On The Rocks

“There’s my girl,” Lillian says as she opens the door wider, and I step into the warm hug she offers me. “I heard you and Casey got into a spat last night.”


I figured Lillian would know, just assuming Casey came home and sobbed on her mom’s shoulder. They were very close and shared pretty much everything.

“How is she?” I ask, chewing on my bottom lip in worry.

“Well, I haven’t seen her yet, so I’m not sure. I was asleep when she got home, but I’m sure you’ll be able to patch it up… no worries.”

I blink in surprise. “If you haven’t seen her, how do you know about our fight?”

“Hunter called me about half an hour ago to give me a heads up. He said you’d be coming over here to talk to her.”

That absolutely amazes me. I never said a word to Hunter that I was going to come see Casey. In fact, I was on my way over to Last Call when I got the wild hair up my butt and decided to just nip this in the bud. The fact that Hunter seemed to know me a bit better than I knew myself freaks me out a bit, but I push that thought aside. I have to deal with Casey now.

Casey and Brody still live at home, which in the grand scheme of things seems pretty lame. Brody actually has an excuse since he just got out of prison and needed to acclimate, but I bet anything he’ll be getting his own place before too long. Casey is a different story. She never held down a job long enough to afford to move out, and I didn’t have high hopes for that with the way the real estate market is right now.

“So… uh, did Hunter tell you what the fight was about?”

Lillian gives me a knowing smile. “Come on… let’s have a cup of coffee. Casey will be up soon, but you and I can talk for a bit.”

Oh, just great. Lillian and I were going to talk about my relationship with her son. I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather be doing more—which is definitely my sarcastic voice coming out.

I plop down at the kitchen table, while Lillian busies herself with pouring the coffee. My shoulders hunch forward and I sink down into the chair, mentally preparing to shield myself for whatever may be coming.

“What did Hunter tell you exactly?” I ask hesitantly, dreading what she may know.

“He told me everything, Gabby, starting from when he broke your heart five years ago and ending with him staying at your house last night.”

My face flames red at the thought of Hunter’s mom knowing such intimate details about my relationship with her son. I’m hugely mortified that she knows I had crushed on him and stupidly tried to kiss him—no correction, did kiss him—when I was eighteen. I’m even more embarrassed that she knows we spent the night together. Not that she doesn’t know her kids have sex. I mean, hello… we’re adults. But I just don’t like it so blatantly shoved in her face.

“And you get that look off your face right now, Gabby Ward,” she says to me sternly. My eyes snap up to hers, and I see she’s giving me the “mom” look, which means she’s not going to tolerate something. I’m just not sure exactly what it is she’s censuring me for.

I open my mouth to say something, but before I can, she sits down and leans across the table toward me a bit. “Gabby… I’m thrilled you and Hunter are together. You’re like my daughter… a part of this family. I cannot think of a better woman for my son than you.”

My mouth hangs open, and I stare at her agog. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. And why wouldn’t I feel that way? You know I love you, right?”

“Yes, but…” My mind runs amok. It seems so silly that I was concerned about this… about how the family would feel, and that was part of the reason I wanted to hide it.

“But what?” she asks gently.