t enough sage or salt in the world to get you
over Greg. You’re going to have to decide once and for all to emotionally move
on. Until you do, you’re trapped. Forever.”
The truth, however lovingly delivered, could still hurt like a son of a bitch.
Rachel blinked a couple of times, then reached for the wine. “We’re so going to
need another bottle.”
With Joy, Love, and a Little
Trepidation Courtney, Sienna and Rachel Invite You To
the Most Emotional Wedding of the Year… Their Mother's
Courtney ~ The Misfit ~
As the awkward one, Courtney Watson may not
be as together as her sisters, but she excels at one thing—keeping secrets,
including her white-hot affair with a sexy music producer. Planning Mom's
wedding exposes her startling hidden life, changing her family's view of her—and
how she views herself—forever.
Sienna ~ The Free Spirit ~
When Sienna's boyfriend proposes—in front of her mom and sisters, for crying out
loud—he takes her by surprise. She already has two broken engagements under her
belt. Should she say "I do" even if she's not sure she does?
Rachel ~
The Cynic ~
Rachel thought love would last forever…right up until her
divorce. As Mom's wedding day draws near and her ex begs for a second chance,
she's forced to acknowledge some uncomfortable truths about why her marriage
failed, and decide if she'll let pride stand in the way of her own happily ever
after.
A must-read for anyone who has survived the wedding of a sister,
a mother, a daughter—as told by #1 New York Times bestselling author
and master storyteller Susan Mallery!
Romance Contemporary
[HQN, On Sale: July 12, 2016, Hardcover / e-Book,
ISBN: 9780373789719 / eISBN: 9781460394359]
Susan Mallery is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of
novels about the relationships that define women's lives—romance, friendship,
family. With compassion and humor, Susan keenly observes how people think and
feel, in stories that take readers on an emotional journey. Sometimes
heartbreaking, often funny, and always uplifting, Susan's books have spent more
than 200 weeks on the USA Today bestsellers list, thanks to her ever
growing legions of fans.
Susan lives in Seattle with her husband, two
ragdoll cats, and a tattletale toy poodle. Animals play a big role in her books,
as well, as she believes they're an integral component to a happy life.
This book sounds very interesting and a book I really want to read (Jeri Dickinson 3:50pm July 12, 2016)
Oh Susan. I'm really looking forward to reading this! I love the way you say what we women think a n d feel! (Kathleen Bylsma 9:52pm July 12, 2016)
I love that cover! It eludes to the tone and the subject of the book without being too obvious. And those dresses are delicately beautiful! (Meghan Stith 12:43pm July 13, 2016)
The book sounds captivating and lovely. I would treasure this book. (Sharon Berger 1:58pm July 13, 2016)
I am so looking forward to this, thanks for the review. Penney (Penney Wilfort 11:25am July 14, 2016)
I'm sooo excited to read Susan's new book! I love the cover! I have a lot of weddings to attend this year and I'd love to attend Courtney, Sienna and Rachel's mom's too! (Jamie Stein 12:03pm July 14, 2016)
A beautiful story of love and acceptance between a mother and daughter!!! (Tiffany Miles 7:44pm July 14, 2016)
This book sounds so much like real live up to date problems of the things going on between Moms and Daughters this time of the year . I know what they are going through with planning weddings and so on . I'd love to read this book and thanks for this chance to win . (Joan Thrasher 10:23am July 15, 2016)
Sounds real and I love her books! (Shirley Cochran 5:38pm July 15, 2016)
I hope this isn't just another fluff book! (Susan Coster 7:24pm July 15, 2016)
It sounds great. As the child of a divorced parents, I would have loved to have my father in my life. I also understand where she is coming from though. (Debra Guyette 10:39am July 16, 2016)
her books are always good and easy to read (Jeri Dickinson 10:14pm July 16, 2016)
Great cover! The book sounds amazing as well. I really want to read this one! (Zara Heflin 12:00pm July 17, 2016)
looking forward to read the book.. interesting... (Dona Alex 10:07am July 18, 2016)
Thank you for sharing an excerpt. I love Susan Mallery's books and look forward to reading this one! (Rachael Brown 11:20am July 18, 2016)
Sounds great - Single mothers do struggle, and I like to read about how they overcome their problems. (Joanne Schultz 2:07pm July 18, 2016)
Sounds like a great book, but of course, I've never read a Susan Mallory book that I didn't love! (Gina Keitz 3:39am July 19, 2016)
Wow! Three daughters having serious problems of their own and mom's wedding makes for interesting reading. (Anna Speed 11:35am July 19, 2016)
GREAT BOOKS.THANKS FOR CHANCE. (Marsha Baurns 4:56pm July 19, 2016)
ALL YOUR BOOKS ARE A MUST READ BUT THIS ONE SOUNDS SPECIAL (Jean Mess 5:06pm July 19, 2016)
looks like a great beach read! (Lynn Anderson 6:40pm July 19, 2016)
Sounds like an interesting plot--three daughters, wow! (Anne Calhoun 7:02pm July 19, 2016)
This sounds like a great story! (Tiffany S 11:23pm July 19, 2016)
I can't wait to read it! (Lily Shah 11:49pm July 19, 2016)