She and Charlie had survived for five years without Roy. They didn’t need him now. And he obviously didn’t need anybody but himself. Her face set with determination, she tied the bay to a nearby post and headed out of the barn. Where Roy was concerned, she’d been stupid six years ago. But she was smarter now, she told herself. Her stride long and purposeful, she walked out of the dimly lit interior of the barn into the sunny corral. Then her steps faltered. Across the pen, Roy was standing beside the painted mare, his hand resting fondly on the toe of Charlie’s boot as he looked up at her son. Their son. Charlie was grinning from ear to ear, and the happiness on her child’s face suddenly wiped away her resolution to leave. Maybe Roy did bring out the worst in her, but he obviously made Charlie happy. And knowing that, she couldn’t selfishly deny him time with his father. Especially when Charlie needed a male influence in his life. He missed his grandfather. “Hi, Mommy!”
