Sunrise Ranch - Carolyn Brown Page 0,26
“Honey, this is my life. I’ll live it the way I want to. If you’re smart, you’ll come with me and do the same. It’s exciting. Settling down ain’t in my blood. I was glad that Ezra kicked us out. I would’ve probably left him before long anyway. I damn sure wasn’t happy being here or being pregnant, and I vowed after you was born I’d never go through that again, not even to give him a son and get part of this ranch.”
“You are going to get yourself killed,” Bonnie scolded.
Vivien shook her head. “Maybe, but I’ll die happy, not withered up on a worthless ranch doing something I hate. Rusty, darlin’, if she stays with you when I leave, you just remember whose daughter she is before you go gettin’ involved with her. What the hell good could come out of me and Ezra Malloy? You just think about that.”
“I don’t believe that our heritage determines our future,” Rusty said. “Bonnie, if you’ll take a step to the side, I’ll get the toast out of the oven, and we can eat breakfast.”
“And that’s real sweet of you, Mama, to say that about me. Maybe I’ve done something you’ve never been willing to do—like change for the better,” Bonnie said through clenched teeth.
“You always were a smart-ass. Got that from your daddy,” Vivien told her. “You wouldn’t have a denim jacket around here somewhere, would you?”
Bonnie realized she would be relieved when her mother had breakfast and left. One minute she wanted to cry for her mother’s bad choices in life; the next she wanted to send her to her bedroom without supper to punish her.
“Why do you want a denim jacket?” Bonnie asked.
“They say it gets cool in the evenings in California, and I left in such a hurry that I didn’t pack a coat.” Vivien helped her plate with three pieces of toast and a big chunk of the ham slice.
“Why’d you leave so fast?” Bonnie asked and then shook her head slowly. “You took all of that biker’s money when you headed west, didn’t you? Like you used to do when I was a little girl and you got tired of living with some guy.”
“And his bag of pot and two bottles of whiskey. I drove all night to get here,” she said. “And I came to get my baby girl so I can take her to see the ocean like she always wanted.”
“No thanks,” Bonnie said. “I like the ranchin’ business too well to leave it.”
“I swear to God, she’s just like Ezra,” Vivien said.
“I can call Cooper,” Rusty whispered just for Bonnie’s ears. “After all, he is still the county sheriff until the election is over.”
Bonnie shook her head and turned her attention back to Vivien, who was eating so fast that she couldn’t have enjoyed the food. “You think Big Bill will follow you here?”
“No, he’ll just cut his losses and move in with that hussy from the bar that he’s been flirtin’ with. And it’s Big Ben, not Big Bill. Come on, Bonnie. Let’s go see whoever we need to talk to and get your money. Between us we can have a good time,” Vivien said.
“For the last time,” Bonnie said, “the answer is no.” She couldn’t help but wonder what the answer might have been a few days before if Vivien had arrived with the same offer.
Bonnie remembered the dreams again and the empty feeling she had when she left her sisters behind. She didn’t ever want to experience that in real life.
And this is your third sign, that niggling little voice in her head said. Your mother is offering you freedom. You need to make up your mind for sure about what you want, and never look back.
“Your loss,” Vivien said as matter-of-factly as if she were discussing whether or not Bonnie should have a beer or a shot of whiskey with her.
“More coffee anyone?” Rusty asked as he brought the second pan of toast to the table and sat down.
“Hey, where is everyone?” Shiloh yelled from the front door.
“In the kitchen,” Bonnie called out.
“Who’s here?” Abby Joy’s voice preceded her into the kitchen.
Vivien looked up from the table and smiled when they entered the room. “I’m Vivien, Bonnie’s mother.”
“These are my sisters, Shiloh and Abby Joy,” Bonnie said.
“Half-sisters,” Vivien corrected her. “Glad to meet y’all.”
“Same here.” Shiloh and Abby Joy said in unison.
“We were taking the morning off to run into Amarillo to grocery shop. We stopped by to