Page 146 of In Plain Sight

“Then I won’t keep you.” She gave me another tight smile.

“Bye.”

I managed to not run out the door and walked to my car at a normal pace, my head spinning and the dizzy feeling from before lingering.

“Babe?” Luka asked as soon as I slid into my seat.

I started the car and shook my head. Knowing my mother, she was looking out the window, and I didn’t need her seeing me break down in my car or Luka comforting me.

“You’re scaring me,” he said when I pulled away from the curb and drove to the end of the block. “Babe?” he repeated when I’d parked again.

I cut the engine and leaned back in my seat. “I’m okay. I’m just processing.”

Luka took my hand and threaded our fingers together, giving me a moment to get past my shock.

“She accepted it,” I said, my voice strained and weirdly monotone.

“She did?”

I slid my gaze to his. “Yeah. I told her, and she asked me if I was sure, then said okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, like, literally said okay.” I blew out a sigh as the last of the adrenaline and shock bled out of my body. “It’s still a little bit of a blur, but she basically said that if I say I’m gay, then I am, and that means God made me this way, so it’s not her place to question it or something like that.”

His eyes rounded comically. “Seriously?”

I nodded. “She also said she kind of suspected this, with me not dating at all after Ivy and not showing any interest in women. I think that helped her not freak out. But I still can’t believe it. I was so sure she’d disown me, or at the very least, cut me off until I changed my ways or whatever. But she just accepted it, accepted me.” I shook my head, a crush of thoughts hitting all at once.

“Babe.” He squeezed my hand reassuringly. “You know how she’s your only blood relative?”

I nodded.

“That means you’re also hers. Maybe she’s just as scared about losing you as you are about losing her.”

I paused, digesting Luka’s words.

“I think you’re right,” I said slowly. “One thing she said tonight was that she didn’t give up everything to raise a fool. She might not have wanted me, but she kept me. And even though she doesn’t say it often, she does love me.” I huffed out a breath.“I have no idea what things will look like going forward, but I think everything will be okay.”

Luka beamed at me, the happiness and joy in his expression helping chase away the last of my shock, and I smiled back.

Still grinning, I leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against his lips.

“Are you okay to drive?” Luka asked when we were sitting back in our seats.

I nodded and turned the car back on. “Yeah, I’m good now.”

Luka’s warm hand encircled my thigh as I put the car in gear, and I felt lighter than I had in years now that the weight of my secret was gone.

I had no idea what would happen when her friends or the rest of the church found out about me, but it didn’t really matter anymore. I had other people in my life who cared about me.

Hopefully my chosen family wouldn’t shrink when we told everyone at the party tonight.

“There’s no way.” Isaac shook his head emphatically. “Nope. I’m calling bullshit.”

Asa shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets, his expression completely unbothered.

“Yeah, that innocent shit doesn’t work on me.” Isaac looked between me and Jamie. “Someone back me up here.”

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