Heaven and Hell (Heaven and Hell #1)(143)

This time, she nodded.

Then she said quietly back, “You know I know what was done to you.”

“I know,” I replied.

“He’ll never hurt you, Kia.”

I smiled through my wavering tears. “I know.”

“I cannot tell you how pleased I am he found you but, meeting you, now I can say I’m pleased you found my Sammy too.”

I moved my coffee cup to my other hand, reached out and grabbed hers. Then I held on tight.

Then I shared, “I can say that too.” I grinned. “Boy, can I say that.”

She gently twisted her hand from mine, leaned into me and placed it on my cheek, saying softly, “We share more than Sammy, honey. I know all about walking right through hell, years of it and suddenly finding yourself on the other side. Glad it gets to be me who greets you there. But more, I’m glad I can say I raised a man who would take your hand and lead the way.”

All right, she was killing me.

I clenched my teeth, sucked in breath and just managed to stop myself from bursting into tears.

Then I muttered, “Jeez, Maris, between your son being sweet and you being sweeter and me not even having a full cup of coffee, if you two don’t stop, I’ll be a wreck and never be able to face the day.”

She chuckled quietly then remarked, “There are worse things.”

She was right about that.

“Definitely,” I whispered.

She smiled at me. Then she studied me. Then she patted my cheek once, dropped her hand and turned back to the view of the beach.

“Do me a favor,” she whispered.

“Anything,” I whispered back.

“Make him happy.”

I sighed.

Then I promised, “You got it.”

That was when she sighed and we both fell silent. Thirty seconds later, Memphis yapped, leaped off my lap and bounced to the door. Maris and I looked through our seats and watched Sam approach.

When he arrived, he kissed my upturned lips; I smelled his aftershave and got even warmer. Then he shifted and kissed his mother’s upturned cheek. Then he bent down and lifted up Memphis who tried to kiss his exposed neck. As usual, he managed to avoid this but Memphis didn’t mind since she was snuggled to his wide chest with one arm and Sam was scratching her neck with his other hand.

“You ‘bout ready to go?” Sam asked his Mom.

“All packed, honey,” she told him then looked at me. “You sure you don’t want to join us for breakfast?”

I shook my head. “Thank you but this is Maris and Sammy time.”

Her face got soft, her eyes got warm, I saw that look on another face that day and I smiled into it as she smiled at me and replied, “Thank you, honey.”

It was then I suspected my face got soft and eyes got warm.

Sam handed me Memphis and told his Mom, “I’ll go up and get your bag.” His eyes came to me. “Be back around two thirty, baby. But if traffic’s bad, closer to three.”

I nodded.

He bent and touched his mouth to mine again, this time with his hand at my jaw. He finished the lip touch with his fingers doing a light, sweet jaw sweep then turned and strode back into the house.

Maris alighted, I put my coffee cup on the arm of my chair and Memphis and I came up with her. Then Memphis and I hugged her.

But it was only me who said, “I’m so glad you came. Travel safe and let us know when you get home.”

Memphis yapped her farewell.

“Will do, Kia,” Maris replied, gave me another hug, Memphis a few head pats then she followed her son into the house.

I looked from the door down to the beach to see Hap and his muscles jogging up to the walkway. I also saw a couple of female walkers watching him go. They were at a distance but even at a distance I could tell both of them were hotties. And lastly, I saw Hap was oblivious.

Yeesh. If he didn’t pay attention, he’d never find his fine piece of ass.

I decided while drinking more coffee and making Hap breakfast, my next item on the morning’s agenda was informing him of this fact.

Then I nabbed my coffee cup and turned to walk into…

I stopped.

I studied the house.

Then I smiled huge and walked into my home.

* * * * *

Twenty minutes later…

“So they were hot?” Hap, showered, shaved, sitting at the bar and shoveling in a huge bite of my scrambled eggs, asked after the girls I told him were checking him out at the beach.

“Did you not notice them at all?” I asked back.

He swallowed and grinned at me. “Babe, I’m the hunter not the hunted.”

I’d heard that before, kind of.

So standing at the other side of the bar to him, I rolled my eyes then rolled them back and surmised aloud, “You’re the cat; you want a mouse.”

“Word,” he replied and I stifled a giggle.

“Word?” I asked through my self-suffocation.

“Yeah,” he took a huge bite of buttered toast then said through a full mouth, “word.”

“Does anyone say that anymore?” I asked.

“I just did,” Hap answered.

I was about to tell him he was a goof when I saw movement on the deck, my eyes went there and I felt them get wide when I watched Skip stomping across the deck to the door.