Sitting back in my chair, I grab my iced tea and take a healthy drink. I'm in such shock I don't even know what to think. Tyler has nine years on my sister. I'm not surprised she brought Chase into this, but Chase and I didn't have a relationship when I was seventeen and he was twenty-four. He'd ended it before then.
"Okay, I'm out," Maggie announces, kissing Mom on the cheek then coming at me for the same. I let her kiss the top of my head as I continue to pout. Maggie whispers, "See ya, sis. Don't get crazy all alone again tonight."
I've never laid a hand on my sister, but if Mom weren't staring at me with such intensity, I'd consider it.
Once the front door closes behind her, my mom moves from the counter and takes her apron off. She sits across the table from me and studies her hands.
"This conversation is going to hurt me somehow, isn't it?"
Mom's eyes come to mine and I notice they're now swimming in tears.
What'd I miss?
"Mom? What is it? Are you and Dad…?"
"You don't have children, girls especially," she starts, her voice sounding reflective. "So when I say this to you, please don't disregard it because you think I'm saying this only because I'm your mother."
"Okay, but I don't understand."
"I'm not talking to you now as a parent who loves and wants only good things for her child," she continues. "I'm telling you this as a woman, a friend, and someone who's been lucky enough to find love in the most unexpected places."
"Mom, you're scaring me."
"You don't love him," she states plainly, shaking me to my very core. "You don't in any real sense, anyway. You've been different since the engagement and I think you already know why I say this."
My eyes water.
There's something terribly unsettling about your mother, the woman you've counted on for guidance and understanding all your life, calling you out in matters of the heart and doing it without warning.
"I do love him," I whisper. "Mom, I do."
"You may love him because you're comfortable with him, but honey…."
I swipe a tear from my cheek, so she stops talking long enough to really look at me, but this time as my mother.
"Any man would be lucky to have you." She tsks, picking at the kitchen towel in front of her. "I don't want you to regret getting married because it's what you think your father and I want."
Changing the subject, I ask, "What does this have to do with Maggie going out to meet Tyler McClain?"
"Your father is older than me," she says, telling me what I already know. "By a lot."
"Yeah, so you want Mags to do what? The same?"
"My parents didn't approve of our relationship at first. Once they got to know him, saw he was good and treated me well, they grew to love him."
"Grandpa didn't like Dad?" I ask, this being news to me.
"I want both my girls to find the man who loves them, challenges them, makes them think about what it is they truly want, and be there for them whenever it's needed. It may sound unconventional these days, but it's true. And if said man is willing to give me grandbabies to love then that's a bonus I'll happily accept."
"Mom—"
"Chase Morgan changed when you left," she says.
With those words, I don't have to force my eyes to close. Mom likes Chase, she always did. Hell, anyone who knows him thinks a lot of him. He's hardworking, caring to those he's closest to, and would offer you the shirt off his back if you genuinely needed it.
But my mom's not done. "You've loved that one man your whole life, Ryleigh. Why did you stop?"
At this point, with all the shock and uncertainty lying between us, open and exposed, I can't find it in me to answer. Telling her how much he hurt me by pushing me away doesn't sound like a topic I'd like to dissect at the moment. Instead, I'd prefer getting out of here and finding myself a drink.
A strong one.
"I love you, Mom, but I need to go."
Nodding once, she stands. Once I take my eyes from hers, she walks toward me and looks down with the same familiar blue eyes I inherited from her. Her hand squeezes my chin as the other moves the hair from my face and settles it behind my ear.
"If your father had to spend a single night away from me because our parents were keeping us from each other as we are you and Myles, he'd be at my door at dawn the next morning, if only to see my face."
"Times have changed, Mom. Men aren't like that anymore."
"Aren't they?" she questions. "Feelings and acts of love don't change, honey. Love is timeless. And acting on that love is instinct."
I swallow hard as she continues to hold me to her. "I get it."
She finishes her point without allowing my escape. "How has Myles managed to stay away from the one person he claims so much to love?"
Chapter Six
CHASE
"Not now, Cam," I hiss, attempting to shut her whiny ass down long enough for her to actually hear my refusal. I don't want to go back to her place and relax or go out to get a bite to eat.
I don't want to see her anymore.
Ever.
"This is about her, isn't it?" Camille snaps loudly, gaining the attention of nearly every patron in the bar. "She's…," she stutters. "She's a mouse!"