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“I’m giving you both a ride. I insist.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s okay, really—”
“That would be lovely, Carter,” my mom says with a sniffle, patting him on the arm of his expensive suit.
He smiles sadly at her and offers her his arm, which she loops through his. He glances back at the reporters, who are chasing after the victim’s husband, and ushers us down the long, shiny-floored hallway to the parking garage, where a dark town car with blacked-out windows is waiting. A man in a black suit opens the back door and my mom gets in first, followed by me, and then Carter.
“Still living at the Townsend Street house?” he asks.
“Yes,” Mom and I reply in unison.
Carter rattles off the address and I watch the driver put it into his dash-mounted GPS. The car smells like expensive leather, but more overpowering is Carter’s cologne. It’s not obnoxiously strong, but it just smells like him and brings back memories.
I clear my throat. “Mom’s at the Townsend house. I have a condo nearby. You can just drop us both at Mom’s.”
“You don’t have to come,” Mom says. “I’m just going to take a vallum and go to sleep. I can’t bear the thought of my baby in prison...” A sob jerks free and I hold her while she cries, trying to be strong.
Technically, I’m the baby. Eric’s my older brother, and while he’s never been in jail before, I think he’ll be okay. He played football for four years, has a master’s degree in sports medicine, and is a total gym-rat—to include a boxing hobby.
He just shouldn’t have left that bar without a ride. He fucking knew better.
Why hadn’t he called me? Or dammit, there’s Uber and Lyft... so easy. No excuses. I’m so angry at him for doing this to our mother. But so much worse, he’s left a little girl without a mom and a poor husband who has to raise her alone.
I take a deep breath to quell my anger.
“You okay?” Carter asks, placing his hand on mine.
I shake my head and bite my lip. I don’t want his comfort now. I’ll just lose my shit and embarrass myself. I take another steeling breath. “No, but I will be.”
He nods and grips my hand, holding it the rest of the way to Mom’s house. My car is in the driveway. I need to get out and drive it back to my condo. But I don’t want to leave Carter’s calming touch. As much as I didn’t want his comfort, I admit now that I need it. I crave it.
The driver gets out and reaches a hand in to help my mom out.
“I should go...” I say.
Carter doesn’t budge. “Let me take you home.”
“My car...”
“I’ll have David fetch it and bring it to your place.” He gestures to the driver, who dips his head at me in acknowledgment. He’s an older man, with gray hair and kind brown eyes.
“Mom, you sure you don’t need me to come in? I could make you some tea.”
She is already walking up the walkway with David escorting her. She flaps a hand at me. “No tea. No, I told you I’m going to sleep. I need a reset to this horrible damn day.”
“Love you, Mom.”
She nods and starts to cry again. Dammit. I should be there for her.
She thanks David and then closes and locks the door. Then, he closes the back door, gets into the driver’s seat, and drives down Townsend.
“My address is—”
“Are you hungry?” Carter asks.
I look up at him, his intense gaze is piercing me with a look I haven’t seen on him before.
No, I want to throw up, actually...
