Mom’s shoulders dropped in relief. “He was? I mean, he’s always been an asshole to me, but I thought you were close.”
“Who the fuck led you to believe I was close to that degenerate piece of shit?” Tristan spit out.
Mom bit her lip and shook her head. “He did.”
“Right, so, now that you have considered the source, wanna fill me in on why you didn’t come to me sooner?”
“Can we maybe not do this on the porch?” I asked. “Where’s Orion?”
“He’s in the kitchen.”
“I’ll leave you two to talk,” I said and went looking for my man.
He was in the kitchen grabbing a beer from the fridge and I took a minute to admire his ass before saying, “For someone so totally obsessed with my safety, I’d like to know why you weren’t waiting on the front porch for me.”
He grinned, closing the fridge and wrapping an arm around my waist, kissing me quickly. “Wrath got here ten minutes before you, and Mozart let me know the second you came through the gate, but your brother wanted to be the one to greet you first, so I let him.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I’d like the record to reflect, I don’t like that.”
He chuckled, giving me a squeeze. “Noted.”
“How pissed was Sierra?” I asked.
“She was half-naked by the time I saw them, so I think she was fine.”
“Oh my god, seriously?”
“Yeah, baby. I think you need to wrap your mind around the fact your girl is fuckin’ Wrath. And enjoyin’ it.”
I shook my head and changed the subject. “How was church?”
He smiled. “How was dinner?” he asked, ignoring my question.
“Weird.” I leaned heavily against him. “I wish I’d stayed here.”
“Why? What’s goin’ on?”
I shook my head. “Not here.”
He lifted my chin and frowned. “That bad?”
I nodded, and he took my hand and pulled me into one of the bunk rooms, closing the door behind us and crossing his arms. “What’s wrong?”
I filled him in on what I knew about my mom’s situation and he scowled. “Your brother’s on this?”
I nodded.
“You want me to step in?”
Seriously, I loved this man beyond reason. “No, baby, it’s all good.”
He hooked his hand around my neck and tugged me forward, wrapping his arms around me and kissing the top of my head. “How are your hands?”
“Better,” I said, hugging him tight.
He gripped my hair and guided my head back so I could meet his eyes. “You lyin’ to me?”
I rolled my eyes. “No. They really do feel better. Tristan thinks the bandages can come off in a few days.”
