Toni reached her hand out to each person as Ranger introduced them, though his mom pulled her into a hug instead of accepting her hand. He’d warned her in advance that he’d called Cross to come this morning. Not wanting to potentiallyhave this conversation twice, Ranger had thought it best to include Cross from the beginning. Introducing a girlfriend—which still felt like a premature term for Toni—to the family wasn’t new to him, but this was the first time he was doing so as an addict. Cross might have some insights, just as he had when Becks and Ghost set up the rules for Ranger to come live with them.
Ranger was not anticipating any of those rules to change or suddenly no longer matter with Toni now in his life. The opposite, in fact. But he was hoping Becks and Ghost would understand his desire to not always spend his nights here in their house.
Why did it feel like he was in high school all over again trying to find ways to sleep with his girlfriend behind his parents’ backs? He wasn’t sure he’d actually accomplished hiding anything from his parents, but at least they trusted him enough to be responsible. That trust no longer applied—or at best, was tainted.
“Come,” his mom encouraged, taking Toni’s hand. “I made breakfast.”
“Oh, that wasn’t necessary—” Toni started, but his mom quickly shushed her.
“Of course it was. Now, I have a spinach, mushroom, feta quiche with a roasted tomato crust; eggs Benedict sandwiches with Canadian bacon and hollandaise sauce on a toasted English muffin; and if you prefer, Dutch baby pancakes with lemon curd.”
Toni’s jaw dropped as his mom pulled her into the kitchen.
Ranger was right behind her, leaning down to whisper, “I warned you she liked to bake. She’s been up since five preparing breakfast, but don’t think yourself special. I didn’t even tell her you were coming until closer to eight.”
“Oh thank God,” Toni sighed out in relief. “You eat like this every morning?”
Ranger made a face, letting his despair gloom his face. “They do. I’m still on her shit list, so I get plain ole bacon and eggs or pancakes every morning while looking on in envy.”
Becks laughed as she entered in behind them. “Only our mother could be angry at someone and still stuff them full of food.”
“Mr. Cross, you’re our guest too. You and Toni get to pick first,” Loretta announced as she picked up plates for them. Ranger nudged Toni forward so she could start preparing her breakfast. “Becks, baby, are you feeling up to eating this morning? I have some of your ginger milkshake prepped for you in the fridge if you prefer.”
“I’m fine, Ma,” Becks assured their mom, kissing her on the cheek. “But I’ll probably keep to the quiche, just in case.”
“Loretta, you beautiful creature,” Cross said with a flirtatious smile. “I am in awe of you yet again. How do you possibly have the time and energy to do all this while also looking breathtaking? I am a mess just trying to use my microwave.”
Ranger’s eyes narrowed when he saw his mom’s cheeks redden as she laughed and slapped Cross’s upper arm. “Mr. Cross, you are too much. Now grab your plate. There’s coffee, juice, water, iced tea… in the fridge, too. What can I get for you?”
“Absolutely nothing,” Cross assured her. “I can serve myself, my dear. You’ve already done far too much.”
Becks covered her mouth, clearly in an effort to keep from laughing, when she met Ranger’s eyes. At leastshethought Cross’ display amusing. Personally, Ranger was ready to bury the man in the backyard.
He held Toni’s plate for her as she dished a little bit of everything onto her plate to try. “What’s that look for?” he asked softly when he caught her looking sad.
Toni shook her head, but when he silently pressed by gently nudging her arm, she let out a small sigh. “Your mom reminds me of my grandma. This,” she gestured to the abundance of food in front of her, “is exactly the sort of thing my grandma would have done. Not so much after we lost the house and moved into an apartment, but food was still her love language.”
Ranger leaned over and kissed her temple in comfort, knowing she’d lost her grandma to cancer six years ago.
“Mom certainly never did anything like this,” Toni continued, reaching for the coffee pot. “She only knew how to cook one thing. But it wasn’t for lack of trying. She even took cooking classes, and while her food was edible, it wasn’t winning any awards any time soon.” She frowned down at her plate that Ranger was still holding. “Are you really not going to eat any of this?”
Becks leaned over Toni’s shoulder, smiling gleefully at Ranger. “He should be grateful Mom hasn’t demoted him to cereal.”
Ranger stuck his tongue out at his sister. To Toni, he answered, “Not until she decides I’m a good boy again.”
“You are still my good boy,” Loretta called from where she was standing by the fridge with Cross. “You just need to remember that shutting me out of your life has consequences. Your food is already on the table, dear.”
“Thanks, Ma,” Ranger called over his shoulder. His stomach grumbled at the smells emanating up to him from Toni’s plate. “Do you need anything else?”
“You mean the joy of watching you be tortured by your own mother isn’t the icing on the cake of this breakfast?” Toni asked with feigned innocence.
Becks laughed. “You’ll fit in just fine around this lot,” she said, reaching for her carafe of decaf French press.
Ghost was at the counter making Becks’ plate. He had another plate too, but Ranger suspected that was his mother’s rather than Ghost’s. Maybe it had to do with growing up in foster care, but Ghost had formed an attachment to Loretta even before he became her son-in-law. He always made sure she was served before he was, much to Loretta’s delight.
Ranger set Toni’s plate down at the chair next to his, which was already marked by his plate of bacon and eggs. His mom must be leaning towards forgiveness, because there was also a bowl of yogurt and fresh fruit, too. Loretta was loving the Amish farmer’s market just outside of town. Ranger was hoping it was another positive reason for her to decide to move to Mount Grove, even though it would mean leaving the home she’d raised her children in as well as her husband’s grave.
He’d never before considered it, but maybe there was a way he could get Andrew Fremont’s grave moved up to Mount Grove, too. It was something he would need to look into before presenting the idea to his mom and Becks. He wouldn’t do so withoutbothof their approvals, but that might solve the last hold out for his mom to finally make the decision to permanently move.
