Page 87 of Forever in the Country

“I need them gone. I wanted to just handle it myself, but dammit, I need help and I—”

Her arms wrap around my middle and she squeezes me tight like she has since the very first time I met her. I’m bigger now, but in this moment I’m still the boy who sought refuge at her kitchen table at fourteen and every day since.

When she pulls back, she places her hand on my cheek and gives me her gentle smile. “Come sit, okay? I have to make a phone call.”

I let her lead me to the table and pull out a chair. She sets a cup of coffee and a scone in front of me like she’s been waiting for this.

Maybe she has. Maybe I’m the only one too stubborn to see the mess I am making doing this on my own.

She picks up her cell and puts it to her ear. My cup is halfway to my mouth when she speaks.

“Miss Thelma, it’s Flora.” Pause. “It’s time. ‘Operation Darling’ starts now.”

She listens a beat before saying goodbye and placing her phone back on the table. My coffee cup meets the wood with a thud.

“Do I even want to know what that means?” I ask as she takes the seat next to me and places her hand over mine.

“If you think our town hasn’t been preparing for this moment for almost twenty years, then you don’t know us at all.”

“But why now? They’ve been here for basically a week already.”

She shrugs but doesn’t move her hand. “You had to make the choice. Marlee made hers; we were just waitin’ on you.” Her eyes soften as she looks at me. “You have the right to have a relationship with your parents, Sorren. It’s no one’s business but yours.”

I stare back at the woman who has always been more of a mother to me than the woman parading around Clementine Creek in her knockoff designer clothes.

Swallowing hard, I let go of the small piece of me that thought Michael and Vivian would be worthy of my time and attention—that as an adult I could reconnect with them in a way that would allow us to be cordial going forward.

The acceptance that it isn’t a possibility eases some of the grief I’ve carried since I was a teenager. I made the right choice then and I’ve made the right choice now.

The only difference is that now I have a family—a community—to lean on. A crazy, dysfunctional, codependent family, but damn if I don’t secretly love that too.

I swallow again as the knuckles of my free hand rap against the table. “My parents live here.”

Her eyes well with tears, and I’m not ashamed to admit that mine do too. Marlee had broken down the first time we’d been invited to dinner here. She’d cried and fallen into Mama’s arms at the promise of love and safety and a family.

I’d been so hesitant—so scared—always looking over my shoulder for our past to catch up with us. It took nearly two decades for me to finally realize what I’ve had all along.

A home, a family, a forever in this small town. I’d fallen in love and found my forever home.

It wasn’t lost on me that I’d made it my legacy to find dogs—unloved and misplaced animals—their forever homes.

“You always have been the most stubborn of all my kids,” Mama says as a tear trails down her cheek.

“Thanks for not giving up on me.”

“Never, baby, you know that.”

“I do.” Her smile is one of relief, both of us acknowledging that I’ve finally figured it out. “I love you, Mama.”

“Oh, I love you too, baby.” She pats my hand as she stands. “You stay as long as you like. I gotta go make sure Miss Thelma sticks to the plan. We don’t need Sheriff Kade getting involved.”

“Operation Darling, huh?” I muse and she nods.

“Has a certain ring to it, doesn’t it?”

Her eyes sparkle with mischief and I shake my head and chuckle. “Y’all be careful.” I pause as I stand, wrapping her in a hug and dropping a kiss to the top of her head. “And call me if you need bail money.”

“Don’t you worry, baby, we’ve got it all under control.”

---