Xavier stared at Izzy’s door. He shouldn’t have kissed her like that, like he wanted to possess her, not like he cared about her. Especially with her having a hard time trusting him because of all the crap with his agent. He wanted to knock on the door and apologize, but she had slapped him, again, and yelled at him to go to Denver. Most importantly, he still didn’t know who or what to believe. Would Knight really go to such extremes to keep him here? Xavier actually wanted to stay here and be with his friends, but Izzy ripping out his heart like this made him want to commit to Denver.

He stomped off her patio and down the steps, driving much too quickly to his house. When he stormed inside, his mama was cooking omelets in the kitchen.

“Are those actually for me, or are you feeding them to Brody and his brothers?”

She arched an eyebrow. “I don’t need your sass, boy.”

Xavier sank onto a barstool. “I’m sorry, Mama.”

“Were you out on a run?”

“No. Izzy was kidnapped.”

“What!” Mama dropped an egg on the slate floor. It broke open and oozed out, but she didn’t move to pick it up.

“She’s okay now. I rescued her.” He rolled his eyes. “Whole fat lot of good it did me.”

“Who kidnapped her? Why?”

“That’s the thing.” He pushed a hand over his short hair. “I don’t know who or why. The police were just as confused.” He shook his head and tried to explain. “I got a phone call from some guy this morning, saying he had Izzy. I followed his instructions. When I got there, Izzy was tied up and this guy fought with me, but everything about the situation was off. Like the fight was staged. When another guy hit me from behind, I let the first guy go, and they both ran off. They didn’t ask for money or try to hurt either of us.” He tapped his thumb against his leg.

Mama stared at him as the onions, peppers, mushrooms, and sausage sizzled and popped in the pan. It smelled really good. “You think it was a setup?”

“But why would she do that?” Xavier leaned forward against the counter—confused and tired and missing Izzy already.

“I don’t understand how you think our sweet Izzy would set up her own kidnapping.”

He tapped his palm on the counter. “I agree. She wouldn’t do that. But something stinks here. I think it was her father.”

“Messed up family,” she muttered.

“I don’t think we have any idea.” He shook his head. “Let’s head to Denver today instead of tomorrow.”

“Is Izzy coming with us?”

“No.”

“Why not?” Her eyes filled with a challenge that he had never stepped up to.

“Oh, Mama.” He buried his head in his hands. “Let’s not get into this right now. I’ve got a huge headache, and I’m hungry.” He should tell his mama about the crap his agent had pulled, but she’d be outraged and probably call Neil out on national television or something and Xavier would be in a bigger mess than he was in now.

“You listen to me,” Mama said. “You love that girl, and you need to make it right. I saw your stupid Instagram post with some fakey model chick last night. You probably broke Izzy’s heart, and you need to fix it!”

“Mama. You know how much I love you, but I am done with you bossing me around. I’m not going to be with Izzy.” Saying the words shredded a piece of his heart. His agent had messed things up with him and Izzy but so had Izzy’s dad and everything was a convoluted mess in his head.

“Recognizing you love Izzy does not mean I’m bossing you around, little boy.”

“I’m not a little boy anymore Mama. I’m a man. We’re going to Denver, and I’m probably going to accept their contract and move there, and what I’d really appreciate is you not bringing her name up again.”

“Why not?” She jammed her hands onto her hips.

“Because it hurts!” He glanced down at the granite countertop, running his hand along the rough edge. “It hurts okay. You never talk about my father. Why?”

She reared back, and her eyes widened.

“Why?” Xavier asked quietly.

“Because it hurts.”

“So you understand?”

She didn’t answer, simply opened her arms. Xavier walked around the bar and held his mama close. The veggies and sausage for the omelet burned in the pan as Mama clung to him. He couldn’t imagine the pain she’d been through, losing her husband and raising him on his own. The hurt from losing Izzy wasn’t comparable, but it still yanked him inside out and made it hard to keep putting one foot in front of the other. But the hug actually did help with the hurt a little bit.