Page 77 of Unbound

We reach his UTV and he buckles me in. I hold out the cookie I took for the road, offering him a bite as he leans across me. “Your aunt thought Constance hated her.”

Walker clicks my belt into place then steals another bite before taking his seat beside me. “Constance hates everyone.”

I wasn’t surprised when Deidre thought that, but I am a little perplexed over Walker making the same assumption. Especially since he can possibly, maybe come across the same way sometimes.

“She doesn’t hate everyone.” I push back my hair as the breeze catches it. “She’s just had a rough life and it’s given her a little bit of a hard exterior.” I glance down at the brightly colored candies in what remains of my cookie. “She’s like an M&M. Hard on the outside, but sweet on the inside.”

Walker stares at the landscape in front of us for a few seconds before turning to me. “I feel like you’re trying to tell me something.”

I smile in spite of the nerves dancing through my middle. “I would never.”

He huffs out a laugh, eyes going back to our path. His hand comes across the cab to rest on my leg, warm and strong and exactly what I need right now. “I’m sorry I didn’t find anything.”

“I am too.” I take a deep breath before laying out our last option. “Because it means I have to call my mother.”

My eyes stay on Walker’s face as the line starts to ring. He tried to leave me alone—probably thinking I’d want privacy—but I can’t imagine doing this without him. We’re in this together. Connected in ways I never expected.

And ways I wouldn’t have been brave enough to hope for.

I’m surprised when my mom picks up on the second ring. I would never in a million years answer a call from someone I didn’t know, and I’m shocked she did.

“Hello?” Her voice almost trembles. Wavers in a way that makes my stomach drop.

I scoot closer to the counter holding Walker’s phone, leaning into the speaker. “Mom? Is everything all right?”

“Sybil?” She makes a strange choking sound that almost sounds like a sob. “Honey, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I grip the edge of the marble surface. “What’s going on?”

Something’s wrong. I don’t know what in the hell it could be, but my mother never sounds like this. Now that I really think about it, she’s a lot like Auntie Constance. Cool. Calm. Collected. No nonsense and no emotional outbursts.

Which makes hearing her cry super weird.

“I’ve been so worried.” She hiccups. “I’ve been trying to call and then I went to your condo and spoke with the man house sitting for you, and he claimed he wasn’t sure when you’d be back.” Her words all run together, but they’re still easy to understand.

Easy enough I feel a little woozy.

Before I can try to blink away the fuzz distorting my vision, I’m lifted out of my seat and plopped onto the solid thickness of Walker’s thighs as he takes over speaking to my mother.

“Mrs. Shellenberger, my name’s Walker M—” He clears his throat to hide the way he started to say his last name and stopped. “Sybil has been with me for the past couple of weeks and we thought maybe you’d like to come visit while she’s here.”

Fuck he’s smart.

I nod, my brain jumping right into the plan he’s building. “Walker’s aunt is Deidre Bradshaw, and I told him how much you love her.”

My mom goes quiet for a second. “Did… did you just say you’re dating Deidre Bradshaw’s nephew?”

I don’t want to give her the wrong idea, but I also don’t want her to go back to the panic she was in before. So I decide to breeze right past that question. “You should come. It’s so pretty and the property is stunning. Deidre just made a whole bunch of cookies today, and I know for a fact she would love someone to hang out with.”

Besides Constance.

“You want me to come hang out with Deidre Bradshaw?” My poor mother sounds confused as hell, but at least she doesn’t seem as upset. “When?”

“Right now.” Walker doesn’t hesitate. “Pack a bag, get in your car, and come straight here. If you leave now, we can have dinner together.”

I’m not sure anyone has ever bossed my mother around like that, but she must be so thrown off by the whole conversation she doesn’t even notice. “I would have to find someone to take care of the cat.”

“Bring the cat.” Walker again tells her exactly what to do, leaving no room for argument or amendment. “And some of its food. We have everything else.”