I Paid His Down Payment, But My Son Thanked His Stepmom Instead Chapter 07

He was about to say something else when his phone rang.

Tamsin’s name lit up the screen.

He glanced at me before answering.

Her sobs came through in broken bursts. The room was so small I could hear every word.

“Rourke, did you go see your mom?”

“Did she say something to you again? My chest hurts so bad. Your dad’s out of town, and I’m all

alone.”

Rourke stood frozen, face turning pale.

He looked at me, then at the door.

“Tamsin, just calm down. I’ll be right there.”

After hanging up, he gently placed the silver baby bracelet back in its box.

“Mom, I need to go check on her. I’ll come back first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Wait for me.”

The door shut behind him. Junie was so angry that she stamped her foot.

“He just left you here!”

I didn’t respond. I got up and took an old bank statement out of the desk drawer.

The statement was old, its edges frayed.

The name on the account was Rourke Callahan.

The first entry was from the winter sixteen years ago. A deposit of two hundred thousand dollars.

That was the money my mother’s life had bought. I hadn’t touched a cent.

The last entry was from three months ago.

A withdrawal of two hundred thousand dollars.

That was the week I sold the house, scraped together eight hundred sixty thousand, and sent it all to

him.

had no idea.

That two hundred thousand dollars was the very money he’d accused me of taking in court when he

was twelve.

Rourke had said he’d be back first thing in the morning.

I couldn’t sleep past six.

Junie brought me oatmeal and two hard-boiled eggs and sat down across from me.

“Ms. Marchetti, don’t wait for him. Eat something.”

Eight. Nine. Ten.

Every time footsteps sounded in the hallway, Junie leaned out to look.

Around noon, I saw Rourke’s post.

A photo of a hospital hallway, captioned: [Don’t be afraid, Mom. I’m here.]

Junie leaned over to look, then slapped my phone down on the table.

“Does he even know who his real mother is?”

I quietly ate my oatmeal, which had gone cold.

That afternoon, Barrett showed up.

I hadn’t seen him in sixteen years. He’d gotten heavier, and half his hair was gray.

He carried a fruit basket in one hand and a check in the other.

Standing in the doorway, he surveyed my tiny room and frowned.

“How can you live in a place like this?”

I didn’t offer him a seat. He pulled one over and sat down anyway.

“Tamsin had some heart trouble last night. She’s still in the hospital.”

“Rourke stayed with her all night.”

“Delphine, I came to talk to you about something.”

He slid the check across the table toward me.

“Fifty thousand. Take it for now.”

“Rourke just got married. They’re just starting out. Don’t drag up the past and make things Mard for the family.”

The family. That was exactly what the MC had said at the wedding.

I looked at the check and asked him, “Do you know about the IOU for eight hundred thousand?”

Barrett paused, then waved it off.

“Tamsin only wants what’s best for Rourke.”

“Rourke’s always been careless with money. An IOU hanging over his head will teach him to spend less.”

“Besides, Tamsin never had children of her own.” His voice softened. “She found out she couldn’t have kids when she was our nanny.”

“Rourke is her whole world.”

“You had him for twelve years. Can’t you just let her have this?”

I froze.

Outside, the wind shook a few blossoms off the crepe myrtle. They drifted onto the windowsill.

So that was it.