#Tuesdayteaser

Peggy Jaeger

May 28

Love Match has been out for a week now and the reviews are so wonderful I thought I'd give you another insight into the storyline.

Cody's divorce hit him hard because he thought, erroneously, everything was fine with his marriage. He had no idea what was really going on with his wife, Cassidy. Once she left him, his entire life changed and with it, he lost some of his confidence and became a bit of a cynic. In this scene, he is talking with his mom and you can tell she is the person he can reveal his true self to without fear or worry.

"Shit. I knew something happened. Layla pulled a complete one-eighty by the time she came home."

Sally's eyebrow lifted. "And Cass was, obviously, the cause. Layla believes what she said."

"How could she?" he cried. "It's not true. I never sle—" he stopped short. It was one thing for your mother to suspect you had sex, quite another to talk about it, openly.

Sally sat next to him at the table and slid a hand on top of his fisted one. "I know you, Cody Angus Fonda. You'd never sleep with a woman just to gain an advantage. It's not you. It's simply not. Your head, not to mention your heart, would never let you do something so wrong."

The tips of his ears felt like they were on fire.

"Apparently Layla doesn't share your high opinion of me."

Jane laid her head down on his lap, her eyes tracking his face. Absently, he petted her.

"Did you ever tell her you were interested in buying the house?" Sally asked.

After another gulp of coffee, Cody shook his head. "I kept meaning to. I should have from the very beginning. I know that." He dragged a hand through his hair. "But after working on the house, spending time with her and then, well." His mother didn't need details about their sleeping together. "I was more focused on getting her to stay. I thought she was going to, I really did. But yesterday," he shook his head, "she told me she's considering leaving. That the house is too big for one person. Too much upkeep."

"Did you tell her you wanted to buy it, then?"

"No."

Sally tilted her head and regarded him for a long while with that all-knowing look inherent in every mother he'd ever known. She was so focused on him, in fact, he started to fidget.

"What?"

"You are one of the smartest men I have ever known, and every day I'm thankful you're my son."

"Okay, there's a but screaming in that sentence, loud, clear, and terrifying."

Sally reached over and ticked him on the head.

"Hey! OW!"

"Respect your mother, Cody."

He shook his head, closed his eyes and mumbled something that he knew she couldn't hear. Then, "What were you going to say?"

She took a breath. "For someone so smart you can be dense at times. Did it ever occur to you that Layla was hurt by what Cassidy said not because of the words but because of the truth that you didn't tell her, up front, you wanted the house? I've got a feeling trust is hard for Layla, with her mother being the way she is, and everything that happened with the loser fiancé. How do you think she must have felt when Cassidy screamed the only reason you were with Layla was because you wanted her house when you never mentioned a thing to her."

"I would have hoped she'd ask me directly, not just assume Cass was right. I thought she knew me better than that."

Sally's phone chimed just then and she tugged it out of her purse.

"Grandma," she told him. "Hey, Ma. What's up?"

Cody tuned her out, considering what she'd told him, instead. How many times had he berated himself for not telling Layla his feelings about the house? How many excuses had he given himself why he hadn't shared his desire to buy it, fix it, flip it? And now look; his silence on the subject had caused her to pull away from him just when things were heating up between them. And now she was considering leaving town.

What a mess.

He had to figure out a way to get her to understand what he'd done, why he'd been silent, and get her to forgive him.

He needed to come clean, but how? She wasn't exactly speaking to him and the texts had been so chilly his hand had gotten cold holding his phone when he read them. He supposed he could drive over to her house, take the chance she'd be home and – even more of a chance – she'd let him in.

Cody closed his eyes after finishing his coffee.

"Okay, well, wait until you hear this." Sally disconnected the call. "It wasn't only Cassidy who told Layla about you wanting the house. Gran did, too."

"When?"

"She must have driven over to the Arms right after seeing Cass yesterday. Effie and mom were together, and she asked Effie if you'd ever approached her about selling the house."

"I never have."

Nodding, Sally said, "That's what she told Layla. But then Gran told her about the times you mentioned how much you'd like the house and wished you could buy it so you could fix it and resell it for a profit."

"Oh, Jesus." He swiped his hands through his hair again. "No wonder she thinks I'm such a douchebag—"

"Language, young man."

Cody's face heated like he'd placed it in a hot oven. At forty years old he shouldn't feel chastised like a toddler when his mother scolded him.

"This is a nightmare."

He crossed his arms over his chest, shook his head, and cast his eyes downward.

After a few moments, Sally cleared her throat. "Can I ask you a question?"

He shrugged.

"Promise you won't brush me off, but really answer it? Truthfully?"

"Okay, now I'm getting scared."

Sally shifted and ran her hand across his forearm. "I know you better than you think I do, son. I gave birth to you, wiped your tears when you skinned your knees, watched you with pride when your sisters came along and you vowed to be their protectors. It's been a pleasure and an honor to witness you grow into the amazing man you are today."

"Still hearing that but."

She squeezed his arm, then patted it, a small smile tugging at the corner so of her mouth. "I remember the day you told me and your dad you were gonna marry Cassidy. Even though we knew you were too young and had reservations about her, we never said anything, just supported you, loved you, and welcomed her into our family."

Touched, Cody placed his own hand over the one she still had across his arm.

"I know, mom. And I love you both for it."

"That's what family is for."

"So what's your question?"

Her eyes, twins to his own in color and shape, ping-ponged between his. She tugged her lips inward and pressed down on them, then, after releasing them again, asked, "You're in love with Layla, aren't you?"

The full weight of emotions seeped through his voice when he responded, "More than I ever thought I could love a woman again."

"Oh, baby." Sally shifted and pulled him into a hug.

All the sadness, rejection, even the feelings of loss and disappointment he'd been holding in for over three years, pretending didn't exist, leached from deep down in his soul. He buried his face in her neck as she simply held and rocked him like she had when he was a boy.

"I didn't think I'd ever feel this way again," he said against her shoulder. "But somehow, somewhere along the way, she kinda…snuck in."

"That's how love works," Sally said. "When you least expect to find it, wham, there it is."