Mrs. Robin's Sons

yelled.
Rylee jumped at the sound of her voice, and she felt Noah tense. A soft curse left his lips before he turned to face his mother.
“I can’t believe this,” Caroline continued. She looked furious, her face deeply flushed.
“How could you do this to your brother?”
“It’s not what you think, Mom —” Noah started.
“And what exactly do I think, Noah?” she demanded, cutting him off in mid-sentence.
“That you and your brother’s girlfriend are sneaking around with each other behind his back? That you two were in here kissing while he’s right in the other room?”
Movement in the doorway caught Rylee’s attention, and she looked up to see Nick, his face filled with anger. Leslie and José were right behind him.
“And you!” Rylee’s head snapped around to Caroline, who glared at her in disgust.
“What kind of woman are you —” “Mom, stop it!” Nick yelled and moved farther into the room to stand next to Rylee.
His arm slid protectively around her shoulders, while Noah’s arm rested around her waist.
“Nicky, honey.” Caroline’s voice softened as she looked at Nick. “You don’t
understand…you didn’t see what they were doing in here.”
“No, Mom, I do understand,” Nick argued. “And I’m okay with it.”
The room was completely silent as Caroline looked back and forth between the three of them. The expression on her face went from confusion, to shock, before it settled into a mask of pure hatred — all of it aimed at Rylee.
“I knew from the moment I saw you that you’d be nothing but trouble. No self-respecting woman your age has a boyfriend practically young enough to be her son. And yet, despite all my reservations, and against my better judgment, I still welcomed you into my home these past few months. And this is how you show your gratitude.”
“Aunt Caroline” — Leslie tried to interject and placed a hand on her shoulder — “please —”
“Don’t!” Caroline snatched away from Leslie and closed in on the threesome, her eyes still focused on Rylee.
“It wasn’t enough for you to have one of my sons; you just had to have both of them, didn’t you? Well, you may have them fooled by your pretty face and your sweet smile, but I see right through your act. You’re nothing but a fucking whore!” Caroline hissed. “Get out of my house! You are not welcome here anymore.”
Rylee stared at Caroline in shock, too stunned to defend herself against the other woman’s verbal attack.
“If Rylee’s not welcome here, then I must not be either.” Nick spoke quietly but firmly, and his response drew gasps from several people in the room, including Rylee.
“You can’t mean that.” Caroline stared at him. A look of disbelief shone plainly on her face. “Yeah…I do.”
“You would choose her over your own mother, your own family?”
“No. I would choose the woman I love, and the family I love,” Nick corrected her. “I don’t want to choose one over the other — I shouldn’t have to. But you’re not leaving me any other options.”
Rylee could hear the pain and anguish in Nick’s voice. Her arm wrapped around his waist, and she held him tight against her as she fought back tears that threatened to fall.
“Okay, everybody,” Leslie spoke up again. “Let’s all just calm down before somebody says something they’ll end up regretting later.”
“And what about you?” Caroline ignored Leslie as she turned her attention to Noah.
“Are you willing to walk away from your family because of this…woman?”
“It seems to me that my family wants to walk away from me,” Noah said hoarsely, his voice filled with emotion.
“Whether you understand it or not, whether you agree with it or not, the fact remains that Rylee is the woman we want.” Noah’s hazel eyes stared down at Rylee. “The woman we love.”
Noah turned back to his mother. “And that’s not going to change just because you or anybody in this room has a problem with it.”
He removed his arm from Rylee’s waist, and reached for her hand, his fingers entwined with hers. Nick did the same with her other hand.
“So,” Noah continued, “if it makes you feel better to have someone to blame for this, go right ahead. Blame me, blame Nick, blame anybody but Rylee. She’s done nothing wrong, and she didn’t deserve the treatment she received here tonight.”
“If that’s how you feel, fine.” Caroline’s voice broke, and she pointed toward the door.
“Leave.” Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, and her lips were pressed into a thin, hard line. “No!” Leslie shook her head vigorously. “Please, don’t do this!”
With their hands still connected, Nick led the way out of the kitchen with Rylee and Noah close behind him.
“Nicky…” Tears flowed down Leslie’s face, and José wrapped his arms around her.
Nick stopped in front of Leslie and kissed her briefly on the forehead. “Don’t cry, Leslie. Everything will be fine.” He nodded at José. “I’ll talk to you later.” They continued to the door, and Caroline’s voice followed them out of the house.
“Mark my words; that woman is going to break both of your hearts.”

Chapter Eighteen
As soon as they were away from the house, Nick released Rylee’s hand.
“Noah, take Rylee back to the house. I’m gonna go check on the dogs.”
Rylee looked at him. “We can go with you.”
“Nah, that’s okay.” Nick shook his head, avoiding eye contact with her. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
“No,” Rylee could see the hurt written all over his face, and she reached for him. “I want to stay with —”
“Just go!” Nick barked and walked off in the direction of the kennels.
“It’s okay, Rylee,” Noah put his arms around her. “He just needs some time alone.
Come on” — he led her toward their house — “let’s go home.”
*
“I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink.” Noah searched through the kitchen cabinet until he found a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses. He took two bottles of beer out of the fridge, opened