AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Marley? It’s your mom”—I roll my eyes at her telling me it’sher as if I wouldn’t know her voice, but that’s my mom— “I’m almost there according to this app thing on my phone, but I think I might have put the address in wrong.” Mom sounds so worried, which only sparks more of my own.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Well this is a very fancy part of town,” Mom marvels. “I’m surely lost.”
“What street are you on?” I question, fearing my poor mother is lost in an unfamiliar part of town. Mom doesn’t like driving in strange places and even less in the city. She prefers a more rural setting to suburbia. Not to mention, she isn’t very tech savvy, and I could easily see her putting in the wrong address. Is she even in Virginia Beach?
“Ocean boulevard?” is her reply.
“Is that a question?” I retort, getting frustrated with her. “Do you not know for sure?”
“Don’t sass me, young lady,” Mom snaps. “Yes, I’m sure. Oh Lord!”
“What?!” I exclaim, certain that something terrible has just happened to her at her sharp exclamation. I didn’t hear any sounds of a collision, but my imagination is running wild.
“I think I’m here,” Mom whispers, breathlessly. “There are several vehicles in the driveway, though.” I’m already heading for the front door. I throw it open to see Mom’s Nissan Sentra sitting in the driveway. I hurry out to greet her, realizing at the last minute that Bo and Dalton have followed me. Crap! This whole being in hiding thing is going to take some getting used to. I’m likely not supposed to be traipsing out of the house unexpectedly. Mom opens her door staring at Bo and Dalton, open mouthed. They are a sight to behold.
“Mom!” I cry as I hug her. She’s not paying any attention to me, still too preoccupied with the men who’ve followed me to her car. As I pull away, I see Luke coming out to meet us.
“Which one of you is Luke?” Mom demands, looking back and forth between Bo and Dalton.
“Neither ma’am,” Dalton replies with a grin on his face. Mom visibly relaxes, a frown forming on her face. I hurry to make introductions.
“Mom, this is Bo, one of Luke’s brothers,” I tell her as I point to Bo. “And this is Dalton, one of their friends and co-workers at the agency.” Mom nods absently taking both men in. When Luke reaches us, I hurry over to him. “This is Luke.” Mom drags her eyes away from Dalton’s tattooed head. Her eyes widen briefly before she manages to get herself under control. She walks over holding her hand out in greeting.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Morrison,” Luke rumbles, taking Mom’s hand and shaking it firmly. To my delight and surprise, Mom gives him an honest to goodness smile.
“It’s nice meeting you, too, Mr. Robertson,” Mom beams at him. “Marley didn’t prepare me for this level of extravagance. This is your home?” Luke nods as Mom shakes her head in dismay. I’m nervously wondering what is about to come out of her mouth.
“I thought for sure I was lost,” Mom mumbles to herself before turning to me. “Marley!”—she swats my upper arm— “you could have let me know. I would have dressed better.” Mom looks down at her perfectly pressed jeans and blouse. There’s nothing at all wrong with her clothing choices. I just roll my eyes.
“No need to put on airs,” I tease. This was a saying she’d used many times in my youth. “Luke and his brothers don’t expect us to dress or act like Hollywood royalty.” Mom shoots me a withering look.
“You could’ve fooled me with all this wealth.” Mom looks around at the beautiful home. “Is that the ocean I hear?” Her voice filled with awe. I nod at her with a huge smile.
“Come on inside,” Luke encourages us. “I think you’ll like the view from the patio.” We head inside. I notice Bo and Dalton arecovering our backs. Their heads in constant motion, assessing for threats. Mom doesn’t seem to notice the tension among the men.
Once inside, Mom ohhs and awws as she takes in Luke’s gorgeous home. Luke gives Mom the grand tour of the first floor, ending with the patio. Rosco and Enos are there and seem to be in a heated argument, but as soon as we open the door, they clam up and turn to face us.
“Oh my goodness!” my mother exclaims as she walks out onto the deck. “This is amazing!” She turns to me. “You really live here?” The wonder in her voice brings tears to my eyes. I can understand how she’s feeling. It’s almost unfathomable that I, Marley Morrison, could be living in such a beautiful, extravagant home. Growing up, we often didn’t have a roof over our heads or enough food to eat most days. Unable to speak without giving away the thick emotion clogging my throat, I just nod in response to Mom’s question. Tears stream down her face, triggering my own to follow suit. She hugs me to her, and we cry together for a minute. A throat clearing pulls us out of our emotional moment.
“Let me show you to your room, Mrs. Morrison,” Luke says. “Bo will you go get her bags?” Bo nods, heading for the front of the house as we make our way to lift. Mom is still looking around in wonder at everything.
“This is so clever,” Mom comments when we get on the lift to take us to the second floor. So far, she hasn’t commented on Luke being in a wheelchair. I know my mom well enough to know she wouldn’t treat him badly or say anything to be offensive. She raised me to be respectful of everyone as long as they show the same.
“There is also a staircase,” Luke informs her as we arrive on the second floor. He points down the hall to where the stairs arrive on the second floor. He shows her all the bedrooms. He gives her the room I had spent my first night in, well part of the night. I feel my face heat at the memory of how that night ended.My mother would die of embarrassment if she knew I had jumped into bed with him so quickly. In my defense, Luke and I had known each other for a long time. We just hadn’t acted on the attraction between us, until that night.
Bo arrives with mom’s suitcase, placing it on the floor at the foot of the bed. Luke then leads us to the room he and I share. As I knew she would, Mom loves the balcony and view of the ocean. She turns to us with a smile.
“This is a beautiful home,” she says beaming. “So how did the two of you meet?” It seems she’s ready to get all the details on our relationship. Luke takes me by surprise when he pulls me onto his lap as is his habit.
“She was my waitress at The Bistro,” Luke reminiscences with fondness in his voice. He is looking at me with such love in his eyes it takes my breath. I lean into him, sharing the moment. “I made sure to sit in her section every time I was there, which was basically every day.” He chuckles, and I can’t keep the smile off my face. I glance at mom to see her watching us intently. “I have to admit I was a little intimidated by her.” I jerk my head back to look at him in question, but he continues, “She was so beautiful and kind. I was afraid to ask her out. I didn’t want to hear her turn me down.”
Mom snorts. “She wouldn’t have said no.” Mom is grinning at us. “I can tell by the way she’s looking at you she’s head over heels. I have to admit, Mr. Robertson, I have always encouraged Marley to keep her heart to herself. It’s a fragile organ, easily broken and hard to heal, but I can see you are both deeply in love. I’m happy to see it, but I’ll still worry about her.”
“I can understand that,” Luke replies. “I give you my word. I will always put Marley’s needs above my own. I love her and only want the best for her, too.” Mom nods. Encouraged Luke looks at me, asking for permission before he continues. I nod. “Which brings us to another reason we wanted you to visit.” Mom’s happy expression falls. I swallow hard. She’s taken our relationshipbetter than I expected, but I know she isn’t going to like us getting married so soon.
“Mom,” I begin, jumping into the conversation. “Luke and I are getting married next weekend. We wanted you here for the wedding.” Mom’s face pales visibly as her eyes widen.
