Page 64 of Rescuing Brinley

Shadow could tell she still had some misgivings about this, but it was important to him. He wanted his mom to meet Brinley. And he had no doubt whatsoever that they’d love each other.

He pulled out his cell, keeping a hand on Brinley’s thigh for support, and clicked on his mom’s name. She answered almost immediately, and Shadow couldn’t help but chuckle when she fumbled with attempting to get the FaceTime set up. Even after countless calls, she still struggled with technology sometimes.

“Dash! Hi! How are you? It’s so good to see your handsome face…although you’re getting a little scruffy.”

Shadow rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not, Mom. How are you?”

“Good, good. A little tired though.”

“You’re not sleeping well?”

“Nothing like that. Just feeling a little blah. I need to eat some more greens and I’m sure I’ll perk right up. I took the day off from walking with Jolene and took a nap instead. I feel much better now.”

Shadow was a little worried about his mom, especially because she lived alone, but she had great neighbors, and they all checked in on her on a regular basis. “Good. Take care of yourself, Mom. I worry about you.”

“And now you know how I feel about you and what you do,” she returned sassily. “Not that I don’t mind talking to you, but we just did the Faceing thing last night. Are you being deployed again?”

“No. I thought maybe you might want to meet Brinley.”

“She’s there? Yes! Oh, honey, put her on!”

Shadow smiled and pulled Brinley into his side, turning the phone slightly so she was visible on screen with him.

“Hi,” she said shyly.

“Hi! Oh, you’re so pretty! I love your hair…and those freckles! No wonder my son has been so happy lately. It’s so nice to finally meet you!”

“Mom, you act like we’ve been dating for years or something.”

“Yeah, well, when your son sounds so happy for the first time in years, you want to meet the person who’s made him that way. I want to know all about you, Brinley! Dash tells me you own your own business and you make outfits for pageants?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Shadow grinned at the face his mom made. “Oh, please, don’t call me ‘ma’am.’ It makes me feel old. It’s Pauline. Or Pauly.”

“You are old, Mom,” Shadow teased.

“Hush. You know as well as I do that I’m only twenty-nine.”

As he and his mom bantered back and forth, Shadow could feel Brinley relaxing against him. He silently breathed a sigh of relief. It was important that his mom and girlfriend got along. He was pretty sure they would, and he was pleased that things were going well so far.

“When Dash told me about what you do, I went online and looked at the girls who were wearing your gowns at the Miss Globe competition. Stunning! Truly. You’re so gifted, Brinley.”

“Thanks.”

“Wait, you went online, Mom? Does that mean you actually figured out how to Google?”

“You aren’t too old for me to take across my knee, young man.”

Brinley giggled. And the sound went straight to Shadow’s heart.

“I have so many questions for you, Brinley. But if I get too nosey, just tell me to hush. How did you end up in Alaska?”

Ever so slowly, Brinley began to come out of her shell. She answered all his mom’s questions, and even asked a few of her own in return. After the predetermined ten minutes, Shadow felt like a third wheel. He wasn’t needed as a buffer anymore, as Brinley and his mom were chatting as if they’d known each other for years rather than just a few minutes. He didn’t even mind when his mom started telling Brinley stories about when he was a kid—the embarrassing ones at that. Seeing the grin on Brin’s face was priceless.

They’d been talking for around forty-five minutes, way longer than the short chat he’d promised. But he had PT in the morning, and he could see that Brinley was losing steam fast. She got up early, just like him, and worked hard throughout the day. Not only sewing, but marketing herself and her business, talking to clients, tracking down fabrics, answering emails, and all the other things that came with running a very successful business on her own.

“We’re gonna get going, Mom,” he said, in one of the few lulls in the conversation.