“See you guys later,” I told my friends.
They nodded and waved, urging me on with smiles. This was as much their win as mine, I couldn’t have done this alone.
I hobbled next door and Gage knocked on it for me.
“Come in,” Gran’s familiar voice called from behind the door.
Gage moved to let me go in alone, and I shook my head. “I want you to meet them first.”
He swallowed hard but nodded. Besides Gage, these two women were the most important people in my life. It was time we all got acquainted.
Gage opened the door and helped me inside. When my gaze fell on my mother who was freshly showered and eating a sandwich, I sighed in relief. There was color in her cheeks and her bruises were already fading. She still looked too skinny, but we could fatten her up in no time.
Gran pushed off from the bed and pulled me into a fierce hug. “You’ve got to stop doing this to me or one day I’m going to have a heart attack.”
I chuckled, pulling back from her. “Don’t say that!”
She smiled and smoothed my hair before turning to Gage and looking at our interlocked arms.
I cleared my throat, suddenly nervous. “Gran, this is my boyfriend, Gage. He helped us rescue Mom.”
With my crazy training schedule and the fact that Gage had been in the healing center most of the three days after he’d returned to the Lumen Compound, Gran had yet to meet him. I’d told her all about him though, and we’d planned a dinner, but our impromptu trip to the UK got in the way.
I had no idea what to expect. Gage wasn’t technically a Lumen, especially not now. And even if he had swirling white tattoos all over, he still gave off a bad-boy vibe. I wasn’t sure if Gran would pick up on that.
Instead, she surprised me. Moving quickly, Gran pulled Gage into a hug. “Thanks for helping my Tater Tot get her mama back. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
I groaned. “Tater Tot, really, Gran? You haven’t called me that in ten years.”
Gage hugged her tightly and grinned. “I’m so calling you that now,” he told me.
I pointed sternly at him. “You arenot.”
Gran snickered. “What are grandmothers for if not to embarrass their grandchildren a bit?”
My mom cleared her throat then and Gran stepped aside. When I looked down at her, I wasn’t prepared for the expression of shame I saw.
“I’m sorry I put you and your friends’ lives at risk like that. I’m sorry for a lot of things, Tatum.” Her hands were clasped in her lap, head bowed.
It was weird because technically I didn’t even know this woman, and yet I was part of her. I felt like I’d known her my whole life and that we’d somehow grown close in our absence. Pulling Gage to her bedside, I sat in a chair next to it.
“Nonsense, no one was hurt,” I told her.
She looked at my arm cupped to my chest, and the white shoulder sling, and raised an eyebrow.
I waved her off with my good hand. “I’ll be good as new in a few days.” I hoped that was true.
My mom inhaled suddenly and then looked up at Gage. “Honey,” she said to me, “why does your boyfriend smell like a hellhound?”
Gage and I winced at the exact same time, and Gran let a colorful curse word fly as nervous laughter pealed out of me.
“Well, it’s a romantic story actually,” I started, and then launched into the story of how Gage jumped in front of a hellhound for me the night Aurelia contacted my mom to tell her to hang on.
“Thatisromantic,” Gran agreed, making goo-goo eyes at Gage.
My mom frowned, looking at Gage. “How deep was the bite, did it hit bone?”
I peered at Gage, who nodded.
