Her mother gave her that look again. “He’s a good guy, Molly.”

She so didn’t want to have this conversation with her mother, but saw no way out of it at the moment. She kept her head down, focusing on the extensive list she’d started to make. “Yes. He’s a good guy.”

“Do you want to tell me what happened? Your breakup was so abrupt.”

She shrugged. “We just realized we wanted different things. I wanted to travel, and he wanted to go to college.”

“You wanted to go to college, too. So what changed?”

Everything. “I don’t know, Mom. Like I said, I changed my mind—my direction.”

“I’m not stupid, Molly.”

Her head shot up. “Of course you’re not.”

“You left here a wreck, emotionally. Did that have to do with Carter?”

She wrapped her arms around herself. “Please don’t ask me to bring up the past when there’s nothing I can do to change it.”

“Did he hurt you?”

There was nothing that brought out her mother’s protective instincts more than a wounded daughter. Her mother—and her father—had come to her defense on countless occasions, whether it was emotional or physical hurt.

But she was a grown woman now, and she wanted to leave the past behind her. Or at least she was trying to. Dredging it up time and time again wouldn’t help.

“No, he didn’t hurt me. We had come to a crossroads in our lives. I changed my mind about college. We had made plans for our future that no longer meshed. It was kind of a messy breakup—you know how it is for teenagers. He went one way, and I went another. I was an emotional mess about it.”

Her mother studied her for a few minutes, then nodded. “And the last thing you wanted was to come crying to your parents about it, because we might have blamed Carter.”

“Exactly. I just needed to get away. From Carter, from Hope, from everything that reminded me of the past. I needed a fresh start. I wanted to shake loose of everything here.”

Her mother looked hurt.

“Not you or dad or Emma. I don’t know, Mom. It’s hard to explain. My independence came at a cost, and I know that. I never meant to hurt you.”

Her mom stood, and hobbled over to fold Molly into her arms. “Oh, honey, you didn’t hurt me. All these years, I was just so worried about you.”

She hated lying to her mother, but she couldn’t—wouldn’t—share that part of her past. Knowing what had happened would only hurt her deeply, and she might blame Carter for it. That she wouldn’t allow.

So instead, she hugged her. “I know you were, and if I could take back all the years of worry, I would. But I’m doing good, Mom. I’m happy with the life I lead.”

Her mother pulled back. “Are you? Are you really happy?”

She gave her mother a genuine smile. “I’m living my dream. I love the travel, the opportunity to meet new people everywhere I go. I’ve had so many interesting jobs and I’ve learned so much, not just about the work I do, but about myself. I don’t know that I would have become as independent as I am if I hadn’t chosen this life.”

Her mother grasped her hands. “I’m so proud of you, Molly. I’ve never told you this before, but I see a lot of myself in you. Our paths are different, but our passion is the same.”

That was the first time her mother had ever told her she was proud of her. Tears sprang into her eyes. “Thank you, Mom.”

THANKSGIVING DAY DAWNED clear and crisp. Just the way Carter liked it.

He knew his mom would be up early, so he headed over there to help out, and spend the day with his parents.

He didn’t get to see them as often as he’d like. Work and other projects kept him busy. But they were busy, too. Now that they were retired, they’d bought an RV and enjoyed traveling the country.

But days like today, when his aunts, uncles, and cousins were over, he could settle in, eat his fill of great food, and catch up on all the family gossip.

Still, his mind lingered on Molly, who he hadn’t seen for about a week, not since she’d abruptly fled his house while they were watching a movie.

No idea what was going on there. They’d talked a few times, but he sensed she needed distance, and he knew to give her the space she needed to figure things out.

But there was only so much he was willing to give her. Her mom had invited him over for Thanksgiving dinner, and once things started winding down at his parents’ place, he said his goodbyes and drove over to Molly’s parents’ house.

He knocked and Molly’s dad answered.

“Hey, Carter. Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Same to you, Emmett.” They shook hands and Emmett led him inside. There was still a houseful of people, so he said his hellos to Luke, Logan, and Bash, and Samantha’s grandmother, and a few of Molly’s cousins and aunts and uncles that he knew from around town.

Damn, was the entire town here? Leave it to Georgia Burnett to have one hell of a holiday shindig.

Georgia was holding court in the living room, so he came over and kissed her cheek. Martha from the ranch was sitting next to her.

“Hi, Martha.”

“Hi, yourself. I haven’t seen you for a while. Keeping busy?”

“I have been. Nice to see you off the ranch.”

“Georgia invited us all out here today to have lunch, so I’m taking the day off.”

“Good for you.” He went over to Georgia. “And I hear you’re doing cartwheels with your new casts on.”

Georgia laughed. “Nearly. I’m feeling pretty good these days.”

“You’re looking even better.”

“And you know exactly what to say to make a woman blush. Go find my daughter. She’s in the kitchen.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Molly was in there with Emma, Chelsea, Des, and Samantha, and Megan, all of them nestled up at the kitchen table, having what he could only assume was intimate girl talk. Their heads were bowed close, and they were all drinking wine and laughing.

Until he walked in. Then they pushed their chairs back as if they’d been caught saying something they shouldn’t.

“Oh, hi, Carter,” Molly said. “I didn’t expect to see you today.”

“Your mom invited me.”

Chelsea stood, a little unsteady on her high heels. “What’s up, handsome?” She kissed his cheek.