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It felt like she’d been punched in the gut. What reason would Thomas have for telling her a lie like that? He could have just as easily told her he didn’t want to come to dinner. Her thoughts swirled with the unknown. He was somewhere out in the world, and she didn’t know where he was.
“Hey, you okay?”
Agatha shook her head. “No. I’m not. Do you think I should call him?”
He didn’t answer right away, causing her to finally look at him.
“I’m sorry. Of course not. He’s an adult. He certainly doesn’t need to tell me where he’s going to be twenty-four-seven.” But Thomas had never lied to her before.
Or had he?
Already she could feel herself going through a tailspin. The logical part of her knew that one day Thomas would move forward with his life. She’d been prepared for that. At least she thought she was.
“Agatha,” Zeke said quietly, dragging her to the present. “You don’t look okay.”
She forced a laugh. “I’m fine. It’s nothing. Thomas just told me he couldn’t make it to dinner because he was working for you. But clearly that isn’t happening because you have no reason to lie to me about where your men are doing their jobs.”
Zeke studied her. It was as if his scrutiny was able to tear away all the layers she had put in place, and now she was as vulnerable as a rosebud in a winter storm. She shivered with the thought and pushed through the confusion and mild feeling of betrayal.
This was a date—a very sweet date with a man she had been looking forward to seeing all day. She wasn’t going to put aside that excitement because her son had chosen to lie to her about what he was up to.
Agatha placed her hand over Zeke’s again and lifted her eyes to meet his. “I’m fine. Just a little thrown off.”
He didn’t look convinced, but what else could she say?
“My daughters hid stuff from me too.”
She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not. You’re worried about him. I can tell.”
Agatha sighed. “Yes, I’m worried about him. I don’t know where he is. But he’s twenty. He can do what he wants to do on his time, and he’ll just tell me about it later.”
“Adeline, my oldest, lied about being pregnant by a man I didn’t even think she liked.”
She stared at Zeke, her eyes wide. Then she let out a laugh. She clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. The damage had been done, and all she could do was pray that Zeke wouldn’t think that she was making fun of him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
He held up a hand. “Don’t worry about it. She was set on marrying a man that I didn’t approve of—but not because there was anything wrong with him. He was just one of the young men in town I didn’t think was good enough for my little girl.”
His words tugged at her heartstrings. She’d rarely seen this gentler side of Zeke, and right here, she was melting over a story he probably didn’t look back on fondly.
“Turns out she was just trying to get married quickly because she wanted to give her sisters the chance to be up next.” Zeke looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. The chagrined expression he wore said it all. He wasn’t ready to share his flaws with her. And she had a feeling he was going to come forward with the details she’d already heard from the people in town.
“Before you moved here, I was a little… strict.”
She bit back a smile.
“I told the girls that the younger ones couldn’t be married without the older ones doing it first. I figured it would make it easier on me to have to only vet one at a time.” He blew out a long breath and then a forced chuckle. “Boy, was I wrong—on so many levels. Those girls have managed to turn me upside down and inside out without even trying.”
“I’m sure they still loved you all the same,” she said.
He met her gaze and shook his head. “Yeah, I know they love me. But I didn’t treat them in such a way that showed I loved them. I wanted to protect them from the young men out there that only wanted one thing.” Zeke looked away again, and she wanted to assure him that she thought he’d done just fine raising all of his girls. But anything she might have said would have sounded trite. Finally, he met her gaze. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I came to realize just how important it is to let them make their own mistakes. I did the best I could, raising them. Now it’s their turn to get out in the world and be on their own.” He chuckled again, but this time it was less strained. “Only I’m still stuck with half of them. But that’s what you get when you have a family ranch and most of them still help out.”
She squeezed his hand. “I don’t know how you managed to do it and keep your wits about you. Honestly, I feel like girls are so much harder than boys. Thomas has always been this golden child. In school he always got good grades. He never snuck out to be with his friends… he’s always told me everything.” Until now.
“I’m sure he’s just working through something, and he doesn’t want to worry you.”
She groaned. “But that’s when parents worry the most.”
