Page 21 of Fractured Hope
“Thanks, Mama.” Lyric kissed her on the cheek as he left the room and headed into the office.
“Bye,” Seb added, and then he kissed her cheek, too, and went into the garage, leaving Atticus, me, and Kat staring at each other.
Atticus paused between me and his mom.
“Come now, back to work with you.” She nudged him to get moving. “Your friend will be fine with me. I don’t bite.”
Atticus looked hesitant but eventually sent me a cautious smile over his shoulder as he left the room.
“Would you like some coffee?” She was already pouring two cups for us at her place by the counter before I had a chance to answer her. She brought them to the table as she sat next to me.
“Thanks,” I said, reaching for one before adding cream and sugar.
“So, are you really okay, Bodhi?” Carefully, she rested her hand over mine on the table. “Has my son been taking good care of you?” She studied me like she could read my past all over my face. It was a little unnerving. I was a stranger, new in town, and had seemingly latched on to her son. I’m guessing any mother would be cautious at such an unusual occurrence.
I was overcome with the need to reassure her. “Your son is very kind and generous. Atticus has gone out of his way to help me. I truly can’t thank him enough for everything he’s done and is doing for me.”
She sent me a beaming smile, clearly proud. “Well, good, I’m glad to hear. Atticus has always been caring. When he was little, he found a baby bird in a nest at the back of our house. He waited all day to see if the momma bird would come back. When it didn’t, he hand-fed the bird and took care of it. It became his pet. Sometimes I wonder why he didn’t become a vet or do something with animals, with all the stray animals he took under his wing growing up.” Chuckling, she reminisced. I could totally see Atticus taking care of a baby bird. Caring for things seemed to be part of his makeup.
“That sounds like Atticus. What I’ve gotten to know of him, anyway.” Nervously, I smiled.
“So, as I’m sure you’ve seen, this is a small town you’ve found yourself in. I’d heard rumblings of a visitor but had no idea Atticus was the one to find you.” Patting my hand, she pulled away to sip her coffee.
Feeling my cheeks heat at the thought of people talking about me, I glanced down at my lap. “I guess not many new people come to town. I was bound to stand out.” Pausing, I glanced at my cast. “Even more now.” With a huff, I lifted my wrist in emphasis.
She laughed softly. “A few years ago, maybe not, as my boys were still causing trouble with their daredevil stunts. Nota week went by when one of them wasn’t in a cast or nursing an injury.” She cradled her coffee in both hands and chuckled at the memory of her wayward children. “But as they’ve finally grown up and out of that phase, we’ve seen very few casts here in Hope’s Ridge. So yes, you are the current hot topic at the moment.”
She was so warm and welcoming. When she talked about her boys, you could tell she loved them fiercely. Pausing, I considered what it would be like to share in that love and have someone like her in my corner. I considered, not for the first time, what my own mother might have been like.
We continued discussing the town and the mischief her boys used to get into. Well, mostly Lyric by the sound of things. Our coffees were empty before I knew it, and she was getting ready to leave.
“Well, it was lovely to meet you, Bodhi. Now, don’t be a stranger, you hear? Make that son of mine bring you around for dinner, okay?” She held eye contact until I nodded in agreement. “Good. Then I’ll be seeing you soon.” With those final words, she swept out of the room. She called out her farewells to the boys as she left.
12
ATTICUS
After sayinga final goodbye to Mama, I wanted desperately to go check on Bodhi to see what she’d done to him. I held myself back for as long as I could, but I just needed to see him. Seb snickered at me as I passed. I flipped him the bird and went into the break room. Bodhi was still sitting at the table smiling. He looked a bit dazed.
“Hey, are you okay?” I took the seat beside him and placed my hand on his.
He jolted slightly, shaking his head. “Yeah, just got lost in thought. Your mom is wonderful. She really cares about you guys.”
Bodhi appeared almost wistful. Now that I understood more of his story, I could imagine he longed for a family—a mother to love him unconditionally.
“She’s the best, but she has been known to overstep.” I raised an eyebrow inquiringly. “What did she say to you?”
“I’m good. Don’t worry about me. She was just telling me about your caring nature and your love of collecting strays.” He chuckled.
Groaning, I ran a hand over my face. “Did she share the baby bird story? I was, like, six when that happened, and I wanted to keep him warm.”
Quirking an eyebrow at me, he was trying not to laugh. “She just told me you nursed it back to health. How exactly did you keep it warm?”
“Damn it! That’s usually Mama’s favorite part of the story. I built a nest out of blankets on my bed and wrapped myself around him to make sure he was warm and safe.” My face heated. “Mama was worried I would smother him when I fell asleep. But she didn’t have to worry since Jay, that was his name, made his own nest on my back. That’s how we slept until he passed away.”
I missed Jay and all the other animals I’d cared for over the years. Maybe I should look at getting a dog again. I missed having animals in the house.
Bodhi startled me out of my thoughts by touching my arm. “I think it’s sweet. You like caring for things, don’t you?” The smile he sent me held so much emotion. I was transfixed by the way his aqua eyes sparkled. He carefully went to rise, making me stand up and step back. “I was going to keep reading, but after all that food I could use a nap.”
