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Based on the blank look she wore, he could tell she wasn’t understanding why that was a problem.
He sighed again. “She’s never going to prioritize me over her store. She’s never going to be willing to sacrifice anything for it. How can I expect to have a relationship with someone who won’t do that?”
Daniel’s mother didn’t say anything. A growing irritation at her ambivalence started in his gut and filled his whole body.
“Are you hearing what I’m saying? All she cares about is that bookstore.”
“And you care about this coffee shop.”
He snapped his mouth shut.
“Don’t you?”
This time he looked away.
“Daniel? You spent your life savings on this place. Isn’t this what you dreamed of doing?”
He couldn’t blame her for not knowing. He’d always brushed his family aside when they asked him why he wanted to run this coffee shop. He’d come up with reasons that he didn’t believe. He’d made them think this was his dream.
So, when he shook his head, he shouldn’t have been surprised to feel the tension in the room get even tighter. He looked up at her and fought back the feelings of inferiority that he’d struggled with for so long. “I like running the coffee shop, but it’s not something I’m passionate about. It’s not something I jump out of bed for. It’s just… work.”
Confusion filled her expression. “But I thought…”
He shook his head again. “I love the ranch, Mom. I’ve always loved it. I’ve always wanted to be able to work it alongside dad. There’s not one day that I have to be in the saddle that I dislike. The ranch is my passion.”
The confusion was still there, but so was something else—something that looked vaguely like betrayal. Was she hurt? What had he said? Great, now he had to deal with feeling guilty over two mistakes he’d made, and he didn’t even know what the second one was.
His mother straightened and walked around the side of the front counter. She stared at him, making him lose what little confidence he had in himself and in this coffee shop. “Sweetheart, if you never wanted this coffee shop, then why did you buy it?”
As much as Daniel wanted to get defensive over her question, he couldn’t. He was exhausted from trying to defend his decisions. He wanted the answers to come easy, but they just couldn’t. “I needed to provide for my future family somehow, Mom.”
“And the ranch wasn’t a possibility?”
“You guys always said that Bo was going to run it. It was his inheritance.”
She let out a disappointed laugh. “That doesn’t mean that the rest of you were going to be kicked out. He’s going to be the head, but he’s going to need help. We didn’t do it on our own. There’s plenty of room on the ranch for everyone. It only continues to grow the more we branch out.” She lifted her hand and placed it to his cheek. “I would never want you to feel trapped or locked into a future you don’t love. Everyone deserves to be happy.”
Her words brought a new surge of hope to his otherwise dismal outlook. It was like he had needed her permission to finally realize just how miserable he’d been while running Mountaintop Java.
His mother pulled him into a hug—the kind a kid would squirm out of on his first day of school as he shot her a look of disapproval while getting on the bus. Only secretly, all little boys wanted to feel loved like that. When she pulled away, she was smiling. “And as for Megan—”
Daniel held up a hand. “I’m going to cut you off right there, Mom. That ship has sailed, crashed, and sunk to the bottom of the ocean.”
“I don’t know that it has.”
His eyes cut to meet hers. What had she heard? He hadn’t thought Megan would talk to her cousin about what was going on, but then again, why wouldn’t she? Word was bound to get back to his folks via his older brother. And now he couldn’t even be mad about the gossip because he wanted to know what Megan might have said about him.
His mom tilted her head, her eyes shining. “If you love her, then you need to do something to fix this argument you’ve had.”
That didn’t sound like she’d heard anything. “You don’t understand, Mom. She wanted this book tour. But they came to me.”
“Then tell them you’ve changed your mind. You’ve reconsidered.”
“I don’t know if I can do that.”
“Why not?” Her question was simple enough. Why couldn’t he just tell them he wouldn’t be able to host the reading? There was another option available right across the street. He’d have to figure out the logistics of it, but they would get what they wanted.
“I suppose I could make a few calls…”
