Page 120 of Bonfire and Bliss Bookstore

“You’re right. We are.” My mother frowns before turning to my dad. “Maybe another time.”

“Of course.” His smile falls but he slips his hands into his pockets and nods. “I’ll just go grab those boxes and you can sift through them.”

“I’ll help.” My mom jumps up before facing me. “I’ll be right back.”

What the hell is going on?

My parents disappear down the hall as Vovo appears by my side with the pan, pushing more eggs onto my plate. “Amor, you seem to be thinking very hard.”

“Don’t you find it strange they’re trying to spend all this time together?”

She doesn’t answer me right away, and instead heads back to the sink.

“You can’t explain love,” she says finally with a shrug.

“Love?” I bark out. “They’re divorced! Have been for ten years.”

Vovo only offers me a small smile before returning her attention to the dishes in the sink. The phone beside me blares—it’s my mom’s—and when I see the airline’s name on the caller ID, I figure they want to talk to her about her lost luggage.

“Hello,” the person at the end of the line says. “I’m looking for a Rebecca Montgomery?”

“This is her son. If you wait one moment, I can grab her. Have you found her luggage?”

“Yes! It will be here waiting in the office at baggage claim if she wants to come pick it up.”

“Excellent, I’ll let her know.”

I hang up the phone and tell Vovo I’m going to find my mom to deliver the good news. Maybe we can take a ride to the airport together and I can figure out what’s going on between her and my dad. And then, once we’ve got everything out in the open, and I’ve stopped by the farmers market to see Penny, we can get back to plotting.

That’s what I should be focusing on—finishing this project and getting my book ready to submit to my publisher. That’s the whole reason my mom is here, the whole reason I came to Hope Harbor to begin with.

The crawl space is upstairs, behind my father’s closet, so I head up to his room in search of them. I’m about to call out, but the words die in my throat when I find my mother pressed up against the closet, her arms wrapped around my father’s neck, his mouth on hers.

I stumble back into the hallway.

I’m so confused. So angry.

Years ago my father asked my mother for a divorce. And everything I’ve done since that moment feels like it’s been a reaction to his choice to end their marriage. He never gave us a choice when he said he wanted a separation from Mom all those years ago.

But this? Parading my mother around town and kissing her against closets? It feels like I should have a freaking say in this.

Knowing I have to get out of here before I say something I regret, I rush down the steps, telling Vovo I’m going to pick up my mom’s luggage, and then I peel out of Hope Harbor as quickly as I can.

I’ve only made it about ten minutes down the road when my cell rings. I spot Penny’s name on the screen and groan, silencing it right away. I can’t talk to her right now. I’m not sure what I’d even say. My head is spiraling, my heart a mess.

My phone rings again, but this time it’s my mom. I silence that one, too.

Another call rolls in, this one from my father. I am definitely not answering that one.

The second I hit a red light, I type out a quick text to my mother telling her I’m grabbing her luggage and that I’ll call her later.

The trill of my cell phone sounds once more. It’s my dad again. Fuck. Why can’t they both just give me a little breathing room?

A text pops up.

Penny: Hey, what time are you coming over?

I tug at the back of my neck and stare up at the red light. I don’t think I can see her today. I’m just…I’m spiraling and I need to get my head on straight before I do something stupid like unload everything that happened with my parents on her.