Page 104 of Ranger's Wildflower

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“Maybe.”

I hung up before she could say anything else.

My hand trembled slightly as I lowered the phone.

Ace was watching me.

“You okay?” he asked.

I let out a slow breath.

“I don’t know.”

Honest.

Raw.

Real.

“She believed it,” I said quietly. “All of it.”

“I know.”

“And now she believes me.”

“Yeah.”

I shook my head slightly.

“That doesn’t fix anything. She never answered a letter she never wrote to me. I was all alone in a prison, and my mother ignored me.”

“No, it doesn’t fix anything,” he agreed. “Maybe it’s a start.”

Maybe.

Maybe it was, I didn’t think so.

Another knock hit the door.

Firm.

Not hesitant.

Ace’s entire posture shifted instantly.

Alert.

Controlled.

Protective.

“I’ll get it,” he said.

I didn’t argue.

Didn’t try to stop him.

Because now—

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