Letting Go (Triple Eight Ranch) - By Mary Beth Lee Page 0,17
away his words.
“Don’t go jumping down my throat, Jed. You know I’m not going to judge her one way or t’other, but I saw the way you were looking at her. Her hurts are going to take the Good Lord’s miraculous ways.”
Jed didn’t bother denying his father’s words. Didn’t even try to say he was wrong. Because tonight, after what they’d been through, he was done denying that he was interested in Clarissa Dye.
“Well, we know plenty about God’s miracles, too, don’t we?” Jed said remembering for a moment, then wishing more than anything the memories weren’t so sharp on this night when everything had changed.
Chapter Five
Clarissa pulled the double wedding ring patterned quilt to her chin and tried to ignore the smell of bacon and eggs and who knew what other yummies cooking downstairs. She didn’t want to get up yet. Didn’t want to face the realities of the world.
The bed was perfect. White, soft, big. A bed she could get used to, which was crazy because she couldn’t stay here. This house belonged to the Dillons, a family so far removed from her life experiences, she almost couldn’t make herself believe this wasn’t some sort of cruel dream land.
Clarissa had moved to Stearns with one goal. To live on her own with no regrets and get on down the road to the next life experience when it was time. She definitely believed in signs and signs didn’t get much more obvious than a tornado blowing away her apartment. Stearns had been a tick mark on a road map of life. Maybe it was time to move on to the next location.
Shouldn’t be a big deal, but the heartbreaking ache in her chest made it clear leaving Stearns would’t be easy.
Jed’s mother had laid out a t-shirt, sweat pants and clean underwear. Callie’s clothes, Clarissa figured, grabbing them and making her way to the restroom attached to the bedroom.
A few minutes later she was showered and ready for the day, but Clarissa wasn’t so sure she was ready to face the Dillon family. They were everything she’d never been, never had, never understood. Secretly wanted.
Taking a deep breath for courage, she stepped out of the room, let herself enjoy the scent of a homemade breakfast that wasn’t diner food and started down the hall to the staircase that would end her hours of hiding out.
“I told Daddy you were up.”
Clarissa heard Mack’s voice before she saw her. When the little girl rounded the corner Clarissa was stunned for a moment. The mismatched clothes and wild hair were gone, replaced by pressed overalls and a perfectly pulled back pony tail secured by a big red bow.
“Wow,” she said surprised. “New clothes, huh?”
“Gran did it. She’s a miracle worker. That’s what Aunt Joan says.” Mackenzie whispered the last and Clarissa wondered why that was a secret, but then Mackenzie took her hand and pulled her down the stairs, talking the whole way.
“Today I’m going to take you out to meet my horse, Flower. And you’ll get to see my new kitties and Daddy said you can ride Blue if you want because she’s real nice and even if you’re afraid, Blue won’t bite and that’s good because once José’s niece Alma got bit by one of the horses and she won’t come back to the Triple Eight no more and you’ve got to come back because Gran told Gramps you don’t got nowhere to go.”
Terrific.
“How about we do one thing at a time,” she said, walking with Mack into the living room. All Clarissa had wanted to do last night was collapse into a bed, so she’d missed the sense of home in every corner of the Dillons’ house.
Family photos covered almost all the space visible. A piano stood against one wall, a steel guitar next to that. Blue and white and yellow worked together to give the room a comfortable feeling. Light poured in the open front windows. Like something in a home magazine or on a TV show. Like nothing Clarissa had ever seen.
No one was in the room, and that surprised Clarissa. Or it did until she heard the hum of voices coming from the kitchen.
“Come on, Clarissa!” Mackenzie said. “Gran made biscuits and chocolate gravy and bacon and homemade orange juice. Daddy’s out working, but Gran and Gramps are here, and we got lots to do.”
Blowing out another breath, Clarissa forced one foot in front of the other. Funny how afraid she was now that she’d finally