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“Hmm,” is all Mom says before releasing him to hug Liliana. “Lili, it’s so good to see you. Whose house is this?”

“Theirs,” Liliana says, looking at the ex-Kings.

Mom was so focused, she didn’t see them at all. That’s the way she gets sometimes, she completely ignores everything except what’s right in front of her.

“ You,” Mom scowls, stepping away from Liliana to step toe to toe with Theo and Elijah.

Jared’s lips ghost along my temple once more before he releases me to take his place beside them.

“You took her from me,” my mother growls. My tears are silent as I watch her glare up at them. She’s not screaming or incoherent, but so damn strong as if she’s ready to shame them for their misdeeds.

The trial didn’t shield her from anything that was done to me, the photos of my blue lips and pale skin horrific. No one ever wants to see how their child was killed, especially when the wrong man is being framed for it all.

Such tangled webs we weave. It’s the story of my life.

Elijah hangs his head in front of her, nodding. “We did. We didn’t choose her, and we should have,” he says softly. “Rachelle is the best person I’ve ever known.”

“ Was ,” my mom snaps. “As in deceased, no longer with us, and gone. The only time I’m able to feel her is in the whisper of the wind, and even then it’s not enough.”

Oh God. My hand sits on my heart, listening to her. Things changed for both of us when she married Emil. Our relationship evolved in a way I wasn’t prepared for. She remembered that she was my mom.

“I know,” Jared says softly. “I’m truly sorry for every lost moment, day, and year that has been stolen from you both. We’re no longer those men. We want to prove it to you. Would you like to meet my wife?”

I didn’t think this would go quite that way, and I wince as Mom slaps Jared across the face.

“I deserve that,” he says. “I still think you should meet her.”

“I don’t understand why Emil would bring me here,” Mom sighs.

Jared’s hand reaches behind his back for me, and I place my smaller hand in his.

“Everything is going to make a lot more sense in a second,” Jared says. “I can’t give you back the time that you lost, no one can, but we can give her back to you.”

“What…”

I squeeze between Jared and Theo to stand in front of my mom, already sobbing again.

“I’m so sorry, Mommy,” I say, gasping. “It was the only way to make sure the Kings Society wouldn’t try to finish the job.”

“Rachelle,” Mom whispers, her fingers touching my hair. She’s so still as tears begin to flood her eyes, drinking me in. “Is it really you?”

I’m shaking as I nod my head, my hand swiping at my tears.

“No tricks, Julia,” Emil says, entering the tent. “They helped me give Rachelle her life back. As far as the world is concerned, Rachelle Denton is alive and well.”

“Wife,” Julia whispers, glancing at Jared as he lifts our clasped hands to show her the ring. She still hasn’t hugged me yet. I think she’s in shock. I don’t blame her. “We have a lot to talk about, Rachelle.”

That’s the last thing she says before she yanks me away from Jared and finally hugs me. The two of us cling to each other as we cry. While I apologize, she shakes her head as she cries and tells me it’s alright.

“Shh,” she whispers, hiccuping as she cries. “You’re here, alive. No regrets, no apologies needed. Though, we need to discuss your taste in men.”

Jared snorts out a laugh at her words, and Theo smirks. Emil just chuckles.

“They grow on you,” he says.

Pulling away, Mom gazes at me again. “You’ve grown so much,” she says. “You look so different. I missed it all.”

“I know,” I whisper. “I missed it too.” I spent so much time locked in my head, alone with my fears, living a fractured life.

She doesn’t bat an eye as she holds my hands tightly.

“Why do I feel as if I’m the last piece of all of this?” Mom asks. I knew she’d be working through things as she hugged me. So damn smart.

“That’s because you are,” Emil says, hugging her from behind. “We wanted to make sure everything was in order first. Theo was able to confirm that all of his changes held this morning. Rachelle is herself again.”

“Who was she before?” Mom asks.

“Rachel Thompson,” Jared snarls. “I fucking hate that name. It’s not her.”

“That was the point,” Lili teases him as he glares at her.

Oh yeah, just one big happy family.

“That’s smart to keep it similar to her name,” Mom says. “Tell me how all this happened?”

“I’m going to give you the edited version,” I warn as Calvin begins to bring food. “Preferably over tacos.”

“I love tacos,” Mom says, wiping her eyes.

Grinning, I hug her again.

“Are we staying in Santa Barbara?” she asks, hugging me back.

“We are,” Emil says. “I have an appointment with a realtor to start looking for a house with you on Monday.”

“Well, life is never boring,” she muses, making me smile.

“Never, mi amor. Though, I promise to be a bit less exciting after this,” he murmurs.

Nacio smirks as I step back with a sigh, and he pulls out a pack of tissues for me. Theo hands a pack to my mom, making me look around to find all of the guys have tissues in their pockets.

I have to give it to them, they’re prepared.

Over dinner, I tell my mom as much as I can. At times, Emil will clear his throat when he thinks I skipped something important.

“Um, I kind of ended up getting committed into a mental institution,” I say, huffing out a breath.

“No,” Mom says, knowing how scared I am of those places. “Which of you assholes did that?”

“Her psychiatrist,” Emil explains, “chose to have her committed when we fired him. He’s no longer living, and my only regret is that you didn’t get to give him a piece of your mind.”

“I’m sure you made it hurt,” Mom grumbles. “It’s no wonder she doesn’t trust people.”

I continue to tell her about everything else, including how Elijah saved my life. I make sure to tell her the good parts about the guys, and I can see her slowly beginning to soften. Once I’ve gotten everything out, it’s time for cake.

My mom’s lips curve as she watches Calvin come in with it as we perch on chairs surrounding high top tables. The wind rustles the trees, but Calvin refuses to allow that to keep him from lighting candles.

“Whose birthday is it?” Mom asks under her breath to me.

“Elijah’s,” I reply. “I’m the baby of all of us.”

Nodding, she sings happy birthday with us all to celebrate his birthday and even takes a bite of cake before getting a very shrewd look in her eyes. Sharing a glance with Emil, he shrugs at me.

“Someone explain what’s going on here,” she says. “The way you talk to Rachelle, the touches, it’s pretty obvious that there’s more than friendship. No one goes through everything you all have with her and doesn’t come out the other side with feelings.”

Liliana doesn’t even blush, smiling brightly at my mom. “I’m dating Rachelle and Ignacio, and restrain myself every day from killing the other idiots,” she says.

My mom coughs and laughs at the same time, and Emil rubs her back with a chuckle. Lili was trying to defuse a possibly tense situation. It’s not every day you tell your mom that you’re back from the dead and also in a poly relationship.

Theo smiles at my mom, seemingly cool as a cucumber.

“Elijah, Jared, and I are in a relationship together and with Rachelle,” he explains.

My mom takes a breath that’s not being strangled by a cough and nods. “And you’re somehow married to Rachelle?” she asks Jared.

“It started to get her out of the institution, and then it stuck,” he says, shrugging.

“There wasn’t a ceremony, but we want to plan one and invite you and Mr. Reyes.

While I’ll be her husband on paper, we want to honor all of the connections Rachelle has.

She has too big of a heart to only be with one person. ”

“I’m inclined to agree,” Mom says. “With Liliana in the mix, I doubt you’ll get away with much.”

“This is true,” Elijah says. “She’s scary as hell.”

“Sometimes, life gives you your own personal pendulum for good and evil so you’re less likely to fuck things up,” Emil says. “I guess Liliana’s yours.”

I can’t stop smiling even though my eyes are swollen and sore from crying.

The party moves inside, and it’s filled with laughter and stories. I manage to find Elijah by himself in the kitchen at one point, and my hand finds the present I had made. It’s not much, I’m hoping he’ll like it.

“Hiding?” I ask him, walking over.

“Not from you,” he says with a smile. “Sometimes, all the different conversations can get exhausting. I just needed a break.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” I say, smiling as he pulls me into his arms. “I wanted to give you something for your birthday.”

“You didn’t have to,” he says immediately, his fingers tangling in my curls. “The guys are taking me skydiving tomorrow.”

“That’s very up your alley,” I admit, shaking my head. “I will very happily keep my feet on the ground.”

“Come meet us on the ground when we land?” he asks.

There’s still a thread of vulnerability in his tone that I don’t know will ever leave. Theo, Jared, and Elijah remind me of lost boys.

“Yes, Liliana and I are planning on it,” I say. “Does that mean you don’t want your present?”

Elijah’s fingers tickle me until I’m squealing in his arms. I can’t help myself.

“Yes, I want my present, brat,” he growls. My answering shiver makes him smirk. “We’ll see if there’s time for that too, baby. It all depends on when your parents leave.”

The man is talking about birthday sex. He’s so spoiled. We teased him about it at breakfast this morning, and now he can’t stop thinking about it.

Pulling out his present from my pocket, I hand it to him.

“I figure you can put it on your key,” I explain as he takes the leather keychain.

It has his name on it, and is held closed with a snap closure. His brow furrows as he opens it, and finds a silly photo of the two of us. It’s held in place by the window inside of the leather keychain, and the top portion says, “To my invisible hero, I see you.”

“Rachelle,” he rumbles, eyes glued to the keychain. “I love this, and I remember taking this photo with you during Spring Break.”

We took it while at an outdoor festival in downtown Santa Barbara. It wasn’t overcrowded and I was happy that it didn’t trigger my anxiety. There was live music and food stalls, everything that we could need. I went with Elijah and Ignacio.

Looking back, el Tigre could easily have taken me from there, but neither of them left me for long. They even walked me to the restrooms. The beach was a fluke of circumstance.

“I love this photo,” I say, pushing aside the what ifs. “I thought it would be nice to have it with you.”

“It’s amazing,” Elijah says. “It’s going on my key right now.”

Pulling out his keys, he changes out his current keychain for his new one. There’s the work building key, the house, and now the keychain is holding them all together.

“Thank you, Rachelle,” he purrs. “I really do love it, and I can’t wait to tell you how much with my tongue on your sweet pussy.”

The words are low enough for only me to hear, and my eyes start to slowly hood as I think about it.

A cough at the entrance to the kitchen turns my head, and I see Emil is there. Blushing furiously, I bite my lip. It doesn’t matter how old I am, I still feel as if I’m getting caught doing something I’m not supposed to.

“Hi,” I say, sounding completely guilty as Elijah laughs under his breath at me.

“I’m going to take your mom to a hotel,” Emil says. “We’ll probably swing by for breakfast, though. She’s going to be very clingy for a while.”

He’s telling me to be properly dressed and ready for breakfast, and my face flushes deeper.

“I feel the same way, so I don’t blame her,” I say instead. “It is really good to have her here.”

“It’s always been the plan to have her come back, things just weren’t right before,” Emil says with a shrug.

God, so many things were wrong is what he’s actually saying. He walks back to the living room, and I start walking when I’m struck with a thought.

“Does this mean I can’t work at Cellie’s anymore?” I ask, glancing at Elijah.

“Why would you say that?” he asks, taking my hand and pulling me into motion.

“Well, Brea knows me as Rachel,” I remind him.

“I’ll have Theo tell her that you were running from some bad men and that now it’s handled and you’re taking back your name,” Elijah replies. “She’s Irish, and enjoys a wild tale. Fair warning, she’ll probably be even more overprotective after Theo tells her that.”

“That’s no different than everyone else in my life,” I tease him.

Saying goodbye to Emil and my mom after walking them to the side door, I agree to see them tomorrow. My smile is still on my face as I close the door, and Elijah leans against the wall with a smirk.

“What?” I ask, wide eyed as if I don’t know what’s coming.

“You know what,” he says, grabbing me around the waist and picking me up over his shoulder. “It’s birthday sex time!”

All I can do is laugh as a stampede runs up the stairs, and Liliana waves at us.

“Moan extra loud for me, baby. I have a fairy smut book to read and may need some background noise,” she teases me.

I fucking love this crazy life of mine.