Page 36 of The Cowboy and His Beauty
"Okay," I say, wanting to see where he’s going with this conversation.
"I wanted to see how you're doing, and if you wanted to grab lunch tomorrow. My treat."
"Ben, I don't want to be in town and bombarded with a million questions right now."
"I figured you'd say that, so I was thinking we'd grab lunch and I'll bring you back here and show you my ranch." I can hear the smile in his voice.
"Wait, what ranch?" I ask, racking my brain and thinking he’s told me something I’ve completely forgotten.
"Well, it's nothing big, but I bought myself a little piece of land. I've been working on it and I just hired my first two ranch hands and kind of want to show it off a little."
"I'd like that."
"Where you are staying? I’ll pick you up tomorrow," he says.
"I'm staying at Sarah's husband's family place right next door to mine," I tell him.
"I know exactly where that is. I'll see you tomorrow."
Once I get off the phone, I find the room that Sarah said I could use. It's her and her Mac’s when they're here.
After the long drive and the fight with my parents, the bed looks so comfortable. I figure I can lie down for a moment and rest before I get up and find something for dinner.
I wake up to someone at the door. I’m shocked when a quick look at my phone tells me it’s eight in the morning. I still have my shoes on from yesterday.
I grab the sweatshirt from my bag on the chair and pull it over my head and run my fingers through my hair as I go to answer the door.
I’m stunned to find my parents on the doorstep. "What are you doing here?"
"We saw the car in the driveway," my mom says, her voice emotionless.
I almost roll my eyes. "I suppose it'd be hard to miss being right next door."
"We came to apologize," my dad says.
"It's not my house, so I can't invite you in, but we can sit on the porch," I tell them. I want an easy out if things go badly, and it's harder to kick someone out of your house than to walk inside.
Once we’ve settled on the porch, my mother turns to me. "Being a parent isn't easy, no matter how much help you have. One day, you'll understand that. That being said, we made the best decision we could at the time with the information we had. We didn't want you to change your whole life for some high school crush that wasn't going to pan out past the first year of college. We didn't think that you and Corey would ever amount to anything more.
“I know it's too little too late, but we would do things differently if we had another chance. So, we wanted to say that we’re sorry for the decisions we made and how they affected you," my mother says.
It's the first time in my life I can remember her being genuine and vulnerable. My parents and I have never been close, but this feels like a big moment for us.
"Thank you. I don't know where things are going, but I need to know that you won’t stand in my way again," I say, still a little defensive.
"We’ll be completely out of the way," my mom says, holding her hands up in surrender.
With that, we share some hugs before they head back to their house. That's probably the most emotional moment I've ever had with them, and hopefully, it means we're on a good track.
I head inside and get ready for lunch with Ben. I've known him for many years, and something tells me this isn't just lunch.
Chapter 23
Dash
I wait in Ben's barn, looking around nervously because I have no idea if this is going to work.
"She's going to love it, I promise," Jenna says. She's been here for hours helping with this, along with Natalie, Austin's sister.
