“Where have you been?”

Emerson froze in her tracks and looked over at the living room where her mama was siting. “I was out with friends.”

Caroline tapped her fingers on the arms of the chair. “Which friends?”

She straightened her shoulders. “Just people from work.”

“You sure you haven’t been sneaking around with some guy?”

The hair on Emerson’s neck bristled. “First of all, I don’t sneak. I’m old enough to go where I please, with whom I please.” Earlier, she’d been in such a hurry to get out the door that Emerson didn’t have time to question Mama about the newspaper article. Now was as good a time as any. She strode over and sat down on the sofa across from her. “Are you the one behind the story in the The Dallas Advocate?”

“What story?”

“The one about Finley and me supposedly being engaged.”

Caroline’s expression didn’t change, not even a fraction. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said evenly.

But Emerson caught the slight quiver in her voice and knew it was her. Fury spiked over her. “How could you?”

Caroline laughed. “I just told you I didn’t have anything to do with it.” She crossed her legs, adjusting her silk pajama pants.

Emerson leaned forward. “You’re lying, I can see it in your eyes.”

She blinked a couple of times. “That’s ridiculous,” she scoffed. “Anyway, why are you getting so bent out of shape about some article? You and Finley will eventually get together.”

“No, we won’t,” she spat. “The sooner you get that through your thick skull the better.”

Fire sparked in Caroline’s eyes. “Watch your tone. I’m still your mother.”

“Then start acting like it,” Emerson slung back. “Start thinking of what I want for once, instead of what’s good for you.”

Tears formed in Caroline’s eyes. “Don’t you see? I am thinking of you. The world’s being handed to you on a silver platter, and you don’t even appreciate it.”

“I don’t appreciate you trying to run my life.” They sat staring at one another, neither of them willing to back down. No matter how many times they had this conversation, Emerson always felt like they were starting at the same place. There was nothing she could say that would convince her mama to see things her way. It was a lost cause. A deep weariness settled over her. There would be no peace until she got out of this house. Until then, the best course of action was to avoid her mama as much as possible.

She stood. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight,” she barked, leaving the room before she said things she would regret.

“You’re a stubborn fool,” Caroline muttered to Emerson’s back. Yes, she’d been the one to leak the story to the press, and she’d do a lot more than that. She’d do whatever it took to ensure that the merger and marriage took place. One day, when Emerson came to her senses, she’d see that it was for the best. Finley was the catch of a lifetime, and Caroline wasn’t going to let Emerson throw him away. She suspected that Emerson fancied herself in love with some Joe Shmoe who wasn’t fit to tie her shoelaces.

That’s how it had been with Graham. He’d professed that he was madly in love with a waitress he met at a restaurant. For months, Caroline tried reasoning with him, tried to get him to understand that he couldn’t tie himself to some menial worker. Like Emerson, he wouldn’t listen. So, Caroline took things into her own hands and paid the waitress a hefty amount to break up with Graham and leave town. Of course, Graham was heartbroken. Shortly afterwards, he met and married Jenna and everything worked out perfectly. Now he was poised to become a senator. With Jenna by his side, one day he might even become President.

Things would get ugly with Emerson for a season, but it would turn around. Although, Emerson was a lot more stubborn than Graham. She was a dreamer like her father and headstrong like her mother—a lethal combination. Still, with effort, Emerson could be molded.

Caroline frowned. No matter what, she wasn’t giving up on her daughter. Being a mother was a thankless job. It meant doing hard things for the benefit of her children. Caroline drummed her fingers on the chair, trying to figure out her best course of action. Was it better to let things ride? Or should she put a stop to whatever romance was brewing right now … if there was, in fact, a romance brewing.

Emerson was up to something, that much Caroline knew. Whatever it was couldn’t be good.