Chapter 24
JULES
L ucky shifted in his sleep, the cushion of hay beneath him rustling. A few hours had passed since Riley left, the sun high in the sky, and her stomach grumbling with need.
She should go get food. Stretch her legs. But leaving her foal was proving difficult.
What if something happened while they were both gone? What if he needed her?
“Jules?”
She looked up to find Maddie leaning over the stall door. Her phone in hand.
“Your mom is trying to get in touch with you?”
Rising from the bedroll, she wiped at the errand strands of straw clinging to her jeans. This was inevitable after how they left things last night, especially after the three calls to her own phone that she had ignored.
Accepting the cell from her friend, Jules held it up to her ear and greeted her mother.
“Hello, glad Maddie was able to track you down for me.”
“What’s up, Mom? There’s something that I’m needing to take care of over here.”
“I’m still in town. Any chance we could part ways from this visit on a better note?”
Her stomach answered for her. The resounding growl demanded she go to lunch. “Sure, I’ll meet you at Norma’s—a little pizza place in the center of town.”
It was time to finish what she started anyway. Riley made it look so easy last night, telling her mother exactly what he thought. And while his tact was probably far better than she could manage, Jules felt a tug to try and do the same.
Norma’s was a hidden gem, much like the rest of Sterling Ridge.
It had all the personality of a big city restaurant, with its trendy specials and quippy neon signs hung on concrete and exposed brick walls.
But it also had the charm of small-town living, with warm staff that would remember your name after your first visit.
Removing the cowboy hat from atop her head, Jules tugged open the front door and stepped into the moody ambiance with which she was quickly starting to feel familiar. With a wave to the pizzeria’s owner at his post behind the bar, she crossed over to the booth occupied by Francine.
The Rolling Stones song drowned out the click of her boots against the honed concrete floor, and she managed to slide into the seat across her mother before catching her attention.
“Oh, my. You’re here,” Francine said in surprise. She had a glass of white wine before her and an e-reader in her hand.
“I’m here. Have you been waiting long?”
Clicking the tablet dark, her mom tucked it into her purse as she shook her head. “Not waiting, just enjoying this charming new place.” She reached for a menu as she added, “This is what I enjoy.”
Jules reached for a menu as well, even if she always ordered the same thing. It was something to do with her hands at least.
“What is?”
“Experiencing new places, enjoying the different atmospheres.” Her mom waved her hand in the air as if she already understood the appeal of the unique, modern dive.
“Well, I’m glad you are able to immerse yourself,” she snorted in response. Irritation pricked at the corner of her mind. It wasn’t fair to be irritated by her mom’s wish to see new places. And she even agreed with Francine that Norma’s had a special atmosphere. Yet the needled sensation remained.
Her mom was silent as her eyes scanned the various pizza options on the thick card-stock sheet. Then, as if decided, she set the menu back down and smiled softly.
“You travel as much as I do, so you must understand. Every single place has its own unique tone. Even a modern pizzeria just a few hours away won’t be the same as one back home.”
“I understand.”
I’m just like her, Jules thought. And she sees it too.
Have you told Dad ? The question she pointed at her mom last night rattled around, trapped by her own feelings of guilt. She had no right dolling out that advice if she refused to follow it herself.
But that was what she was here to do, wasn’t it? Take her own advice. Take a page from Riley’s playbook, and Maddie’s too for that matter. Everyone around her seemed to be taking control of their own lives. Everyone but her.
A temporary reprieve from her thoughts presented itself as the server appeared to take their order.
And as her stomach rumbled long and low, she made a silent vow to say her piece as soon as the food arrived—just in case she needed to make a quick getaway, this way she would be able to take her food to go.
“You’re quiet,” her mother remarked, delicately cradling the wine glass in her hand.
“Just hungry.”
“Work up an appetite at the ranch this morning?”
Her face flushed as images of her and Riley tangled up together in the tack room came to mind. She certainly had worked up an appetite. For more of him.
“Mhm,” she hummed nonchalantly.
“Tell me more about your work with Ri?—”
“Here you are,” the server announced in a chipper tone. She deposited the wood fired buffalo chicken in front of Jules before handing Francine a pizza that looked more like a salad, a heaping pile of arugula atop the crust.
“This looks delicious. Thank you,” her mom beamed, lifting a slice in a cheers motion.
With a pleased smile, the server took her leave. They were alone once again, and it was time.
“Mom,” Jules started. “I think we need to finish the conversation from yesterday.”
“Okay, what else is on your mind?”
Her brow furrowed as she looked at the glisten forming across her palms. She did not get nervous. Why was this so hard?
“You said you left because Dad didn’t care.
He didn’t miss you. But you don’t know that, not really.
Because you weren’t there to see him bury himself in work to stave off the pain.
Maybe it wasn’t just Grandpa he was missing.
” Her voice trembled; her heart raced. But the pieces were clicking in her brain with every truth she finally spoke.
With momentum now, she continued. “He needed your support. He had just lost his dad, his mentor. And suddenly everything Grandpa built was up to him to figure out.”
“I didn’t leave immediately. You don’t know,” her mom protested.
“You don’t get to put a timeline on his grief. Or mine. You don’t think I missed you? Needed you?”
Her heart leapt into her throat with the admission that came next. “I did.”
Then Riley’s words clicked into place next. “You didn’t just leave Dad. You left me.”
She wouldn’t run this time. Determined, Jules lifted a slice of pizza and snapped off a bite, watching her words settle over her mother.
Another bite as silence hung between them. But she was right, and it felt good to say it. It felt really good.
“You’re right,” her mom said softly. “You’re right, and I am sorry.”
“Thank you.” A single sorry wouldn’t repair the panic that rocked her world when she lost not just her grandfather, but also the biggest support system she had ever known. But it was a start.
“You know that your father and I were high school sweethearts. Your grandfather was such a staple in my life too. And I allowed my grief to make me selfish. I think I wanted Miles to chase me.”
“You should talk to Dad.” This time, the words didn’t carry a guilty pang. Maybe she would talk to him too.