Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
We pull up outside a modest two-story house with off-white cladding and two small bicycles lying on the neatly trimmed lawn. It looks like a perfect picture of domestic bliss, with the same hanging baskets as back at the ranch. I catch my breath as a wave of anxiety rises unexpectedly.
“She won’t eat you, Taylor. You don’t need to look so scared. But me or Molly might if we don’t get those sundaes we both want, eh Molls?” Maverick says.
Molly laughs, but she senses my trepidation. It’s inevitable when you’ve come from the emotionally volatile house we have.
“Who lives here, Tay?” Her eyes widen.
“Jesse’s sister. I just need to talk to her about baking, okay?” I clutch the box of brownies I brought along. The smell has filled the truck, making us all hungry.
“Come on, out you go. We’ll be back in around an hour unless you call me sooner, okay?” Maverick leans across and pushes open my door.
I step out and smooth my pants, feigning a confidence I don’t feel. I wave at Maverick and Molly and then focus on each step up the garden path. I place my hand against the pale green door, gulping in a huge mouthful of air. It opens before I have the chance to knock.
Beth’s eyes are not as wide and deeply set as Jesse’s but share the same pale color. Today, they’re a frozen lake as they trail over me, leaving icy nerves in their wake. She glances behind me as Maverick’s truck disappears.
“Can I come in?” Silence hangs between us awkwardly.
“I’m just giving the twins their lunch. Is everything okay? Why are you here?” She can’t hide her suspicion, and I don’t blame her. She’s met me once, and it was a disaster. The time between then and today has been more time for her to stew, entrenching her opinions of who I am and what I want.
“I need to speak to you. I’m not here for any trouble. Please, Beth.”
She turns on her heels and strides down the hallway, her dark mood making her footsteps loud and her spine unnaturally straight. I follow and close the door behind us. The walls feature photos of the twins from birth to now in various poses. The love behind the simple display twists in my chest. Mom had done the same, but after she passed, Dad knocked all the pictures down, smashing the glass and ruining the photographs.
In the kitchen, the twins glance up from their plates, their eyes wide as they focus on me. The smell of chicken noodle soup and freshly baked bread hits me. It’s a wholesome scene of everyday family life, but I detect the cautious curiosity of the twins as their eyes drift to the container that I gently place on the counter and then back to me. I hadn’t noticed the other night that Katherine has the same glacial eyes as her uncle and mother, while Holt’s are a warm chestnut brown like his father’s.
“Hi!”
They both look at Beth to make sure it’s okay to be polite to me. I’m a stranger to them, and the one time they met me before, their mother was upset.
“Why don’t you take your lunch out into the backyard.” Beth’s voice is clipped, and neither of them argues. They carefully carry their half-finished bowls outside and sit at a table in the decked area. Beth doesn’t offer me a drink, which I’m sure is grating her sense of hospitality. The back of my throat is dry, and my pulse is pounding in my ears.
“I’m not sure what you’ve come to say, but it won’t make any difference.”
I rest against the counter as she assesses me with her steely gaze. “I know you disapprove of what is happening at Twin Springs. Jesse should have been honest about his plans from the start. Lying to family isn’t something I’m comfortable with,” I say, keeping my voice even. “I understand why you reacted the way you did.” It’s a struggle, but I try to maintain Beth’s eye contact. “My life before I met Jesse, Clint, and Maverick… it wasn’t good. My mom died when I was twelve, and after that, our world fell apart. My father turned to drink. He beat me and left me and my sister, Molly, to fend for ourselves.” My throat feels like a clenched fist.
Beth’s stare remains intense, but I know I have to continue. Tears prickle at the corners of my eyes, and I trace the place where my most recent bruise has now faded to nothing, the ghost memory still as vivid.
“I’m sorry about that,” Beth says eventually. “But I don’t know what this has to do with Jesse and my family’s ranch.” She crosses her arms across her chest defensively.
“You know how hard Jesse, Clint, and Maverick work. And you know how proud Jesse is of what your family has achieved over the years. And so do I. I didn’t ask for any of this. My father sold me at the auction. Jesse bought me. I thought I was being passed from one terrible situation to another. I had to leave my sister behind. But your brother is kind. Clint and Maverick are kind. All they want is someone to look after them and maybe some companionship. A life made up of only hard work is empty.”