Page 31

Slowly, she turned to face me, but the look of disappointment on her face was enough to shut me up. The poor woman just had the shock of her life, and now she looked at her only son like he was some kind of sexual predator.

Silence clung to the room like a sauna, thick and heated. I got up and moved away, hoping that would give my mother some space to realize her son was not some disgusting porn king. But as the minutes ticked by, it was clear that no amount of space would make things better.

“Mom—”

“Don’t, Patti,” she scolded as she sat in the living room with a glass of water.

I glared at Chase as he fluffed the pillows behind my mom’s back and handed her an ice pack. This was not how I saw my visit with my mom going. Then again, I hadn’t known she was even coming, so I was fucked all around.

“It’s not what you think.”

She pressed the ice pack to her head and scowled at me. “What am I supposed to think? My son, my baby , was…gratifying himself while he watched a man doing… things to a woman dressed as a cow!”

“I wasn’t gratifying myself!”

“Really?” she snapped, glaring at me like I was the devil.

“Well, I was going to, but I shut it off the moment I realized what it was!”

I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation. I was a grown man being chastised by my mother about sex. This was wrong on so many levels.

“I came here to take care of you.” She sucked in a slow breath and released it. “And maybe that’s what I needed to do. God sent me to save you from temptation.”

“Believe me,” I muttered, “I’m not tempted.”

“You will attend church with me,” she said with a nod. “It’s the only way to save your soul.”

“But—”

“Patti, no ifs, ands, or buts about it! That filth—” She gasped suddenly, shaking her head. I thought for sure she was going to have a heart attack and started to stand.

“Don’t!” she hissed. “Do not come toward me with that filth on your hands.”

I winced, sitting back down as Chase chuckled at me. “It’s not like I was jacking off to it as you walked in the door!”

“Patti!” she gasped in horror.

“Sorry,” I muttered, sighing heavily. “Mom, you’ve got this all wrong. That most definitely did not turn me on. I’m not some sick, twisted…” I shuddered as I remembered what was on the DVD. “That’s not me!”

“I knew I should have brought a woman to you. A man like you shouldn’t be alone this long. It’s just not right.”

“Mom, I’m hardly alone. I have friends?—”

“And you watch that filth!”

“I’m happy!”

Her chin wobbled as tears filled her eyes. “Your father and I tried to raise you the right way. We took you to church. Do you remember going to Sunday school? Pastor Connolly was always so sure you would follow in his footsteps and go to Seminary.”

“Mom—”

“And then you turned your back on the church.”

She was overreacting to this, and it was all Chase’s fault. “I did not turn my back on the church. I joined the military!”

“And then you started watching this filth!” she said, pointing at the case on the table. “I don’t know where I went wrong.”

“You didn’t go wrong, Mom. I’m still your son. There is absolutely nothing wrong with me.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks as she shook her head at me. “If only I had set you up with a good woman when I had the chance. Now there’s no one. Who will take you when they find out about your fetishes?”

“It’s not a fetish!” I groaned, scrubbing my hand over my face. “This is all one big misunderstanding!”

She picked up the case and waved it at me in anger. “How could this possibly be a misunderstanding? It’s on the cover!”

“I thought it was a joke! I didn’t know people were actually into that stuff!”

“You shouldn’t even be doing…that!” She eyed me for a moment before turning away, her face tinged with red. “You’re a young man. You should be…finding a wife and loving her.”

Piper immediately flashed in my mind, but not because of the wife part. No, loving her was at the forefront of my mind since I came home, and I wasn’t sure how to fix that.

Setting down her ice pack, she stood and held out her hand, which Chase immediately grabbed to steady her. “There’s only one thing to do. We will attend church tomorrow.”

“Mom—”

“Patti, don’t test me on this. Do you want me to have a heart attack and die?”

I really didn’t. And not because I loved my mother with all my heart, but because there was no way in hell I would attend her funeral knowing she died because she caught me with animal porn.

“No.”

“Then we will attend church tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Chase snickered at me, but the moment my Mom turned to face him, he schooled his features and pretended to be the better of the two of us.

“In fact, I think it would be wise for your entire…group of friends to attend.”

“But—” Chase started, but quickly snapped his mouth shut when she turned to him with her best Mom glare. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Well, now that that’s settled, perhaps you could show me to my room. I trust that is free of any of your…things.”

My face turned red, but only because Chase had literally just cleaned out the room. “It is.”

“Good.” She looked around the house and sighed. “This place really needs a woman’s touch. We’ll start looking first thing at church tomorrow.”

My jaw dropped at her statement and I turned to Chase as she walked out of the room. “She doesn’t mean?—”

“I think she does.” His face morphed into a grin and then a full-blown smile. “Dude, you’re getting hitched!”

I walked beside my mother into the church with a pack of angry OPS men, their wives, and their children trailing behind me.

It wasn’t my fault that my mom twisted their arms until they all showed up this morning.

I mean, not totally. They could have said no, but that would require them to all act like they didn’t care if my mom had a massive coronary.

Being told you had to go to church was not something any of these men were used to.

Some of them went when the mood struck, but it wasn’t like any of us were particularly religious.

The only person who went regularly was Max, and that was because his wife was religious and he would do anything to keep her happy.

Though, I was pretty sure he always sat in the back and drank.

“How about we sit over here,” I said, pointing to the back pew.

“No. We will sit in the front just as we did when you were a child. You will know the entire congregation and God are watching.”

I rolled my eyes and followed her lead, nodding to the many people who watched us like we were pariahs. Yes, we were all dressed in tactical gear, but that’s what we wore. The pastor stood from his seat, his eyes wide as he counted all of us walking in.

My mother stepped aside and allowed me to enter first, just as she did when I was a child.

I knew better than to try and scoot to the end of the pew.

I didn’t need her grabbing my ear and dragging me back in front of the whole congregation.

She turned to the rest of my teammates and their families, smiling with those eyes that said, Don’t screw with me. I will scold you in front of everyone.

One by one, they filed into the pews and sat down, the men all looking irritated as hell, and the women all delighting at the fate of their husbands.

As soon as my mom sat down, I prepared myself for the longest hour of my life.

I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable as hell, but then my mother reached over and squeezed my leg just as she did when I was a kid.

That was all she had to do and I knew exactly what it meant.

Stop moving or I will embarrass you in front of everyone.

It didn’t matter that my leg was bothering me or that I couldn’t sit comfortably.

We were in church, and she would ensure that I gave my full attention to the pastor.

If I didn’t, I would hear about it for the rest of the day and most of the week.

My mom’s mission was clear, and the sooner I complied, the faster I would get her out of my hair.

“Bet you didn’t think you’d ever be dragged in here like I was,” Max hissed from behind me.

Leaning over my shoulder, he wiggled a small flask that I knew, if I took it, would get me smacked in front of the church. I gave a minute shake of my head and prayed my mom hadn’t seen the flask.

“It’s about time someone else has to suffer with me.”

“Don’t let your wife hear you say that,” I hissed, earning me a smack from my mother.

I glared at Max over my shoulder, to which he grinned as he leaned back in his seat and took a long sip. That bastard was lucky as hell. He might have to be here, but at least he could drink his way through it.

I stood when I was supposed to, recited the words in the bulletin, and even bowed my head when it was time to pray.

Hell, the last time I’d asked God for anything was when I was overseas and about to be shot at.

Since returning, I hadn’t felt there was much need for church or prayer—something my mom took great offense to.

When it was time for the offering, I planned to put a ten in the plate and call it a day, but my mom scowled at the money in my hand and discreetly leaned in. “Don’t you think ten dollars is a little small to atone for your sins?”

Sighing, I pulled out another ten, but that didn’t satisfy her. “How much do you want me to put in?”

She took the wallet from me and pulled out all the cash I had, grinning when she gave it back to me. “That should do it.”

I counted it out and nearly choked on my spit. “Mom, that’s two hundred twenty dollars!”

Pursing her lips, she gave me her best mom look. “How long has it been since you attended church?”

I didn’t answer her. I just shoved the money into the plate as they handed it to me. And when she turned and looked knowingly at my teammates, they all reached for their wallets and reluctantly pulled out all they had, dropping it in the offering.

I knew she was loving this, being able to insert herself into my life again. That damn DVD gave her all the ammunition she needed. Thankfully, the service ended sooner than expected and I stood to leave.

Except, Mom had other ideas, immediately grabbing my arm and stopping me from hopping away.

“Dear, aren’t we going to attend the fellowship lunch?”

The pointed look she shot me said there was no room for any arguments. So, I smiled at her and nodded. “Sure.”

I knew where she was headed with this. She was on a mission to save my soul, and I was taking the whole damn company with me. “Hey, we’re going to the lunch afterward.”

Nick glared at me, but FNG grinned, rubbing his hands together. “I won’t say no to food.”

“They don’t have any alcohol there,” Max sighed. “Trust me, I’ve been to enough of these.”

We waited for nearly everyone in the church to head outside before we made our way back down the aisle. The pastor was waiting for all of us, and smiled at his son-in-law.

“I see you brought friends with you to church.”

Max snorted. “Nope. That was on the porn king.”

“I’m not a porn king,” I hissed. “It was a mistake!”

“Either way, God is happy to have you here.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” I muttered. “Especially after he took all my money.”

My mom elbowed me hard in the side and nodded to the pastor as she motioned me forward.

I limped down the steps, then followed her to the fellowship hall where food was laid out for everyone.

There wasn’t nearly enough to feed the army of men, women, and children who’d accompanied me, but that didn’t stop them from rushing to the table to eat.

I took a seat and refused to interact with anyone. I came. I prayed. I tithed. What more could she want from me? And then she walked over with a young woman on her arm and I knew immediately what else she would ask for.

“Patti, this is Astrid. Astrid, this is my son, Patti.”

Crap. There was no nice way to get out of this while still on the church grounds. I knew it was coming, but still…first time out of the gate. She was ruthless, and the look she shot me let me know she was not letting me off the hook anytime soon.

“Astrid,” I nodded.

“Astrid is an elementary school teacher, loves cats, and plays Bingo on Saturdays at the retirement home.”

In other words, she was exactly what my mother wanted for me. “That’s nice.”

“And what about you?” Astrid asked, taking a seat beside me. “What do you do?”

According to everyone in town, we worked construction, though I was pretty sure that secret was blown long ago. “Security.”

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Home security?”

“Rarely. I protect people.”

“Oh. That’s…” Her eyes roamed over my muscles, but she didn’t look at me like Piper did. No, there was a hint of fear or disgust in her eyes. Probably because she could see my tattoos sticking out. “And is that dangerous?”

I pointed to my cast, even though it happened while protecting Piper from a bear. “Sometimes.”

“Well…would you consider giving it up?”

That shocked the hell out of me. “Giving it up? For what?”

“For the right woman.”

Did she think this was a marriage interview or something? “Not a chance in hell.”

She actually looked offended by that and immediately stood, her eyes darting around the room for an escape. “It was nice to meet you.”

“You too, Astrid.”

As she hurried away, my mom took the seat she’d vacated and pursed her lips at me in disapproval. “She was a nice girl.”

“She asked me to give up my job. I don’t even know her.”

“Well, we’ll find you someone,” she said, patting my hand. “Don’t worry. Your mother is on the job.”

That was exactly what I was worried about.