“Well, even though some of your friends are a bit flaky, and a bit too loose with their various herbal remedies––”
“You mean pot and mushrooms and peyote.”
“That’s what I mean, yes,” I teased her. “I will promise to return if you let them visit while I’m here. I know you don’t let anyone come over, and that’s mean. They miss you, and they should get to see your son.”
“Yes, but––”
“You get to see theirs,” I reminded her.
She nodded. “I promise; it’s just that I like to soak up all your attention, and then there was that time when Teresa Reeves hit on you.”
I scoffed. “Did she hit on me? Are you sure?”
Instant glower. “I was horrified,” she informed me loudly. “I saw the way she looked at you. I have never looked at even one of my friends’ sons like that in my entire life. I would never! That’s disgusting!”
“Oh, c’mon, don’t be such a prude.”
“Children are sacred.” She was adamant. “I couldn’t even speak to her after that.”
I reached for her.
“No, no,” she squealed, moving quickly around the other side of the counter to escape me. “You’re covered in dirt and sweat. You need to go shower before dinner.”
I groaned. “You have no idea,” I said, and turned for the hall.
“What?” she asked, stopping me with a hand on my wrist.
“Nothing, forget I––”
“Locryn?” She studied me, and I was sure, with how disheveled I looked, that she was starting to draw her own conclusion.
“Just never––”
“Oh,” she said suddenly, almost with a jolt.
If the ground could swallow me up, that would be great.
“Oh,” she repeated, louder the second time, which was infinitely worse. “Well now.”
“Stop,” I warned her, girding for whatever horror she was about to share.
“And here I thought I was the child of nature dancing naked under the full moon.”
“No,” I groaned. “I don’t wanna know what––”
“Oh, I’m kidding about the dancing; I suspect it’s more in line with what you and Nick did, but that part’s not important. The joyful news is you and Nick are finally trining together in perfect harmony. I’m over the moon.”
“I don’t want you to get your hopes up that we’re gonna end up––”
“But darling, anyone can see he’s utterly besotted with you, and seeing someone besides me get it, get you, understand the treasure you are, just makes me love him almost desperately.”
“Stop getting attached,” I warned her. “He’s going to come to his senses any––”
“No, sweetheart,” she said with a sigh. “He’s young, but he’s not stupid. I mean, for heaven’s sake, he’s already got a ring on you.”
“Oh God, that’s right,” I said, lifting my hand to take it off.
She caught her breath, and I froze.
“Mom?”
“Don’t you dare do that,” she cautioned, suddenly quite serious. “You’ll break his little heart. That ring is so important to him. It’s imbued with all his hopes and dreams.”
“Imbued?”
“I know you’re not making fun of my vocabulary.”
“No, but c’mon. We both know I shouldn’t be the one wearing it.”
“But you should, because you’re his home now.”
“Seriously, did one of your friends come by and drug you and Nick?”
She squinted at me. “I swear I have no idea where this lack of belief in love came from.”
“Mother, you’ve been married seven times. Where do you think it came from?”
“But that’s what I mean. I believed each time, so that should have been a wonderful example for you,” she chided, and when I passed her the glass I’d used, she looked at me with so much raw, open affection that no one could miss it. When she reached for my hands, I slipped them into hers. “And for the record, there’s no missing that Nick Madison is completely and utterly in love with you.”
“I refuse to discuss this with you.”
“Just because you don’t want to put a name to something doesn’t mean it’s not there.”
I shook my head. “Like I said, give it a bit. It’ll burn off.”
“Sweetheart––”
“He doesn’t know what he really wants, Mom. He’s so young.”
She pursed her lips and nodded. “Yes, it’s true, he is young. But you know, some people, even when they’re young, know who they are and what they want.”
I made a derisive noise. “Yeah, nice, you think you’re clever with the whole ‘I was seventeen, and I knew I was going to keep my baby’ crap.”
Her giggle almost made me smile, but I scowled extra hard.
“Now go take a shower,” she snapped at me, letting go of me and trying to shoo me away. “I made lasagna.”
“Stop,” I ordered her, and she huffed out a breath before rounding on me. “You always get all grouchy and bent outta shape before I leave.”
She glared at me.
Leaning in, I kissed her cheek. “I will always come back, ’cause I like you just a bit.”
She grunted, but her smile made her eyes sparkle, and I left her to go get cleaned up.