"That I didn't do a good enough job," I confessed, my voice tightening. "That Lily left emotional scars I couldn't fix."
"Grandpa, please," Noah said, placing a reassuring hand on my arm. "She is in the past. A boy doesn't just forget his mother abandoning him, but you are my real father. The only parent I have ever needed."
"I just want you to be truly happy, Noah," I said, fighting back a lump in my throat.
"Lily left emotional scars I couldn't fix."
"I am happy," he smiled, picking up the cake box. "Let's go home and see my sisters."
We climbed back into the truck and pulled onto the main street. I glanced in the rearview mirror, and my heart skipped a beat.
"Did you invite anyone else to the house today?" I asked.
Noah frowned. "Just us and the girls. Why?"
"There's a black sedan behind us," I muttered, eyeing the tinted windows. "It's been following us since the train station."
I glanced in the rearview mirror, and my heart skipped a beat.
"Are you absolutely sure?" Noah asked, twisting in his seat to look back.
I took a sharp left down the street. The black car mirrored the turn instantly.
"They turned with us," Noah whispered, his face going pale.
"Maybe they took a wrong turn," I said, even though I didn't believe it as I pulled up in front of the house.
We stepped through the front door, the rich smell of roasted chicken welcoming us home.
"You actually remembered the double fudge cake!" Phoebe cheered, eagerly wiping her hands.
"When have I ever forgotten your favorite?" Noah laughed. "Set it on the island."
The black car mirrored the turn instantly.
"I've got twenty-one candles ready!" Kelly waved a pack of matches excitedly. "We are doing this right now!"
"Just don't burn the house down," I warned, hanging up my coat.
"We survive your terrible cooking every single week, Grandpa," Kelly teased. "A few tiny candles are absolutely nothing."
"Very funny," I muttered. "Just put them on the cake."
Before she could strike a match, the doorbell rang sharply through the house.
"Are we expecting anyone else?" Phoebe asked, freezing in place.
The doorbell rang sharply through the house.
"No," I said, gripping my cane tightly. "We certainly are not."
"I'll get it," Noah said. I followed close behind, a creeping sense of dread washing over me as he opened the door.
"My beautiful baby boy," a woman's voice breathed, dripping with dramatic affection.
Lily stood on our porch in a tailored cream-colored coat, gold earrings catching the light.
"What are you doing here?" Noah asked, his shoulders stiffening like a wall.
"Aren't you going to invite your own mother inside out of the freezing cold?" Lily asked, stepping in uninvited.
A creeping sense of dread washing over me as he opened the door.
"You weren't invited," I said, my chest tightening.
"It's my son's twenty-first birthday," Lily smiled, looking around with masked disdain. "I came to celebrate."
"We aren't your children," Phoebe said, grabbing Kelly's trembling hand.
"Look how absolutely beautiful you've grown," Lily gasped, stepping toward the girls.
"Don't talk to them," I snapped, blocking her path.
"I'm their mother," Lily argued. "I have every right to be here with my family."
"I'm their mother."
"You lost that right fifteen years ago, the second you walked off this porch!"
"I left a note!" she said defensively. "I knew they were perfectly safe with you, so don't act like I abandoned them."
"You left them with a single diaper bag and no shoes in the dead of winter!" I roared.
"Pete and I needed time to adjust to our new marriage!" Lily yelled back. "You wouldn't understand the pressure I was under!"
"I understand you chose a wealthy man over your own flesh and blood," I snarled.
"I made a terrible mistake, but I am still their mother!" Lily cried, forcing a tear. "I was young and completely terrified!"
"You chose a wealthy man over your own flesh and blood."
"You were twenty-six years old and a grown woman," I scoffed. "And you didn't call them once."
"So you just forgot about us completely?" Phoebe asked, her voice cracking.
"Never," Lily lied smoothly. "I thought about you every single day, sweetheart."
"Then why didn't you come when Kelly was in the hospital for three weeks?" Noah asked coldly.
Lily's eyes darted nervously. "I... I didn't know about that."
"Because you changed your number to avoid us," I reminded her bitterly.
Lily's eyes darted nervously.
"Enough of this," Lily snapped. "I am here to make things right. I even brought you a wonderful present."
"Keep your gift," Noah said. "I actually have something for you instead."
"For me?" Lily asked, her eyes lighting up with greed.
"Wait right here," Noah said, walking to the hallway closet.
