If anyone knew that, it was Snow. A child didn’t grow up in the Cameron household, with the screaming and fighting, empty cupboards and an emptier house, without learning that lesson. Somewhere around the age of ten, she’d started questioning why her mother stayed.
Her parents may have been in love at some point, but they sure didn’t like each other. Zeke Cameron was a man with too much pride who couldn’t keep a job long enough to fill out his first time card, and he had little patience for a wife who pointed out his faults on a daily basis.
“I don’t have any illusions about marriage,” Snow said. She hadn’t been given enough time to even think about marriage before she and Caleb had tied the knot. “But I refuse to stay in a situation that isn’t right.”
Her mother’s voice sharpened. “How could you know if it was right or not? Did you even give it a chance? Two months? You think two months is time enough to know anything?”
“Fine,” Snow said. “I screwed up. I can’t go back and change it now. I’m sorry that you were worried. I’m sorry that you were left to explain my actions. I never meant for anyone to have to speak for me.”
“That’s why you stick around and speak for yourself.” The voice on the other end finally softened. “Are you really okay, honey?”
This was the mother Snow needed.
“I am. Well, I’m working on it. Caleb found me yesterday.”
“I’m glad,” she said. “Now you kids can straighten this mess out.”
“There’s nothing to straighten out, Mama.” Snow kept her voice low as she smiled at a customer passing the counter. “He’s old Baton Rouge money, and I’m no Birmingham money. He’s upstairs, I’m downstairs.”
“Don’t you ever talk like that. I may have cleaned houses a time or two, but this isn’t the nineteenth century. You’re just as good as those McGraws.” Her mother huffed. “Better if you ask me. I like that husband of yours, but his parents are another story.”
And therein lay Snow’s problem. Caleb and his parents were a package deal. She couldn’t have one without the other two, and she couldn’t bear life with the other two.
“Caleb seems to agree with you,” Snow said. “He thinks we can make this work, but he’s wrong. He’ll realize that before Christmas, and when he agrees to end this marriage once and for all, I’ll let you know.”
“Give it a chance, baby. That boy cares about you.”
If only things were that easy.
Shifting the subject away from her tattered marriage, Snow said, “I’m sorry I won’t be able to come see you for a while. I run a store here in Ardent Springs, and it’s impossible to get away during the holiday shopping season.”
“You run a store? As in manage it?”
“No, I own it,” she said. “It’s called Snow’s Curiosity Shop, and Grandma would love it. Everything from art deco jewelry to antique furniture and fabrics. A lot of it is on consignment, but I keep an eye on auctions and estate sales to fill in the rest.”
“You did all this on your own?” her mother asked, the wonder in her voice heightening Snow’s pride.
“I did. It’s something special, Mama. Maybe you all can come up and see it sometime.”
“We’ll see,” she said, though her tone gave a clear answer. “Your father’s health isn’t that good, and money’s tight.”
“What’s wrong with Daddy?” Snow asked, fear jerking her upright. “Is he okay?” The man may not have been a great breadwinner, or all that touchy-feely, but he was still her father.
“Don’t get yourself worked up. His lungs just aren’t as strong as they used to be. Doc thinks the fumes from his years of house painting are to blame.”
Sometime during Snow’s high school years, her father had started his own house painting business, and thanks to being his own boss, stuck with it. He never made much money, but being his own man had made him easier to live with.
“Maybe I can come down between Christmas and New Year’s,” Snow said.
“You and Caleb are always welcome.”
“Mama . . .”
“Like I said, just give him a chance. The fact that he’s there should tell you something, baby. That boy’s a keeper.”
That boy needed to go home. Alone. And by Christmas, Snow would make sure he did.
Several hours later, Snow parked her red Nissan next to Caleb’s Jeep in front of Miss Hattie’s garage, but she didn’t bother getting out. Instead, she stared unseeing through the windshield, contemplating how to handle the next few minutes. She’d agreed to Caleb’s terms. He had a month to change her mind. Only no matter how he tried, Snow would have to let him go. Which had been her intention all along, but when she was with him, her determination wavered.