Second Chances in New Port Stephen - Chapter 72

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Second Chances in New Port Stephen - Chapter 72

Nick grimaced. He knew that Kay had gotten worse over the last few years, but he hadn’t
realized how bad it had gotten. Or how much it was weighing on Laurie. “I know you’ve put up
with a lot. But Arizona? That’s so… far.”
She wiped at her face and lifted her head with a sigh. “I don’t want Zoe to grow up around her. I
don’t want to be around her. This job, it’s a good opportunity, and the schools there are nice,
my brother and his wife would be nearby—”
“I thought you said it was just an idea.” Nick crossed his arms over his chest, knowing it came off
as a defensive gesture but not really caring. He was feeling defensive.
Laurie gestured helplessly. “I did some cursory research, okay? I wasn’t going to come to you
with zero facts!”
“We’re supposed to be a team,” Nick said. He saw a shadow pass by the sliding glass door out of
the corner of his eye: Kay walking by on her way to the kitchen. Nick moved so that his back was
to the glass and Laurie was blocked from view. “I don’t like being left out of something as big as
this,” he said in a low whisper to her. “This is the kind of thing we’re supposed to talk through
together.”
Laurie closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them, all while Nick was left wondering
what kind of therapeutic affirmations she was repeating to herself. “Look, maybe I should have
gone about this differently. I acknowledge that,” she said, “but are we really going to spend the
rest of Christmas out here on the back porch arguing? Because that is exactly what would bring
my mother the most joy, and I don’t want to give her the satisfaction.”
Frustration swamped Nick, hot and humid. He knew Kay was being manipulative, but at the
same time, he had a right to be angry. He hated the idea of Zoe being taken far away, of not
seeing her from one end of the week to the next. The mere thought of it made him feel like
someone had opened his chest with a crowbar and rearranged everything inside.

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“I don’t know if I can slap on a smile just to spite Kay,” Nick said. “How would you feel if I told
you I was thinking of taking Zoe and moving three time zones away?”