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Both might be in order by the time he got through it all. Bennett knew she wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “First of all, I’ve been contracted to take out the Bloodmoon Crew.”
She clasped her hands and held them tightly against her stomach, something she’d always done when she was upset. “I had a terrible feeling it was something like that.”
Bennett knew there was no better time to be honest, both with himself and with her. He’d tried to justify his actions to Rex earlier that morning. The meeting felt like it was a week ago now, and so much had changed. “It was only a matter of time before someone decided they didn’t want to put up with them anymore. A Silvergrove came to me under the utmost confidentiality. The paycheck is a big one, but it wasn’t about that for me. I’d been waiting for an excuse to wipe them off the face of the planet.”
“I’m surprised Rex let you go after them, considering all the pack politics involved.”
“I guess everyone was thinking about that besides me,” Bennett chuckled. “I didn’t give two shits about pacts or contracts or truces. I don’t care that the Glenwoods had already repaid them for what they’d done. I hadn’t repaid them. I hadn’t had my revenge yet.” As he spoke of it, Bennett could feel his blood boiling all over again. “The problem—one of many—is that they’ve grown stronger. I can’t do it alone.”
“I see.” She stretched out the last word, knowing there had to be more and inviting him to continue.
She knew him well. He had to give her credit for that. Bennett would never just run and hide at the packhouse. “Mom, do you remember Stephanie Caldwell?”
“What?” She turned on the glider’s cushion to look at him fully. “Of course.”
“She’s here, Mom. We’ve found each other again. Unfortunately, that means the Bloodmoon Crew is after her as well. One of them bit her daughter, Annie. We had to bring her here, and now we’re all just waiting to see what happens.” He spoke quickly, wanting to get it all out before she could protest or ask too many questions and get him off track. “I know you and Dad didn’t approve of her, but Stephanie is my mate. Time hasn’t changed anything between us.”
Her shoulders sagged, and she sat back against the glider. “Oh, Bennett.”
“I know that’s a lot to dump on you all at once, but you need to know the whole picture.” His throat was tight.
“Oh, my goodness.” She pressed two fingers to her forehead.
He waited for the inevitable explosion. As much as she must hate hearing any news about the Bloodmoon Crew, this had to be just as devastating for her. The only difference was that she’d just have to deal with it this time.
“That poor, poor woman.” Patricia pressed her fingers to her mouth now. “Having to witness her daughter being injured like that. And then, of course…we know what the outcome must be. Oh, I just can’t even imagine. Oh, my.”
Bennett watched her carefully, wondering if he was hearing her correctly. “I thought you’d be angry.”
“Oh, I’m angry, all right.” She took several short inhales as she tried to control her emotions, though her eyes were just as wet as everything else around them right now. “Just not for the reasons you might think.”
He sat forward, firmly putting his feet on the porch so the glider couldn’t move. “I think it’s your turn to explain because I’m lost.”
“Of course you are, darling. Of course you are, and it’s all my fault.” She puffed her cheeks as she let out a breath and looked toward the cloudy sky. Then she turned to him and took his hand. “This is one of those things that just feels impossible to let out.”
“Take your time.” Bennett said that, though he was feeling impatient. He didn’t understand.
She let out another long sigh. “First of all, I truly am sorry for Stephanie having to endure that. It’s not easy, as a parent, to see your child struggle through anything. Medical, mental, emotional. It’s all difficult. You want to fix everything for them, and even when there are some things you can fix, you can’t just change the whole world to suit their needs. I just feel terribly sorry for her.”
“That’s nice of you.” So his mother could relate to Stephanie on the level of being a mom. That much, at least, wasn’t out of his realm of understanding.
“Sometimes,” she continued, her voice catching in her throat, “when you think you’re fixing things, you’re actually making them worse. I’ve wondered many times what I might’ve done differently as your mother that would’ve given you a happy life because I know you’ve been miserable.”
He wanted to deny that so he could take her pain away, but it was true.
“I don’t think you would’ve gone into this line of work if you weren’t still carrying around that deep sadness. I worry about you. I know you’re a very talented man. With your natural skill and the training you received on the police force, you’re good at what you do, even if I’d rather you be safely behind a desk for eight hours a day. That doesn’t mean I’m not proud of you, though. You’ve found something that suits you, that you’re good at, and that brings you a certain sense of satisfaction at the end of the day. Not everyone can say that, even when they’re the CEO of a big company.” She gave him a sad smile and squeezed his knee again.
He patted the back of her hand. “That’s funny because I always figured I was nothing but a disappointment to you.”
“No. No, Bennie. I’m the disappointment. I’m the only one who’s done anything wrong.” Tears slipped off her cheeks and fell onto the sleeve of her jacket.
“What do you mean?” He took her hand between both of his now. When was the last time he’d seen her cry? It’d probably been at his father’s funeral, which was a long time ago now. Between his death and Rosa’s, she’d probably cried many times since then, but never in front of him. She was always trying to be so strong, insisting she was fine and he needed to get back to work and not worry about her. “You were always a good mom.”
“Sure, in many of the ways that people count,” she agreed. “I took care of you when you were sick, and I made sure you actually understood your homework when I helped you with it. I encouraged you, and I wanted all the best things for you. But the biggest mistake I ever made was in agreeing with your father that you shouldn’t date Stephanie any longer.”
Bennett took a moment to absorb this, reliving some of those conversations from long ago in his head. His mother had been much younger then. Her hair had been more black than gray, the opposite of what it was now. She’d had fewer lines and fewer worries, but she’d been just as passionate as his father when she’d put her foot down about Stephanie. “I thought that was what you wanted.”
“Maybe in the moment I thought I did,” she admitted. “I didn’t think much of it until your father started in. He was at that restaurant all the time, and he saw the whole thing unfold between the two of you. I thought he was just irritated because you were getting distracted from your work, and the restaurant meant a lot to him. When things started to get serious between you, he started up about her being human. Your father loved you so much, Bennett, and his concerns only ever came out of that. He looked at a future for you and a human woman and only saw how difficult it would be. Would the other shifters accept her? Could the two of you truly find any common ground when you were so different? And what about any children you might have? Would they be shifters or humans, and how would you each feel about it? He didn’t think you could ever be happy.”
