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“Miles, you have a visitor.”
Miles’s legs went weak.Logan!
But it wasn’t Logan who emerged from Roman and Drake’s home.
“Miles Martinez, I need to have a word with you,” Elaine said with a stern look on her normally kind face.
Miles opened and closed his mouth soundlessly. He jumped to his feet.
“Mom?!” he finally squeaked. “What are you doing here? You were supposed to come home next week!”
“I took an early flight.” Elaine closed the distance to Miles and touched his cheek, her hand gentle despite her steely voice. “What’s this I hear about my son being a chicken?”
Miles shot an accusing look at Drake.
Drake shrugged. “Hey, I’m not the one who called her.”
“Let me guess?” Miles grumbled. “It was Izzy.”
“Wrong,” Elaine snapped. “It was Hunter.”
Drake raised an eyebrow. “Hunter tattled?”
“Like the proverbial canary,” Elaine said drily. “That child didn’t pause for breath.”
Miles’s heart thundered against his ribs. “What—what did Hunter say to you?”
Elaine’s expression softened a little. “That you are madly in love. That the man you care for was in an accident. And that the thought of losing him has you so scared you’d rather not see him for fear it would break your heart.”
Emotion clogged Miles’s throat.
“How about we do this inside?” Roman suggested gently.
They went in the house. Drake made them all hot drinks and joined them at the kitchen island.
Elaine grasped Miles’s hand and gazed at him steadily. “The days after your accident were the darkest of my life. I had already lost your father. The thought of losing you nearly drove me mad with pain.” She squeezed Miles’s fingers, her eyes brimming with emotion. “You know who got me through that awful, awful time?”
Miles shook his head, his chest tight.
“It was Izzy.” Elaine reached over to take Drake’s hand. “And Drake. And Hunter. And every one of those precious boys who loved you more than you could ever have known. They were the pillars that kept me standing. The glue that stuck me together on the days I fell apart. They became my strength and eventually pulled me out of the dark place where I had fallen.”
Drake’s face grew flushed. Miles’s vision blurred with fresh tears.
“It’s okay to be afraid, Miles,” Elaine said tenderly. “But you aren’t alone. You have me and Izzy and the Terrible Seven and?—”
“Awesome Fifteen,” Roman mumbled.
Elaine blinked. “What?”
“We changed the name of the gang at Christmas,” Drake explained. “Logan came up with it.”
“Oh.” Elaine tilted her head to the side. “I like it. Logan sounds like a smart guy.” She turned to Miles. “As I was saying, we’re all here for you. We havealwaysbeen here for you.” Elaine narrowed her eyes. “So, make your mamma proud and go claim your man, Miles Martinez.”
CHAPTER28
Logan sighedfor what felt like the hundredth time. Pepper looked up where she was lying by his feet in the den. She whined softly.
“I know,” Logan murmured. “I miss Miles and Blue too.”
