The flight back to San Francisco was too quick. Andy wasn’t ready to face the Knights yet, but he had no choice. He’d phoned Ben the day after they’d found his mother and had explained some of the details, and that he was bringing her home. Naturally, there would be questions.

Questions about his mother he could deal with. At some stage, they’d notice the relationship change between Caris and himself, especially when they arrived home together. He’d rather come clean before that happened.

Caris was chatting easily with his mom, and he loved that they got on so well. It was harder for him to talk to her. A lot of time had passed, and he felt awkward and guilty in equal measure.

It was wonderful that his mother was looking a lot less frail after only a few days spent at the hospital. And it helped that she was clean and dressed properly.

They hadn’t gone back for her clothes, but Caris had picked up her personal effects, and then she’d gone shopping and bought his mother a brand-new wardrobe. His mom was wearing a powder-blue dress and sat next to him by the window, beaming.

She turned to him. “Andrew, I don’t want to pry, but how is it that you have a plane like this at your disposal?”

It was still hard to explain, so he settled for a short answer. “I got lucky with Charis’s family. They took me in when Dad died.”

“Andy is part of our family,” Caris added from opposite them.

“So, you’re like brother and sister.”

“No!” They both answered. Loudly.

“Sorry, did I say something wrong?”

“It’s okay, Mrs. Carlile. Andy and I are in a relationship, only my family doesn’t know about it yet.”

He stared at her. It was the truth, but it was also the first time either of them had vocalized it.

His mother sighed. “Oh dear. I thought we were all done with secrets.”

“If you can give us a few hours, Mom, Caris and I will tell her family.”

“Mum’s the word,” she winked at him as she pretended to zip her mouth.

“Thanks. I’m sure you can appreciate how delicate this is.”

“All I care about is being with you. Although, I can’t help thinking about the others I’ve left behind. The vile manager did some awful and degrading things to all of us.”

“Is that why you’d given up?”

Her eyes widened. “I gave up because I had no way of finding you, or so I believed, and when my sister died, my life had no meaning. If I could have stayed in Texas, I would have, because I was sure that when you were old enough you would try to find me. It was a huge decision when my sister got sick to move out east to look after her. I honestly thought I would go back once she was well and prayed the agency the lawyer hired would meanwhile find you.”

He flinched at the mess it had all turned into. “But she didn’t get better, did she?”

“No. Poor love, she suffered a great deal at the end, and I can’t be sorry I was there for her. She was so good to me. I didn’t have money, and we used everything she’d saved to pay the rent on her apartment. When she passed away, the money had pretty much gone too, so that was that. I ended up at Happy Valley because it was the only one the government would pay for.”

“Did they specifically mistreat you?”

“I kept my head down like I tried to do with your father, and that helped. Rebecca tried her best to deflect the manager’s nastiness, but she wasn’t there every hour of every day. I wish I could do something for the rest of them, and for her. Her sweetness didn’t leave, even when the other staff treated her so badly.”

She paled a little, perhaps at some not so pleasant memories, and Andy decided she wasn’t telling him everything. It could wait because he wanted to bring back the glow she’d had earlier. “Let’s get you settled then we can think of something.”

“Really?”

He smiled at her faith in him, and the love in her eyes. “I’ll do my best.”

When they landed, his Hummer was waiting. He lifted his mother onto the front seat, which was tricky as he didn’t want to hurt her. When she was settled he put the bags in the back.

She’d never been to San Francisco, so he pointed out the landmarks as they passed them.

“The Golden Gate Bridge is just as wonderful as I’d heard. You know, the only places I’ve been are Texas and Florida.

“When you’re feeling better and are settled, perhaps you could choose a vacation destination?”

“Why would I need a vacation, when all I’ve ever needed was you?”

If that hadn’t choked him up, then her exclamation at seeing Knight Stables for the first time surely would have. Sometimes it took another’s fresh approach to help you see things the way they really were. Looking at it through his mother’s eyes, he appreciated once more the beauty of the place. It stretched out in front of them, the many windows sparkling in the sun. The fountain in the middle of the circular drive added a touch of grandeur to the gardens in the background.

“Oh, my. This is like a fairytale palace—so beautiful and peaceful. And, you live here?”

“Not anymore. I have my own place. This is where Caris lives with her family.”

“How lovely.”

He helped her out of the Hummer and up the front steps. The huge double doors were open and from the other end of the hall, Eloise Knight appeared.

She extended her arms and hugged his mom. “Welcome. I’m so glad to finally meet the mother of such a wonderful man.”

His mother was blushing profusely. “It’s me who should be glad, and grateful. Thank you for taking my boy in and making him into this amazing person. I knew in my heart he would be, but you made it possible, according to Andrew.”

“I wish I could take credit, but Andy has always been his own person. Hopefully, I provided a little guidance along the way.”

Andy coughed. “You did more than that. Without this family, I might have ended up like my father or worse.”

Eloise made a rude noise. “Don’t say such things. You weren’t like him in any way, and you barely drink. You’ve forged a new business and protected your country. We’re all proud of you and your achievements.”

“You served overseas, son?”

“I did five years,” he said, stiffly. It wasn’t something he liked to talk about. He’d lost too many friends and done things he wasn’t proud of.

“He received a Purple Heart,” Caris added, oblivious to his ambivalence to such things.

He felt an unwelcome flush to his cheeks. The last thing he’d intended was to be the center of attention. “All right, let’s not get carried away.”

“It’s the truth, son. Sorry, I mean, Andy.” Eloise looked sharply at his mom at the term she’d used for years.

It felt awkward and was not the atmosphere he wanted. “Can we get Mom sitting down please?”

As a rule, Eloise didn’t get flustered. “How rude of me, you must be weary from the flight, on top of not feeling well.”

“It was quite exciting, but long, and I confess my legs are still a bit wobbly.”

Eloise led the way through to the large sitting room and positioned his mother next to her own high backed chair, a style she favored. He thought he’d heard it was something to do with how she was brought up, and having to sit up straight. Perhaps, they all had things in their pasts which haunted them.

They sat down when the tea tray was brought in with several plates of finger food, as well as the obligatory coffee pot for Eloise.

Caris took over the pouring duties and offered the food around. He noticed his mother took very little. Her appetite was taking a while to return, and solid food was not as easy for her. He would make sure they had plenty of soup and fresh juices at his apartment.

Finally, with small talk having been made for several minutes and everyone relaxed, he coughed to draw their attention. “Sorry to interrupt, but Caris and I would like to tell you something else about our travels. You’ve probably been wondering how she came to be in Florida with me.”

“I have,” said, Eloise.

“It’s a little odd to say this aloud when we’ve known each other for so long. I hope it won’t affect the relationships I have with all of the family because I truly value them, and I hate the thought of upsetting you.”

Eloise put her hand to her throat. “For goodness sake, Andy, now I’m really worried. Just tell me what else has happened.”

“We’re dating,” he blurted.

Eloise frowned. “Dating? You and Caris?”

He nodded, every nerve in his body already in their fight or flight mode. “Yes.”

She leaned back in her chair and grinned. “Well, you both took your sweet time about it. I was about to give up hope.”

“Mom!”

“Caris, did you really think you could hide all the furtive glances, or the cow eyes whenever Andy was near?”

“Oh.” Caris blushed profusely.

Andy almost laughed, but Eloise hadn’t finished. “Your brothers have been taking bets on it for years.”

Her words shocked him, but the twins were particularly astute when it came to the family. Which led him to the big question. “Even Ben?” he asked, hopefully.

Eloise tilted her head. “Now, that’s a little trickier. Ben thinks of himself as a father figure to all, including you, Andy, so it’s natural he feels like he does.”

“Which is?”

“He doesn’t want anything to affect the family. You know how much he likes order.”

“He thinks Caris and me being an item will cause problems?”

“I believe he wants to avoid the chance of that happening.”

He thought about his friend stewing on the issue, but not having mentioned anything to him. Eloise was watching him intently. “But, you don’t feel the same way about this?”

“How could I? I love you both. Seeing you together, looking at each other the way you do and finally out in the open about it makes me happy.”

Footsteps could be heard coming from the front of the house. Lots of footsteps. Soon, the room was full of Knights and their partners.

Andy stood, his palms sweating. As much as Caris did not feel like his sister, Ben was definitely like a brother in too many ways to count.

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet my mom, Patsy.”

“Hello, I’m Sarah and this is Christian, and our son, William.” The little boy took one look at the stranger with gray hair and held out his chubby arms.

His mom was more than happy to take him onto her lap, oblivious to the rest of the crowd. “Isn’t he precious?” she asked of no one in particular as he giggled at all the attention.

Sarah laughed. “How amazing. So much for William being a Mommy’s boy. Your mom must be a lovely person, for him to take to her this way. What am I saying? She’s your mom, after all.”

Andy felt color rise in his face. Sarah rarely fussed over people, and he was pleased she’d chosen now to do so. “She’s the best. I’m lucky to have found her.” He smiled down at his mom, meaning it. A tear rolled down her face, and William raised his finger to touch it. His bottom lip quivered.

“Oh, no. Don’t be upset, William. These are happy tears, my love.” She smiled and kissed his cheek, then blew a raspberry into the folds of his neck, while William dissolved into giggles.

“Thanks, Sarah. You can’t imagine how holding him feels to me.” She looked up at Andy with regret.

Sarah smiled, ruefully. “Don’t thank me, I’m happy to have another babysitter in the family.”

“I’d love to watch him anytime, once I’m stronger.”

Andy’s heart was swelling meaning he had to change the subject if he didn’t intend to blubberlike a baby. This had been an emotional roller-coaster for days, and he was ready to get off the ride. But first, he had to man up and share the news for the second time to a potentially tougher audience. At least one of them would be.

“I appreciate you all coming by to meet my mom, but I have something else to discuss. This is a weird subject which I hear is not really a surprise. We wanted to keep it to ourselves and would have if things were different. If we weren’t …you know?”

Caris got up when his words ceased and stood beside him. “What Andy is not so eloquently saying is that he and I are an item. I went with him to find his mother and see if what we’ve been feeling lately is real. Turns out, it is.”

“Thank goodness for that. The angst was all but making me ill,” said Matt, and Aimee poked him in the ribs.

Ben gave him a penetrating look which Andy couldn’t read. “I sincerely hope you two have given the ramifications of this a lot of thought.”

Caris put her arm through Andy’s, her chin jutting out. “I’d imagine in anyone’s books that eight years is enough time to come to grips with what this means,” she said in the same tone.

“Eight years?” Ben scoffed.

“It’s seriously how long I’ve loved this big lug for. Since I was sixteen. I remember each detail of the moment it hit me.”

Andy was startled. “That’s when I felt something for you, too. That’s why I joined the army.”

“To get away from me?” she asked, with a wry look.

“Hell no. To get away from me, wanting to be with you.”

Caris sighed and stood on tiptoes, silently demanding that he kiss her in front of the family. So, he did.

“Get a room,” Matt called out.

Eloise slapped his arm. “That’s enough from you.”

Caris was smiling, and he felt like there was a glow about her which had begun as a small flicker since Florida. Whatever it was, he liked it. “I know it’s not what you want, and you can be happy or upset about us, Ben, the choice is yours. But we’re together now, and I’m thinking we can make it work. Hopefully, you’ll be okay with it in time.”

Ben frowned. “Does it matter what we think?”

“It matters a great deal. You know that. But I love Caris, and I’ll do everything in my power never to hurt her,” he said with the utmost sincerity.

“Sometimes love is the only thing that does matter, Ben. Or have you changed your mind?” Jenna had arrived just prior to his speech, and now she wrapped her arm around Ben’s waist.

He looked down at her for a moment, then squeezed her tight and returned his gaze to Andy. “If you make sure to keep Caris safe and happy, then I hope you’ll both be as contented as we are, my friend.”

Having Ben onboard was all Andy needed to feel ten feet tall. The day couldn’t get any better. His life couldn’t get any better.