choirs, but
Peter would still be there. He’d never had the wanderlust of his brother.
He’d planted his roots and only an act of God would get him to leave. Which
was exactly what she was counting on.
She
glanced at the clock and cringed. It shouldn’t have taken her this long to get
here. Then again, she’d taken the most circuitous route she could – all to
avoid seeing the exit sign for the Sorrento Ranch. It had been ages; you’d
think Bea would have updated the signage by now. But nope, Dustin’s young,
handsome face, body astride a beautiful horse, still stared down at all the
passersby. Probably how she got three-fourths of her female guests. She’d
stopped admonishing Bea on her choice of advertising years ago; she wasn’t
supposed to care anymore, right?
Faith
glanced at the seat next to her, the manila envelope barely peeking out from
under her purse so the wind didn’t steal it. Jackson had reminded her of all
the things that could go wrong with a secret marriage; hadn’t her new
houseguests tried to keep theirs under wraps in the beginning too? The minute
it came to light all hell would break loose, and so many things could go
wrong. No way she’d escape that without being forced to see Dustin again. And
she couldn’t even handle a billboard.
A
twinge of guilt hit her, of not having the guts to face him or tell Jackson she
was visiting his brother instead. Across a restaurant dining room was as close
as she wanted to get. His smile from thirty feet away had almost put her down
for the count. She didn’t need Dustin even an inch closer if she was going to
make it through this – especially this week. She’d stop by and surprise Peter,
have an awkward hour of small talk and recriminations and teasing, hand him the
envelope, and ride right back into the sunset.
Her
car finally came up over the last bump, and she had a clear view of the house.
It hadn’t changed much, though the backyard bore signs of children. Her gut
clenched – almost ten years to the day since she’d run from that house at her
lowest moment. Her eyes drifted to the right, and she saw it – the tree was
still there.
The
Audi pulled up in front of it, practically of its own volition. She wanted to
get out and touch it, yearned to feel the bark beneath her fingertips, but she knew
the memories would come flooding back at the contact. It was bigger now, had
grown tall and strong when she hadn’t been looking.
She
hadn’t been sure if Dustin would keep it or destroy it. She’d thought about it
as some grand metaphor after she left, and the fact that it was still standing
touched a place in her heart she was sure she’d drowned eons ago. Faith took a
shaky breath and opened the door, ready to embrace whatever was going to come
her way. But her mind went blank at the next thing she heard.
“What
the hell do you think you’re doing?! This is private property, you’re
trespassing, and I…”
Dustin
had worked himself up into an angry, seething tirade at the cloud of dust he’d
seen out his office window. He desperately needed something to yell, fight,
and scream at. A smile had actually touched his lips as he’d seen the
distraction crest over the hill.
The
anger had turned to annoyance as they got closer. Who the hell drove a
pocket-sized Audi down the country back roads? None of the normal
troublemakers were that stupid. Had to be some lost tourist looking for the
freeway or some awful fair in town. His smile of neighborly kindness was
begrudgingly in place before he saw where they had stopped. He could overlook
a lot of things, but this week he would not tolerate anyone going anywhere near
his tree.
He
flew from his desk and out the side door, yelling before he had even left the
porch. He hopped over the railing, not bothering to use the stairs, and made
his way over at a full run, as if the hounds of hell were after him instead of
just a few
Peter would still be there. He’d never had the wanderlust of his brother.
He’d planted his roots and only an act of God would get him to leave. Which
was exactly what she was counting on.
She
glanced at the clock and cringed. It shouldn’t have taken her this long to get
here. Then again, she’d taken the most circuitous route she could – all to
avoid seeing the exit sign for the Sorrento Ranch. It had been ages; you’d
think Bea would have updated the signage by now. But nope, Dustin’s young,
handsome face, body astride a beautiful horse, still stared down at all the
passersby. Probably how she got three-fourths of her female guests. She’d
stopped admonishing Bea on her choice of advertising years ago; she wasn’t
supposed to care anymore, right?
Faith
glanced at the seat next to her, the manila envelope barely peeking out from
under her purse so the wind didn’t steal it. Jackson had reminded her of all
the things that could go wrong with a secret marriage; hadn’t her new
houseguests tried to keep theirs under wraps in the beginning too? The minute
it came to light all hell would break loose, and so many things could go
wrong. No way she’d escape that without being forced to see Dustin again. And
she couldn’t even handle a billboard.
A
twinge of guilt hit her, of not having the guts to face him or tell Jackson she
was visiting his brother instead. Across a restaurant dining room was as close
as she wanted to get. His smile from thirty feet away had almost put her down
for the count. She didn’t need Dustin even an inch closer if she was going to
make it through this – especially this week. She’d stop by and surprise Peter,
have an awkward hour of small talk and recriminations and teasing, hand him the
envelope, and ride right back into the sunset.
Her
car finally came up over the last bump, and she had a clear view of the house.
It hadn’t changed much, though the backyard bore signs of children. Her gut
clenched – almost ten years to the day since she’d run from that house at her
lowest moment. Her eyes drifted to the right, and she saw it – the tree was
still there.
The
Audi pulled up in front of it, practically of its own volition. She wanted to
get out and touch it, yearned to feel the bark beneath her fingertips, but she knew
the memories would come flooding back at the contact. It was bigger now, had
grown tall and strong when she hadn’t been looking.
She
hadn’t been sure if Dustin would keep it or destroy it. She’d thought about it
as some grand metaphor after she left, and the fact that it was still standing
touched a place in her heart she was sure she’d drowned eons ago. Faith took a
shaky breath and opened the door, ready to embrace whatever was going to come
her way. But her mind went blank at the next thing she heard.
“What
the hell do you think you’re doing?! This is private property, you’re
trespassing, and I…”
Dustin
had worked himself up into an angry, seething tirade at the cloud of dust he’d
seen out his office window. He desperately needed something to yell, fight,
and scream at. A smile had actually touched his lips as he’d seen the
distraction crest over the hill.
The
anger had turned to annoyance as they got closer. Who the hell drove a
pocket-sized Audi down the country back roads? None of the normal
troublemakers were that stupid. Had to be some lost tourist looking for the
freeway or some awful fair in town. His smile of neighborly kindness was
begrudgingly in place before he saw where they had stopped. He could overlook
a lot of things, but this week he would not tolerate anyone going anywhere near
his tree.
He
flew from his desk and out the side door, yelling before he had even left the
porch. He hopped over the railing, not bothering to use the stairs, and made
his way over at a full run, as if the hounds of hell were after him instead of
just a few
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