"Just around, Brody. Jesus." Luke grabbed his fork and stabbed a potato with more force than any root vegetable deserved.
Brody's eyes narrowed. I could see the gears turning, the questions stacking up behind his teeth. Before he could fire off another one, I pressed my knee into his under the table.
He glanced at me.
I held his gaze.Drop it.
He held mine.But?—
My eyes bulged.Drop. It.
He exhaled through his nose and turned back to his pie.
Colleen set a water glass down in front of Luke and smoothed a hand over his hair the way you'd settle a spooked horse. "Eat your dinner, sweetheart."
Luke ate. Brody chewed in pointed silence. I ate my pie and filed away everything I'd just seen for later examination.
After dinner, Colleen walked us to the porch. Luke had already bolted with a hug for his mama and a quick wave toward me and Brody that screamedplease do not ask me any more questions.
I was two steps down when Colleen's hand caught my elbow. Gentle, not grabby. Just enough to stop me.
"Calvin."
I turned.
She stood on the top step, backlit by the warm glow of the house behind her. She didn't look sad or sympathetic. She just looked sure.
"You've got a place at this table whenever you want it. No invitation needed." She paused, and her eyes turned glassy. "Your mama would be real proud of the woman you've become."
The words hit me so hard I couldn't breathe for a second.
She knew who I was. Who my mother was. How long she'd known—whether Brody had told her or she'd figured it out on her own—didn't matter right then. What mattered was that she'd sat through an entire dinner without once making me feel like a sad story. Hadn't brought it up, hadn't given me that wounded-bird look, hadn't done a single thing to make me feel like anything other than her son's girlfriend sitting at her kitchen table.
She'd just fed me. And squeezed my hand. And baked a goddamn pie.
My nose burned. My eyes burned. Everything fucking burned, and I stood there on the second step of Colleen Lancaster's front porch and pressed my lips together until I could trust my voice.
"Thank you, Mrs. Lancaster."
She smiled, warm and bright.
"It's Colleen, sweetheart. Or Ma. Whichever suits you."
I nodded once, because if I opened my mouth again, we were both gonna be standing on this porch crying and I didn't think either of our pride could survive it.
Brody's hand found the small of my back as we walked to the truck. He didn't say a word. Didn't ask if I was okay. Just opened my door, let me climb in, and walked around to his side.
We were halfway down the dirt drive before I trusted myself to speak.
"Your mom's kinda great."
He glanced over, smug as shit. "Yeah?"
"Don't ruin it."
He reached over and took my hand. Palm to palm, thumb across my knuckles.
"She already loves you," he said quietly. "Told me while you were in the bathroom."
