Something kept me from asking, though. He hadn’t been forthcoming with information in the past, and just because we’d professed our love for each other, I still didn’t feel he would be. As much as I wanted to know, this was something Rock kept private.

Very private.

I wasn’t about to push him. I had to let him go at his own pace.

I cupped his cheek, his stubble rough under my fingertips. “I can’t run away. It’s not who I am.”

“Sometimes it’s the only choice, baby. We can’t control other people or what they choose to do to us. The only thing we can control is whether we stick around to let them continue.”

I couldn’t fault his logic, but still I shook my head. “We need to go home.”

“We will. Monday evening as planned.”

I shook my head more vehemently. “No. We need to go now. I’ll never be able to relax without knowing what’s going on. An officer was ready to arrest me as an accessory to your father’s murder.”

“But he didn’t, Lacey. He didn’t because he had no grounds. I’m telling you. This is Connie’s work.”

“Why would your mother have anything against me?”

“Why do birds sing?” He shook his head. “I gave up trying to figure my mother out years ago. She made decisions I didn’t understand then, and she continues to now.”

“She’s truly that bad?”

He chuckled. “I don’t have a mommy complex, baby. I’m not looking for someone to fill her shoes.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know that. I’m just saying that I don’t see her through rose-colored glasses. She’s not a good person, Lace. I wish she were, but she’s not. I suppose she’s not as bad as my father was, but truly, is the witness to the crime just as guilty if she says nothing?”

“What are you talking about, Rock?”

“Nothing.” He clammed up and stood, replacing his jeans. “I’m going to shower, and then I’m taking you out on the bike. It’s what we came here for. I’m not letting some dirty cop or my mother or anyone else ruin this weekend for us.” He stalked off.

Rock Wolfe might think he didn’t have mommy issues, but he had some kind of issue, something he’d buried so deep that he ran all the way to Montana to escape it. He’d tell me when he was ready.

I just wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

45

Rock

My mother.