Page 11 of Rancher's Return

Because the person who had drawn the most fury and fire from her over the accident had left town, and she hadn’t seen him for twenty years.

“Mom?” Lily’s voice was tremulous in the back seat.

“I didn’t kill him,” she said.

“I didn’t think you would.”

“Sorry. I need a second.”

This was one of those moments where she had to decide how up-front and honest she was going to be with her daughter. But if she wanted Lily to share with her, she supposed she had to share in kind. She tried to walk a fine line between being her kid’s friend and her parent. They had grown up together, so their relationship was different from that of a lot of other moms and daughters. Sharing and talking had always been the method by which they understood each other.

“Colton’s father is... I know him.”

“What?” Lily leaned forward in the car seat. “How?”

“Well his dad was from here originally.”

“He was?”

“He was...involved in your uncle Jason’s accident.”

“How?” Lily asked.

“Buck Carson, Colton’s dad, was with Uncle Jason. Buck was driving in a car behind the one with all the boys in it. It’s... I’ve been angry at him for a really long time. I blamed him. Because there was definitely... He was wild. He always was. He had a reputation for drinking. And yet I liked it when he was around. He was fun. Charming. Handsome.”

“You were thirteen!” her daughter said.

So scandalized by an age gap. After being caught with a boy in her room. Kids today were a trip.

“Yeah. He didn’t look atme, but I definitely looked at him. I think that’s what made it worse. I idolized him. I thought he seemed like the fun kind of dangerous. But he wasn’t. He was the dangerous kind of dangerous.”

“Mom...”

“I’m not going to refuse to let you see Colton.” Marigold started the engine. “I just wanted you to know what the situation was.” She started to back out of the parking place, orienting the car so she could drive back toward the highway.

“I hear abutin that sentence.”

“Yes. There are going to be ground rules and curfews. You are going to college,” she said.

“I know. As soon as I can, I’m going to submit applications, and apply for FAFSA...”

“I want you to stay focused.”

“Mom, I wouldn’t... I listened when you talked about safe sex.”

“I know. But no contraception is one-hundred percent and... And there’s no point getting attached to him. Not when you’re going to leave.”

“I guess not.”

“That being said, I’m not telling you not to date him.”

Lily screwed up her face. “You’re not? Because it sounds an awful lot like you are.”

“I guess I just... I want you to think about all these things. That’s all.”

“Why can’t I just date? That seems normal.”

“Of course it is. Of course. But you have never dated. So you have to admit, it’s not completely out of left field that when I came home and suddenly there was a boy in your room, it felt out of character, and I want to make sure that you’re not...going off the rails.”