Page 13 of Black Heart

Tom sipped his beer. “I think he needed a break from your mother trying to baby him.”

“I don’t baby him!” Beth argued.

Both men shared a knowing look.

“I don’t!”

Marty bit her lip to stop herself from smiling. When that didn’t work, she turned away and became suddenly busy with scraping plates. If Beth loved you, she babied you. Marty learned that a long time ago.

When Marty had her appendix taken out when she was ten years old, Beth had fussed over her like a mother hen. It took her father, Tom, Denny, and Tristan to calm Beth down in the waiting room and stop her from interrogating every nurse and doctor that made the mistake of coming within twenty yards of her. Beth took it upon herself to take care of Marty after her mother abandoned her when she was six. Marty loved Beth more than anything and she appreciated it, even when she went a little overboard. Like the time Marty got her first period.

Beth decided to combine Tristan’s driving lessons with taking Marty to the pharmacy. Poor Tristan had no idea why his mother was hyperventilating in the front seat or why Marty was cowering in the back seat. He discovered the source of her embarrassment when Beth dragged them both down the feminine product aisle and started handing Tristan boxes of tampons and pads all while asking Marty if she wanted scented or unscented and applicator or applicator-free. Tristan choked on air as he dropped the boxes. He tossed his mother the keys and without a word, walked out of the store and the five miles home. For the next two months, Tristan had trouble making eye contact with her. Now, Tristan was the subject of Beth’s focus.

Poor bastard.

“Well, sweetheart, you did try to give him a sponge bath,” Tom pointed out while giving his wife a sheepish smile.

“You what?”Denny nearly shouted.

“He was shot and needed to be taken care of. Besides, he’s my baby. It’s not like I haven’t seen him naked before,” Beth said with a firm nod as she folded her arms over her chest.

“Yeah, twenty years ago you might have seen him naked. For Christ’s sake, Mom, he’s a grown man. He was shot in the shoulder, not paralyzed. I doubt he appreciated the effort,” Denny said, shaking his head in disbelief as he shot a look at his father. “If I’m ever bedridden, you keep this woman and her sponges the hell away from me. Hire some busty blonde to tend to my wounds.”

Tom just chuckled as Beth narrowed her eyes on her oldest son. “That’s nonsense. I would take better care of you.”

Denny shot his father a look of pure panic. “I’m serious.”

“Well, I don’t think that’s the problem anyway. Tristan appreciated me taking care of him,” Beth muttered.

Tom raised an eyebrow at that. “Sweetheart, he barricaded himself in his bathroom and refused to come out until Hank and I dragged you and your sponges out of his house.”

At that, Denny started laughing. Beth folded her arms over her chest, glaring at him. “It’s notthatfunny.”

He held up a hand while he tried to catch his breath. “That’s not why I’m laughing. I think that was the night he called me to suggest that we have you committed.”

Beth’s lips twitched despite herself. “Yes, well, it’s not my fault that my babies don’t appreciate me.”

“Oh, come on, Mom. You know that’s not true. You just have a tendency of overdoing it a bit.”

“I do not!”

“Yes, you do,” Tom said, chuckling as he finished off his beer.

“Give me one example.” When Tom opened his mouth to do just that, she clarified, “That doesn’t involve me taking care of them while they’re sick.”

“That’s easy,” Denny said. “What about our love lives?”

“What about them?” Beth demanded.

Tom shifted uncomfortably in his seat, “Ah, sweetie, you are kind of desperate to get them married and give you grandkids.”

She scoffed at that. “No, I’m not.”

“Sweetheart, you signed Tristan up without his knowledge on ten different dating sites. Then, you invited the ones that met your qualifications to a party where Tristan was the only guy.”

“So?” Beth asked, but Marty didn’t miss the guilty expression on her face.

“So? So, why the hell didn’t you do that for me?” Denny demanded.

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