“We both walked the same path, sweetheart.” She eased back, brushed hair off his cheek. “I hurt you, and it tore at me, knowing I couldn’t take back what happened to you, couldn’t change it. I would do it for you again, without hesitating.” He closed his eyes. “No, Zach, no more hiding from it.” He looked at her, clear blue eyes shadowed. “What you were is part of who you are now. You need to accept it, and move on. Your past is going to shape you, whether you want it to or not.”
“Since it’s already started, I can’t say you’re wrong.”
“Before we eat, I do need to tell you one more thing.” She took a deep breath, aware it could break their fragile peace. But he had the right to know. “Marcus asked me to marry him. I said yes.”
“Wow.” He sat back, running one hand through his hair. “Are you happy?”
“Incredibly. It feels right, Zach. And I never expected to have any kind of connection, with anyone. What I was, what I had done—”
“You don’t need to rehash, Mom.” He looked almost panicked. Claire figured he had reached information overload, and took pity on him.
“I love him, and I know he will make me happy.” She touched the amethyst heart at her throat. “But you are always right here. Whether you decide to come home or not, you will always be in my heart.”
A blush spread over his cheeks. “We done talking now?”
She laughed, ruffled his hair. The boy she brought home was still in there. “We’re done.”
He let out his breath and leaned forward, picking up the plate with the sandwich. “Are you eating?”
“If you want me to join you.”
“Duh.” He smiled, and laughter burst out of her. It felt good—to see her son smile, to joke with him. To touch him. It was only the beginning of a long road back. But it was a beginning. A hopeful one.
*
Claire had said goodbye to Zach last night, sending him back to Annie’s for now. But he showed up this morning to help Claire open the shop, for the first time since he left.
She planned on it being the first of many more.
They fell easily into their former routine, and Zach munched on the breakfast burrito she’d picked up for him while he booted up the computer. Claire joined him behind the counter and lowered herself to the stool she kept tucked in a corner, blaming her exhaustion on too little sleep.
Half an hour into opening she knew it was going to be one of her bad days.
“Zach?” He stuck his head out from behind the tall display shelf. “Can you bring out the box on the table in the back room? I want to redo the jewelry display.”
“Sure.” He didn’t question, since hauling boxes was part of his duties.
Claire pulled the stool over to the glass case while he was out of sight. She wanted to be settled when he came back, so he wouldn’t see her shaking—or worse, have her legs give out in front of him.
By the time he came back she sat in front of the case, and had the top braced open. “Thank you, sweetheart. Just set it on the corner. And can you do me another favor? I am really craving one of Lily’s protein smoothies.”
“Okay.” She almost laughed at the way his eyes lit up. Some things never changed, and that lightened her heart.
“My purse is under the counter. Take enough to get a snack for yourself.”
“You’re sure?”
She smiled. “Trust me, you’ll earn everything you eat.”
“I can eat more than you think.”
She did laugh this time, and watched him tuck her small wallet in his shirt pocket before all but sprinting out of the shop. With him gone, and the shop empty for the moment, she let the exhaustion wash over her, knowing by now that fighting it would just mean a more vicious backlash later.
When her hand stopped trembling, she focused on the box, and pulled out the first of the hand crafted jewelry. It had been sourced for her by Michelle and Penn, made by an acquaintance of theirs in England, and would be an exotic, welcome change from the same old pendants and crystals she usually carried.
This jewelry designer, a genius with silver and stones, took crystals that complemented each other and turned them into bracelets that caressed the wrist, and multilayered charms that could be worn singly on a chain, or combined to strengthen the crystals. Penn told her the designer was Wiccan; Claire admired the artist’s vast knowledge of crystal magic and healing. Just handling the gorgeous pieces helped boost her energy.
But not enough to keep her from dropping another bracelet on the floor. The third one in ten minutes. She pushed herself off the stool and braced her hand on it, knowing she would need the leverage to stand.