His ultimatum had been a reminder that family bonds were strong. For all her life, she’d taken that fact as a bedrock truth; indisputable. Last night, though, she’d glimpsed a fragility that was new to her, a fault line running beneath the surface of their family. Never before had she considered that it might all be conditional, that if a wrong choice was made, a misstep taken, the once-solid ground could crack in half and let them fall.
Her choice now was clear: Dallas or her family. It was like having to choose between an arm and a leg, lungs and a heart.
At last, dawn came to Water’s Edge, spilling over the steel-gray Canal and illuminating the snowcapped mountains on the opposite shore. She went to the barn and fed her horses, then returned to the cabin, where she sat on the porch, watching.
She was there when Dad left the house and walked over to his truck.
Did he glance up here? She couldn’t be sure. But he drove away without once slowing down as he passed her truck. Soon he would be pulling up to the diner, where he’d meet his friend for breakfast; then, at noon, he’d drive to Grey Park. The family always met in the same spot before every town gathering. There, the various pieces came together to make up the whole. He cared deeply that they all showed up to things together, a subtle reminder that they were a family that mattered in this town. Her dad would meet Aurora first (she was always early) and then Winona.
The pain at that thought surprised her, so she pushed it aside. Her sister had betrayed her last night; it was a thing that had to be dealt with. Later.
Now it was time to make a decision. She could go back to her family or she could go to Dallas.
She wished it were a difficult choice, but the truth was that she wanted Dallas Raintree.
It had always come down to that, from the very first time he reached for her hand and led her onto that dance floor.
She got dressed and went to her truck. As she drove out of town, she could hear the start of the parade, but by the time she reached the gas station it was gone and the world was quiet again, leaving her time to think, to worry.
Would he still be there?
Did he even want her? He had never said the word love to her.
At the hospital, she found him in his room, standing at the window, looking out. When the door opened, he turned to her. “Go away, Vivi. We’re done.”
She crossed the room, went around the bed, and approached him. Her gaze moved along his face, his injuries, pausing at every stitch and bruise. He’d have a new scar along his cheek-bone because of her. “You should have defended yourself.”
“Should I?”
“You did nothing wrong. I was the one who was engaged.”
“Leave me, Vivi Ann.”
“Tell me you don’t want me and I’ll leave.”
“I don’t want you.”
She saw the lie in his pale gray eyes. “What’s my favorite ice cream?”
“Vanilla. Why?”
“Marry me,” she said, surprising herself.
“You’re crazy.”
“We’ve been crazy from the start.”
Time slowed down for a moment. She realized how much she wanted him to say yes and she was afraid. All her life, she’d gotten what she wanted. What if that meant she would lose it now, when it mattered most?
“Say something,” she pleaded.
Winona heard her front door bang open and knew exactly who it was. She sat down on the end of her bed, waiting.
Aurora came around the corner in a cloud of Giorgio perfume. “What the fuck?”
Winona was dressed for the parade, but even with her curled hair and heavier-than-usual makeup, she knew she looked bad. A sleepless night always showed in the eyes. “You heard.”
“Are you kidding? Everyone has heard. And thanks for letting me hang out there alone, by the way. When Myrtle Michaelian spilled the beans, I told her to quit spreading lies.”