Chapter 17
Dinner with Tanner and his family had been more fun than April could’ve imagined.
By the time Violet got done seeing all the animals Tanner had mentioned, and got her fill of pestering or playing with Boo - it really depended who you asked - there hadn’t been time to see much more of the property.
So, they’d just walked back to the main house and joined the family at the large dining room table.
The Rhodes house was enormous, but warmly decorated, making it feel spacious and cozy at the same time.
Mrs. Rhodes wasn’t precious about any of the furniture, so when Sienna climbed onto a couch still wearing her shoes, no one even blinked an eye.
When Violet knocked over a glass of milk at the table, drowning her and Sienna’s plates in the white liquid, all the adults just laughed, and got new plates for each of the girls, letting them choose seconds of whatever they wanted.
Pam had prepared all of Sienna’s favorites, in hopes that Violet would love them, too, and she’d been right.
Fried chicken, mac and cheese, green beans, and cornbread, were all things Violet enjoyed and looked forward to whenever the chef at DynaTech made them.
After dinner, Tanner and Peter stayed behind to clean up.
April wanted to help, but had been shooed out of the kitchen when it had become obvious that Violet wasn’t going to leave her side, not even just to go upstairs to check out Sienna’s playroom.
Faith and Pam joined her, as the girls stopped on their way upstairs to check in on Aster and her puppies.
Mama dog was friendly but obviously tired.
Still, she let Sienna pet her and gave Violet a small lick on her hand before returning her attention back to the puppies who were sound asleep.
“Can we play with the puppies?” Violet asked.
“No, we’re not allowed to when they’re asleep,” Sienna answered before April or Faith could say anything.
“Aster can be a little protective of them,” Faith supplied. “Let’s head on upstairs.”
After a few moments of longing glances at the adorable furballs, Violet and Sienna headed up to the playroom with the women in tow.
The playroom was even bigger and more impressive than April originally thought.
It had everything a little girl could ever want.
A swing, a castle with a winding staircase and a slide to come down, a large fake willow tree, complete with a platform on top with large pillows and blankets, and multiple shelves filled with books and toys.
“This is all for you?” Violet asked, her eyes growing wide just from taking in the space at the top of the stairs.
“You can play here, too,” Sienna assured. “Uncle Tanner built this treehouse just for me, but I’ll share it with you if you want.”
Faith smiled. “That’s very sweet of you, Pumpkin. Go on and play.”
Sienna took Violet’s hand just like she had earlier that day, and led her around the room, showing and explaining what everything was.
April’s heart warmed at how sweet Sienna was being to Violet.
She’d worried the girls might not take to one another, but so far, everything had worked out better than April could’ve ever imagined.
“They’re like two peas in a pod already,” Pam mused.
Watching them play and talk like they’d been doing it forever, April sighed.
There was so much she was keeping from this wonderful family, and she knew she had to tell them.
Violet wasn’t just some kid who needed their help.
She was their kid. Tanner’s daughter. Pam’s granddaughter.
Sienna’s cousin. It was almost too much to even think about.
“Mommy, can we go catch fireflies? Violet’s never done it,” Sienna explained.
April couldn’t believe it was true. She’d never had the chance to share that experience with her niece.
There were a lot of things Violet had missed out on growing up under Ned’s thumb, but April should’ve thought of that.
She’d stayed with her well past dark on plenty of summer nights.
Why hadn’t she thought to take Violet outside to catch fireflies?
Maybe because there were no flowers or much of anything but cement and guards in that stupid courtyard Violet was allowed in.
She doubted any fireflies visited that hellhole to begin with.
“Sure, it’s warm enough outside,” Faith said. “Are you okay with that April?”
April didn’t have to think twice. “Absolutely, do you girls have jars or nets?”
“I have everything we need,” Sienna assured her.
The women followed the kids downstairs. Sienna brought two glass jars with her and proceeded to show Violet how to catch a firefly. April smiled, watching her sweet niece’s face light up in the moonlight.
“Sit with us,” Faith said, taking a seat on a hunter green Adirondack chair with a soft blanket in her lap.
Pam sat in the chair next to her daughter, and April lowered herself on the other side of Faith.
This reminded her of all those times she’d shared with Zara, and all the memories of spending summer nights with her mom that she’d pushed aside to keep them from hurting her.
She’d never let herself admit just how much she missed her mom or her best friend.
She and Zara still talked on Facetime and texted almost every day, but it was different now that they were over a thousand miles apart.
Violet was happy though. Her giggles and shrieks of glee filled April’s heart with a kind of joy and warmth she hadn’t felt since losing Casey.
And it only made her feel worse for having kept Violet from this life for so long.
She’d known about Tanner for a while now, even before she’d accidentally bumped into him at Madigan’s.
All those mornings they’d gone running, that day at Murphy’s Soup Kitchen, the barbeque at Garrett’s house with all his friends.
He’d shown her who he was all along. She just hadn’t believed him. Or maybe she hadn’t trusted herself.
She’d relied on a lot of different people in her life, and most of them had let her down.
Her mom, who’d been her rock, no longer even remembered her - not that it was her fault - but it still felt like an abandonment.
As did Casey’s dying. Again, it wasn’t her sister’s fault, but it still left April all alone without her big sister.
And then of course there was Ned. The man who’d swooped in to save her.
He’d turned out to be the biggest joke of them all.
The worst kind of evil, because she’d actually thought he was a good guy at first.
“Tanner didn’t tell us much,” Faith said, interrupting April’s thoughts. “But whoever is threatening Violet deserves a bullet between the eyes and a swift kick in the head from Arrow.”
April couldn’t help the feeling of satisfaction that washed over her at Faith’s words, followed by slight confusion. “Who’s Arrow?”
“Sienna’s favorite horse.” Pam crossed one leg over another, getting more comfortable in her chair.
“When we first got him, he used to kick everyone. He nearly took out my hip once, and all I was doing was walking by. I wasn’t even touching him.
But he had such precision with his kicks, everyone always said it was like he was shooting arrows with his legs. “The name stuck.”
“How did you get him to stop kicking?” April asked.
Faith laughed. “You wouldn’t believe it, but the big guy was just lonely. As soon as we put him with a mare, he settled right down and became a perfect angel.”
“Wow,” April said, not surprised by how loneliness affected everyone, and not just people. “I’ve never been around horses.”
“You’ll get your chance around here if you want to. Most of them are quite nice. Though you might want to steer clear of Blondie. She’s a biter,” Pam chuckled.
April smiled. “This is so nice. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to talk to anyone really, except my best friend back in Los Angeles. And Tanner, of course.”
Faith sighed. “When I first came back home, I was a wreck. My husband had left me for another woman, I didn’t have a job, and Sienna was acting out.
It felt like she was blaming me for everything.
And I didn’t even fault her for it, because how could I?
I was the adult in the situation. It was my job to take care of her.
One night, Mom found me crying in my room after putting her to bed and asked me to join her for tea.
It kind of became a tradition. Instead of going to my room and crying at the end of the day, I’d come out here, have tea, and talk about whatever’s on my mind.
As Sienna got older and started staying up a little later, we started having our tea while she played and got the rest of her energy out before bed. ”
“I should go bring us some tea,” Pam said.
“I got you covered, Honey,” Peter said, coming out with a tray containing three tea cups with saucers, a small creamer, and a bowl of sugar cubes. “I saw you ladies head outside, so I thought I’d make this for you and bring it out.”
“Thanks, Daddy,” Faith said, taking the tray from him. Everyone reached for a cup of tea. Faith poured some milk in hers. Pam took a sugar cube. April drank it plain, letting the aroma of chamomile surround her as she inhaled the scent deeply.
“Are you close with your mom?” Pam asked.
“I was. But last year, I had to put her into an assisted living facility for people with dementia and Alzheimer's. Her condition has steadily progressed, so she doesn’t remember me anymore. I call the nurses every few days to check on her, but I don’t talk to her anymore because she has no idea who I am. ”
“That’s awful,” Faith said. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine. But hey, you can always borrow my mom. She’s got enough love for everyone.”