Page 108 of Nashville Cowboy
But words were his business. Words mattered. A woman wanted those words, too. Those “I love you” and “I’ve got your back” declarations. Jackson had given those to Eve and then some.
“What? Go on and tell me, you’re such the expert!”
“I’m no expert,” Jackson said. “But I think the words matter. Or at least, they do to women. Brenda might want to hear you tell her how you feel, not just assume you didn’t have a full schedule you dropped because she showed up. How’s she supposed to know that?”
“SheknowsI’m a busy man.”
“We’re all busy. I’m just sayin’, words matter.”
* * *
“Mija, please.”Brenda waved Eve away. “I’m fine.Really.”
Eve had known that her mother was going to live the moment she walked into the bedroom and saw her half reclined, half sitting up on the bed, looking like she’d get up and run out of the room at any minute. Her mother would hate all this attention.
“But you fell off a horse. That’s not a small thing.”
Eve had already checked for signs of a concussion and found none. She continued to examine her mother, poking gently at her ribs.
She winced some, but other than some bruising, minor scratches and abrasions she didn’t even seem to have a cracked rib.
She covered her face with her hands. “I’m so humiliated. I should have asked you to teach me how to ride a horse. Not Hank.”
“You know I would have taught you. Anytime.”
“But you’ve been so busy lately, and I didn’t want to bother you.”
Eve felt a deep throb of guilt. “I’mnevertoo busy for you.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean that,” Brenda protested. “Don’t feel guilty, please. That’s only half the story.”
“What’s the other half?”
Her mother wouldn’t look at Eve. “I wanted Hank to teach me.”
“I guess hedoeshave more experience with horses than I do. But I could have—”
“No.” Brenda said significantly and met Eve’s eyes. “I wantedHankto teach me.”
“Oh.” Eve let that sink in.
Her mother and Hank.
Hank and her mother.
Eve’s brain hiccupped. The idea was…weird.
“I’m sorry I never talked about this, but when we were in high school, Hank wanted to marry me. My parents wanted me to marry Ricardo. I always did what my parents told me to do.”
“Oh,” Eve said. Again. Maybe she could come up with another syllable. Perhaps “ah.”
“And then Maggie came along, got pregnant with Lincoln, and that was the end of it.”
“Mami—”
“That’s why I never stopped you from leaving Jackson at the altar when I knew what youshouldhave done. I let you make up your own mind about everything without much counsel from me. For that, I’m truly sorry. I went a little too far. Maybe I could have saved you some grief.”
“No, that…” Eve shook her head and stood. “Wait, are you trying to change the subject? You andHank?”
