The Ex Files (Ocean View #1)(52)

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Dawson.”

“Oh, no, no ‘Mrs. Dawson’ here. Only Kerry or Mom.” Her face blushes, and my mom’s head tips back in a tinkly laugh that used to fill the halls when I was a kid.

“Sorry to do this, Ma, but Cass hurt her wrist yesterday, and it’s pretty sore. Figured I’d just bring her here and skip the urgent care.”

“I’m really so sorry to barge in here like this, Mrs.—uh, Kerry. There’s no need. I’m totally fine. Luke is just overreacting.” Cassie tries to get out of it, but my mom has smelled the blood, and she’s about to go full-on mama bear. I’m pretty sure this is something Cass hasn’t ever experienced, or at least not in some time, and I’m kind of excited to give her that, in some sick way.

“No, no! Let me see it! You sit right here, okay?” She pulls out a kitchen table chair for Cassie and practically pushes her down, forcing her to sit in it. “And then I’ll take a look! Luke, honey, can you go get my kit really quick?” I nod, walking to the hall closet where she keeps her packed-to-the-brim first-aid kit before bringing it back to her. When I return, my mom’s cradling the injured wrist, inspecting it, and Cassie is laughing, at ease. Well, that didn’t take very long.

“What’s so funny?” I ask, setting down the kit and pressing a soft kiss to Cassie’s head. She looks up at me with a small smile, and Mom looks my way with shock and excitement. I try to tell her to chill out with my eyes before she rolls her own.

“Oh, Cassie was just telling me this is all your fault, with your incessant hot head. I always tell you it’s going to get you into trouble, that temper, but now look, you’ve hurt this beautiful girl!” My mom ticks at me before moving to her kit.

“Oh, Mrs. Dawson, it wasn’t Luke’s fault, really. It was some guy—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know what you told me. But I also see a split knuckle on my son’s hand that tells me I’ll be needing to put some butterfly stitches there as well.” I look at my hand and see she’s not wrong—the knuckle on my middle finger is red and painful. Somehow, even though I’ve been in her presence less than five minutes, my mom has seen, diagnosed, and is mentally healing my injury. “Okay, Cassie, so it doesn’t look like anything major, just a sprain. Obviously, I have no X-ray machine, but I’ve seen this many times before. We’re gonna wrap it up, but if it’s still bothering you much in a day or so, you’ll need to go to a true doctor, okay?” She grabs the tan stretchy bandage from her bag and Cassie nods before she wraps it around and around. “There! All better. Be easy on it and you should be good in no time.”

“Thank you so much, Mrs.—” My mom glares at her. “I mean, Kerry.” She starts digging in her bag before pointing to me.

“Your turn, get in the chair.”

“Ma—”

“Don’t ‘Ma’ me, Lucas Andrew Dawson. You get in that chair and let your mother clean out that cut. Then you need to tell me what on earth were you thinking, assaulting someone in a restaurant!” Her indignation is apparent, and I wonder how they could chat so much in the few minutes I was gone.

“I was at the restaurant. Cass was there with a client. I had an eye on them.” I wince as she not so gently scrubs the cut. “I saw he touched her. She didn’t like it. Then he tugged her, and I don’t know... I lost it.”

“You know, his father is just like this,” my mom says, looking Cassie’s way, and I roll my eyes, knowing what’s coming. “We met when I was a young girl, love at first sight. He hooked me and never let go.” My eyes meet Cassie’s, and a blush creeps over her face, but I’m surprised when her eyes stay locked on mine. I’m trying to tell her things gently, things I know will scare her off without actually saying them. Because while I can’t say I love Cassandra LASTNAMEIFORGOT just yet, I can say I am so enamored and wrapped up in her in a way I don’t want to come out. “One day when I visited him at college, we went to a party. It was dumb, I shouldn’t have been there, but we were, all the same. Some boy tried to get me to dance with him. I declined, but by then, Jack had already seen it. He brought that boy outside and taught him a lesson. Almost got kicked out of school for it. His father was so furious with him. But every time I came to see him after that, no one tried to even look at me sideways.” I smile, having heard the story multiple times, in various ways, with both parents having their own spin. But it’s also the reason I knew if I hit a man for touching my girl and ended up in hot water, my dad would back me.

“Yeah, I know, Ma. I’ve heard this story before.”

“But your Cassie hasn’t.” Cass’ eyes drift to me at being called ‘my Cassie,’ and I just smile because what else can I do. Eventually, she’s going to see this for what it is, she’s my Cassie, and she’ll look back at this with a different lens.

Just as my mom finishes up, the front door opens with a loud bang as it slams into the wall. “Mom!”

My mom rolls her eyes.

“Quinny,” she says under her breath, but it’s unnecessary because Bella comes running in, arms open and shouting, “Uncle Lukey!” I pick her up and twirl her before setting her on my hip.

“Hey, Bells!”

“Mommy said we’re having breakfast with your new girlfriend.” Cassie freezes again, but I ignore it. And again, how was my mother able to talk to my sister so quickly?