I shook my head. “No, thank you. I’ll have to drive back.”
She poured herself a glass and settled into the chair opposite mine. The stem of the glass glinted as she turned it in her fingers.
“I’m glad you came,” she said softly.
I didn’t know how to respond, where to start, so I fell silent.
She drew a breath, lifted her chin, and met my eyes. “Matty… I owe you an apology. A real one. Not the kind with reasons attached. What I did four years ago was wrong.” Her voice shook. “Paying Hudson to leave you—interfering at all—I thought I was protecting you from a mistake. I wasn’t. I was protecting what I wanted your life to look like, and that was never my decision to make. I’m truly sorry.”
I reached into my jacket and set the envelope on the glass table between us. It made a neat little sound, a tap that felt louder than it should have.
“What is this?” she asked.
“The money you gave him. He handed me the envelope this morning and asked me to return it.”
She lifted the flap like it might bite, looked inside, and set it back down very carefully. “He didn’t use it?”
“He didn’t. Not a cent. That’s not the kind of man he is, Mom. He’s good and kind, and he made a mistake, but he loves me. And I love him in return.”
My mother pressed her fingers to her lips, her eyes brimming with tears. “That’s good, then. I know you don’t believe me, Matty, but all I ever wanted was for you to be happy. I was foolish to think that my way would do that. When I found out he married another woman and had a child, I thought I’d made the right decision for you. Thought I helped you dodge the bullet.”
“Hudson has his reasons for marrying her. Reasons we’ve already worked out. You had no business interfering the way you did. It complicated matters for us.”
“I know that now.” She inhaled slowly and let out a deep breath. “Matty, baby, I think I’ve misunderstood you your whole life, haven’t I?” She took my hand. “I wish that we were closer. A part of me was always terrified that the older you grew, the more I’d lose of you. I figured if I found you a husband among the people I know, I’d probably see you more, but that decision was never mine to make. I just wish you looked at me the way you look at your father with such adoration.”
“Mom, Dad never pushed me to be anything but myself.”
“I understand that now. A little too late.” She squeezed my hand. “Now, because of all my mistakes, I feel like I’ve lost both my sons. Carter won’t return my calls. I don’t even know where he is. All I want is to go back and to fix the damage I’ve done to this family.”
“You haven’t lost me,” I said softly. “I’m here, aren’t I? Still trying. You’ll always be my mother, and I will always love you no matter what you do, but for you to be a part of my life, I need you to accept the choices I make. To accept the man I choose to love and his daughter.”
She nodded. “Okay, I understand that. I just want to be a part of your life. For you to maybe visit me without mehaving to ask or your father having to beg you. Maybe call me every so often. I miss my boys so much.”
She was right about that. Because I hated the city, I rarely visited, but I needed to compromise if I wanted to improve our relationship. “I can do that. I promise to be in touch with you more.”
“Good. That’s all I want from you, and Carter… Maybe in time he’ll come around.”
Hopefully. He had millions of dollars of disposable money courtesy of our dad’s guilt about Ozzie. Dad should never have given him the money. Carter was foolish enough to attract the wrong crowd and get himself killed.
“Maybe.” I let out a breath. “There’s another reason I came. The errand I mentioned.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Go on.”
“I’m going to ask Hudson to marry me.” Saying it aloud warmed my chest. “He already said he would if I didn’t change my mind in forty-eight hours, but I want to do it properly. Ring and on one knee.” I cleared my throat. “You have great taste. I could use your eye, but only if you want.”
Mom smiled, her eyes radiating happiness for the first time since she opened the door. “I would like that very much. You’ll make a wonderful husband, Matty, and I know the perfect jewelry store to get your boyfriend’s engagement ring.”
We drove to a jeweler she knew in Cherry Creek North. The owner greeted her by name and did not blink at my boots. He asked me what my boyfriend was like and listened when I told him Hudson works with his hands, that reins and wire and tools weren’t forgiving, that the ring had to be low and strong and not flashy but unique.
I said he loved swimming in the lake, riding horses, and smelled like cedar. I said he had the best smile and waskinder than the world deserved but stubborn too. The words surprised me as they came, a catalog of the man I wanted to spend my life with spoken to a stranger in a quiet store.
“You really love him, don’t you?” Mom whispered.
“Yeah, I can’t imagine life without him.”
Not again.
We looked at bands in brushed platinum and palladium. My mother held one to the light and frowned at a polished edge. “Too shiny,” she said, and I almost laughed. She was right. We tried a signet. Too heavy. A plain band. Too plain.
