Her mother stepped out on the porch, and she studied her from where she sat. Lily didn’t look a thing like her mother. Joanna Stanton was a short bundle of energy. Blonde hair was piled up on her head in a messy bun, and she wore a pink tank top and blue jean shorts that showed off her sun kissed skin beautifully. Her mama looked good. The Florida climate suited her.#p#分页标题#e#
“Daylight’s wasting,” Lily said.
“What?” Nikoli asked, never having heard her speak like that.
“It’s something my Dad used to say whenever he dreaded doing something. It was his way of reminding himself when something had to be done, there was no point in putting it off.”
“Your father was a wise man,” Nikoli said. “Ready to go?”
Not really, but she got out of the car anyway. She stood staring at her mom. They hadn’t seen each other in a long time. Her mother stared back at her just as intently. Nikoli came over and gently nudged her forward. She glared at him. He needed to give her time. He shook his head no and pushed her forward again. The man was insufferable. He never let her just take a minute and think.
She gave him one more glare and started walking. When she reached the porch, her mother took an automatic step back. She knew Lily’s phobia intimately.
“Hi, Mama,” Lily said, her voice hesitant.
“Lily.” Her mother’s voice was just as soft as hers. Lily used to love listening to her read to her when she was little. “Welcome home, sweetheart.”
Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her thoughts focused on what she was about to attempt. She waited for the panic, for the overwhelming fear to consume her, but all she felt was the warmth and the love she associated with her mother. And Nikoli. She could feel his presence behind her, and she took strength from that.
She walked over to her mother and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tight. “I love you, Mama.”
Her mother let out a strangled cry and hugged her back just as hard. “Oh, my baby…”
Lily felt her mother’s tears fall down and splash her face. She heard the wonder in her voice. It made her heart cry and swell with love at the same time. She’d deprived herself and her mother of this for years, and now instead of panic, she felt a deep sadness. She’d caused them both so much pain.
“I’m so sorry, Mama,” she whispered, her own tears joining her mother’s. “I didn’t mean to hurt you…I just…I…”
“Hush now, sweet girl.” Her mama stroked her hair like she had when she was a little girl. “Hush and let me hold you.”
Behind her, Lily heard the trunk pop, and she knew Nikoli was getting the gifts she’d bought for her family, but it was only a distant thought. Right now, all she was concerned with was that she was in her mother’s arms with no fear, no panic, no need to start screaming.
And that was all because of Nikoli Kincaid.
They spent the afternoon lounging by the pool while her mother cooked them enough food to feed three armies. The twins were ecstatic to see Lily. She hadn’t spent a lot of time with them in person, but she did Skype with her mom and the twins at least two or three times a week. They tore into their gifts like little fiends and squealed with delight. What really broke Lily’s heart was when they were so shocked she hugged them. She spent two hours just sitting on the floor playing with them, smiling like she hadn’t in a very long time.
Once everyone had been fed, Lily offered to help her mom with the dishes. Nikoli was content to sit and talk about baseball with her stepfather. She helped her mom gather up dishes and took them into the kitchen, where she started scraping them. Her mom ran some dishwater for the pots and pans. She always refused to put pans in the dishwasher, proclaiming that was where all the nicks and scratches came from.
“Tell me about this young man of yours,” her mother said without preamble.
“He’s my saving grace, I guess you could say. I would never had learned to control my phobia without him.”#p#分页标题#e#
“How did he do it?” her mother asked curiously. “What did he do that we didn’t?”
“It’s not that, Mama. You did everything you could. It was more me. I wanted to change, to be able to let someone touch me. It wouldn’t have worked if I hadn’t needed to change so badly. Nikoli just…he never let me give up. He pushed and pushed and pushed. Sometimes I wanted to strangle him, but he never pushed too far. He knew when to stop. But mostly, he was just there when I needed him.”
“He pushed you?”
Lily snorted. That was putting it mildly. “He pushed my limits, never let me give in to my fear, never let me give up, Mama, even when I wanted to. I never thought I’d be able to let anyone touch me ever again, but I can now, and it’s all due to him. I’m mostly healed because of that man.”