Page 66 of Hard Rain Coming
“And?” Summer prodded.
“Henhawk. Dallas Henhawk is your father.”
“That’s a cool name. Do I look like him too?”
“Yes.” Vivian smiled. “You have his eyes.”
“I know you were young, but was he a good guy?”
Vivian nodded.
Summer cracked a smile. “Was he hot?”
Vivian winked. “He was the most intense, insanely handsome man I knew.” Her laughter trickled away. “He still is.”
“Is he in Montana?”
“He never left. He has a beautiful place at the foot of Yellowstone, near my family ranch.”
Summer sat back, her expression thoughtful. “Are you two, like, do you still talk to each other?”
“We’ve recently reconnected.”
“That’s good, right?”
“I hope so.” Vivian licked her dry lips, suddenly shy. She did what she always did: she deflected. “Can you tell me about you now?”
Summer giggled, the sound like all the good in the world bottled up into one thing.
For the next hour or so, Summer told Vivian about her life in Belle Adair. According to her, it was the best place to live. Like ever.
She had two best friends, Jenna and Emily, and they’d hung out with a larger group of kids for most of their lives. She liked to knit, was addicted to the Housewives franchise, and watched every kind of true crime show there was. Her favorite podcast was about people who disappeared, and she liked to make TikToks with her friends and their dogs.
She loved the color was green; she hated carrots, but loved brussels sprouts and apple pie. Her favorite band was Canadian, The Tragically Hip, and she was a proud Swiftie. She loved chocolate ice cream, but it was better when it had chunks of peanut butter in it. The family dog, Arthur, slept in her room, and she broke her arm when she was nine because she fell off the roof.
“You fell off the roof?” Vivian interrupted.
“Yes.” Summer nodded with a giggle. “Brandon Billings dared me to spend the night up there. Said I was a fraidy cat, and I wanted to prove him wrong because he’s literally the dumbest boy I know.” She laughed. “Though I guess I’m dumber because I actually did it. Anyway, I climbed up there when everyone was asleep, and I made it through the entire night. It was boring and kind of cold, but I sang songs and listened to music. In the morning, the tiles were slick with dew, and as I was climbing down, I slipped and fell and broke my arm in two places. “
“Wow.” It was something Vivian would have done.
“Right? God, Mom was so mad, she grounded me for like a month.”
Her dreams were big, her energy sparkling, and as Vivian watched her talk, she couldn’t help but think, I made her. Dallas and I made her.
“So where do you live and what do you do now?”
Startled, Vivian glanced up. “Oh, we’re talking about me now. Well, okay, I live in Alaska, though I’ve been in Montana for over a month now. I write a column and host a podcast.”
“You’re kidding.” Summer was clearly impressed. “I want to be a writer when I grow up. Like, books and stuff? I love science fiction and fantasy, and I have so many ideas in my journals. Like a lot. I have this one idea about the end of the world and, like, this magical girl who’s being hunted and…” Summer tilted her head again and Vivian smiled. “What?”
She couldn’t help herself. She reached forward and took Summer’s hands. “You’re incredible. Everything I would have wanted in a daughter, and I know your mom and dad are responsible for it. For giving you a life I couldn’t. I’m so grateful to them, but I’m also sad that I wasn’t there to see you grow into this amazing young woman you’ve become. Because I think it would have been something to see.”
Summer’s eyes shone. They shimmered to a shade of blue that was so dark, they appeared black.
“But this is only the beginning, isn’t it? Like, we’ll see each other again, won’t we?”
“I hope so.” Vivian was honest. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead. No one knows you exist except for Dal and my friend Jake. There’s so much I need to deal with at home.” She frowned. “But I don’t want you to have to worry about any of that. It has nothing to do with you.”