“One other thing I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Shoot.”

“I was happy Marshall did one thing right in his miserable life by providing you with a place to call your own.”

“But?”

“But you’ve been so angry since this inheritance happened. At me. At Marshall. At yourself. Even at Celia.”

He looked away.

“I’m worried about you. This isn’t like you, Kyle. You’ve gone from being a happy kid to a happy teen to a genuinely happy adult. You never were resentful that I couldn’t give you all the things other boys your age had. You just made the most of what you did have. Now that you have everything you ever wanted…you’re not happy. And because you weren’t a morose kid I had to pry secrets out of, I never pressured you to open up to me. In hindsight, maybe I should have.”

“Why?”

“So we wouldn’t be at an impasse. I want to know what you’re thinking. I want to know what I can do to earn your forgiveness.”

During his alone time, it had come as a shock to recognize he hadn’t applied the “the past is the past” philosophy he’d taken with Celia to his mother. Should she have told him Marshall Townsend was his father? Probably. But letting his mother’s long-ago decision ruin their future relationship? Stupid, petty, and shortsighted. And mean. God. He’d been a whiny little prick to her these last couple of months. She deserved better from him too.

As hard as it was to do, Kyle looked her in the eye. “First, I’d ask for your forgiveness for acting like a bratty kid.”

“Done.”

“As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothin’ to forgive. You did what you thought was right at the time. You stuck by it. I admire that. I have a lot of admiration for you, in case you didn’t know. And it sucks for Marshall that he didn’t get in touch with me, because I am a cool kid. Or so you’ve always told me.”

She whapped him on the knee. “Oh, you’re gonna make me cry.”

When she sniffled, Kyle stood and tugged her into his arms. “Mom. I love you. I am happy.” Or he would be as soon as he straightened out this situation with his woman. “I just had to figure some of this stuff out on my own.”

“That’s what Celia told me,” she said. “She knows you so well. You’re lucky, son.”

“I know I am. I’m hoping in your new life as bar owner you’ll make time to hang out with me and Celia. She hasn’t had a mom for a long damn time, and I’m more than willing to share mine with her because you’re the best mom ever.”

She cried harder.

He let her.

Then she stepped back and wiped her eyes. “Thanks. I needed that.”

“Me too.”

“When is Celia coming back?”

“I don’t know.”

Her green-eyed gaze turned sharp and mom-like. “Is everything all right between you two?”

It’d be easy to lie and slap on a happy face. But he couldn’t. His mother knew him equally as well and she would ferret out the bullshit eventually. “Not really. We had a big fight right before she got the call from Tanna. Then she left. I haven’t heard from her since.”

“At all?”

Kyle shook his head.

“Well, you know what you have to do, don’t you?”

“Ah. No. Not really. That’s the thing.”

She poked him in the chest. “You get your butt to Texas and bring your wife back home where she belongs. You want her to think you don’t care? Will you let your very first fight change the course of your marriage? No way, buster.”

“But it’s different now than when I was ridin’ bulls and could do whatever the hell I wanted. I’ve got livestock to take care of. And the last thing Celia said to me was to own up to my responsibilities with the ranch.”

Another two hard pokes in his chest. “And Celia is one of those responsibilities. The biggest one. Don’t you let her get away from you. She loves you. She looks at you the way I’d always hoped the right woman would. So you talk to your neighbor, or hire someone, or hell, even tell me what to do and I’ll take care of the dang cows. But don’t you let this go another day, Kyle. Not. A. Single. Day.”

The thought of his mom ankle-deep in muck in her high-heeled shoes made him smile. The thought of getting in his truck, driving to Texas, and having Celia in his arms in thirty-six hours made his smile even wider. “You’re right. Thanks for the kick in the butt when I need it.”

She kissed his cheek. “Honey, that’s what mothers do best.”

Ten minutes after his mom had left, Kyle was about to head down to Josh’s to beg for his help for a couple of days when Lainie’s vehicle pulled up.

He had to lock his knees against the fear that something had happened to Celia. Was that why he hadn’t heard from her? He threw the door open. “Lainie. What’s wrong?”

“Let me come inside. It’s cold out here and I’ve been on my feet all day.” Lainie unwrapped her scarf. She looked like she’d been crying.

Kyle managed a calm, “Tell me what the hell happened before I lose my f**king mind.”

She sank onto the couch. “Tanna’s mom died yesterday.”

Yesterday?

“Have you heard from Celia at all?” He shook his head again and Lainie sighed wearily. “I was afraid of that.”