Free Kentucky Heat by Fern Michaels

everything you’ve shared with me about Nick and now his own actions, it appears the boy wants what his father wanted for him, an education and a career in law. It doesn’t matter if he has the touch or not. It’s not what he wants.”
    Nealy ignored Ruby. “He just thinks that’s what he wants,” she returned doggedly. “The truth is he’s been bamboozled by those Midas-touching bastards in Santa Fe. They tried every trick in the book to get Hunt into the firm and when that didn’t work, did they give up? No, they never give up. Now they have my son. It was one of the biggest sore points between Hunt and me. He was going to go. He made the decision the year he died. I never told anyone because I didn’t think he’d go through with it. Nick might have known. He could have heard us fighting over it. He never said a word, but I think he knew. For months now I think he was just looking for an excuse to leave here. He didn’t have the guts just to come out and tell me. He chose this way. It doesn’t matter now. He got what he wanted.”
    â€œAnd Emmie? What about her?”
    Nealy smiled as she stroked the foal. “A break from me and the farm will be the best thing that ever happened to her,” she said for lack of a more reasonable explanation. “I don’t know if you know it or not, but Emmie has never been alone. Not even for a second. She doesn’t know what it is to live outside the farm. First it was me, Maud, Jess, and then Buddy, but their marriage went sour.
    â€œThings like that happen sometimes. It happened to Hunt and me. I think it happened to Emmie because she was finally coming into her own and Buddy couldn’t handle the normalcy of it when she was finally able to speak again. There was trouble in the marriage a year ago. I saw it, and so did Smitty. Even Nick commented on it.” Nealy moved out of the stall into the breezeway. “Emmie will make a wonderful mother. The minute she stands on those independent legs of hers it will be look out world, here I come!”
    Ruby’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Nealy Coleman Diamond Clay, look at me. Dammit, you set them up, didn’t you? This was all a big brouhaha so they’d leave just to save face. Damn, you did it on purpose! What an actress you are. You almost had me fooled with that routine you just went through.” Ruby slapped at her forehead as she headed for the wrought-iron bench on the other side of the breezeway. “There was a moment there, Nealy, when I wanted to shake the living daylights out of you.”
    Nealy smiled, relieved that Ruby now knew the truth. “I did, Ruby. It almost killed me, but I did it. I didn’t think you would catch on so quick. If I hadn’t done it this way, neither one of them would have gone. They never thought they had choices before, and that’s my fault. They’re like me in a lot of ways, but Nick is like his father. Emmie wants to be Emmie, but she thinks she has to be like me. This is the only way they’re going to be who they should be. I just want whatever makes them happy. Don’t for one minute think this isn’t killing me. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.” She leaned against the door, her face a mask of misery.
    Ruby pressed her back against the wall and stared at Nealy. “I don’t understand. Why did you have to drive them away? Why couldn’t you have just said they were free to go?”
    â€œBecause they wouldn’t have gone. They wouldn’t have gone. I know that in my heart. I did what I thought was best, and there’s no turning back.”
    â€œWhy do you hate Hunt’s old friends?”
    â€œI don’t hate them. I don’t much care for them. One of them hatched a duck egg between his legs and called the chick Miss Priceless. After that, they called him Hatch. Hunt thought that was the greatest thing in the world.