Off to the Races (Gold Rush Ranch, #1)

by Elsie Silver

“Maybe he’s not innocent.” Vaughn’s head shoots up to look at me. “Maybe he’s not, and, you know, that’s okay. People aren’t black and white; they’re just shades of gray. Maybe he did some bad things, made some bad choices, but that doesn’t make him bad. It doesn’t negate all the wonderful things he did for you or the important role he played in your life. He can be both.” I huff out a breath. This is a conversation I’ve had many a time. Except with a horse. Best listeners in the world. Telling another human is new, but I forge ahead. “You can feel disappointed, and angry, and sad, and whatever the fuck else you want to feel. You can feel whatever you want. There is no right order or right way. You’re entitled to it all. Because at the end of the day, he’s not here to explain things to you, so it all just comes down to how much you can forgive. How much you can accept. And there’s not a single other person in the world who can tell you what that threshold is.” I look up at him now. “But you need to keep searching for it, no matter how much it hurts, because otherwise it will eat you alive.”