Music from the living room drifted outside. He could see through the large windows numerous couples laughing and talking. There weren’t any cars in the driveway, which meant the cars had been valeted around to the back near the six-car garage.
He took the steps two at a time, and before he could reach for the doorbell, the large ornate doors swung open.
The woman he’d known all his life stood there dressed to the nines and holding a glass of white wine. Despite the fine lines around her eyes, she was still a gorgeous woman.
Her gaze met his, her mouth dropped open, and she went white at the sight of him.
“Lucien?” Her voice trembled.
He felt like a specter returning to where it had once lived but was no longer wanted.
“Mother.”
Her eyes darted to Catty and then back to him. He opened his mouth and uttered the five words he swore he’d never say to her again.
“Mother, I need your help.”
***
He sat on the edge of the bed he’d slept in as a child. The glow of the bedside lamp cast a soft light on Catty’s face as she slept.
She hadn’t woken since he laid her down.
The door creaked open and his mother hurried in with a plastic first aid box.
“Was she shot?” She frowned and sat on the other side of the bed and opened the first aid box. She dug out some gauze and tape.
“No. She was stabbed.”
She jerked her head up. “Was it silver?”
“Thankfully, no. But I’m sure it still hurts like a bitch.”
“Lucien, language.” His mother pressed her lips together and gave him her best stern look.
It still worked. A twinge of guilt hit his stomach. He shifted under the weight of her stare but continued to look at Catty.
“I need to see the wound. You should leave so I can take her shirt off.”
He gave his mother a look of incredulity and shook his head. “I’m not leaving.”
“I’m guessing you two are more than friends.” His mother’s voice was tight.
No way was he going to have a sex talk with his mother. No way.
“I care for her. If she wakes up, she won’t know where she is and I don’t want her to be afraid. So I’m sorry to disappoint you, Mother, but I’m not leaving.”
His mother’s silence weighed down the room.
“Are you mated?” She finally asked.
“No.” As much as he wanted to be bound to Catty in this life, he wouldn’t give himself permission to dream. After he’d her in danger of that witch, she probably never wanted to see him again.
Who could blame her?
His mother cut her gaze to him. “What’s her name?”
“Catty.” His stomach twisted in agony. He hated to see her like this, hurt because of him.
“Catty,” his mother spoke softly, “I’m going to remove your shirt so I can tend to your wound.”
She didn’t make a sound. The only visible movement was the rise and fall of her chest as she panted while she slept.
“She can’t hear you, Mother.”
“You don’t know that. Besides, on the off chance she can, I want to reassure her of what I’m doing so she isn’t afraid.” She reached for the scissors out of the kit and began cutting away at her shirt.
His mother’s thoughtfulness tugged something deep within his chest.
“There we go.” She set the scissors down and removed what was left of her shirt. She quickly reached for the sheet and covered up Catty’s naked breast.
He’d forgotten to warn her about Catty not wearing a bra.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“It was really hot and…”
“Well I suppose if my breasts were that perky, I’d go around free as a goose too.”
His eyes widened.
She chuckled at his embarrassment. “Lucien, I’m kidding.”
“I know, I just never heard you talk like that. Growing up you were so…” He shook his head as a grin grew on his lips.
“Hard? Unloving? Tough?” She stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. The faint lines around her eyes and mouth made her look frail. She didn’t look like the same woman with a backbone of steel who’d raised him.
“I was going to say ‘proper.’”
She frowned and nodded before attending to the wound.
“Being proper isn’t wrong, Mother.”
“I should have been more loving with you and your brother.” She shook her head as she placed the gauze over the wound and taped it down. The bleeding had stopped, and soon it would heal. “Maybe if I had, then our family wouldn’t be fractured.”
She gently tucked Catty’s arms under the sheet and pulled the coverlet up to her chin.
“I should have been more patient with you both.”