Page 43

"Yes. I understand. And no matter what I decide, I really do appreciate you thinking of me, Roy," I genuinely state.

"Okay. Well, I hope you take it. I'll be looking for your call," he says and hangs up.

I lean against my truck for several minutes, staring at the house where my daughter's sleeping and my father's ledger is bleeding red ink one line at a time.

Crap. This is a pickle.

I force my feet to move and go inside the house. Mama's at the stove when I walk back in. She takes one look at my face and sets down her spatula. "What's going on?"

I sit at the kitchen table, the same one where I told her I was pregnant. I explain Roy's call, the money, and the guesthouse.

"That's fantastic!" Mama gushes.

"The ranch is in Whispering Junction. That's his town, Mama."

Her hands go still against the counter.

My voice wobbles despite my best effort to keep it steady. "I'd be living in the same town as the man who doesn't know Charlie exists. I'd be looking over my shoulder and hoping I never run into him or his fiancée or wife or whatever she is by now."

Mama sits down and puts her dish towel on the table. "Well I'll be. That's a lot to carry."

"I need to say no, right?"

She takes a deep breath and sits straighter. "You've worked hard. This is a big opportunity. You can't let him steal it from you."

"But what if I run into them? What if Charlie is with me and he finds out she's his?"

Mama thinks a moment, then says, "If it happens, then maybe it was meant to be."

"But…but…" I press my palms against my eyes.

"This is a life-changing financial opportunity and professional one, it sounds like," she adds.

"I know all of that. I just don't know if I can do it. Be that close to him and not fall apart."

"You're stronger than you think you are, baby. You've been proving that every single day since you were born." She reaches over, tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. "And for what it's worth, I'll go with you. Help with Charlie, keep the house running wherever you land. You shouldn't have to figure out childcare in a strange place on top of everything else."

"Mama, you can't just leave Daddy here alone with the farm."

"Your daddy's run this place longer than you've been alive. He'll manage a few months without me fussing over him." She says it with a smile, but there's worry underneath it too, the kind that doesn't fully go away just because she's decided to be brave about it.

Daddy comes in from the barn twenty minutes later, boots muddy. I go through the whole thing again, watching his face for the same hesitation I feel sitting heavy in my own heart. Instead, something like relief crosses his features before he even finishes hearing everything Roy mentioned.

Then I add, "He said I could tack on whatever I need to get the farm out of debt."

Daddy's eyes widen. "You take it," he says, no hesitation at all.

"Daddy, it's complicated. He lives in that town."

"I heard you the first time." He sits down heavy in his usual chair, rubbing a hand over his face. "Baby girl, I love you, and I love that little girl of yours more than my own life, but this farm's hanging on by a thread. A payday like this one could be the difference between keeping it and losing it. And I want Charlie to have it someday."

"I know."

He questions, "If it were anybody else's ranch, would you take the job?"

"Yes. In a heartbeat."

"Then take it now, and don't let a man who doesn't even know your name anymore, or worse, one who does and never came looking, talk you out of the best thing that's happened for your career." His voice cracks slightly. "I'll stay here. Your mama can go with you."