saddle bag and shook it out on the grass beside a rocky outcropping. From the rest of the bags came a seemingly endless supply of sandwiches, fruit, carrots and celery sticks, two Thermoses of coffee and hot chocolate, and some magical plastic container filled with thick, gooey brownies.
Half an hour later, full and sated, they all sat back against boulders and sighed in contentment. “Bella, you are a true wizard—this was delicious,” Cole said.
“It was a perfect thing for me to do today. Thank you,” she replied.
“We could stay here,” Harper said. “Ignore all the things there are to decide.”
“I definitely like the sound of that,” her mother said. “But I need to head back. I promised myself to work on some thank-you notes. I’d like to have them done before you girls leave—just because I’d rather be sad with you all around.”
Joely wrapped her in a hug. “I’ll help with that, Mom.”
“I have a conference call at two,” Mia said. “Then of course I’ll help, too.”
“We all should,” Harper agreed.
“I’d like to take the long way back,” Cole said. “Finish going around Wolf Peak and up across Kwinaa Ridge and see what the view is from there. Maybe it’s a little more hidden and protected. How about if I meet you all back at the house?”
Harper’s emotions swung wildly at his request. How much nicer would it be to continue riding than to go back and face funeral thank-yous? But her mother deserved her support.
“You shouldn’t do that alone,” her mother said. “We could take the extra time.”
“Why don’t you all go?” Mia said. “I don’t have time before my call, unfortunately, but I can go back by myself—this is a perfectly easy, safe trail.”
Harper studied her elder sister. Mia had been particularly subdued today—quiet and nonargumentative. She didn’t know what that meant, but it did dispel her own defensiveness and made the afternoon and all the impending weighty discussions lurking in its shadows much less onerous.
“Harper, you go with Cole,” Joely said. “I’ll get us started on the notes. Mia can do the call, and you two will be back in a couple of hours.”
“We could all go tomorrow,” Mia replied, a hint of reservation stealing into her voice for the first time.
“No, no, we’d have to borrow horses again,” their mother said, smiling at Harper. “You two go. We’ll see you when you get home.”
They packed up the picnic with no further discussion, and before she knew it, Harper was waving her sisters and mother down the trail. When she turned back to Cole, he was staring off across the valley again.
“You want to look for a place to hide oil wells, don’t you?” she asked, trying hard to keep accusation from her voice.
She didn’t relish bringing up the subject. It seemed like enough to be here, to absorb the beauty, the ripe scents of late summer. At that moment, she wanted Joely to succeed. Joely who hadn’t changed her mind overnight. She wanted Mia to be wrong that selling Paradise Ranch was the smart thing to do.
“I want you to look at all the options, that’s all.”
“You think I haven’t over the years?”
“I know you’ve looked at all the reasons you hate oil. I respect that, Harpo, I do.” He nodded to the grass where they’d been sitting for lunch. “Come on, sit down. I want to ask you something.”
“Fine.”
He sounded so reasonable. She could be reasonable. She sat beside him, and he put one arm around her shoulders, pointing toward Grand Teton with the other. The little thrills of delight at his touch didn’t shock her anymore. The shoulds and shouldn’ts of being this close to him, however, gave her no peace. The shouldn’ts were screaming at her.
She stayed beside him anyway.
“Look out there,” he said. “What is it to you?”
“Stunning scenery,” she said.
“No. It’s stunning scenery to everybody. What is it to you ? What do you want to keep it looking like that
Half an hour later, full and sated, they all sat back against boulders and sighed in contentment. “Bella, you are a true wizard—this was delicious,” Cole said.
“It was a perfect thing for me to do today. Thank you,” she replied.
“We could stay here,” Harper said. “Ignore all the things there are to decide.”
“I definitely like the sound of that,” her mother said. “But I need to head back. I promised myself to work on some thank-you notes. I’d like to have them done before you girls leave—just because I’d rather be sad with you all around.”
Joely wrapped her in a hug. “I’ll help with that, Mom.”
“I have a conference call at two,” Mia said. “Then of course I’ll help, too.”
“We all should,” Harper agreed.
“I’d like to take the long way back,” Cole said. “Finish going around Wolf Peak and up across Kwinaa Ridge and see what the view is from there. Maybe it’s a little more hidden and protected. How about if I meet you all back at the house?”
Harper’s emotions swung wildly at his request. How much nicer would it be to continue riding than to go back and face funeral thank-yous? But her mother deserved her support.
“You shouldn’t do that alone,” her mother said. “We could take the extra time.”
“Why don’t you all go?” Mia said. “I don’t have time before my call, unfortunately, but I can go back by myself—this is a perfectly easy, safe trail.”
Harper studied her elder sister. Mia had been particularly subdued today—quiet and nonargumentative. She didn’t know what that meant, but it did dispel her own defensiveness and made the afternoon and all the impending weighty discussions lurking in its shadows much less onerous.
“Harper, you go with Cole,” Joely said. “I’ll get us started on the notes. Mia can do the call, and you two will be back in a couple of hours.”
“We could all go tomorrow,” Mia replied, a hint of reservation stealing into her voice for the first time.
“No, no, we’d have to borrow horses again,” their mother said, smiling at Harper. “You two go. We’ll see you when you get home.”
They packed up the picnic with no further discussion, and before she knew it, Harper was waving her sisters and mother down the trail. When she turned back to Cole, he was staring off across the valley again.
“You want to look for a place to hide oil wells, don’t you?” she asked, trying hard to keep accusation from her voice.
She didn’t relish bringing up the subject. It seemed like enough to be here, to absorb the beauty, the ripe scents of late summer. At that moment, she wanted Joely to succeed. Joely who hadn’t changed her mind overnight. She wanted Mia to be wrong that selling Paradise Ranch was the smart thing to do.
“I want you to look at all the options, that’s all.”
“You think I haven’t over the years?”
“I know you’ve looked at all the reasons you hate oil. I respect that, Harpo, I do.” He nodded to the grass where they’d been sitting for lunch. “Come on, sit down. I want to ask you something.”
“Fine.”
He sounded so reasonable. She could be reasonable. She sat beside him, and he put one arm around her shoulders, pointing toward Grand Teton with the other. The little thrills of delight at his touch didn’t shock her anymore. The shoulds and shouldn’ts of being this close to him, however, gave her no peace. The shouldn’ts were screaming at her.
She stayed beside him anyway.
“Look out there,” he said. “What is it to you?”
“Stunning scenery,” she said.
“No. It’s stunning scenery to everybody. What is it to you ? What do you want to keep it looking like that
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