Young Love Dies Hard: The Young Brothers, Book 1 Nikki Lane (books for students to read .TXT) 📖

a bunch of people do during my wait, and I was grateful for it.

“Thanks for the ride.”

She tried to smile, but it didn’t quite fully form. “I’m happy to help...for once.”

“This doesn’t mean I’m—”

She held up her hands. “I know.”

An announcement blared over the intercom.

“You ready to go?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said, nodding.

I followed her to her car, watching her hair bounce off her shoulders. I didn’t notice until then just how much my hair looked like hers—same color, except for her graying roots, and poker straight.

We sat in the beat-up two-door, and she automatically rolled down the windows.

“Sorry, air conditioning isn’t working.”

“It’s fine,” I said, resting my arm on the opened area. After spending the night inhaling the hospital’s recycled air, I needed the wind in my face.

“You can turn on the radio if you want,” she said, maneuvering the car around the parking garage.

“I’m fine without it.” I kept my eyes focused on the road. My teeth were clenched, and I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was a habit I’d developed when I was little.

“I’m not at the shelter anymore,” she said. “I’ve been living in the transitional housing program for the last month now, even have a job.”

“So, what’s that supposed to mean?” I said.

She shrugged. “Just thought you ought to know. In case you and your sister wanted to come see me. It’s not anything like Safe Haven. I have my own apartment, and there’s even a room for—”

“Not going to happen,” I said.

The tension had gotten so thick I could feel it press against my chest.

“I know you think you’re doing what’s best for Kasey. But I’m her mother, Maeve.”

I let out a half-snort, half laugh. “Since when?”

“I know how you feel,” Mom said, “but it’s different with Kasey. Please don’t keep her from me.”

I shook my head and bit at my cuticles. “I’ve been around long enough to know that I should have never let her go to that house with you.”

“I want to take care of her, Maeve.”

“And how are you going to do that, huh? Do you have any idea what one of her prescriptions costs? Or how many trips to the E.R. I’ve had to make with her in the last year alone?”

Mom focused on the road. “I know what you’ve done for her. But how about giving me a chance…please.”

“I don’t want to talk about this right now.”

She was clueless, just as she’d always been.

“I could help—”

“I don’t need your help,” I said.

We rode in silence for a while, and I wondered how long it would last.

“So, Aunt Meg told me it was a car accident,” Mom said.

Not as long as I’d hoped.

“Yeah, not with my car, though, so there’s some good news.”

From my peripheral, I could see her stealing glances my way. “Who was driving?”

“A friend.”

“They didn’t come with you to the hospital?”

“Nope.”

I guess she sensed my irritation because the questioning paused. I sunk further into the cloth seat and closed my still swollen eyes.

“Is that the best you could come up with?” she asked.

My eyes broke open.

“What?” I said, finally giving her the attention she wanted.

“You know, I used to give everyone the I-tripped-and-fell-on-the-doorknob spiel.” She shook her head. “Nobody bought that, either.”

“There’s nothing to buy. I got into an accident.”

“Okay,” she said.

I could tell by her incredulous tone that she wasn’t convinced.

“I heard about Jacob,” she said.

“What about him?”

“That you aren’t speaking to one another.”

I rested my head in my hand. “So?”

“So, what happened? I was sure he’d be the one to…”

“To do what?” I said with an edge to my voice.

A piece of hair whipped in her face, and she pulled it back. “To change your mind about love.”

I scoffed. “My mind doesn’t need changing.”

She ignored my attitude. “I was in love when I was your age.” She readjusted her hands on the steering wheel. “I still think about it every now and then. What my life would have been like if we’d stayed together.”

“I’m sure it would have been fabulous,” I muttered.

“Maybe,” she said without flinching. “But it’s not what I chose. His family was from the east side of town. You know, the area with all the nice houses?”

I knew what she was talking about but didn’t acknowledge it.

“Anyway, my mother had convinced me that there was no way it was going to work out between a rich boy from the ritzy side of town and a poor girl from the farm.”

I sat up a little straighter in my seat. She never talked about my grandmother. Even Aunt Meg barely mentioned her.

“And you know what?” She didn’t wait for me to answer. “I believed her. A few months after we broke up, I met your daddy.”

“What’d she say about him?” I wanted to keep this conversation one-sided, but the curiosity was eating away at me.

Mom sneered. “That he was just what I deserved. Of course, he hadn’t shown his true colors yet. But your aunt could see right through him. They never did get along.”

The heat inside the car was suffocating, despite the funnel of wind from the open windows. The pain meds were wearing off, and the combination of that plus my mother’s sudden urge to story-tell was fueling my aggravation.

“What’s your point?” I snapped.

“My point is…real love doesn’t come around too often, so when it does, you better hold on to it as tight and as long as you can.”

“It’s too late for that.” I didn’t mean to say the words out loud.

“It’s never too late, Maeve. We all make mistakes. Doesn’t mean we have to suffer with them our whole lives. Look at you and me. After all these years, after everything you’ve been through, we’re sitting here together. I’m so happy for that.”

“It’s not the same thing.”

“Maybe not. But I want more for you than my mom did for me. I know it’s probably hard for you to understand that after what had happened when you were little. But don’t you ever think, even for a minute, that you don’t