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She paused shortly before they left the trees to head to their vehicles—her older Toyota SUV that had gotten her all the places she loved to go and, parked beside that, her mother’s Land Rover Discovery, also an old-school vehicle. Like hers, this one was lifted to make sure it could get over any terrain. Made sense, after all. She’d learned from her mother.
“You’re far more like me than you realize, my darling Iris. And that’s both good and the bad.”
“You do it all on your own, Mama.”
“Not because I don’t want to have someone to help with the burden, baby. It’s because I haven’t found another like Daisy’s dad.” She wiped away her tears. “When that man stumbled into my life, and I do mean stumbled, he was in shock. His wife of six months had died, leaving him with this child from another man. I loved him and I loved her. I’d been a lonely child and didn’t want that, so we adopted. There were so many children who needed the love that I have an abundance of. No reason to have one of our own when each of you are mine.”
“You could have gotten rid of her when he passed away.”
“Not a chance. I couldn’t have sent her away like I couldn’t send any of you away. I know I’m not your biological mother and I never will be able to fill that hole her absence causes you. That breaks my heart, knowing I can’t fix something for you. But, baby, you have to know that you are loved. Fully. Unconditionally. Size. Color. It doesn’t matter. I don’t love any of you more or less than the others.”
“Everyone else is small, even you. I’m…not.” In her periphery, Piros took on a shrub and tugged on it best he could.
“Baby, other than Ren, none of your siblings would dare consider doing what you do. All the hiking, camping, teaching that you do.”
“You know about that?”
“I know everything, including all those times you snuck out of your bedroom window.” A smirk. “And when you came back in.”
“How…? You never said a word.”
“I don’t want to clip your wings, baby. I want to help you fly, and you not believing in yourself kills me.” She grabbed her hands, squeezing tight. “Any man who can’t look at you and immediately see your worth isn’t the One.”
“I want to keep the place in Colorado.”
“I know.”
“How do you know this? I didn’t until recently.”
Althea kissed her forehead. “Because I’m your mother. I raised you and I know what makes you tick. I’ll send supplies after the wedding, because I know if they’re there before, you’ll be there instead of at your sister’s wedding.”
A flock of birds took to the sky as they walked to their vehicles.
“She wouldn’t be happy about that, now would she?”
“No.” Althea stopped her before she could get in her truck. “Do something for me?”
“Anything, Mama.”
“Stop sabotaging your own happiness. You deserve it.” A brief cheek kiss. “Wanna race home?”
Whistling for Piros and sending him in the vehicle, she grinned. “Absolutely. Loser buys dinner?”
Her mom snorted. “Loser’s making dinner. And I want your calzone and homemade tomato soup. Hope you’re ready to cook.”
“You know that’s your recipe, right?”
“But you’ll be the one cooking.” Her mom hopped in and started her engine before peeling out.
“Shit!”
* * * *
Five months later
Bradford leaned against the wall as he watched his eldest brother drain his whiskey.
“Nervous, brother?”
Livingston poured himself another as he flipped him the bird.
“That’s mature.”
“Fuck yes, I’m nervous. What if she changes her mind? What if her family convinces her to stay away from me because they know what an asshole our father is?”
Bradford bit back his joke, as he hadn’t ever seen his brother this out of sorts. He walked to him and plucked the drink from his hand then placed it on a silver tray.
“One, you said she’s already met the old bastard and didn’t seem concerned with him one way or the other. Two, she hasn’t called it off yet. You survived the rehearsal dinner.”
Livingston reached for the drink and Bradford smacked his hand away.
“This is your wedding day, bro. Try not to smell like a distillery when she gets to you.”
The buzz of a phone yanked his brother’s attention from him and he lunged to pick it up. Holy shit, I’ve never seen him this nervous.
“It’s her sister. She’s bringing up a letter for me from Daisy.”
“Okay.” Bradford pushed his hands into his tuxedo slacks.
“What do you mean okay? What if she’s calling this off? Fuck that, I’m going down there.”
At the last second, he got between his brother and the door. “You’re not going down there. You’re going to finish getting in your tuxedo. Take a fucking breath and calm down.”
There was a level of fear in his brother’s eyes that frankly scared the shit out of him. Livingston was the together one.
