“Georgia May!” Debbie said as she crossed the room and drew Georgie into a hug. “You are still as pretty as ever.”
Georgie stepped back and smiled. “You look great, too, Aunt Debbie. I love the blond hair.”
Debbie patted her neatly coifed bob. “Glad you like it. I just wish I could say the same for my husband. When I got it done, he didn’t say a word. I don’t think he’s even noticed.”
“I noticed, woman.” Uncle Ben crossed the room, picked Georgie up off her feet, hugged her hard and then put her back down. “You’re still no bigger than a peanut, Georgie. And don’t listen to Deb. She knows I’m jealous because she still has all her hair.”
“So how are you enjoying retirement?” Georgie asked.
“Love it,” Ben said. “We just drove all the way from California.”
Debbie smiled. “Los Angeles was so wonderful and warm, but the traffic was horrible.”
Chance tugged on Georgie’s hand to garner her attention. “Can we go now, Mama?”
Georgie swallowed around an annoying lump in her throat when she thought about watching him leave without her. “Don’t you need to pick out some toys?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Don’t bring too many things, Chance.” Her directive was lost on her child as he sprinted out of the room.
“Your place is really precious, Georgie,” Debbie said as she surveyed the area. “And it’s been so well done.”
Quite the change from when Georgie had first seen it—a basic two-bedroom, one-bath rental with outdated everything. But the appeal had been in the ten surrounding acres, complete privacy and the four-stall red barn. “You can thank Mom for the restoration. She had the hardwoods refinished, put new carpet in the bedrooms, remodeled the kitchen, including appliances, and redid the entire bathroom before I moved in. As much as I appreciated the effort, I do think it was overkill for a house I don’t own.”
Right on cue, Lila Romero breezed into the room, her silver hair pulled back in a low bun, her peach slacks and white blouse heralding her classic taste in clothing. “I couldn’t let you live in squalor, dear daughter.”
Leave it to Lila to overexaggerate. “It wasn’t that bad, Mom.”
“It wasn’t that good, either.” Lila turned to her sister and sighed. “Georgie is such a nervous Nellie, I’m surprised she’s actually allowing my grandson to go with us to Florida.”
Ben turned to Georgie. “He’ll be fine, pumpkin. I used to fly big jets holding hundreds of passengers, so rest assured, I can handle a forty-five-foot motor home.”
Georgie took some comfort in knowing her son would be on the ground in good hands, not in midair. “I trust you, Uncle Ben. I’m more worried that Chance will drive you insane with all his energy.”
Aunt Debbie patted her cheek. “Honey, we have eight grandchildren. We’re used to high energy. We’ll be stopping along the way and—”
“If he acts up, we’ll lock him in the toilet.” Uncle Ben topped off the comment with a teasing grin.
Chance ran back into the room, his arms full of stuffed animals, miniature trucks and his special blue pillow. “I’m ready. Can we go now?”
Georgie fought back the surge of panic. “Can I at least have a hug, baby boy?”
As if she sensed her daughter’s distress, Lila took the toys from her grandson’s grasp. “I’ll put these in the RV while you tell your mama goodbye.”
In that moment, Georgie appreciated her mother more than she could express. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, honey. Take your time.”
After her family filed out the exit, Georgie knelt down on Chance’s level and brushed a dark lock from his forehead. “You’ll be a good boy, right?”
“I’ll be good. I’ll brush my teeth and go to bed on time. And I’ll mind Grandma.”
“Are you going to miss me?”
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Mama.”
She drew him into her arms. “I’m going to miss you something awful, too. I love you, sweetie.”
“I love you, Mama.”
Georgie held him tightly until he began to wriggle away. “I gotta go now, okay?” he said, his hazel eyes flashing with excitement.
“Okay.” She kissed his cheek and straightened. “Eat some vegetables while you’re gone.”
He wrinkled his nose. “Do I hafta?”
“Just a little. That’s better than nothing.”
After taking him by the hand, Georgie led her son to the RV where she earned one more hug, one more kiss and an understanding smile from her aunt. Chance scurried up the stairs with Debbie following behind him, and once he had disappeared, Georgie turned to her mother. “You’ll call me later, right?”
Lila raised her hand as if taking an oath. “I swear I will report back to you on a regular basis. And I also swear I will not sell my grandson for gas money.”
Georgie felt a little foolish. “I’m sorry, Mom, but this is the first time we’ve been away from each other for any length of time. He’ll be gone for two weeks.”
“Two weeks’ worth of amusement parks that he’ll dearly love.” She laid a palm on Georgie’s cheek. “I know it’s hard, honey, yet there comes a time when you have to let go a little. I learned that the hard way with you.”
“I know, Mom. It’s just so difficult.”
“It is for both myself and your father, even if he doesn’t show it.”
“I wouldn’t know since he’s clearly still refusing to speak to me, much less see me or Chance.”
“He’ll come around, and that reminds me...” Her mother hesitated a moment, which gave Georgie pause. “Speaking of fathers and their children, have you given any more consideration to telling Chance’s father about him?”
She’d been considering it nonstop. “I’m still on the fence about that. The hows and the whens and whether or not it would serve any purpose at this point in time.”
“Honey, it would serve a major purpose. It would give your son the opportunity to know his dad. They deserve to know each other.”
With that, Lila climbed on board and closed the door without awaiting her daughter’s response.
As Georgie watched the RV drive away in a cloud of dust, she felt more alone than she had since she’d realized she would be raising a child on her own.
She could stay at home this evening, missing her baby boy. Or she could go to the Calloways for dinner. Then again, that would mean facing Austin while reuniting with his family. Several years had passed since she had seen Maria and the boys, and the thought of eating a frozen dinner held little appeal.
Decision made. Wise or not, she would go.
* * *
“She’s not coming.” That reality had become apparent to Austin with every passing moment.
Dallas stopped rocking the back porch glider and shot him a hard look in response to the comment. “You don’t know that, Austin. Dinner isn’t even on the table yet.”
Austin pushed off the wooden chair and stared out at the fence row lined with mesquites. “Georgie is never late. If she’d decided to be here, she would’ve already shown up.”
“For a man who claimed five minutes ago, twice, that he didn’t