Page 16 of Hard Rain Coming
There was a house a hundred yards back. Not too big, but not too small either. It was a two-story and featured a long porch that ran the length of the home, as well as large windows and shutters and a big double door for the entrance. Off to the right stood a new barn and two smaller paddocks. In the distance, the mountains sat like gentle giants, and the sky was soft blue with puffs of white clouds.
Vivian sat in her saddle, a lump in her throat so big, she wouldn’t be able to talk or yell if a bear was coming at her. This was perfect. Beautiful. Heaven on earth. It was a home. It was meant for a family.
And it was all she’d ever wanted so long ago.
“Hey,” Benton said, sidling up alongside her. “You okay? Enjoy the ride?”
“I’m good,” she managed to say without sounding like an idiot. “It’s not what I expected.” She pasted a smile to her face. It was plastic, but whatever. She urged Sookie on. Once at the barn, she slid from her saddle and tied up her horse, then waited for Benton and Nora before she followed them inside.
There was something pure and honorable about having the privilege to look after animals. It fed her soul with the kind of goodness she hadn’t experienced in a very long time. She was silent as they fed Dallas’s horses and goats and the rest of the menagerie. The donkey, an old fellow, had been rehomed from Taz Pullman’s sanctuary and was a sweetheart. He kept nudging Nora, which made her giggle up a storm, and it lightened Vivian’s mood from somber to something better. The chores took all of thirty minutes, and she figured they’d be heading back as soon as they were done, so when Benton trudged toward the house, Nora on his heels, she was surprised, but followed them up onto the porch.
“Can I feed her, Daddy?” Nora was practically jumping out of her boots.
“Feed what?” Vivian asked, looking from her niece back to her brother.
“The barn cat found her way inside and had a litter of kittens last weekend.”
“When did Dallas become the guy who took in all these strays?” She didn’t realize she’d spoken aloud until Benton glanced her way. “I mean, I just… It’s a lot of work.”
Benton shrugged and pushed open the door. “A man needs something to occupy his mind. Ranching can be a lonely business.”
Vivian moved just inside the house as Nora squealed and headed straight to the back.
“The cat and her kittens are in the mudroom. We’ll be a bit. She likes to talk to each and every one of them.” Benton smiled and followed his daughter. Once she was by herself, Vivian slowly let out a long breath and leaned back against the wall.
The house was a study in contrast. The kitchen was a modern wonder, with shiny black appliances, white granite, gray stone, and so much natural light, it would make Scrooge a happy man. A large window over the sink had a variety of plants in small pots that looked like a child had painted them, and she wondered about that.
On the opposite side of the large open room was a fireplace with an impressive mantel. There was a flat-screen television and a comfy sectional in a muted gray, while the area rug was a waterfall of color. There were black-and-white photos on the wall, pictures of horses and a couple of Dallas’s mother, and one of him and his beloved grandfather, Sully.
She made a face when she spied one of his sister Jade. The woman had never liked Vivian. And…she walked closer to see the last photo. Gunner.
She reached for the frame and traced the image of the dog, remembering him when he was a puppy full of energy and kisses and licks on the nose.
Shit. Stop it, she scolded herself and took a step back. There was no use remembering a shared history that was a disaster. With Benton and Nora still in the mudroom, Vivian moved on and explored the main floor. There was a bathroom off the kitchen and a small bedroom. Opposite that were the stairs that led to the second level. She hesitated a moment, and then took the stairs before she lost her nerve.
It was a loft type of layout, with an open area that was clearly Dallas’s office. There was a large L-shaped desk, a small sofa and table, and some shelving that held books.
Across the way was a door that must be his bedroom. She eyed it for all of two seconds before moving toward the shelves to inspect Dallas’s reading choices. There were books on horse breeding, biographies of singers and political types. She wandered back to his desk, but it was clear of clutter, and even though she knew she shouldn’t, Vivian opened one of the drawers—it was filled with file folders and paperwork.
She should have left, but after glancing at the stairs, opened the smaller drawer. Why? No clue. She wasn’t normally a snoop, but something caught her eye, tucked away in the corner.
Carefully, she reached inside and retrieved a small, painted, wooden figurine. “Oh.” The unicorn. “He kept it,” she whispered, rolling it over in her hand. She used to call him her unicorn, because he’d always been one of a kind. Magical. It had been corny, and he used to tease her about it.
She held the unicorn tightly, her mind going back to a night they’d ridden up to the Founder’s Cabin with their sleeping bags, two bags of chips, and a bottle of JD. He’d handed her the wooden figurine, as if it was a normal thing, and kissed her. Then he’d whispered in her ear.
“I guess, now, I’m your unicorn for life.”
She’d treasured the carving until that last fight when she’d thrown it in his face. It had been one for the books. So many awful things said on both sides. She’d left Montana the next day.
“Hey, where are you?”
She jumped at Benton’s voice and shoved the unicorn back in the drawer. “Coming.”
Cheeks hot, she ran down the stairs and walked past her brother. She didn’t stop until she was out the door and on the front porch. Her heart pounded a mile a minute, and she found it hard to breathe, so she kept her eyes straight ahead when Benton joined her. He didn’t ask why she’d been upstairs, and for that, she was grateful.
“Nora is switching out the cat litter.”
Mouth tight, Vivian nodded.