Her apology triggered emotions that had no place in the lobby of the Inn. He wasn't proud of how pissed off he'd been when he learned the truth, or how mad it made him even still, on an average day. And he sure as shit didn't want to get into that here. Now.

"Don't," he said, as gently as he could. "Not now. We can... we'll have time. It's just..." The words stopped, the tears started to choke him. He reached out and pulled her against him. "Mom."