Page 73 of Protecting Addison
Addison didn’t say anything, just sat next to Ellory, letting her take the lead. If she wanted to talk, Addison would listen.
“That was…awkward,” Ellory said after a minute.
Addison couldn’t help it. She laughed. “Yeah.”
“What did you ever see in him?”
Again, Addison found herself smiling. “I was young, sweetie. So was he. And I’d like to think he wasn’t so…clueless back then.” She leaned sideways and bumped shoulders with her daughter. “Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“Love you too. Remember when I told Ricky that I was the lighting director for the show? He thought it was so cool. He brought me home a cake to celebrate. Even though I’d already been the director for a couple of months, he didn’t know about it. He still wanted to do something to show me how proud he was.”
“Yeah. That cake was horrible. He told me later that he didn’t want to bother me by asking me to make something, that he wanted it to be something he took care of himself…to show you how important you were to him.”
Ellory laughed. “Right? I only had one bite…because, well, you know. And yeah, yours are so much better. But it was the fact that he made a big deal out of something that was important to me. Brady…he just sounded disappointed.”
She wasn’t wrong. Addison let out a little hum. “Ricky has been trying really hard to be a positive male role model for you. Even if he makes mistakes—like bringing you a dessert you really shouldn’t eat, when your mom already makes the best cakes in a hundred-mile radius. But his heart is in the right place, and it’s sweet that he’s always trying. I think you’re right…Brady isn’t really trying all that hard to truly understand you. To get to know you and what you like and don’t like.”
“Mom?”
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“When is Ricky coming home? I miss him.”
“Me too. And I don’t know. Remember, he told us before he left that he never knows how long he’ll be on a mission. Sometimes they last months, and other times they’re faster, only a couple of weeks.”
“Well…I’m not sure I want to see Brady again. At least not anytime soon.”
It didn’t escape Addison’s notice that Ellory was now calling him “Brady” instead of dad. “That’s totally your choice, hon.”
She nodded. “He doesn’t make me feel very good about myself. But being around Ricky…he gets me. I like him a lot. I wasn’t so sure about you getting married at first, but now I can’t imagine himnotbeing around. He listens to me. Lets me mess with his stuff in the garage with him. Doesn’t push me to eat or tell me it’s gross when my intestines do their thing. He’s…nice.”
Addison’s heart swelled. Yeah, Rickywasnice. She kissed Ellory’s temple. “You feel up to playing with the kids?”
“Yeah. You know when I said Dude was kind of scary?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I take it back. He’s not. I mean, he kinda still looks that way, but seeing him with Yana, and how he took your arm and made you step back when Brady drove into the parking lot like a bat out of hell? Protective isn’t scary. It’s comforting.”
“Yeah, honey. It is. But I feel as if I have to say this…there’s protective, then there’s overbearing, psycho, stalker protective.”
Ellory laughed. “I know. I’ve seen some of those crime shows you like to watch. It’s okay for a boyfriend, or a girlfriend for that matter, to want to know where you are and if you’re all right. It’s another thing to call or text forty times, wanting to know when you’ll be home. Or isolating you from friends and family, or making you feel like crap for wanting to hang out with them.”
“Right. As long as you know the difference.”
Ellory turned to look at her mom. “The way Ricky watches over the kids is protective. How his eyes watch you when you’re baking in the kitchen, as if he can’t believe you’re there and he’s counting all the ways he lucked out, is protective. How Dude immediately ran toward Yana when she fell, even though it was obvious she wasn’t really hurt, just startled…that’s protective. I know the difference.”
Addison did her best not to cry. Her daughter really was growing up, and she both loved and hated it. Time went too fast. The next thing she knew, she’d blink and Ellory would be moving out, going to college. She wasn’t ready.
“Jeez. Don’t cry, Mom,” Ellory said with a familiar roll of her eyes. “I’ll go tire out the kids while you and Remi sit here and gossip.”
“Sounds good. I’m ready to go when you guys are. Just let me know.”
“I will.” Ellory stood and headed for the playground. Then she turned and said softly, “You know? Sometimes what you don’t have seems like the biggest prize. Something you want more than anything in the world. But then when you get it, you look around and realize you alreadyhadeverything you’ve ever wanted.”
