Page 174 of Lost Trust

The endless stories about what Royce said, what Royce did, where Royce took him.

Every few minutes, there’s another Royce story.

And every time my son says his name, I watch Blaze’s jaw tighten.

He tries to hide it.

He really does.

But I can see how much effort it takes for him not to snap at his own son.

Mom isn’t helping.

Not even a little.

She spends the entire day singing Royce’s and his family’s praises, seemly determined to drive home just how wonderful they all are.

“Evelyn is just lovely.” Mom sighs like she’s adopted her as her own mother.

“Bryce has done such an incredible job with the rodeo school.” She launches into a glowing account of the day-to-day operations of the academy like she works there.

Then she turns her appreciation to the Trust brothers.

“Cabe is one of the sweetest boys.” She pauses, her smile turning downright mischievous. “And just as handsome as his brother Royce. They’re practically twins.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

Blaze doesn’t look amused.

His phone has been going off all day too.

Every time it rings, he steps away.

But I can hear enough of his side of the conversations to piece things together.

He and Francey had a blowup.

A big one.

From what I can gather, that’s the real reason he took off in the middle of the night.

It wasn’t about me.

It wasn’t about Ryder.

He was pissed at Francey, apparently decided driving six hours through the night was a reasonable response, and ended up at my door because he couldn’t reach me.

And now he’s here.

He’s seen me with Royce.

And I know Blaze well enough to know his ego isn’t going to let him walk away quietly.

Even if Francey apparently wants him back.

Not when he can see that I’ve built a life without him.

A life I actually want.