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“I saw him leaving the hospital when we arrived.” The words came in a rush, like her mom couldn’t hold them in any longer.
Lyric chewed her food, washed it down with hot chocolate, then looked at her mom and played dumb. “Who?”
“That guy who’s always at the bar.”
“You’ll need to narrow that down. There are a lot of guys at the bar.” She hid a grin, knowing she really wasn’t getting away with stonewalling.
Her mom pressed her lips tight. Robin Wilde did not suffer fools or obtuse children. “Is he good to you?”
She met her mother’s concerned gaze. “Better than anyone I’ve ever known.”
Her mom’s gaze softened. “Why didn’t he stay with you?”
Lyric didn’t really have a good answer to that but knew there was one coming when he was ready. “It’s complicated.”
“Is he married, or with someone else?”
“No. But thanks for thinking I’d be a home-wrecker.”
“I don’t think that at all. People don’t always make clean splits, even after a relationship is over, for all kinds of reasons.” Her mom gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. Once. Then, all bets were off.
“He’s not like that. He’s in the middle of finishing something with the motorcycle club. Once it’s done, it won’t matter who sees us together.”
Her mom raised a brow. “Why does it matter now?”
“He says it’s to protect me and him.”
Her mom leaned on her forearms on the counter. “Somebody might not like you two being together?”
“I don’t know. Yes. I guess.”
“What’s he finishing?”
“Not sure.” But she had her suspicions. She stuffed another bite of pancakes in her mouth, despite the fact she was quickly losing her appetite.
“So you can’t be seen with him and you don’t know why? You don’t even know what he’s doing?”
“Mom, I trust him. He’s given me no reason to doubt that what he says is true and what he doesn’t say is to protect me.”
“Is he a criminal?”
“No.” She didn’t really have anything to back that up, except his word, but she knew it to be true in every cell of her being. “He works construction jobs with a few of the other guys at the club. But I think whatever he’s doing now is separate from that. I also think it’s important and something he believes needs to be done.”
Her mom looked thoughtful. “Like he’s helping someone?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. What I do know is that he’shonest and kind and he loves me.” Lyric stared at her plate, taking that in, knowing it was true but also so thrilled and in disbelief that it was real.
It took her mom a second to say anything. “Are you in love with him?”
She met her mom’s gaze. “It makes no sense but all the sense in the world. We’re still getting to know each other, and yet...”
Her mom’s eyes softened. “It feels like you’ve always known him.”
Lyric adored her mom for understanding and not telling her she was going too fast. “Yes.”
“That’s how it felt when I met your dad. I was like,Oh, it’s you.From that moment on, we spent all our time together. We just wanted to spend every second of the day with each other.”
“That’s how I feel. I hope, soon, we’ll be able to spend all the time we want together.”
