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“Mama, what great timing. I’m here with Callum and his mother.”

“Oh! Pass the phone to Helen, honey. She and I need to talk.”

Obediently, I give Helen the phone, and she and Mama start gabbing away like long-lost sisters.

Nine months ago, when I finally had to go home, Callum ended up coming with me. I needed his moral support to help me tell Mama my grandiose plan of moving with Callum back to Scotland and setting up our very own supernatural private investigation agency. After partnering with Callum on the haunted spin studio case, I knew the two of us worked well together. With our abilities and Callum’s detective skills, our business could cover regular hauntings and spirits needing guidance to the other side as well as other phenomena.

Callum had been hesitant about the idea at first, but the more we talked, the more excited he became. I knew how much the Salon de Spin case had rekindled his investigative spirit, and as I told Liz when we went over the plan with her and Doug, it would have been a travesty to let that energy go to waste when we could be helping so many people. She wholeheartedly agreed.

And honestly, I was relieved when Callum had a solid excuse to hand in his notice with ExorSquad. That place was shady as heck, and when we started hearing rumors about some of their employees dying, I didn’t want my man tied to them any longer. Callum couldn’t reach anyone at the company by that point, so in the end he left Gerald a curt voicemail tendering his resignation, then blocked him at my insistence.

Then we were all set to get started on our new business, and life, together.

I had dreaded telling Mama though. Moving so far away was going to be hard on us both. But I shouldn’t have doubted her. When she saw how Callum treats me and how gaga we are for each other, she gave her blessing without reservation.

“This works out perfectly,” she’d said. “I’ve been wanting to do some more traveling with Doreen. We’ve already let you book that cruise for us in February like you wanted—thank you so much from both of us—and we’re planning some other trips together too. It’s high time we both saw more of the world, baby.”

I’d worried because for so long it had just been the two of us. I didn’t want to leave her all alone. But Mama has plenty of friends now to keep her company. She even recently decided to try dating again, having been inspired by my own good fortune in that department. Thankfully, she’s got Doreen by her side to help vet any suitors. No scrubs for my mama!

When Callum and I began finalizing our plans to relocate to Scotland together, Mama and I made a pact that she’d visit once a year, and Callum and I would visit her once a year.

Her first visit is almost upon us.

“I cannae wait to see you in person,” Helen gushes as she speaks with Mama on my phone. “We’ll have so much to talk about, and I want you to try my homemade shortbread. I know you’ll love it.”

“Oh, Helen, I’m looking forward to that very much. I’m planning to make some of my homemade biscuits and gravy while I’m there, too. Poor Beau’s been craving them lately, and Callum just loved them when he visited. You’ll try some too, won’t you?”

“When Callum told me about them, I had to look them up. I won’t lie, the look of them was surprising, but they sound scrumptious. Count me in.”

“Am I even gonna get to spend any time with Mama while she’s here?” I murmur to Callum as they talk.

Chuckling, he stands behind me and pulls me into an embrace. “You may have to fight my mum for time with her. Those two are thick as thieves.”

“Your Dad seems happy about it though.”

Callum snorts. “Aye. Mum was driving him bloody nuts after retiring. She needs other people and things to occupy her time, and Sarah Jane’s been a huge help in that regard. Dad can finally work out in his shed in peace, or so he tells me.”

Helen and Mama hit it off from the moment they first met over video. When Callum and I went to Alabama to tell Mama my plans and start working on preliminary arrangements, she’d demanded we call Callum’s parents. In her book, the two of us were as good as engaged if I was moving to another country to be with him.

Helen and Mama were both equally grateful to the other for having a son who could treat hers right, each convinced that the other’s boy was the one who’d come to the rescue of their own hapless child.

Ever since, they’ve been video-chatting at least once a week and even more so lately in anticipation of Mama’s upcoming visit.

Callum’s father, Lachlan, is more like his son, quiet but a keen observer. He wasn’t quite as ready to accept me with open arms right away. But shortly after Callum had to return home, to start the visa application process for me and sell his flat in London, he had a bad flare-up with his back that landed him in the hospital. I dropped everything and booked the first flight I could to take care of him.

Fortunately, Callum wasn’t in the hospital for long, but I nursed him every single day once we were able to return to his place. I helped with his physical therapy exercises, assisted him in the shower when he was having weakness on one side of his body, and kept his spirits up the whole time. He’d been reluctant to have me see him like that, but I quickly booted that foolish notion right out of his head. I even got him a dapper cane to use when he needs it that’s far more stylish than his old one but still functional. When Beau Montgomery makes a commitment, he doesn’t bail the moment things get tough, no siree!

Callum’s parents came down to help out as well but went back home after a few days. As they were leaving, Lachlan pulled me aside, gave me a bear-crushing hug, and thanked me for loving his son. He said my actions showed him how much I care for Callum and how serious I am about our relationship.

And once he discovered I was the one who’d convinced Callum to move back to Edinburgh so we could be closer to his parents, I somehow earned Lachlan’s undying devotion. He calls me son now. It’s so sweet and honestly kind of nice. He’s the closest to a father I’ve ever really had, and I’m honored to know I’ve earned his trust and respect.

The hardest part of the whole process of moving was getting the darn visa. We ended up getting married in a civil ceremony to help me qualify for a spousal visa, but we’re holding off on an actual wedding until the business is stable. Besides, Mama and Helen are still duking it out over whether the ceremony will be held in Alabama or Scotland.

We’re keeping out of it until they reach an agreement.

But now I’ve been here nearly two months and we’ve finally opened our brand-new business.

The office phone—a vintage rotary one I found at an antique store—starts ringing and I give Callum an excited kiss before hurrying to answer it.