Filed to story: Reclaimed Book by Roxie Ray
“Guard dog?” I turned off the burner and turned around. “Mom, I don’t know what you’re doing with that guy, who is apparently married, but Stephan was worried about Dylan.”
“Well,
Stephan needs to be reminded of who actually lives in this house.” Mom spat his name out like a curse. “Ace may run Lakeview, but that doesn’t mean he runs my life.”
“Mom, he’s not trying to run your life?-“
“Don’t talk back to me,” Mom snapped. “I’m letting you stay in my house, and I won’t let your big, bad, baby daddy tell me who I can and can’t see.”
“Baby daddy?”
“That’s all he is. You were just a silly girl when you met him. He hasn’t changed, either. He’s a controlling asshole who thinks he’s better than all of us.”
“I think you need to get some sleep, Mom,” I said, my voice like ice. “Drink some water.”
“You never should’ve gotten wrapped up with that man!” The volume of her voice raised as she got herself worked up. “You’re making the same damn mistakes I did. If you think showing up after ten years will suddenly turn that man into a good man, you’re a damn fool! And now it’s messing up my life, too!”
“Stop fighting!” Dylan’s voice cracked with emotion. He stood at the foot of the stairs, in his pajama pants and a ratty old T-shirt. His hands were balled into fists at his sides, eyes flickering with gold and gray smoke streaming from his nostrils.
Mom took a stumbling step back and bumped into the couch. Her eyes were wide with fear.
“I don’t like it when you fight! Stop! Stop it!”
“Dylan-” I started. I’d never seen his eyes flash, nor literal smoke blow from his nostrils. Suri had said it might happen, but honestly, I’d thought it was an exaggeration. But the smoke was real. Oh, Lord, was my son about to burn this house down?
A series of loud knocks broke the tension. I hurried to the door and flung it open, instinctively knowing-or maybe hoping-who was on the other side.
Stephan. I nearly slumped forward with relief. “Come in. Um, Dylan’s…”
Stephan was wearing dark jeans and a dark long-sleeve shirt, but the edges of his tattoos were still visible at his wrists and the neckline of the shirt. His brows were pulled together. “I heard enough,” he said.
“These dragons,” Mom sneered. “They’re all so nosy
?
-“
“That’s enough,
Mother,” I snapped. I was more confident with Stephan here to keep Dylan under control. “Seriously. Enough.”
“That’s enough from you, too,” Stephan said to Dylan. “Take a deep breath. Control your fire.”
Dylan inhaled deeply, then exhaled hard. The smoke drifted from his nostrils and in between his teeth, then dissipated into nothing.
Stephan turned his hazel eyes to me. “Harley, I don’t think Dylan should be in this environment.”
“What the fuck do you mean by that?” Mom snapped.
Stephan and I both whirled to glare at Mom simultaneously. Cowed, she snapped her mouth shut.
“She doesn’t respect you,” Stephan continued, speaking again to me. “Or me, which I understand. But she shouldn’t take that out on you. And I don’t want Dylan to see that kind of behavior. Especially right now. This is an important time.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “This is where we’re staying,” I said. “I’ll handle it.”
“It’s not your only option,” Stephan said.
“Well, Lakeview’s a little busy this time of year,” Mom said. “You think Harley can just run into town and grab a room at the bed-and-breakfast? The tourists are everywhere.”
Stephen raised an eyebrow at me. “There’s plenty of room. You won’t even have to be close if you don’t want to be. It’s a place to stay away from all of”-he glanced around the dim house, his gaze lingering on the bottles of booze stacked around the kitchen-“this.”
“What is he talking about?” Mom asked.
“You mean at your place?” Dylan chimed in. “We could stay with you, Dad?”
“If it’s okay with your mom,” Stephan said.
“Mom!” Dylan rushed forward and tugged at my arm. “We could stay with Dad! Can we? Please? Please?”
“You don’t want to stay with your Mama Liz?” my mother asked Dylan.
Dylan frowned. “I don’t know,” he said, suddenly sounding more shy. “It seems like you kind of want your own space.”
“He’s right.” I set a hand on Dylan’s shoulder and squeezed. “It might be best if you had your home back to yourself, Mom.”
“Harley-“
“You heard her,” Stephan said.
“Go pack your things, baby,” I said to Dylan.
Dylan grinned, excited, then ran back upstairs.
Mom shot me a disappointed look, then poured herself another big glass of wine, headed to her room, and slammed the door.
“You’re sure you’re okay with this?” I asked Stephan. “I’m used to dealing with my mother. This really isn’t a big deal.”
“It’s a big deal to me,” Stephan said. “I meant what I said. This is an important time. The first shift is hard enough. If Liz is causing friction, that’s only going to make the shift harder. And there’s no place I’d rather you both be than close to me.”
Both. Butterflies took off in my stomach and fluttered all the way up to my chest. My cheeks heated. It was a good decision for Dylan, of course. Being close to his father would make his first shift a lot easier. But for me, it was more complicated.
I wasn’t here to rekindle anything with Stephan. This was for Dylan.
“And your space is your space,” Stephan continued. “I don’t… expect anything.”
He cringed at his own wording, and it made me chuckle a little. “Good,” I said, “because this is only for the summer. Just to get Dylan through his first shift.”
Stephan nodded, but something flickered in his eyes, an emotion that was gone too quickly for me to identify.
“We’re not moving back to Lakeview,” I said. “I want to make sure that’s clear. Our whole lives are in Atlanta-Dylan’s school, my job, and our whole community. We’re not going to drop everything and move here.”
“I never expected you to do so,” Stephan said. “Maybe if this summer goes well, it could become something of a summer tradition.”
Summers in Lakeview? After the summer I met Ace, I thought I’d never come here again. Now I imagined spending every summer away from the blistering Atlanta heat, and instead enjoying the warm mountain sunshine and swimming in the cool lake. I imagined seeing Dylan and his dad shift together and take to the Lakeview skies…