Page 91 of Timid (Lark Cove 2)

“Just let them be,” Dad whispered.

“What about his breakfast?” Mom whispered back.

“Willa will take care of him.”

And I would.

It hadn’t been hard to track down my mother. Like Thea had written in her text, Mom’s green sedan was in the lot of the motel.

The car was a hell of a lot nicer than the one I remembered from my childhood. But I guess when you got rid of your kid, your expenses dropped and you could afford a newer vehicle.

I didn’t want to explain to the motel owners why I needed Melissa Page’s room number, so with Willa at my side, I parked my truck in the lot and walked up to the door directly in front of her car. The motel was fairly empty this time of year and even if I knocked on a few wrong doors, it was worth the hassle so people in town wouldn’t know who Mom was.

With a deep breath and a glance over my shoulder at Willa, I pounded on the door. Behind it, someone shuffled and mumbled before it swung open.

“Jackson.” Mom looked me up and down before doing the same with Willa. “Finally decided to talk to me?”

I took a step back and crossed my arms over my chest. From the corner of my eye, I saw Willa do the same. Her protective streak was a mile wide right now and I fucking loved it. It felt almost as good as it had when her parents had called me family this morning.

I wouldn’t ever be an official member of the Doon family, but like I’d done with my foster families, I’d get to claim them for a time. That was good enough for me. They were a hell of a lot better than the woman standing in front of me.

“What’s it going to take to get you to leave and stay away for good?”

“Just assume I want somethin’?” She frowned. “What if I was here to stay?”

“You wouldn’t be welcome.”

Her face turned down, like she was hurt that I didn’t give her a hug, a kiss and a Hey, Mom, I missed ya!

As she stood there, looking like the victim, my temper roared. Feelings I’d kept buried deep for years were boiling to the surface. I clamped my arms across my chest, keeping my arms and fists pinned. I didn’t trust myself with this much anger rolling through my bloodstream. The only thing keeping me composed was Willa and my desire to get some answers.

“Seems like a waste of time to track me down,” I told her. “You could have found me a long time ago. Instead, you dumped me with a damn stranger and never looked back.”

“Oh, please.” She waved me off. “My sister, your own aunt, is hardly a stranger. Don’t act like I abandoned you. You were with your family while I had to take care of a few things.”

I scoffed. “Yeah. I was with family. For. A. Week. Then this family dumped me too. When you drove off to take care of these things of yours, did you at least look back once or twice in your rearview? I can’t remember. I do remember your sister—my own aunt—didn’t look back. Not once. Aunt Marie didn’t even get out of the car when she dropped me off at social services. Nope. Just pulled up to the curb and told me not to forget my backpack.”

I waited, hoping for a flash of surprise or remorse to cross Mom’s face, but it never came. “I didn’t know she would do that.”

“No,” I said through gritted teeth. “You were long gone by then. So back to my original question. What the fuck is it going to take for you to leave Lark Cove and my life for good?”

Because then I could block it all out.

I’d forget about that scared little boy who stood outside the social services building all day until finally, a social worker came outside to ask if he was lost.

I hadn’t been lost, just left behind.

Lost came later as I moved from foster house to foster house, never once finding a home. All because this woman had things to take care of.

“Forget it,” I clipped. She wasn’t sorry. She didn’t care. There would be no answer for me today.

As of now, she was dead to me.

“Let’s go, Willa.” I turned to leave but stopped at the sound of a new voice.

“Mom?”

I froze as Willa gasped. There was no question which motel room that voice had come from or who it was addressing.