“See, hon, he’s fine. Told you I wasn’t going to let anything happen to your young one.”
Nick glanced up as his mom and Bubba came through the door. As tiny as Bubba was large, Cherise Gautier had blond hair and vivid blue eyes that filled her angelic face. Still dressed in her black Sanctuary T-shirt from work, she rushed past Bubba to the couch where Nick was sitting with Kody.
Faster than he could move, she latched onto him with her ninja mom moves and octopus-like tentacle grip. Dang, for a tiny woman, she was stronger than all get-out. Forget toddler strength, his mother could match Hercules.
“Ma … can’t … breathe! You’re choking off my airway. Counterproductive move. Release the choke hold on your sole progeny before you kill him.”
Laughing, she ruffled his hair before she kissed his forehead to check for a fever. Unlike a normal mother who would use her hand or a sanitary thermometer, his mom had never once done that.
Nope, Cherise Gautier always checked with a kiss and a tickle, which made him jump and let out an undignified noise in front of his girl and best friend—something he did not appreciate. But all Caleb did was make a face while Kody laughed.
Meanwhile, his mom didn’t care that her son had no measurable dignity or ego, hence his most hideous wardrobe. And her need to cup his face like he was still three and pinch playfully at his cheeks until he flashed a dimple at her. “You do feel a little warm, Boo, but not bad. How are you feeling?”
“Better ’til you pinched me. Kody brought my homework.” He held his English book up for her to see. “I’m almost done with my assignments.”
His mom patted Kody’s knee. “Thank you, Miss Kody.”
“My pleasure, Ms. Gautier. We can’t have our boy flunking. They might move my seat next to Stone. Then, I’d have to shoot myself.”
She laughed as she rose to her feet.
“You want some pizza?” Nick gestured toward the box on the coffee table.
His mom wrinkled her nose. “No, and you need to lay off eating so much of it. You’re going to turn into one if you’re not careful.” She stepped back to take the bag from Bubba’s hand. “I brought you some of Jose’s chicken noodle soup from Sanctuary. He made a batch just for you. And Mama Lo sent over some gumbo for you and I think Papa Bear snuck in a bear claw, even though I told him not to.”
Thanking her, Nick took the Sanctuary bag and opened it, then laughed. “That’s not all they snuck in here.” He pulled out a Styrofoam cup. “Mama Lo done sent me some bread pudding!” Flashing a grin, he protectively cradled it in his hands so that his mom couldn’t confiscate it. “And I’m not sharing this. But there is plenty of other stuff if anyone else is hungry.”
With an irritated noise, his mom met Bubba’s amused smile. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with that boy.”
“What you always do … tolerate him and love him. But as you can see, he’s fine. So are we still on for dinner?”
She bit her lip and turned back toward Nick with an arched brow.
“I’m fine, Ma. Kody and Caleb can babysit me. You know they’re both responsible adults, and I won’t be alone. We can have Aunt Mennie or Mark check in on us.”
“You’re not going to work tonight, Boo?”
“I already called Kyrian and told him that I caught Rosa’s ick. He wasn’t happy, but he’s not going to kill me for it.” Thank goodness Rosa had gotten sick and it’d given him a good excuse for not going in.
She glanced at Caleb and Kody. “Your parents are good with you both staying a little later than normal? I don’t want either of you to get in trouble. Do I need to call them?”
His poor mom had no idea that Caleb was thousands of years old and that his parents had literally kicked him to the curb three minutes after his birth.
As for Kody …
Right now, her father was imprisoned on a Vanishing Isle in the Greek Underworld, and her mother was frozen in an immortal sleep as a statue in the Atlantean heaven realm. It would still be a few years before her father was released, and a lot longer before Styxx would be able to reclaim her mother.
And since the only reason for Kody’s father’s initial reprieve would be for him to open a hell-gate by killing Ash and unleashing a whole group of demons into the world in an attempt to raise the goddess of destruction …
They were better off not asking his permission about anything. Styxx just wasn’t in the best frame of mind at present. He would need a few decades to zen so that he could forgive Acheron and humanity, and realize that the world didn’t need to come to a screaming, horrific end.
“We’re good, Ms. Gautier,” Caleb said in that kind tone that he only used with her, and Nick appreciated it more than Caleb would ever know. It meant a lot to him that his friends took as good care of his mom as he did.