Page 110 of Prickly Pair
My body was tired. Matthew was right about the burnout, of course. But, I really didn’t know how to let go of all the work I had to do. Between going on dates with Evie and Matthew, and sometimes with Nick too, I’d been working on several different projects. The roof on the hotel was finally fixed. I’d caught up on our bookkeeping and taxes. The community center and library were in a good spot. If I started thinking about everything else I had to do, though, my brain stopped working.
Like dealing with Phil.
I hadn’t seen him yet. He wasn’t staying in town. I’d tried to do some research on him and his agency too, and hadn’t really found anything. It was all starting to smell fishy.
I ran my hands through my hair and finally turned off my truck. I got out and opened the back door, grabbing all the bags of groceries.
This was something I’d feel guilty about taking off my plate. But I was tempted to start having Mom’s groceries delivered. It would alleviate always having to plan around this every Wednesday, which would help the rest of my week.
I hauled everything up the steps and unlocked the front door. I went inside, calling out.
“Mom? I got the groceries.”
“In the kitchen!”
I left my boots at the door and hauled the bags to the kitchen. I wasn’t sure what the fuck she was cooking this week, but at least four of the bags were full of cans.
I set everything on the counter. My mom was scrubbing the sink out and glanced over her shoulder at me.
Great. She was still pissed.
Granted, I would have been too. I did get some things from her, and was pretty sure my attitude was one of them.
I sighed and started pulling items out of the bags. She raised a brow at me. “Not gonna say sorry?”
“I am sorry,” I said. “But I also didn’t appreciate the way you spoke to me either. You keep scolding me for not taking care of myself, but then if things aren’t done the way you want them, you give me hell too. I’m doing the best I can right now.”
She turned off the kitchen sink and faced me, crossing her arms. “Okay, well, I’m sorry.”
I blew out a breath. “Okay.”
“What? I am.”
“You don’t sound like it.”
“Well, you didn’t sound like it either.”
“Mom, I’m fucking dying right now.” My voice cracked and her eyes went wide. I looked away from her. “I am overwhelmed all the time. I’m tired all the time. It’s been years since Dad died and yet I still can’t stop missing him. Everyone is always mad at me because I’m grumpy and fuck up because I’m tired. I have noidea how to stop working so much because it’s all stuff that only I can do. And being scolded by mymomand compared to him makes me feel even worse.”
“Fuck,” she whispered.
Despite everything, that made me laugh. It was rare for her to curse.
She came around the kitchen counter and pulled me down into a hug. My eyes watered as she squeezed me tight.
“Honey, I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t think about it like that. Sometimes I scold you guys without thinking about how it makes you feel.”
“I know,” I whispered. “I just . . . I can’t handle anything right now.”
Her hold on me tightened. “It’s hard to not compare you to your dad because you’re like him in a lot of ways. In all the good ways.”
“Really? I think it’s in all the bad ways.”
She released me and shook her head adamantly. “Not at all, Austin. Not at all. You kids got the best of both of us.”
“Dallas and Avery did,” I chuckled as I wiped my eyes. “I don’t know. I have to slow down.”
“You do,” she agreed. “What can I do to help?”
