Hill Country Reunion

by Myra Johnson

  James checked Tripp’s vitals, then changed out his IV bag. He handed Tripp a cord with a button on the end. “This will release pain meds. Don’t worry, there’s no chance of overdose. You want to stay on top of the pain so you can rest and heal.”

  “I know. I’m a veterinarian.”

  “Ah, so it’s Doctor Willoughby. Where do you practice? I just got my kids a puppy.”

  “Not around here. In Juniper Bluff.” For how much longer, Tripp wouldn’t hazard a guess. The thought of facing Diana again terrified him.

  “Over near Fredericksburg, right? Well, you get some rest, Doc. I’ll check in on you later, but don’t hesitate to buzz the desk if you need anything.”

  As soon as the nurse left, Tripp gave himself another dose of pain meds in hopes it would make him drowsy. Lying there in the dark with only his troubling thoughts to keep him company, sleep seemed his only escape.

  A couple more doses got him through the night. About the time his breakfast tray was delivered, Brooke and Dad arrived.

  “Wow. You look a hundred times better than when we left here last night.” Brooke peeked beneath the metal lid on his tray. “Oh, joy. Broth and lime gelatin. No worries about me snitching a bite.”

  Dad circled to the opposite side of the bed. “How are you, son? You scared us silly.”

  “I’m okay. More worried about you.” Tripp gripped his father’s hand.

  “Hangin’ in there, best we can.” Dad shared a glance with Brooke, who gave a quick nod, obviously some kind of private communication Tripp wasn’t supposed to interpret. “I’m just gonna step out to the nurses’ station and see if they have some coffee.”

  As the door closed behind his father, Tripp pinned his sister with a hard stare. “All right, what’s going on?”

  Arms crossed, Brooke plopped down on a chair. “Eat your breakfast and I’ll tell you.”

  The beefy aroma of the broth was slightly nauseating, but if Tripp wanted to get stronger, he’d better try to get it down. He took a few careful sips. While his stomach settled, he glanced over at Brooke. “So...?”

  “So...I’m pretty mad at you right now.” She sat forward. “Do you have any idea what it was like for me to have to explain to Diana about the Crohn’s? Tripp, why didn’t you tell her?”

  The broth churned through his insides. “I was waiting for the right time. And then—” He swallowed and looked toward the window. “What Dad went through with Mom, the thought of putting Diana through that—I just couldn’t do it.”

  “You big baby.” Lips pursed, Brooke shook her head. “She’s in love with you, Tripp. Don’t be an idiot. Don’t let her go again.”

  “You don’t understand—”

  “No, you’re the one who’s totally clueless.” Rising, Brooke approached the bed. “Just talk to her, Tripp. Apologize and make things right, before it’s too late. She’s in the waiting room right now. Let me go get her—”

  “No.” Tripp’s chest muscles clenched. He fought for breath. “Not like this. Not while I’m lying in a hospital bed with tubes in my arm.”

  Brooke glanced toward the door. When she faced Tripp again, the frustration in her eyes had turned to worry. “She’s hurt and angry, Tripp, and she has every right to be. If you don’t reach her now, you may never get another chance.”

  Long moments of indecision passed. Tripp’s thoughts sped through the uncertain future, and when he contemplated facing it without Diana, his heart twisted.

  The door whispered open, and Tripp jerked his head toward the sound, both hoping and fearing he’d see Diana.

  It was his father. Exhaling tiredly, Dad caught Brooke’s eye and murmured, “I tried, but she wouldn’t stay.”

  Only then did Tripp realize how ready he was to stuff all his fears about the future into a deep, dark hole and do whatever it took to convince Diana of his love. Ignoring the pang shooting through his surgical incision, he pushed himself upright in the bed. “What—she left already?”

  “Sorry, son, but she was real upset.” Hands stuffed in his pockets, Dad shuffled closer. “Said she only stopped by to make sure you were all right and had to get back to Juniper Bluff.”

  Brooke cast him a sad smile. “I’m sorry, Tripp. I tried to tell you.”

  “Not your fault.” He looked away. “I brought this on myself.”

  * * *

  Diana used almost an entire box of tissues during the drive home. Between the flood of her own tears and the spitting rain smearing the windshield, the road ahead was a misty blur, and she could only be thankful there hadn’t been much traffic on a Tuesday.

  Pulling into her garage, she shut off the engine and hammered the steering wheel with her fist. “How could you, Tripp?”

  All those wasted years, simply because he was both too proud and too insecure to be truthful with her about his health condition. Did he have so little respect for her, so little trust in her love?

  Now, how could she ever trust him again? Even if she could forgive him—and she wanted to, desperately—every time she replayed Brooke’s description of Tripp’s battle with Crohn’s, along with the potential complications she’d read about later on the internet, her thoughts raced with the terrifying possibility that any future they might hope for could be cruelly and painfully cut short.

  It didn’t matter how many sources quoted statistics indicating Crohn’s was rarely fatal. What if Tripp proved the exception? What if another episode like this one—and Brooke had said it wasn’t the first—turned into something much worse?

  She had to stop thinking about it before she drove herself crazy. Hauling her travel bag from the trunk, she entered through the kitchen door, only to be loudly greeted by three howling cats and a squawking parakeet. Alice the rabbit was quiet, at least, hunkering near her crate door and wiggling her nose.

  “I missed you, too, guys. All right, all right, don’t trip me.” Stepping gingerly around the cats, Diana made her way to the bedroom and started unpacking. It was still early. She could grab a bite of lunch and then relieve Kimberly at the doughnut shop.

  Just keep busy. If she could focus on work and her therapy pets group, maybe she’d get past the anger and find a way to deal with the revelations of the last couple of days.

  When Diana walked in the back door of the doughnut shop an hour later, Kimberly looked up from her mixing bowl with a start. “Didn’t expect you back so soon.”

  “Nothing to keep me in Austin.” Barely looking at her assistant, Diana took an apron from a hook. “Who’s up front?”

  “Nora. And don’t have a conniption, okay? She, um, had a little accident with the cappuccino machine this morning.”

  Good, a problem to deal with. Today, problems were Diana’s friend. She started for the front before Kimberly could bombard her with questions about the trip. Or Tripp. She didn’t want to talk about either one.

  Avoidance worked fine for the rest of the day. And the day after that. And on into the weekend, at least until Sunday morning, when Doc Ingram caught her on her way into church.

  “Awful thing about Tripp,” he said. “First his mom dying, then him getting sick like that.”

  “Yes, awful.” Diana offered a pinched smile. Out of politeness she asked, “How are things at the clinic? Are you managing okay?”

  “Hasn’t been easy. Good to know Tripp’s on the mend. Can’t wait to have him back.” With a nod to his wife, waiting at the sanctuary doors, Doc Ingram excused himself. “You take care of that boy, you hear?”

  “But I—” No use explaining. The vet was out of earshot anyway.

  Then Marie Peterson arrived with her great-grandchildren, Seth Austin’s kids, and bustled over to say hello. From Marie, Diana learned Brooke and Mr. Willoughby had driven Tripp home and were staying in one of the guest cabins.

  Diana blinked. “He’s back already?”

 
“You didn’t know?” Marie’s eyebrows bunched. “I just figured—I mean, I heard you two—”

  The opening praise music began, saving Diana from an uncomfortable explanation. “We’d better go in to church.”

  She sidestepped into the pew alongside her parents and grudgingly accepted her father’s sympathetic one-arm hug. Dad’s “Spidey sense” where Diana’s boyfriend issues were concerned had kicked in big-time after she returned from Austin, and she hadn’t been able to escape confiding the truth about Tripp and all that had happened.

  “Heard he’s back in town,” Dad spoke close to her ear. “Planning on seeing him?”

  Keeping her eyes on the song lyrics scrolling across the projection screen, Diana shook her head. “Still processing. Not to mention I’ve been busy getting organized for another therapy pets visit this afternoon.”

  “Sounds like an excuse to me.”

  Diana bit her tongue. “I—I just need more time.”

  And a whole lot more prayer.

  * * *

  From a cushioned chair in the cabin’s sitting area, Tripp watched his sister puttering around in the kitchenette. “You really don’t have to stay,” he told her for the tenth time since they’d brought him home. “I can take care of myself.”

  “Uh-huh, like you’ve totally been doing lately.” Crossing to his chair, Brooke handed him a plate of baked chicken breast and steamed green beans. Bland, but at least it wasn’t hospital food.

  “So I had a minor setback.”

  “Minor?” Hands on her hips, Brooke glared. “Have you forgotten you just had major surgery?”

  “I’ve learned my lesson this time, I promise.” Shifting to ease the strain on his healing incision, Tripp glanced over at his dad as he settled onto the sofa with his own plate of food. “How have you put up with this bossy kid for so long?”

  “She’s a handy little thing to have around.” Dad cast his daughter a loving, misty-eyed smile. “Don’t know what we’d have done without her this past year.”

  Tripp’s first bite of chicken stuck in his throat. He forced it down with a gulp of iced tea. Dad was right, of course. Brooke was the glue keeping them all from falling apart.

  Well, except for Tripp. He’d fallen apart mightily these past few weeks. But the pieces were coming together again, praise the Lord. Long talks with his father during his hospital stay and in the days since had helped him regain some perspective—about his mother’s courageous battle with kidney disease, about the ups and downs of his own condition and especially about not letting fear of an unpredictable future rob him of happiness in the here and now.

  But would Diana see it the same way? Would she give him another chance, first to explain and apologize, and then to try again to build a life together?

  None of it would matter, though, if he didn’t take his health more seriously. The obstruction was his own fault for ignoring the warning signs of an impending crisis. Now that he was thinking more clearly, he could see how his negligence had been a form of self-punishment for his “crime” of not being able to give his mother a kidney and save her life. As Brooke and his parents had been telling him for years, he needed to stop blaming himself for something that was never his fault.

  When they’d finished supper and Brooke had washed the dishes, Tripp insisted she quit fussing over every little thing and sit down with him and Dad. “I’m serious,” he said. “Brooke, you’ve got a job to get back to, so there’s no point in y’all sticking around. I’ll manage fine on my own. Besides, the Austins and Petersons are right next door, and Marie’s already offered to bring meals over for the next few days.”

  “That’s all well and good,” Brooke said with a scowl. “What I really want to know is when and how you’re going to start repairing the damage you’ve done with Diana.”

  Tripp matched her stare. “I fully intend to—or at least I plan to try. But not with my daddy and baby sister nagging me at every turn.”

  “Nagging? That’s what you call making sure you don’t ruin the rest of your life—or kill yourself in the process?”

  The chinks in Brooke’s armor were showing, and it saddened Tripp to realize he’d only added to her stress and strain. “I won’t let that happen, sis. You have my word.”

  She sniffled and turned away, but not before Tripp caught her wiping away a tear.

  “Brooke, my sweet girl,” Dad said with a weary sigh, “it’s time you took a rest from the caregiving. Let’s do what Tripp says and get on home. Time we all got started on finding our way through this—” his voice wavered “—and on to whatever comes next.” He pushed up from the sofa and patted Tripp on the shoulder. “Get a good night’s sleep, son. We’ll come say goodbye in the morning before we leave for the airport.”

  It was early yet, but as soon as his dad and sister returned to their guest cabin, Tripp crawled into bed. He’d been cleared for limited activity but had been up and around more today than he should have been. It just felt so good to be out of the hospital and back in his own place.

  His own place—a rental cabin more suitable for a short-term stay than a permanent residence? He’d have to remedy that soon because he’d had plenty of time to think it over recently, and he felt more certain than ever that he wanted to settle down right here in Juniper Bluff.

  And not just settle down but, Lord willing, make a home with the woman he loved.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Another week went by while Diana pretended everything was okay. Which wasn’t easy when she jumped every time her cell phone rang, hoping and yet dreading she’d see Tripp’s name and number on the display. He’d called three times already, but she hadn’t been ready to talk. She hadn’t even found the nerve to listen to his voice mails and had systematically deleted them. He probably figured she’d given up on him completely. If so, it served him right. Served them both right for believing in something they could never have.

  On Saturday morning, as she mechanically filled customers’ orders, Seth Austin walked in. Glad for the distraction of a good friend, she managed a weary smile. “Seth, hi. Haven’t seen you in here on a Saturday in a long time.”

  “No Camp Serenity kids this weekend, and our only two guests are honeymooners.” Seth’s mouth quirked. “More interested in quiet walks around the lake than guided horseback rides.”

  “Ah.” Diana glanced past Seth. “No Christina?”

  “She’ll be along. She’s over at the drugstore refilling her prenatal vitamins.”

  “Won’t be long now, huh?” An unexpected twinge of regret stabbed Diana’s heart. The likelihood of her ever knowing the joy of having a family of her own had all but disappeared because she couldn’t imagine it happening with anyone but Tripp. With a brisk inhalation, she shoved aside such futile thoughts. “So. What can I get you?”

  “Regular coffee for me, extra strong. Christina asked for raspberry tea.” Seth nodded toward the bakery case. “And a carrot muffin and cheese Danish.”

  “You two are so predictable.” Smirking, Diana turned to fill Seth’s order.

  “Haven’t seen you out at the ranch lately,” Seth said as she set two mugs on the counter. One eyebrow slanted in an accusing frown. “This isn’t like you, Diana. At least it didn’t used to be.”

  Diana clamped her teeth together. “You know what it feels like to have your heart broken by someone you loved and trusted, so don’t judge me.”

  “No judgment intended. Just an old friend who’d really like to see you happy with the man you love.” Leaning closer, Seth braced his elbows on the counter and lowered his voice. “Look, with Tripp recuperating at his cabin, he and I have had plenty of time to get better acquainted, so I know all about the Crohn’s and how it’s the reason you two aren’t together. I also know it’s not like you to run from something just because it’s a little scary.”

  “Isn’t that exactly what Tri
pp did when he broke up with me in college?”

  “For which he’s paid dearly, sounds like to me. He’s crazy in love with you, Di, and the only reason he hasn’t pushed harder to get in touch since he came home is because he understands you need time to come to terms with everything.”

  “Come to terms with the fact that he kept the truth from me all these years? That’s going to take a while.” Conscious of being in full view of her other customers, Diana swiveled sideways to swipe away an escaping tear. “Here comes Christina. I’ll get those pastries for you.”

  She served Seth and Christina and was grateful neither said anything more on the subject of Tripp Willoughby.

  She wasn’t so fortunate when she stopped in to see Aunt Jennie later that afternoon. Her parents happened to be there, too, and their presence made it even harder to calmly justify why she’d avoided all contact with Tripp since he’d returned home.

  “You need to settle this once and for all,” her father said. “Either go patch things up or make a clean break. You owe that much to yourself and to Tripp.”

  Squashed between her parents on Aunt Jennie’s love seat, Diana sat with her arms folded tightly against her chest. “I have no idea what I’d even say to him.”

  Aunt Jennie scoffed. “Words are highly overrated. Just go be with him, honey. God will take care of the rest.”

  While Diana shook her head and sniffed back a tear, her mother tugged her hand free and gave it a squeeze. “I have an idea,” she said. “Let me call Tripp. I’ll invite him over for Sunday dinner tomorrow—a gesture of kindness as he recuperates.”

  “I don’t know, Mom...”

  “Give this a chance, sweetie.” Her mother kissed her cheek. “Your dad’s right. This has to be settled, and you need to do it face-to-face.”

  An anguished sigh ripped through Diana’s throat. “All right, but I should be the one to call him. And if Tripp agrees to come, no pressure, okay? Whatever happens, happens.”

  Her mother nodded. “Whatever happens, happens.”

  Steeling herself, Diana carried her phone out to the corridor. As she found Tripp’s number in her contacts, a huge part of her hoped he wouldn’t answer.