Chapter 1

For the five years since my daughter-in-law married into this family, they've spent every holiday at her parents' place, the three of them, leaving me here alone.

This year she said we'd celebrate Thanksgiving at home, so I went straight to work slaughtering a hog and baking holiday pies by hand.

But on Thanksgiving Day itself, she had a car haul off every last pie and all the pork, and said with a smug look on her face:

"I'm taking it all to my parents' as a gift. Saying we'd do Thanksgiving here was just me messing with you!"

"Thanksgiving is about family being together, so of course we have to spend it with our own family."

Heartsick, I looked at my son.

"I'm your family too."

Before he could get a word out, my daughter-in-law snapped:

"A mother-in-law needs to know her place!"

"Any mother-in-law with sense just puts in the money and the work and keeps her mouth shut!"

"And she certainly doesn't get it in her head to compete with her daughter-in-law's own mother!"

I let out a cold, bitter laugh.

Five years I spent raising their child, doing the laundry, cooking the meals, putting in the money and the work.

Every holiday they went to her parents'. Every trip they took, they brought her family along.

And my place in that house was nothing but the unpaid help.

If my whole heart couldn't warm this family, then I'd find a new one.

I pulled out my phone and typed back a reply:

"Wallace Simmons, that thing you brought up last time, about getting married. My answer is yes."

1

I've known Wallace eight years, and he's wanted to marry me for a long time.

But for the sake of my son's little family, I never agreed.

All these years, he stayed by my side as a friend.

From now on, I won't be putting anyone else first.

My son, Tyler Henson, suddenly tugged at my arm, working his eyebrows, trying to signal me something.

I wasn't in the mood to read whatever was in his eyes.

Virginia James, my daughter-in-law, couldn't hold it in and said with an edge in her voice:

"You've lived this long and someone still has to teach you how the world works!"

I didn't want to deal with her. I turned and started back toward the house.

That set Virginia off. She stamped her foot at Tyler:

"What is your mother playing at!"

"It's Thanksgiving and she won't put out a single cent!"

"What mother-in-law doesn't hand over a little money for her in-laws' holiday!"

"This means she doesn't respect me, and she doesn't respect my family either."

Tyler tugged my arm and lowered his voice:

"Mom, just give her two thousand for the sake of it."

I looked at the son I'd raised through so much hardship, and the cold in my chest turned into a bitter smile.

"For the sake of what?"

"When did the two of you ever respect me?"

Tyler hadn't expected me to embarrass him.

He was terrified Virginia would get angry and fight with me.

He frowned and dropped his voice:

"Mom, what has gotten into you today!"

"It's a holiday. Don't make the two of us fight over something this small!"

I gave a cold snort. The words to scold him were already on my lips when my next-door neighbor, Brent Lawrence, cut in:

"Tyler's mom, here's that chicken you bought from us. I got it all cleaned and ready for you!"

Virginia likes chicken. After she said we'd be spending Thanksgiving at the old place this year,

I'd messaged the neighbor ahead of time and bought one of his free-range chickens.

Only now did I realize my whole heart might as well have been thrown to the dogs.

I took the dressed free-range chicken and thanked him:

"Sorry for the trouble, Brent."

Brent said cheerfully to Virginia:

"Virginia, you're a lucky one. Your mother-in-law told me you love chicken, so she had me pick out the best bird I had for her."

"All so she could cook it up for you on Thanksgiving."

Virginia didn't care for it in the slightest. She curled her lip, gave a mocking little smile, and said nothing.

After Brent left, I noticed that Tyler had taken advantage of my distraction.

He'd slipped my phone out of my apron pocket and, behind my back, transferred two thousand dollars to Virginia.

Then he said to Virginia:

"Mom already sent you two thousand. We'd better hurry over to your mother's, it's getting late."

Only then did Virginia's face lose some of its sourness.

As they left, she took the chicken I'd bought from Brent too, saying it was for her own mother.