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Briana sat down at the table and poured herself some coffee, putting a little cream and sugar in it.
When Ray walked into the room he went right over to kiss the top of Briana’s head, before sitting in his seat.
“Hello, Bree,” he said with a smile. “It’s good to see you again. Your mama’s been missing you.”
“Now, Ray, I know Briana is a busy girl with a life of her own,” her mother countered. “But I always welcome her visits.”
“I’m sorry it’s been so long, Mama. I’ve just been so caught up in work,” Briana explained, feeling a tug of guilt at her mother’s words. “I almost have my application finished for culinary school.”
“That’s wonderful, dear,” her mother said, patting her hand. “And don’t worry about coming to see me all of the time. You need to live your life, and I need to get used to you being far away again. When you get accepted to that school and move to Austin, I won’t get to see you as much.”
“I’ll come home whenever I can.”
“I’m sure you will. Now, tell me… what’s this I hear about Colin being back in town?”
Briana blushed though she should have known that her mother’s friends from town would be keeping her up-to-date on all of the latest gossip.
“He’s back,” Briana admitted. “He got injured and won’t be able to play football anymore, so he came home. He’s helping his daddy at the store now. But you know him, Mama. Running the store isn’t what he wants to do for the rest of his life. He’s thinking about trying to coach.”
Briana’s mother looked at Ray with a smile and then back at her daughter. “Sounds like you sure know a lot about it,” she said with a wink.
Briana shoveled a piece of French toast into her mouth, trying to buy herself some time to compose herself. She couldn’t prevent her embarrassed flush.
“That’s okay. I can wait,” her mother said with a smirk.
Ray just chuckled and helped himself to some more bacon.
Briana swallowed and took a swig of her coffee, trying to dampen her suddenly dry mouth. “Um, yeah, I’ve seen him,” she stuttered.
“Really?” her mother asked gleefully. She’d always loved Colin and had expressed the hope that Briana would get back together with him someday. “That’s wonderful, Bree. Are you two getting along?”
“Yes, Mama. We’ve talked a bit and I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt.”
“I’m so happy, dear. The two of you were always such a good match.”
Satisfied that her mother was going to leave the conversation after having said her piece, Briana enjoyed breakfast and then joined her mother for a walk around the farm. They spent a nice day together, catching up and talking about Briana’s plans for her culinary school application. As they sat at her mother’s favorite bench overlooking the pond, she brought up Colin again.
“So, when you said you’ve talked a bit, what does that mean?” her mother asked. She nudged Briana’s arm and smiled.
“We went on a date.”
“Really?” She drew the word out. “That’s interesting. How’d that go?”
“It was really nice, Mama. I’m comfortable with him. When we talk, it feels just like it always did, like we haven’t been apart all of these years.”
“You said he’s had to deal with a lot of changes,” her mother prompted.
Briana held onto her mother’s hand and looked out over the water. “Yeah. He’s had to let go of his dream and find a new one. He’s really changed, Mama. He was always sweet, but even I can admit that he was pretty self-involved in high school. He knew what he wanted and was willing to do whatever he needed to do to make it happen. Now he seems to be putting his parents’ needs ahead of his own. He’s grown and realized the consequences of his actions. I’m really enjoying getting to know the man he’s become.”
Briana’s mom just made a hmmming sound and they sat there in silence for a while, enjoying each other’s company. When she walked Briana to the car, her mother engulfed her in one last hug before pulling back to look at her, brushing the hair off of Briana’s forehead.
“Give Colin a second chance, Baby Girl,” her mother said softly. “Your father and I always liked him. You complimented each other so well.”
Briana just smiled and kissed her mother on the cheek, before getting in her car to drive back home.
She spent the next thirty minutes thinking about what her mother had said, and trying to decide how she felt about it.
Chapter Thirteen
