“And Willow?”
“Yeah?” Her voice was thick with tears.
“I’m really glad you called. Now, go look after your boy.” Mick hung up.
Willow stared at her phone for a moment. Mick had given her the hope she needed and the confirmation that her love for Pilot was more important than any vet bill.
Pushing her phone into her back pocket, Willow walked to the front desk. “Do whatever is necessary,” she said.
Morgan gave her a quick nod before pushing the intercom to give Dr. Carson the green light to continue treatment. When Morgan finished talking to Dr. Carson, she turned back to Willow. “I know you love that dog,” she said. “Dr. Carson will do everything he can.”
Willow nodded. “Can I see him? Can I see Pilot?”
“Sure,” Morgan said. “Just go down the hall into the first exam room. Dr. Carson is in the back, but he’ll join you as soon as he can.”
Willow hurried down the hall but never made it in the room. Instead, she paced the hallway until Dr. Carson appeared and led her into the exam room. He carried a handful of X-rays and other film, and with patience, he placed them against a white light and pointed. “The good news is that there aren’t any broken ribs.” The veterinarian moved his finger to another part of the film. “This is the bad news. Pilot has blood in his lungs.” He drew a circle around a light spot on the film. “You know what happens when you get a bruise?”
Willow nodded.
“Well, Pilot has a bruise forming on his left lung, but the right one doesn’t look as involved, and that’s really good news.”
Willow’s body went limp with relief and she longed to sit down, but she continued to study the X-ray. “Can he breathe?”
“Yes, but it’s very shallow. We’ve got him on oxygen to help and IV fluids to make sure he’s got enough blood volume.”
“What happens now?”
Dr. Carson turned away from the X-ray and faced Willow. “I have to tell you that the next twenty-four hours are going to be crucial. Maybe the next forty-eight. You know how bruises can worsen with time before they get better?”
Willow swallowed and nodded, trying to focus on Dr. Carson’s words instead of her own jittery apprehension.
“Well, that may happen here. The fact that you caught it right after it happened and brought him to treatment will probably save his life, but to be safe, Pilot should stay here and be monitored overnight. I want to make sure there aren’t any complications.”
“But—”
“Don’t worry, Willow. I’ll stay with him.”
Willow blinked at the generosity of Dr. Carson’s offer. “You’ll stay?”
Dr. Carson smiled. “I’ve spent many a night watching over a sick cow or horse. I don’t see why I can’t do that for your dog. I don’t get to treat small animals very often. So don’t worry about him. Go home. Get some rest, and check in first thing in the morning. If anything happens in the night, I’ll let you know.”
An ominous fear flooded Willow, but she gave a small laugh in hopes of dispelling it. “I really like you, Dr. Carson, but I hope I won’t hear from you.”
He smiled. “That’s how most people feel about me, Willow. I don’t take it personally.”
Willow ached to be with Pilot. “Can I see him before I go?”
“Sure thing.”
Willow followed Dr. Carson back to where Pilot was stretched out on a table. Tubes were attached to his forearm, and an oxygen mask covered his muzzle. Willow was afraid to touch him. “He looks kind of …”
“We’re treating him for pain, so he’s a little loopy. It’ll help him relax so he can breathe better.”
Willow bent over Pilot and quietly stroked his face. “Please get better,” she whispered. “You don’t want to miss Mick’s visit in the spring, do you? And I don’t want to ever miss you. Please get better.” Tears flooded her eyes and fell on Pilot’s warm fur.
Pilot weakly thumped his tail against the table, giving Willow the only sign she needed to know she made the right choice. Willow nuzzled her nose into Pilot’s neck. Standing, she offered him one last caress before turning back to the doctor. “Thank you,” she sniffled.
Once on the road, Willow pulled to the shoulder and took several deep breaths as the evening began to lengthen into the frostiness of night. How could she ever thank Mick for saving Pilot? She thought about calling him to give him an update, but she didn’t want to break down again. She decided on a text instead, telling Mick that Pilot was resting comfortably and would spend the night at the vet. She would call him in the morning when there was more news.
She waited alongside of the road for Mick’s reply, which came immediately. “I’m glad Pilot is on the mend. Expect the necessary funds in a few days. They’ll arrive by check.”
Relief mingled with gratitude, but both were buoyed by the refreshment that wrapped her in a warm blanket of alliance. Mick loved Pilot, too. And right now, that was enough. Having Mick on her side was all she needed as she put the truck into gear and headed home.
Chapter 26
When Willow pulled into the drive, she saw Curtis’s truck. Her dad must’ve called him. She wished he hadn’t. She needed some time before seeing Curtis. They were still on the outs around Shorty’s decision to quit, and she had neglected to call him as promised.
As she sat inside the flat-bed, it didn’t take very long for the air to chill with the engine turned off, and Curtis’s proposal hung over her like a cloud of frost. Letting out a long sigh, Willow climbed out of the truck. Fatigue ached through every muscle as she walked through the front door. Already she missed Pilot’s presence as she instinctively reached down to give him a pat on the head before entering the house. Willow didn’t have long to think about Pilot’s situation.
Curtis was sitting at the dining room table, alone. “Where’s Dad?” Willow asked.
“He’s out in the field,” Curtis said. “He’s worried about the deer getting at that hay.”
Willow dropped into the chair opposite Curtis with a heavy sigh.
Curtis placed his other hand on her knee. “It’s always hard to lose a dog.”
Willow breathed in Curtis’s warm touch and placed her hand over Curtis’s. “We haven’t lost him yet.” Her tone was soft with weariness.
“What do you mean? I don’t understand. From what your dad said, it was serious. You took him to the vet.”
Willow nodded. “He’s still at Dr. Carson’s. I’ve asked them to treat him.”
Curtis gave Willow a look of disbelief. “What? Willow, how much is that going to cost?”
Irritation bubbled up in Willow, but she tamped it down. Even though Curtis wouldn’t score any points for sensitivity, it was a fair question. “It’s going to cost around eighteen hundred dollars, if you must know,” she said. “But don’t worry. It’s covered.”
“What do you mean, it’s covered? Unless you’ve got some secret stash somewhere or pet insurance, I don’t know how you and this ranch can come up with eighteen hundred dollars. We all usually spend the winter praying for nothing to happen to one of these cows that would outstrip what they’re worth.”
“I don’t have a secret stash. Mick—”
Another look of disbelief crossed Curtis’s face. “Mick?” His voice cracked. “The guy who owns the Jag? The cook?!”
Willow’s irritation began to grow into something different, something dangerous and telling. “Yes, Curtis. Do I know another Mick? He offered to pay for it, and I took him up on it.”
“Well, if that don’t just beat all.”
“I’d ask you to explain yourself, but I’m just tired.”
“Well, I’ll do it anyway,” Curtis said. “How could you take his money? Don’t you see how this ties you to him?”
“No. I don’t see that. I see a friend offering another friend a loan in a bad moment.” Willow began to think on the fly. “We’ll keep the Jag here for free. It doesn’t cost us anything but space, and we’ve got plenty
. That will probably cover at least six hundred dollars, maybe more. Then I can pay him back with the same terms we offered him in order to store the Jag. It’ll be fine.”
Curtis’s mouth fell open. “You need that money.”
Now it was Willow’s to stare at Curtis, agape. “How is it you know my finances so intimately?”
Curtis scraped his chair back. “I don’t know your particular finances, but I know finances in general. Agricultural Economics was my major, after all. Ranches like ours need every piece of income we can get. For you to disregard that need for a dog—”
Willow’s voice took a low tone as tears of fury rose to her eyes. “A dog that I love and that belongs to me.” Willow leaned forward, pushing her finger into Curtis’s chest. “Pilot is mine, and I’ll do with him as I see fit, and that means I’m saving his furry life. And I took a loan from a friend in order to do it, and I’d it again if I had to.”
Curtis pressed his lips into a thin line as he stood. “You know how I hate it when you get riled up like this, Willow. I’m going home. We can talk again in the morning.”
In a moment of clarity, Willow also stood, grabbing Curtis’s wrist. “Go back to Texas.” Her voice was a low murmur. She softened and drew Curtis’s hand into her own. “I have loved you, Curtis. I loved how you took care of me—how you took care of us when my mom died. I love our history, but it can’t salvage our future.”
“You don’t mean this, Willow.” Curtis’s voice was quiet. “You’re tired and you’ve had a really bad day. Truth is, we’ve had a pretty bad week, but we’ll rebound. You asked for some time, and I think that’s a good idea.”
A dark truth broke through to Willow. “I don’t want to rebound, Curtis. I’m not sure if we’ll ever value the same things.”
Curtis’s look grew intense. “What are you talking about? We both love this land and our families. It means everything.”
“But how we approach this land and even family is very different.”
“But we can make a future.” Curtis squeezed her hands. “It’s why I’ve been going to school all of these years. I’ve wanted to build our future. I know I’ve been neglectful, and I’m so sorry for that. I want to make it up to you.”
“I know,” she whispered. “But I can’t.” Bitter anguish pulsed through her, not only for herself but for the pain she was causing Curtis. For years she had wondered about his true feelings, and now they lay bare and defenseless before her. He loved her.
Curtis gave her a long look. “I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me you mean this.”
Willow returned Curtis’s gaze, and for one moment, she wavered as her fear of a future without Curtis spilled throughout all the dim corners of her heart. In the wake of her decision, she made room for a new and emerging reality. She had been living without Curtis for years, and his best efforts couldn’t make up the changes that had taken place between them as they traveled diverging roads that held different ideals.
Sadness rushed through her for the wasted time, but on its heels pushed beautiful gratitude as she recognized her own resources. Yes, it was frightening to give up what she knew. But now that the decision was made, Willow’s heart began to edge into a new sense of freedom, as if she had always known how to fly but had finally discovered the wind. She looked into Curtis’s familiar blue eyes, and their shared memories reflected in the cherished color of the sky that was always mirrored in Curtis’s gaze. A lock of blond hair grazed his eyebrows.
“I wish you every good thing,” she whispered before reaching up and kissing his cheek. Placing her hands around his clenched fist, she gently pushed it against his chest, his heart beating against the pulse in her wrist. Tears came to her eyes, but she refused to blink. “I mean this,” she said softly. “It’s for the best.”
Curtis nodded quietly, broke from Willow, and began moving toward the door. With every step, Willow’s heart opened a little wider to embrace a new horizon that was no longer cluttered with someone else’s expectations.
* * *
Quietly, Willow blew on her hot cocoa while the last of the day’s light slipped behind the mountain. She had placed the pan of Shorty’s enchiladas in the oven that he’d graciously left in the freezer. She could hear her father rattling around in the barn. Absently, she stirred the cup of cocoa she’d made for him and hoped it would somehow soften the news of her break with Curtis. With Curtis gone, the future of the Double W would shift, and that meant her father’s future would also change. Sorrow hung on Willow’s heart, pulling it deeper into her new uncertainty.
Rising from the table, Willow watched from the window as her dad walked toward the house, striding with confidence in his boots, jeans, flannel shirt, and coat. He looked every bit the rancher that he’d been since birth.
Walking in, he set his hat down on the counter. “I sure do miss Shorty around suppertime,” he said.
“You and me both,” Willow replied. “But he didn’t leave us to starve. Dinner’s in the oven. It’ll be ready in about thirty minutes.” She handed him the mug of cocoa.
Her dad took a nice long sip. “Oh, that’s good goin’ down,” he said. “Want to go stand outside for a minute? The storm has cleared, and there’s a sky full of stars.”
Willow’s heart sang at the invitation. This was her dad’s way of remembering her mother. “Yeah. I’d like that.” She followed him out the back door and onto the deck.
Willow never tired of the view that met her gaze whenever she looked up. In the deepening dark of a crisp autumn Montana night, the stars blinked into the sky one by one.
Willow lowered her gaze to look at the blackening mountains. “Dad, there’s something I need to tell you. Curtis and I—” She tried again. “Curtis is going back to Texas. I told him I didn’t want to see him anymore. He asked me to marry him a few days ago, but I just couldn’t do it. I love Curtis, but … but I’m not sure how I love him. I just know I can’t marry him. I’m sorry, Dad.” Willow’s voice grew shaky as a fledgling doubt surfaced.
“Don’t be sorry, hon. I trust you with your own heart.”
Willow pulled in a deep breath and leaned against her father. “But I know it was always your hope for him and me to be together. You wished it for the ranch.” Remorse tugged at Willow.
“And I wish the ranch for you. The only reason I wanted to merge the two ranches was to give you a bigger stake in the business. But it’s not necessary for your happiness, Willow.” He took a sip of cocoa. “I love Curtis like a son, but sometimes … sometimes that boy got on my nerves, too.”
“He did? What’d he do?”
“Oh, you know. It was in the way he always thought he knew something better, and how he acted like this was his land. I appreciated how he cared for it, but after your mom died, it was as if he felt some kind of ownership that really wasn’t his. Not yet, anyway. The thing that really bothered me was how he treated Shorty.”
“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“Because the two of you were a couple and I didn’t want there to be any bad blood. Because we’re neighbors and he never did anything really dreadful. It was just irritating, and I hoped he would grow out of it.” He paused and shook his head. “I never wanted you to feel like you had to choose.”
Willow put her cocoa on the deck railing and placed her arms around her dad’s waist while her father placed his arm around Willow’s shoulders. Happy love embraced her within the cocoon of her father’s arms.
Her father continued, “Like I said, I trust you with your own heart, hon, and I trust you with this ranch, too. You’re every bit as knowledgeable as I am. You can run this show without Curtis. You’ll be fine.”
“But I wanted you to retire.”
“And you don’t think I will?” Her father smiled. “I’m not ready for front porch rockers just yet, but don’t you worry. When the time comes, you’ll be the first to know. In the meantime, you and I will keep the Double W in fine working order. Who knows? We may even make some imp
rovements.”
Willow smiled. The cold evening caused her to shiver, but she snuggled against her father, and the warmth returned as a deep sigh escaped from her.
“Look up at them stars, will you?”
Willow gazed heavenward.
“Your mom loved these crisp cold nights. Remember how she’d bundle you up, and we’d sit out here after dinner with cups of cocoa around a big blaze in the fire pit?”
Tears came to Willow’s eyes, hot and stinging against her cold cheeks. “Yeah,” she said. “We’d roast marshmallows sometimes and dunk them in the cocoa.” Willow brushed away her tears. “I miss Mom,” she said. “I miss her every single day.”
Her father squeezed Willow close. “So do I, my girl.”
Standing in the inky blue night, Willow appreciated the silence that invited her and her father to remember her mom. It pulled her closer to her dad. Once again, Willow’s gaze traveled upward toward the night sky. It was alive with fire that lived light-years away and memory that lived as close as her own soul while her mother lingered near.
Chapter 27
Urgency thrummed within Mick as he stood at the jewelry counter at the pawn shop with the earrings on a piece of black velvet. The dealer picked up one of them and eyed it under a magnifying glass. “It really is a lovely piece,” he said. “The clarity and color are clear, and the cut is popular.” He put the one down and picked up the other. “Platinum,” he mumbled to himself.”
Mick nodded.
“I can give you around twenty-five hundred for the pair,” the pawnbroker said.
Mick blinked, deflated. “Twenty-five hundred?! I was thinking they’d be worth at least thirty-five hundred. I paid five thousand for them.”
“And I’d say they’re worth every penny. But I’ve got a case full of them.” The pawnbroker pushed aside the black velvet cloth and pointed to the glass where Mick was standing. Looking at the lit case, Mick saw numerous pairs of diamond earrings winking back at him. “I admit that yours are the highest quality, but I have to weigh that against how long it would take me to sell them, and right now, folks are pawning their jewelry just to pay the rent. Cost of living here has exploded.”
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