Ben placed an arm across Jesse’s shoulder. “Let’s just give it a few days.”
Jesse turned to the Ben. “How’d you get so damned wise? Your old man would be proud.”
With heavy feet, Jesse headed down the steps and straight to his car without looking back. Ben stared after him as he disappeared down the drive.
Inside the house there was a hurting young woman he had to deal with. What he planned to do or say, he didn’t know. Let her stew in her juices for a while. Maybe she’d cool down enough to see some reason.
In a day or so he’d approach her about her relationship with her father.
For now, he just wanted a good horseback ride to clear his head.
Chapter Six
Sally hadn’t said more than a dozen words to Hayden since they’d arrived at The Painted Horse. While she and her cousin hadn’t exactly had a warm relationship, Hayden knew a cold shoulder when she felt it and Sally’s attitude around her was reaching blizzard conditions. She figured that Gran had told Sally about the change in the will, and Sally hadn’t taken it so well. For a moment Hayden considered trying to explain to Sally that this arrangement wasn’t her idea and that she’d tried to convince Gran to keep things the way they’d been before she came to South Dakota but Sally wouldn’t care.
It was only a matter of time before things would come to a head. Living around Sally got more and more like walking through a room of broken glass. One had to tread very carefully. Riding out on the prairie nearly every day helped, but Hayden found she couldn’t avoid Sally every moment.
Hayden pulled on her pair of boots and looked up. Sally stood in the doorway, her fists resting on her jean-clad hips. Hell was about to break loose.
“You think you can waltz in here and just change the way things are?” Sally raged. Her face had gone from peaches and cream to red and mottled.
Hayden shook her head, her eyes closed. So the tiger was showing her stripes. And her claws.
“I didn’t come here to change things for you or for anyone and I’m not going to sit here and let you accuse me of it. It was certainly not my choice to have Gran change things.”
“I don’t believe you,” Sally shot back, nastily. She walked farther into Jaycie’s bedroom. “Not only have you wiggled your way into Lu’s life, you’ve gotten yourself thoroughly entwined in Ben’s. Got him wrapped around your little finger too. Look at you, settled into Jaycie’s room like you were family or something.
Hayden stood abruptly, her hands curled into fists and squeezed. “I’m not getting into this with you because it’s none of your business.”
Sally took two steps toward Hayden. “Yes, it is my business. This is my life here, not yours. You don’t even intend to stay, but you’re going to make it so I can’t either. That certainly makes it my business.”
As much as she hated to admit it, Hayden knew that Sally had a point, no matter how nastily it was delivered. “Listen, I already told Gran that she shouldn’t be leaving Primrose Inn to me. She said she was going to no matter what I said. If you want to bring it up with her, be my guest. Now if you’ll excuse me, Missy is waiting for me.”
“Going for another ride? I wonder, Hayden, just what you’re doing out there.”
Instead of replying, Hayden just shook her head and left Sally standing in the room by herself.
****
Missy held Roxy’s reins while Hayden swung into the saddle.
You’ve come a long way, baby.
Three weeks ago she never would’ve considered that getting onto a horse would actually be fun again, but it had turned out to be an activity that she enjoyed immensely. Missy was very pleasant company, and could hold onto a secret like an old pro. Hayden didn’t know why it was so important for Ben not to know what she was painting. Now it was finished and she had to find the right time to present it to him.
She had little doubt he’d be pleased by the results. The butte made a wonderful backdrop, but the horse and man were the masterpiece. She’d never painted a horse, but over the past few weeks had spent much time studying the animals she’d come to admire. Ben’s big brown and white Paint gelding was magnificent, a perfect match for his master.
“He’s going to love that painting,” Missy declared after she mounted up on her own horse. “I can’t believe how well you captured him and Ricochet! Especially from just memory.”
The heat of a blush seeped into her cheeks. If only Missy knew the half of it. The truth of the matter was that Ben barely left her mind since she came to stay at The Painted Horse. She knew every plane of his face, the shape of his nose and cut of his lips when they smiled and frowned. Even the tint of his eyes when the sun caught them at just the right angle, how they went from sky blue to a paler, icy shade that reminded Hayden of the pond in Clarksport when it froze solid in the dead of winter.
So far she’d managed to steer clear of any private moments with him since the afternoon on the prairie when she’d come so close to giving herself over to him completely. It wasn’t easy, he was persistent, to say the least. When he wasn’t entertaining his guests, he made it a point to seek her out, especially after the disastrous meeting with Jesse. He never mentioned that afternoon, never pressed her to meet and attempt to reconcile with her father, which she was grateful for. She didn’t think she was ready for another go round with him. A few weeks ago she would’ve expected Ben to side with his godfather, to discourage another meeting, but his quiet support, despite the fact she kept him at arm’s length, was reassuring. A part of her, the part that relived the moments on the prairie each night before falling asleep, wanted to put aside all her reservations and fall the rest of the way in love with him.
Although she was fairly certain that there had been absolutely nothing between Ben and Sally, Hayden wondered if part of her reluctance to let go with Ben went back to Sally’s desires. She didn’t believe that Ben would ever chose her cousin, but they’d known each other far longer and perhaps she was something of a usurper to everything Sally had hopes for.
Sally made the most of Ben’s company, regardless of everything. The young nurse took advantage of him whenever he came near her, fawning and batting her eyelashes, taking flirting to a whole new level. Well, maybe she didn’t actually bat her lashes, but anyone with half a clue could see that Sally lusted after Ben, and Hayden would have cheerfully kicked herself for the misplaced feelings of jealousy that plopped into her belly every time the two were around each other. Well, possibly not misplaced, but definitely not sensible.
All the more reason to hightail it back to Maine as soon as Gran was out of the woods. Best to leave before these feelings for him took hold of her and made leaving impossible.
As soon as Missy and Hayden rode into the stable yard, the sun was balancing on the roof of the barn. Hayden dismounted smoothly and gathered Roxy’s reins.
“I’ll take her for you,” Missy offered, holding out a gloved hand.
Hayden placed the leather reins into the girl’s hand. “Thanks so much for tagging along with me. I do appreciate it.”
“No prob. I enjoyed seeing you work. Just wish I could see Ben’s face when you show him the painting. He’s going to go crazy for it.”
Hayden grinned as she unstrapped her gear and canvas from Roxy’s saddle. “I hope he is. Hate to think I wasted a good canvas if he doesn’t.”
Missy steered her horse toward the barn, pulling Roxy with her. “If he doesn’t want it, I’ll take it,” she said over her shoulder.
Hayden glanced at her watch. Half an hour until dinner, enough time to shower and change. She and Sally had taken to eating in the kitchen with Amelia instead of with the guests and Ben out in the dining room. It wasn’t so much a matter that they weren’t invited to join them, but Ben had a full house that week.
Sometimes Gran joined them, when she felt up to leaving her room and venture downstairs. But mainly she ate at a little table Ben had moved into her room, and would rest while the rest of the household had dinn
er.
As she reached the top of the stairs, Hayden heard Sally close the door to the room she and Gran shared.
“Oh good, you’re back. Aunt Lu was asking for you. She wants to have dinner with you tonight. Just the two of you. Do you mind?” Sally’s voice was as icy as her eyes.
Hayden shook her head. “No, not at all. Tell her I want to shower and change and I’ll be right in. Fifteen minutes tops.”
Sally nodded curtly and returned to the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.
Hayden continued down to the room she’d been using for the past several weeks. Ben’s younger sister, Jaycie, seemed like a typical twenty-something woman. Most of the décor in the large room seemed to be holdouts from her teen years, posters of recently popular rock groups and a veritable shrine to Brad Pitt in one corner.
An entire wall and bookcase held Jaycie’s ribbons, trophies and several belt buckles. Apparently the young woman was an accomplished horsewoman both in horse shows and rodeos. But growing up on a ranch such as The Painted Horse it would be near impossible not to be good with horses, just like Hayden could handle a boat with skill by the time she was twelve.
Taking over this stranger’s room still made Hayden uncomfortable. She lived out of her suitcases even though Amelia had cleared out several drawers and a space in the walk-in closet for her. Hayden didn’t want the feeling of permanence that came with unpacking. Not when on the other side of the wall of ribbons and trophies, the object of her night and day dreams slept.
Thankfully Jaycie had her own private bathroom, and Hayden suspected that Ben did as well, so she didn’t have to share that kind of intimacy with him. She shed her jeans and pale blue tee, depositing them in the hamper in the bathroom and turned on the shower as hot as it could go. She used the next ten minutes efficiently, washing and conditioning her hair, lathering up her body to wash away the smell of horse and sweat, and any traces of paint that may have splattered off the brush.
After drying off and running a comb through her hair, Hayden changed into a pair of slacks and a deep forest green three-quarter sleeved jersey. She hurried back out of her room and down to the opposite end of the house to Gran’s room.
“Come in,” she heard from within after tapping gently on the door. Sally stood in the center of the room, slipping on a pair of two-inch heels. She was clothed in a dress that Hayden had never seen. In fact she looked a whole lot fancier than she’d been since their arrival. Her blonde hair was caught up in a large silver comb, and her ears sported dangly pearl earrings and a matching necklace.
Hayden’s brows furrowed. “You’re all dressed up. What’s the occasion?”
Sally’s pale coral lips turned up in a smile. Somewhere in the depths of her glittering eyes Hayden detected a look of triumph. “Ben asked me to join the guests this evening for dinner. Thought I should do better than slacks.” She smoothed her red-tipped hands down over her silk-clad hips.
Hayden smiled tightly, biting the inside of her lip to keep from saying something she’d regret. “Well, you have a good time. I know that you don’t get much of a chance for a break. I’m looking forward to spending some time alone with Gran.”
With fluid motion, Sally swept by her, trailing behind a cloud of White Diamonds.
Should be Obsession.
Hayden slanted a look at the nurse’s back as she opened the door and slipped out, turning just briefly enough to bestow a wicked wink.
Hayden shoved all the ill-humored thoughts to the far recesses of her brain and went to the deck where Gran was nestled into one of the Adirondack rockers. Someone had provided her with a thick cushion, and a colorful afghan had been tucked in around her.
Though she looked worlds better than she had when she came home from the hospital, Gran hadn’t regained the healthy pink to her cheeks, or the lively twinkle in her eyes. But she managed a smile as Hayden joined her, holding her hand out. Hayden took it and gave it a light squeeze. So frail, her skin felt dry and paper-thin.
“I hope you don’t mind eating out here. I want to look at the sunset.” Gran nodded toward the view. The sun had sunk halfway down past the horizon and its far-reaching rays painted the sky in a grand flourish of orange, yellows and reds. From above the house, streaks of twilight had begun to seep into the shades of fire.
A small table had been set up between the two seats, covered with a crisp white linen cloth embroidered with tiny roses. A tray held two china bowls filled with chowder. By the odor that filtered through the evening air, Hayden identified it as clam chowder and smiled at the irony. A little taste of home. A plate sat between them, sandwiches cut into triangular pieces. Hayden took one. Seafood salad. Real honest-to-goodness lobster salad.
“Where in heck do you find real lobster around here?” Hayden asked between bites.
“We’re not totally cut off from civilization, honey,” Gran replied, humor evident in her tired voice.
“I know. I guess I just didn’t expect a meal straight from home.”
The two women fell silent. Gran sipped her chowder, her eyes locked on the horizon.
“It’s strange to think that this could have been your home,” Gran said, her voice wistful.
Hayden turned her gaze to her grandmother trying to see her mother in the elderly woman’s face, wondering if her mother would’ve looked this way had she lived so long.
“I wish she’d brought me back here. I love Maine, but I wish I’d gotten a better chance to know you and Grandpa.”
Gran reached out her hand again and laid it on Hayden’s arm. “I think he would have liked that. I believe that he regretted being so hard on Rosalyn. We regretted it. We wanted the best for Rosalyn, but it’s a hard life out here for a teenaged girl. She was as hardheaded as they came, and had a wild streak we couldn’t tame. We couldn’t have kept her here if we tried. And if it hadn’t been Jesse Ball who took her out of town, it would have been some other boy.”
Hayden pursed her lips. Hearing these rather unflattering words about her mother was hard, it hurt, but she knew that they were the truth. Rosalyn had been carefree, but so stubborn. Once she decided on something there was no veering her from her path.
“I’m sorry she hurt you,” Hayden said petulantly. “She was a wonderful mom, though, and worked so hard to get what she wanted in her life once we settled down. I wish that you two had been able to make your peace before she died.”
“You’re a good girl, Hayden. I’m glad you came. Soon I’ll see your mom and we’ll have our closure. I look forward to that.”
Those few words and the peace that accompanied them startled Hayden. She pushed herself out of her seat and kneeled beside Gran, gathering the woman’s hands in hers. Despite the blanket and the warm summer air, Gran’s fingers were ice cold. There was only a sliver of sun left, and the light from the bedroom provided most of the illumination, but the last rays tinted Gran’s pallid skin, giving her a youthful glow.
Though she stared off at the sunset, Hayden had a feeling that Gran wasn’t seeing The Painted Horse Ranch at all. Her pale lips turned up in a bit of a smile, and her eyes filled with longing.
“Rosalyn’s hair is still long. I always liked it better in braids, but not her.” Gran laughed softly. “She wanted to be just like her grandmother, my mama. She was Sioux, you know. Mary Windhawk. They look so much alike. I never realized it. I guess I look more like Papa. He’s still smoking that pipe of his.”
Gran continued to speak, her voice as far away as her eyes. Hayden held on tight to her hands, looking in the direction Gran’s eyes were transfixed on, trying to picture the people she described, the people that Hayden had never known, with the exception of her mother. Her family.
“Ah, there’s my Del. Why he looks just like the day we got married. He’s got a sweet bouquet of flowers for me. Must have picked them out in the prairie. I have to go fix my hair, want to look pretty for him. You go run along and play now, okay, honey? I’ll see you in a little bit.”
And j
ust as the last bit of the sun slid away underneath the edge of the earth, Gran gave a tiny sigh, and the life that lingered in her eyes blew out like a candle.
For a long moment Hayden stayed where she was, frozen and helpless to do any more than to stare at Gran’s smiling face. She tightened her hold on the limp fingers and leaned her head against Gran’s belly.
“Gran?” she whispered against the fabric of the blanket across her grandmother’s body. Suddenly her diminutive frame seemed even slighter now, as if the departure of her soul stole away a part of her physical self.
With the purple light of twilight filling the air, Hayden let her tears come unhindered.
Chapter Seven
Hayden looked into Gran’s closet. It was the third time she’d opened the door, but this time grim determination held her there, looking through the long rack of dresses. It didn’t feel right, and she almost backed out again, but instead she let her fingers trail along the sleeves, looking for something black.
She hadn’t come to South Dakota prepared for a funeral, and a trip to Burton’s one dress shop and department store hadn’t yielded anything appropriate. So, before she tackled a trip to Rapid City, she thought maybe Gran would have a dress she could borrow. Though her grandmother had a slighter build than Hayden, there was a time that they had very similar body types.
She had beautiful taste in clothing. The closet held a variety of pants suits and dresses along with casual clothes for every day. Some were clothes that she wore up until recently, and others definitely dated back to another time in her life. Apparently Gran didn’t like getting rid of her outdated clothes. The closet was packed tight and there were several garment bags wedged into the corner. Hayden pulled them out one by one and laid them on Gran’s bed. Each one held three dresses except the last, which contained a beautiful ivory wedding gown of antique lace and velvet. Hayden pulled it out of the bag, the heavy material falling over her arms in a soft cascade. Most of the train remained in the garment bag, but Hayden laid the rest on Gran’s bed. She fingered one lacy sleeve with its perfect tiny pearl buttons at the wrists. It was the most gorgeous gown Hayden had ever seen, and from the looks of it, it would fit her perfectly. Hayden fought the urge to try it on. It wouldn’t be right, playing dress up in her grandmother’s clothing. But still, it would be something she would keep. She traced her finger along the soft velvet neckline, with its sweetheart cut. It was breathtaking in its simplicity.
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