Page 67 of Joyride
“Alright, alright. Get a room you two.” Shade groans.
Sienna giggles. “I think that was payback.”
I pull away from Sketch, smiling.
“Hey, what do you think about going to Baton Rouge for Labor Day weekend,” Sketch asks.
“Baton Rouge? What’s . . . oh, your mom?”
He grins. “I want her to meet you.”
“Of course! I’d love to meet her.”
* * *
A week later,we’re off to Baton Rouge, LA. The closer we get to Mama Maggie’s, the more nervous I get. As if he could sense my nerves, Sketch reaches over and grabs my hand.
“She’s gonna love you, ya know?”
“But what if she doesn’t?”
He chuckles. “That’s not possible. Everyone that knows you loves you.”
My cheeks heat.
“And if they don’t love you, they don’t really know you,” he adds.
We arrive at Mama Maggie’s close to three o’clock. I pull the car into the driveway, next to a familiar car.
“Is that Luke’s car?” I give Sketch a confused glance.
The smirk on his face tells me I’m right. I follow him inside only to be greeted by Cheshire’s mischievous grin.
“Ches! What are you doing here?” I squeeze him in a hug.
“We wanted to surprise you,” he tells me.
“We?”
He steps to the side. There, standing behind him is Luke, Knave, and Rabbit. I didn’t realize how much I missed these guys until now.
I glance at Sketch. “Did you know they would be here?”
He nods. “Yup. I called Luke last week to let him know we were coming. They wanted to surprise you.”
“The shop hasn’t been the same without you,” Knave says. I make my rounds, giving them hugs.
“Where’s Ma,” Sketch asks Luke.
Luke hooks his thumb over his shoulder. “She’s out back.”
Sketch throws his good arm around my shoulders. “You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” I’ve never been so nervous about meeting a guy’s mom. Walking outside, there are flowers everywhere.
“Mama!” Sketch says.
Maggie turns around. “Sketch! Honey, you made it.”
