Page 17 of Twisted Trails
“Some broken fingers and a concussion.”
And apparently achatteand not abite.
“Mon Dieu.” She exhales and straightens her shoulders. “Well? Are we going in?”
I cock an eyebrow at Mason, but he just shakes his head, his jaw all tight again.
Those fucking walls around him better mark their days.
I sigh, digging in my pocket before tossing him the keys. “Bring the van back to Paul. Tell him I went home for the break.”
Mason turns on his heel and walks toward the van like he can’t get away fast enough. I want to run after him and demand he stay with me, but thenMaman’shand settles on my forearm. Apparently, the universe decided I needed parenting instead.
I compromise by yelling after him. “And get your head out of your ass while you’re gone, Payne! You have my number,so fucking use it! And if you tell a soul, Iwilllight your ass on fire!”
Mamanwatches him go with a worried frown, then tilts her head toward me. “Tell anybodywhat?”
I hesitate, wracking my brain for how even to begin as I finally detangle my thoughts enough to remember what’s important. My heart is still somewhere in that hospital room with her, tangled in the wires, bruises, and that damn soft voice I can’t stop hearing in my head.
“He’s a she,” I say finally. “MyPetitis… aPetite.”
Even though I’ve said it to myself repeatedly since leaving my heart behind, it still lands heavily to say the words out loud.
“She disguised herself to race,” I explain, rubbing the back of my neck. “I don’t know all the reasons yet. I have no idea what’s going on, really.”
I glance down, half expecting her to react, to gasp, or pull me into a lecture about my impulsive heart, butMamansimply squeezes my forearm.
“What’s her name?”
I look up cautiously. “You’re not freaking out?”
“Well, it’s unexpected, but Luc, I raisedyou.I’ve already seen every way a child can surprise a parent. You think this is going to shake me?”
A laugh slips out of my mouth, a little cracked at the edges. “Fair.”
“Besides,” she adds, her smile softening, “I saw the way you act around him. Orher.That’s love,mon coeur, and I’ll always love who you love, no matter what.”
She really is some kind of sorceress. “How do you always know what to say?”
“It’s a mother thing.” She winks. “Now, tell me her name.”
I hesitate for only a second before I say it, quietly but with a kind of awe I can’t hide. “Alaina.”
She nods slowly, almost reverently. “Beautiful.”
“Yeah.” My stomach is squeezing as I watch the van disappear around the corner. “I guess the bi panic I called you about was for nothing. Sorry.”
“You know,” she says, her gaze following mine. “When you called and said you were confused, the first person I thought of was that handsome boy who just left.”
My head snaps toward her, and she pats my arm like she just handed me a cup of tea instead of a bomb. “Another mother thing. We just know stuff.”
I gape at her, words scrambling in my mouth like they’re running for cover, but before I can find a single one, she’s tugging my sleeve, towing me through the hospital doors.
“Come on,” she says brightly. “Let’s go see how our Alaina is.”
My head and heart are a riot of relief, confusion, and affection as I follow her inside.
I need to seePetite,to hear from her lips whether this thing between us, whatever the hell it is, is real.
