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Knowing her boss’s laid-back fiancé, she guessed Rio would be happy to let Yvonne have her way as long as he got enough land for his new project. His deep love and respect for Yvonne was obvious in every single thing he did. Lizzie could only dream of finding a man like that. Not that she wanted one; she had enough to deal with in her life right now bringing up Roman.
Her front door buzzed, and smoothing her wayward hair, she went down the stairs to let Adam in.
“Hey.” He touched the brim of his Stetson. He wore a dark blue denim shirt over a gray T-shirt and his usual jeans and cowboy boots. It was too warm for a jacket. “Thanks for seeing me.”
“Come on up.”
Lizzie took a quick glance around to see if anyone was out and about, but except for the bright lights of the pizza restaurant, the street was deserted. She hadn’t taken Roman to Gabby’s since the incident with the bee, and had so far avoided another confrontation with Coretta. The fact that the woman had followed her to the doctor’s and shouted at her in the street in front of Adam had been mortifying and slightly worrying.
“Is Roman in bed?” Adam asked as he entered the kitchen-diner and turned back to Lizzie.
“Yes.”
“I found this at home and wondered if he’d like it.” He took a piece of rock out of his pocket and placed it on the countertop. “It’s a fossil. I picked it up near Morgan Creek when I was a kid.”
“Oh my gosh, that’s so cool.” Lizzie crowded up against him to look down at the clear imprint of some kind of fly thing engraved on the flat surface of the rock. “He’ll love it.”
“I was using it as a paperweight.” He shifted slightly away, making her aware of the loss of his warmth and the hint of sandalwood that hung around him. “I’d almost forgotten I had it.”
“Hey! I remember when you found it!” Lizzie said excitedly. “I was there. You were so keen to get to it that you rushed past me, creating a wave. I slipped on the rocks and ended up sitting in the creek!”
“I don’t remember that, but it sounds like something I’d do.” He considered her carefully. “Maybe you deserve to have it after all.”
Lizzie went around to the other side of the counter and got out some mugs. It was weird to be reminiscing with him after all this time. “Would you like coffee?”
“Sure. Black for me, please.”
“At least that hasn’t changed,” Lizzie said as she poured the coffee and added cream to hers. “Go sit down, and I’ll bring it over.”
He sat on her small couch, taking up way more than half of it, and rearranged the pillows until he could sit back more comfortably. He took off his hat and placed it carefully on the side table. He still didn’t look at ease, but then how could he? He wasn’t hiding up at his ranch and was in unfamiliar territory now.
“Thanks.” He took the mug and cradled it between his large hands. “It was good of you to let me come over after all this time.”
Lizzie sipped her coffee and didn’t say anything, far more interested in what he had to say than her own blathering.
“My mom’s coming for a visit,” Adam said.
This was so out of left field that Lizzie just stared at him. “Leanne?”
“Yeah.” He studied his coffee with way too much interest. “Apparently, she wants to see us all and have ‘closure’ or something.”
“That’s . . .”
“Weird. I know.” He still wouldn’t look at her. “I’m not that keen on seeing her myself, but Dad and my brothers are all okay about it.”
“I don’t really remember much about her,” Lizzie confessed. “I saw her at school a couple of times picking you up. I never really had a conversation with her.”
“Neither did I.” He sighed. “I was twelve. She was my mom, it never occurred to me that she’d be going anywhere, or that I needed to get to know her before she left.”
“Maybe this is a chance for you to remedy that?” Lizzie suggested. She got up to fetch the plate of cookies she’d left on the counter, and placed them on the coffee table in front of Adam. “You’re both adults now.”
