Hidden Summit

Colorado Springs. She’s a young widow with a couple of little boys. Conner has mentioned more than once that he misses them, that he wants to be closer. They’re his only family.”
    “He’s close to his family.”
    “He is. And from what I hear from Paul, he’s a very talented finisher and carpenter. Great with cabinetry, stone countertops and such. No matter where he goes, he’ll land on his feet with work.”
    “And the two of you?” Candace asked. “Is it serious?”
    “In a way,” Leslie said with a little lift of one shoulder. “As you can tell, we’re very close, but we’re realistic. I came here to rebuild my confidence, and Conner is here to work until he can either go back home or find a place that’s right for himself, his sister and the kids. Our paths might only converge for a while. But he is such a good man, Mom. And I am so happy I met him.”
    “And your confidence?”
    She chuckled softly. “This is the best totally accidental move I’ve ever made. Not even two full months and I have friends, a great job, a good man in my life and I have a much better feeling about myself. Mom, I didn’t realize how Greg’s expectations of me hammered my self-esteem until I broke away from Grants Pass entirely! We were supposed to both be playing on the Greg Adams team, getting him all the things he wanted in business, in the city. And then he expected me to be the perfect ex-wife and wanted me to continue to play on his team. In fact, if he had things his way, it would be a bigger, stronger team—one including his new wife and their baby!”
    “Phhhttt,” Candace said in disgust. “He was always like that. He was such a pain in my ass while we planned the wedding, I wanted to knock his block off!”
    “He was?” Leslie asked.
    “Oh, Lord! As if it was all about showcasing him! ”
    Leslie wrinkled up her forehead as she tried to remember the details.
    “You know,” Candace went on. “We had to run about five suggested venues by him before we found one that was good enough for him! Your father finally asked him if he was picking up the tab, because his family certainly wasn’t stepping up—they don’t have a pot to piss in!”
    “Mother, I’ve never heard such language from you! I mean, I can swear like a truck driver but you’re usually—”
    “Greg Adams doesn’t bring out my best behavior,” Candace said with a definite curl of the lip.
    “But, Mom, you were one of many people who said I should let go, move on!”
    “Yes, sweetheart. And do you know how hard it was not to say you caught a break when he walked out on you?”
    Leslie choked. “I thought you loved Greg!”
    “Leslie,” Candace said, leaning toward her daughter, “ you loved Greg. Therefore I couldn’t say anything negative about him.”
    “Not even when he cheated on me and left me for another woman?”
    “You still loved him. You were in terrible pain. How could I say you were crazy to love that weasel in the first place? Saying something like that makes you look foolish, and you are not foolish. At least not about most things. I have to be honest, I always thought you saw more in Greg Adams than there was.”
    Stunned, Leslie took a moment to absorb this. “You did?”
    “He was never good enough for you.”
    Oh, God, life was strange, Leslie thought. All that time she’d had the feeling she wasn’t good enough for him, it was the other way around? But that was her mother—mothers always felt that way. “You should have said something....”
    “I couldn’t. Marriage rule.”
    “Huh?” Leslie asked.
    “You know. I can call my husband an idiot and asshole but no one else can. It’s a rule. It’s almost a law. ”
    “There is that....”
    “Besides, you wouldn’t have listened. And you would’ve gotten mad at me, ” Candace said.
    “Possibly. But okay, in the future, will you please risk it? Because I spent so much time…”
    Candace was shaking her head. “I don’t know, my angel. I was at odds with so many of your decisions and really, you blew me off. Like the whole idea that Greg’s political career—” And right there a bark of laughter came out of her petite mother’s mouth, and she covered it with her hand. “Hmm. That his political career was so important you’d decided not to have children so you could focus on that. You, who had always said an only child wasn’t a good idea, and when you got married you’d have at least two, maybe three, maybe even four. And