Page 59 of Cowboy of Convenience
Grady tipped his head. "You got it, Gram-Gram." He turned to Evelyn, leaning close. "What about you, Ev?" Evelyn widened her eyes at him, trying to convey her complete disbelief that he would abandon her in a time like this. They were supposed to be a team. He was supposed to be there for her.
Grady leaned into her ear, his voice low. "You girls need to talk without me between you. It sounds like there's too much there already." He pressed a lingering kiss to her lips before straightening, offering her a wink. "I'll be back."
Evelyn stared after him. He wasn't wrong, but facing this alone was no less terrifying.
"I'm glad you found someone who genuinely loves you." Her grandmother smoothed the line of her slacks. "When I discovered you left and your mother hadn't so much as checked to make sure you were okay, I was appalled. That's why I called and tried to get you to come home. I was hoping that maybe—" She stopped, pausing for a few long seconds. "I was hoping that maybe she was finally losing her influence and I would be able to spend time with you before there's no time left to spend."
Some of what she was saying was starting to make sense. Her mother did focus heavily on her misery and did frequently wallow in it. But that misery was her grandmother's fault, wasn't it? There was one way to find out.
"Did you really force my mother to marry my father?"
Her grandmother's eyes snapped to hers, narrowing sharply. "Is that what she told you?" Her grandmother huffed out a laugh. "No wonder you wanted nothing to do with me once you got older."
She was speechless. Dumbfounded. "If you didn't force her to marry my father, who did?"
It was a story she'd heard for as long as she could remember. Her motherhadto marry her father. She didn't have a choice. It was the only option.
But was that all she said?
Evelyn wracked her brain, trying to remember if her mother had ever outright said it was her grandmother who made it happen, but she couldn't pinpoint that ever happening. She'd always just assumed, based on other things her mother said about her grandmother. About how selfish she was. How she only cared about herself and what was best for her. How all that mattered was keeping the family financially secure.
And maybe that was the issue.
"Can I ask you something?" It was odd to converse with the same woman she'd avoided and villainized her whole life. But Grady was right. This conversation needed to happen.
Her grandmother barely nodded, looking just as uncomfortable as she was. "I'm happy to answer any questions you have."
"Did my mother get an allowance too?" Her mother's spending habits were part of the reason she was so clueless about how much things cost. She'd somewhat assumed that as her grandmother's agreeable daughter, her mother had more access to funds than she did.
But maybe that wasn't the case.
"Everyone in the family has an allowance. You, your mother." Her grandmother sat a little straighter. "Even me. It was something your grandfather felt very strongly about. That we ensure our family’s legacy can continue on. That we maintain enough to continue supporting ourselves and the charities that are important to us.
"Your mother found it disappointing that we would have what we do and not allow her to use it in any way she deemed fit." Her grandmother’s lips thinned and she tilted her head to one side, waving one hand. "That's why she married your father. He has more money than sense and allows her to spend as much as she wants."
Evelyn leaned forward, elbows on her knees as she caught her face in her hands. "I can't believe this." She let all the information marinate a second before changing her mind. "Yes I can."
"Your mother isn't a bad person. She's simply selfish."
Evelyn rocked her head to one side, tipping it her grandmother's way. That qualification simply didn’t make sense. "And you don't think that makes her a bad person?"
Her grandmother offered a dismissive shrug. "She's never killed anyone."
Evelyn laughed. "Your standards are way lower than I thought."
A little of the hard mask her grandmother wore softened as she contemplated her next words. "I love your mother, Evelyn, but only because she's my child. I tried for many years to find a way to have a relationship with her, but it simply isn't possible. So then I tried to have a relationship with you." Her eyes drifted away. "I invited you to join me at events and parties hoping maybe we would have an easier time getting to know each other now that you’re older, but..." Her words died off.
"But I believed you married my mother off and planned to do the same thing to me." She wanted to believe what her grandmother was saying was true, and so much of it seemed right, but there was still one sticking point. "Why did you try to set me up with Sasha?"
Her grandmother rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair as the fingers of one hand pressed to her forehead. "Sasha. That child is a mess." Her hand dropped. "He's the son of a dear friend of mine and it would appear they greatly embellished his accolades."
"Greatlyembellished," Evelyn agreed.
Her grandmother's expression warmed in a way she'd never seen. "But none of that matters now because you found yourself a nice man." Her brows lifted. "And he must genuinely love you considering you haven't used a single dollar of your allowance since coming here."
"I didn't want you to know where I was. I thought you would come find me and make me choose between our family and my freedom." The admission felt much guiltier than she would have ever expected thanks to what she’d just learned.
All these years she believed she knew who the villain was, but she was merely caught up in a game that didn't actually exist.
