looked back at Timberlynn in the seat. Took my eyes off the road. If I had been paying better attention…”
His voice trailed off, and he looked away. I noticed where we were and saw that my father and Brock had kept going on the trail. I stopped Trigger, and Frank did the same with Lucy.
“I’d like to show you something, Frank. If you don’t mind getting off our horses and taking a small walk up that hill.”
He glanced over his shoulder and then nodded. “Okay.”
“We don’t have to tie the horses up; they’ll stay right here.”
As we walked up the small hill to the overlook, I tried to figure out what I wanted to say. In the end, I left it up to the man upstairs to get all my words straight in my head.
“This is where I brought Timberlynn on our first unofficial date.”
Frank laughed, then stopped when he saw the view. For miles before us stretched open pastures, some more covered in snow than others. Cattle and horses walked freely, some even running and enjoying the warmth of the sun beaming down on them. Crystal Lake was iced over, but somehow she managed to reflect the snow-covered mountains around her.
“That house, next to the lake there, is where Timberlynn and I live.”
“It’s…beyond words. The sky here looks so…massive. Like it goes on forever.”
I laughed. “Welcome to Montana. Big sky country. You should see it in the spring and the summer. And if you think this is beautiful, you should see it in the fall.”
“I see why Timberlynn wants to live here. It’s so different from Georgia.”
Turning, I faced Frank. “Frank, have you ever talked to anyone about the accident? Losing your wife? Raising Timberlynn alone?”
He shook his head. “No. Timberlynn had a therapist for a little while, but I pretty much went right back to work and have buried myself in it since.”
“You realize it wasn’t your fault, the accident.”
His body slumped. “I needed to get Timberlynn out of the car first. She begged me not to leave her, but I had to go back and get Lynn. Someone was trying to help Lynn out of the car, and when I got there, they told me she was gone. I pulled her out of the car and just remember screaming out her name. For the briefest moment I wondered if I hadn’t gotten Timberlynn out first, if I had gone to Lynn, would it have made a difference. I hate that I even had that thought.”
I could feel my throat aching as I attempted to hold back my emotions listening to Timberlynn’s father relive that awful day.
“The doctors told me she had broken her neck, so she most likely died instantly. It still didn’t make me feel any better. I replayed it over and over in my head. Why did I look away from the road?”
Frank rubbed the back of his neck and then let out a humorless laugh. “I’ve never talked to anyone about that day. Never.”
“Must be something in the air here—your daughter told me pretty much the same thing.”
He looked at me and smiled weakly. “Must be the Shaw family. I opened up to your father this morning as well.”
I grinned, then looked back out over the ranch. “Sir, please forgive me if you think I’m interfering in your life with what I’m about to say.”
When he didn’t say anything, I went on.
“I think maybe you and Timberlynn are long overdue for a heart-to-heart. And, I think you could do with speaking with someone. My brother Ty went through a rough patch a few years ago, and he sees a therapist. It might do you some good being away from familiar grounds, talking to someone neutral. Heck, just talking to someone at all.”
I looked over and saw him nod.
When he didn’t say anything, I let out a slow breath, then said, “Should we catch up with my father and Brock?”
He stared straight ahead and smiled. “Yes, I think we should. And Tanner?”
We faced each other and he looked directly at me. “I didn’t mean to come off as not liking you when we were coming back from the airport. You seem like a fine young man and I trust my daughter to know what she’s doing. But if you ever hurt her, I’m honestly not sure I could keep myself from hurting you.”
I tipped my hat at him. “Noted. And for the record, I’d lay down my life to protect her, sir. Everything I do,