Dancing in the Moonlight - Harlequin.com

RAEANNE THAYNE
195
Her mother touched a warm hand to her cheek. “Jacob,
he is a good man and he has much caring for you.”
Maggie shook her head. “We’re friends. That’s all.”
Viviana made a sound of dismissal in her throat. “A
mother can see these things. You care for him, as well.
Do not be so stubborn and foolish and full of pride as
your father. And your mother, come to that.”
She had been, she realized. She had let her anger for
the past and her fears for the future interfere in something
that could be wonderful. Perhaps it was time to
live in the present for a moment.
“I should not be keeping you out here so long when
many people are wanting to talk to you,” Viviana said.
“Come, you will return to the party while I find somewhere
to fix my face again.”
Do I have to? she wanted to whine, but she knew her
obligations. Everyone at this party had come to see her,
and she couldn’t hide out on the front porch all night.
Viviana rose and held out her arm and Maggie took
it. The two of them walked arm in arm back through the
Cold Creek ranch house. This time when she passed the
picture of Jake on the wall, she smiled, feeling a lightness
of heart that hadn’t been there in a long time.
At the door Viviana paused, then reached on her toes
and pressed her cheek to Maggie’s. “I could not ask for
a better daughter. You are the joy of my life, niña, and I
praise God every day for bringing you home safe to me.”
Tears gathered in her eyes as she hugged her mama,
and for the first time in six months, she thought perhaps
there was a chance her life could go forward.
When she parted with her mother and walked