Page 26 of Her Saltwater Cowboy

Where was this all coming from? She glanced out the window, her mouth going slack. Everything had been carefully planned. Her mother’s care, her move to be closer to her. The truth was, Willow had been counting down the days until her mother could be fully released from scrutiny.

Yet, what she would do at that point was anyone’s guess.

One thing she had not counted on, nor planned for, was the re-entry of her uncle—her mother’s brother—back into their lives. Not after all he’d done.

“Willow?”

She turned abruptly away from the window. “I would notify you. Certainly. But my uncle is not part of our lives anymore. I’d never allow it.”

Landson tapped something into his iPad. “Excellent. Following protocol here. When families are involved in the original offense, the parole board becomes quite inquisitive.”

Family.A foreign word to her, at least in the standard sense. She’d always wondered what those big families were like, the ones with many children, a big home, and lots of chatter around the dinner table.

Of course, those could fall apart and be a place of sadness too. She saw that in the Sutter family. Ace and Chance at odds, two sons who rarely visit, and the years lost to bitterness where Rafael was concerned.

Willow kept her face still, unreadable.

“How’s your job?” he asked after a beat.

She blinked. “At the ranch?”

“Yes. I gather it’s pretty demanding.”

“It is,” she said. “But it’s honest work that I’m grateful to have found.”

“And it keeps you close.”

“Yes, right.” She’d said that already.

He gave her a long look, eyes peering over the top of black reading glasses. She thought he had something more to say, then abruptly shut the cover of his iPad and sat back. “Just don’t let any red flags come up, all right? Stay the course, and we’ll plan another check-in soon.”

Willow nodded and stood. “Thank you.”

As she turned to leave, Landson spoke again, his tone less official now. “I sense you’re carrying a lot on your shoulders, Ms. Mercer.”

She paused in the doorway. “I can handle it.”

“Maybe.” He studied her face. “But you’re still young. Learn from the past, but don’t let it dictate your future.” He pressed his mouth together briefly. “From someone who knows.”

She offered him a brief smile, a dip of her head, and a wave before stepping back into the hall. Five long strides and a right turn, and she was at her mother’s room.

Her heart tightened in her chest, grief of this moment palpable. Chance popped into her mind just then. She’d watched him struggle to say what was on his mind this morning, to almost spit it out, then retract it again.

Maybe … it was grief.

She’d learned grief sprouted as a result of all kinds of loss—even dreams.

Despite her concerns, she’d managed to restart her life and maintain her mother’s care without too much disruption. She just hoped no one on the ranch would learn that her mother was on parole. How would Ace react to her having a convicted felon in her immediate family?

No, her position at the ranch was more than a job—it had become her lifeline. And, maybe, more to the point, it was starting to feel an awful lot like a home. The kind of home she had never known.

Willow hadn’t planned on that twist in her life, but now? She would not allow anything to jeopardize all she had gained.

Not even Chance Sutter and the way he looked at her at times, almost like he could see through her walls. Theirs was a new friendship, an alliance at times, like last night, as they worked to move the guests to safety. She hoped they’d continue to bond, rather than spar in the kitchen.

But sharing her secrets? No. That would be risking far too much.

Willow drew in a deep breath, laid her hand on the door of her mother’s room, and paused. Then she said a silent prayer to the God who hears and pushed it open.

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