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Her spine stiffens before she turns to me and plasters a fake smile on her lovely face like she always does whenever the subject is brought up. “I’m fine, Hawk. I’ve been fine for a long time. That won’t change. I have you and Wren. You’re all I need.” She blinks rapidly and continues preparing things for our dinner.
I let out a sigh. “Mamma, you can talk to me. You don’t always have to be so strong. Let me be there for you for once.”
She flashes me her genuine grin. “Baby boy, you are too good to me, but there’s nothing to say. I’ll always quietly shed a few tears this time of year, but otherwise…I’m good,veramente.Besides, your sister is almost here.”
Wren has forever been curious about Dad like I was, but she knew enough when I came back to not chase after any foolish notion of getting to know him. She doesn’t know all the details about my time in Nashville, what I learned, or the fact I barely escaped. Mamma is the only one who knows, and I plan to keep it that way. Well, her and my grandfather.
He was supposed to stay neutral, but his soft spot for my mother knows no bounds and he helped me. He also threw around his power to make sure I got a clean break from Nashville and made it clear I wasn’t to be messed with. He may bend for my mother, but I certainly wouldn’t want to be on his shit list.
I’ve always believed Mamma communicates with him somewhat regularly on the sly, but I couldn’t ever prove it. And that’s fine. He loves her and I know she loves him. She wasn’t as close to her mother, but she was close to her brothers. That’s why what my father did is so unforgivable.
Victor. Mamma’s little brother. I almost followed in his footsteps.I block those thoughts and the anger that’s attached to them.
“Knock knock!” Wren calls as she enters the front door.
My little sister is a hurricane. She rolls in and has enough power in her pinky finger to blow you away with her temper. I’ve tried to help her focus her negative energy to more positive things. She attended community college but has no direction. She goes where she feels like it. We both have trust funds which were set up long ago, although we don’t flaunt it. She doesn’t need to work.
The last few months, she worked to raise money for the animal shelter here and contributed a sizeable donation herself. She’s an animal lover through and through and she obviously reached her goal. The new shelter recently opened and it’s amazing. It has the capacity to house triple the number of animals and they have enough funds left over to have two full-time employees along with a few part-time ones to last at least three more years. Knowing Wren, she’ll continue to make that a long-term reality. She helps organize adoption days with them too.
Who knows what her latest project will be. Anything she sets her mind to, she does. And as long as it’s set on doing good, she’s a force who leaves you in awe. But when she’s angry, I’d say she’s worse than me…which is saying a lot. We use that energy to train together. When I came home, I vowed to teach her how to defend herself. And she can. But I hope she won’t ever have to use what she knows.
She strolls past me carrying a bottle of red wine to Mamma and then drops a kiss on her cheek. Mamma and Wren are essentially mirror images of each other. Mamma has raven-black hair and hazel eyes with olive skin. Wren is Mamma’s twin aside from having dark brown hair compared to Mamma’s black hair. I have Mamma’s features, but unfortunately my face was carved from my dad’s, and I inherited his green eyes.
“Well, hello to you too, Wren,” I mumble, amused by her obvious good mood.
She launches herself at me and gives me a hug. “Hello, big brother.”
I chuckle before asking, “What’s the good news?”
She swats at my chest. “Can’t I simply be happy? It’s our weekly dinner and I get to see my favorite people.”
“Who’s the guy?” I ask, dreading the answer. I want my sister to be happy but damn if I don’t dread having to do some digging and find out all I can to make sure he’s good enough for her.
Her eyes sparkle with mischief the way they always have when she taunts me. “My love life isn’t your business. And who says it’s a guy anyway?”
Mamma shoots me a glare to silence me, not wanting our evening to be ruined with a fight. She knows how protective I am of my baby sister. I concede…for now.
The rest of the evening is spent talking about everything and nothing. When we’re done with dessert, Wren excuses herself saying she’s tired and promises to call tomorrow, leaving me alone with Mamma again.
I help her clean up in silence and then I grab my coat and keys preparing to leave as well. “Are you going to tell me what had you so distracted when you got here?”
I turn and face her. “It was nothing, Mamma.Veramente,” I say, using her own words against her with a smirk.
Her lips thin and she props her hands on her hips in defiance. I walk toward her and wrap her in a hug. “You have a faraway look in your eyes, Hawk. You’re certainly distracted, but by what?”
I pull back and kiss her cheek before turning for the door. She crosses her arms this time. “I’m serious, Hawk. What’s happened?”
I’ve never lied to her, although I’ve obviously omitted details as needed. I drop my head and think for a moment. Is this going to be my first lie?
The moment I think I’ve worked up the right words, my mother’s slim fingers touch my cheeks. She pulls my face so she can stare me in the eye. “Don’t you dare think about lying to me. We don’t do that, you and me.” She points from me to her with her manicured finger.
I settle on the truth without dropping names. Mamma knows I once cared deeply for Brittney, and she knows whatever happened chased me toward Nashville faster than I was planning. She’s not exactly a fan, but not totally her enemy since she doesn’t know the whole story. I have no intention of giving it to her either. I may want nothing to do with Brittney Jameson, but I won’t turn my mother against her.
“I ran into an old friend I didn’t plan on seeing again. It wasn’t an expected encounter,” I tell her. It’s the truth without giving her too much.
Mamma’s brow quirks up. “I knew it had to be a woman. I also know you’re talking about Brittney. Are you ever going to tell me what happened between you two?”
I shake my head. “I’m sorry, but no.” I open the front door to walk out but she stops me.
