Page 46 of Tiny's Law

Am I a Mama’s boy? You could say that. Do I give a shit what anyone thinks about that? Nope.

“Why haven’t I heard from you in over a week, Nathan?”

I chuckle. “Well, considering I’ve been busy, and you’ve been home every day this week, I knew you were good.”

“So you’ve had time to check my cameras but no time to call me?”

So yeah, I’ve also got cameras at my mom’s. No, I don’t have cameras in her bedroom. That’s disturbing. But I do keep an eye on her, too, maybe too close an eye.

“Sorry, Ma.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Listen, I was talking with your Aunt Evie, and we thought it would be fun to come visit.”

“Not that I wouldn’t love to see you, Mama, but what’s the occasion?”

“Evie’s getting a divorce,” she says without beating around the bush. She has always been a no-bullshit kinda woman.

That has my eyes prying open and my gaze settling on the ceiling. “What?”

“I know. It’s unfortunate. She found out he’d been cheating with some women at work.”

“Women? Like multiple?” I growl.

“Multiple,” Mom confirms.

“Fuck,” I growl. “What does she need me to do?”

My mom sniffles through the phone. Whether it be her insane allergies or she’s upset for her baby sister’s sake is unclear. “Nothing, sweet boy. She’s upset, but more because she wasted so many years on him. She’ll be okay. She wants to take a break from the city and come back home.”

Even though Mama and Evie were born and raised in the city Desert Rose borders, it is nowhere near the size of Phoenix. So even though it’s a big city to us, considering where they’ve been living for the past fifteen years, our city is small.

I moved to Desert Rose after the Marines because it’s much quieter than the city I grew up in, and after my romp in the military, I needed quiet. I played football in high school with Tex, and that’s how I met the guys of Desert Outlaw eight years ago when I got out.

“Just have your guest rooms open and ready for us tomorrow.”

I fly up to a sitting position, scrubbing my hand over my scruffy face. “Tomorrow?”

“We’re leaving around nine, so we should be by you around lunchtime.”

“Jesus, Ma. You couldn’t give me more notice?”

“Pshh. Why would I need to do that?”

For such a smart woman, sometimes I question her. Once the surprise wears off, I let the excitement settle in. Mom coming to town means home-cooked food. Her cooking is the fucking best.

Shit.

My mom coming to town doesn’t really give me all that much time to woo Kourtney into wanting me back. I’m determined as fuck to make that happen, but this has thrown a wrench in my plans.

Shit, maybe I can have my mom work her charm on her. Everyone likes my mom, and for that matter, my mom likes everyone. Like I said, she’s an angel. There aren’t many people on this Earth that Emily Hayes does not like.

After promising my mom that both guest rooms would be ready for her and Aunt Evie, I hang up and force myself out of bed to start my day.

The day at the office drags on as I sit through two brainstorming sessions and another mission assignment meeting with our team of mercenaries.

I need a damn nap.

The next day, once lunchtime rolls around, I take the liberty of grabbing some food from the diner and head towards Kourtney’s office.

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