of okay,” Laurie said wearily. “He’s furious with me.”
“Because you don’t want to leave your daughter behind tomorrow when you go?”
“That, and because I left in the first place, because I wouldn’t marry him years ago and settle down as a rancher’s wife.”
“You did what you had to do,” Melissa Adams stated.
Laurie stared at her in surprise. “You can see that?”
“Well, of course I can,” she said with a hint of impatience. “He put you in a terrible position by forcing you to choose.”
“I never wanted to make that choice,” Laurie added. “It was like having to decide whether to keep my right arm or my left.”
Melissa smiled at the analogy. “I imagine it was.”
“I always thought we could work it out. Foolish me,” Laurie said. “I knew the man was stubborn, but I also thought he loved me enough to want what was best for me.”
“Come over here and sit with me,” Melissa said, leading her to a grouping of chairs in the shade of a tree. “You have to understand something about Harlan Patrick. As hard as his daddy and I tried to avoid it, he grew up knowing that the world was his for the asking. You can thank his granddaddy for that. Harlan thinks the sun rises and sets on his family. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t see their flaws. Goodness knows, he does. He just leads each and every one of them to believe he can have it all. When it doesn’t work out that way, it’s always a huge surprise.”
She chuckled. “You should have seen Cody’s face the first time I told him no. You’d have thought I hit him with a two-by-four.”
Laurie found herself grinning. “I can imagine.”
“Harlan Patrick took it even worse when you said no,” Melissa said quietly. “It came close to breaking my heart to see him hurting so. I hated you for that, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t see that you were doing what you needed to do. You have a gift from God with that voice of yours. It’s your right, maybe even your duty, to do what you can with it, to see how far it can take you.”
“I need to sing,” Laurie said, grateful for even this much understanding. She tried to explain why that need was a match for her love for Melissa Adams’s son. “I need to know that I’m good enough, that I can stand on my own two feet. My mother never had that. Once my father walked out, every single day of her life was a struggle. I never wanted to be that dependent on anyone. Music seemed to be the answer. If I hadn’t had a decent voice, I would have chosen something else, but I would have had a career of my own.”
“Have you ever explained that to my son?”
Laurie paused thoughtfully, realizing that she’d always just assumed he knew. “Not in so many words, no.”
“Maybe you should.”
“It wouldn’t change anything. I’d still have to go, and he’d still have to stay.”
“But at least he’d understand that you’re not just leaving him. Tell him, Laurie. Don’t let him go on thinking that he’s the one who’s not good enough.”
Laurie was shocked by Melissa’s words. “Not good enough? How could he possibly believe that?”
“Because you left him behind.” She regarded Laurie sympathetically. “If you go again and take his daughter, you’ll just be adding to his sense of failure. You’ll be telling him you don’t think he’s good enough to be a daddy, either. Please, Laurie, talk to him. Do whatever you think is right about Amy Lynn, but talk to Harlan Patrick.”
Laurie squeezed the older woman’s hand. “I will. I promise. It was never my intention to make him think he wasn’t good enough. It was about me and what I needed.”
“Let me take Amy Lynn back inside, then, and you go find him,” Melissa suggested. “The two of you need some time alone together to make peace.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Laurie shifted Amy Lynn into Melissa’s waiting arms.
“Take all the time you need,” the older woman said. “She’ll be fine with us.” She gazed straight into Laurie’s eyes. “And she’ll be right here whenever you come looking for her. I promise.”
“Thank you,” Laurie whispered in a choked voice. “Not just for taking Amy Lynn. For this talk, for understanding, for everything.”
“You’re more than welcome. Remember, it’s my son’s happiness that’s at stake here, too. I have a vested interest in the outcome.”