“I guess you don’t want to talk about it.”
“Not now, I don’t.”
Ginny walked into the kitchen. “Oh! Hi, Renie. I didn’t know you were in here.”
“I just got here. Bud’s putting Pooh in the barn. I’m not intruding, am I?”
“No, not at all. I was about to start dinner. We’ve got a crowd coming tonight to see Jace.”
Renie rolled up her sleeves. “Put me to work then.”
Jace watched her maneuver her way around the kitchen. It was clear she was pissed. He wanted to ask her about her conversation, but didn’t want to do it in front of Aunt Ginny.
She was here though, and that had to mean something. He walked over to where she was and kissed her cheek. She turned, smiled at him, and kissed him on the lips. Yeah, he didn’t care about how her conversation with Billy went. If she was kissing him, she was his, at least for the next few hours.
Billy knew he’d handled the call with Renie in the worst way possible. Everything she was worried about, that Willow would be his first priority, was thrown in her face. And he hung up on her. Perfect way to drive her straight into someone else’s arms.
He heard the back door open and turned to see his mother standing in his kitchen.
“Should we change our plans for Thanksgiving?”
Shit. What had she heard and how had she heard it already?
“Billy, I love ya,” she said after listening to his side of the story. “No mama could love her son more, but I have to be honest with you. You are an idiot.”
“I’m an idiot? You’re siding with her? She’s been off doing who knows what with another man and you’re siding with her?”
“No, I’m not. I’m not siding with either one of you. I’m just saying that you’re an idiot. Don’t you think you should have at least let her tell you what’s going on?”
“Why? So she could tell me that she’d spent the day with another man? No, thank you.”
“How do you know that? What if you spent the day with Liv?”
“That’s different. She’s Renie’s mom.”
“Yes, but she’s another woman. That would’ve been completely innocent on both your parts. Maybe this was innocent too.”
“Nope, not the same thing at all. I never had sex with Liv. Sorry to be blunt, Mama, but that’s the difference.”
“Okay, well here’s a question for you then. Are you going to act like such a jackass that she has no choice but to pick the other man instead of you? Cause that’s the road you’re on, Billy. You’re gonna drive her right into his arms instead of yours. Is that what you want?”
“No. It isn’t.”
“So what are you gonna do about it.”
“I don’t know.”
The place was a madhouse, there was no other word for it. Between Ben, his brothers, their wives, Jace, Ben’s two boys, Bud and Ginny, and her and her mother, Renie was completely overwhelmed. The only other time in her life that she was around this many people having dinner was Thanksgiving, at Patterson Ranch in their dining hall, when all the cowboys and families came together to celebrate.
What would she do about this Thanksgiving? Billy was bringing Willow, and Dottie and Bill were coming too. She and Billy needed to talk about today, and resolve things before the two of them ruined the holiday for everyone else.
Blythe was coming with her parents too, and she had a lot of making up to do with her friend. In fact, she wouldn’t be all that surprised if Blythe decided not to come.
She couldn’t blame her. She knew she’d been a lousy friend to her the last year. If you counted how long she had been dishonest with Blythe about how she felt about Billy, she’d been a lousy friend for years.
Renie needed fresh air. She went out and stood on the porch. A few minutes later, Jace joined her.
“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”