I blinked back tears and sat at the table. Mama dug out a bottle of Summit in June, the line Daddy had created for me, and set it between our chairs at the table. Next she got two glasses out of the cupboard and sat.
I poured for us so she wasn’t waiting on me hand and foot. I took a drink. The temperature outside was warm, but the flavor of vanilla and cedar on my tongue had a soothing effect. The warmth of the spirit was reassuring. Familiar.
I licked along my bottom teeth. “I told Rhys his mom wasn’t a good mom.”
“Mm.” She poured more bourbon into her glass. “Your observation didn’t go over well?”
“Do you think I’m right? Did you know her?”
“I knew of her. Heard about her and Rhys. That kind of thing. Small towns.” She winked. “Anyway, Jonathonmet her when she came with a traveling troupe to perform in the park. I also heard she claimed she’d never settle down in a place like Bourbon Canyon. I got the impression the entire state of Montana was too small for her.”
“I don’t think Rhys grew up in a warm, loving environment.”
She nodded. “You could see it in him. The way he hung his head. Jonathon and Wren showered him with attention and he bloomed under their love.”
“But he blamed himself for his mom. For everything that went wrong for her.”
Mama’s expression grew serious. She must’ve heard everything I didn’t say. He blamed himself for his mom’s death.
“He broke up with me because he thought he’d be bad for me. He thought he’d hold me back. And he’s going to do it again.” I took another long sip. The temptation to shoot the rest of the liquid was strong, but Daddy had taught me better than that.Bourbon’s a sipping drink.
“He’s a stubborn boy.”
“And I can’t out-stubborn him.” I added more bourbon to my glass even though it wasn’t empty. “I’ve been able to think a lot for the last two months. I want to dominate the charts with my new album. I want to go on tour and fill stadiums. But after that? There’s nothing. More albums. More touring. More work.”
“You’re ready to transition to a different phase of your life, and there’s only one man to do it with.”
I nodded, a lump forming in my throat. “But he’ll blame himself. He probably won’t even give me a chance. He might even meet someone while I’m gone.”
“Or you might.”
The way my bourbon almost tossed itself right back out of my stomach was a clear indicator that no, I would not. “I can’t let my happiness depend on him. But I don’t want to just sing songs and only see my family a few times a year.”
“Good thing you don’t have to worry about that yet.”
“What?” It wasn’t like Mama to brush off my worries.
“Is he going to the fundraiser tomorrow?”
“Nope.” After the barrelhouse, there would be no repeat of the Opry.
“But you were the one to walk away from him this time?”
I nodded, blinking back tears.
“Let’s hope that’s the kick in the ass he needs.”
A tiny thread of hope rose, but I took another drink and let the bourbon smother it. “He ended a five-year relationship and let his ex-wife leave him rather than travel a few times a year or wait for us at home. He sold the ranch for Wren. I can talk his ear off, but he doesn’t listen. I might as well play for thousands of people who will.”
“It was always important to you to feel heard.”
Rhys had given that to me. But I’d never listened to him. If I had, maybe things would be different. Or they’d be exactly the same, but I’d know why. “I guess I’m getting what I want.”
“Don’t give up yet. Things aren’t always clear-cut.” Mama held her glass up and studied the fluid inside. “Darin always said this batch was his most complex.”
“Daddy said that about all of our batches.”
She chuckled. “He said Wynter’s was the fruitiest, Summer’s was the richest, Autumn’s was the sweetest,Tate’s was the boldest, Teller’s was the spiciest, and Tenor’s was the woodsiest.”
