Page 30 of Hard Rain Coming

“I don’t think they call them that anymore.”

“Doesn’t matter what they call them, the covers were provocative. The book I found under my mother’s mattress?—”

“You snooped under your mother’s mattress?”

Jack chuckled. “I was looking for cash, but found treasure instead.”

“Treasure, huh?”

“To me, it was like finding a red ruby. The book had this handsome man on the cover. He became quite famous if I’ve got may facts straight. His name was Follio or Franco or something like that. He was beautiful, with a mane of hair that begged to be tugged, a chest that was perfect, and his clothes…all those silks and patterns and colors. I was done for before I realized it.”

“Fabio.”

Jack leaned back. “What?”

“The model for those books. His name is Fabio.”

“Sugar, his name could have been Febreze and I wouldn’t have cared.”

Vivian tried to muster a smile but had nothing. She was sad. No way around it. Dallas had disappeared into the kitchen ten minutes earlier, and it was obvious he’d left the back way.

He wanted nothing to do with Vivian.

Jack reached across the table, grabbed her hands, and squeezed gently. “Everything will work its way out. You have to have faith.”

“Faith,” she muttered, thinking of dark things that had destroyed any kind of faith she’d possessed years ago. She pushed her soda away and looked across the table at her friend. Maybe her only friend.

“Do you believe?” she asked, watching Jack closely. “In something more than what we see?”

“You mean God?”

She nodded.

A small frown marred Jack’s brow as he set down his coffee mug. “I believe in goodness. I believe in acceptance and tolerance and love. I believe some folks use science to debunk religion, and others do the opposite. I don’t know which one is right, so I tend to be of the opinion that they both have value and a place in our world. Science and faith. Do I believe in an actual God? Some physical being who sits on a throne in the heavens?” He shrugged. “I think God can be a lot of things. I think he can be hope. I think he exists in the kindness of strangers. I think you can hear God in a baby’s cry or see him in the eyes of someone you love.” He reached for his mug. “Mostly, I think God can be forgiveness, and that might be the most important thing of all. Without forgiveness, we’re all just stuck, aren’t we?”

Vivian dropped her gaze.

“You need to forgive yourself, Vivian.” Jack’s voice wasn’t so gentle anymore. “Or else you’ll end up alone for the rest of your life, and that would be an absolute shame. Of all the people I’ve met in my fifty-six years of living, you have the biggest capacity for love. The most space in your heart to fill. The most love to give.”

“Really,” she scoffed, meeting his gaze. “I know a lot of folks who would disagree.”

Jack sat back and shrugged. “So let them.”

The foreman’s cabin was the one building on the ranch Vivian had never been inside. Before Dallas, the foreman had been a formidable man, Jenkins, who’d never smiled, never spoken a word to any of the Bridgestone kids, and he sure as hell had never invited any of them to his home.

She was walking in blind and hadn’t had any expectations, so Vivian was pleasantly surprised the night before when she and Jack finally made it back to the ranch. The log cabin was larger than it appeared, with an open living space on the main floor as well as a bedroom that could be used as an office, and a bathroom complete with a modern standing shower and an antique clawfoot tub that was deep and wide. The attic was spacious, with a high ceiling and enough room for a king-size bed, as well as a seating area that included a sofa, desk, and some shelving that was currently empty.

The decor was homey, the furniture sturdy and old, though the kitchen appliances were newer. There wasn’t an overabundance of windows, but enough natural light fell that it didn’t appear too dark.

Jack found it quaint, while she loved pretty much everything about it.

Her brother had had the place thoroughly cleaned while she’d been in Alaska, and both beds had new bedding. The cupboards were filled with new dishes and dry goods, while Benton had also stocked the fridge. He’d added two framed pictures on the wall that featured painted artwork by none other than her niece, Nora.

She smiled at the thought. Nora had been her first official visitor this morning when she’d arrived like a tornado, with Lily in her arms. She was a breath of fresh air and uninhibited in her affection for folks. Even for her Auntie Viv.

I wish I could be like her. Free. Open. Easy.

And maybe Vivian was once, but it was so long ago, she didn’t remember.