The words hang between them, heavier than anger. For the first time, Eleanor looks less furious than wounded. Only for a second. Then she gathers herself, smoothing a hand over her blouse like she can press the whole ugly scene flat.
“When this falls apart,” she says coldly, “don’t expect me to clean up the mess.”
Janey closes her eyes and a tremor moves through her body. When she opens them, they brim with tears.
“I won’t,” she says. “I never have. But this baby is coming, Mom. Don’t you want to be a part of her life?”
Eleanor closes her eyes, inhaling so deeply it’s as though the air is the only thing keeping her standing.
“All I’ve ever tried to do is stop you from making the same mistakes...” She stops, as if the confession will cost her too much. Then she shakes her head and turns sharply, walking back to the car.
Richard remains where he is. “Janey.”
She steps forward, and for a moment I hope he might embrace her. He looks like he wants to. His hands lift slightly, then fall.
“She needs time,” he whispers. “She loves you. She doesn’t know how to show it right.”
Janey nods, though fresh tears fill her eyes. “I know.”
He looks past her to Mason and me. His expression is wary and full of a father’s helpless fear.
“You’ll take care of her?”
Mason answers first. “We will.”
“With everything we have,” I add.
Richard holds my gaze a second longer, then he nods.He touches Janey’s cheek gently, almost like he's afraid she might vanish. I wonder what he sees when he looks at her. The woman she is or the girl she was.
How would I feel in his shoes, forced to the edges of her life while two men I don’t know fill the center of it? I’d want to know who my daughter was committing herself to. I’d want them to know that she’s precious to me.
He smiles, but it’s tainted by sadness. Then, he turns and follows his wife.
The sedan doors close. The engine starts. We watch as the car backs away from the house, turns in the wide dirt drive, and rolls toward the road in a slow cloud of dust.
Janey remains frozen until the car disappears beyond the bend.
Only then does her strength leave her.
Mason catches her before I can, one arm wrapping around her waist as I step in front of her and cup her face.
“Hey,” I say, my voice breaking despite every effort to keep it normal. “We’ve got you.”
Her hands clutch at my shirt. “I said it.”
“You did,” Mason murmurs against her hair.
“I said all of it.”
“You were magnificent,” I say, smiling.
She lets out a shattered laugh that turns into a sob. “I don’t feel magnificent. I feel like I got dragged over hot coals.”
Mason presses a kiss to her temple. “Bravery rarely feels good while you’re living it.”
Janey leans into my brother, then reaches for me, too, pulling us both close with desperate hands.
I wrap my arms around her and Mason together, the three of us standing in the settling dust while the eveningfolds around the ranch.
