Page 79 of Hard Rain Coming
“Auntie, I’ve been taking good care of Lily. See?” Nora smiled and rocked the dog, while Benton took one look at Vivian and patted his daughter on the head.
“I think it’s time for you to take Lily out for a pee.”
“But she’s asleep.”
“Put her little coat on, and she’ll wake up. Then maybe take her to the mudroom and give her a treat.”
“Can I give her the big ones that look like little pink donuts?”
“Sure can.”
Nora ran past the adults and disappeared around the corner.
Scarlett moved past her brothers and gave Vivian a hug. “You’ve been a stranger lately.” Her sister stood back, and Vivian saw the questions and concern in her eyes.
“I know. I’ve been dealing with some stuff, and well…” She looked back at Dallas. “It’s time to share some things.”
Scarlett’s eyes widened, and she looked from Vivian, then to Dallas, and back to Vivian again.
“No way,” she whispered. “You guys?”
“Pay up,” Cal said, jumping off the counter. “I called it.”
“You must have had insider information,” Scarlett retorted.
“I’m just smarter than you,” Cal teased, coming alongside Scarlett with a wide grin on his face. “I knew Henhawk had a thing for Viv.”
“We all did.” Benton chuckled.
“Well, I didn’t.” Ryland looked confused.
“That’s because you’re too young to remember how they were,” Benton replied. He turned to Vivian. “So, this is the big share? Not much of a surprise if you ask me.” His grin slowly faded when he noticed how serious she and Dallas were. “What’s going on?”
Vivian’s mouth was dry. She crossed over to the sink and grabbed a glass from the cupboard, then filled it to the brim with water, which she knocked back in one go. When her heart relaxed a bit, she turned to face her family.
“I’ve got…” How could her mouth be so dry when she’d practically inhaled eight ounces of water? “We…” She looked up and immediately found those blue eyes that could make anything better. Dallas walked over to her and swept a kiss across her mouth. “Take your time,” he whispered. “These are your people. You don’t have to hide anymore.”
Tears poked at her eyes, and she leaned into his touch as he gently wiped them away. With a slow nod, she inhaled and faced her family.
“You all know there was some trauma when we were young. You all lived it, same as I.”
“If you’re here to bash Dad, I don’t want to hear it.” Ryland’s eyes narrowed. “The guy has paid his dues.”
“Let your sister talk,” Dallas said, his tone dark and heavy. “Or leave.”
Ryland opened his mouth, but Benton put his hand on his arm and quieted him. “Go on, Viv. The floor is yours.” Benton gave the youngest Bridgestone a warning glance, and Ryland fell silent.
“Ry,” she said through dry lips. “There’s a lot you don’t know because you were young when most of it went down. I’m not going to sugarcoat anything. My life was hell back then.” She looked at Benton, Cal, and Scarlett. “Our lives were hell. I will never minimize it, because even though you might not want to hear it, our father was responsible for a lot of that bad shit. But in answer to your question, no, I’m not here to bash Manley. I’m past that.”
For the most part.
Her mind whirled in a thousand different directions. How much to share? What exactly to share?
“What’s going on?” Scarlett stood beside Cal, their faces reflecting a lot of the turmoil that still lived inside her.
“I left the Triple B when I was seventeen. For a lot of reasons. Some wouldn’t surprise any of you, and others were private. At the time, I felt like I had no choice. Like I had no place in this family because I didn’t know how to make it work with so much pain around us.” She looked at Scarlett. “I’m sorry I wasn’t a better sister to you. Sorry I deserted you. You deserved more than I could give.” She glanced at her brothers. “All of you did.”
“You don’t have to make excuses. We’re all aware that our situation wasn’t great. You had to run away in order to protect yourself. I get that.” Cal shrugged. “I did the same thing.”