Tore Up (Mississippi Smoke Series Book 1)

I’d give her one thing; she was good at staying quiet. Most females were uncomfortable when no one was talking, and they rambled on about shit just because they didn’t like silence. This one hadn’t said one word since we’d left the kitchen. It wasn’t like she was pouting about the bra comment either. I’d have picked up on that.

I opened the front door of my parents’ house and waved a hand for her to go on inside. The house was peaceful compared to when I’d left here last night. There had been too much drama, aggression, crying, and shit that had nothing to do with my brother’s absence—just selfish reactions. Why Saylor’s behavior had surprised me, I wasn’t sure, but I’d thought she’d have been sensitive enough not to make the situation all about her. I’d been wrong. It might as well have been the Saylor show.Text © 2024 NôvelDrama.Org.

My mother’s heels clicked on the marble floor, and I closed the door behind Halo. Of course she’d been listening for us. She’d called me before I even woke up this morning. That was a rarity. The woman liked to sleep in late. Since Crosby’s death, she’d been taking her meds and sleeping well past noon and barely coming out of her room the rest of the day.

“Oh.” My mother’s breathless gasp as she entered the foyer wasn’t a bad one.

Halo’s worry was so thick that I could feel it, but she had no reason to be. I wouldn’t have brought her here to be attacked. She didn’t believe that though.

“Mom,” I said, turning to look at her, “you look beautiful this morning.” And it was a fucking relief.

My entire life, she had always looked like this. Crosby’s death had taken the vibrancy from her eyes, and she had given up on caring about anything at all. She had lost weight, and her cheekbones stood out. My brother had been her baby. I wasn’t sure she would ever recover from losing him. I knew she would mourn him for the rest of her life, but Halo had given her a reason to live.

She batted a manicured hand at me, as if I were being silly, but her eyes never left Halo.

“Halo, this is my mother, Grissele. Mom, Halo.”

My mother walked toward her slowly with wide eyes almost full of wonder. The ache of loss was still etched in the lines of her face, but she was hopeful.

“She’s …” Mom started, then smiled softly. “You’re breathtaking.”

I wanted to shake my head. Of course that was my mom’s concern. Was the girl carrying my brother’s baby going to add to the gene pool in looks or take away from it?

“Thank you,” Halo said, watching my mom with hesitancy.

This was obviously not what she’d been expecting. My father’s response to her would be more along the lines of what she had built up in her head. He wasn’t thrilled that Crosby had knocked up a girl behind Saylor’s back.

“Those eyes,” Mom said, as if mesmerized.

Yes, Mom, she’s fucking gorgeous, but what did you expect?

This was Crosby we were talking about. If he was going to have a secret baby momma, she wasn’t going to be ugly.

Mom blew out a small breath, then a shaky laugh. “I’m sorry,” she told Halo. “You—I—I’m—it’s all a lot to take in. Until yesterday, I thought I’d lost my beautiful boy forever. And now, we have you, and you’re carrying my baby’s baby.” She stopped, her eyes welling with tears, and she sniffled in her feminine, ladylike way. “You’ll have to forgive me. I might cry several times today.”

I’d been prepared for this. Reaching into the front pocket of my jeans, I pulled out the tissue pack I’d stuck in there and handed Mom one. She took it, giving me a grateful smile, and dabbed at her eyes.

“Always the provider,” she said.

I felt Halo’s gaze on me, and I almost smiled. Almost. I knew what she was thinking, and that label was not one she’d put on me. I doubted there was a positive word she would connect with me.

“I have tea and some scones set up in the sunroom,” she told Halo. “Several caffeine-free options for you. I can have croissants brought in as well. Just tell me your preference.”

The wide-eyed look on Halo’s face should have given Mom the hint that the girl had no idea. She wouldn’t know what the fuck a scone was. I’d told them she came from a lower-income household, but Mom had never known anything other than the one-percenter life. I doubted she understood what that meant exactly.

“Scones are hard-ass biscuit-cookie things,” I told Halo. “I’d ask for the croissants.”

She blinked those long lashes of hers as she stared up at me.

My mother laughed. “They are no such thing, but I will have the croissants sent in too. Are you joining us, son?”

I knew she didn’t want me here. She wanted to pepper Halo with her probing questions. And I sure as fuck didn’t want to sit and listen to her talk.

“No, I’m going to the stables.”

Mom nodded her head, but didn’t look at me. Her full attention was on Halo.

I hadn’t expected her reaction to this news last night. I’d thought she and my father would be upset. Mom had lit up with the first real stirring of life in her eyes since losing Crosby, and that fact alone was why Dad was letting her have this.

Linc and I had been prepared to defend the decision to keep Halo at my house and under family protection at least while she was pregnant, then help set her up in a nice, safe place to live when the baby came. That had not been necessary. The only wailing last night had been from Saylor. Thankfully, her father had taken her and left. Gathe had gone to get her when Oz called to tell him.

I listened to my mother prattle on about the different tea options as I walked away. At least the girl was good for something. Making my mom happy. She owed her that after being the cause of her son’s death.