Epilogue

Austin was out riding Red, accompanied by his mom on Bliss. He was moving to Virginia that day, and he wanted to get one last ride in before leaving for the airport.

“I can’t believe you and Kelly were roommates in college,” Austin said.

His mom looked pained for a moment and gave him a tight smile.

“We were best friends at one point, but she changed. I’m surprised she’s married.”

“Why’s that?” Austin asked.

His mom looked embarrassed.

“I really shouldn’t say. It’s just that I never thought she would settle down with just one guy,” Marie said.

Kelly did seem to have a penchant for ranch hands. Thankfully, she’d declared Austin ready to face the world after teaching him how to please a woman. He would be forever grateful to Kelly for bestowing that knowledge upon him. But hearing that she and his mom were once close friends weirded him out for some reason.

“Speaking of just one guy, Don seems nice,” Austin said, changing the subject to his mom’s love life.

Her entire face brightened, which told him all he needed to really know. Personally, Austin didn’t really trust the guy. Don came off like one of the Dallas oilmen Austin had taken hunting. Don acted far more important than he really was. But if the guy made his mom happy...

“He is. I just wish his divorce would get finalized so we can start planning our life,” Marie said.

Don’s ex was taking him to the cleaners because she suspected he’d been unfaithful. He claimed it to be all a misunderstanding, but he hadn’t looked back since he met Austin’s mom. Don’s two kids, boys named Victor and Lawrence, were about Austin’s age. Don predicted Austin would get on famously with them. Austin doubted he would get on ‘famously’ with anyone; it simply wasn’t his style.

Don aside, Austin had missed his mother. Only the day before, his father had gotten married, so it was time for Austin to move on. Ruby announced she got his room since he would be at his grandmother’s for the summer. It wasn’t as if there weren’t two unused bedrooms for Iris’s girls. It rubbed him the wrong way that his father never did anything to stop Ruby’s power play.

When he got home from school, he found his stuff packed in boxes and stacked in another bedroom. While packing his belongings, Ruby discovered his stash of cash and made a big show of laying it out on the table at dinner that night. She commented that Austin must be selling drugs to have that kind of money.

It pissed him off when his dad took the cash ‘for safekeeping.’

“What’s Grandma Montgomery like?” Austin asked his mother.

It had been several years since he’d seen her. His grandfather had died shortly after Austin’s parents got married, so Austin had no memory of him.

Grandpa Montgomery had been a contractor who his mom claimed was good with his hands. He’d been riding a neighbor’s motor scooter and wrecked it, leaving him bruised up, but he never gave a second thought to his seemingly minor injuries. A blood clot formed, and he died in his sleep when it broke loose and traveled to his brain. This left Austin’s grandmother a very wealthy person. She still owned Montgomery Construction but hired someone to manage it for her.

“She’s busy remodeling my old bedroom so it’s more masculine. I think you’ll be glad she did because I’d done it up in purple and pink.”

“I’ll be sure to thank her.”

“She’s arranged for you and Red to train at the equestrian center. They offer classes on dressage, western riding, show jumping, cross country, reining, and eventing.”

“I’m not sure I want to get into competition riding,” Austin said.

“I’m sure you don’t, but you’ll need to talk to my mom about that,” Marie said. Apparently, he’d have to fight his own battles once he got to Virginia.