Betsy Amant - The Rancher's Secret Son

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 her own son.” Stacy smirked and pushed open the door leading to the bedrooms. “Come on, girls. Dinner’s almost ready.” She peered over her shoulder as the door began to shut. “Better hurry before Ms. Psychologist tries to shrink our heads.”

The click of the door separating her from the teenagers felt like an insurmountable wall, and for a long moment, Emma considered turning and leaving. She swallowed the dismay bubbling in her stomach and worked to keep back the familiar tears of failure. Dinner might be almost ready, but she already felt as if she’d been chewed up and spit out.

But no. This was her chance. The girls were baiting her, testing her. Especially Stacy, who already demonstrated leadership influence on the other girls by being the oldest in the camp. If she let them pull rank now, the next month would be torture on her—and useless for them. They’d all lose.

She shoved aside the personal barb and followed the girls inside, briefly wondering where Faith was and why the girls were even walking around the ranch alone in the first place. Was that against the rules? She’d have to ask Max. So much she didn’t know.

But she knew how to handle this.

Her heavy footsteps brought all three girls’ heads up. Stacy, where she perched on the edge of her bed changing her shoes; Tonya, where she examined her complexion in the room’s only full-length mirror; and Katie, who rummaged through her top dresser drawer.

Emma took advantage of their surprise and squared her shoulders. “Here’s how it’s going to be.” She lifted her chin and crossed her arms, purposefully coming across defensive in her body language. First step, lay down the rules. Set the standard. “I’m in charge here, whether you girls like it or not, and whether you think I deserve to be or not. That’s not your decision to make, it’s Max’s. And it’s been made.”

She drew a breath, maintaining eye contact with them all, especially Stacy, whom she had the farthest to go to reach. Second step, initiate heart. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Personally, I’d like to have fun with you girls. I’m not here to braid hair and paint fingernails and be your best friend. But I really don’t want to be a dictator, either.”

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