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Tess gave herself a once-over in her bathroom mirror. She should probably put a little more effort into her appearance besides pulling her hair into a ponytail and throwing on one of her softest worn flannel shirts, but right now she couldn’t bring herself to care how she looked.
I won’t go back to being someone’s dirty secret.
Those words Silas had spoken last night were seared into her heart. She teared up again, picturing him as a little boy, sitting alone in his room, afraid to make any noise, fearing his mother would abandon him. Nausea swelled in her stomach. She’d never intended to make Silas feel like she was ashamed of him, but she had… sneaking around, coming unglued when Aiden almost caught them kissing in Legacy’s pen—
“Mom?” Morgan poked her head into the bathroom. “Are you ready yet? We’re supposed to be at Auntie Kyra and Uncle Aiden’s in a few minutes.”
Tess sighed and spritzed her hair with some spray to tame the frizz. “I suppose I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Really?” Her daughter wrinkled her freckled nose. “I thought you were supposed to dress nice for a date.”
“I already told you; this is not a date.” Tess prodded Morgan out of her bathroom. And she couldn’t stomach the thought of trying to put on a front with Brad when she’d left things so badly with Silas last night. Jeez. She wasn’t being honest with anyone right now—not her brother, not Silas, and definitely not herself. The hurt that she felt for Silas right now—the unrelenting desire to soothe his pains from the past—only proved she had real feelings for him. Deeper feelings than she cared to admit.
Tess followed Morgan to the living room and found Willow jumping on the couch. “Auntie Kyra said she was going to get us ice cream and we could watchThe Princess Diaries.”
“Again?” Tess teased as she caught her younger daughter in her arms.
“It’s the best movie in the whole world.” Morgan impatiently pulled on her coat near the front door.
“We love it!” Willow wriggled out of Tess’s grasp and found her coat hanging on the hook.
“Yes, I know. I have the entire movie memorized, remember?” Tess directed the girls outside to the truck and helped her younger daughter climb into her seat.
All the way to her brother and Kyra’s ranch the girls sang “Stupid Cupid”—one of their favorites from the movie—at the tops of their lungs.
The second the truck stopped, both girls were out the doors and racing for the front porch.
Kyra must’ve seen them coming because she opened the door and greeted them with hugs. “Girls’ night! I can’t wait! I’ve got chocolate fudge brownies and birthday cake ice cream.”
“Our favorite,” Willow squealed.
“Maybe we’ll have time to watchThe Princess Diaries 2too,” Morgan said hopefully.
“I doubt that.” Tess climbed the steps behind her. “Dinner won’t be more than an hour or so.” Especially with her mood tonight. “You girls be respectful and polite.” She bent to kiss their sweet faces.
“They always are.” Kyra ruffled their hair as they hurried past her into the house.
“Bye, Mommy!” Willow called without looking back. Morgan was in too much of a hurry to say a thing.
“Thanks again for hanging out with them tonight.” Tess lingered on her friend’s porch. She was in no hurry to get her evening started.
“I’ve been looking forward to it.” Kyra stepped out and shut the door as though she knew they had a few things to discuss. “Are you looking forward to having dinner with Brad?”
She couldn’t even muster a smile. “It’ll be nice, I guess.” But there were so many other things she should be doing right now. Things she couldn’t take care of while she sat across the table from Brad.
“You’re not excited.” Kyra tugged on her arm and led her to the two chairs in front of the living room window.
“No. I’m not.” Tess sat down and told Kyra about the exchange with Silas the night before. “I had no idea what his childhood had been like. I didn’t know he grew up that way… feeling unwanted and unloved.” But then she’d tossed and turned all night thinking about him. Wondering about him. Why had she never asked any questions about his life before coming to Star Valley? How could she not have known he’d dealt with so much pain?
“That’s heartbreaking.” Kyra looked thoughtful. “It’s huge that he told you about his childhood though. I’d be surprised if he’s ever shared those things with anyone else.”
“I know Jace had never mentioned anything. In fact, he always said Silas was very evasive about his life growing up.”
“I can understand why,” Kyra said sadly. “It sounds so painful. My mom had her problems but she never made me feel unloved or unwanted.”
Tess could say the same. She and Aiden had the most wonderful childhood, with their parents both being jovial, loving, doting kind of people. “You should’ve seen his face when he told me.” She’d always thought of Silas as the most upbeat and laid-back out of the whole group, but now she suspected that his humor and cheerfulness covered up his past hurts. “His eyes were so empty.” She couldn’t get that expression out of her head.
“You haven’t heard from him since he walked away?” Kyra asked.
