The Ties That Bind Read Online Free Page A

up front, Mrs. Bell and Zoe were in the captain's chairs, and Vicki sat cuddled next to me in the back.
    "Tomorrow night we need to sit down and have a family meeting. Megan, since you're in on our little secret club, you can join us if you want.”
    I could see her look back at me and smile in the rear view mirror. Zoe was still looking at me like she was trying to figure something out.
    "What was with you earlier?”
    "What do you mean?”
    "You called my mom 'Mom, ' that's what I mean. What was that about?”
    "Honestly? It's because that is how I feel about her. I realized today that I finally found the family I didn't know I was missing.”
    Mrs. Bell broke in, beaming at me.
    "And I couldn't be happier about it," she said.
    Zoe got a sly smile, looking at the two of us as she said, "So, that kind of makes him my brother, now. I guess we have to stop ... dating.”
    I knew she was jerking my chain, but my reaction was involuntary, and my face fell.
    Zoe was laughing at me, but Mrs. Bell came to my rescue.
    "Don't let her mess with you, Cas. Think of me as your mother-in-law, if you prefer.”
    Zoe was still grinning as she added, "I'm okay with that.”
    Vicki lifted up her head, "Does that make you our mother-in-law, too? How does it work when three girls decide to marry the same guy?”
    "Whoa, whoa, let's not...”
    They ignored my protest.
    "I don't know. We should find a Mormon, or something, and ask.”
    "Hey, I am only fifteen! Let's not jump too fast.”
    All three ladies in the back of the Suburban looked at me like I was an idiot. Mrs. Bell put words to their thoughts.
    "Get real, Cas. I have never seen people as devoted to someone as these girls are to you. You are pretty much already on the hook, buddy.”
    Thankfully, they decided they had enough teasing. Vicki pressed herself closer into me and they switched to light-hearted topics. By the time we got home, I started to get worried about Mrs. Bell ... or I guess I should say, 'Mom, ' as that's what I was thinking of her in my head ... again. We walked in the door when she made a sudden dash for the restroom, where we could hear retching noises.
    "It was too soon to take her out of the hospital, we should take her back.”
    Tami put a hand on my shoulder to stop me from going to her, "Doctor Chang warned me this could happen. Consider that all three of us got sick after we were ... umm, you know, I don't have a good word for this.”
    "Infected," I offered.
    Zoe punched me in the arm, "No, it's not an infection. I would say after we were evolved.”
    I rolled my eyes, and got punched again by Zoe, "Continue, Tami.”
    "Anyway, she said that since we all got sick after we were evolved ... nope, still not the right word ... that she might also get sick. She said it was probably the body's reaction to the sudden changes it was going through. I will go get her in bed and resting. If it was anything like it was with us, she should feel better after a few hours.”
    Tami gave me a kiss on the cheek, and then went off down the hall.
    I turned to the three women left standing with me, "Okay, it's already really late. Megan, do you mind taking Vicki and Tami home? Tomorrow is going to suck for all of us, but we need to power through. We can try and keep the family meeting short tonight and get everyone to bed early so we can catch up on some sleep.”
    "Sure, Cas, no problem."
    I gave Megan a big hug, and both my girls kisses, before they left. After checking on Mom, Zoe and I settled into bed. Thankfully, Zoe was good at reading my moods, and just cuddled with me so I had time to think. Eventually she broke the silence.
    "You're not beating yourself up about Mom, are you?”
    "No. While I am loath to evolve ... and Tami is right, we need a better word ... anyone else, I don't see how there was any choice in this case. It was that or lose her.”
    "So what has you so keyed up?”
    I was quiet for a moment as I tried to put my thoughts into words.
    "Partially, I am