Page 153 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

Nora ran her hand over Ben’s face, and he felt like a little boy suddenly. She scratched her short nails softly against his scruffy almost-beard. “You look tired. You need to sleep more.”

Less than a minute in the same room with her and she was already trying to take care of him. Christ, he’d missed her. “Been busy with the move and all.”

She made a disapproving sound, but she kissed his cheek again. “I hope you’re hungry. Gavin made enough to feed an army.”

“I am, yeah.”

“Half of that is for his lunches.” Gavin stepped up behind them, Tina at his side.

Ben didn’t exactly disappear, but the shift in his mother’s attention was almost palpable. Good thing he liked Gavin or he’d want to shove him out of the room again.

Gavin wasn’t the one she was interested in, though. “This must be Tina?” Nora pulled away from Ben and went to Tina, her arms open for a hug.

The expressions that flitted over Tina’s face ran a wide gamut as she let Nora pull her in. First was surprise, then vague awkwardness, then, suddenly, something that looked a lot like relief. After a stiff few seconds, Tina relaxed against Nora and rested her head on Nora’s shoulder. “It’s good to finally meet you, Mrs. Cartwright.”

“Call me Nora,” she whispered against Tina’s blonde hair before pulling back to see Tina’s face. “Mrs. Cartwright was my mother-in-law who didn’t like me very much.”

That was news. “Grandma didn’t like you?”

Nora had pulled back from Tina, but she still rested a hand on Tina’s belly. “Not at first. She thought I was too young for your father.” Her raised eyebrow had a hidden dumbass written in it for Ben. “And, you know how mothers are. No one is ever good enough for their children.”

Gavin shot her a knowing glance, looking like an imp with his hair falling over his forehead.

Nora let go of Tina altogether and reached for Gavin, bumping her knuckle under his chin. “Almost never.” She shrugged off the ancient history and smiled again. “She got over it. We even managed to be friends after a while.”

Nora went back to getting dinner ready. She glanced over her shoulder. “Tina, dear, there’s a bag on the back of that chair there. I brought you a little something.”

“Oh, you didn’t have—”

“Get the bag, dear.” Nora didn’t roll her eyes at Tina’s objection, but Ben could tell it was a near thing. Arguing with his mother had never been a good idea.

Tina sat down at the kitchen table and pulled a small quilt from the bag. It had a soft eyelet lace trim with sea-green satin woven through the tiny holes. Each square of the quilt was knotted with the same satin ribbon. On one corner, there were four tiny fish, hand stitched with green thread. Three for Ann’s children and, apparently, one for Tina’s. Ben recognized his mother’s work even from several feet away. Each of Anna’s kids had one just like it. Ben had one too, actually.

To the rest of the world, Nora and Tina were nothing to each other, not even in-laws. But Ben understood Nora’s message, lovingly stitched into that quilt. You’re part of our family now, and that’s all you’ll ever need.

Lucky kid.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Gavin

“This is really beautiful,” Tina said softly. She ran her hands over the fabric, turned it over to see the soft flannel on the other side, boats on the ocean.

Tina might not understand all that it meant, but Gavin knew. Ben came from a family of fishermen. The ocean wasn’t just a way of life for them, it was life itself.

Ben and Anna had quilts very similar. Ben would never say it out loud, would never ask for it by name, but after a few years together, Gavin knew that when Ben was sick and asked for an extra blanket, what he really wanted was his tattered old baby quilt.

Hunter had been buried with his.

This was a big deal. Gavin felt it deep in his bones, but no one said anything. Tina’s welcome into the Cartwright family was nearly silent, no fanfare or production. A simple gift that said a million words if you knew what to listen for.

Nora had just pulled the salad out of the refrigerator. Gavin went to her and threw his arms around her from behind. “I’m glad you came, Nora.”

She laughed and turned in his arms, kissed his forehead. “Me too. Are you ever going to start calling me Mom?”

Gavin laughed as she pushed him back and ran her hand through his hair.

“Maybe after the wedding.” He leaned against the counter and waited for her reaction.

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