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“You didn’t tell them?”
“I don’t have to account for my money with my folks.” He gave her a quick look and focused back on the road. “I sometimes do consult with my dad about things, like where I should invest or what I might do with my inheritance that will bless the lives of others, and I talked to him about this. Just not my mother.”
“Are you going to tell her?”
“I’m going to start a foundation for this type of purchasing and donations,” he said. “So, yes. I’ll tell her, and then I’m going to sit down with Daddy and see what advice he has about getting the foundation set up.”
Gerty nodded, but she couldn’t fathom starting a foundation. “Are you going to run the foundation?”
“In the beginning,” he said. “I think once I take over at HMC, I might not have time. See, Hunter runs a public outreach program too, using company funds, and I want to continue that.” He smiled, and Gerty liked the softness of it. “My daddy started doing that,” he added. “I don’t want to let that die, though every CEO at HMC does things a little differently.”
“Do you think you’ll like being the CEO?”
“I think so,” he said. “I don’t hate it, at least, and there’s a steep learning curve.”
“I bet.”
He reached over and twined his fingers with hers. “Both Hunter and my dad said it can consume me, and I need a plan to make sure it doesn’t do that.”
“You do?”
“My dad didn’t even date until he retired from the job,” Mike said. “He had us kids really late in his life, and I don’t think he regrets it, but I think he does at the same time.” He glanced over to her, his gaze holding longer on hers than before, despite the sunglasses. “I want a family sooner in my life than he had one. Hunt has four kids, and he’s had them all while being the CEO.”
“And his wife runs Pony Power.”
“They have a lot of help,” Mike said. “Hunt says it’s a constant battle to leave work on time, balance his family life with his responsibilities, and not feel like a failure.” He sighed, and his wasn’t as happy as Gerty’s had been.
A weight descended on her too, and she squeezed Mike’s hand. “So you’ll figure it out, day by day. Isn’t that what you said you had to do on a mission? Figure things out, sometimes minute by minute?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Day by day.”
Gerty found herself hoping she could be at Mike’s side, reassuring him of his choices—at work or at home—every day, and a smile started to touch her lips. Then she remembered that in order to do that, she and Mike would need to be married, and an inexplicable fear reached inside her chest and gripped her heart.
She frowned and looked away from Mike so he wouldn’t see it. She’d thought about her wedding, of course. She’d had one practically planned already. She’d wanted to get married, but now, she suddenly felt like she didn’t want to.
No, she thought as the landscape rolled by and they left Ivory Peaks behind.You don’t want to get engaged again.
And she didn’t. Her engagement to James had ended painfully, and she didn’t want to experience any part of that again.
But how could she get married without getting engaged?
25
Mike entered the kitchen of his childhood home, glad for the smell of blueberry muffins. “Momma.” He stepped into her and wrapped her in a hug. “You made my favorite thing ever.”
She laughed lightly and put her hands over his around her waist. “I just love having you home.” She turned toward him, and he stepped back. He gave her a quick look, noting her sad-happiness, and stepped over to the cupboard to get a mug.
“You know I’m going to live in Ivory Peaks,” he said. “I’m going to make my home there.”
“I know.” She nodded several times, looking worried. “It’s where you belong.” She gave him a smile, and that anxious air about her disappeared. “Your daddy’s thrilled, of course.” She opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of cream for him. “Sugar’s there.”
“I know where the cream and sugar are, Momma.” He smiled at her and poured himself a cup of coffee. “But thank you.”
“Blueberry muffins?” Dad asked as he came into the kitchen. He pulled a sweatshirt over his T-shirt, and Mike wondered if he was really cold. Even early August in Coral Canyon could be warm, but Mike supposed a crispness already existed in the air here, especially in the morning.
“I have to have someone to cook for,” Momma said, and she giggled as Dad wrapped her in a hug too.
“I’d take blueberry muffins any day of the week, my love.”
