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She snorted with laughter, holding her belly, which was hurting. “Cuffed? Her witchy ways won’t stand for that.”
The car door chimed as he opened it, the sound like a happy circus.
“What’s wrong with her?”
Donal!
“Nothing’s wrong!” she called, throwing back her head against the seat and laughing at the ceiling. “Everything’s just peachy.”
“Take care of your mother,” she heard Linc say.
“Take care of your mother,” she drawled in her best Linc imitation, which made her laugh harder. “When did my cowboy get so serious?”
“Oh, Mum, you really were stressed to the gills, weren’t you?” Liam asked as he slid into the driver’s seat beside her.
“Like a fish,” she sputtered. “See.”
She made a guppy face and started chortling with laughter when he only stared back. “Everything is so funny, Liam.”
He took her arm and started soothing the skin above her wrist. “I know, Mum. Just laugh it out.”
“She killed my roses, Liam, my babies,” she said in a high-pitched voice as her laughter clawed at her throat. “Chopped them into pieces. Who does that?”
And suddenly she was crying—hard, angry tears that left her face hot and her chest gasping for breath.
He pulled her half onto his lap and hugged her to him, humming softly in her ear like she was a child.
“Why am I crying?” she managed through the sobs. “I’m happy this finally happened.”
Her son just kept rocking her. “You’re not happy, Mum. Everything with Aunt Mary has been sad and tragic since you first stepped foot in Ireland with Dad over thirty-some years ago. This is decades of disappointment and hurt coming out.”
“But Liam!” She wept against his chest. “I hate her.”
He squeezed her tightly. “I know, Mum. But in the beginning, I bet you didn’t want to. It’s not who you are.”
That made her weep harder. “She’s made me feel like a bad person for all the bad things I’ve thought about her. Liam, I never wanted it to come to this.”
“I know, Mum.” He resumed his gentle rocking motion. “I know.”
She cried until she couldn’t breathe through her nose. “Liam, I used to think your dad was angry that we didn’t get along.”
“No, Mum.” He kissed the top of her head. “When I was a kid one Christmas, I told him I didn’t want to wish her Happy Christmas because she wasn’t a nice lady, and he told me that was okay. He didn’t want to either. He knew, Mum. He understood. You can let that guilt go.”
“I did try hard in the beginning, dammit.” She wiped her nose and finally lifted her head. “I came here not knowing anyone but your father. I wanted people to like me, especially his family. Do you remember how I gave her cuttings of her mother’s roses for her own garden? She practically spat on me when she refused to accept them.”
“You did what you could, Mum.” He cupped her jaw in his hand. “Now, take some deep breaths with me. That’s good. Keep going. You had a lot in there. It’s good to finally let it out.”
The breathing helped, as did the way Liam was looking at her. God, she loved him so much. She finally looked out the windshield to where the crowd had gathered. She couldn’t see Mary anymore—or Linc. “I looked like an idiot in front of my friends.”
“Nah, Mum. Not any more than when you dance to Bon Jovi with your boa.”
She smacked him and gave a shaky laugh. “You’re trying to rustle me out of my mood. Don’t think I don’t know.”
“And it’s working.” Liam helped her back into her seat and wiped her face with the edge of his cotton shirt.
“You’re treating me like a kid,” she protested weakly before adding, “I kinda like it.”
“So do I.” He held out his hands to her. “Before you head over that way, I’m going to finish my Yoda moment with you and tell you that the laughing and the crying was your body’s way of dealing with negative emotions. It had to happen. So don’t feel guilty later or apologize to anyone. Mum, Aunt Mary has hurt a lot of people. Her choices brought her to this moment. Not you.”
