“You didn’t need to do all that. I’d’ve been fine with a bowl of cereal.”
She shot me a look over her shoulder that clearly telegraphedare you out of your damn mind?“I beg your pardon, but my son who’s just come home from protecting and serving isnotgonna spend his first mornin’ in civilization eatin’cereal.” She spat the word like one wouldcentipede. “And certainly not when he’s brought Caleb home too. I own a bakery, for heaven’s sake. Quit insultin’ me in front of our guest.”
I held up my hands in surrender, my low chuckles mixing with Caleb’s. Christ, I’d missed this. My momma was nothing if not feisty, and I loved every second of it.
It had been different when she’d visited me in other locations over the years—not as comfortable. Not as easy. And certainly not as familiar.
“Sorry, Momma. I’d eat an entire batch of your cinnamon roll French toast by myself, you know that. I just didn’t want you goin’ to any extra trouble.”
“Hush now. No extra trouble.” Momma placed a plate piled high with French toast and a bowl full of scrambled eggs on the table between the two place settings already laid out, the glasses filled with OJ. “Let me grab the bacon for you, then you boys go on ahead and dive in. I’ll keep whippin’ up more over here, since I’m sure y’all’re hungry as all get-out.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Miller.”
“Now, none of that, Caleb. I’ve told you to call me Marianne a dozen times over the years.”
He tipped his head toward her, his lips twitching the slightest bit. “Yes, ma’am.”
I settled at the round dining table across from Caleb. I forked a few pieces onto my plate then scooped up a pile of eggs and several slices of bacon, having absolutely no interest in being polite and letting my guest go first. Not when it was my momma’s French toast on the line. Not when it’d beenyearssince I’d had it.
“You get settled all right?” I asked Caleb, lifting my eyes from the pool of syrup I poured over the stack of deliciousness on my plate.
Caleb gave a single nod, slathering butter on his French toast. “Yes, sir.”
I froze with the fork to my mouth and narrowed my eyes. “Knock that shit off. I told you to cut the sir when we’re not on base.”
My best friend merely lifted a brow. “Hard habit to break.Sir.”
I blew out a breath and shook my head, a wry smile tipping my lips. You could take the soldier out of the army, but you couldn’t take the army out of the soldier.
Momma chuckled under her breath. “You remember Clive?” She didn’t wait for me to answer before she continued. “Your dad used to say the same thing to him the couple times he came back home with your daddy.” A wistful smile swept over her face as she shook her head.
The truth was…no. I didn’t remember. I didn’t remember a whole hell of a lot about my father. At only ten, I hadn’t built up a lifetime of memories with my dad before he’d passed away. Not like my momma had. And Lilah had even fewer than I did.
I cleared my throat. “Were Rory and Nash gettin’ started on the renovation at The Sweet Spot today?”
“I believe Lilah said they were headin’ over there this afternoon to finalize the design.”
“All right.” I lifted my gaze toward Caleb. “I’m gonna run over there after I grab a shower. You wanna tag along?”
Caleb nodded as he chewed before swallowing half his cup of orange juice in one go and lifting the glass in my direction. “I’m just along for the ride.”
It was the same thing he’d said to me hundreds of times before. Every time we took our Black Hawk up, whether in friendly or enemy territory. I had flown with a handful of copilots over the years, but I’d never bonded with one as much as I had Caleb.
In the four years we’d served together in the same unit, we’d become as close as brothers. Which was why thesirbullshit made me uncomfortable as fuck, even if it was protocol.
I held out my hand for a fist bump, then dove into my breakfast. Around a too-big bite, I said, “Y’all haven’t needed to put down a deposit or anything for the work bein’ done, have you?”
Momma raised her eyebrows as she spared me a glance. “I’m not sure why that’s any of your concern.”
“Momma.”
Stubborn as a mule, that woman. Goddamn, I was sick of having this same fight with her over and over again. Without a home of my own to worry about, I had so much damn money, I didn’t know what to do with it. My monthly bills consisted of internet fees and whatever I deemed worthy of entertainment, which meant I’d been socking away the majority of my paychecks for a decade. Which also meant whatever renovations my momma and sister wanted, they were getting, and I was footing the bill for all of it. Period.
“Hudson,” she said back in the same exasperated tone. “Don’t think you can come home and start bossin’ us around like you did after your daddy passed. The army might’ve made you a captain, but around here, you’re still the little boy who used to run around wearing nothin’ but underwear, a cowboy hat, and a pair of cowboy boots.”
Caleb’s lips twitched at that, but he didn’t comment.
“Thanks for that, Momma,” I said dryly.
