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I laughed through my sniffles, and I felt awful for keeping this from her.

“Thank you. I love you.”

She nodded curtly. “Love you too.”

“Are you sure that’s not just the fear talking, though?” Daisy asked. “’Cause the man I saw you with worships you. I didn’t get the impression he could be controlling or mean.”

“No, he’s not any of those things. You’re right.” I sighed. “If that’s all it was, maybe I could jump in with both feet, but Rye’s mom came to see me last week. I knew she was laying the guilt on thick. Iknewit, but goddammit, I fell for it.”

“What the hell did she say?” Roxi demanded.

“I don’t remember word for word, but basically that I was failing as a mom if I stayed with Rye ’cause my boys don’t support it. I have no clue how she even knew they were home. What, did she put spy cameras in my house when she found out Rye and I were fake datin’?”

“Fakedating?” Daisy asked.

“Oh right. I didn’t tell you about that. It’s a long story, but it doesn’t even matter because pretend turned to real in the blink of an eye. I fell in love with him.” I set my coffee on the floor and dropped my head into my hands. “I’m so in love with him. When he’s not with me, it’s like I can’t breathe. I can see it, you know? He said I can’t see our future, but I can and it’s so good! Why can’t I let myself have that? Why can’t I have him?”

“Aubrey,” Daisy said, “Youcanhave that future. You just have to decide to take it.”

“Yeah, but then Calla went even further. She said she knew Rye was plannin’ to start up his own ranch, which he is. I haven’t had a chance to tell y’all about that yet either, but she said it’d be selfish of me to insert myself into Rye’s life, and that if I did, he’d fail and end up broke and have to go back to his parents with his tail between his legs.”

Daisy scoffed loudly. “That bitch!”

“Don’t tell Billie,” I said. “I’m afraid she’ll sic some crazy malware on Calla Graves’s computers or somethin’.”

Roxi snorted a laugh. “If she does, don’t tell me about it.”

“You leave Rye’s mama to me,” Daisy said in a voice that kind of scared me a little. She was pissed. “It’s her own problem if she doesn’t have faith in her own kid.” Her voice softened, and she leaned forward to swipe tears from my cheek. “But the question remains the same… Can you let yourself be happy? Can you forget about all the gossip and the people who think you and Rye shouldn’t be together—or is it only you who thinks that?”

Daisy lifted an eyebrow. “Can you focus on what you want and what you need, and really let yourself love a man who wants to give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

RYE

Pullingup at the end of the long drive leading to my dad’s barns, I wanted to throw my seat back and wallow in my truck for the next week. When I couldn’t see her face anymore, the thought of losing Aubrey made my heart race and put a pit of some nasty feeling in my stomach.

Being the guy stuck carrying hope around all the damn time sucked balls sometimes.

The land sale hadn’t gone through yet. I could rescind my offer. I could stay where I was. My dad would take me back, and I could go back to… doing the same shit I’d done my whole fucking life and getting no credit or satisfaction or pride out of it. Whether Aubrey loved me or not, I needed her to be proud of me, like I was a kid again, proving I’d never fall off my horse.

But dammit, I needed to be proud of me too.

With a Thermos of coffee in one hand and some of her homemade banana bread in the other, my mama was waiting for me in front of the barn. I’d smelled the bread baking all the way down the lane at my cabin before I left this morning.

As I approached her, I tried to walk tall. The last thing I needed was for my mother to know I’d failed again. That I’d fucked up the only thing I’d ever really wanted:

A chance to love Aubrey.

Now, doubt warred with all that hope in my head.

Goddamn. I’m so sick and fucking tired of this feeling!

My parents and their lack of faith in me had worn me thin, and now doubt had infected things with Aubrey. Had I come on too strong?

Mama smiled cautiously. “Thought you might need a pick-me-up.”

Shit.She already knew. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how the fuck she got wise to every single thing I did when I was in town, but I had a feeling she and Uncle Red’s girlfriend had made friends, which made zero sense because Liluye was just about the most accepting person I’d ever met. I hoped her kindness would start to rub off on my mama.