Chapter Twenty Eight
“ M a!” I whisper-hiss, heart hammering, body begging me to go back home.
Home —where I left the girl I’m pretty sure I’m halfway in love with, violently heaving into my new toilet. Least that’s what she was doing when I silently dropped off her supplies outside the bathroom door, pretending I couldn’t hear a damn thing.
“Wake up!” My hand grips her slim shoulder a little tighter, and I shake her softly, but hard enough to get her attention. “Ma, I need you!”
“Kade?” she mumbles, rolling onto her back blinking slowly. “Son, that you?”
Crossing my arms, I scoff. “Who else would it be?”
“I have five children. Could have been any one of you—or maybe Wilder.” She clicks her tongue. “That boy has nightmares.”
My stomach flips, eyes flying to the spare bedrooms down the hall. Griff texted me hours ago that he got everyone back to my mom’s safely. Emmy’s sister picked her, Loretta, and Shay up, but Griff took care of Wild and my sisters.
“You’ve heard them?” I rough out, throat thick. “Wilder’s nightmares.”
“And Griff’s,” she says softly, eyes drifting closed again. “If you’re just here to chat about your friends, can we do it in the morning, with coffee preferably.”
“Not here for them. Need to talk to you.” And because my emotions have well and truly taken a fucking nosedive, I add, “Really not safe to sleep with the door unlocked, Ma. Could have been a burglar.”
She sits up and swings her legs over the bed, sighing in exasperation. “But if I lock the door, how the hell will my boyfriend sneak in when everyone is finally asleep?”
I gape, stumbling back a step. It’s on the tip of my tongue to argue with her, to demand she explains herself, but another wave of urgency washes through me, and I shove the questions aside for later. Much later.
“Whatever.” My fingers rake through my hair, heart physically aching to get back. “Need your help. I poisoned my—” I swallow hard.
Fuck.
Almost just called her my girlfriend, but the word feels all wrong. Not because she’s not mine, she is, whether she knows it or not, but girlfriend doesn’t even come close to what I feel for her.
Not serious or—Christ, it’s not permanent enough for these feelings vibrating inside me.
Mom jolts to her feet, eyes wide, and smacks my gut. “Who the hell did you poison, Kade William Archer? Better not be my goats again. Swear to all that is holy, if you put cherries in—”
“Ma!” I bark, rubbing the sting away. Woman hits hard. “It’s not the goats. I poisoned Georgia.”
She stares at me for a long moment, mouth opening and closing.
I watch a myriad of facial expressions appear, disappear, and morph, before she finally settles on a knowing smile.
“You’re together, aren’t you?” I say nothing, and she practically screams. “I knew it! You two have been dancing around this since the first time I met her!”
Groaning, I turn around and stomp out of her damn bedroom.
Knew I shouldn’t have come here.
She follows me, clapping and cheering like it’s not nearly fuckin’ dawn, but I ignore her, searching every cabinet and drawer in the upstairs bathroom for what I need. All the while, she never stops rambling about kids with my eyes and her hair, and wedding next summer .
I tune out the way her words make me feel, but they still trickle through my system like slow, sticky honey, invading my senses.
Would Georgia really want that? To be with me in a forever kinda way?
My gut twists.
First, I need to convince the woman to stay in Heart Springs before I go talking about marriage and having my babies. Need to get Aurora settled and comfortable, make sure that little girl is happy and healthy—with both of us, preferably.
“Ma,” I drawl, shooting her a look. “Georgia’s back at my place, sick as a dog because she ate something she can’t have. She says she’s set on meds, but I wanna make sure. Can you help me, or do I need to call the doctor?”
Before she can answer, Colby’s door bangs open and she all but falls into the hallway, eyes heavy with sleep. “You poisoned Georgia? You know she has celiac! She can’t have gluten, assface!”
“Can y’all keep it down? Don’t want this to become a debate for the whole damn house. She’s embarrassed enough as it is.”
My mom’s shoulders drop on a dreamy sigh. “Look, Colby. He’s so protective of her already.”
Colby grins, bouncing on her toes. “You two are so freaking cute. Can I be a bridesmaid?”
“I’m leaving,” I say with a grunt, slamming a drawer shut. “You’re both nuts.”
“Okay, okay,” my mom rushes out, hands up placatingly. “What are you looking for exactly?”
My throat constricts, and I quickly check my phone. She hasn’t texted yet, but I don’t wanna be gone much longer. I’ll sit on the porch if I have to.
“She’s really sick, and I drew her a bath and filled it with your salts, but I don’t have any girly shit. So…” I spin, and snatch up the first pink bottle I find. “Can I borrow this?”
Colby scoffs and storms forward. “Have you seen Georgia’s curls? Do you want to ruin her hair?”
She shoves bottle after bottle into my hands, talking a mile a minute about deep conditioners and body wash. Do I need a shaver or cream…or just soap? She spends a minute spinning in place, searching for a clean, soft towel that’ll be gentle on Georgia’s curls.
Mom runs in with a bag and fills it with the loot falling from my arms, murmuring, “I added in some gluten-free food for when she feels better, tea, and other things to settle her stomach. All safe for our girl.”
Our girl.
Like she’s family already.
Just like Aurora and my friends.
Just like every animal she’s rescued and the bees she loves like they’re her kids.
My mom’s capacity for love is everything, and I missed out on it for too damn long.
Not anymore.
My eyes burn and I kiss her head. “Thank you for not giving up on me, Ma.”
Her breath catches and she wraps me in her arms. “Never have, never will.”
“Ah ha!” Colby spins, holding up a hair dryer and some weird, poky-looking thing with a manic sort of grin. “Do you use YouTube? You’re gonna need this.”
Everything in me deflates, and a laugh slips free.
These people are insane and over the top, but they’re my people—and they’re stepping up for Georgia like they’re her people too.
Thank fuck, because my girl deserves all the community and family she’s never had. She deserves to be loved like this .
And I’m going to show her exactly how that feels.