“So you’re not going to date at all?” I asked before I could stop myself.

  He shrugged. “I mean, I don’t have any desire to date anyone right now. I’ve got a lot of emotional baggage I’m carrying around, and the last thing I’d want is to unload that on some poor woman. Not to mention, I’m a package deal. Not sure how many women in River Falls would want to become an instant mother. I’m not saying if the right person came along that couldn’t change, though.”

  I nodded. “Have you thought about family therapy?”

  “We did some back in Denver, after losing Brooke. But yeah. I think it would be a good idea to consider going again. Especially if my son is going to go around trying to solicit women for me.”

  Laughing, I replied, “Well, if I do say so myself, your son has good taste in women.”

  Levi glanced at me, his eyes landing on my mouth briefly. I tried not to overthink it.

  With a devil-may-care smile, he replied, “He does.”

  I quickly turned my head and faced forward. “How great would it be if Aurora decided to have her foal while you guys were here?”

  He chuckled. “That would be pretty—”

  “Daddy!” Rhett cried out. “Daddy, come quick!”

  Without hesitating, Levi raced toward his son. “What’s wrong?”

  We rounded the corner, and Marshall was standing in the aisle. “I was just about to call you, Emeline. She’s in labor.”

  “What perfect timing, Aurora!” my mother gushed. “I’d better call Caden.”

  I rushed into the stall behind Levi. After a quick examination, he looked over at his son. “You’re about to get your wish, Rhett.”

  The boy remained calm, but he gave me a little fist bump. He looked up at me and smiled. “This is the best day ever! I hope Brooke is watching down on us.”

  Reaching for his hand, I gave it a soft squeeze. “I know she is.”

  Levi let out a long sigh. “That mare is one hell of a good mother.”

  I smiled as I watched Aurora with her colt, who’d just gotten to his feet and was making his way around his mother. Rhett was sitting off to the side, taking it all in.

  “What do you think, Rhett?” Caden asked. “Have any good names for the little guy?”

  Surprised, I glanced at my brother. Aurora was his horse, so he had every right to let Rhett name the colt, but he also loved Aurora like no animal we’d had before.

  Rhett beamed up at Caden, who’d clearly become the boy’s BFF. Tapping his finger on his chin, he thought hard. “How about Whiskey?”

  “Whiskey?” Levi and Caden said at the same time as I pressed my lips together hard to keep from laughing.

  “Where in the world did you come up with that?” Levi asked.

  Rhett shrugged. “That’s the name of the brown cat in Grammy and Grandpa’s barn. They have the same color.”

  Caden and Levi exchanged grins.

  Levi stated, “It’s not a star or constellation.”

  Caden’s eyes sparkled, “I think Whiskey’s a great name, and since you helped your father deliver him, and he’s my horse,” he looked at me and winked, “then Whiskey it is.”

  Rhett’s eyes lit up with pure joy. “Do you mean it, Uncle Caden? We can really name him Whiskey?”

  It was the first time I’d heard my brother laugh so genuinely, from the heart, since his breakup. I looked over to see my mother smiling.

  Caden looked at Levi. “If your dad’s okay with it.”

  Levi raised his hands. “Who am I to stand in the way of a perfect name?”

  Rhett looked like he was about to jump in his excitement. But then looked at the mare and colt, and thought better of it. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Caden’s legs. “Thank you, Uncle Caden! This really is the best day ever!”

  “You ready to see where the camp is?” I asked.

  He looked to his father who nodded.

  “If Emeline is ready, we’re ready.”

  Turning to Marshall, I asked, “You’ll keep an eye on them for a bit?”

  He nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it under control.”

  “And I’m not going anywhere,” Caden said as he made his way over to Aurora and stroked her neck gently.

  Turning to Levi and Rhett, I said, “We can all get into the Mule and drive over to the campsite.”

  Levi motioned for me to lead the way. “Sounds good.”

  With one more look at Aurora and her colt, I turned and headed out of the barn and toward the arena, where the Mule was parked. It seated four and would make the trip to the campgrounds fast and easy.

  “When does the first camp start again? I meant to ask you or your mom yesterday.”

  “The second week of June.”

  “Is it almost June?” Rhett asked his father.

  “A few more weeks, buddy.”

  Rhett asked his father a few questions about the colt, and his father patiently answered them all. It was so adorable listening to the two of them talk.

  “When will Whiskey stop drinking from his mother?”

  “Usually around seven to nine months he will stop nursing.”

  “Will he stay with her?”

  “He’ll stay close until he’s weaned, then he won’t need his mom anymore.”

  After that, Rhett remained quiet until we got to the campground and continued his silence as we toured the cabins and other areas of the camp. We ended the tour in the main building’s living room.

  “What do you think, Rhett?” I asked. “Would you like to attend camp here this summer?”

  He smiled up at me. “Will you be here every day?”

  “Yep. And your father will be in and out, as well.”

  Rhett looked around the large room before finally facing his father. “So not all kids need their mother?”

  Levi’s brows drew down. “What are you talking about, Rhett?”

  “You said the colt won’t need his mother after he’s weaned. Does that mean I’ve been weaned from my mom? So I don’t need a mother anymore?”

  I could see the instant his son’s words registered. The pain on Levi’s face nearly caused me to cry. I slowly started to back out of the room, thinking this was a moment for father and son, but Levi caught my eye and shook his head.

  “No, please stay.”

  Nodding, I sat down on a love seat and watched as Levi took his son’s hand and walked him over to a larger sofa. They sat, and Levi drew in a deep breath before slowly letting it out.

  “Rhett, no matter how old we get, our parents—both mothers and fathers—play a very important role in our lives. I still need my parents sometimes. Like when we decided to move here to River Falls. They said we could stay with them until we found a place of our own. I go to them for advice, or when I’m feeling sad. They’re also some of the first people I want to share any happy news with.”

  Rhett looked down at the floor. “Then how come my mommy doesn’t want me anymore?”

  The saying “felt like my heart broke in two” had never been more real to me than in that moment. I wanted to walk over, sweep that child up into my arms, and hug him hard.

  “Your mother does want you, Rhett. She’s just in a really bad place right now.”

  “’Cause of Brooke?” he asked.

  Levi nodded. “She’s really sad still. She’s kind of lost right now.”

  “I’m sad still. And I know you’re sad still. I hear you talking to Brooke sometimes, and then I hear you cry.”

  Tears filled my eyes. Oh gosh. Oh gosh. I shouldn’t be here.

  I started to stand, but Levi shot me a look, and I sat back down. I quickly wiped my tears from my cheeks.

  “I am sad still, and so are Grammy and Grandpa. Your mom, though, well…she was in the car when the accident happened, and she’s having a tough time with that.”

  “’Cause it was her fault?”

  My eyes widened.

  “It wasn’t her fault, Rhett.”

  He stood and balled his little fists. “It was her fault! She made Brooke go with her, and I hate her for that! I never want to see her again!”

  Rhett turned and ran. When Levi didn’t make a move to follow him, I did. Rhett ran outside and across to one of the cabins and sat down on the steps, dropping his head onto his arms, which were folded around his knees. I quickly made my way over to him.

  “May I sit down next to you?”

  He looked up, and when I saw the tears, I nearly dropped to the ground. He nodded jerkily.

  Sitting, I swallowed the lump in my throat and drew in a slow, deep breath before letting it out. “I never got to meet your sister Brooke. What was she like?”

  His little mouth quivered with a slight smile. “She was loud.”

  I laughed, and he smiled.

  “She really liked her Barbies and playing with all her horses. She had lots of toy horses.”

  “Did she like the horse?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Daddy teached us how to take care of her.”

  “It was a mare, huh?”

  “Her name was Thunder. ’Cause when she ran, it sounded like thunder.”

  I smiled. “What did she look like?”

  “Like Aurora. She liked Brooke a lot.”

  “Did you both ride her?”

  He nodded, then wiped a tear away. “I miss my sister, Ms. Emeline.”

  Wrapping my arm around him, I said, “I know you do, bud. And I don’t think you really meant to tell your daddy that you hate your mommy.”

  He looked up at me. “She doesn’t want me.”

  “I think she’s just sad right now.”

  He fiercely shook his head. “She doesn’t want me.”

  My heart tore apart. “Why do you say that?”

  Suddenly, he looked worried.

  “Rhett…you can tell me.”

  “You won’t tell my daddy?”

  I chewed nervously on my lower lip. “I wish I could make you that promise. But I can’t.”

  He sighed. “She told me so.”

  Drawing back just enough to look at him, I asked, “Wait, your mother told you she didn’t want you? In those words?”

  The poor little thing nodded.

  “When?”

  He shrugged.

  “Was it before or after Brooke went to Heaven?”

  Those deep blue eyes, which were the same as his mother’s, looked up at me and filled with tears once again. “It was before. Brooke and I were playing, and I threw my soldier to make him fly, and he hit Brooke’s eye. She started crying, and Mommy came into the room and yelled at me.”

  “Do you remember exactly what she said?”

  He looked down at the ground and sniffled. “She told me not to ever tell Daddy, or anyone else, because she only said it ’cause she was mad.”

  I moved to crouch in front of him. Using my finger, I lifted his chin. “Rhett, no one—not even your mother or father—should say or do anything to hurt you, then tell you not to tell anyone else. That means they’ve done or said something bad, not you.”

  A tear slipped down his cheek—and that was when I made a vow to protect this child with everything I had.

  “She…she said she never wanted me, and that she was glad me and Brooke didn’t share the same father. I didn’t know what that means, and I asked her. She got really, really mad, and told me to never tell Daddy what she said.”

  I nearly fell back onto my ass. Had Brooke not been Levi’s daughter? Did he know?

  I took both of his hands in mine. “She did want you, Rhett. Sometimes people who are unhappy say things to make other people unhappy. Even the people they love. It doesn’t mean they actually mean it.”

  “But when Mommy fought with Daddy, she took Brooke and was gonna leave us. I wanted to stay with Daddy anyway, but I think she really didn’t want me.”

  Lord help me, this is way over my head.

  “You know what?”

  “What?”

  “None of that matters because you and your daddy are now in River Falls, and your sister is up in Heaven, watching all the adventures you’re going to go on. She’ll be with you the whole time.”

  He placed his hand on his heart. “Grammy says she’s here, all the time.”

  I smiled. “Yes, she is. All the time.”

  Rhett suddenly lunged forward and wrapped his arms around my neck, squeezing me tightly. “Thank you, Ms. Emeline.”

  Hugging him back, I fought to keep my tears at bay. “Always, Rhett. I’ll always be here for you.”

  Levi

  It took everything I had not to go over to Rhett and Emeline. At first, they were sitting next to each other on the steps, then Emeline moved in front of Rhett. When I saw him wipe away a tear, I nearly walked over. Something inside of me told me to stay where I was.

  Then Rhett threw his arms around Emeline and hugged her.

  My knees about buckled out from under me as I stood there and watched my son show more emotion with Emeline than I’d ever seen him show to anyone. His therapist had said Rhett kept his feelings inside, and that was mostly okay because he at least talked to me about them sometimes. I just had to continue to be patient and let him know I was there anytime he needed me.

  I thought back to a few minutes ago, when he’d declared that he hated his mother. Granted, Caroline wasn’t the perfect mother, but she loved her children. I was sure of that.

  Wasn’t I?

  Emeline stood, took Rhett’s hand, and headed back to me. When I saw her face, I instantly knew something was wrong.

  As she approached, she forced a smile. “I was thinking it might be kind of fun for Rhett to see the working side of our operation. Maybe Caden can show him what it’s like to ride out on the ranch, if he’s an experienced-enough rider.”

  Confused by the request, I replied, “He is. Is that something you’d like to do, Rhett?”

  His eyes lit up. “Be like a real cowboy?”

  Emeline chuckled. “Yep. But we need to go back inside and get your cowboy hat. Would you mind doing that while I call Caden?”

  She wasn’t giving me much of a choice in the matter. “Um, yeah, let’s go get your hat, bud.”

  Emeline dropped Rhett’s hand, pulled out her phone, and walked away.

  As we walked back into the main building of the camp, I asked, “Everything okay?”

  Rhett nodded. “I like Ms. Emeline a whole lot.”

  I smiled. “Yeah, she’s one of a kind.”

  “Do you like her?” he asked as he placed his black cowboy hat onto his head.

  “Sure, I like her.”

  “Will you date her?”

  I let out a laugh. “I like Emeline as a friend. I’ve always liked her as a friend, but I don’t feel that way toward her.”

  Except, suddenly, I felt like I was telling my son a lie.

  He frowned.

  “You’re sure you’re okay? Did you want to talk about what you said earlier?”

  Rhett shook his head. “Not right now. I wanna go riding.”

  Giving him a nod, I said, “Well, let’s go see if Uncle Caden is free.”

  As we walked back outside and toward the Mule, I saw a truck pulling up. It was the ranch truck, and sitting inside were Caden and his younger brother, Gatlin. You couldn’t ask for more authentic cowboys than these two. Both got out, Gatlin basically identical to Caden in jeans, boots, a T-shirt that said River Falls Cattle, and a dark cowboy hat. His face exploded into a wide grin.

  “If it isn’t Levi Tucker!”

  I walked toward him and reached my hand toward his outstretched one. We shook, then Gatlin pulled me into a quick hug, slapping the shit out of my back. He may have been younger than Caden by five years, but they might as well have been twins. The only difference in their physical appearance was that Caden’s eyes were the color of the sky, and Gatlin’s looked more gray.

  “It’s good to see you, Gatlin.”

  “I couldn’t believe it when Caden told me you were back for good!” He glanced down and smiled at Rhett. Tapping his hat, he asked, “And who’s this cowboy?”

  “Rhett, this is Gatlin, Caden and Emeline’s brother.”

  Reaching his hand out to shake Gatlin’s, Rhett said, “Can I call you Uncle Gatlin?”

  Gatlin glanced at me, then down to Rhett. “Hell yes, you can!”

  Smacking her brother on the arm as she walked back up, Emeline said, “Gatlin! Language.”

  Looking sheepish, he replied, “Not used to littles.”

  “It’s okay, it’s not like he hasn’t heard a curse word.”

  Rhett nodded. “My daddy says ‘fuck’ all the time.”

  “Rhett,” I warned.

  He covered his mouth with a hand and giggled.

  “Little dude, how would you like to go riding with me and Caden? Maybe help us check on some cows?”

  I watched as my son nearly exploded with excitement. “Can I, Daddy? Please?”

  “He’s a good rider, but you’ll give him a calm horse? And no running. He’s not there yet.”

  “I can run!” Rhett argued.

  Caden grinned as he reached down and lifted Rhett effortlessly. “I promise we’ll keep him safe, Levi.”

  I walked over and kissed Rhett on the cheek. He tried to squirm away as he pushed me and said, “Dad, not in front of Emeline!”

  Holding up my hands in surrender, I took a few steps back. “Sorry. Listen to Uncle Caden and Gatlin, okay?”

  Caden glanced at his sister.

  “Thirty-minute ride?” she replied to the unspoken question. “We’ll meet you at the barn.”

  “Sounds good,” Caden said before they turned and headed to the truck.

  Once they were driving off, I looked at Emeline. “So? Why did you send my son away?”

  She swallowed hard. “There’s something I need to tell you. Something that Rhett shared with me, and I thought it was best if he didn’t see your reaction.”

  Panic instantly hit me square in the chest. “What is it?”