Page 79 of Midnight Surrounds Us

“I don’t really feel like talkin’ to you about sex either. Although, as, like, a quarter-life check-in, you’re usin’ condoms, right?”

“Ma!”

“Well, are you?”

“Yeah! God, Ma.”

“I won’t apologize for askin’. Babies ain’t cheap, and you’re broke.”

“Yeah, and with my luck, I’d probably end up with two.”

Going for another sip of my coffee, I winced and shrugged. “You might.”

“Listen.” Micah turned toward me, a serious look settling on his face. “If you think this guy, Rye, is okay, then I guess I can allow it. But, Ma, he’s not good enough. No one is.

“I love you, and you’ve been there for me through a lot of sh—stuff. You were strong for me and Benji when Dad died, and then you started your own business? That’s pretty badass. I admire you. I hope I can be like you, and I don’t want anyone to hurt your heart.”

“Come here,” I said, and I opened my arms.

Micah scooted into them, and I held my baby close. He still smelled the same way he had when he was nine, like potato chips and fabric softener.

“First, thank you. I love you too, and I don’t want anyone to hurt your heart either. And second”—leaning back, I smacked him lightly on his cheek, but then I pulled him into my arms again—“you’ll ‘allow it’?”

“You know what I mean,” he said, hugging me tightly. “I’ll get with the program or whatever.”

“Thank you.”

“Alright, that’s enough huggin’. I’m a grown man.”

Debatable, but I laughed and kissed his cheek. “So when do I get to meet this Izzy? But just FYI, I already approve.”

“If she takes me back, I’ll drive up there and bring her down for supper one night before I start my new job. By the way, can I borrow your car? ’Cause Benji’s gonna pitch a fit when I tell him I wanna take the truck back up to Montana. It’s on its last legs.”

“New job?”

“Yeah, Benji didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“Rye’s mama, Mrs. Graves? She came to talk to us at the diner yesterday, and she offered us both jobs at their ranch this summer. The pay’s good. Like,reallygood. And Izzy says if I want her to take me seriously, I better accept the offer and learn how to cowboy ’cause her dad won’t let me marry her if I don’t.”

I almost spit out the sip of coffee I’d taken, completely forgetting he’d just said that the judgiest of all moms had hired both my children and now might possibly be a daily influence in their lives. “Marryher?”

“Yeah, but don’t get all nuts about it. I’m talkin’ someday, not next week.”

I took a breath and released the panic that the image of my kid standing in front of an altar had created in my mind. “You think Izzy’s the one?”

“Yeah,” he said, leveling his stare on my face. “I do. Maybe. Do you think this Rye is your one? I mean, I know Dad was, but maybe it’s not so weird if you have another ‘one’.”

“He is,” I said, confirming it for Micah, but for me too. “Rye’s theonlyone. I love him.”

“He treats you well?”

“Better than anyone ever has, and that includes your dad. You know, don’t you, that the way your dad belittled me and treated me like a possession and a maid was wrong?”

“I know, Ma. But I guess all this time, I thought if I admitted that to myself, it felt like I was… I dunno, disrespecting his memory, you know?”

“I’ve felt the same way, but it’s the truth, Micah. And there’s nothin’ wrong with tellin’ the truth.”

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