August: Calendar Girl Book 8 by Audrey Carlan

out women that could be his new mommy. Unfortunately, we couldn’t agree on the right woman before his dad and my mommy found us. She was crying, and when she got down on one knee, she shook me and screamed that we were supposed to stay at the playground. The man got down at eye level with the boy, put both hands on his shoulders, and scolded him, but the boy didn’t cry. He apologized, and his dad told him how scared he was and hugged him tight. My mom didn’t hug me at all. The boy looked at me with sadness in his eyes over his dad’s shoulder, mouthing, “sorry.” I waved and watched as the man grabbed Mom’s hand, pulled her close, and kissed her.
    The boy’s dad kept kissing Mommy until she shoved him away and told him to stop. He asked her to come with him, to bring me and run away, leave this life and go with him. Right then, my pops walked up, showing Mom a bucketful of chips. He lifted me up, spun me around, and hugged me hard, the way he always did. My pops gave the best hugs. Then he showed Mom the bucket and pulled her into his side, saying we were going to a steak dinner. She smiled and turned away from the boy and the man as if she’d never even known them.
    I watched as the man’s shoulders slumped and his head hung forward. He put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and the boy waved goodbye to me.
    I woke with a start, the dream still so vivid it was as if I could hear the ping and trill of the casino all around the room, see the slot machines and the bright lights blinking on and off. Closing my eyes, I slumped back down under the duvet, flattened my pillow, and turned it over to the cold side. Usually, I could control my dreams enough that I could go back to them or think about what I wanted to and dream of that. This time when I closed my eyes, I went head first into another memory.
    Mom and Dad were fighting again. Maddy was with Aunt Millie back at the house. It was her fourth birthday, and we were picking up her present. Pops wanted to visit Mom at work and make sure she was going to be home in time for the party. Mom didn’t think it was fair that she had to cut work short to celebrate a four-year-old’s birthday. Said that Maddy would never remember it anyway, so what did it matter?
    That’s when a man bumped into the two of them on the street. A teenager stood next to him and caught Mom around the waist. She turned, ready to yell at the intruder even though they were being helpful. I knew instantly it was the boy from the past only much older. The father looked unchanged. He even wore a big cowboy hat like he’d worn that day a few years before. When Mom saw his face, she turned white as a ghost and backed into Pops. He caught her this time.
    “Meryl?” the man said to my mom, whose hands shook at her side. “My God, it’s been years. Uh, this is, this…”
    “Maxwell.” Her voice broke as she said the young teen’s name.
    Max. That’s right. His name was Max. Only I’d forgotten that before. The teen tipped his own cowboy hat and responded, “Ma’am,” before shoving his hands into his jeans pockets. I could still see the blond curls of his hair peeking out from beneath his wide black hat. Then he glanced at me. Those pale green eyes sparkled with kindness as he tipped his hat toward me. “Howdy, little miss,” he said, and I smiled. I’d wondered if he remembered me from before, but I doubted it.
    “Who’s this?” Pops asked Mom.
    “Uh, this is an old friend. Jackson Cunningham and his son…Maxwell.” It was as if her voice cracked under the sheer pressure of having to say the boy’s name. Pops held out his hand and introduced himself. Jackson’s blue eyes never left my mom’s. Hers never left Max’s. There was something there within her gaze, a secret hidden so deep, I knew the truth would break us all if it came out into the light of day.
    The five of us stood there awkwardly, Jackson staring blatantly while Mom seemed to shrivel into herself. Pops finally