Page 17 of More Than a Little Spark (Cowboys of Stargazer Springs Ranch #9)

Daphne

Daphne

A fter months of barely responding to my texts and completely ignoring my calls, my mom is meeting me for lunch. I’m not sure what to expect, but hopefully when I leave, I’ll have a better idea of why she hates me. That will at least satisfy my curiosity.

It’s taken me years to learn that I can’t fix every situation. Sometimes you have to live with the uncomfortable. Even when you don’t like it.

She waves from a table on the far side of the room. The café is busy, which means the hum of conversations will drown out ours. But tears will be noticed. I hate that I have to think about this kind of stuff when meeting my mom for lunch. Why can’t I have a normal loving relationship?

Mom stands as I get to the table. She steps toward me, then stops like she thought better of hugging me. “I’m sorry, Daphne.”

I blink, trying to decide if she’s sorry she came or if she’s actually apologizing. “For what?”

Her chin quivers, and she leans in to hug me. “I’ve been horrible to you, and I hope you will let me explain. But it’s in no way an excuse.”

Nodding, I give her a squeeze, relishing in the warmth of a mom’s hug. “I’ve missed you.”

We take our seats, and she sucks in a deep breath. “I’ve been a terrible mother.”

“It’s okay, Mom.” I pat her hand. Seeing people upset makes me uncomfortable, and I want to make it all better. Most of the time.

That was not true when I went to court about my accident. The guy who clipped me cried when the judge handed down the two-year sentence. And while I hated seeing the man cry, he deserved consequences for his actions. And hopefully moving forward, he’ll make different choices.

But I don’t like seeing my mom upset. Even if her actions caused me repeated pain over the years. I just want everything to be good between us.

She shakes her head. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Let’s order, then we can talk once we have our food.” I am a firm believer that food makes lots of things better.

So we order, and until our food arrives, we chat about my siblings and what’s happening in their lives.

Then, as the waitress walks away after bringing our meals, Mom touches my hand.

“When you moved out, I had to face my grief and how it had changed me. And I focused that frustration on you. I blamed you for moving out, calling you selfish when in actuality, I was the selfish one. My frustration morphed into jealousy because Denise asked for you constantly. I felt replaced, and again, I blamed you.”

“Mom, you don’t have to?—”

“Yes, I do. I was very wrong, and I even tried to distance you from your siblings so that they’d build a connection with me. And I’m so sorry for that.”

“What changed?” I pick up my fork, but the emotions stirring inside might make it hard to eat.

“When Denise found out I’d lied about you not wanting to talk, she iced me out.

Deservedly. I took that as my cue to get therapy.

” She wipes her eyes. “Losing your dad ripped my heart out. But he’d hate that I was so heartless.

Realizing how awful I’d been was embarrassing. And I wasn’t sure you’d forgive me.”

“I forgive you, Mom. And thank you for explaining. I knew you were hurting, but I didn’t know how to fix it.”

“Sweetheart, you can’t always fix things for other people.” She squeezes my hand. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

We eat in silence for a few minutes.

Teary eyed, Mom meets my gaze. “I’ve missed so much of your life. But I’d love to know about it.”

While we eat, I tell Mom about my job and how I ended up working for a billionaire. “While I am in no danger of being added to a list of the rich and famous, my boss has been generous, and I’m comfortable. Happy. I’m even thinking about buying a house. Maybe.”

“That’s wonderful.” She glances at my hands. “You’re still single?”

“Do you seriously think I would’ve gotten married without saying a word? I’m not married. But I am seeing a wonderful man. We’ve been dating about six months. But we’re keeping it a bit quiet because he has a son.” I don’t explain about Fred being Carson’s nephew. That’s a story for another time.

Mom raises an eyebrow. “If he’s keeping you a secret, that’s a bit of a red flag.”

“He’s not. Several of his friends know that we’re seeing each other.

And we’ve texted or talked every night for months.

We even have a double date scheduled tomorrow night.

With Rose and Dallas. You remember Rose, don’t you?

But anyway, the situation is complicated with his son, which is why we’ve kept things quiet.

” I know if Mom meets Carson, she’d see that he is all green flags.

But we haven’t talked about him meeting my family.

That’s something I should bring up, I suppose.

He might be waiting on me to ask since meeting his family isn’t going to happen.

Once lunch is finished and the plates have been cleared away, Mom checks the time. “I need to run, but can we do this again? I’ve enjoyed this.”

“I’d love that.” I give her a tight hug. “Call me anytime.”

“Love you.” She waves as she steps away.

I hurry out to my car and text Carson.

Me: She apologized for everything. I have my mom back.

He sends a heart, then my phone rings.

“Hi.” I struggle to keep my emotions in check.

“I’m really happy that she apologized. And that you have your mom back.” His voice has that same soothing tone as the night of the accident. “I was hoping things would work out.”

A pang of guilt stabs at me. It’s not fair that things have worked out with my mom, and Carson is still left without his mother. “I didn’t expect it. But the first thing she did was apologize. She’s been to therapy and she’s a little like she used to be.”

“That’s awesome. I’m glad she got help so that she could see what she was missing out on. You’re kind of awesome.”

“Sweet words are only going to make me cry right now. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow night.”

“Same. And there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“You didn’t seriously drop the we-need-to-talk line right before I’m headed back to work. Do you want worry and curiosity to eat me alive?”

He chuckles. “It’s not a bad conversation. But I don’t want to have it over the phone.” He blows me a kiss. “I need to go so that I can find our fence-jumping bull. I’ll call you tonight.”

“Be careful. Bulls have horns and can be dangerous. Do. Not. Get. Hurt.”

“I don’t plan to.”

“Bye.” I end the call and hug the phone to my chest. Tomorrow can’t get here soon enough.

Before the waitress has even taken our drink order, Carson has all of us laughing. Because Dallas and Rose rode with us, I’m guessing whatever important thing Carson wants to talk about will wait until after dinner. And I’m trying to be patient, though I was not born with that skill.

Carson’s arm is draped over the back of my chair, and as he tells a story, he’s using his index finger to draw circles on my shoulder.

It’s a light touch, but it has my insides singing.

While sneaking around is a little exciting, I love these nights when we’re out at a restaurant with friends, and he has his arm around me. It’s so comfortable. So right.

The waitress takes our drink order, and as she walks away, Carson taps my shoulder. “Beau is hosting a Fourth of July party at the ranch again. He goes all out.”

Dallas nods. “It’s a blast. I heard they’re doing fajitas this year.”

“Fun! I imagine that will be a great party.” I don’t let my smile slip, but it’s moments like these when I wish we didn’t have to sneak. It would be wonderful to attend ranch events as Carson’s girlfriend.

He leans in closer. “I was thinking that you should come to the party. With me.”

Silent, I stare at him with my mouth open, replaying his words.

“Do you want to come?” His brow furrows. “I’d introduce you to everyone and let Fred know we’re dating. But if you’d rather not, we don’t?—”

I’m really trying not to cry in the middle of the restaurant. Nodding, I shoot a look at Rose, who is grinning from ear to ear.

“I’d like that. A lot.”

He kisses my forehead. “Awesome. That’s what I didn’t want to talk about over the phone. I don’t want you to miss out on a great party. Plus, it’s getting hard keeping you a secret. Three times last week, I nearly slipped up and said something to Fred about you. I think about you all the time.”

“Same. Not the part about almost telling Fred. But the thinking about you part.” I wiggle in my seat. “I’m so excited. This will be amazingly fun. Let me know what I should bring.”

“I’ll ask Ava.” He goes back to drawing circles on my shoulder as the waitress approaches.

And just like that, we aren’t keeping secrets anymore. I might be a smidge too excited about making the relationship public. But it feels significant.

After dinner, we drop Rose and Dallas off at their house, where my car is parked. I wait in the passenger seat until my friends go inside because I’m not ready to say goodbye.

Once the front door closes, I lean in for a kiss.

He meets my lips, then says, “Want to walk for a bit?”

“Yes.” Instead of reaching for the door handle, I wait because Carson is such a gentleman and always comes around to open the door.

Hand in hand, we stroll down the path. The summer sun is low in the sky, but still spreading light across the ranch.

“What do I need to know about this party? Give me all the details.” I will definitely be shopping for something to wear.

“We all gather near the pool. There’s tons of food. Then when it’s dark, many of us drive over to the county park to watch the display. And I’d love for you to come along for that too.”

“Oh! A pool party.”

He flashes a grin. “I’ll be in a swimsuit, so hopefully you won’t change your mind.” The wink at the end makes it clear that he’s joking.

A new swimsuit is on my shopping list for sure.

We stop, and Carson points at a swing hanging from the branch of a large tree. “Hop on. I’ll push you.”

“I didn’t even know this was here.” I sit on the swing and grab the ropes on each side.

“I drove over last week and helped Dallas install it. He called and asked for my help. I thought maybe that was your doing, but you never mentioned it.”

“I had no idea.” I hold on tight as Carson pulls me back before giving me a gentle shove forward. “Did he say anything? I mean, about us?”

“Not directly. He just asked me about eight times how things were going in general. Dallas was looking out for you, I think.” When I swing back to Carson, he gives me another push.

“But that got me thinking about the upcoming party. And I know some parents wait a really long time before introducing their kids, but I think it’s a good time for Fred to meet you.

Not just in passing, but as my girlfriend. ”

I look back over my shoulder and say, “Obviously, I’m happy about that. But if for any reason you change your mind, I’ll understand. Because nothing is more important than your relationship with Fred. I get that. That’s how it should be.”

He catches the swing and meets my lips.

And in the fading light of that June night, we kiss. Now, I have a new favorite spot. This swing. Okay, second favorite spot. That tree where we shared our first kiss still holds the top spot.