"Why can't I just wait for you out here?"

Karma crossed her arms over her chest and arched a brow. Yeah, I didn't know why I thought I was going to win this argument.

"Nathan, that's stupid. Why would you stay out here?"

When I couldn't think of a valid reason, she covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Oh, my God! You're still scared of mama aren't you?"

"What? No!"

She may be 'mama' to Karma, but to me, she was the woman who pinched my cheeks whenever I got into trouble when I was younger. She was also the mother to the woman whose heart I broke. Not to mention, the other reasons I wanted to avoid her.

Karma was her little girl, and her mother was super protective of her. So was her father. I'll never forget the day I picked her up for our first date.

"Karma will be right down, Nate. Why don't you come wait with me in the kitchen?"

I followed Mrs. Fitzgerald into the kitchen and saw Mr. Fitzgerald chopping up some vegetables for dinner.

"Honey," Karma's mon said to her husband, "Nate is here to pick up Karma for their date."

Her father never stopped cutting the vegetables as he looked up to meet my stare. Hank Fitzgerald was a big man. And even though I've known him almost my whole life, he could still be extremely intimidating. Like right now, for instance.

"Nate, how've you been, son?"

"Good, sir."

"So, where do you plan on taking my little girl this evening?"

I was glad Karma was upstairs, because this was going to be a surprise for her. I didn't want it to be ruined by her overhearing.

"I'm taking her for a picnic in the park, sir."

Another hard chop of the vegetables. "I see." His eyes bored into mine. "I don't think I have to warn you that you need to behave like a complete gentleman, or that she needs to be home at a decent time, do I, Nate?"

"No, sir," I answered quickly. By the tone of his voice, I I knew that if I answered any differently, this date would be cancelled immediately.

"Good," Hank nodded and out the vegetables into the frying pan. He washed his hands before coming to stand in front of me. "I've always liked you, Nate. But that's my little girl. The one thing I won't tolerate is her being hurt."

My chest tightened. Hurting Karma was the one thing that terrified me. "I promise, sir. I won't hurt her."

Hank snorted. "Good man. See, Minerva? I told you this one was a good one."

Hank leaned down to whisper in my ear, "Just remember, son, it's my wife you have to look out for."

I looked up at Mrs. Fitzgerald and knew exactly what Hank meant. If I hurt Karma...I was a dead man.

"If you aren't scared of her, then you won't have any issue coming up there with me," Karma quipped.

I held her stare and didn't say a word.

She tilted her head to the side sweetly and did that adorable pouty thing she knew I couldn't resist. "Didn't you say you were here for me, Nathan?"

Fuck. "Yeah, I did, didn't I?" She always won at these things, and she knew it too. "Let's go," I breathed and we walked into the hospital.

I was trying my best not to let my anxiety get the best of me as we took the elevator up to the ICU floor. I fidgeted with my hands in my pockets while I waited for the woman at the security desk to give me a visitor's pass. Maybe I should leave. I mean, I knew how her mom was, and I didn't think she would be happy to see me. And when she did see me, she was going to put two and two together that I was staying with Karma at their home.

Sure, Karma and I weren't sleeping in the same bed, but still...Minerva Fitzgerald was a scary woman. And the most important thing to her was the woman that was walking beside me.

"Just relax," Karma said quietly as we walked to her dad's room. "Watch I betcha she's going to be thrilled to see you."

I guess we would just have to wait and see. The way I looked at it, she was either going to be happy to see me, or she was going to have security escorting me out of the hospital.

We got to room 1312 and Karma knocked on the door lightly before stepping inside. I followed behind her and my eyes landed on Hank. He seemed to still be under sedation by the looks of it. My chest ached for him. Hank was a good man. He needed to pull through this and get better.

"Hey, mama."

Karma's voice drew my attention. I looked in her direction and saw her embrace her mother. Then Mrs. Fitzgerald's eyes landed on me.

"Is that...Nate?"

I waved awkwardly. "Hey, Mrs. M." I always thought it was strange that she preferred us calling her Mrs. M, but she said Mrs. F sounded weird.

She stepped around Karma and covered her mouth with her hands. It wasn't anger on in her eyes...it was surprise.

"Nate? Nate Jenkins?" She pulled me into a tight hug. "Look how much you've grown up!"

I looked at Karma as I hugged her mom. Karma had a big smile on her face. "Yeah. It's been awhile."

She took a step back and smiled. Wow, Mrs. M looked great for her age. She had a few gray hairs, but she was still beautiful.

"What on earth are you doing here?" she asked.

I glanced to Hank then back to her. "I heard about Mr. Fitzgerald and wanted to offer any help and support you might need."

Mrs. M smiled and placed her hand on my cheek. "That's sweet of you. Thank you."

"How is he, mama?" Karma asked.

Mrs. M exhaled a heavy breath and walked to stand beside her husband's hospital bed. "Still the same. No change. But they said that's normal since he was sedated and he should be waking up later tonight."

"Okay," Karma turned to face her mother. "Now, go home and get some rest. You need it."

Mrs. M huffed and pointed to the bed. "I can't just leave him here. Besides I don't have my car. I think it's still at the restaurant, actually." Alarm colored her face. "Oh, no! What if it was towed?"

"It wasn't," I interjected and she turned towards me. "Karma and I went to pick it up. She actually called them to make sure it wasn't towed. We got the spare key from your house. It's in your driveway now."

"Thank you," she said and turned back to Karma, "but still, I don't think..."

"No, mama." Karma's voice was firm. She wasn't taking no for an answer. "We had a deal. Go home, even if it's just for a few hours. Then you can come back here."

Karma's eyes met mine. "Do you mind giving her a ride?"

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. "Sure," I answered. "No problem."

After Karma said goodbye to her mom and me, we quietly-and awkwardly-walked through the long hospital to the parking garage. Once we were on the road, I couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"Are you hungry or anything? We can stop for food."

Mrs. M perked up. "I'm starving! There a little café by my house. We can go there if that's okay."

"Absolutely." I didn't mind giving Karma's mom a ride home. I wasn't scared of her. I just didn't want the subject of Karma and me to come up. Knowing Minerva Fitzgerald, it was only a matter of time.

"How's Lanie?" she asked. "Gosh, I hadn't seen her in so long."

"She's good. She just got engaged to a close friend of mine and they had a baby boy. His name is Little Nate."

I glanced to Mrs. M and her face was bright with joy and surprise. "May I see a picture?"

I handed her my phone and she swiped through a few pictures.

"He's beautiful." She handed me the phone. "Do you mind giving me her number? I would very much like to call her."

"Of course. Once we get to the café I'll give it to you."

"Thank you, Nate." She adjusted the dial on the radio until she found a station she liked and lowered the volume a little until it was background noise. "Karma told me you had joined the Army. What was that like?"

My hand gripped the steering wheel. I used to love talking about my time in the Army. Well, the stuff I was allowed to talk about, anyway. Now? Now, I hated talking about it.

"It had it's pros and cons. It was hot, for sure. But I don't regret my decision to join."

There was five minutes of silence and I prayed that it continued until we got to the café. Christ. Why did I think this was a good idea? Why did I think coming here was a good idea?

"What's going on with you and Karma?"

I closed my eyes tight for a moment. "There's nothing going on with us. We ran into each other in New York. She got assigned as my physical therapist for a leg injury I got. She told me what happened with Hank, and since Lanie has the baby, she couldn't fly down. She suggested I come and help. So, here I am."

I knew it came across short and a little bitter. But Mrs. M wasn't clueless. She knew why I felt the way I did about the subject of Karma.

"You didn't...tell her?"

Goddammit, woman. Stop talking about it. "No."

Two minutes of silence. "Why not?" Mrs. M asked.

Fuck! Why couldn't she just leave this alone? Why did she have to meddle and keep poking the bear? I knew this was a fucking mistake. I needed to be on the next plane out of here.

"Nate, I asked you a question."

I let out a heavy sigh. "Why didn't I tell the only woman I've ever loved that her mother came to me thirteen years ago and told me I needed to leave her daughter? That Karma was considering not accepting her full ride to USF-which I didn't know about-because she wanted to stay in New York with me?" My jaw clenched at the memory. "I didn't tell her because she loves you and Hank more than anything. I thought it was better that she hated me forever instead of hating the two of you. It's the only reason I went along with it. The only reason I had the strength to do it."

Mrs. M started fidgeting with her handbag. "I just wanted what was best for her. I never had an issue with you, Nate. I never thought you weren't good enough for her."

"I know that," I said honestly. I knew that it wasn't because they looked down on me or thought I was trash. They wanted her to get her education. "That's why I destroyed her the only way I knew how. The only way that she wouldn't try to get me back." My voice dropped to a whisper. "But she did anyway."

"What?"

I glanced at Mrs. M. "You didn't know? She came to my house multiple times. She left messages on my cell phone. Messages of her saying she was sorry for whatever she did and she wanted to fix it." As I stared out of the windshield, my chest constricted with emotion. "I know you guys thought we were just kids; and we were. But we really loved each other. I never would have hurt her."

I shifted gears and let out a tired breath. "But it's like I said: better she hate me instead of you."