31. Lila
CHAPTER 31
Lila
Two weeks had passed since Wren’s accident. The whole town seemed to know exactly what happened and where she was staying in the hospital because, before we knew it, there were flowers, teddy bears, and cards delivered to her almost every day.
It was the end of June, which meant there was a little less than a month left of summer break for River. I got him officially enrolled in kindergarten and started doing some school shopping to prepare for it so I wasn’t running around like a chicken with its head cut off a week before school started.
I also needed to get him some new clothes since he’d been growing out of them in what seemed like the blink of an eye. That was why I was currently hunting down clothes in his size at the general store that had pretty much everything anyone could need.
I stopped by the grocery store on the way back to the ranch. Lately we’d been spending a lot more time on Silver Hill with Travis and his family.
We’d spent three separate nights at Travis’s house since Wren’s accident .
Every time I thought we were going to head to our apartment after I picked River up from the main house, Travis convinced me to spend it at his. Not that I required much convincing when I wanted to soak up as much time with him as I could.
In the mornings, the three of us cooked breakfast—me trying to negotiate with River to have something green for a change, and Travis answering the hundreds of questions my brother had first thing in the morning. Our little routine.
It was evident that River loved Travis just as much as he loved Desmond and Amelia. If he wasn’t running to me when I walked through the door, he was running to Travis.
I could see the affection written all over Travis’s face every time he gave River a hug.
I’d seen him smile more at the two of us than he had at anyone else on the ranch or at the bar. It turned out he was a big softie when it came to us. When I teased him about that the other night while River was taking a bubble bath, Travis made sure to shut me up with a long, searing kiss. He probably would have done more than kiss me had it not been for River running out of the bathtub naked, the top of his head full of suds.
I chased him around with a towel while River chased Travis for kissing me, calling us gross. It was quite the sight. After wrangling the little troublemaker and putting a movie on in the living room until he dozed off, Travis and I laughed about it until we had tears in our eyes.
I started my application to go to nursing school too, though I hadn’t told Travis about it yet. I wanted to be sure I’d get accepted before getting my hopes us. If I got rejected, at least I’d rest easy knowing I’d tried.
The Rusty Pint was a good place to make money, I’d admit. I loved working with Desi and Jake, and Manny too. Saul and the other bar regulars treated me kindly, and I always found myself smiling during my shifts. Listening to Desi sing on the weekends also became a highlight of my nights.
One night I couldn’t stop laughing when she sang a rendition of “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton after dedicating it to her boss. Travis had scowled, but I knew he didn’t mind.
For the first time in a long time, I was happy despite the run-in with Irene a couple of weeks ago.
But I had to wonder if my happiness now was enough in the long run. I needed to give River a better life. One that he deserved. His school would get more and more expensive as he grew up, and I didn’t think a job with tips and hourly pay would cut it when it got to that. I didn’t want to struggle more than I had in the past to make ends meet.
I wanted stability.
I wanted to accomplish something on my own for a change.
After confessing everything I’d buried deep down to Travis, something changed inside me, even if only a little. It was like I became aware of the survivalist mindset I had. How unhealthy I was being because I constantly neglected myself—not just physically but mentally too. I knew I had to work on it to get better.
For now, I’d take small steps.
I was hauling grocery bags into the Bronco, lost in my thoughts, when I felt a prickling sensation in the back of my head. I paused, turned to see what made me hyperaware of my surroundings. Only to find nothing. The parking lot wasn’t as full as it normally was on the weekends and there wasn’t anyone standing by their car. I looked around as I walked toward the driver side of the cab but still, I didn’t see anyone .
So why did I feel like I was being watched?
Dinner at the Adlers’ had quickly become a routine of ours now that they’d all but dragged us into the fold.
Tonight, we were celebrating Wren’s return home.
She’d been staying in her childhood bedroom upstairs during her visit, which I now found out was her subtle way of moving back until she knew if she could work as a trainer on the ranch. Now they were moving her into the spare bedroom downstairs to make it easier for her to move around with her cast.
If she minded, Wren didn’t show it. In fact, she didn’t show us very much these days. Her smile, her random jokes, even the mischief in her eyes whenever she saw me and Travis together—they were pretty much gone.
Wren hadn’t asked about Nila, nor did she seem interested in going to the stables.
I hoped it was because she was tired or uncomfortable from the cast and not for another reason she wasn’t telling us about. Either way, Finn and the rest of the Adler men were looking over Nila with all the care in the world.
Sometimes, River and I went to the stables too to feed and groom the horses along with Amelia. Travis started giving River small riding lessons and I snapped a few pictures while they slowly walked Sable along the pen.
We were all gathered around the dinner table now. I listened to River as he told me all about how he and Desmond spent most of the afternoon together, watching how Finn and the ranch hands went about tending to the livestock. Finn impressed River greatly with the process of dropping haybales along the fields in a moving truck and watching horses trot on over to eat, all while blasting country music in his truck.
When Finn asked him if he had fun today, my little brother answered by yelling, “Today was so damn fun, we should do it again!”
I nearly dropped my fork on the cream tablecloth.
“River North,” I said with narrowed eyes at the same time Travis said, “Language.”
“What did I say wrong?” River looked genuinely confused as to why we both chastised him before he turned to face Finn, who was trying his best to hide his sneaky grin.
“Finnley,” Desmond chastised.
“It’s not my fault the kid wants to hang out with a bunch of assholes on the ranch.” Finn chuckled, ruffling River’s dark hair.
“And I suspect that includes you?” Wren muttered to my right.
Finn made a retort and the conversation carried on, but there was a shift in the air. One that usually followed when Wren spoke up, usually with a joke that didn’t have the same affect it used to since she rarely smiled these days.
She was pushing her salad around on the plate without looking up at any of us. Amelia watched her daughter with concern in her eyes and when she caught me staring, she tried to play it off. But I saw it—the worry that could only belong to a mother.
Hoping to get some attention off Wren, I proceeded to give Finn a lecture on manners. By the time I was done, River understood why there were some words kids couldn’t say no matter who they heard saying it.
“Aren’t you gonna give Dad and Travis a talking to? They’re just as bad as me!” Finn tried to defend, scowling at the men around the table who were trying really hard not to laugh. Amelia simply shook her head as she continued eating at the end of the table.
“Thank you for reminding me,” I said. Desmond straightened when I leveled him with a look. “A couple of stubborn mules, huh? A kick in the…what did you say we needed?”
“Uh, I have no idea what you’re talking about, honey.” Desmond coughed before he took a nice long sip of his beer.
River tugged on my sleeve. “But Lila, you say bad words all the time. You said it when you hit your foot the other day.”
I felt my mouth drop open just as the entire table burst into laughter.
“Pot meet kettle,” Travis said, grunting when I poked him in his side. We both knew I had no room to deny it now that River outed me. Travis’s hand caught mine before I could poke him again and instead of pushing me away, he simply held it underneath the table. Interlacing our fingers together for the rest of dinner.