Chapter 17
Mabel eyed the bag of Chinese takeout Travis held warily as she opened the door for us an hour later. “Came to butter me up, did ya?” she assessed correctly.
“Hi, May,” I greeted, stepping over the threshold to wrap her in a hug. Despite why we were there, I was happy to see my friend.
“Love looks good on you, girly.” She winked when I stepped away. “Now what’s this about me not being able to stay in my own home?” she said snippily.
“Let’s go inside and talk,” Travis suggested evenly.
“You’re lucky you’re handsome,” she grumbled, ushering us inside.
Travis chuckled as we headed for the kitchen, where I started to unpack the food.
“As we explained while you were away, your house was broken into,” Travis began as May watched him, her thin arms crossed over her chest. “What we weren’t at liberty to share then was that it was Roy, your son, who broke in and assaulted Em in the process.”
Her eyes popped wide with shock, and I noticed Travis drew subtly closer in case she needed physical support. “Roy? My Roy?” she murmured.
“I’m sorry, May,” I put in quietly.
She looked to me with horrified eyes. “You’re sorry? I’m sorry! I asked you to watch the house. I never imagined you’d get hurt by anyone, much less by my own son! How could he have done this? Why?”
“We think he was after your late husband’s client list. He’s broke.” Travis explained, his tone gentle despite the news being delivered bluntly.
She sat down heavily in the nearest chair, appearing to grapple with the news. “Broke. Well that’s no excuse, now is it?”
“No, ma’am,” Travis agreed, shooting a quick glance at me.
I breathed a small sigh of relief when he didn’t expand on that. I didn’t think May could handle the news that Roy had tried to kidnap me. Not with how pale she’d become.
I put a full plate in front of her, knowing she likely wouldn’t touch it.
“This is why we’d prefer you stay elsewhere,” Travis explained.
She waved a hand dismissively. “I’m not letting that boy drive me from my own home. Plus, I imagine he waited to break in here until he knew I wasn’t here. He has his flaws, and apparently those flaws are larger than I realized, but I’m still his mother. He won’t hurt me.”
I wished I could believe that. I shot a look at Travis and knew he was thinking the same thing.
He rubbed the back of his neck and I knew he was realizing she wouldn’t be budging. “If you won’t leave, then I’ll keep a man on the house.”
She scoffed. “I’m fine. You don’t need to waste any of your people on me.”
“I won’t accept anything less,” he argued.
She looked at me. “He’s as stubborn as you are,” she accused. “And how on earth did you two not bring any alcohol?” she groused.
I muffled a laugh, knowing the standoff was over, for now. “I don’t know what we were thinking,” I replied with as straight a face as I could manage.
Travis and I joined her at the table, diving into our food. “How was your trip?” I asked, figuring she was ready for a subject change. I could tell she was still processing it all.
“Oh, fine.” She shrugged. “Charlie bent over backwards. The man is going to break something, I swear.”
Travis shot me a grin before masking it with a mouthful of food.
“Still not sold on Charlie then?” I hedged.
She scoffed. “Honey, I’m eighty-one, I don’t ever have to settle.”
I grinned, loving her perspective.
