Chapter 3

"Your name is Fred… Fred… Rex, is that right?"

He knocked his head to the floor three more times. "My son can carry the Harding name too."

I paused for a beat, then laughed out loud.

True or not, it was a nice thing to hear.

"I can't tell whether what you're saying is true. What about marriage? Have you settled that?"

Rex shook his head honestly. "Not yet."

At that, the little warmth I'd felt cooled again.

Of course. At my age, I'd seen every kind of person there was.

As worthless as Fred was, I'd carried him ten months and given birth to him.

Rex, when it came down to it, was a mistake the old man made in his youth. And besides, I didn't much care for him.

I couldn't very well throw over my own son for a few empty, pretty words, could I?

My expression shifted, and Rex added at once, "But I do have someone I love. It's only that… her position is complicated, and it isn't mine to decide."

I raised an eyebrow and leaned back, slowly turning the pigeon's-egg diamond on my finger.

"Let's hear it, then."

Rex kept his head down, silent for a moment, then answered, "The younger Chavez daughter. Doris Chavez."

My fingers stopped on the ring. "Who?"

He answered without hesitation. "Doris Chavez."

That woke me right up. Doris Chavez was a name I knew very well.

Back when Fred still wasn't married, Doris Chavez was the daughter-in-law I'd wanted most.

In all these years, there wasn't a single family that matched the Hensons as equals.

Failing that, the Chavez family was a decent fit, and what mattered was that Doris had been raised to standards fit for an heiress since childhood. Beautiful, steady in temperament, and whether you judged her by how she'd run a household or by her own ability, she was without question the most suitable choice.

No one was better than her. But that fool of a son of mine wouldn't have it. The son I'd raised with such care brought me home a girl from the countryside instead.

He carried on in this house for a full half-year, crying and raging, and in the end he dragged that farm girl in front of the old man and me.

Whether I approved or not, we still had to meet her.

The first time we met, she wore a white dress, stood in the Henson family living room, and the first word out of her mouth was freedom.

"Ma'am, I know you look down on me. But love shouldn't be measured in money."

"Fred and I truly love each other. I won't think more of you because the Hensons are rich, and I won't think less of myself because my family raises cattle."

Later, at the wedding, she went further, taking the microphone and going on and on about freedom in love, freedom in marriage, freedom in having children.

The son I'd raised so carefully for more than twenty years was, by that point, as good as ruined.

I stared at Rex, and the whole thing struck me as absurd. "How long have you and Doris Chavez been together?"

"Three years."

My brow twitched. Three years.

So this wasn't some trick played to get himself back into the family.

Rex looked up at me. "I won't lie to you, and I don't want my brother to misunderstand. After he married, I meant to go to the Chavez family and ask for her hand, but with my position…"

I said nothing. Eyes lowered, I studied him for a long while. He was a clever one. What a pity he wasn't my son.

Whoever he'd named, I wouldn't have given it a second thought. But of all people, it had to be Doris Chavez.

"Does the Chavez family know?"

Rex shook his head. "Doris only told her family she had someone she cared about. She didn't say it was me. She was afraid Uncle Peter wouldn't agree, and afraid of causing trouble for you."

A laugh escaped me. The boy really did know how to talk.

Whatever he actually felt inside, every word of his sat easier with me than anything Fred had ever said.

I patted the seat beside me. "Get up."

Rex didn't move. "Mom."

I patted the sofa again. "Come sit. Let me get a good look at you."

And still the silly boy wouldn't stand. He shuffled forward on his knees instead and brought his face right up to mine.

"Mom, look."

I paused, and couldn't hold back a laugh.

Up close, Rex really was good-looking.

His brow and eyes were very much like the old man's in his younger days.

I reached out and patted his cheek. "You know, the more I look at you, the more you grow on me."

I gave him no chance to turn sentimental. I glanced at the time. "Two hours."

"What?"

"You have two hours to change and make yourself presentable. I'll wait right here for you."

Rex went completely still. "Mom, where are we going?"

I gave a small smile. "The Chavez family. To discuss the marriage."