“I ran into Anna this morning, and she was not very happy. I wasn’t really sure what to say when she told me my son was a son of a bitch who had led her on and wasted her time because he’d been in love with another woman the whole time. Care to explain?”

I sank down onto the wood chair and looked out over the west pasture. How in the fuck am I going to explain this? “Mom, can we maybe talk about that another time?” I asked, hoping she would just let it go.

“Reed Nickolas Moore, did you lead that girl on? She said you’d asked her to move in with you, and y’all had been talking marriage, and then you just broke up with her last night.”

I sat up straight, and I was pretty sure my mouth was hanging open. “What in the fuck?” I practically shouted.

“Excuse me? I don’t think so. I don’t care how old you are. You do not talk that way to me.”

I rolled my eyes and pushed my hand through my hair. “Mom, I didn’t ask her to move in. She was pressuring me to move in with her, and I had no intentions whatsoever to ask her to marry me. I mean, I really liked her, but I didn’t love her, and she was just jealous of—” I quickly stopped talking and held my breath, hoping that my mom had missed that last part.

“Jealous of Courtney?” she asked quietly.

I felt the heat building in my whole body. If Anna had talked about Courtney to my mother, I wasn’t sure what I would do to Anna. “What did Anna tell you about Courtney?”

“Nothing.”

“Mom, what did she tell you?” I asked very slowly, trying to keep calm.

“Reed, she just said you’d told her that it wasn’t fair to her that you were in love with another woman and that you thought it was best if y’all broke up. I’m proud of you by the way. I appreciate the fact that you didn’t lead her on any more than you already had.”

What? What in the hell does that mean? “Wait, what does that mean, Mom? What do you mean, lead her on any more?”

She let out a sigh and then chuckled. “Honestly, Reed, anyone can see you’re head over heels in love with Courtney. I noticed it months ago when you couldn’t keep your eyes off of her while your girlfriend was standing next to you. I noticed it last night when the two of you were dancing. You could practically see how smitten the both of you were with each other. Now, stop being so damn stubborn, and for once in your life, take a chance on love.”

“Um…” I didn’t even know what to say. If my own mother can see how much I’m in love with Courtney, then why can’t Court see it?

I heard the back door open, and I glanced up to see Courtney standing there. She looked absolutely breathtaking. Her blonde hair was up in a messy ponytail, and she had on yoga pants with a Texas A&M T-shirt. I couldn’t help but smile as she gave me a weak smile.

“Hey, Mom, I’ve got to let you go.”

“Oh, sure, the talk gets heavy, and you need to what? Go feed the dogs?”

I let out a laugh and shook my head. “I’m cow-sitting, Mom. I need to go feed the cows. I love you. Talk to you later.” I hit End before she could say anything else.

Courtney walked up and sat down next to me. She had her ever-present Kindle in her hand, and she leaned her head back and took in a deep breath. “God, I must have needed that sleep,” she said as she dropped her head and looked out over the pasture.

I sat there, waiting to see if she would say anything about her dream. Does she even remember it? Does she remember being in my arms, terrified and shaking? I cleared my throat. “How did you sleep, angel?”

She turned her head, and her smile faded for a brief second before she flashed that beautiful smile of hers. “So, I earned a nickname from you, huh?” she said with a wink. “I think I slept okay. Were you in the room at one point? I thought you were, but I think I was dreaming. And don’t get all smart-ass with me. It wasn’t a sex dream.”

She doesn’t remember. I smiled as I stood up and winked at her. “Baby, you wish you were having sex dreams about me.”

I turned and walked into the house while she sat there in a laughing fit.

I walked up to the stove and held out my shaking hand. She’ll tell me when she’s ready to tell me. Don’t push her, Reed. Just don’t push her away.

I made up two bowls of stew and took them outside. She was buried deep into a book, and the smile on her face was so damn cute.

“Hungry? I’ve got some stew here.”

She looked up and nodded her head as she reached out for the stew. She balanced her Kindle on her knees and went back to reading as she blew on the stew and then took a bite.

“So, what has you smiling like that? What are you reading?” I asked before taking a bite of the stew.

She closed her eyes and then opened them. “It’s just a love story that’s making me swoon.”

“Swoon?” I asked.

She looked at me, scrunching up her nose, and I about died. It was the cutest thing I’d ever seen, and I just wanted to grab her and make love to her right here on the back porch.

“Swoon, Reed. You know…swoon!” she said with a giggle.

“Uh…doesn’t swoon mean to faint from extreme emotion?” I asked.

She turned a little bit more and smiled bigger. “Yes, so swooning is like being in a state of ecstasy.”

“Okay…so, it’s turning you on?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes. “No! It’s romantic. The guy is being utterly romantic, and it gives me butterflies in my stomach.” She turned back and began reading again.

“What’s he doing?”

She peeked over and looked at me. “You really want to know?” She slightly tilted her head. “Is there a reason you’re being so nice?”

My heart hurt a little when she asked that. “I really want to know. I’m interested in knowing what makes you swoon,” I said with a wink.

She sat back and took another bite of stew. After a few seconds of chewing, she began talking. “Well, it’s one of my favorite books ever. It’s called The Marriage Bargain, and the guy just realized he loves the girl. It was just a really sweet moment, and those always have the same effect on me every time.”

I nodded and then asked, “How many times have you read it?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe nine or ten times.”

I choked on my stew and sat up. “Ten times! You’ve read the same book ten times?”