Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Scarlet
“Mom, what was that?” Rosie demands the moment we’re back in our apartment. “I get it. It’s not about you—us—right now. But I felt like…”
“Like what?” Please don’t ask, I plead silently.
She chews her lip before probing, “Like Jesse didn’t want to be with us.”
Gently, I draw her forward until we’re both sitting on the sofa. That’s when I break it to her, “I’m not certain he did, kiddo.”
Her eyes narrow dangerously, making me want to laugh until I cry, but I know once I start, I won’t stop. That’s for later when I’m all alone. Right now, it’s time to broach the topic of leaving Kensington. I take a deep breath and say, “We need to talk.”
“Am I in trouble?”
“No, sweetheart. It’s just…” I straighten up the backbone I’m renowned for while working and pull up my mom drawers. This isn’t going to be an easy conversation, no matter how I approach it.
Rosie’s frown deepens. “What’s going on, Mom?”
“You know how much things have changed for us since we moved here?”
“Yeah.”
I reach for her hand. “I was made an offer to become sheriff.”
Her jaw flops open. “Is Sheriff Lewis resigning?” Flynn Lewis has been my boss since I moved to Kensington.
My head shakes slowly. “It means we’d have to move.”
Her brow furrows. “Move? Like…leave Kensington?”
I nod.
“But…what about Lightning?”
“Lightning?”
“Lightning! My riding lessons!” Her voice is agitated. “I can’t leave him, Mom! He’s my favorite horse. How am I supposed to learn to ride barrels without him?”
I’d been prepared for her to ask me about Jesse. About her friends. Not about a horse. I do my best to address the animal in the room. “I know you love your lessons, kiddo. And I swear we’ll find another stable for you to ride at in our new town.”
“It won’t be the same. It won’t be Lightning and Jesse,” she argues before her own words penetrate. She freezes, and I can practically see her mind making connections I wish it wouldn’t. “We’re going somewhere we won’t be able to see Jesse? Is that why he was acting so weird?”
“No. He doesn’t know.” Would he care if he did? I focus back on Rosie—my constant. “Nothing is set in stone. I haven’t accepted the offer.” Yet.
“Aren’t you scared of moving again?” Her voice sounds sad.
“All change is scary, but part of getting past your fears is admitting you have them and taking a leap of faith anyway.”
“Kind of like riding a horse.”
“Kind of.”
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Are you afraid of not having Jesse around anymore?”
My heart aches at the question, but I give her the truth. “You saw how he acted in the diner?”
She nods tentatively.
“I’m more afraid of living in this town and not having him around than living somewhere we won’t see him.”
Her head swivels to the side, but not before I catch sight of the tears on the edge of her lashes. “Okay,” she whispers. “But I still want to learn how to canter.”
“You will, kiddo. You will.” Nudging her shoulder, I try to brighten her mood. “How about pizza before I head into work?”
“Mrs. Holder is coming to watch me?”
“Yes.”
Rosie gives me a reluctant nod. “Okay, Mom.”
“Rosie?”
“Yes.”
“I love you. There’s nothing on this earth I wouldn’t do for you.” I tug her close in a bone-crushing hug and wish with all my might I hadn’t fallen in love with a heartbreaker like Jesse Kensington.
A poignant silence stretches between us before she replies, “Same here.”