That sounded like Thomas was still a wide-open chasm instead of a scar that had healed over with time. Her momma had always said relationships took a lot of loving and a lot of understanding to work through, but her momma had married a man who had been cruel and all the understanding in the world hadn't made him better. "Gus is five," she pointed out over the lip of her coffee, her hands seared at the palms by the china. "It's easy to get along with five. It's when they grow up you have to put the work in."
But she didn't think Thomas had tried - he hadn't with her sister, and he hadn't with Luke, and maybe there was some saving grace in even starting with his grandson, but kids didn't let things go and starting wasn't follow-through. "I think she's her own person. She and Amanda, they're strong-headed. Maybe my mom had something in her, but I've never seen it." It might have been genetic. Maybe it was just kids with enough space to grow.