16. EVERLEE – MEETING MAMA MARY
EVERLEE – MEETING MAMA MARY
We walk up the three stairs to Mrs. Mary’s front door. My heart hammers in my chest and my palms are sweaty. Callum and Emmett are standing in front, while Jax is behind me and Knox is standing beside me.
“Is it ok?” I thrust my neck in Knox’s direction.
“It’s fine. Just don’t touch it or you’ll wipe off the makeup.”
“I don’t know what you two were thinking,” Jax leans down in and whispers with his hand resting on my hip near my ass.
When I turn, my lips are only millimeters from his. “Clearly we weren’t…”
He chuckles and plants a quick kiss on my lips before he stands up straight and clasps his hands behind his back.
While we wait, it suddenly hits me. This is where they grew up. I’d been so concerned with covering my hickey from earlier that I hadn’t even realized. I look around at the front yard through a new lens. The tall tree set off to the side with a tire swing, the deflated brown-once-white ball tucked against the side of the house.
The door creaks open and Mrs. Mary stands there behind a walker, wearing a beautiful sky-blue dress with a white flower broach with large white pearl earrings. The epitome of sophistication and class.
“Oh, boys.” She smiles and throws her arms open wide, then backs out of the door bringing her walker with her. “Come in, come in.”
“Good evening, Mrs. Mary. How are you?” Callum asks, walking in and giving her a quick hug as he passes.
“Doing better now. My health’s been troublesome these last few months, but right now I feel like I’m sixty again!” Her chuckle is light and airy, like a spring day. “And you must be the lovely Everlee.”
“Yes, ma’am. Your home is lovely.”
She grabs my hands and gives a gentle squeeze. “Eh. It needs some maintenance and a few repairs.”
“Why didn’t you say? We could have taken care of it while we’re here.”
“No.” She walks towards the kitchen. “Shut the door, Jaxxy.”
With a smile on my face, I glance at him over my shoulder. He closes the door and glares at me with his finger in the air and mouths, ‘ Not a word’ .
So I mouth back, ‘Ok Jaxxy’.
The intensity of his gaze sends an electric current coursing through my body. His glare turns into a smug grin because he can read my face- my body- like an open book.
Asshole.
“I’ve got the ham finishing up in the oven right now. Maybe another five minutes or so.”
“It smells wonderful.” My voice cracks with nerves and… heat.
“Darling. No need for nerves. I know about my boys… proclivities. Well, not all about it, but enough. Thought they could each settle down with a pleasant woman.” She laughs, “On their own, but these boys. They’ve always been connected at the hip.” She grabs the oven mitt off the counter and hands it to Emmett. “Emmett doll, can you pull that out for me? I had to get Leroy’s sister next door to help me earlier, but she’s out at the hair salon now. My old wrists are just too weak.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Such a sweetheart still, I see.” She pinches his cheeks, then looks at the rest of the guys.
Jax has made his way into the kitchen and is standing behind me. I haven’t looked to see him, but I feel him. I always feel him. Feel them . It’s like the very essence of my being knows theirs and vibrates when they’re nearby.
“Knox, tell me what kind of trouble you’ve been in lately, because I know it has to be something.” She tucks her walker close to the table and takes a seat in the chair that’s already pulled out.
“Mama Mary.” He clutches his chest in feigned shocked.
She tosses her head back and gives a laugh that sounds like, hoo hoo hoo.
“I’ve been a perfect angel.”
Jax clears his throat.
“I see Jax is still giving you a hard time,” she says, face beaming with a bright smile.
“All the time,” Knox pouts. “I’m doing great, though. Club is doing amazing. Probably better than Callum’s and Jax’s.”
I can’t help but wonder if she knows about the clubs. Does she ask, or does she know better than to ask?
“You boys are much older now, but when I look at you, I still see the same handsome troublemakers that walked around these streets with your chests puffed out and head held high.”
A natural silence falls over the kitchen for a minute, but is interrupted by the clanging of the stove's eyes when Emmett pulls the ham out.
“Let me see that.” Mrs. Mary pushes her hand onto the table, helping her stand.
“You stay there, Mama Mary. I’ll look at it.” Emmett moves around the kitchen, opening drawers and pulling things out like he’s not missed a single day here.
I can’t help but wonder how much is the same. I’d bet everything. It feels as if time has been frozen, and the weight of that realization tightens my chest. She’s alone here. I mean, sure, she has her church and probably people that visit, but she’s here every day…
“How is your restaurant going?”
“Great! It’s doing really well.”
“Oh, that’s good. I had no doubt it would do wonderful. Wish we had one here so I could try it. I’ll never get up that way.”
Emmett gives Callum an odd look, but doesn’t say anything.
“How about you Callum? Jax? Your club doing ok? Better than Knox’s and Everlee’s?”
It’s weird to hear her use my name so casually, but at the same time, it fills me with a warmth and comfort I didn’t know I needed, or even wanted.
“The club is doing great. Lizzy has sort of taken over the digital piece of it, which has really helped to grow the business.”
Jax interjects, “I mean, we were doing good before her…”
Mrs. Mary laughs. “That Lizzy. How is she doing?”
How does she know about Lizzy?
Knox speaks up. “She’s great. She’s getting married in a few months.”
“I do love hearing your stories about her, Jax. I wish to meet her one day.”
Jax talks to her about Lizzy?
“She seems like a wonderful girl. Full of life.”
“Full of something,” Jax mumbles.
Mrs. Mary looks at me and smiles. “Deary. You are beautiful. I’m glad my boys found you. Your parents are wonderful people and, from what I can tell, they raised an amazing daughter. These boys talk about you all the time. You have their heart, so don’t break it.” While her words carry a light and playful tone, her eyes betray a sense of unwavering focus and determination that rattles me for a second before she smiles again.
“I would never. These men are my everything.”
“May I cut the ham?” Emmett asks, holding the knife in the air.
“Yes, but be careful. I don’t want you chopping off a finger or something. That knife is sharp.”
Emmett smiles and doesn’t remind her he’s a chef who uses knives every day. Instead, he allows her to be a mom and worry about him, and that causes my heart to melt.
Is there a kink with watching your grown ass adult men being mothered by a woman old enough to be their grandmother? Because damn.
The way they are with her. The way they care for her, talk to her, move around her. She is the woman who took them in when the world threw them away. She showed them unwavering love with firm guardrails, making them the men they are today.
Watching the way they interact is mesmerizing. It’s almost like I can see back in time of how they all molded and fit into this home together with her. In some ways, it’s like they never left. Emmett in the kitchen, being her right hand with dishes and drinks, fixing her tea exactly the way she wants it without even asking. Knox removing the decorative vintage Easter plates and teacups from the table and setting it for dinner. Jax washing used pots and pans at the sink while Callum helps her to the table.
These men. God, I love them big.
I don’t speak much during dinner, letting them have this time with her and her with them. Who knows how many years she has left and I want them to get as much of each other as they can. Tonight isn’t about me, it’s about all of them.
After dinner, I force Jax to let me wash the dishes so he can join the others in the living room. After several minutes, Emmett comes into the kitchen as I’m drying the last dish and wraps his arms around me from behind, and places his cheek beside mine.
“You aren’t talking much. Are you bored?”
Turning my head just a little, I give him a kiss on his cheek. “I’m having a wonderful time. I simply love watching all of you together with her and I want her to have this time with you all and you all with her.”
He gives me a squeeze, then turns me around and presses his hips into mine and grabs me under the chin and tilts it up. “I love you.” He doesn’t give me a chance to say anything before his lips press against mine and his tongue slides in.
My arms wrap around his neck as our kiss deepens, then he pushes me away, eyes dark like coal.
“We need to stop.”
Smiling, I give him a quick peck, then push him further away.
“I’ll help you put up the dishes.”
“Emmett, go spend time with her. I’ll handle this.”
He looks down at the bulge in his pants. “I will help you put up dishes.”
Ten minutes later, we’re sitting in the living room with the others talking about the guys growing up and all the trouble they used to get into. Before realizing it, it’s midnight. Callum and Jax help Mrs. Mary to her bedroom, while Knox, Emmett, and I clean up the miscellaneous cups and plates from a coconut cake she made for dessert. I’ve never been a fan of coconut cake in the past, but hers…. Wow! She insists the trick is to let it set for three days.
I’m really glad we could see her tonight and I look forward to spending more time with her tomorrow. I think we’re taking her out for the day. We’re going to take her to get her hair done, then take her to one of her favorite restaurants that she’s very excited to take Emmett to, then finish the day at the center they opened in her name last Easter.