Page 79 of Knot Your Rebel

Mama is in her fifties now, with salt and pepper hair around the edges and she dwarfs me by at least a foot and a half. She pops out from behind the door to the kitchen. Her glasses are propped up on the end of her nose like always and she looks over them at us, inspecting me. Think of the one of those sweet little old ladies from a small town, who’s into the gossip, but with a good heart and generous soul. That’s Mama Maggie to a tee.

Her face lights up when she sees me, and she comes around the corner for a hug. I’ve known this family since I was a boy; I spent many a summer day here. “Well, look what the cat dragged in. George, get out here. Little Tater is here.”

I freaking blush at the nickname. It may have been cute when I was little, but now that I’m a grown alpha with his own omega, it’s a little embarrassing.

“Little Tater?” Rebel snorts before leaning in and chastising me.

“We’ll discuss this later.” The words come out in a low growl that has her giggling.

“And who is this pretty little thing?” Mama Rosario says to Rebel, reaching a dainty old hand out to shake hers.

“I’m Rebel,” she says, politely returning the gesture.

“Oh, you must be our Tater’s lady. I’m so happy to meet you, my dear. This man deserves all the happiness life can give him. After everything he’s done for me and George especially…”

“Mama…” I warn. She doesn’t need to tell anyone about the money I gave to them when they needed help a few years ago.

Rebel looks up at me curiously, but I just smile and squeeze her hand.

“All right, all right. Grab a seat anywhere, and I’ll be right back.” She slips behind the counter and into the back of the store. My gaze glosses over the restaurant, finding nothing has changed since I was a kid. I still remember Mom bringing me on afternoons after school, mostly when Dad was out of town on business and she didn’t feel like cooking.

The scent of old school ovens baking pizza hits me, and I inhale it. Flour and ovens are always the two most potent scents here, a little basil, too. The restaurant has the same white, red, and green seats, only now they’ve aged with time. The twenty-five cent gumball ring machine is still in the corner by the door, collecting dust like it did when I was five years old.

Excusing myself from the table for a minute, I take the random twenty-five cents in my pocket and crank the dial. It spits out a ring, and I roll it in my hand before turning on my heel and heading back to the table. Rebel’s eyebrows raise with interest, zeroing in on my hand.

With a fake bow, I hand it to her. “For you, Danger.”

She gives me the megawatt smile I love. “Who are you and what have you done with the other Tate?” she teases me.

“He’s still very much here. Are you saying you don’t like this version of me? Because I can bring other Tate out later tonight.” She smiles and shakes her head.

“It’s just different. I’m not saying it’s bad.” She reaches out and grabs hold of my hand. “You have to understand how weird it is getting all this attention and not having it just be bad attention. All my life, I was ignored, mistreated, and I got so used to just not wanting anything for so long. It almost seems wrong when people do nice things for me.”

I slip into the seat beside her, willing to listen to whatever she wants to tell me because she’s letting me in. She’s letting her walls down just a little bit.Opening the plastic ball, I pull out the cheesy as hell ring and give it to Rebel. “You’re already mine, but I’m gonna marry this fine ass someday.”

She snorts, and it’s cute as hell. “Oh, you are, huh?”

“Absolutely. Look, gotta go use the restroom, I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.” I drop a kiss on her cheek before I leave.

thirty three - rebel

. . .

A throat clears, and I look up to see Mama standing beside our table looking down at me, eyes curious. I get an instant bad feeling in my gut. I’ve done nothing wrong, but that’s always what my mind jumps to when I’m faced with this type of situation.

“The way he looks at you… you’ve got him wrapped around your finger.” I go to speak, but she silences me again. “I’m not saying it’s bad. Just saying it’s been a long time since Tater has brought a girl to the restaurant. It’s been even longer since I’ve seen him smile this much.” I can’t help but chuckle at her nickname for him.

“As someone who’s never really had anyone in my corner, Tate has been the one constant. I didn’t know how much I needed him until I saw what I was missing.” The words are my truth. I love the gruff side of my alpha, but the one who's friends with a little old couple who owns a small pizza joint? I’m melting inside.

“He’ll never tell you this, but that man brought us out of a really tough time. A few years ago, we were struggling. The business was losing money. No one wants mom and pop shops anymore. It seems like people always go to the bigger names. So, we were losing business. But he stepped up for us without asking for anything in return. He paid off the debt and got us back on track. He used his position as a hockey player to promote us. Business picked up again after that.” She sighs. “We tried to pay him back, but he told us to keep our money. He had more than enough. I can’t say many people in this world would do the same.”

Just hearing this story is breaking my heart. How can my alpha, who’s kind of a domineering asshole, be the same guy she’s talking about? I listen as she continues to praise Tate. The way she talks about him like he’s her son. The amount of pride she has for him is overwhelming.

She reaches for my hand and holds it on the table. “What I’m trying to say is you’ve got a good one. He may come off as gruff, but that’s just how he is. He’s always been a little rough around the edges, but he’s got a good heart in him.”

“Revealing all my deep, dark secrets and embarrassing moments over here?” I look up to find Tate has returned, and he’s got a smirk on his face turned towards Mama.

“No, just explaining to Rebel here how grateful we are for everything you’ve done.”

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