ago. “And you promised to put up with it forever.” I leaned down, and she lifted to meet me halfway before I pulled back. “So, the joke’s on you.”
Hitting my chest, she shoved me back, making me laugh.
River turned his head from the TV, letting me see his hazel eyes, a perfect combination of my jade and Tyra’s whiskey, before deciding his parents weren’t as entertaining as his favorite cartoon. River was like a damn zombie when the TV was on, but when it wasn’t, he was a hurricane. He seemed to take an interest in sports whenever we went a few rounds in the backyard, but he was also wicked smart like his mother. A little too smart if you asked me. Some of the shit that came out of his mouth astounded me. The only peace we seemed to have was when the TV was on. Despite his miniature size when he was born, he was easily the tallest in his class, surpassing all of our hopes and expectations. None of it would have mattered, but I was grateful for this boon. Our son wouldn’t spend the rest of his life paying for our mistakes.
“I’ve always meant to ask,” I said even though it had been seven years. “Why River?”
Tyra looked up in surprise before biting her lip and turning around in my arms to stare at our son. “Because he was proof that no matter which way the water flowed, it would always lead me back to you. You were the definite course.”
I sucked in a breath. Tyra had known, even when she resisted, that she’d be mine again, and I’d be hers. The doorbell rang, saving me from responding. No way could I have managed any more than the chaste kiss I placed on her head before stepping back and noticing the wrapped gift on the counter. I’d almost forgotten that today was my best friend’s twenty-seventh birthday. Tonight, Tyra and River would be heading to Blackwood Keep for the surprise party that Four was throwing him. Warmth bloomed in my chest at the thought of home as I moved for the front door. Four and Ever had been the only one of us who hadn’t left the place behind. The distance between us wasn’t significant, but it felt as if we’d been spread to the four corners of the world.
With all of our busy schedules, it had been almost three years since I’d seen any of them. It went without saying that I missed them.
I began to consider how deep in shit I’d be in if I blew off the first game of the season, even though I was the goddamn quarterback, to be with my friends when I yanked open the front door. A woman was standing there in a white trench coat and large rose-tinted sunglasses that covered her eyes. Her hair was pulled back in a neat bun, and behind her, a Bentley and driver waited. In a word, she looked…pricey.
“Can I help you?” I said a little impatiently when she continued to stand there and stare. It wasn’t unusual for a sports fanatic to find out where their favorite athlete lived, but this woman didn’t look like a fan. No, she looked nervous as hell even though she’d been the stranger to ring my doorbell.
Tyra had grown curious by now, and I felt her presence hovering just as the woman’s shaking, gloved hands rose, and she slowly removed her sunglasses. Any fear I had of too many years passing for me to recognize the woman who gave birth before abandoning me vanished. I knew before she could find the words to explain who she was.
“Mom?”
“For twenty years, I’ve thought of this moment and what I would say. Nothing seems quite adequate.”
I just stood there, finding it even harder to form words. My father had been dead for seven years, and I hadn’t heard a peep. I’d already written her off, written off the possibility that she would even want me.
Tyra moved to stand beside me, and with one hand on my arm, soothing the warring emotions inside, she shook my mother’s hand with the other. “I’m Tyra Rees. Why don’t you come in? It’s so nice to meet you.”
My mother’s gaze flitted to me and then back to Tyra before nodding hesitantly.
“Tyra, what are you—”
“If you could give us a moment,” she asked of my mother, who quickly disappeared off to God knows where. She was in for the shock of