But that’s what Sofia was doing when she opened the door—smiling. She had a huge smile on her face as she embraced her daughter.
“Mama, I missed you so much.”
Sofia turned to him, and he was shocked to see tears in her eyes. Then Sofia collected him in a hug. Somehow it happened exactly like that despite her being shorter and smaller—he found himself embraced and even squished by her. After a beat of surprise, he hugged her back. Erin looked at them with tears in her brown eyes—so like her mother’s—and he knew this was how they both looked when they were happy.
His voice was surprisingly thick when he said, “It’s good to see you, Mrs. Rodriguez.”
/> In his life he’d been a son and a boyfriend and a fiancé. But he had never been hugged, only hugged, until Erin. And her mother. He supposed this is what family felt like.
“You don’t know how much I worried about Erin,” she said. “She is so strong, too strong. I worried she wouldn’t let anyone in.”
It felt like she was giving him her blessing, and it was a gift. He was grateful when she didn’t make him respond, just nodded as if something had been decided there in that dingy hallway.
He picked up their bags and followed both women inside.
In the bright light of the kitchen, Sofia gasped. “Erin, what happened to your face?”
Guilt raced through him because across her jaw was a raw, red mark from the tree. Apparently his own scars couldn’t shock Mrs. Rodriguez, but the evidence of their sex would need to be explained.
A pink blush covered Erin’s cheeks. “We took a detour to a hiking spot Blake knew. I ended up face-first in a tree.” She sent Blake a secret smile. “Clumsy.”
Sofia seemed to consider her daughter. After a moment, she relaxed. “I’ll get some ointment. It doesn’t look too deep, but just to be sure. Meanwhile both of you have a seat. And have some cookies.”
He and Erin obediently sat at the small kitchen table where a plate of warm cookies sat waiting for them.
She grinned at him as she took one. “Busted.”
He blinked. The sex? “Your mom didn’t know.”
Erin took a bite. “She knows.”
“No way.”
“I got my Trailblazer patch when I was eight. I’ve hiked all year round. I don’t run into trees. But don’t feel bad. She knew and she let you stay. That means you’re in.”
A warm, full feeling entered his chest. It didn’t help that the cookie tasted like sugar and heaven. This felt a little like he’d thought home should feel. And family. And a childhood he’d never had. In some ways he’d grown up privileged, and for that he felt both shame and gratitude. But in other ways, he’d never known until now the quiet, powerful contentedness of belonging.
Erin
Erin lay awake, unable to sleep, even as Blake rumbled peacefully through a dream behind her. A few minutes later she gave up and carefully slipped out of his arms. She padded out of the bedroom to find her mother sitting on the sofa with a book open in her lap, eyes staring sightlessly in front of her.
She snapped her attention to Erin as she entered. “What’s wrong? Do you need something to eat?”
Erin laughed softly. “Definitely not. You stuffed both of us full of enchiladas. And then the tres leches cake. I think I ate three slices of that cake.”
Her mother couldn’t hide her pleased look, almost smug. She enjoyed feeding people, and had especially liked the way Blake could pack it away. “I can give you the recipe.”
“The enchiladas, yes. I don’t think I should bake that cake, not when Blake and I can eat almost the entire thing in one sitting.”
Her mother patted the cushion beside her. “Come sit then, if you’re having trouble sleeping.”
Erin sat down on the worn couch. She’d spent hours here, studying for a test or watching TV or reading quietly beside her mother. This couch was more her home than the city or the house ever had been. And so it gave her the strength to bring up the topic that had kept her awake.
“Mama, remember I told you that Blake is Senator Morris’s son.”
Her mother grew still. “Yes, I remember.”
“And I know you used to work for them once.”