Harlequin Love Inspired March 2020--Box Set 2 of 2 by Leigh Bale

Author:Leigh Bale
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

Quinn stayed close to Belle as they went into the house. Her mother sat at the kitchen table like it was hers. She was a handsome woman. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but this elegant woman in her early fifties wasn’t it.

Her dark hair was cut in a sleek bob that framed her face, its streaks of silver looking intentional. Her shirt was a bright yellow, and the tight jeans she wore had rips at the knees. She was smaller than Belle, almost a foot shorter and fragile-looking, with none of Belle’s strong, bold stance.

She didn’t look like someone who’d abandoned her children. He wasn’t sure what a horrible mother should look like, but Celia De La Rosa wasn’t it.

A younger-looking man was sitting next to her, scrolling through his phone.

Celia stood and rushed Belle, arms extended. “Izabella! Randy, this is my little ding-dong.” She laughed. “Everyone called her Belle, so I thought ‘ding-dong’ was so cute.” She wrinkled her nose as if something smelled bad.

Belle stiffened. She didn’t look happy about the insulting nickname. She still hadn’t said a word. Her back bumped his chest when she stepped away from the woman’s hug. His hands went to her shoulders.

Celia dropped her arms and pretended she hadn’t been snubbed by her daughter. “You’ve made several changes. I like it. It’s brighter.”

“What are you doing here?” The low guttural sound didn’t sound like the Belle he knew.

“Oh, baby girl. I heard Frank died. I thought you needed me.” Her gaze roamed around the room.

He wanted to ask her why she’d waited so many years, because he was sure her daughter had probably needed her for years. The minute her uncle started treating her like an unwanted stray, perhaps. Then again when her husband walked out on her and his children.

Now, not so much.

“There is nothing I need from you.” Stronger now, Belle took a step away from Quinn.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Her mother moved to the table. “Come on in and sit with us. There’s so much to catch up on. This is Randy Anderson. My husband.”

The man looked up and nodded at them. He finally set his phone aside. “It’s a pleasure to meet Celia’s family.”

“You’re married?”

“Yes. A year in May,” he said.

“And you?” Celia gave Quinn a curious glance. He didn’t like her calculating smile.

Belle walked to the table but didn’t sit. Instead, she gripped the back of one of the red farm chairs. “Why are you at the ranch?”

“Randy thought it was a good time for me to check on my property. You know Frank and I didn’t get along. He disapproved of me. He made my life so difficult that I couldn’t come home.”

Quinn had planned to stay silent, but there was too much that needed to be said. “But it was okay for your children to be left here?” Heat started at his core. How could this woman sit there like she’d done nothing wrong? Acting as if she were the victim?

Belle reached for his hand.

“Sorry.”

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