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“What do you feel like eating?” Cage takes my hand as he leads me out of the bathroom.
The smell of caffeine hits my nostrils, and I instantaneously groan from the nausea. I know it’s not from Joss because we removed all caffeine from the house weeks ago when it was discovered I couldn’t stand the smell. We also told my mother not to bring any in.
Cage looks from me to every corner of the room, expecting to find something I would groan about. “What is it? What’s wrong?” he asks.
I don’t get to answer before Joss comes storming out of her room. “Who the hell brought that in here?” Unplugging the coffee maker, she dumps the contents of the carafe down the sink before chasing it down with the lemon dish soap. “You okay?” she inquires.
Fingers pressed to my lips, I take a couple of deep breaths before nodding. “Yes, thank you.”
“Well, what did you do that for?” I hear my mother’s question, but instantly, I’m met with Cage’s chest as he encases me in his arms.
“We asked you not to bring caffeine in here when you arrived. It’s one of our hard and fast rules, yet, here you are, breaking it.” Joss fumes as she cleans out the coffee maker before putting it away and then hunting down the cheap coffee grinds my mother bought and tossing them in the trash.
“What the hell! I bought that; you can’t just toss them out.” Her foot stomps like a petulant child.
“Mom,” I snap, looking back at her. Leaving Cage’s arms is hard, but I do it. “Please, respect our boundaries. You showed up here without a word, kicked me out ofmyroom, and now you’ve brought a man intomybed andmyspace. You don’t get to demand anything from us.”
“I’m your mother!” She stomps again, like that makes any difference. “I put up with you for years. You owe me.” Stunned silent, I can only blink as she continues with her tirade. “You’ve always been so ungrateful to me. I gave my life up for you. You’ve wasted it!” Her hands throw up in the air.
“I’m sorry to be such a huge disappointment to you. I didn’t realize I was supposed to live my life for you.” Tears sting the backs of my eyes, but I refuse to let them slip out.
“Well, you should have!” Confounded by her words, I turn around and head to the fridge to get water. “Don’t you walk away from me!” That screech is followed up by her hand on my shoulder, dragging me back.
“Touch her, and you won’t take another breath.” Cage’s dire warning has everyone riveted.
Turning my head, I find my mother’s hand raised, prepared to strike me in some way. A tear escapes this time and slides down my cheek. For as cruel as she’s always been to me, she’s never hit me…not like she’s about to.
“Who do you think you are?” She whirls around to face Cage, venom lacing her words. She’s a rattler ready to strike.
Ignoring her, he strides forward, wiping the tear away with his thumb. “Are you alright, pet?” I nod, leaning into his comforting touch.
“Pet?” she mocks; he stiffens. “She’s not a dog.” Her arms cross over her chest. “Magnolia was never an obedient child. You couldn’t even get her to fetch if you offered the biggest piece of cake to her overweight ass.”
My eyes remain focused on Cage’s, so I don’t miss it when the flip is switched, and he morphs into the man from that hot African day when he rescued me. She has no idea what she’s up against.
“It’s time for you to leave.” He doesn’t look away from me. His touch is still gentle, but he’s gone cold inside, turning off any emotion.
“Excuse me?” Mom screeches. “Who do you think you are?”
“I’m sorry, pet.” I don’t understand what he’s apologizing for as he turns around to face the woman who gave me life. “I’m the man who will protect my woman and child from your venomous ass. I’m the one who will spend my life worshipping the ground she walks on because Magnolia is that deserving of it. I’m the man who will knock her up as many times as possible in the future.” I’ve never seen my mother speechless before. “I’m the one who has and will, again, kill for her. If you want to put yourself on that list, I have no problem pulling the trigger.”
“You can’t threaten me,” she blusters.
“Ma’am, it’s not a threat; it’s a promise. If you continue to cause Magnolia turmoil, I will snuff your life out quicker than I would a rattler.” I glance back at Joss, who has the weirdest look on her face. Like she’s trying to figure out if what he’s saying is romantic or cryptic.
I understand the feeling. I’m agonizing over it myself. Nonetheless, my body sure knows what it likes because I’ve never been as attracted to Cage as I am right now. Never in my entire existence have I had anyone stand up for me the way he is right now.
“Magnolia, are you really going to allow him to speak to me like that?” Cage maneuvers me behind his body so she can no longer see me. “What? I can’t talk to my child now?” she hisses at him.
“No.” That’s it. That’s all he gives her. “Magnolia is going to eat and get ready for work before I take her. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll both be gone before I return.”
He doesn’t give her any more of his attention—even when she starts throwing things at his back. “I’ll get your clothes for you.” Ushering Joss and me into her room, Cage closes the door behind us.
We share a look before staring at the panel and leaning in to listen. Mom is screaming at Cage…throwing things around. All of this is so familiar to me because she was like this growing up with my father, too. A man mumbles something, and then the front door closes, but she’s still going off.
The doorknob turns, and we take a step back, knowing it’s Cage. “Two choices.” He hands me the hangers displaying two of my favorite jersey dresses and a black pair of Chucks. “What do you want for breakfast?”
I don’t need to think about it. “There’s a bakery down the street, big pink sign. They have cinnamon buns.”
