Temper (Knights of Fury #3) - Chantal Fernando Page 0,75

her cheeks. “I’m your mother. I’m allowed to be concerned when you leave the bar with a random man and then suddenly decide not to come home.”

“I get that, I do. But I’m also twenty-eight, Mom,” I say gently. “And as you can see, I’m fine. Great, even. I’m happier than I’ve ever been, as a matter of fact.”

“And I’m guessing this is all because of this man,” she comments, looking at Temper. “First love always hits the hardest. How long are you staying in town?”

“Just a few days,” he replies. “And then I’ll head back to the city.”

“Okay.” She nods, glancing between the two of us.

We make some more small talk, and then Temper brings in my suitcase and goes to check in at the hotel. The second he leaves, just like I had guessed, Mom starts in on me.

“How old is he, Abbie? I think it’s going to be so good for you when he leaves, and you can go back to your old life. You can return to college now and finish your degree. My health has improved a lot, and you don’t need to worry about me being able to handle everything,” she says, stroking my hair. “I don’t know what you were thinking leaving town with a biker you just met, but I’m going to put it down to you having your little rebellious moment. Ivy had hers when she was younger, but you didn’t, so I guess that’s what this was.”

“He’s older than me,” I admit. “I do want to go back to college.”

Just in L.A., not here. I don’t know how I’m going to break this to her, I know that she’s not going to like it. Also there’s the big elephant in the room, which is the whole Palmer thing, which she hasn’t brought up, and neither have I.

For now.

Ivy comes home and wraps me in the biggest bear hug. “Oh my God, I’ve missed you so much.”

“Me too,” I say, smiling. “Thank you for covering for me and helping out. I owe you.”

“Don’t be silly,” she says, waving her hand. “I think it showed me how much you’d taken on, and I should have been carrying more of that load.”

“I’m the big sister,” I say.

“Yeah, but we aren’t kids anymore. I should be helping just as much, and trying to make things easier for you, too. You shouldn’t feel like you need an escape so badly that you disappear in the middle of the night, so I’m sorry.”

I hug her tighter. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I love you so much, Ivy. And I brought you presents back.”

She grins. Mom, watching the whole exchange, makes a tsk tsk sound. “I don’t think that’s why she left, Ivy. I think she got a little infatuated with a certain biker.”

Ivy and I share a look, and then she drags me to my bedroom and closes the door, demanding I tell her everything. So I start from the beginning, and fill her in.

Well, almost everything.

I leave out the dead body.

* * *

“Mom, I’m thinking about moving to California to finish school,” I blurt out to her the next morning. There’s no point beating around the bush. She needs to know what I’m thinking, and she needs to be okay with her firstborn finally leaving the nest, something which is long overdue.

Her eyes well up with tears. “We’re a family, Abbie. You can’t leave. We need you here.”

“Mom, I’m old enough to move and live on my own and make my own decisions,” I say in a gentle tone. “It’s time for me to leave here. I’ve spoken to Ivy and she’s happy for me. And we will all be visiting each other, and making time for each other. We’re still family no matter what, but L.A. is where I want to be right now, and I need you to support that. I know you worry about me a lot, and you want me to be around always, but I think it’s time for you to let me go and do my own thing. It doesn’t mean