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The ache returned to her chest. But that was natural. Hard decisions often led to having bad days. She’d get past this much like she had gotten through other hard events in her life.
By going for a ride.
Dianna grabbed her hat from the hook by the back door. She pulled on her boots and buttoned her sheep-lined coat before stomping toward the barn. The sky was overcast and dismal, much like her own attitude this morning. What she wouldn’t give to start over—to make different decisions a few months ago.
If she’d never allowed Constance to drag her to the country club, then she wouldn’t have accepted the position from Shane.
If she wasn’t working, then she wouldn’t have met Mathew and…
And she wouldn’t have developed any feelings for Tristan.
Her heart twisted, angrily battling her head as she shoved thoughts of Tristan from her mind. There were more important things to do than to welcome someone into her life when she wasn’t ready. Never before had she had this problem. Why wouldn’t her heart just let things be?
She clambered into the barn and readied her horse. The wool blanket and saddle were flung on the animal’s back, then cinched tight. Once the reins were adjusted properly, she climbed into the saddle and pulled the horse into the aisle.
Her horse whinnied and jerked her head, nearly rearing back on her hind legs. Dianna let out a soft squeak, her father’s silhouette in the way of her escape. Her heart hammered and her hand flew to cover it as if that would be enough to quell the trouble that refused to give her peace.
“What are you doing in here?” she demanded once she could catch her breath.
Zeke chuckled. “I could ask you the same thing. Don’t you have a job to get to?”
“I—well, that’s not supposed to start until—” She clamped her mouth shut. “I don’t have to be there for a few more hours. What are you doing here?”
He gestured around them. “Isn’t it obvious? I want to go for a ride.” Her father tilted his head as his gaze swept over her and her horse. “Seems to me we had the same idea.”
She shifted in her saddle and glanced toward the exit. “Yeah. I thought it would be a great way to clear my head.”
Zeke nodded, his lips pressed into a firm line. “Would you mind if I tagged along?”
“Don’t you have stuff you have to do today?”
The first hints of a smile touched his lips. “I always have time to spend with my daughters. Especially if they’re struggling with something.” He nodded toward the stalls behind her. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready.”
* * *
The only soundthey heard for the first twenty minutes of their ride was that of their horses’ hooves crunching in the snow and the occasional snort. The trail started out narrow and finally grew wide enough for them to ride side-by-side.
Dianna’s thoughts bounced around from her current dilemma to her father and what he had noticed. How much did he know? Had Grace or Brielle told him? She should have known better than to tell her younger sister anything. Grace had a nasty habit of spreading information to other people when she thought it was in the best interest of certain parties.
That didn’t make it right.
“You’re probably wondering why I asked to come along.” Her father’s gruff voice pulled her from the depths of her mind.
“Maybe a little.”
“I know you were only about six when your mother passed so you probably weren’t very aware of certain characteristics she possessed.”
Her hands tightened on the reins. This wasn’t what she had expected. She’d wanted to go for a ride where she could continue to analyze and confirm to herself how correct she was in her choices. Dianna glanced out of the corner of her eye toward her father but didn’t say a word. He was the kind of man who didn’t leave things unsaid. If he wanted to tell her something, he’d make sure he did before too much time passed.
“Your mother was the most generous and loving woman I have ever met. She was also the most analytical being on this planet.” He chuckled, his focus remaining on the trail as they passed snow-covered shrubbery. “Sometimes she’d disappear to this other world where she got so hyper-focused on something I wasn’t sure she’d ever come out of it.”
Dianna stilled, her eyes swinging around to stare at her father.
“Did I ever tell you how hard it was to get that woman to accept me?” He shook his head and waved his hand through the air. “Of course not.” Zeke gave her a sheepish grin. “I haven’t been the best at sharing that sort of thing with you girls.” Pain flitted across his face, and he looked away. She could almost feel his agony as if it were her own. “Your mother was supposed to be here to have these sorts of talks with you girls.” His voice broke, and he removed his hat to run his hand through his hair. This was probably the most he’d ever talked about her mother with her that she could remember.
She squirmed in her seat, unsure of how she might smooth the edges of this rocky conversation. “It’s okay, Dad. We’re doing fine. All of us are. Even Brielle.”
Her father snorted and shot her a side-eyed glance. “That one is going to be the end of me.”
