"I'm here."
She stopped ten feet away. Her chest was heaving. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides.
"You violated my home," she hissed. "You went through my things."
"I found my son," Ryder said.
"He is not your son!" Elena screamed. The sound cracked the air. "He ismyson. I fed him. I clothed him. I held him when he had fevers. I taught him to walk. You? You are a stranger who broke into his room."
"I'm his father, Elena. You can't change the DNA."
"DNA is a chemical!" she shouted, stepping closer, poking him in the chest. "Fatherhood is a job! And you were absent!"
"Because you didn't tell me!" Ryder roared back, his own anger flaring to match hers. "You let me leave! You let me drive away knowing you were carrying him! You stole that choice from me!"
"I called you!" Elena cried, tears springing to her eyes. "I called you every day for a month! I left voicemails! I texted! 'Please call me.' 'It's urgent.' 'I need you.' And what did I get?User Busy.Mailbox Full."
She shoved him. Ryder stumbled back on his crutches.
"You didn't want to be found, Ryder! You wanted to be the Wild One. You wanted to be free of this town, free of the ranch, free ofme. Well, you got your wish! You were free!"
Ryder stood there, the accusations raining down on him like stones.
He remembered the phone. The old Nokia. He remembered throwing it into a dumpster in Reno because he wanted a "fresh start." He remembered the relief of silence.
"I didn't know," he whispered, his voice breaking. "I swear to God, Lena. If I had known..."
"It's too late," she said. She wiped her eyes furiously. "He's six years old. He's happy. He's stable. He doesn't know he was abandoned. And I will not let you walk in here, play 'Daddy' for three weeks until your leg heals, and then disappear again. I won't let you break his heart the way you broke mine."
"I'm not leaving," Ryder said.
"You have a contract for Tulsa in your pocket," she said.
Ryder froze.
She knew. Of course she knew. She was a doctor. She noticed things. She had probably seen the outline of the folded paper in his jeans, or heard him on the phone.
"I found it in the trash," she said. "The envelope from Red River Energy. You're already planning your exit, Ryder. You're training in secret. You're risking your leg. You're doing exactly what you always do."
She stepped back.
"Stay away from Leo," she said. Her voice was deadly calm now. "If you tell him... if you confuse him... I will take him and I will move so far away you will never find us. That is a promise."
She turned to leave.
"Mom?"
A small voice came from the doorway.
Ryder and Elena both spun around.
Leo was standing there. He was holding his plastic bull. He looked small, scared, and confused.
"Why are you yelling at the pirate?" Leo asked.
Elena’s face crumpled. She rushed over to him, kneeling down, turning her back on Ryder.
"It's okay, baby. We were just... arguing. About the rent."
