Page 49 of The Hardest Part

“Mr. Coulter’s such a lucky man. Thank you, kindly.” He kissed her hand, then turned back to him and said, “Can’t announce nothin’ ’til we know what Arien’s fixin’ to do, and we don’t.”

“She hasn’t talked about goin’ back to Denver in a while.” When Arien first got here, it was all she ever talked about.

“A letter from UC came for her a few weeks back.”

Oh. Shit.

“She told me herself she hasn’t decided yet.”

“Kel know that?”

“No, and I ain’t tellin’ him, neither.” He lifted his chin toward where Kellan and Arien sat together on the lawn. “Just look at ‘em, will ya? They’ve gotten so close lately. Makes my heart happy to see it. If my brother found out, she was still thinkin’ about leavin’, he’d shut her out again, and I can’t let that happen.”

“Arien loves y’all, Tanner.”

“We love her.”

Billy could hear the anguish in his voice and clasped his shoulder. “Your father saw it, and he’s never been wrong, so don’t worry none. Yer dream girl ain’t goin’ nowhere.”

“Oh, I know she ain’t.” Tanner took a step back, and cocking his head, an odd expression came over his face. He almost looked angry. “Because I won’t let that happen, either.”

Mrs. Coulter came with the food, and in an instant, it was gone. “I fixed y’all alotof everything. I know how much you boyscan eat. There’s an extra slice of chocolate cake in there for your stepmama, too.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Billy tipped his chin, carefully placing bags of food and plates on Tanner’s arm. “Got it, bro?”

“Yeah.”

Billy wasn’t sure how, but they made it back to their spot on the green without spilling or dropping a thing, and with blankets and lawn chairs to weave through, that was no easy feat. As a rule, cowboys are not dainty. He and Tanner had just finished passing out the food when he looked up to see his dad deep in conversation with Matthew Brooks. His mom and Justin, his arm around her as if he was holding her up, stood off to the side.

Concerned, he rushed over to her, Jake and Emily coming along behind him. “Ma, are you all right?”

“I’m fine, sweetie.” Carrie leaned in to kiss his cheek, her brother holding her steady. “It’s just a headache.”

“You should go home and lie down, Mama.” Jake stepped in and held her on the other side.

“She’s going. She’s been dizzy, too.” Justin said with a toss of his silvery-blond mane. “A darkened room, some aspirin, and a cool glass of tea will have her feeling better in no time.”

She reached up to smooth Jake’s hair. “I had to see my boys first.”

“Sorry, we can’t stay.” His father came over and pulled him into a hug. “Your mama’s not feeling well.”

“Is she gonna be okay?” Billy couldn’t recall his mother ever being sick. Not once. Not even a cold.

Victor patted his shoulder. “Nothing to worry about. She’ll be just fine, son.”

He hugged his brother and Emily, and then they were gone.

“Something ain’t right, Jake.”

“What do you mean?”

“With Mom.” Fuck’s sake, was he the only one who saw it? “Have you ever known her to be sick?”

“She’s not sick, Billy.” Jake slung an arm around his neck. “You heard her. She has a headache.”

“It could be a migraine.” Emily took his hand and held it in both of hers. “They can make you dizzy. Grams gets them sometimes.”

Maybe.

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