Destry shook his head. “That’s brutal.”
“The Moores can be controlling and mean-spirited, but they’ll forget about it after a while,” Jade assured him. “They always do . . . once they think you’ve been punished enough.”
They went on talking, telling stories about the Moores’ various vendettas against people in the town. By the time they approached the house, Destry sounded slightly out of breath. As he carried Rosie up the front steps, she braced herself for Tanner’s reaction, but when they entered, he wasn’t there.
“What happened?” Azalea cried, holding a hand to her mouth as she saw Rosie in Destry’s arms.
“I hurt my back again,” Rosie explained. “It’s nothing the chiropractor can’t fix.”
Destry paused next to the living room. “Do you want me to put you on the sofa? Or maybe the recliner would be more comfortable.”
“Can you take me to bed?” Rosie answered.
“I’d be happy to.” Destry said in a smooth, low voice, a smile catching the edge of his mouth. He chuckled, and she realized what she had said.
“I didn’t mean it that way,” she stammered, feeling the blood rise to her cheeks as Destry maneuvered her past Grandpa in his wheelchair.
Grandpa swiveled his head around, watching them. “The lengths some women will go to get attention from a man.”
She wished she could have swatted Grandpa for making her blush even more. “It’s just a little farther,” she told Destry. “Third door on the left.”
“I’ll bring you some food,” Azalea called as they turned down the hallway.
He laid her down on top of her sand-colored comforter next to a napping Wile E, who woke to lick her face. Destry pushed the dog away, but did not straighten, his face only inches from hers. She could see the flecks of gold in his deep, blue eyes. With his hand, he brushed the stray hairs from her face, and for a moment, she wondered if he might kiss her. “Are you comfortable?” he asked. “Do you need anything else?”
“No. Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“That’s what I keep thinking.” He didn’t say anything more, but straightened, pulling a treat for Wile E from his pocket, and the gesture triggered a rush of memories in Rosie’s mind. There was the way he ran his hand over the top of his head, smoothing the curls that inevitably appeared. The way he kept getting back up on that ill-behaved horse. The way his voice carried down the hall when he was teaching so that she always had to keep her classroom door shut. Sometimes, even with the door shut, she could still hear him.
Jade and her mom came in with food. “Go on and get something to eat, Destry,” Azalea said. “We’ll take care of Rosie.”
After he left, Azalea shooed out Wile E, and Jade set a tray on the bed. There was a generous helping of pot roast, along with a roll, a salad, a glass of water and some pain medication. “It looks fabulous,” Rosie said, reaching for the pain pills.
“Can I get you anything else?” her mom asked.
“No, but can you send someone to find Tanner? He hasn’t answered my call.” She needed to talk to him, and he had walked off before she could understand his perspective.
“I can go,” Jade said.
“But you haven’t eaten,” Azalea countered. “Tanner will be along soon enough. He’s not one to miss a meal.”
“I don’t mind looking for him,” Jade said. “All I’ve done this morning is sit on the tractor. I could use a walk.”
“Would you?” Rosie asked. “I’d appreciate it.”
After Jade left, Azalea lingered in the doorway. “A couple of us can come in to eat with you, if you like. I hate for you to be all alone back here.”
“It’s okay, Mom. I just want to rest.”
Her mom let a beat pass before she answered. “Holler if you need me, okay?”
“Okay.”
Once she was alone, Rosie picked at her food, straining to hear the conversation at the dinner table. Grandpa was telling the infamous story of how he’d caught a giant catfish—a story Rosie had heard multiple times. Every time the fish got smarter and larger.
As the men went on talking about their favorite places to fish, Rosie replayed the argument with Tanner in her mind. Copying the words in a love letter wasn’t so different from embellishing a fun fish story. Maybe she was overreacting and expecting more from Tanner than he could give. He just wasn’t the type to write a flowery love letter.
He wasn’t like Destry.
The clock moved slowly, ticking at a snail’s pace over each number. Would Tanner ever get there? Her back throbbed and she couldn’t get comfortable as she listened to the others finish their dinner and begin washing dishes. She tried Tanner’s phone again, and of course he didn’t answer. Jade didn’t answer hers either. Somewhere in the other room, Grandpa told a story about fighting forest fires up on Mount Morris. That led to a story about the Korean War and another about a fire in the McFerrin’s barn.
Five minutes later, Destry appeared in her doorway. “How’s your back?” he asked, his voice quiet, so as not to be overheard by those in the other room.
The bones in her spine crackled as she turned to face him. “It feels better. Resting helped. I think I can probably drive the tractor.”
He raised his brows. “Mike offered to sub for you. He and Alan are already headed to the barn.”
“But it’s my responsibility.” She knew she was stupid for even saying it. There was no way she could drive the tractor, let alone walk to it. But the thought of sitting here while everyone else finished her chores made her feel absolutely powerless. After all this time trying to prove she could run the ranch on her own, she had to admit that their help was necessary.
“You’ll be doing us all a favor if you take the rest of the day off to heal. The last thing we want is for you to injure yourself even more. We don’t want to be stuck doing your chores while you have back surgery.” He smiled and winked at her.
He had a point. She needed to recover. Still, she wasn’t going to lie in bed all day. She could at least keep Grandpa company. After Destry left, she managed to get herself off her bed and walk, stooped, to the front room. “If it isn’t Old Mother Hubbard.” Grandpa said, pointing to Wile E in the corner, who was chewing on a rawhide. “The dog’s already got his bone. You best follow the advice of your future husband and get on back to bed.”
Rosie reached a hand to the small of her back and thought through what Grandpa had just said. “What do you mean, ‘follow the advice of my future husband?’” she asked in her loudest voice. “Tanner doesn’t even know about my back.”
Grandpa laughed. “You’ve got that right.”
She narrowed her eyes at the old man and his cryptic messages. “I hope you’re not suggesting that Destry’s my future—you know better than to joke about something like that.”
Grandpa folded his arms and looked at her in that stern way he had. “Who says I was joking?”
She pointed a finger at him. “You better quit talking that way. You’re going to get me in trouble.” As she spoke, she looked out the big window in the living room and saw Tanner and Jade approaching from the back of the house.
It was the first time she had seen her fiancé and Jade alone together. If she didn’t know better, she would have said they made a picture-perfect couple, so deep in conversation that they didn’t notice Rosie until they walked past the window, where she stood.
Tanner startled when he saw her and shifted his eyes to look toward the side of her face rather than directly in her eyes.
Jade hurried off in the direction of the barn, as if she already knew the whole story. Had Tanner told her about their argument?
He entered the house without hesitation, glancing at Grandpa to see that he was asleep. “We need to talk.”
“Don’t you want to eat first?” Rosie asked.
Tanner sat down in Grandpa’s armchair, his elbows on his knees. “I don’t have much of an appetite.”
Ros
ie bent to rest her hands on the side of the sofa. Her spine felt like a rusted chain, stiff and immovable. “I guess Jade told you I hurt my back.”
He nodded with his eyes focused on the carpet. “She did.”
Rosie waited for him to express sympathy or concern—anything. He didn’t.
“That wasn’t all she told me,” he said, his tone carrying a hint of martyrdom. “She said she saw you and Destry holding hands near the river a few weeks ago.”
What kind of friend would tell Tanner such a thing? A traitor. She couldn’t believe Jade would betray her when she didn’t even know the details. “I wasn’t holding hands with Destry near the—” She stopped, remembering what Jade must have seen. “Oh, wait—there was that time Destry showed me how to use a slingshot. I couldn’t get back up the riverbank, so he offered me a hand up. I wish Jade had asked me about it herself. I could have explained what was going on.”
“So you were alone with Destry?”
“Yes. He gave me a ride home that day. He had a slingshot, and I’d never shot one before. I wanted to try it out. It was no big deal. Seriously.”
“And you held his hand?”
Rosie blinked. “I already told you. I couldn’t get up the hill on my own. You’re making too big of a deal out of nothing.”
“If it wasn’t a big deal, why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“Because it wasn’t a big deal! There was nothing to tell.” Rosie gritted her teeth, trying not to lose her temper which was teetering perilously close to the edge.
“I know you like him.” His words had a nasal quality to them, nasty, with some bite. She hated when he used that tone with her. “I saw the way you two talked today after I left. You’re all smiles when he’s around.”
Wile E walked up behind Tanner, quiet and stealthy, as though tracking a rabbit for dinner. Her ears were laid back and her teeth bared.
Rosie twisted to grab Wile E’s collar, spiking the pain in her back. “So I can never talk to another man? I can never smile at another man?”
Tanner was in debate mode now. Calm and collected, he folded his arms across his chest. “I have no trouble with you talking to other men. You know that. My problem is that you’re attracted to another man.”
As much as she had been tempted to flirt with Destry, to feel the touch of his lips on hers again, she had not allowed it. There had only been one kiss, one harmless kiss. “There’s nothing between Destry and me.”
“The evidence suggests otherwise.”
“What evidence?”
“You want more? Okay. You followed his advice to tell your students about Janessa—a very bad decision if you ask me. He gives you rides home from school, he’s over here almost every day, you visit over the fence that divides your property, and, just now, you let him carry you in from the field.” He ticked the items off on his fingers, his volume rising. “And you can’t stop looking at him,” he added as an afterthought.
Wile E lunged, and as much as it hurt her back, Rosie kept hold of the coyote’s collar. “You’re imagining things,” she said, trying to keep her back straight as the coyote jerked in her grip.
“A marriage should be built on trust, Rosie,” Tanner said, as if this should be news to her. “It’s not going to work if we can’t trust each other.”
“I agree.” Maybe they needed to see a counselor.
Tanner stared off toward the barn. “I think it’s time we called things off.”
“What?” He couldn’t mean that.
Wile E growled as though he could read Tanner’s thoughts. Rosie strained, trying to keep her from going after Tanner. “Wile E,” Rosie grunted. “Stop that.”
“I hate that dog,” Tanner muttered, backing away.
“We could see a counselor. I could make an appointment for us.”
“It’s over, Rosie.” He turned and walked out of the room. With her sore back, she couldn’t run after him. She’d never catch up.
“You’re wrong about Destry and me,” she yelled.
With his hand on the front doorknob, he turned and his pupils seemed blacker than ever. “It’s over. You’ve made your choice.”
She had made her choice. She had chosen Tanner over Destry. “You’re a jealous idiot, Tanner Smith!”
Knowing Tanner, she couldn’t expect him to come back to talk things through. Instead, she listened as he started his truck and imagined it retreating farther and farther away, becoming a tiny dot at the end of the lane.
This felt like an ending. Like it should be an ending.
She willed herself to cry, to mourn the loss of their friendship, their plans for the future. Only, she didn’t feel sad. Tanner’s words had broken her a little, but it was as if a light came through the broken pieces. She might not have to endure another discussion about finances or wedding plans. She wouldn’t have to get Tanner’s approval before she adopted another animal. She could stop trying to convince Grandpa to accept him into the family.
She braced a hand against the small of her back. Was the pain clouding her judgment? This couldn’t be the end. Without Tanner, she couldn’t buy the ranch. She wouldn’t have a place for her animals. The ranch would be sold to someone else.
A few hundred yards away, Destry stood atop a stack of hay in the barn, lifting bales up to Alan. Watching him through the window, it was like something cracked. The broken places inside her opened wide, making room for new possibilities. If Tanner really was in her past, Destry could be part of her future.
Then she remembered that Destry was dating someone else, and just as quickly, the cracks squeezed shut. She had watched the playful flirtations between Destry and Mercedes—how he smiled at her. It was the way he used to look at Rosie. She’d lost her chance with Destry.
Chapter 28
At lunchtime on Tuesday, Destry met Mercedes on the bank of the river, where scrubby trees provided patches of shade. Here and there, tall grasses, once buried by floodwaters, had sprung back to life. She spread a quilt on the sandy soil, and after he sat down, she handed him something warm wrapped in aluminum foil. He opened it to reveal a cheese steak sandwich. The smell brought him back to his favorite Philadelphia deli and his mouth began to water. He took a bite, savoring the blend of butter, onion, steak, and peppers.
Mercedes watched, her lips twitching into a seductive smile. “How is it?”
He swallowed, wiped his mouth on the cloth napkin she provided, and reached for her hand. “I think you might be the best cook I’ve ever met. Thank you.” It was a mystery how Mercedes was still single.
She stared down the dusty bank toward the river, which had shrunk during the last few weeks to resemble more of a creek. “This picnic spot must be pitiful compared to the parks in Pennsylvania. I’ll bet you miss all the green out there.”
“Sometimes.” He took another bite, chewed it, and swallowed. “Depending how things go at the town hall meeting, I might be moving back there.” It was the first time he had said the words out loud, and he trusted Mercedes to understand.
She paused, looking down at her sandwich, before she forced a smile. “I’m sure the meeting will go well.” He could tell she wasn’t sure at all.
“I have a feeling it won’t.”
She ran her hand up his arm to his shoulder. “If you leave, I’m going with you. I’ve always wanted to live on the East Coast.”
Destry dipped his head, peering into her eyes. “You would do that? For me?” They had only been dating a few weeks, yet she already wanted to make that kind of sacrifice for him. It thrilled, but terrified him. They had barely started seeing each other, and moving across the country together would be a huge commitment. Was he ready for that?
She kissed his cheek, scooting closer. “I’m not going to let you get away. Besides, I’ve always wanted to live somewhere with a real history, and Philadelphia is filled with it. You’ve got the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, and . . . “
“And pollution . . . and crime.” He couldn’t let her go on think
ing of his city as a quaint, historic village. Once she saw how it really was—huge and sprawling with rising crime rates—she would probably change her mind about moving there. And it might be better to change her mind sooner than later.
“I’m going to have to fly back there this week—my company needs my help with a few things. You can come along to check it out if you want.” Now that he’d said it, he realized he had spoken too quickly. He didn’t mean to sound like he was pushing for more commitment, especially a physical commitment. He was old enough to have learned that it was better to take things slow. “My parents have a couple of guest rooms we can probably use,” he added, trying to emphasize the s at the end of rooms. “We’re old-fashioned when it comes to unmarried couples.”
She smiled, her mouth dropping open in surprise. He could see the disappointed shift in her eyes when she realized he wasn’t joking. “Got it. When do we leave?”
“As soon as possible after the town hall meeting . . . provided it’s okay with Phil.”
“You’re dating the woman in charge of finding substitutes,” Mercedes said, lowering her voice to its husky version. “Leave it to me. I’ll get Phil to approve it.”
Destry couldn’t help remembering the way Rosie’s cheeks pinked when he flirted with her. She was so shy and proper—the kind of woman his parents would like. Mercedes was so much bolder, and even though she was new and exciting, it bothered him. “My mom might be able to show you around during the day while I’m working. And I can line up some job interviews for you, if you want.”
Mercedes clapped her hands together, holding them to her chest. “It’s always been my dream to work on the East Coast.” Then she laughed. “Can you imagine what everyone will say about the two of us taking our vacations at the same time? And that I’m going to meet your parents?”
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