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Harley nodded. “Sounds good.” She’d do anything to get back those feelings from last night.

* * *

“How’s this?”

Harley leaned back against Mason, her hands wrapped tight around the arm at her waist. Beneath her, the horse plodded along the trail that would take them around the perimeter of the property. “It’s not as bad as I thought it would be.” She craned her neck to look back at him and grinned. “Then again, I don’t think it’d be nearly as enjoyable if you weren’t riding with me.”

He nuzzled her when she faced forward again. His nose right behind her ear. “No, I don’t suppose it would be nearly as enjoyable for me, either.”

“Do you think my uncle is going to be upset when he finds out we’re together like this?”

“I don’t know that it matters. The fences needed to be checked. We took one horse instead of two.”

Harley snuggled against him once more. “My mother would be upset.”

Mason didn’t comment right away, and then he shifted so he could hold the reins with both hands. “Why would your mother be upset?”

“Okay, I don’t know that she would be upset, but I know she wouldn’t approve.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?” The warmth from his voice disappeared, leaving behind an edge that could slice through a brick of cheese.

She frowned thoughtfully. “I’m only guessing, but I have a feeling she wouldn’t want me dating someone who didn’t go to college.”

“Oh,” he mumbled.

“She never approved of my uncle coming out here and spending his money on a farm either. I think it was just beneath her.”

“I get it,” Mason ground out.

“Hey.” She laughed softly. “That’s not how I feel. Besides, this has nothing to do with her.”

“Then why did you bring it up?”

She turned as much as she could to get a brief look at his face. “It was just conversation. After the whole thing with my uncle and my mother finding out, I just thought…” She shook her head. “You’re right. We don’t need to bring her up.” The air turned thin after that conversation, making it hard for her to feel like they were on steady ground.

Anything she thought she could bring up in the form of conversation would only make the tension between them worse.

“I don’t have a great relationship with my mother, either.”

Her ears pricked up. Mason’s quiet confession wasn’t anything like she’d been expecting. She almost didn’t dare breathe for fear that she would scare him into not sharing. Mason didn’t talk much about his family besides the usual “a family has to stick together” nonsense. There wasn’t one thing he’d shared about his folks. She wasn’t even sure if they were around anymore.

When he didn’t add to what he’d said, she shifted once more. “You don’t?”

More strained silence befell them.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” she assured him. “But if there’s anyone who would understand an overbearing parent, it’s me.”

“That’s just it. I almost would prefer an overbearing parent.”

The horse came to a stop, but she couldn’t tell if it was because there was a creek nearby or if it was because Mason had ended their ride because he wanted to talk. He rose from his seat and dismounted easily, then reached for her.

Harley placed her hands on his shoulders and awkwardly climbed down from the saddle. Mason only glanced at her before he guided the horse to the water, forcing Harley to chase after him. “What do you mean? If you didn’t have an overbearing mother, what was she like?”

He huffed. “What’s the opposite of overbearing?”

She looked down at her feet. “One who doesn’t care?”

“Bingo.”