Chapter 6
Ava
“You prepared to work your hiney off?” Not exactly the response I had hoped for.
Under a darkening sky, I followed Eli’s Ford to the opposite edge of town.
We turned into a dirt driveway, slowing to a stop at a metal cattle guard.
No property indicator, no sign. Nothing.
Eli hopped out and forced the gate open, metal wheezing and scraping the ground.
Who doesn’t name their ranch? But Terry vouched for his family, and I lacked a better option.
Eli waved me through, closed up, and took the lead again.
Here’s hoping I don’t regret this tomorrow.
Gravel popped under my tires, and Nina’s rock collection rattled in the glove compartment.
My yellow headlights danced over grooves that wove through the road like dried-out rivers.
Eli seemed like an upstanding person. I mean, he saved my daughter from a moving vehicle!
I glanced to my right, where Nina enjoyed her freedom, lying across the bench with the seatbelt strap behind her because Steven had her car seat.
Mr. Mercedes ... The nickname fit. Steady anger simmered on my back burner. What an idiot I’d been!
The day had unraveled faster than a snag in a handmade scarf, but Eli was right. Chocolate helped. And now I had Roxy. I found myself craving another peanut butter cup. Until a horrifying reality hit.
Oh. My. God.
I had just accepted candy AND a ride from a stranger! And he didn’t even need the chocolate. The minute he turned mechanic, I had regressed into a billboard victim! Steven was right. I was my own worst enemy.
Up ahead, ominous glowing orbs morphed into friendly porch sconces.
We approached a well-lit, Craftsman-style home sandwiched between an open-air stable and a three-car garage.
When Eli’s truck stopped abruptly, I had to slam on my brakes.
My arm shot out to hold Nina as a broad gray horse ambled past Eli’s front bumper, unfazed.
“Mama, look!” Nina rose to her knees and pressed her face against the passenger window. The animal outside stopped to rub its flank against a parked white truck, much like a bear scratching its back on a tree.
I cranked my window down, intending to ask Eli where to park, but a man with white hair stormed out of the house.
“Eli!” Light glinted off his glasses as he labored down the front steps, fists swinging. Given the exasperated tone, I assumed this was Dad. “What did I tell you about Chuck?”
Eli slid out of his truck and blocked the man from view. “Sorry. I forgot.”
“You forgot? People don’t pay us to lose their animals, son. Put him back where he belongs.”
Chuck swung his attention to the men with lips curled into a smile, then bobbed his head.
Nina giggled. “Mama, he’s laughing!”
I smiled despite myself, thinking I should suck it up and get my purse from Steven. I didn’t need to insert myself into someone else’s family drama. But did I have the energy for another fight?
“So, you let him wander around while I’m gone?” Eli was saying.
“You’ll never learn if I do it for you.”
Eli ran a hand over the top of his hat. “Fine. I’ll do it in a minute. I need the RV keys.”
“Oh?” The older man’s tone shifted. “You found me some help?”
“Not exactly.”
Reflective eyewear peered around his wide shoulders. “For crying out loud, Eli!”
Great. I was the stray dog that every kid tried to convince their parents to keep.
Eli threw his palms up. “It’s not–”
“I don’t want to hear it. Just put Chuck away! I’m going to bed.” The older man lumbered up the porch steps, slamming the front door behind him.
Maybe I could ask Terry to camp on his couch?
Or borrow money for a hotel? I grimaced.
And give him a reason to doubt my hiney?
I needed to prove I could take things over, not advertise how messy my life had become.
I shifted behind the wheel. The old wool blanket draped across the bench seat scratched the backs of my legs. My hiney was tired of sitting.
Eli stood, chin to his chest, hands on his hips. He’d seen me vulnerable; now this window into his life ignited a sort of camaraderie.
He turned and strode with purpose to my open window. “I gotta put Chuck away. If you want, you can head over.” He twisted and pointed into the darkness past the stables. “It’s down by the barn.”
“I’ll wait for you. If that’s okay.”
He glanced at the house. “Sure. Be back in a few.”
Ten minutes later, we left the friendly porch lights for darkness and uncertainty. “If you wanna stay in a trailer ...” Want had little to do with it. But my nightmare remained dormant, so I had hope.
Nina stretched forward to open the glove compartment, and all her rocks tumbled out. “Mama, help!”
“Leave them, Crackerjack. We’ll pick them up when we stop.”
We drove past the stables, and the dim silhouette of a trailer materialized like a ghost, hiding beneath the shadow of a massive tree.
I blinked away a memory that tried to superimpose itself onto reality as I put the truck in park behind Eli’s.
Everything was for Nina. I could, and would, do hard things–whatever it took. For her.
“Now, Mama?”
“What?”
“Can I get my rocks?”
“Sure.”
She crawled out of her seatbelt and slunk into the footwell.
The red glow of Eli’s taillights made an eerie scene as he thudded up the wooden steps to the trailer door.
It creaked open, and he disappeared inside.
A silent beat later, the interior lit, then the front exterior.
The unit boasted slide-outs and a deck large enough for a chair.
Nina searched for her treasures in the dark.
It was well past bedtime. She moaned when some of her bounty dropped back into the footwell.
“Can we look for them tomorrow?” I asked.
“No!”
Too tired to fight it, I opened my door to give her light.
Earthy odors wafted in like outstretched arms bearing unwanted gifts. Familiar hues of horsehair, manure, and dirt. At first, like weak tea.
I’m okay.
But the arms wrapped around me and their scents bloomed into a heady bouquet. My fingers flexed around the steering wheel.
I’m fine.
We weren’t at Hidden Meadows.
Nina started counting her rocks, oblivious. “One, two, four, seven …”
I could feel it coming, like the warning vibrations of a stampede. On this unremarkable Tuesday. I tried taking a deep breath, but the musky tang of the ranch surrounded me. Consumed me.
The reel began–no pause button, nowhere to run. The white trash bag floating against a cerulean blue sky. His white hat crushed into the red dirt. White wasn’t hope or purity. It was sorrow. Death. Panic. Desperation.
I can’t do this.
“Mama?”
In place of my heart swung a wrecking ball, determined to break me open. I held my breath.
Not my ranch.
I squeezed my eyes shut, and Jason’s lifeless ones gazed skyward.
Not my ranch.
My pulse thumped like techno bass.
Jason’s head weighed heavily in my lap. People gasped. My fingers fumble over the nine and the one on my phone. Why isn’t it working? Help. We need help!
“Ava?”
The soft touch on my arm jolted me out of my skin. My eyes flew open to find Elijah Anderson at my side.
He was frowning. “What’s wrong?”
My heart hammered, and my breath shook. “Nothing.” Everything.
This was the reason Nina didn’t know horses. The reason I’d packed my boots in storage.
He studied me, gaze narrowed with doubt. “You wanna come up?”
If I couldn’t do this, how would I take over Hidden Meadows? A lot had changed since Jason’s death, but I kept my promises.
Eli pulled the door wide. My pencil skirt had hiked up on the drive over. To pull it down now would only draw attention to it, so I squeezed my thighs together and wiggled off the bench, wobbling as one of my stupid heels found a gopher hole.
Eli threw a hand to my aid. “You good?”
“Mhmm.” My sensible pencil skirt had just become a micro skirt. Great. Now I had to fix it.
His eyes dipped as I adjusted the material. “Probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I’m a leg man.”
“Yeah … Let’s not make this awkward, or anything.”
He placed his hand on the top of his head and exhaled a self-deprecating laugh. “Sorry. I don’t suppose you can forget I said that?”
“Not a chance.”
“What if I told you it’s because I was a leg doctor?”
I fought the urge to mess with my skirt further. “Do you work in orthopedics?”
“No, but I can give you the name of one that promises a perfect smile.” He flashed me his own endearing example.
“Right …” I couldn’t tell if he was trying to flirt or if he was just ironically funny.
Nina scuttled across the bench behind me, rocks and all. I scooped her up and held her to my chest like armor. This kid. She fueled my motivation when I wanted to quit. She gave me strength. And in that moment, she was giving me one of her rocks … which missed its mark and slid down my shirt.
Her little voice echoed my thoughts. “Uh oh.”
A tired curse danced on my tongue, but I managed an “I will get that later.” I caught her searching hand before it dipped down into my shirt. Hopefully Eli wasn’t also a breast man.
We walked single file, me on the balls of my feet, Eli trailing behind, up the wooden steps to the open RV. I adjusted Nina as we entered, and her rock slid past my waistband and hit the ground.
To my horror, Eli stooped to pick it up. “What do you think?” To his credit, he did not look at my legs.
“I think I’d like to crawl into a hole.”
He handed the smooth, white striped stone to Nina. “Now you know how I feel. But I meant the trailer.”
“Oh.”