Page 34 of Shattered

Oh, my God, I’m blind.

Chapter Twelve

“Okay,Mami. We’ll see you in another few weeks.”

Sawyer covered a grin as Carm hugged her mother goodbye on the sidewalk out front of the airport. She loved her mom to pieces, but after this latest extended visit due to Sawyer’s recovery, she was glad to put her mom on a plane.

And as much as Sawyer adored his future mother-in-law, he was looking forward to being alone with Carm again. Having Mama Cruz stay with them for so long had put a total damper on their sex life.

Ethan and Marisol took their turns saying goodbye next. Then Mama Cruz turned to Sawyer, a sad, loving smile on her face.

“Sawyer.” She held her plump arms out expectantly. He adjusted his Stetson so the brim wouldn’t hit her in the face as he leaned down and pulled her into a hug. His heart squeezed at the way she held onto him, the top of her head barely reaching the center of his chest. So tiny, but every molecule of her was made of love. “You keep getting better, you hear?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

One more squeeze, a pat on the back, and Mama Cruz let him go to peer up at him with eyes the exact same golden-brown shade as her children’s. “You won’t rush things. You’ll do as the doctors say?”

“No. And yes.”

She turned her attention to her daughter. “And you. You’ll make sure he eats properly, yes?”

To her, eating properly meant serving him at least three home cooked meals every day. She’d seen to it personally ever since he came home from the hospital. He’d put on seven pounds already, helped along by all the batches of homemade brownies and his favorite caramel flan she knew he couldn’t get enough of. And since he was still recovering, she’d made it plain she now expected Carm to take over on her behalf now that she was leaving.

Sawyer was the first to admit he loved the way Mama Cruz spoiled him, and he even found her bossiness endearing, because it meant she cared so much. Carm didn’t see it that way though.

His fiancée gave a dramatic sigh. “Mom,please. Give it a rest.”

Her mother raised both eyebrows at her. “He’s the one who needs a rest. You need to take care of him.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Sawyer noticed Ethan covering his mouth with a fist, trying to cover up a laugh with a cough. He failed spectacularly.

Carm aimed an exasperated look at their mother. “Iwilltake care of him, but I don’t think making himself a sandwich now and again is going to set him back any. Or if he doesn’t get his daily helping of flan,” she added in a blasé tone.

“But do you really want to take that chance?” Sawyer asked her, only half-teasing. Helovedthat flan.

All the lacerations and bruises were healed up now, with the exception of a little bit in his brain. The strict concussion protocol the doctors had him on dictated that he had at least another month of recovery left before he could begin training and rejoin his team, and that might not even be until after the wedding and honeymoon, depending on how things went. Until then, two new guys were filling in for him and Schroder, who might not ever be able to return.

That was so damn horrifying, Sawyer tried not to think about it.

Carm elbowed him in the ribs. “Quiet.”

“And you’ll keep taking the pills I bought you?” Mama Cruz asked him.

He hid a grimace. They were some godawful concoction of ingredients she’d found in a Puerto Rican specialty store up here that were supposed to help him heal faster and get rid of the last of the bruising in his brain. Sawyer was convinced she’d bought them from a witch doctor. Probably consisted of ground up insects and animal dung or something. “Well I—”

She raised her eyebrows and pointed a finger at him. “Don’t say to me no. They’re good for you.”

He wouldn’t dream of it. “Okay,” he said with a grin. She was just so damn funny when she got all fierce. No wonder Carm had so much fire in her.

Mama Cruz narrowed her eyes at him. “You can’t throw them away, either, because you just gave me your word you’d take them.”

“Yes, ma’am.” It was one bottle. He wouldn’t die. Probably.

A happy smile curved her mouth and she patted his cheek. “Te amo, mi hijo.”

He still didn’t know much Spanish, but that he understood. “Love you too, Mama.”

As she walked away pulling her rolling suitcase behind her, he draped an arm around Carm’s shoulders. The four of them stood there waving when Mama Cruz looked back from inside the terminal doors.

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