“The boys are always big.” She nods toward Tolin and Ronan, still arguing by the truck. “Those two nearly broke my back before they were born. Worth it, though.”
“Was it?”
“Every ache, every pain, every sleepless night.” Her eyes soften as she watches her sons. “You’ll see. The moment you hold him, you’ll forget all of it.”
Tolin glances over at us, and even from this distance I can see the way his expression shifts when he looks at me. The hardness in his face melts away, replaced by something warm and wondering. Like he still can’t believe I’m real.
“He looks at you like you hung the moon,” Mother Lenora says quietly.
“He looks at me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear.”
“Can you blame him?” She reaches over and pats my hand. “He spent five years alone on that mountain, convincing himself he didn’t need anyone. Then you showed up and turned his whole world upside down.”
“I didn’t do anything special.”
“You saw him.” Her voice is firm. “The real him. Not the grumpy bear everyone else sees. You looked past all that andfound the man underneath. That’s not nothing, Imani. That’s everything.”
I blink back the sudden sting of tears. Pregnancy hormones are no joke.
“Besides,” she continues, her tone lightening, “you got him to come home. I’d been trying for five years with no luck. You managed it in a week.”
“He wanted to come home. He just needed a reason.”
“You were the reason.” She squeezes my hand. “You and that baby. His family.”
A loud clang from the truck makes us both look over. Ronan has dropped a wrench, and Tolin is laughing at him while his brother curses.
“They’ve been like this since they could walk,” Mother Lenora says with a sigh. “Always competing, always arguing, always trying to prove who’s better.”
“Does it ever stop?”
“Never.” She smiles. “But that’s how you know they love each other. The day those two stop bickering is the day I start to worry.”
Ronan retrieves his wrench and points it at Tolin threateningly. “One more word and I’m letting your truck fall apart.”
“You wouldn’t dare. You love this truck.”
“I tolerate this truck. There’s a difference.”
“You rebuilt the engine yourself.”
“Because you were too stubborn to let anyone else touch it.”
“Because no one else knows what they’re doing.”
“I’m the Alpha of this clan, Tolin. I know what I’m doing.”
“Then prove it and fix my damn spark plug.”
Mother Lenora shakes her head fondly. “Impossible. Both of them.”
“Runs in the family, I think.”
She laughs, bright and warm. “You might be right about that.” She stands, brushing off her skirt. “I should get back. I’ve got bread rising at home. But I’ll be by tomorrow to check on you.”
“You don’t have to check on me every day.”
“I know.” She leans down and kisses my forehead. “But I want to. You’re my daughter now. That’s what mothers do.”
