Lorraine held up a hand, cutting me off. “Gosh no. If Rigby knew I was here, he’d give me an hour-long lecture like he was the parent and I was the child. No, he’s off his suspension for tonight’s game, so my husband and I came down to give the boys some extra support. Well, my husband did, anyway. I still haven’t quite gotten used to watching the physicality of hockey, even after fifteen years. He's still my baby, and you never get over that protective urge to go mama bear on anyone who hurts them, professional sportsman or not.”

Yeah, I could understand that.

“Devan gave me your address. I just wanted to check on you, I guess. Rigby spoke a lot about you, and I know my boy. When he said you’d broken up…” She sighed. “Tell me if I’m overstepping. I know what happened to your mama, and if our roles were reversed, I’d want to know that someone was checking in on my boy if his heart was hurting, and making sure he was okay.”

Gah. Tears sprang to my eyes. “I can see where Rigby gets his empathy from.”

Lorraine waved a hand. “He might have his father’s size, but he got my heart. His father has the emotional intelligence of a cactus, but he was never shy about showing his love to our boys and me. Rigby’s brothers are the same. Just can’t say the words, not like Rigby. It’s probably because he's the baby.”

“Did he tell you about…” I couldn’t work out how to ask this woman if Rigby told her about his polyamory proposal.

She grinned. “About the unconventional relationship you found yourselves in? Of course. That boy can’t keep a secret from me. He’s an open book, always has been. I used to worry that some girl would come along and take advantage of that. Destroy the sweetness in him. I was glad when he found River, and then Devan—they temper his openness. They wouldn’t let him get hurt, and he trusts them. They trust him too, I think. They make quite a good team, so I wasn’t too surprised when he told me that the three of them were dating the one woman. You.” She shook her head. “Nasty business with the press, though.”

I nodded slowly. There was nothing more to say about that. Huey finished his bottle, and I placed him over my shoulder, burping him softly until he fell asleep. Lorraine seemed content to just watch me as I put him down in the crib I’d borrowed from the Vanmussens and moved back into the room.

“So are you?” Lorraine asked softly.

“Am I what?”

“Okay?”