His First Choice. Tara Quinn Taylor

it was true. Which meant the ex-husband wasn’t belittling the mother of his child. She made note.

      “Can you give me an example of what you’re talking about?” Lacey hadn’t touched her tea.

      “With Levi and Jem, or with my brother?”

      “Let’s start with Levi.”

      Nodding, Tressa continued to hold Lacey’s gaze openly. “Levi would get a runny nose and I’d be wanting to keep him home, just in case. I’d be listening to his chest and worrying about pneumonia. I take things to extremes in my mind. Maybe it’s so that I’m always prepared.”

      She paused. Lacey nodded and waited.

      “So...say someone looks at us in the park. I’m immediately carrying on like he might mug us or shoot us.”

      The woman was so genuine Lacey couldn’t help but like her and want to help her. It’s what she did. Attempt to help families live healthy lives together.

      “So if you know you have a tendency to do that, are you able to reel yourself in?”

      “Yeah, but I’m still emotional, you know? I cry at commercials. Or when I see someone hurting an animal. I still worry about everything even when I know it’s not likely to happen.”

      “And you think that was a result of growing up in a turbulent house.”

      Tressa nodded. “It wasn’t good for my marriage, I can tell you that. And it’s not good for Levi to live like that all the time, either.”

      “Jem told you that?” She used the shortened version of his name on purpose, to keep Tressa at ease.

      The other woman shook her head. “No, I saw it. He’s happy, carefree and funny when Jem’s around. When it’s just me and Levi, he gets quiet, reserved.”

      Exactly the behavior Mara had described.

      “I make him nervous. Like he never knows if something he does is going to make me upset.”