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Rose
Summer comes to a close in Stannich, rousing autumn’s incredible beauty. Montana’s brilliant landscape is mesmerizing at this time of year, but Eli warns me about the upcoming winter in his usual, sensible way.
“You get spoiled in Washington with your mild temperatures, even though it rains a lot, but Montana winters are cold and long.”
“Lucky for her, she’ll have lots to keep her warm,” Hudson jokes, winking at me from across the new fencepost. I smile weakly at him and nod, my eyes trailing to the east as it so often does whenever talks of togetherness come up.
“We’ll be able to look into buying horses this winter, at least,” Eli adds.
I reclaim my paintbrush to continue my job. I want to have it finished by the end of the day. I look up to Eli. “I should get online and price all that. But I really don’t know the first thing about it.”
I glance hopefully at Hudson, and he nods. “I can help you…”
“Connor should be helping you,” Eli interjects, saying what all of us are thinking.
I purse my lips. “I haven’t asked him for his help,” I admit. “It doesn’t feel right.”
I wait for one of them to make a disparaging comment, but neither of them do, much to my surprise. The last weeks have been utter agony for me, dividing my time between Connor and the others, hoping that by some miracle, they all might reconcile again. It’s tearing me apart, the need to be all together, but it’s beyond my control. I’ve never been more loved or more divided.
A horrifying chiming fills the air, and I groan loudly, covering my ears as the piercing carries over the fields. Nowhere is safe from Hudson’s recent birthday gift to Gran, and I cast him a scathing look.
“I know! I know! I shouldn’t have gotten her the dinner bell,” he admits. “I really didn’t think she’d take to it as much as she has.”
Eli laughs, and I rise, dropping my paintbrush in a bucket of turpentine before wiping my hands on my coveralls and following the boys back to the house.
The rays of the sun have disappeared, casting eerie shadows through the pines like menacing monsters on the fields.
That’s a cheery thought. What the hell is wrong with you?
But I know what’s wrong with me. I haven’t been myself since this entire rift began with Connor, and the helplessness is paralyzing.
“I miss your free smiles,” Eli whispers at me, and my head jerks up. I didn’t realize he was walking beside me.
“What?” I laugh.
“You used to smile for no reason. I could look over at you and just catch you grinning like you had your own private joke. Now you always look so serious when you’re walking by yourself.”
“I’m just thinking,” I answer honestly.
“I can tell.”
I offer him a tentative grin.
“Are you thinking about Connor?”
“About all of us,” I reply, holding the creaky screen door open, but Hudson takes it from me and ushers us through the front. “And Connor is part of that, yes.”
“Wash up and sit down!” Gran yells from the kitchen. “Everyone’s gonna be here in five.”
“Everyone?” I repeat. “Who’s everyone?”
“Do you want her to ring the bell again?” Hudson growls jokingly. “Just do what she says.”
I roll my eyes and snicker, heading into the bathroom on the main floor. I’m sure that Jeff is coming—he’s here for dinner three nights a week at least, but “everyone” sounds ominous.
By the time I retreat to the dining room, my family is already at the table. There are two extra plates set out, and I idly wonder if Gran has another suitor coming. I wonder if it’s wise to ask.
I’m pretty sure she’s of a generation that won’t think twice about going for a wooden spoon if I dare.That makes me grin for some reason, and I hope Eli catches it.
