Southern Comfort - Natasha Madison Page 0,16

for me, and I take it, expecting him to hold my hand while I get in the truck, but instead, he picks me up like a baby and places me in the front seat. I’m so shocked I have nothing to say while he buckles me in and then closes the door. Walking over to the nurse, he kisses her on the cheek, making her blush. “Now you bring your granddaughter over to the farm, and we’ll get her riding some horses.”

“Will do,” she says, turning to walk back into the hospital with the empty wheelchair. Kallie gets into the truck.

“He’s lost his mind,” I say as she fastens her seat belt. I watch him walk around the truck and get in.

“Shall we go home?” he asks. I want to tell him that my home is in Los Angeles, but I just nod. I look out the window into the dark night as he makes his way home. When we pull up to his house, all the lights are on, and his parents are sitting on the porch waiting for us.

“What a shocker,” Kallie says from the back and gets out of the truck. I reach for the handle, but the door is being opened by Billy.

“Hey there, pretty girl.” He puts out his hand to help me down, and I take it. I don’t know what to do with all these people around me trying to help. I’ve never had this before.

He holds my hand, walking with me to the porch where Charlotte stands with tears in her eyes. “I was so worried,” she says, taking me in her arms, and I hug her with the one hand I have available. “Are you hungry?” she asks me.

“I think I just want a hot shower,” I say. I would actually kill for a bath, but I’m not going to ask Casey to sit in his bathtub. Billy releases my hand, and I walk into the house with Charlotte, her arm around my shoulder. She takes me straight to my bedroom, and I see that the bed has been turned down.

“I didn’t know if you were hungry or not, so I just left you some water and a couple of muffins by your bed.” She points at the huge basket of muffins and the two water bottles beside my bed. “In case you are too tired to get out of bed.”

“Thank you so much,” I say, smiling at her. Walking over to the bed, I sit down, not admitting that it took way more energy than I have just to walk into the house. Over the years, she has come to visit maybe once or twice. I knew right away that she was the mom I wanted to be when my time came, whenever it did. A mother who puts her kids first, a mother who nurtures and loves unconditionally. Not just because you won first prize or were selected to walk in the Victoria’s Secret fashion show.

“You didn’t have to do that.” She wrings her hands in front of her, looking like she wants to say something, so I take all my remaining strength to get up and go over to her.

“Are you okay?” She looks at me, and she has tears in her eyes.

“I’m just …” I want to tell her that I’m sorry that I brought all this to her. “I was so scared that you were going to be hurt.” She blinks, but a tear falls anyway. “But now I see for my own eyes you’re okay.”

My own tears gather in my eyes when I look at her; this woman, who is as simple as can be, and all she wants is to have her daughter home. My mother, on the other hand, has everything that she can buy at her fingertips, and the last thing she wants is for me to come home.

“Oh, Charlotte,” I say, hugging her. “Thank you for having me, and I’m so, so sorry,” I finally say out loud. “I’m going to make a couple of phone calls tomorrow. I’ll find somewhere else to go.”

She looks at me in shock. “You will do no such thing,” she says. “When you finally get settled, we’ll have a family meeting to discuss whatever is going on. But whatever it is, we handle it here.”

“But I’m not family,” I say, trying not to let the sting hurt so much.

She puts her hand on mine. “Oh, hush your mouth, silly girl.” She smiles through the tears.