“Thank God. I thought you were going to tell me something horrible.”
June’s dark hair spilled over one shoulder as she leaned to the side to get a better look at Ember’s expression, apprising, “If it helps, I can tell that you’re in love with him.”
Sentiments she’d been lingering over for weeks rose to the surface in tears. Ember nodded hotly. “I’ve never felt this connected to a man, to anyone. Not even close.”
A warm, prideful smile engulfed June’s mouth reaching all the way to her eyes. “He cares for you too.”
Relief washed over her, spurring her heart into an erotic rhythm, filling the fissures in her spirit with rays of sunshine. The feel of her mom’s fingers encircling her hands captured Ember’s attention.
“There’s something I need to tell you. It’s about your father. I know you’re going to be upset with me, but I…I just didn’t realize—"
Ember yanked her hand free from her mom’s, features turning as rigid as her posture. “If you tell me that this man wasn’t my father, I’m going—”
“That’s not it. Ben Walker was your biological father and there’s no changing that.” June’s eyes turned soft, verging on dreamy. “Your father, he was quite a man.”
“Then what is it?”
June stood, padding barefoot over the long grass in a repetitive circle. Crimson blotches began to take form on her chest, inching up her neck. Snatching her hands free from the pockets of her vintage linen overalls, she clamped them to her hip bones.
“I’ve had the same damn dream for twenty years,” she snapped in a self-scolding manner. “I thought it was a sign.”
The muscles of Ember’s face knotted with confusion. Her voice calmed to an eerie murmur, “What dream?”
Their eyes caught. Ember had never seen her mother look so lost, so…contrite. Tears pooled beneath the threads of vibrant green in her eyes.
“When you were about four or five, I started having dreams. I just assumed it was your father. His face…the man’s face is always hidden, and I thought—"
Digging through the top pocket of her overalls, June retrieved a lighter and a half smoked joint from a small, aluminum cylinder. Ember had never seen her mom so rattled.
“Mom, why don’t you slow down and tell me what’s going on?”
Flicking the lighter, June pulled a long hit into her lungs, expounding a cloud of white.
“I’ve had visions of you with a man on a horse, a buckskin horse covered in splotchy white markings. His face is never fully recognizable, but I…I’d wake up in hysterics, covered in sweat with this…this undeniable heaviness in my heart…like I was going to lose you.”
“I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me.”
“I…I knew, with every fiber of my being, that he would take you from me.” Looking out into the distance, June’s voice clung to the shallows, and her brows tugged tight as if talking to herself. “How could I have possibly known it wasn’t him?”
Ember’s patience wore thin. “Mom, please.”
“When you were in kindergarten, I started having dreams about you. The same man, same horse up until a few years ago, but always the same feeling of losing you. I didn’t know a lot about Ben, but I knew he was a rancher with means.” As if being pulled from a trance, June’s eyes swung up to meet Ember’s. “I’m sorry, baby girl.”
A chill washed over her entire body prickling her exposed flesh. “Sorry for what?”
“My worst fear was losing you. I was scared…terrified that if he found out about you, he’d take me to court and take custody.” June dropped her gaze to her feet, seemingly searching for courage, before locking eyes with Ember. “The dreams, they made me even more protective of you. Protective enough not to go out of my way to search for your father.”
Ember sat in silence. Processing.
“It was always the same buckskin appaloosa and then a few years ago it morphed into a pretty brown horse with markings on its face. I assumed the change meant something, maybe your father got a new horse, but by then, you were grown. I wasn’t worried about having you taken away from me.”
“Are you saying you never looked for my father because you were afraid you’d lose custody of me?”
“No. Maybe. When you were older, maybe. To be honest, I’m not sure. The scenario has played through my mind thousands of times over the years. Each one equally as terrifying. At the time, tracking a man down to inform him he had a child was impossible. Over the years I considered making the attempt, but the nightmares—” June drifted off. “—I never found the courage after that. I was too afraid of what might happen.”
The pounding of her heart slammed against her rib cage. Emotion after emotion, and thought after thought, thrust themselves into her aura faster than she could react or collect information.
Ember launched to her feet.
Hand palming her forehead to keep her head from exploding, she marched in a wide, repetitive circle in the grass with heel digging strides.
Hearing the ache and anxiousness in her mom’s voice tore at her heart. Growing up in a one parent household with no siblings, Ember and her mom were incredibly close. There was nothing June wouldn’t have done or gone through to keep Ember safe and protected. June raised her in the spirit of a loving family built for two, never complaining about raising her alone. As Ember got older, their relationship shifted more to that of sisters or best friends at times. They shared similar personalities and life paths, each respecting the other. Her mom would never do anything to intentionally hurt her. Ever.
Coming to an abrupt halt, Ember cast her index finger. “Are you telling me that Nash is the man in your dream? You’ve been having visions of me with Nash for twenty years?”
June’s green eyes burned bright with acknowledgment. “Yes.”
The pounding of her heart spurred into a frantic beat.
Dropping her view to the long blades of green grass beneath her feet, Ember whispered in a daze, “Twenty years? What does that mean?”
“I’m not certain.” June’s fingers curled around Ember’s shoulders, drawing her attention. “But I’d say you’re on the right life path.”
Ember’s blurry-eyed gaze, bewildered and full of skepticism, drifted upward connecting with her mom’s. “How is this even possible?”
“It appears Walker Ranch has a greater purpose for you, baby girl.”
Chapter 22
Ember
It’s not about what’s standing in front of you. It’s about who’s standing beside you raising you up.
Thick, dark clouds coming in from the south added a moody vibe to the afternoon. Ember appreciated spending time with her mom but was also glad to get back to routine.
She hadn’t seen Nash since Monday night. They enjoyed a lovely dinner by candlelight at Grace before meandering back to his place. Every detailed interaction, every touch of his hand, every kiss on her lips only confirmed her feelings. Nash seemed just as enamored, tangling his fingers in hers, locking intimate eyes, skin subconsciously brushing against one another.