Free Unbreakable by Blayne Cooper Page A

pulled her mother into a tight embrace. "Thanks, Mom," she whispered, hearing a note of hoarseness in her own voice.
    Agnes closed her eyes. "Even if we disagree or I don't understand your choices, I love you no matter what. I know I hurt you, but I want things to be better between us. I'm so sorry, Nina." She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, struggling to express herself and still maintain her composure. "Moms make mistakes, too," she finally murmured. "You know that, right?"
    Silently, Nina nodded. She did know that. One of the many blessings of her becoming a parent herself was the realization that, as impossible at it was to really believe, parents were just people, too, full of imperfections and good and bad choices waiting to be made. "Good night, Mom."
    On her way to the door, Agnes tossed her paper napkin into the trash and caught sight of a white card and envelope that had been delivered earlier in the day. "What did that turn out to be?" She carefully extracted the crumpled card from the trash, shaking off several sticky spaghetti noodles as she examined it.
    "Hey!" Despite, or perhaps because of, the emotional moment they'd just shared, Nina's temper flared. She marched across the room and stood toe-to-toe with her mother. "I think I'm entitled to a little privacy."
    Agnes's eyes widened and she had the good manners to look embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean–"
    "No, no." Nina winced. "It's okay." She groaned inwardly, knowing she'd overreacted. "It's nothing secret. I apologize for being such a bitch. I don't know what's wrong with me today."
    Agnes picked up her purse from the kitchen counter and adjusted the strap on her shoulder. "You're never a..." she lowered her voice, her lips thinning in disgust, "the ‘b' word."
    Nina couldn't help but laugh and wonder how well her mother really knew her after all. "Aww, Mom, I wish that were true."
    "You're not yourself today," Agnes allowed thoughtfully, suspecting that whatever was bothering Nina was contained on the mysterious white card. She waited for a moment, hoping that Nina would tell her what was wrong and forcing herself not to read what was in her hand.
    The younger woman was well aware of her mother's struggle and she didn't make her wait long. "The card is an invitation from an old… a former friend. You probably remember her. Gwen Hopkins? She wants me and some other girls from Hazelwood to get together for a long weekend next month." Nina shook her head, her gaze going a little unfocused. "She's crazy," she whispered, not realizing she'd spoken the words out loud.
    "I could come here and watch Robbie so that you could go." An enormous smile exploded onto Agnes's cheeks. "I'd love to, in fact. You don't start work until early November."
    "Mom, please…."
    "Are all the girls from that club of yours going to be there?"
    "Mmm," she hummed softly. That was the real question. Would they all show up? "I doubt it."
    "Still, how sweet of Gwen." Agnes nodded her approval. "She always did have good manners, not that those overbearing parents of hers didn't pound them into her." After a bit of one-handed searching, she extracted her keys from her purse. "It would be wonderful for you to have some friends here your own age."
    "It would." Nina swallowed thickly and then kicked herself for feeling the mixture of anxiety and anticipation that flooded her belly at the thought of the Mayflower Club reuniting, but mostly at the thought of laying eyes on Jacie again. "But it doesn't matter, because I'm not going."
    Agnes's thin eyebrows lifted. "Why ever not? These are your friends." Confusedly, she shook her head. "You were inseparable as children. Especially you and that Jacie Ann."
    A flash of pain swept across Nina's expressive face at the mention of her friend's name, but Agnes plowed ahead, oblivious. "At one point your father and I considered clearing out your bedroom and adding another bed. You had so many sleepovers I felt a little guilty about