Roping the Cowboy Billionaire - Emmy Eugene Page 0,70

mom just turned around and pulled bread from the drawer. Tam took a deep breath and steadied herself. “Momma?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Did you and Daddy ever fight?”

“Definitely,” Momma said, shaking her head and laughing lightly. “He wanted to name you Ophelia.” She burst out laughing, and Tam reveled in the sound of it. “I won that one, thankfully.”

Tam would like her arguments with Blaine to be as simple.

Her mother turned and put a plate with a bologna and tomato sandwich in front of Tam. “I know that’s not what you meant, Tam.” She gave her a soft, kind smile. “I don’t know what happened with Blaine, but it’s as plain as the nose on your face that you love him.”

“Sometimes love isn’t enough, Momma,” Tam said. “I loved Hayes too, you know.”

This hurt worse, though. Tam knew it hurt worse, because she’d lost the man she loved and her best friend with only a few words.

Get out. We’re done. Don’t call me.

It was amazing to her that some three-word phrases could heal, and some could do so much harm.

“I know you did, baby.” Momma turned to the stove when the timer went off. She stuck her hands in a pair of oven mitts. “He wasn’t right for you, and I think you knew it. We told you our feelings, and you were so determined to have him.” She pulled the brownies out and put them on the stovetop. “Sometimes parents have to let their children do what they want.”

“You and Daddy are really good at that. Just look at Stacy.”

“Stacy.” Momma sighed and shook her head. “She’s a special breed of human.” She came around the counter and sat next to Tam. “So are you, Tam. You’re smart and beautiful. You’re so talented, and you can do anything you put your mind to.”

“Thanks, Momma.” Tam put her hand over her mother’s.

“If you want to get Blaine back in your life, do it.”

“It’s not that easy, Momma.”

“Of course it is,” Momma said, her fingers tightening on Tam’s forearm. “You’re smart and beautiful. You know exactly what that man likes, and you know how to make yourself look amazing. You get over there, and you take his very favorite thing, and if you put your mind to getting him back, you can get him back.”

“He doesn’t want me,” Tam said, her voice choking again. “Just because I want him doesn’t mean he wants me.”

“He wants you,” Momma said. “I’ve seen that man look at you, Tam, and he doesn’t just want you. He loves you.”

“As a friend, Momma.” Tam looked into her mother’s eyes, desperation filling her. “He loves me as a friend. I want to be his wife, and I want to build a family with him.” She shook her head, the wonderful future she’d fantasized about going up in dust.

“Tell him that.”

“We were talking about marriage,” Tam said. “He said he’d take me to look at engagement rings.” She shook her head, the memories so painful. There was simply too much to explain to Momma right now.

“See? He loves you as more than a friend if you were talking like that.”

“Maybe,” Tam said, refusing to hope her mother was right. She picked up her sandwich and took a bite, instantly getting transported back to when she was eight years old. Her mom used to make her come in from riding her bike or swimming in the watering holes around Tennessee for lunch, and she’d served sandwiches five days a week.

Sometimes bologna, sometimes peanut butter and peach jam, sometimes cheese and mayo. She smiled at the pure memory, the happiness she’d experienced as a child at the forefront of her mind. “Thank you, Momma.”

“You bet, Tam.” She hugged her arm. “I love having you here, but Tam, you’re too strong and too capable to hang around the porch with two old people.” She smiled, and Tam giggled before taking another bite of her sandwich.

“I’ll just say this, and then I’ll be done badgering you about Blaine.” She paused, though, and Tam finally gestured for her to go on. “You’ll always belong here. We love seeing you. You know what you want, and you just have to be brave enough to go get it. If that’s Blaine, that’s Blaine. If it’s to come spend a morning in a rocking chair with your parents, that’s fine too.”

Tam didn’t want to do that, and both of them knew it.

“You started your own business with a loan of five thousand dollars to buy rawhide,” Momma said as