“You’re sure you don’t need a receipt?” the truck driver asked as he pulled the rear door down with a bang.

“No. I’m good.” I waved him off.

“Okay, well, thanks. I’m sure somebody will make great use of it.”

I smiled and nodded as he got in the front and pulled out of the driveway, my dining table and chairs nestled in the back of his donation truck.

“Well, buddy, there goes your chew toy,” I told Reggie, who sat at my side and tilted his head up at me as if to say, “What the hell, man?!”

I inhaled deeply, unbothered by the sticky summer air. I felt utterly refreshed. The table was the last of the items on my list of changes. Jenna’s summer to-do list was complete. And just in time. The girls were due back in the morning. I couldn’t wait to hug on them and drive them batty with questions.

The last week had been filled with all the small tasks I’d been putting off, as well as more work for school and my daily walks with Reggie. He and I had been working on some obedience training as well, so hopefully his days of random destruction were at an end.

I’d also attended yet another school meeting—why I put myself through this during my vacation was beyond me—and was distressed to discover some of the teachers talking shit about Valley. But I’d finally seen David’s car in the driveway today, so I was confident things would turn out fine for her. She was made of strong stuff.

Jill had been eerily silent on the subject of my love life, which was both a blessing and a cause for suspicion. I’d finally womaned up and called Riya to apologize, and even met up with her and one of the other teachers from school at Bistro Eleven one night. My sister waited on us and spoiled us rotten, not that we complained.

When I found myself needing distraction, there was always a closet to be cleaned out or a bathtub to scrub. But no matter how busy I tried to keep myself, I was lonely. The house was just too quiet, something I was sure to miss about an hour after the girls came home, but I felt it nonetheless.

And Jill wasn’t the only one who’d respected my wishes on the Sam front. The man himself hadn’t called or texted either—apart from a brief response to my text assuring him I received my monthly proof I wasn’t pregnant. Not a peep. By the fourth day, I finally had to admit to myself that I missed him—which was insane given that I’d known my dental hygienist longer. But there it was. I missed his flirty texts, his overbearing protectiveness, his weird yet endearing way of talking. His sexy bod. His touch. Okay, I missed the sex, even though we’d only actually done the deed a handful of times. It was like my body woke up and was not at all ready to go back to sleep.

But I didn’t know what to do with those feelings, so I did what any sane person in a crisis of confusion does—I pretended it didn’t exist and got busy doing other shit so I wouldn’t have to think about it.

As predicted, my vibrator got a workout, but that seemed to have the opposite effect than intended. It made me think of Sam, when he was the last subject I wanted on my mind. Orgasms for one were turning out to be hollow. Dammit. If the man had ruined orgasms for me, I was going to have to throw myself in front of a train.

Excited for the girls to come home, I tucked myself in bed early with my iPad and looked at dining room furniture until my eyelids grew heavy and I drifted off. My time was up. My Mommycation was over. My last thought before sleep claimed me was that I was starting to feel ready. But the notion lay unexamined as darkness swept it away.

* * *

“Just what the hell is this?” Mike ground out by my ear. His voice was hard and his posture stiff.

I reared back and turned to look at him. Damn, if he didn’t loosen that jaw he was going to lose a few teeth. “What the hell is what?” I asked in a low voice.

The girls were running in circles on the front porch like crazy people, taking turns on the porch swing the painters had hung for me on their last day. Thankfully, they were out of earshot.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Look at the house!” He gestured angrily.

“I am looking at the house. It looks fucking awesome.”

His lip curled at my use of the expletive. I’d almost forgotten how unseemly he found it for women to cuss. That should have been my first clue, now that I thought about it.

“It looks ridiculous.”

My nose wrinkled. “No, it looks like happy people live here. Not miserable people—or corpses.”

“What in God’s name has come over you, Jenna? You’ve never been the impulsive type. It’s one of your better qualities.” He sounded both disgusted and genuinely perplexed.

“Oh well. I guess it’s good that we’re not together anymore, because I’m really beginning to like spontaneity.” I put a finger to my chin in feigned thought. “In fact, I’m suddenly feeling a crazy urge to buy the girls a pig. You don’t mind time-sharing little Wilbur, do you?”

Mike let out a long-suffering sigh. “Very funny.”

“I hate to be the one to remind you—scratch that, I actually kind of enjoy it—but I got the house in the divorce settlement.”

“And my money still pays for the mortgage.”

“No, our money pays for the mortgage. I do work, as you’re well aware. And I can do whatever I want with my house. Your opinion is neither needed nor wanted, to be honest.”

“First the impulsiveness and now the cussing and the attitude. Christ, I shudder to think what other habits you’ve picked up while Kristen and I had the girls.”

I just smiled. Oh, if he only knew.

He waved his hands as if completely finished with me.

“I know the girls will want to say goodbye.” It was time for Mike to go. I didn’t need his negativity, today of all days. “Kate and Eileen! Come give your dad a hug goodbye!”

They jumped off the porch to do as I asked, but the hugs were fleeting and they barely said a word before bounding back to the porch, Reggie on their heels.

My ex took one last look at the house, shook his head, and left. What an ass.

I mentally shook off the funk he left in his wake. “Okay, my little hummingbirds, tell me all about your vacation!”

* * *

“I just realized what this color reminds me of!” Eileen exclaimed midway through her bite of apple. “Emerald ore. It’s totally an emerald kitchen.”

“Yeah,” agreed Kate, her eyes taking in the new wall color. “And the new dish towels and stuff—they’re like other gems and ore. That one’s redstone.” She pointed to a towel in mixed shades of red. “And those are diamond and gold ingot!” Her finger indicated two other towels.

“You totally missed us, Mom. You made a Minecraft kitchen.” Eileen grinned.

“It’s not that bright,” I protested, turning to look at the room again and reluctantly recalling Sam’s similar observation. Okay, well, maybe it was a tiny bit bright.

“It’s really pretty, Mom,” said Kate. “And the outside makes it look like a brand-new house.”

“So, it’s a good surprise?”

“Definitely,” they answered in unison, attacking their sandwiches as if they hadn’t eaten in weeks.

“Phew.” I ran a hand over my forehead. “Cuz I was not looking forward to spending the rest of the summer on a ladder trying to change the color back.”

“No way. It looked like poo before.”

“Eileen! Please, we’re eating,” I lightly scolded.

“Just sayin’.” She shrugged.

Secretly, I had to agree with her, but I would have chosen a different word. Maybe.

“So, what was your favorite part of your whirlwind vacay?” I took a bite of my own sandwich, awaiting the answers.

Kate spoke first. “Definitely the dolphins.”

“That was pretty cool,” Eileen agreed.

“Sounds cool. I’m a bit jealous, I have to say.”

“We should totally go back with you sometime. Not that we didn’t have fun with Dad and Kristen, but it would be even more fun with you.”

My sweet Kate. I couldn’t help the pang of joy in my chest at those words. It felt good to be missed.

Eileen cut in. “Well, at least we had fun with Kristen.” Her voice was a bit … snarky. Huh?

Shit. What did that mean? I’d talked to them daily, and they’d never complained about Mike.

“Eileen.” Kate admonished.

“What are you not telling me?” I set my sandwich down and gave them both my best mom look.

Kate rolled her eyes. “Dad said not to tell—that you’d overreact.”

I hadn’t even heard the news yet and I was ready to kill Mike. “You know we don’t keep secrets about important things. You can tell me. I won’t be mad.” At least not at them.

Eileen was only too happy to share. “The second day we were at the beach, Dad had to leave and go back home for work. We spent the rest of the beach trip with just Kristen.”

Oh. My. God. The man has his girls for a month and can’t even take one day of vacation? What was the point?!

“But Kristen was great. Don’t worry,” Kate reassured.

I honestly had no problem with Kristen, and I was happy she’d been there so the girls’ big beach trip hadn’t been ruined. But I had no idea how she put up with Mike’s behavior. God, I almost felt bad for her.

“Did your dad say why he had to go back to work?” I forced my voice to stay level.

“I dunno. We heard Kristen and him arguing about it, but neither one of them said.” Eileen tucked back into her PB & J.

“But surely he wasn’t working the entire month you were there?” Please, Mike. Show them they’re worth a day off.

“No. He was home on the weekends—mostly. He took us to the fair,” Kate offered.

I guess that was something. I sighed and grasped onto what semblance of calm I could manage while Eileen got up to refill her milk. Kate munched on her sandwich, and I forced a smile her way.

“Uh, Mom?” Eileen’s tone was hesitant.

“Yeah, sweetie?” Please don’t let this be more difficult news.

“Where’s the dining room furniture?”

Oops. That snapped me out of it for sure. I clapped my hands together, pretending I hadn’t heard her. “Well, I sure did miss you guys and I’m so happy you’re home. We’re going to have a great rest of the summer!”

Later that evening, when the girls were settled in their bedroom, I kept turning the situation over in my head. I couldn’t decide whether to confront Mike about it or not. The fact that he’d told them to keep something from me was reason enough to confront him, but what good would it do? If he didn’t want to make time for his children, nothing I could say would force him to do it. If anything, it may have the opposite effect.

At least someone in that house had their priorities straight. And it wasn’t as if Kristen didn’t have a job too. She did contract work from a home office, but she’d taken vacation time to go to the beach with the girls when their own father couldn’t be bothered. And she’d adjusted her schedule for the entire month so she could take them to the pool and do all the activities the girls had shared with me over the phone. She must really love Mike—either that, or she was biding her time before taking her half of the life insurance policy. Have at it, girlfriend!

I grabbed the TV remote and shook my head, unable to comprehend the idea of choosing work over my kids. Mike’s drive to succeed had been a quality I’d admired in the beginning. Had I known what it could lead to, I wouldn’t have been so impressed.

I got up to grab some water from the kitchen, still completely distracted by thoughts of the dreaded ex. That was why it didn’t register right away that a voice I recognized was coming from the TV. Water forgotten, I scurried my ass back to the living room to see Sam on my TV screen.

He looked good. No, he looked great. But what the hell was he doing on TV? Stop gawking and pay attention, Jenna!

“The suspect fled, but officers apprehended him several blocks from here.” His deep voice was all business, his jaw firm as he spoke into an extended microphone. The camera pulled out to a wide shot, revealing Emberly freaking Peters holding the microphone!

Looking flawless, as usual, in a smart red blouse, she continued to question Sam. “Officer Martinez, do the police have any idea of the suspect’s motives at this point?”

A muscle ticked in Sam’s jaw and I couldn’t tell if it was because of the question or because of the person asking it. I stepped closer to the TV, as if seeing every pore in Sam’s face would lend an answer.

“Not at this time,” Sam said. “If you’ll excuse me,” he finished abruptly and nodded at the camera before stepping off-screen.

Emberly gathered herself quickly, but I didn’t miss the brief surprise in her face at the swift dismissal. She turned to the camera to finish her report, and I quickly flipped to another channel. A few clicks later and I was on Channel 12 where their reporter was covering the same story. From what I could tell, it was a shooting in a relatively affluent neighborhood to the north, right on the edge of Sam’s beat. And while that was far from good news, it wasn’t where my mind was focused at the moment.

There! In the background of the shot, Sam was conferring with another officer. I drank in the sight of him, not caring what that said about me. Then a flash of red entered from the left side of the screen. Emberly’s unmistakable head of auburn hair leaned in to speak in Sam’s ear. His head swung her way and even through the screen, I could see his eyes narrow. Whoa. He was decidedly unhappy. Apparently unconcerned with her own health and safety, Emberly put a hand on Sam’s bicep and leaned in again. He took a step back and gave a shake of his head. Then he disappeared again. I continued to flip channels but couldn’t find my Officer Hottie anywhere.

I flopped back onto the couch and switched the TV off. Then, before I could think about it, I picked up my phone and opened Sam’s contact.

Me: I saw you on the news. Hope everything is okay.

I pressed send and dropped the phone to the cushion beside me. I knew he couldn’t answer now and probably didn’t even have his phone on him. But my knee bounced in nervous anticipation nonetheless.

Sleep was elusive, and I chalked it up to getting too much rest the night before. I finally drifted into a fitful sleep around two.