with someone again, hurting them, and not being able to do a damn thing about it was too much for him to bear. His father would be annoyed with him for not reaching for what he desperately wanted, but what was new? He’d done what he’d set out to do, which was help Silver out, and that was the end of it.
* * *
Silver’s mom glanced up as she came into the kitchen. “Would you like something to eat, dear? Dee left us a late lunch, and dinner is already prepped and in the refrigerator.”
“I’m not hungry right now.” Silver tried to smile. “Ben’s going to be staying with us for a few days until he gets the all-clear to go home, okay?”
“I think Ayla booked him a hotel.”
“She did, but Ben is staying here. You know as well as I do that the moment he walks out of his hotel room, the press will be all over him. He’s much safer with us. I’ll go and fetch him in a minute so that you can say hello properly, and he can have some lunch.”
“That sounds lovely.” She hesitated. “What’s wrong, sweetie? I thought it went well today.”
Silver sat at the table. “Mom, have you ever really wanted something and you just can’t think of a way to have it?”
Her mom joined her. “It depends what you mean by wanting. Sometimes there’s a good reason why you can’t always get what you want.”
“I knew you’d say that.” Silver heaved a sigh. “You sound just like Ben.”
There was quite a long silence before her mom replied. “He’s a very nice young man, Silver. You can see that he has been properly brought up.”
“He is nice,” Silver agreed. “And way too responsible and honest for his own good.”
“Do you like him, sweetie?”
“Yes, but please don’t tell Dad. You know what he’s like and, as I can’t have Ben anyway, you’d just get him all riled up for no reason.”
“I’m not sure you can truly have anyone,” her mom said thoughtfully. “Relationships are built on many things, and one person seeing the other person as a thing to have like a possession isn’t going to make for an equal partnership.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Well, it sure sounded like it.”
Silver sometimes forgot that her sweet-voiced mother had some strong opinions of her own.
“I can’t change who I am.”
“And neither can Ben,” her mom reminded her. “If he’s sensible enough to realize that he can’t give you what you want, you should respect that.”
Silver shoved a hand through her hair and blew out a breath. “I know you’re right. I know he’s right, but it hurts, Mom.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “It’s been so hard to meet someone I actually like and admire, and when I finally do—somehow I’m not allowed to be happy.”
Her mom took hold of her hand. “If you really think he’s the right man for you, then you’re going to have to think of a way for one of you to compromise, right?”
“I can’t think of any way to do that right now,” Silver confessed.
“Then maybe this isn’t the right time for you both.” The soft regret in her mother’s voice made her tears start to fall. “Maybe you should just stay friends.”
* * *
Later that day, Ben took his place at the table for dinner and was introduced to Aaron and Spring, Silver’s siblings. He’d met her mother at lunch and had liked her immediately. She looked like her two blond daughters and seemed happy to stay in the background and not draw attention to herself. Mr. Meadows, who had told Ben to call him Phil, was way more outgoing and was currently dominating the conversation around the table.
Coming from a big family himself, Ben quickly became aware that there were some definite undercurrents buzzing through the interactions, and that maybe there was a reason why Phil was talking so much.
“Well, I have to tell you all that the press conference was a smash hit.” Phil smiled broadly at Silver. “Everyone thought Ben was adorable.”
“Great. Then hopefully I can go home and not have to deal with those idiots anymore,” Ben said.
“So what do you do on your ranch, Ben?” Phil turned to him.
“We’re a cattle ranch. We breed cattle and sell beef. That’s about it.”
“And do you like your job?”
“Ranching is more of a lifestyle choice than a job, Mr. Meadows. You don’t get to clock in and out for regular hours, the workload can sometimes be overwhelming