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“Where in Coyote Canyon?”
“That’s hard to say. I haven’t really thought about it.” She’d been trying to avoid that kind of daydreaming. Creating an idyllic picture of life with Brant could tempt her into making the wrong decision.
“You’ve been talking about your aunt’s house as though you really like it,” he said. “And she’s got a few acres, which I like.”
“Are you suggesting we buy her property?”
“I’d be open to it—if it would make you happy. It’s far enough away from the ranch that we could have our own lives separate from my brothers and parents. And yet it’s not too far of a drive each day to get to work.”
They reached the fence and started ambling along it, looking for the break. It didn’t take more than a few minutes to find it. As soon as he saw the problem, Brant hopped down and helped her off the horse, and she held Sadie’s reins while he examined the damage.
After pulling a hammer from his saddlebag, he reattached the boards that’d fallen off. But one board was broken in half. He used duct tape to hold it together before hammering it back in place, too.
“That won’t hold for long, will it?” she asked.
“Not if it rains. But it should hold until Monday, when I can haul a new board out here,” he said as he strode toward her.
He was about to climb onto the horse when she stopped him and kissed him.
“What’s that for?” he asked.
She admired the vivid blue of his eyes and the smile lines that creased his tanned face. “Just to let you know that—” She hesitated. She wasn’t used to taking the emotional risk inherent in saying what she was about to say.
“That...” he prodded.
“There are times when it feels as though I could never live without you.”
It’d been a big admission for her, and yet he started to laugh. “Was that really so hard?”
“No,” she said grudgingly. “But that doesn’t mean it won’t come back to haunt me.”
“You’re going to be just fine.” Smiling, he got on the horse and pulled her up behind him.
Averil checked her phone again. There’d been no response to her last text to Talulah, asking if she wanted to hang out tonight. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Chester were in town until Sunday morning, but Averil’s parents had taken them to Bozeman for a couple days, and they’d left early this morning while Averil was heading to the bank.
Averil didn’t mind missing the trip. Now that the workweek had ended, she was eager to cut loose with friends, which was why she’d hoped Talulah would be able to join her and Jane at Hank’s tonight. The three of them hadn’t been together since before the wedding. But there’d been no word, even when Jane had tried to reach her, so Averil and Jane had gone on their own like they’d been doing for the last fourteen years.
Now it was almost midnight. Averil had picked up Mitch from her oldest brother’s house, where he’d been playing with his cousins, and still there was no response from Talulah.
Where was she? Was she out of town?
She had to be. Since they’d made up, and Talulah had responded about dinner on Sunday, Averil couldn’t think of any other reason she wouldn’t be checking her phone.
Unless...
“Mommy, where are we?” Mitch asked, waking up as she brought the car to a stop in Talulah’s drive.
After going to Hank’s and having a couple of beers—with some chili cheese fries and hot wings—and watching a baseball game with Jane, she’d grabbed Mitch and gone home, only to back out of the drive as soon as she pulled into it. She kept picturing Talulah with Brant, even though she knew Talulah had broken it off. Talulah wasn’t the only one who was mysteriously missing tonight. Averil had seen Miles at Hank’s, and when she’d asked what Brant was doing, he’d mumbled something vague and turned away, as though he didn’t really want to address the question.
“I’m just checking on a friend, okay?” she said as she cut the engine. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
“I don’t want to stay!” he protested. “Why can’t I go with you?”
Averil supposed it would be better to have him with her, in case Talulah invited her in. She didn’t want to leave him crying for her.
“Fine. You can come, too,” she said and got him out of his booster seat before leading him to the front door.
The porch light was on. So were several other lights in the house, but everything seemed still and quiet. Averil would’ve worried about ringing the doorbell so late, but Talulah would’ve turned off at least some of the inside lights if she was going to bed, wouldn’t she?
