The Rancher's Secret Son. Betsy Amant St.
giveaway of how uncomfortable he felt around her. Well, that made two of them. “That gives me time to get the kids settled into barn chores this afternoon and explain to Cody your presence here. Hopefully before he sees you.”
Cody. Her heart twisted as the headache roared to a full blaze. “I didn’t think about how you hadn’t had a chance to warn him yet.” Though everything else she’d have to eventually tell Cody paled in comparison to this. She briefly squeezed her eyes shut and opened them to find Max’s face lit with concern.
“You all right?”
“Just a headache. Been getting them a lot lately.” Oops. She hadn’t meant to reveal that part. She didn’t want Max’s worry, and she knew the headaches were only because of stress and her own inability to handle everything. She had to get it together. For Cody’s sake, and for her own. She wasn’t useful to anyone like this. How would it look if she not only failed with her own son, but with the girls at this camp, too? No, she had to prove she could overcome.
Prove that she was enough.
“There’s some pain meds in the main house if you’d like some Tylenol.” Max’s forehead crinkled as he studied her, his cocoa eyes bright and piercing beneath his hat. He’d always been able to see too much. That was part of why she refused to lay her sights on him again after her decision to leave had been made.
He’d have read—and changed—her mind.
She looked away. “I’ve got medicine in my bag.” She never traveled without it anymore these days, considering the frequency of her headaches.
“That’s fine, but if it’s anything stronger than Tylenol, I’d prefer you lock it in the medicine cabinet in the house.” Max gestured toward the dorms. “So it’s not a temptation for the campers.”
He was right. She needed to get her head in the game. Though the reference to drug use rang some sort of ironic bell. Did he even remember all that he’d put her through? No doubt Max had come a long way from his past.
But if that was true, why did it still feel like yesterday?
She swallowed the memories and accusations daring to burst free and nodded briefly. “No problem.” Once she steeled her heart, she met his gaze and boldly held it, hoping to be dismissed. Until Max’s expression softened completely off cue.
“I’m really glad you’re here, Emma.”
A warning sounded deep in her stomach, and she drew a breath so fast and tight her chest hurt. She squeezed the handle of her suitcase to hide her suddenly shaky hands. He said that as if he meant it. As if maybe the past decade wasn’t so far away for him, either.
Max’s eyes widened. “You know, as a counselor. It’s a big help.”
Right. The camp. Her breath released from her body in a sudden whoosh of air, and she steadied herself with her suitcase. Who was she fooling? Besides, she had no doubt he’d take back the sentiment if he knew exactly who he was in Cody’s life—and that the role went a lot deeper than counselor at a therapeutic camp.
If the secrets she accused Max of having in the past were bad, what exactly did that make hers?
Guilt tied her quivering emotions into a tangled knot, and for a brash moment, she considered blurting it out. All of it. She could get her whole point across in about two questions. Remember that night after the party on the Bayou, when you told me you were a different man because of me? Well, do you care to guess when Cody’s birthday is?
What would happen if he knew? Right now, before anyone got any deeper into this mess? Would he send Cody home? Would it be considered too close of a conflict for him to stay?
Would Cody have a chance elsewhere?
She wanted the best for her son, which is why she booted Max out of their lives in the first place. But how could she keep digesting this secret for a month without completely self-destructing?
Suddenly, the door to the girls dorm opened, temporarily solving her dilemma. Three teens piled outside into the afternoon sunshine, followed by a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties, shiny brown hair pulled up high in a ponytail. She wore a whistle around her neck and a smile that made even Emma want to confide in her.
“There’s Faith, now. She’s great and will be here helping you out as much as her part-time schedule allows.”
Emma nodded, though she wasn’t sure which burned worse. His compliments and obvious admiration of Faith—or the fact that she even noticed.
“The campers are Stacy—” Max pointed discreetly to the older, curly-haired blonde Emma remembered from dinner the night before “—Katie and Tonya. Katie’s the short one, and Tonya is the tall one. Stacy is seventeen, Katie and Tonya are fifteen. They’re both from Texas, while Stacy is from south Louisiana. Faith can fill you in on the rest.”
She couldn’t help but be impressed with Max’s attention to detail, especially without the campers’ files as a cheat sheet. Hopefully she could get to know the girls as quickly. Faith already had a huge one up on her. But this wasn’t a competition. She and Faith, as perfect as the younger woman seemed, were on the same team.
Still...she watched as Faith led the campers toward the barn. “Is Faith married?”
Max frowned, revealing his confusion as to why it mattered, but didn’t question it. “Yes, and she has two small children at home. That’s why she’s only part-time.”
Emma refused to admit why that suddenly made her a lot more open to having Faith as a friend.
* * *
After unpacking her suitcase, downing her headache medicine and dozing off for a half hour, Emma felt ready to face the world. Or at least her ex-boyfriend, his perfectly perky counselor and three sullen teen girls.
On second thought, maybe she should have napped longer.
She opened the dorm’s front door and was nearly barreled over by Stacy, Tonya and Katie as they hurried inside. She stepped back, offering an easy smile despite the teens’ instant suspicion.
“Who are you?” Tonya crossed slim arms over her chest, frowning. “And why are you in our dorm?”
“Silly.” Katie hip-bumped Tonya out of the way and grinned at Emma. Her red hair and freckles made her seem younger than Max had indicated, while Tonya’s flawless, cocoa-colored skin and braided locks made her appear years older. “She’s one of the moms. Remember?” She snapped her fingers. “That cute little guy.”
“You’re Cody’s mom?” Stacy, who had shouldered past on her way toward the bedrooms, stopped and looked back with surprise. “They allowed parents here again? I thought all of y’all left yesterday.” Her eyes widened as if worried her own guardian might pop back up unannounced.
Emma sighed. Apparently Max hadn’t been able to make the announcement during her nap, or at least not in front of all the campers. All the more reason she should have stuck to tomorrow’s plan. Hopefully he’d at least been able to warn Cody.
She forced a smile she didn’t feel, ignoring the fact that she very likely might already be in over her head. “Yes, I’m Cody’s mom, but that’s irrelevant right now. Max needed a full-time counselor for you girls, so he asked me to step in. I’ll be taking over for the woman that went on maternity leave.”
“You’re the replacement?” Tonya snorted. “Maybe that’s why Cody looked so bummed earlier. I’d be, too.”
Katie nudged her, mouth open in overly dramatic shock. “Don’t be rude!”
“Just being honest.” Tonya held up both hands in defense.
Yeah, Emma knew that kind of honesty—and it wasn’t steeped in truth. She tightened her smile. “Cody will be fine. Besides, I’m here for you girls. I’m a licensed psychologist.”
“Who obviously can’t control