“Yeah, I’m in agreement with Cash.” Sawyer shook his head. “I guess it was bound to happen eventually.”

  “What was?”

  “Her showing up. Her wanting to see the kids. How do you want this to go?”

  “How do I want it to go?” Jace thought it was obvious, but Sawyer the journalist had a habit of asking a million and one questions. “I want her to get in her car, turn around, and drive back to wherever she came from.”

  “What about Travis and Grady?”

  “Travis is adamant that he doesn’t want to see her and Grady . . .”

  “And Grady what?”

  “He says he doesn’t want to see her, but I’m not so sure of that,” Jace said.

  Sawyer sighed. “She’s his mother, Jace.”

  “I know.” Jace pinched the bridge of his nose. Why did this have to be so damned complicated? “Remember Grady’s birthday party? I think it was his sixth or seventh. Mary Ann and I had just separated and she was living in some crappy apartment in Roseville. She promised Grady she would come for the party, promised him that afterward she, Grady, and Travis could do something special, just the three of them, to celebrate. And then she never showed up. The entire party, Grady stood by the window, watching for her, waiting for her. Later, after I finally managed to reach her, her excuse was she’d caught a cold and didn’t want to get everyone sick.” He cursed under his breath. “I don’t want that happening again. I don’t want her setting the kids up for disappointment. Because the one thing I know definitively about Mary Ann is she’s not a mother any child can depend on.”

  “I remember.” Sawyer nodded, but he looked contemplative. “I’m pretty new at this fatherhood thing. But experience tells me that you can’t always protect your children from disappointment, Jace, as much as you want to. It’s a cold, hard fact of life that there will always be someone out there who does a number on you. Look at Tuff. His late mother makes Mary Ann look like a saint by comparison.”

  Tuff’s mother was a drunk and had turned on her son in the worst way imaginable. And he had no one to look after him. That wasn’t the case with Travis and Grady. As long as Jace had breath left in him, he’d protect his sons with his life.

  “So the bottom line is that you’re with Cash on this,” Jace said. “I should leave it to my lawyer to deal with.”

  “Yes. If your objective is to keep her from seeing Grady, I think you should do this by the book. But before you do anything, you should find out what the kids want. What they really want. It’s bigger than what you want, Jace. Try to remember that.”

  “Yep,” was his only response because deep down inside he knew Sawyer was right.

  But that didn’t stop him from getting in his truck and driving straight for Miners Road.

  Chapter Seven

  Charlie recognized him the minute he came into the store with a blonde on his arm. Though Mitch and Jace had fallen out before Charlie moved to Dry Creek Ranch, she’d seen Mitch around town and at various functions. It was a small community.

  Given the way things had ended with Mitch and Aubrey, Charlie found it strange that he would show up at Refind. Then again, he seemed to be making the rounds with his enemies these days. Luckily, Aubrey wasn’t here or she’d probably throw more than a cabinet door at him.

  “Can I help you?” She flashed a tight smile, trying to decide how to play this. She could either ask him to leave or find out what he wanted.

  She decided on the latter, mostly because she had a store full of customers and didn’t want to make a scene.

  “We’re interested in the arbor you have outside,” the blonde said.

  Charlie thought the woman looked a little like Jill Tucker. Silky blond hair, big brown eyes, great figure. Apparently, Mitch had a type, though Aubrey was a brunette with green eyes.

  Mitch, on the other hand, was a little worse for wear. His hair was thinning and since the last time Charlie had seen him, his beer paunch had become more pronounced.

  Charlie came out from behind the counter and followed them outside to the shop’s French-style garden. She and Aubrey had finished it last summer so they could display patio furniture, backyard fountains, and outdoor bric-a-brac. The small investment had proven to be a success, drawing people in from the rest of the center.

  Flagstone lined with antique wooden posts and handmade birdhouses made a pathway through sections of Dave Austin rosebushes, French lavender, and purple lupine. There were benches and wrought-iron bistro tables and chairs arranged on a moss-covered patio with gurgling fountains. But the pièce de résistance was the raised vegetable beds, each section defined by an arbor that Charlie had constructed from something else. Doors, old fencing, farm tables, anything she could reimagine.

  “It’s for our wedding,” the woman volunteered. “I just love it.” She wrapped her arms around the arbor, which Charlie had made from three chippy, white antique French doors, and hugged it.

  “How much is it?” Mitch asked.

  “I’ll let it go for four hundred dollars.” It had been such a great conversation piece that Charlie had decided to hang on to it. But why walk away from an easy sale? she told herself.

  “We’ll take it,” the woman said before Mitch could respond, then jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “My fiancé brought his truck.” She pointed to a black pickup that looked like it was on steroids.

  “Would you like help loading it?” Charlie prayed the answer was no; otherwise she’d have to call Jace. And that would be too weird for words.

  As if sensing her hesitance, Mitch shook his head. “I’ve got it.”

  “Ooh, I want to look around,” the blonde said, gazing around the garden. “Everything is sooo pretty here.”

  Mitch rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop grinning at the woman. It was clear to Charlie that he was besotted. Charlie would be offended on Aubrey’s behalf if it wasn’t for the fact that her best friend and business partner was madly in love with Cash. They had two beautiful children and were living the dream.

  The woman had moved on to an old farm table that Charlie had put outside because she’d run out of space in the store. “We could use it as a gift table or . . . something.”

  Mitch snuck a peek at the price tag. “Whatever you want, Cheryl.”

  Cheryl beamed, then turned to Charlie. “You make all this stuff yourself?”

  “Well, it’s already made. I just spiff it up or repurpose it. And I work with a partner.” Charlie couldn’t help but look at Mitch for that last part. He had the good grace to look away.

  “You are sooo talented.” Cheryl obviously wasn’t aware of the weird undercurrent here.

  “Thank you.”

  “OMG, I’ve got the best idea.” She started clapping her hands again. “I can hire you to decorate our wedding. Would you do it? Don’t you just love it, Mitch? Just like this.” She turned in a circle, indicating the garden. “This is exactly my dream.”

  Mitch looked as uncomfortable as Charlie felt. “Babe, I’m sure Charlotte is too busy for something like that.”

  Cheryl turned to Charlie. “I saw on your website that you do all kinds of design work. I loved the pictures of Picnic in the Park.” It was an annual fundraiser for the local Boys & Girls Club that Charlie and Aubrey had decorated last year.

  “Thank you,” she said. “But I’m afraid I’m going to be out of commission pretty soon.” She stared down at her belly, hoping that would put an end to any of Cheryl’s ideas.

  “That soon, huh? You look amazing.” Out of the blue, Cheryl hugged her, which was sweet but also awkward.

  Mitch’s fiancée was so charming, Charlie was finding it difficult not to like her. And why shouldn’t she? Cheryl had nothing to do with Mitch’s past.

  “You know what? I can show you some pictures that might give you some good ideas,” Charlie said. “I take it it’s an outdoor affair, right?”

  “It’s in Mitch’s backyard.” She blushed, then her whole face lit up. “I guess it’s our backyard now. Anyway, it’s in the vineyard, so I kind of wanted to go for a real old-timey, country theme.”

  Charlie nodded. “Come in and I’ll show you something Aubrey and I did in Napa a year ago. It was for this darling couple renewing their vows after forty years of marriage. They’d purchased a number of pieces here for their home that Aubrey worked with them on and they wanted us to work with their event planner on the décor for the party.”

  Charlie grabbed her portfolio from the office and motioned for Mitch and Cheryl to take a seat at one of the tables in the showroom to look through the photographs of the event, while she helped other customers.

  Kelly was ringing someone up at the cash register. Luckily, Aubrey wasn’t due in for another hour. By then Charlie would make sure Cheryl and Mitch were gone. In the meantime it didn’t hurt to show Cheryl a few ideas.

  “You see anything you like?” She pulled up a chair.

  “This.” Cheryl pointed to a picture of the dining setup Charlie and Aubrey had devised. It was a row of farm tables that spanned the size of a football field covered in white butcher paper, so the guests could write salutations for the couple to read later. For seating they’d used bales of straw as benches and lit each table with a crystal chandelier hung from a ten-foot-tall post. Glamour meets rustic. The result was breathtaking. “I would love this. Wouldn’t you, Mitch?”

  Mitch shrugged. “I don’t know where we’d get all this stuff.”

  “This was all rented,” Charlie said. “It’s a place in San Francisco. They’ll deliver it, set it up, and tear it down. But it’s pricey, I’m not going to lie. If you’re interested, I’ll give you their contact information and I’ll make you a copy of the picture. Just tell them I sent you and that you want exactly what’s here.”

  “I can’t believe you’re willing to give us your design. This is like copyrighted stuff,” Cheryl said. “Please let us pay you.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. This picture has been everywhere, including a couple of magazines. Anyone could replicate it. It’s just the nature of the business.”

  It was in that moment that Aubrey chose to walk through the door and announce, “Ellie came in first place!” She did a little victory dance, then abruptly stopped short when she spotted Mitch.

  Mitch got up so fast he nearly knocked his chair over. Cheryl, who was clearly in the dark about Mitch and Aubrey’s history, just sat there smiling. Charlie started to mouth, I’ll explain later, but Aubrey beat her to the punch.

  She marched up to Mitch and did the last thing Charlie expected.

  She plastered on a warm smile, took his hand, and said, “Hi, Mitch. You still owe me two thousand bucks.”

  Chapter Eight

  This time Jace wasn’t concerned about being incognito. He parked his personal truck on the street in front of Mary Ann’s house, walked up to the door, and rang the bell.

  She didn’t seem at all surprised to see him. In fact, it appeared to Jace that she had been expecting him, judging by the way she simply waved her hand over the entryway of the cottage for him to come inside.

  Mary Ann looked good, he’d give her that. She’d always been beautiful, but there was a maturity about her now that she wore well. She was in jeans, a T-shirt, and a pair of sandals. Her blond hair was tied back in a ponytail and her face was bare. No makeup. When they’d been together she wouldn’t leave the house without taking at least an hour to do her face and hair. It used to drive Jace nuts. They lived on a cattle ranch, for goodness’ sake.

  He could tell she was taking him in the same way he was her. Jace watched her gaze fall to his left hand, where he wore his wedding ring. It hadn’t occurred to him until now that she may be married too. But when he snuck a glance he saw that her ring finger was bare. Still, it didn’t mean she wasn’t in a committed relationship. For all he knew she was still with the French dude.

  He took a quick look around the cottage. It was sparsely furnished. Just a sofa, matching chair, coffee table, and medium-sized flat-screen TV, which he suspected came with the place. Through the dining room he could see a table and four chairs. There wasn’t anything on the walls or any of the usual personal items you’d find scattered throughout a room, like books or photographs or even a stray pair of shoes. It gave him hope that Mary Ann wasn’t planning to stay, and that the cottage was just temporary lodging while she was passing through.

  “Would you like something to drink?” Mary Ann broke the strained silence.

  “No, thanks. Why don’t I just cut to the chase?”

  She gave a solemn nod, as if she was resigned to a confrontation. “At least take a seat. I’d rather not do this while you’re towering over me, being intimidating.”

  It was a cheap shot. He was standing a good five feet away and had never once in their entire marriage done anything that could be construed as intimidating. But Jace took the chair and waited for her to settle in on the sofa.

  “What are you doing here, Mary Ann?”

  “I think that’s obvious. I’m here to see my sons.”

  “Why? For six years you couldn’t be bothered with them. So why now?”

  Her gaze dropped to her feet and there was a long stretch of silence before she said, “Because I miss them.”

  “You miss them.” He let out a bitter laugh. “That’s pretty rich, don’t you think?”

  When she didn’t respond he continued, “But you didn’t miss them a year ago, or a year before that. You didn’t miss them when Travis graduated from high school or when Grady hit his first home run in Little League or any of the other milestones mothers celebrate with their children. You didn’t miss them when they cried themselves to sleep at night because you promised to call and never did.

  “But now you miss them.”

  She was sobbing. He hadn’t been prepared for that and he resented it. It was manipulative, and he wouldn’t let himself be moved by her tears. Travis and Grady had shed too many for him to feel sorry for her.

  “You don’t think I regret missing all those things, missing a huge part of their lives? I regret it every day. All I want to do is make up for it.” She wiped her face with her hand, then got up and came back from the bathroom with a wad of tissues.

  “You can’t make up for it,” he said. “Leave them alone, Mary Ann.”

  She shook her head. “No. They’re my children. I love them and I want to make this right.”

  “How? By leaving them again? If you love them, you’ll leave them alone.”

  “You’re wrong. I have every right, Jace. They’re every bit my flesh and blood as they are yours.”

  “Then why the hell didn’t you help raise them?”

  “I made a terrible mistake.” She choked on a sob. “It was selfish and it was wrong, but I was a different person back then. I was a child, for God’s sake. A lot has happened, Jace. I’ve had time to reevaluate my past . . . my future . . . I’m ready to be their mother.”

  He laughed that bitter laugh again. What a piece of work. “That’s not how parenthood works, Mary Ann. Look, I’m asking you to back off. The boys are good, they’re happy, they’re loved, they’re growing up to be fine young men. Travis and Grady have asked me to explain to you that they’re not interested in a meetup. If they change their minds, they’ll let you know.” He handed her his phone. “Go ahead and put your contact information in there. In the meantime, please don’t go to Grady’s school again. It’s disruptive. Not only to Grady but to the other students and school staff. And please don’t call the house again.” He took his phone back and got to his feet. “What are your plans as far as Dry Creek?”

  She seemed confused by the question.

  “Staying here,” he said. “How long are you planning to stay here?”

  She rose too and wiped her eyes. “That’s really not any of your business.”

  “Nope, it’s not.” He made his way to the door. “For once try to think about the boys and not yourself.”

  “Is that what you’re doing, Jace? Thinking about the boys.”

  “That’s what I’ve always done, Mary Ann. While you were out seeing the world, doing God knows what, I was thinking about the boys. Our boys, who you left.”

  He walked out before things got really heated.

  * * *

  “There you are.” Charlie was on the couch when Jace got home, her feet elevated on a mound of pillows. “I tried to call you twice, hoping you’d bring home dinner.”

  “Sorry. I went to talk to Mary Ann and didn’t hear the phone ring.”

  “You went to talk to Mary Ann? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  He threw up his hands in the air. “I did it on the spur of the moment.” He bent over her and kissed her on the lips. “Long day?”

  “You don’t know the half of it. Mitch came into the store with his fiancée, but I want to hear about Mary Ann first.”

  “Where are the boys?” Jace would talk to them later, but he wanted his conversation with Charlie to be private.

  “Travis went out and Grady is still with Cash, Ellie, and Carson. Ellie got a first place, but I think she has one more event. Tell me what happened.” She pulled him down onto the sofa and moved her legs to make room for him, then put her head on his shoulder.

  “It was weird seeing her again.”

  “What do you mean? What was weird about it?” Charlie pulled away and sat up.

  He looked at her. “Not like that. Come on, Charlie. It was weird how she was remorseful and thought that was enough. It was like, ‘Yeah, I really screwed up and now I want to make amends, and everyone should just let me.’ It was cavalier and it pissed me off.”

  “Was it really cavalier or does she simply recognize that what she did hurt Travis and Grady immeasurably and she wants a second chance to make it right?”

  “What’s the difference?” He was getting annoyed. First Cash, then Sawyer, and now his own damn wife. “Why are you taking Mary Ann’s side in this?”

  “I’m not taking her side. I’m just trying to understand where she’s coming from. At the end of the day it’s about the boys.”

  “You heard them this morning. They made it perfectly clear how they feel about her being here.”