Page 119 of Love Without Demands

Dear god.

“You don’t have to—”

“I’ll help,” Mama interrupted. “I love baking.”

Well, this oughta be interesting.

A few minutes later, I was loading the dishwasher while the women mixed up ingredients. “Wait, why are you adding so much flour, mija?”

Lehra paused with a cup full of flour. “That’s what the recipe says. Three cups.”

Mama squinted at the small, handwritten card. “No, this says two cups. It’s kind of smudged, but that’s definitely a two.”

“It’s really old. It was my grandmother’s,” Lehra said, peering at the card. “Oh my gosh! I think you’re right. That is a two.”

“Three cups would make them very dry,” my mother commented.

Lehra scrunched her nose. “They are always dry, but Cruz seems to like them, so I keep making them.”

I turned my head to hide my grin, but I could feel the weight of Mama’s gaze on me. She knew exactly what I’d been doing, eating the cookies because Lehra made them, not because I actually liked them. I could somehow feel her pride from across the room.

The results were amazing, the cookies moist and absolutely delicious. “I can’t believe I’ve been making them wrong all this time,” Lehra said, eating her fourth one. “Why didn’t you tell me, Cruz?”

“I thought they were supposed to be like that,” I hedged. “I ate them with a glass of milk, and they were fine.”More like a half gallon of milk, but that’s just semantics, right?

I reached for the last cookie, but my mother snatched it off the platter before I could snag it. Crossing my arms, I pretended topout. She grinned wickedly and stuffed the entire thing into her mouth.

“Well, it’s been a long day with travel and everything. I think I’ll hit the hay,” she said after swallowing the yummy confection. She rose and gave Lehra a long hug. “I’m so pleased to get to know you, mija. Will I see you tomorrow?”

“Oh, well, I thought you two were going out for dinner with Quinnie and her family.”

Mama placed her hand affectionately on Lehra’s cheek. “You’ll come. You’re family now.”

I’ll be honest, my vision got a little hazy from the tears, and I noticed my girl biting the inside of her cheek. Maybe she was thinking about how differently she was being treated as compared to Dwight’s mom. There was noyou’re not invited because you’re not family yet.

There was only love and acceptance. And that was exactly how it should be.

Tossing Lehra a wink, I led Mama to her room. “I put your suitcase over there in the sitting area, and there’s an en suite here, so you’ll have your own bathroom,” I told her, pointing to the door on the left. “My room is just down the hall if you need anything.”

“You’re not staying at Lehra’s?” she asked curiously.

I hesitated. This would be the first night I’d spend without her in my bed, but we’d talked about it before Mama’s arrival. My mother was going to stay at Quinnie’s home for a couple days later this week, so I told Lehra we could make up for lost time then.

“Not while you’re here,” I replied.

Mama rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. I’m going to call your brother to check on him and then go straight to sleep. There’s no reason you shouldn’t stay with your beautiful woman.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek. “I can already tellshe’s the one for you, my hijo. She’s going to be your wife one day, and your wife should always come first.”

Dammit to hell. Is someone cutting onions in here?

I wrapped my mother in my arms and swayed us back and forth. “I love her so much, Mama. I never knew it would feel like this.”

She sniffled against my chest. “I’m so happy for you. She’s a beautiful person, inside and out. I felt it from the first time I saw her.” She gave me one last squeeze before releasing me. “Now get out of here. I saw some chorizo and eggs in the fridge, so I’ll make breakfast. Just text me when you two lovebirds wake up, and I’ll get started.”

“You don’t have to cook while you’re here, Mama.”

“I want to,” she insisted and then pushed at my shoulder. “Now scoot. We’ll spend the day together tomorrow. All three of us. I need to get to know my future daughter better.”

I gave her one last kiss and left the room with a grin on my face. There was absolutely no way I could love my mother any more.

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