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"Why didn't you tell me?"
I realize I'm repeating myself but I'm so stunned I can't help it.
"I thought you were on a scholarship."
"I was," she says proudly. "I’m a math genius. Not poor. You made assumptions."
"Okay," I respond, gesturing around us, "but what about the rest of this?"
Boone looks at her feet for a moment and then back up at me. Her gaze is clear, direct. "All my life I've been known as Boone Starr of the North Starr Ranch. My family does its best to be low key. Part of the community like everyone else. It’s how things are around here. But, I’ve always known I was different. Separate from the rest."
She shrugs and looks off into the distance before continuing. "The parents of my classmates worked here. And that meant their livelihood depended on decisions my father or other members of the family made. I couldn’t help but wonder if people were nice to me because of me, or because of who my family is."
"And then, when I got older, I realized a lot of people were interested in my brothers. I couldn't blame them," she says with a smile. "My brothers are hot. Yeah that's kind of a weird thing to say, but it's true. Sometimes girls were my friends because they thought it would be a way to get close to my brothers."
She sort of shrugs again like it wasn’t a big deal, but I knew it was.
"The worst was a girl named Christy. She was two years older than me, but she started inviting me to stuff and I thought it was the coolest thing when she singled me out." Boone looks off into the distance again, remembering. "She was a lot of fun and always made me feel good. Lots of flattery about how smart and pretty I was."
She shakes her head ruefully then glances over at me. "Turns out, all she wanted was to get close to Adam. My oldest brother."
Even though it was in the past, I can see the hurt is still raw for her. It pains me too.
"They even dated for a little while. Which, at first, I liked. How great to have my best friend and my brother together, right? But once she got her hooks in Adam, she didn’t have time for me. And she acted different. No more flattery. No more fun times."
"One day we had a big fight and she told me she’d never wanted to be my friend. She said I was annoying and embarrassing and once she and Adam got married, I’d have to move out of the house."
She sighs. I ache for her. What a horrible betrayal. "She had Adam wrapped around her little finger so I knew if I told him, she’d deny it and call me a liar. But, fortunately, Adam was just around the corner and heard every word she said."
"I’m so sorry," I say, though it’s hardly helpful. I don’t know what else to do.
"After that, I decided to go to college far away from anyone who knew my family, or recognized the family name, or would care at all about my life here in Montana."
"That's why you never really talked about your family, or corrected me when I called it a farm," I say, nodding my head. "I get it now. I’m sorry that happened to you. People can be superficial. Even me. But I appreciate you sharing the story with me and also inviting me here. It’s a big deal and I’m honored."
Boone breaks into a big grin and punches me on the arm like she has always done. "Well enough of that silliness," she says. "I'm glad you're here and we're going to have a good time. But remember, my brothers are off limits."
I laugh. "Don't worry. Mom's got me all lined up with Peter Brinkman back home."
"The one whose father is in business with your dad?
I blush. "Yes. I haven’t seen him for several years. And of course, my mother is thrilled by the idea of our two families joining. So is his mother."
"Another Connecticut dynasty in the making," Boone laughs.
She leads me inside the big house and it's as stunning on the inside as it is from the outside. Tall ceilings with exposed log beams and a wide-open floor plan takes full advantage of the view. I gasp and walk closer to get a good look.
As I do so, I have a flash of memory from the night before, looking out the window of the penthouse suite at the skyline while the hot, nameless man from the hotel fingers my clit. Heat starts to build, and I have to turn around before I get too carried away with the memory.
Boone sets my suitcase by the door then comes closer and studies me. Her sharp eyes don't miss anything. She leans in and sniffs, then pulls back and gives me another of her grins and a punch in the arm. "You got laid!" she squeals. "Was it Peter? Did Peter give you the Peter?"
I giggle nervously and blush furiously. I'm sort of embarrassed she figured it out. Is it that obvious? But I also can't wait to tell her about my adventure.
"Well, based on your blush, I'm going to say I'm right and I want details. Come on." She grabs my arm and drags me through another massive room into a kitchen that's like something out of a magazine.
A trim, efficient-looking woman in her fifties is busy chopping vegetables and looks up at us. "Hello," she says, "you must be Boone's friend from back east." She says 'back east' like it's some foreign country. I guess, compared to life in Chickadee Ridge, Montana, it is. It feels that way to me too.
"Midge," Boone calls out, "this is Kit. My very bestest friend in the whole wild world. Well, after you, of course."
