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.“I have a few things to say to you and I don’t think they can wait.”Kevin sat upright with a jerk.“You can say there was nothing going on out there all you want, but I know what I saw,” he said.“Jesus mom, the guilty look on your face says it all.”Her little boy had become a man right in front of her eyes.No child wanted to think about their parents having sex, and they certainly didn’t want to think about their mother having sex with someone other than their father.Sarah knew she needed to be straight with him.Anything else would be insulting.“I can’t tell you how much I want to lie and say you’re wrong.Something did happen, completely unplanned, and I’m sorry you stumbled into to it.But I have feelings for him and you need to understand that I’m not cheating on Daddy.”Kevin’s eyes closed and stayed closed.“It feels like it.”Sarah reached out, placed her hand over his, and felt encouraged when he didn’t pull away.She didn’t say anything for a few moments, but just held on to him as every ounce of love poured from her heart into her oldest son.“I know it feels that way, Kevin.And if your daddy were still alive, we would never be having this conversation.But he’s not here and he’s not coming back.” Kevin opened his eyes and looked at her, the green of his eyes dark like emeralds and older now than they were just moments ago.“I didn’t go out there tonight to be with Dodge.I didn’t plan to feel something for him, for anyone.It just sort of happened when I wasn’t paying attention.” She lifted her hand from his, pushed the hair back from his face and took a deep breath.“I will always love your dad.What happened with Dodge, whatever is happening with Dodge, has nothing to do with Daddy.Life goes on, Kev, and I know Daddy wouldn’t want me to pine away after him for the rest of my life.I just hope you can accept that.”“I don’t like it.” But he looked her in the eye and he didn’t sound sulky.He’d simply stated fact.“I know that.I don’t expect you to.”“What’s going to happen now? Is he going to be living here with us? Staying here overnight?”“Kevin.” Sarah sighed.How could she explain what was going on with her and Dodge when she had no idea where they stood with each other? “No, to both of those.I don’t know what’s going to happen.Right now he’s pretty mad at me and I’m not all together happy with him.But I’m an adult and you’re my son and I’m going to tell you right now that most of what’s going on is none of your business.The only reason I’m talking to you about it now is because I wanted to be straight with you.” She patted his hand and stood up to leave.At the door she turned around and looked at her son on the bed.“I love you, Kevin.No matter what, you and Lyle will always come first.”Chapter 15Sarah stood in the shower, let the hot water pound on her head and winced when it slid beneath the bandages Dodge had applied the night before.What a mess.She didn’t even know how to be around Dodge, or how she felt about him.But whatever she thought, whatever she felt, she knew they weren’t finished.If she had to force the issue, they weren’t through.Hell, they’d barely gotten started, barely touched one another and she’d had to explain it to Kevin.Well, damn it, if she had to discuss it with her kids, had to feel guilty about taking steps to move on, then by God she was going to have the pleasure of actually moving forward.But she knew they’d stay stuck in place for awhile, this needy, edgy place where all the lines were blurred.He’d called her stubborn, but Dodge was as hard-headed a man as she’d ever met.If he had it in his mind that being together was a mistake it would be awhile before she’d get the chance to be alone with him.She dressed and went to the kitchen to make coffee.Kevin came out of his room while she loaded the maker with grinds.He nodded at her, his usual morning greeting.With him, at least, she felt the air was clear.Sarah surveyed the view from the kitchen window.Off in the distance she saw Dodge’s truck come to a stop by the barn, saw him get out and disappear around the front of Miguel’s house.She turned away from the window and watched her son flick channels on the television.“You’re up early,” she said.“We told Miguel we’d help him with some stuff today.” His voice sounded scratchy from disuse.“We got any frosted flakes?”Sarah smiled and felt relieved he didn’t want to rehash the night’s events.“Yeah, they’re in the cupboard.I’m going to work on the computer for awhile.Come tell me before you guys head out.”“Hey, Mom,” Kevin said as she turned toward the hall.“Bang on Lyle’s door.If I have to do slave labor, so does he.”###The phone rang around lunchtime, the sound of which brought Sarah back from the Caribbean island where her characters had started a vacation.She clicked save on the computer, satisfied with the way the book had progressed, and reached for the phone.Her pleasure lessened when she heard the voice on the other end.“Senator, so interesting to hear from you again.”“Mrs.Woodward, call me Ben.I just heard you’d had some trouble at your ranch.Of course I had to call and make sure you’re okay, see if you needed anything.”Sarah rolled her eyes as he spoke, annoyed that he’d actually think she’d confide in him.“No, no trouble really.” Who’d told him about her ranch and had encouraged his calls? Tommy Thornton?“Well, I’d say a few hundred cows escaping through a hole in your fence would constitute some trouble.And before you try to downplay what happened, let me assure you I know full well how hard it is to run a ranch of your size.My family’s been ranching for many years and a scare like that can make you want to throw in the towel and give something else a try.”Oh, he’d just love that now, wouldn’t he? “We managed.Where’d you say you heard about our trouble?”“Oh, here and there.Now, Mrs.Woodward.” He cleared his throat [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]