Page 84 of I Choose You

I didn’t wait for him on the cracked sidewalk, but I heard his quick footsteps as he followed me toward the steps.

Mom opened the door on the second knock. She must have seen me coming. She held the door open wide and grinned at me. “Brooke! What a pleasant surprise!

“Hi, Mom.” I hugged her back and then stepped inside. Kaden maintained that easy, charming smile as he walked in as well.

“And this is one of the displaced surfer boys,” I teased. “Kaden Wagner.”

He took her hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Ponder.”

“Oh.” She shook his hand and patted her free one over them. “Please, just Nancy. It’s nice to meet you. She was just telling me last time about how your companies have engaged in a deal.” As she faced me, confusion set in faster. “But I’m sorry I didn’t remember this visit.”

I shook my head. “It’s a surprise.”

“A pop-in,” Kaden added. He smiled a secret little grin at me, perhaps poking fun at himself since he’d done that not even an hour ago.

“Well, I love surprises,” she said.

“You’re really going to like the next one.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Oh?”

That was my cue to hand her the check.

“What? What is this?” she asked, furrowing her brow.

“Kaden and I arranged for a bonus with our business deal.”

Mom grinned, glancing at the check then me. “Oh, Todd must be thrilled! Good job, honey.” She held the check out, likely assuming it wasn’t for her but for my boss. I pushed her hand back down.

“No, that’s for you.” I pointed at where her name was listed on the check I’d prepared for her. I’d been so thrilled to have the check prepared. I’d run my finger over her name several times, so damn excited to be able to do this for her.

“What? Don’t be silly. This is too much!”

I shook my head and smiled. “Nope. It’s all for you and it’s not too much, Mom.”

Her fingers trembled as she lifted them to cover her mouth. I’d rendered her speechless.

“It was Kaden’s idea to arrange for this bonus. And that’s for you. We want you to have it for the house.” I lifted my hand, gesturing at the living room where a crossword puzzle book lay open on the TV table tray. She must have been sitting there watching me through the front window. Being on disability, she often had wonky hours of part-time work. I’d taken a risk that she was at home, and I was fortunate she was.

“No. Honey, this is too much. I can’t take this.”

Again, I gently moved her hand back down. “I insist. Mom, I never would have survived my youth without your support. You spent so long working hard to provide for me. And now I can finally pay you back.”

“You’re my daughter, honey. There’s no such thing as needing to pay me back.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t say I had to. I want to. Let me help you after you got me through the hard times.”

Tears glistened in her eyes, and she inhaled a shaky breath. She rotated her arm, palm up, and touched the tattoo on her inner wrist.

I smiled, and my gaze went blurry as I teared up too. I hadn’t planned on the waterworks, but I should have known. In the same spot, I had an identical Celtic symbol. I tapped it like she had done to hers, reminding myself and her how we’d been partners for so long, surviving all the hard times we’d faced.

It represented eternity, and we’d chosen it together after my graduation. We’d picked the symbol as a reminder to stay strong, no matter what came our way. It was my first tattoo actually, and getting it with my mom gave it that much more extra meaning. She often teased that she was the one who unleashed the beast. After that tattoo, I was addicted to them.

I’d let her think that. The symbol we shared held a lot of meaning, but all of them did.

Kaden was quiet. He didn’t insert himself into the conversation, but I noticed his presence. I noted it and treasured it. His style was to stand back and let me do what I wanted or needed to do. He didn’t add anything, following me and Mom through the house.

She offered us drinks. With lemonade in hand, we discussed what she could do with the money. I headed up that conversation, pointing out what I was concerned about, like fixtures that needed to be replaced.