I pace by the bed. I need an angle.
An unbiased but interesting angle. Piece of cake. I hang my head and walk up to the bed, shins connecting with the side as I belly flop onto it.
Fuck my life.
I catch the self-pity and force my mind back to the moment in the Humvee. The look on Cap’s face as he told me not to be sorry, to make a difference.
How the hell am I supposed to do that shooting rodeos?
I sigh into the covers.
A hard knock startles me, and I scramble off the bed. A throat clears.
A sound I know well after hours of driving together.
I cross the bedroom and open the door to find Hadley, hat in hand, smile scrawled over his handsome face.
“Hi!” I glance behind him, but Mom’s nowhere to be seen. “Who let you in?”
He chuckles. “Nice to see you too, Sunshine. And it was Brad. Nice guy.”
I smile. “Yeah, he is.”
He shifts on his feet, a hand running behind his neck. “Sorry, I wasn’t sure you’d want me up here, but Bra?—”
“You know what? Why don’t we grab some coffee downstairs?”
“Yeah, sounds great.” He sounds relieved.
I can’t wipe the damn smile from my face. I pluck my button-down shirt from the hook by the en suite and throw it over my tank and fasten a couple buttons before walking from my room and closing the door. “Come on, I’d love you to meet Mom.”
I hedge my bets and take his hand, leading him down the stairs and through the restaurant. Sure enough, we find her in the kitchen with Terrance, her back to us as she plates up. Jill-of-all-trades, my mom. Stopping in the doorway to the oversized commercial kitchen that turns out the best food in three counties, I give Terrance a wave.
“Meredith, you have a visitor.” Terrance beams at me and says a quiet hello to Hadley.
Who waves and waits with his hat still in his hands.
Mom glances over her shoulder. Excitement explodes over her face when she notices the cowboy standing beside me.
“Oh!” She waves her hands around before delegating to one of the other kitchen staff. Wiping her hands on her apron, she tugs it over her head and dumps it in the linen cart as she rushes for us. “You must be Hadley.”
He smiles, warm and?—
Shit.
“Yes, ma’am,” he says, extending a hand. He towers over my tiny mother. It’s the first time I’ve seen her beside a cowboy since...
A stone closes over my airways.
Mom shakes it and glances at me. “You two need something to eat?”
“Just coffee. We’ll grab a table,” I manage when I’ve recovered from whatever strangled me.
“Sure, take whichever one you like, it’s pretty quiet today.” Mom scrunches up her face, exuding happiness.
Hadley nods. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
All thisma’amtalk is going to have me needing some air. Or maybe a cold shower.
