Ruby Red 3 - A Romance for All Time (Complete)

Chapter 34

"Smells good in here." Sam placed a kiss on his mother's cheek. He'd popped by his parent's place to pick up Scout. The chocolate furred pooch was nowhere to be found. Most likely hanging out with his father.

Hands covered in yellow rubber gloves, Evelyn stood at the sink scrubbing a glass bowl with a thick blue sponge. "Your father had a craving for brownies. And I needed a pick me up."

"Something wrong?" Sam searched his mother's face for signs of depression, illness, pain.

"No, no, nothing really. Just feeling a little nostalgic. Best not to dwell on the past." She deftly switched the topic. "Where's Ali?"

"Sleeping in. She's still on California time. The change is hitting her hard, and we were up pretty late last night." Sam grabbed a towel, picked up a plate and started drying it. 

Part of him wanted to tell his mother the events of last night, the other wanted to protect her from it. She didn't know much about Vicky and never would if he had anything to say about it. But he knew he couldn't keep it a secret for long. The press would get a hold of the story. Even if he could control the narrative, use Leif's friend to break the news first, reporters would still come after his parents.

Sam avoided starting the conversation. "And you know she's not much of a morning person to begin with."

Evelyn chuckled with him. Whereas his older brother and his father were cut from the same cloth, he and his mother spoke a secret language and always got each other's humour. It was why it was easier to have this conversation with his mother first.

"So, what's bothering you?" Sam stared at his mother. How did she know? Evelyn raised and lowered her shoulders and tipped her head towards the dish in Sam's hand. "Even as a little boy, you hated helping clean up."

Placing the dish in its rightful place in a cupboard, Sam asked his mother to sit at the table with him. He took her hands in his and began.

"You remember Vicky, right?" Her lips pursed in a frown. Guess that's a yes.

His mother hadn't been as vocal about her dislike of his high school friend as his father, but she'd expressed her distaste in other ways. If only he'd listened to his parent's instincts. "What's she done now?"

"First know everything is fine, and they've arrested her." His mother's hands tightened in his. "Mom, it's okay, I promise."

"Tell me everything."

Sam told her enough. Explained about Vicky's obsession with him, the suicide attempt, how she'd used it to manipulate Sam and the plan Sam and Charlie put into action to get her help. At the mention of his cousin, his mother relaxed her grip, although the worry lines that had formed on her face didn't fade. They etched deeper into her pale skin as he launched into the details of her attempting to abduct him yesterday. He didn't want to tell her about the gun, but it was the reason the police could arrest Vicky.

Before he'd finished, his mother moved across the table and engulfed her son in a hug. Sam wanted to resist, insist she didn't have to fuss, but the thing was it felt good. Her embrace soaking up the tension his body held on to, pulling the toxin out of him, her warmth filling the void left behind. Wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her back even harder.

"Is this an exclusive hug or can anyone get in on it?" His father's voice floated through the kitchen.

"More the merrier," Sam offered.

Christopher took his wife and son in his arms, and Sam felt a warm weight on his foot. Scout. The dog had indeed been with his father. The head of the household kissed his wife on the forehead. "I know it's a rough day. I feel it as well."