Page 7 of Glacier

“Of course, big brother.”

Stepping back, I waited for Fin to say goodbye to his uncle before we left the hospital together.

We were leaving a bit later than I would have liked, and once we hit the highway, the traffic was heavy. There had been an accident, so we were rerouted.

“Let Uncle Gabe know, and then message the client,” I told Fin.

“Already done,” Fin replied, holding up the phone we used for deliveries. We’d get rid of it once we finished the job.

“Thanks, son. How are you doing? Everything okay?”

“Yeah, Ma, everything is fine. Got a date next weekend,” he said, turning to me with a raised eyebrow. “When are you going on a date?”

I choked on my spit. “What? I’m not looking to date. Why would I? What brought this on? Did Uncle Gabe put you up to it?”

He chuckled, holding up a hand to stall my rapid-fire questions. “Why? Because you’re awesome. But you’re right—Uncle Gabe totally put me up to it.”

I grumbled about my brother interfering. “Uncle Gabe needs to keep his nose out of my business.”

Fin laughed. “I told him you’d say that. He’s not wrong though, Ma. You should think about it. I’ll be leaving for college in a few years, and I don’t want you to be lonely.”

I turned my head and frowned at him. “I’m not lonely, and I date.”

“Ma.” Fin shook his head. “Hook-ups are not dates.”

My mouth fell open.

He smirked. “Eyes on the road, Ma.”

Snapping my mouth shut, I focussed on the road. I was silent for a minute as I wondered how he knew about my “hook-ups.”

“Stop thinking so hard, Ma. We live in a small town that gossips.”

“Fucking nosy bunch of busybodies,” I muttered under my breath. “They wouldn’t be gossiping if I were a man.”

Fin shook his head and went back to looking out the window.

Just when I thought I was safe and our conversation was over, he added, “You should think about it, though.”

“I’m not discussing my love life with my son,” I grumbled. “I’m happy as I am.”

“That’s all that matters then, Ma. As long as you’re happy.”

“I am happy, Fin. I promise,” I assured him. We needed a change of subject. “Tell me about this girl,” I said, steering the conversation away from my love life.

Fin shrugged. “She’s a friend, but she wants more. Me, I’m not sure…”

We spent the next few hours catching up. Right then, I decided we needed to do this more often. We were close, but we didn’t live in each other’s pockets. I realised I should start paying more attention to who my son dates. I didn’t like the sound of this girl. She had stalker written all over her. My mama radar was pinging.

Other than the re-routing, the drive went smoothly. I kept an eye out for a tail but saw none. Following the directions Gabe gave me, it was past eight in the evening when we pulled up to the barn where we were meant to unload.

That was when things went to shit.

My door opened, and I was dragged from the cab by a large, angry biker with long black hair, a beard, and dark eyes.

I probably should’ve been frightened, but something broke in me the night I was attacked. Not much scared me anymore—except for my son being hurt. So far, they hadn’t done much more than be a little rough.

I was thrust against my truck next to Fin, and we exchanged looks.