"The one from your phone. The one who makes you laugh when you're cooking."
I feel my cheeks heat. "Maybe."
We get home, and I make pasta while she sits at the table coloring. The weight in my chest doesn't lift, but it shifts. Watching her, I think of everything I've promised her. Stability. A better life. No more last-minute moves. No more struggling to make rent or skipping snacks to save money.
This job gave us that. But at what cost?
After dinner, we play a quick game of Uno, and she beats me twice, throwing her arms up in victory. Her laugh fills the room, and for a moment, I can breathe again. She's the reason I tookthis job. The reason I said yes to everything Martin offered. And she's also the reason I'm second-guessing all of it now.
Later that night, after Emma's bath and story time, she crawls into bed and pulls the covers up to her chin. I sit beside her, smoothing her hair away from her forehead.
"Mommy?" she whispers. "How do you know if something is good or bad?"
I blink. "That's a big question."
"Well... Miss Rhonda said good people always tell the truth. But what if you don't tell the truth, but you're trying to help someone?"
The breath catches in my throat. "Sometimes it's not easy to know what the right thing is. You just have to listen to your heart and be as kind as you can."
She nods sleepily. "Okay. I'll try that."
I kiss her forehead, tuck the blankets tighter around her, and linger at the door after turning the lights off. Watching her little body curl into her stuffed bear, I whisper the question I'm too scared to ask aloud.
Am I protecting her... or teaching her to settle?
Later that night, I sit on the couch with a blanket wrapped around my shoulders, staring at my phone. I've got a dozen texts half-written, none of them good enough. My laptop sits open beside me, project documents glowing like a threat. One email from Martin, subject line: Ranch—Leverage Ideas?
I don't open it. I already know what it'll say.
Bear hasn't texted tonight. For once, the silence is mine to break.
I type.
Me:Ever feel like you're stuck between two truths?
The reply takes a while.
Bear:All the time. What are yours?
I hesitate.
Me:One says I'm doing my job. The other says I'm breaking something that matters.
He replies almost instantly.
Bear:Some things are harder to fix once they're broken.
I stare at that message until the words blur.
And I wonder what he'd say if he knew who I really was.
What would I say if I knew who he was?
Chapter 8
Asher
The wind carries the sharp scent of cedar and sun-warmed dust as I lean against the porch railing of the ranch office, flipping through the latest land use documents. It's just busy work, and I can't seem to focus. Not with her car pulling up the drive, tires crunching on gravel like a countdown clock.