Chapter 21 #2
Mom still hadn’t spoken. She let her gaze roam Aspen up and down, taking in every inch: the dress, the boots, the wild shine of her eyes.
“Polka dots and a bow are bold choices,” she said finally.
“But I suppose it suits you.” Then, to me, “She’s prettier than I expected.
I was worried you might have gone for someone—well, less.
She’s certainly prettier than your last girlfriend.
What was her name, Paul?” she looked at my father.
Jacob mumbled, “Rebecca is married now, Mom.”
“Ah, that’s right, Rebecca,” she said while taking her seat.
I wanted to punch a hole in the table. Instead, I smiled as I pulled out the chair for Aspen. “She’s perfect for me.”
Before the next shot could be fired, Pearl herself materialized at the table, balancing a tray of biscuits and a crock of honey butter. Her hair was snow white tonight, teased into a soft halo. She gave my mother a hard look, then turned to Aspen with a warmth that could have melted a steel drum.
“Well, if it ain’t our newest couple. Welcome, honey. We need to talk about getting another one of your chocolate cakes for the restaurant. The last one you made was gone in an hour. Can I get y’all started with drinks?”
Aspen ordered iced tea, and I asked for a Shiner. Pearl poured for both of us, then leaned in to Aspen, hand on her shoulder, and whispered something I couldn’t catch. Aspen relaxed just a shade, and I made a mental note to thank Pearl later.
As soon as Pearl was gone, my mother launched into her version of small talk, which meant getting right to the point.
“So,” she said, steepling her fingers. “Jonas tells us you’re from Georgia. How does a girl from so far away end up in a place like this?”
Aspen met her gaze, not blinking. “It’s a long story, ma’am. But I like it here. It feels like home.”
“Does it?” Mom’s mouth curled at the corners. “How sweet. I hope you’ll find it welcoming. Small towns can be… insular, you know.”
I felt Aspen bristle. “I haven’t had any trouble,” she said. “People here are good. Loyal.”
Jacob gave a slow clap. “She even talks like one of us. Impressive.”
My father, who’d been watching the show with a lawyer’s interest, jumped in. “So how did you two meet? You know, your mother and I met at a fundraiser. Her folks said it was love at first sight, but I had to wear her down. Jonas never was one for the slow approach.”
I looked at Aspen, letting her answer if she wanted to.
She said, “He came into my bakery to ask about a cake for Bronc and Juliet’s mating ceremony. We just hit it off I guess.”
Mom made a sound that might have been a laugh, or a cough. “That’s our Jonas. Always on the lookout for a good woman. Even as a child, he brought home strays.”
This time, I did squeeze Aspen’s hand under the table. She squeezed back, harder.
Pearl delivered our food—steak for Jacob and Dad, a chicken fried for me, meatloaf for Aspen. Oscar poked his head out to sniff at the mashed potatoes, but I nudged him back in before anyone else noticed.
For a minute, the conversation drifted to pack business and the upcoming ceremony for Bronc and Juliet.
My father wanted to know how many guests to expect, whether the local wolves could handle security, and if the humans would be a problem.
Jacob asked about the music and whether the open bar was still a thing.
It was almost normal until Mom shifted gears, eyes back on Aspen.
“So Aspen. How is it you, a witch, happened to become mated to my son, a wolf? Isn’t that terribly unusual?
It just really doesn’t happen? I mean and seriously, dear.
Look at my son. I could understand it if it were Arsenal, or Doc, but clearly, the only thing my son truly had to offer was a very hefty trust fund and bank account.
You don’t expect me to believe that didn’t play a huge part in your wanting to tie yourself to Jonas for the rest of your life.
I mean, you never have to worry about anything now. ”
She said it with the smile of a woman who’d spent a lifetime getting away with murder. The air in the room crystallized.
I waited for Aspen to answer.
She took a breath and set her fork on the edge of the plate, each movement so deliberate it felt like time had slowed just for her. Her cheeks were fire-red, but her voice didn’t shake. She sat up straight, squared her shoulders, and leveled a stare at my mother that would’ve cracked granite.
“Let me tell you something, lady,” Aspen said.
“I will not sit here while you insult, demean, and otherwise tell such despicable lies about my mate. To insinuate that I could only be interested in him because he has some kind of trust fund, which right this moment is the first I’ve heard of it, by the way, is to take away every amazing and wonderful thing about this man there is to know. ”
She pushed her plate gently away, hands folded, and leaned forward so every word hit my mother head-on.
“You discounted his kindness, his gentleness, his heart, his amazing beauty that yes, he wears on the outside as well as the inside. Beauty that you clearly do not see, because you have no idea who he is. He is my shelter from the storms, my peace when I am troubled, he is laughter when I’m feeling down, and comfort when I’m alone.
He is my anchor when I feel like I’m drifting out on unknown seas, and the only person I have ever known who has made me feel like I am enough.
So you are the one, Mrs. Rice, who does not know who your son is, and it is you who owes him and me an apology. ”
She finished, voice ringing out through the sudden hush. Every head in the dining room had turned; even the dartboard shut up for a second. My mother sat frozen, lips parted, like she’d never in her life been spoken to that way.
And me? I thought I might explode with pride. My chest swelled until I thought it’d split the buttons on my shirt, and the mate bond between us roared so fiercely I nearly started howling in the middle of Pearl’s Bar me, towering beside her, feeling finally, truly seen.
We walked out into the Texas night, the sky cold and clear and infinite.
And I knew right then, I would burn the world to the ground to protect her.