Rayma started to answer, but Sophia cut her off.

“It doesn’t matter. I take full responsibility for what happened tonight, so there’s no need to be mad at him. But before you panic, I’m not trying to twist his arm into marrying me. I won’t be staying here long enough for that. My typing’s improved. I’ll have other options soon.”

When she walked out, Ted let her go. He regretted dragging her in here to be lambasted by his mother. Damn it! He’d known how fragile she was, how much she’d endured, but this encounter hadn’t turned out as he’d expected. For one thing, he’d thought it might do Sophia good to see that he felt enough loyalty to her to tell his mother that she needed to butt out.

Now he realized how stupid he’d been to put her through more of the same kind of bullshit she’d been contending with since her husband betrayed her....

The door leading to the deck slammed as Sophia left the house. “Happy now?” he murmured in the wake of her departure.

Taken aback that Sophia had given him up that easily, his mother blinked. “Is it true?” she asked.

“Is what true? She didn’t seduce me, if that’s what you’re asking. She’s lost so much and been put down by so many people that she has a problem with trust. It’s a miracle she let me touch her.” He waved Rayma off when she started to interrupt. “I’ve been watching for my opportunity to take her to bed, but it wasn’t there until tonight.”

His mother sank into a chair. “That’s more than a mother wants to hear.”

“What you saw is more than a son wants his mother to see, but here we are.”

“We’ve never let anything come between us,” she said, her tone conciliatory, as if she was beginning to understand that she was the one who’d be excluded from his life if she continued her behavior. “All these years, it’s been you and me against the world.”

“Then don’t let that change!”

She frowned. “I have to do what I can. She’s no good for you.”

“Then let me learn the hard way. Is that too much to ask? If you’re right, you’ll be able to say ‘I told you so’ later.”

“That won’t heal your broken heart.”

“If I lose her, my heart’s going to be broken anyway.”

“She said she’s leaving.”

“She’s planning to. As soon as she gets a car and earns enough money, she wants to put this place in her rearview mirror, and I can’t blame her—”

“She hasn’t been perfect, Ted.”

“And she knows that. But how much longer do you think she should suffer for the mistakes she made when she was a teenager? Another decade and a half? Would that be enough?”

“She was suffering when she had everything money could buy?”

“With the way Skip treated her? Yes!”

“That’s hard to believe. She was so cold and remote, always acting better than everyone else.”

“It was a defense mechanism, a way to cover for the fact that she was miserable and hanging on the best she could.”

His mother folded her arms. “So you’re hoping to convince her to stay.”

“I am. And I’m hoping you’ll accept her, for as long as she’s part of my life.”

“How can she be happy here? With the way so many people in town feel toward her.”

“If she has me and you and my friends and Alexa, she won’t need anyone else.”

“There’s a lot stacked against you.”

“Mom, do you need to hear me say it? I’m in love with her.”

With a sigh, she propped her chin on her fist. “I guess I’d better add her to my gift list, then.”

That broke the tension enough that he almost laughed. “Now you’re talking.” It wasn’t exactly an apology, but coming from his mother it was darn close. He walked over to massage her shoulders. “Having someone else to care for can’t be so bad, can it? Think of this—she comes with a ready-made granddaughter.”

She perked up immediately. “That’s true....”

“And before you ask, she’s the sweetest thing ever.”

“I know Alexa. She went to my elementary school.”

“There you go.”

“We didn’t have much interaction, but she seemed like a nice girl. A pretty one, too.”

He could tell she was sifting through all the possibilities. “She’s both,” he agreed.

“But...if Sophia doesn’t have any money, Alexa can’t be getting much for Christmas.”

Ted purposely didn’t mention that he intended to take care of that. His mother needed to be needed, and he was glad to let her focus on someone else for a change, someone who would enjoy the attention far more. “That’s true. And there’s not much time. Christmas is only four days away.”

“I’ll go back to the mall tomorrow,” she said, suddenly energized as she collected her purse. “What kinds of things does she like?”

Chuckling, he dropped a kiss on her cheek. “You’re leaving?”

“I know when I’m beat.” She managed a wry smile. “Go after your girl.”

“You’re not going to apologize to her?”

“I’ll have to work up to that,” she said.

When headlights crested the hill behind her, Sophia ducked into the weeds at the side of the road, so whoever was driving wouldn’t see her. It was cold out—windy and dark, too—but she needed to get off by herself so she could think. And since she hadn’t been able to buy a car earlier, she had no choice except to walk.

Ted’s mother passed her once. Ted passed her twice. She recognized the Lexus. He’d tried phoning her several times, too.

When his calls and texts came in, she’d stare down at her cell phone, think about what they’d shared in his living room tonight and wish her life was less complicated. But she wasn’t ready to talk to him. His last text said he was worried about her, so she texted him back that she was fine. Then she shoved the phone in her pocket and kept trudging toward town.

When she spotted the Gas-N-Go, with its Christmas lights and plastic sleigh on the roof, complete with waving Santa, she thought of the liquor store only a block away, but she didn’t turn in that direction. She circled wide to avoid even getting close and trudged up the hill to her old house.

It’d taken over an hour to walk this far, but the solitude helped her focus. She had to come to grips with all the sudden reversals in her life. During the past few weeks, she’d felt like a phoenix, rising out of the ashes. She’d begun to feel stronger, to feel some pride in her accomplishments and some hope for the future, which was why she was so afraid of what she’d done tonight. Getting involved with Ted might just destroy her again.

Once she reached the top, she kicked a pebble as she walked. Even from a distance, the house looked empty, soulless. She’d never particularly appreciated Skip’s taste in architecture or furnishings. He’d insisted on overdoing everything, making it too big or lavish or ornate. She preferred design that was classic, understated. But seeing the state of the house made her sad all the same. Since she’d moved out, the yard had become overrun by weeds, several more windows had been broken and graffiti covered the porch.

“Look what you caused,” she muttered to Skip. She was still angry with him, didn’t know how long it would take to get over that. Maybe she never would. He’d stolen so much from her—fourteen years of her life, her sense of security, her self-esteem, even her front tooth.

But he was gone now. Their daughter was hers alone. And the future could be anything she had the courage to create.

So what did she want it to be? What risks was she willing to take?

Was Ted one of them?

She wanted him to be. Just looking at him made her happy. She couldn’t imagine loving any man more than she loved him. But that meant putting her heart on the line and risking her daughter’s heart, too. It also meant facing down the people of Whiskey Creek and his mother, easily the sternest school administrator she’d ever encountered. Could she do all of that while she was trying so hard just to survive?