I wondered if I could talk Courtland into letting us use the workshop so Corvin could work on cars and small engines. He’d enjoy that; he always liked to be working with his hands. Something to think about, or maybe I’d ask at the meeting tonight. We’d know more afterwards, and we could make better plans.
Now, as we walked over to my mother’s house, I had my arm around Kitten’s shoulders to stop her from bouncing away. She looked beautiful in the only dress she’d packed when we’d evacuated.
“She already loves you, Kitten, because you make me happy. This is just a formality.”
She nodded, but I had the impression she wasn’t really taking my words to heart. I guess she’d see soon enough.
42
KITTEN
Iwas so fucking nervous. This was important, and I was convinced I was going to screw it up. The guys were equal parts amused and consoling, which in short, meant they were no damn help at all.
We found the right cabin, and it was cute as hell. These must have housed single workers at some point, because there were seven in a row and they were all skinny and long, with little porches out front, complete with swings. I could almost imagine them with little flower gardens on the small square of lawn.
I tucked myself behind Beckett’s back as he knocked on the door. Corvin ran his hand over my spine, giving me a reassuring smile.
Darius leaned over and kissed my ear. “Baby, I had every reason to hate your guts, and you wooed me in seconds. This is nothing.”
I frowned at him. “I wooed you with the power of my vagina, Darius. That doesn’t apply here.”
Beckett cleared his throat as I heard his mother chuckle on the other side of the door. My face flushed bright red.
“Fuck,” I mouthed silently, while Cooper hissed a laugh at the back of the group like he was about to die. I was tempted to help him along. Instead, I painted a pleasant smile on my face and hoped to god I was wrong.
Beckett’s mom was beautiful. She had Beckett’s dark hair and huge eyes, but her face was more dainty and slightly rounder. She grabbed Beck, pulling him into a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you, son. I know you made it here before me, but I just kept waiting for someone to tell me that you’d gone back and something had happened…” She trailed off, and I could tell there was pain there. Old, festering pain. Shaking her head, she stepped back and nudged his arm. “Introduce me, Beckett Reid.”
“Kitten, this is my mother, Tia. Mom, this is my Omega and Packmate. The mother of my cubs. This is Kitten.”
“You mean the poor girl you kept secret from everyone for nearly half a decade?” she chastised lightly, stepping onto the porch and dragging me in for a hug. Oh shit. What did I do? Did I hug her back? That seemed right. I wrapped my arms around her back and squeezed.
Finally, I pulled back. “It’s okay, ma’am. I asked them not to. They were just respecting my wishes. I think everything turned out how it was supposed to in the end.”
Tia pulled back and cupped my cheek with her soft hands. So soft. I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt skin that soft. Was this what women’s hands were supposed to feel like? Mine were calloused and rough, from hunting and chopping wood and generally just surviving for so many years. The guys’ hands were equally as rough, though Beckett’s and Darius’s were slightly less so.
I realized I’d been sitting there staring at nothing with my cheek in Tia’s hand for too long and pulled away, clearing my throat. But the older woman didn’t seem weirded out. In fact, her eyes were big and filled with something warm. Empathy, maybe? Or compassion.
She gave a tight nod. “Come into the house. Darius, I wanna hug you tight and you can tell me all about how my grandbabies are cooking in there.” She kissed him as he entered. “Corvin.” She just said his name like it was a term of endearment. “I’m happy for you too, son. So happy. Your mama would have been proud.”
“Thanks, Tia,” he said, kissing her cheek.
Last was Cooper, and he gave her a big smile, wrapping her up in a hug and kissing her loudly on the cheek too. “It’s good to see you, Tia. I told Beckett we needed to get our shit together before you kicked all of our asses. But does he listen?”
Tia snorted. “No. Stubborn like his father, that one. Now, everyone go into the kitchen—I made banana bread. There’s not much room, but it’ll fit you guys and my grandbabies well enough.”
We were hustled into the kitchen that actually opened into the living room too. It was barely enough space, but it just seemed cozy.
Tia spent fifteen solid minutes fussing, filling us with cakes and coffee, and then more cakes, until my stomach bulged. But between all that, we just talked. We talked about what had happened in Maxton. It was the first conversation on everyone's lips, because it had irrevocably altered all our lives. But once we got past all the gossip—including everyone guessing who was dead and who just hadn’t shown up in Moonburst—we settled onto a sweeter topic. The cubs.
“Are you feeling okay, Darius? Is there anything you need me to do?” She’d fussed around us both all afternoon, which would normally make me feel claustrophobic, but with Tia, it just made me feel wanted.
“Not unless you want to carry them for the last few weeks. My back is killing me.”
I made a mental note to give him a massage tonight. Rub out some of those knotted muscles. Then maybe I could get one of the guys to knot my muscles back up again.
“And you, Kitten? Any luck finding your parents?”
Beckett looked stricken. I guess he thought I was still fragile about the subject. But it was okay; I liked Tia. We were family. “Mom—”
