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They finished their meal, though India had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She had imagined quizzing Farris and then taking twenty-four hours to think it over. Instead, he had forced her hand. Whether intentionally or not, it didn’t matter. Dottie needed her. India would stay. For now.
After paying the check, Farris stood. “Mother, why don’t you go up to the room with India and help her gather her things?” He glanced at India. “I had to park several blocks away. I’ll move the car to the front portico and pick you up there.”
“Of course.”
Dottie chattered in the elevator and in India’s room. Fortunately, it was a stream-of-consciousness conversation that demanded little from India, who was easily able to collect the few items she had spread about the room. Then she contacted the front desk. After snapping shut her suitcase, she took it and her carry-on and slung her purse over her shoulder. “All set,” she said. “I’ve canceled my second night, and I did checkout over the phone. So we can head for the car.”
Farris was waiting when they got downstairs. He took India’s bags and placed them in the trunk of a late-model Mercedes. “Where’s the pickup truck?” she asked, tongue in cheek. The Farris she knew enjoyed ranging around the ranch on horseback or—when the situation demanded it—a huge mud-covered Bronco with a V6 engine.
It used to shock her in the early days to see the suave, sophisticated businessman morph into a cowboy. In time, she had come to realize that Farris was both men. He wasn’t playing at either role. He had tried his hand at horse breeding and kept a modest herd of cattle. Sometimes, she thought he was happiest here in Wyoming.
Just not with her.
She had planned to explore the quaint town of Jackson this afternoon. She remembered it fondly. But now they were headed north and east to the ranch, Aspenglow. Farris had purchased the property in the first year of their marriage. An aging Hollywood film star had put the place up for sale, and because Farris had a Jackson Realtor on speed dial, he had been able to snap it up before anyone else had a chance.
It had meant paying 10 percent over the asking price, but Farris didn’t blink an eye. When he wanted something, he made it happen.
The ranch stretched for miles. Everything had been updated, from split-rail fencing to manicured gravel-and-dirt roads to the magnificent ranch house that sprawled on a narrow ridge like it had been lifted up from the earth itself. Built of timber and stone, glass and copper guttering, the eight-thousand-square-foot structure with huge windows that faced the Tetons was a spectacular masterpiece.
Yet inside, the house was homey and warm, though sophisticated.
When her marriage ended, India had grieved leaving this place almost as much as losing her husband and her mother-in-law. Now, stepping through the double front doors once again brought a sudden, breath-stealing surge of pain.
Once upon a time, this had been her home. Now she was an outsider, a visitor. She hadn’t expected it to hurt so much.
Dottie gave her little time to dwell on feelings. “We’ll put you in the blue room at the front of the house, near the master suite.”
Out of the corner of her eye, India saw Farris flinch and freeze. “Mother,” he said, “the guest room with the king bed is much larger.”
His diminutive parent waved a dismissive hand. “But there’s no view, my sweet boy.”
My sweet boy?Even battling a host of troubling emotions, India wanted to grin. Instead, she kept her expression sober. “I’ll be happy wherever you decide,” she said.
It was no secret why Farris was displeased. For once, India agreed with him. The lovely blue room was far too close to the master suite and the bed India and Farris had shared. She would have welcomed more distance from the man of the house, but she couldn’t protest without him knowing that his presence and the memories still affected her far more strongly than they should.
Once Farris deposited India’s bags in her new room, he disappeared, leaving the two women to chat as India unpacked and stowed her belongings in a lovely antique oak armoire. The matching chest was larger than she needed at the moment. She had brought only the basics, not at all sure she was going to stay.
Now, with the die cast, she would have to ask Nancy to go to her apartment and pack a box or two to send cross-country. India had brought only a few winter essentials. Clearly, she would need more. And if she stayed until spring, then—
She shut down that line of thought abruptly. If she was to survive this visit, she would have to live in the moment. No looking back. No looking forward. Her job was to make Dottie feel comfortable, safe and happy.
Her mother-in-law sat down in the beautiful rocker that matched the other furniture. Her smile was pensive. “Have you been happy in New York, India?”
The question took India by surprise. It was no secret that Dottie had been devastated when her son and India divorced. What was she after?
India summoned a smile. “Of course I am.” Present tense. This visit wasn’t permanent. “I grew up in Jersey. For a kid like me, to have an apartment in New York and a job at a major network is the stuff of dreams.”
“I’ve watched your show online a time or two,” Dottie said. “You’re very good.”
“Thank you.”
Silence fell, awkward...heavy.
Dottie sighed. “When I heard you might be coming to visit, I was hoping you and Farris could—”
India held up her hand, stopping whatever her ex-mother-in-law had been about to say. “No, Dorothy. Don’t go there. I mean it. I’m here for you. Please don’t see this as anything else. Farris is going to be traveling a lot, and he wanted you to have company.”
“A babysitter,” Dottie said sadly.
