Chapter Seven – Ladd
Ladd
Vivianne stood in the living room with a surprised expression on her face. She looked around at the others, then focused on me.
“Clue?” she asked.
“Dad’s sitting this one out so that you can play, Vivianne,” Jason said, excitement obvious in his voice.
My two younger brothers had, of course, loved Vivianne the moment they met her.
They asked her all kinds of questions about herself, but luckily nothing too personal.
Mainly what type of music she liked, favorite movies, things like that.
When my mother heard that Vivianne was a Stevie Nicks fan, they fell into a side conversation about some of their favorite songs from both Stevie and Fleetwood Mac.
Now Vivianne looked at my father, who raised his beer and grinned. “Welcome to the family. This is just one of many things that will introduce you to the Wilde world. And we take our last name seriously.”
“Clue?” she asked again, clearly confused. “I thought maybe you guys would play Monopoly or charades or something like that.”
“You’ve never played Clue before, have you?” David asked.
Vivianne grinned. “Of course I have. When I was like…fifteen.”
“You’re in for a real treat then,” my father replied. “The one you need to look out for is Nellie.”
My mother looked up from where she was preparing everything. “What do you mean, me?”
I laughed. “You go full-on detective mode, Mom.”
“I take the game seriously!”
I glanced over to see Vivianne covering her mouth as she tried not to laugh.
After a minute or so, my mom lifted a bowl. “Okay, so all of the characters are in this bowl, and we’ll pick randomly because some people always want to be the same person.”
Mike sighed. “Excuse me if I like Professor Plum. He’s a cool dude!”
“A cool dude?” Vivianne asked skeptically.
Mike nodded. “Yeah. He’s a professor and smart.”
Vivianne glanced at me, and I winked.
“And who do you like to pick?”
“Me?” I replied. “I usually hope for Colonel Mustard. But Mom made it to where we couldn’t pick ourselves because fights were breaking out.”
Her hand once more hid a laugh. “Fights?”
“Yeah,” David replied. “You should have seen the brawls me and Ladd used to get into trying to get to Colonel Mustard first.”
“I always got stuck with Mrs. White,” my father muttered, glaring at my mom.
Mom shrugged. “Well, Miss Scarlet just seemed like the better fit for me.”
Jason chimed in, “At least you weren’t always stuck having to be Mrs. Peacock. Remember the year David got me a fake fur to wear for when we played the game?”
Vivianne lost the battle and started to laugh—hard. “And Mr. Green?” she asked.
“It was whoever lost the fight for Colonel Mustard,” David replied.
Clearing her throat, Vivianne nodded. “I see. I think it was probably a good idea to go with drawing the characters, Nellie.”
My mother nodded. “I’m honestly surprised it took me so long to come up with that solution. You get to pick first since you’re the guest.”
Vivianne reached into the bowl—and the entire room gasped when she pulled out Miss Scarlet. She instantly dropped that name back into the bowl and withdrew another. She held it up and smiled.
“I got Mr. Green.”
“Marry her, Ladd. Marry her today!” Dad said as my mother turned and shot him a look.
Once everyone had their character—with my mother somehow ending up with Miss Scarlet—the game began. It didn’t take everyone long to figure out that Vivianne was a shrewd competitor who knew how to play the game to her advantage.
She won three times in a row, my mother declared her the best Clue player ever, and Jason stated he’d never play Clue with Vivianne again.
After the last game was over, we made sundaes and sat around the table, talking about the day. Vivianne and I volunteered to clean up the kitchen while David, Mike, and Jason headed to their rooms.
Mom and Dad put a movie on and invited me and Vivianne to watch with them.
“I’m exhausted from the drive and the day. Do you mind if we take a raincheck?” I asked, as I kissed my mother on the cheek.
“Of course not. I hope you both get a good night’s sleep.”
“What are the plans for tomorrow?” Dad asked.
I stole a glance in Vivianne’s direction before I said, “If the weather’s nice, I was hoping to get Vivianne onto a horse, after whatever chores you need done, Dad.”
My parents both smiled.
“Would you like to join us?” I asked.
My mother and father looked at one another, then back at me. “I think that would be a great way to spend our morning. Do you mind, Vivianne?” Mom asked.
“Oh, I don’t mind at all! I would love for you both to join us. Maybe it will help with my nerves.”
“Don’t be nervous. You’ll have the best horse on the ranch, and it’ll be a wonderful way to show you around.”
Dad added, “I’ll let Derek know we’ll be riding in the morning so he can get a few horses ready.”
“Thanks, Dad. See you guys in the morning.”
Vivianne and I headed upstairs, and I walked her to her room. She stopped and turned to lean against the door.
“I guess this is good night.”
Smiling, I kissed her softly on the lips. “Good night.”
When I drew away, she had a dreamy look on her face, then her eyes went wide. “What should I wear riding?”
“Jeans and something warm, like a sweater. Did you bring your lightweight down?”
“I did.”
“I’d wear that. It’ll be more comfortable riding. Also, do you have any boots?”
“I have my ankle boots, the ones I love so much?”
Laughing, I ran a finger down the side of her beautiful face. “Those will be perfect. My mom should have an extra pair of riding gloves for you. They’ll keep your hands warm, but they’re made for riding.”
She nodded. “I’m excited!”
“I am as well.”
Letting out a long sigh, I pushed away and took a few steps back. “I should let you go in before I drag you to my room.”
She giggled. “As fun as that would be, except for the dragging part, I want to respect your parents’ rules.”
“So do I, that’s why I’m slowly backing away.”
She grinned. “Good night, Ladd.”
“’Night, Viv. I love you.”
Her eyes sparkled. “I love you too.”
The next day, I woke up to the sun shining and blue skies. It was the perfect day to go riding. The smell of coffee and bacon wafted up the steps from the kitchen.
“Home,” I whispered as I sat up and swung my legs over the bed. There was nothing better than waking up and knowing you were home. And that your mother had made breakfast, which likely would include all the favorites.
After getting dressed, I headed downstairs and could hear the mumbled voices of whoever was in the kitchen with Mom. As I drew closer, I heard Vivianne chuckle at something my mother must have said.
“Good morning,” I greeted, as I entered the kitchen to see Mom and Vivianne drinking coffee. Mom was standing over the stove, stirring potatoes, while Vivianne leaned against the counter on the opposite side of the kitchen.
“Morning!” Vivianne said, setting her coffee down to walk over. She reached up and brushed a kiss to my lips before asking, “Coffee?”
“Yes, please.” Turning to my mother, I asked, “Can I help?”
“Will you please slice up some bread for toast?” she asked, and motioned with her head toward the freshly made bread.
“I can do that,” I confirmed as I took my coffee from Vivianne. After a sip, I set it down and got to work on the bread.
“Your mother said she’d teach me how to make bread,” Vivianne stated with a huge smile on her face.
“We’re also going to make my famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies,” Mom said with a wink in my direction.
I moaned. “Mom, you know I’m a sucker for those.”
“I know,” she laughed. “That’s why I’m going to show Vivianne my secret recipe.”
My mouth fell open mid-slice. “You’re going to show her, but you won’t show me? Your favorite son?”
“Favorite son?” David snorted as he walked into the kitchen and straight to the coffeepot. “I think not.”
“Mom’s going to show Viv how to make her oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.”
David stopped mid-pour. “Mom? Is that true? An outsider?”
“Outsider?” Vivianne pouted with mock hurt.
Mom rolled her eyes as she grabbed another bacon slice and put it in the pan. “She’s hardly an outsider. Besides, have either of you ever baked a thing in your life?”
I huffed. “Yes. You made us learn how to make bread. You taught me how to make your Oh My God Brownies.”
“Oh My God Brownies?” Vivianne laughed. “Why are they called that?”
David was stirring some sugar into his coffee when he looked up and smiled. “Because after the first bite, you say, ‘oh my God.’ No joke. Every single person I’ve ever seen take a bite of one says that. So Ladd renamed them a few years back to Oh My God Brownies.”
“Okay, Nellie, you’ll need to share that recipe with me as well.”
Mom laughed. “Trust me, sweetheart, starting tomorrow, you’ll get your fair share of baking when we start prepping for Christmas. David, would you mind being in charge of the eggs? Let’s keep it simple and make scrambled.”
“I can cook the eggs,” Vivianne said.
My mother held up a staying hand. “You, young lady, are a guest in this house. No guest of mine cooks—well, except for baking. Go sit your pretty little self down over at the table and supervise from there.”
“Yes, ma’am,” she replied with a salute and a smile.
My father walked in and held up a jar. “Ran into Betty Townsend in town. She informed me Lisa’s trying to perfect her grandmother’s raspberry-plum jam.
She said she’s getting close and shared a jar with me.
Betty also told me to tell you to give Lisa a call, David.
Something about Lisa going on and on about a promise to go see a movie when you came home from school? ”
David’s face lit up. “As if this Christmas couldn’t get any better.”
“Lisa?” Vivianne asked.
“Lisa Townsend is the only daughter of Betty and Marcus Townsend, and David’s high school crush,” I said as I glanced at a smiling David.
He held up his hands in defense. “I won’t argue with you that Lisa was, indeed, the one who got away.”
My father let out a bark of laughter. “The one who got away? You’re only twenty, for Pete’s sake, David. I hardly think she got away. And from what her mother told me, she’s very single.”
David smiled, then it faded. “I feel bad that she never went to college.”
“Why didn’t she?” Vivianne asked.
Drawing in a deep breath, David exhaled. “She wanted to, and was planning on it. She was going to go on a cheerleading scholarship to the University of Texas.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, she was pretty happy about it. Her dad, who runs the local grocery store in town, got really sick and passed away right before she was set to graduate. She was in Ladd’s class.”
Vivianne frowned. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
Nodding, David went on. “Yeah, it sucked for the family.”
“Marcus wasn’t from River Falls, but Betty is. He drove through on his way to Denver and fell in love with the town. We had a small store in town, and he bought the owner out, expanded, and gave River Falls a real full-blown grocery store, with a full-time butcher and baker,” Mom explained.
“Made such a big difference in the town,” my father added. “Plus, he added a number of jobs, of course. Which helped our little town as well.”
“He was ten years older than Betty, but the way he told the story,” Mom said with a smile, “he fell head over heels in love the moment he saw her. He asked her out, and the rest is history.”
“So did she stay in town to help her mother with the store?” Vivianne asked.
David nodded. “She did. Her mom begged her to go, but Lisa wouldn’t even hear of it. She still helps her mother run the store. We write, and I call her now and then. She seems happy. Says she doesn’t have any regrets.”
Vivianne sniffled, and for a second, I thought she might cry. “What a wonderful and selfless thing to do for her mother.”
David gave her a soft smile. “Yeah, she’s a terrific girl.”
“Young lady,” my mother stated. “She’s not a girl any longer.”
“Better get the toast going, Ladd. Everything is about done,” Dad said as he put the jar of jam, along with butter and honey, on the table.
“Can I at least help with setting the table?” Vivianne asked.
Dad grinned. “Come on, kid, you can help me do it.”