Rustic Hearts

Sophie

 

Dallas makes it to the ranch just as the aunts pull in from church. Madeline, Elle, and I decided to make lunch. We’re just pulling the chicken casserole out of the oven when the front door swings open, and their excited chatter fills the house. That’s one thing I’m going to miss when I return home. All the noise of a house full of people. When I first got here, I hated it. I was so used to the solitude of my one-bedroom apartment that I never realized how lonely and quiet it actually was.

“Something smells divine,” Aunt Doreen says as they make their way into the kitchen.

“We thought we’d make lunch today. Madeline taught me how to make a chicken casserole,” I state proudly.

I can’t wait to show Charlotte all of my newly acquired culinary skills. I bet she’s never eaten a casserole in her life.

Dallas sidles up to my side and speaks under her breath, “After lunch, you spill.”

Then, she grabs a plate and starts to load it up.

A few minutes later, and we are joined at the table by Daddy, Emmett, and Braxton.

“How was your night last night, kids?” Aunt Doreen asks as she passes the green beans to Braxton.

Dallas props her elbows on the table and focuses on Braxton. “Yes, Brax, how was your night?”

“Fine, I guess,” he answers without looking at either of them.

“I bet it was,” Dallas comments as she shoves a forkful into her mouth.

I kick her under the table.

“Ow, did you just kick me?”

“Sorry,” I bite out as I shoot arrows with my eyes that are pleading for her to shut up.

“You guys must have been out there late. I could still see the flames rising over the barn when we turned in, and you look a little haggard, dear,” Aunt Doreen continues as she assesses Braxton.

Dallas nods as she chews. Then, she points her fork at him. “She’s right; you look like you had a long, sleepless night there, Brax. Something keep you up all night?” She feigns concern.

She’s like a dog with a bone.

He gives her a pointed look. “Nope. I slept great. Better than I have in a long time.”

She raises an impressed eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Well then.” She gives me an impressed smile.

My aunts look at each other in confusion over their odd exchange, and Emmett just grins at Braxton like a proud father. I want to crawl under the table and hide.

I quickly try to change the subject. “Daddy told me the attorney set the reading for Friday morning. That means I’ll be heading home soon. We need to spend some more time this week going over the computer program.”

The room as a whole goes silent.

Aunt Ria places her hand over mine on the table. “We’re not ready to think about you leaving us yet. These last few weeks sure have flown by.”

“They have,” I admit sadly.

“You’ll come back for Thanksgiving and Christmas, won’t you?” Elle asks.

“Um, I haven’t thought about it. I suppose I could. I’ve always spent Christmas in the city while Mom and Stanhope are in the Bahamas.”

“The Bahamas?” Daddy asks.

I look up, a little stu

“Yes. They rent a house on the beach. They fly down the week before and stay through the New Year.”

“Why?”

I don’t actually know why.

“It’s just what they’ve always done. I guess New York gets so crowded with tourists during the holidays, it’s usually bitterly cold, and business slows down that time of year, so they choose to spend it in the islands where it’s warm and quiet.”

He throws his napkin on his plate and roars, “You mean to tell me that you’ve been spending every single Christmas by yourself all these years?”

I wince. “Not every single one. Just since she and Stanhope have been married.”

“How long’s that been?”

“They were married the summer before I graduated high school.”

The table goes quiet as my words echo around the kitchen.

“Fourteen years,” he mutters as he shakes his head.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds. I have some friends in the city.”

“Stop it. Don’t defend her. All these years, I thought …” He stops and looks me in the eye before he continues. Then, he changes his mind, gets up from the table, and storms out of the kitchen.

Madeline gets up and follows him.

“That’s not Christmas, Sophie. Christmas is a time for family. We’re all so busy year-round, and it’s a time to slow down and spend quality time with each other, celebrating the birth of our Savior and another year of bounty that the good Lord has blessed us with,” Aunt Ria says softly.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset anyone,” I start.

“He needs to process these feelings.” I look to Emmett as he speaks, “He’s been guilty of turning a blind eye to things for long enough.”

Embarrassed, I tell the table, “My mother loves me. I’ve always been welcome to go along, but with school and then work, I just couldn’t.”

“Oh, honey, no one is questioning Vivian’s love for you,” Aunt Doreen consoles.

Dallas grabs my hand under the table and holds on while we finish our meal in silence.

Daddy and Madeline never returned to finish lunch, so we wrapped their plates and cleaned the kitchen.

Dallas and I decide to spend the afternoon taking Beau to a pumpkin patch about an hour outside of town.

On our way to her house to pick him up, she starts the interrogation.

“Are you going to tell me about last night or not?” she blurts out as soon as the truck hits the road outside of the ranch’s gate.

“What exactly do you want to know?”

“Every single detail.”

I spend the next fifteen giving her a blow-by-blow account of the night, starting from when Braxton followed me into the barn and ending with him kissing me senseless this morning before I snuck back over to the house.

“Wow,” she breathes.

“I know.”

“I can’t believe you’ve been in town a little over three weeks and already trapped the Braxton Young in your snare. That’s some impressive shit.”

“I haven’t trapped anyone. We are just enjoying each other’s company; that’s all.”

She gives me a pointed look.

“Okay. Really enjoying each other’s company,” I admit.

“From hate to love. It’s a tale as old as time,” she muses.

I spit coffee across her dashboard. “We are not in love,” I sputter as I try to dry the mess.

“That’s right; it’s hate to ‘enjoy’ each other.” She air-quotes the word enjoy.

I roll my eyes at her. “I’m pretty sure the only reason he pursued me at all is because he knows I’m leaving soon, and there is zero chance of me expecting more than a fling.”

“Do you though, only expect a couple of nights of sex, and that’s it?”

“Well, yeah. I don’t know how I could expect more.”

“So, you’d be completely okay if you came back for Christmas and Braxton and Morgan were happily married and her belly was swollen with his baby?”

“Christmas is only a couple months away, Dallas. Unless she’s already carrying his seed, that’s impossible.”

“You know what I mean.”

I consider her question, and the truth is, I would be devastated. How did I let myself catch feelings for him? I need to get out of Poplar Falls and back to my real life as soon as possible.