magazine in
the waiting room.”
Alexis chuckled. “I think not. No, we
have an opening in about five minutes. I think I have just the thing to make
you stunning, not that it’s a long way to go. But you get too much sun.”
“Please no,” Quinn protested, but she
lost the battle before it began. Five minutes later she sat in a comfortable,
reclining chair, a glass of white wine in her hand, and a young woman named
Renee removing the braid from her hair. Quinn closed her eyes as Renee worked
on her skin. Her nostrils filled with the scent of pineapples from the
mysterious facial, but at that point, Quinn didn’t care what was being done. It
felt so good, especially when Renee started to massage from her scalp right
down to the tips of her fingers. Renee knew how to perform magic.
The hour ended much too soon, but Quinn
was glad to head back to the cookout, refreshed and with a promise to return
for whatever the spa was dishing out. Dina looked ten years younger and more
relaxed. Pity she had to go back to Ted.
The band had already set up and now
played lively country music from a small stage near the house. The women who
had been at the spa earlier were back and the dancing had begun.
Quinn automatically searched for Craig
and found him with Jacob, and another local, Nicole LeBlanc. A twinge of
unwarranted jealousy poked at her. As nice as Nicole was, she was also tall and
willowy and drop dead beautiful in a feminine way that reminded Quinn of Elise.
She bet Nicole didn’t smell like horse on a regular basis.
“Come on,” she told Dina, dragging her
eyes away from Craig. “Let’s go show you off. Maybe you can get your husband to
dance.”
Dina’s transformation faded at the
mention of her husband. Quinn would’ve kept her away from his company longer
but when she caught sight of him it was clear Ted wasn’t pleased.
“’Bout time,” he said when they met up.
“Time to get back to the ranch. I’m sure Scotty is hungry.” He took his wife’s
arm and threw an angry look in Craig’s direction.
Dina smiled weakly. “Thank you very much
Quinn. Make sure to thank Jacob for me as well. It was a nice surprise.”
“I’ll make sure I tell him.”
The couple went off in the direction of
the parking lot. The back of Ted’s thick neck glowed a beet red.
For a long moment, after losing Dina’s
company, Quinn considered her next move. There was no way she could join her
brother and Craig, she didn’t have the strength to hide her feelings from him.
Marisol remained with her new friends and Robby flirted with some girl from
town.
Even though she loved to dance and
listen to music, she really wanted to take Piper out onto the prairie and ride
until the sun sank below the hills. Solitude would give her a chance to think.
The whole day had filled her brain right up, the noise, the people. Craig. It
was almost too much.
Before anyone could grab her attention,
Quinn walked away from the gathering and headed for the barn.
It took only a few minutes to have Piper
out of her stall, slip a bridle on, and mount up. Quinn turned the mare away
from the party and trotted her out of the ranch yard, down an old road that
hadn’t been used much in the past ten years or so.
At the end of the road, not ten minutes
from the main house, Quinn stopped Piper and stared at the original Long Knife
Creek Ranch house. Her grandparent’s home. Where her father had been born.
Where Quinn and Jacob had grown up. Once it had been white, but the paint on
the house had chipped away under years of harsh prairie weather and now it was
a gray with faded green shutters. There was a barn too, as gray and abandoned
as the house, the roof swaybacked. Yet, no matter how abandoned the place
looked, Quinn always saw this as the heart of Long Knife Creek.
Once, before heading to college, Quinn
used to come out here and dream the house was pretty and white and the barn
strong. There had been horses living in that barn, horses she raised
the waiting room.”
Alexis chuckled. “I think not. No, we
have an opening in about five minutes. I think I have just the thing to make
you stunning, not that it’s a long way to go. But you get too much sun.”
“Please no,” Quinn protested, but she
lost the battle before it began. Five minutes later she sat in a comfortable,
reclining chair, a glass of white wine in her hand, and a young woman named
Renee removing the braid from her hair. Quinn closed her eyes as Renee worked
on her skin. Her nostrils filled with the scent of pineapples from the
mysterious facial, but at that point, Quinn didn’t care what was being done. It
felt so good, especially when Renee started to massage from her scalp right
down to the tips of her fingers. Renee knew how to perform magic.
The hour ended much too soon, but Quinn
was glad to head back to the cookout, refreshed and with a promise to return
for whatever the spa was dishing out. Dina looked ten years younger and more
relaxed. Pity she had to go back to Ted.
The band had already set up and now
played lively country music from a small stage near the house. The women who
had been at the spa earlier were back and the dancing had begun.
Quinn automatically searched for Craig
and found him with Jacob, and another local, Nicole LeBlanc. A twinge of
unwarranted jealousy poked at her. As nice as Nicole was, she was also tall and
willowy and drop dead beautiful in a feminine way that reminded Quinn of Elise.
She bet Nicole didn’t smell like horse on a regular basis.
“Come on,” she told Dina, dragging her
eyes away from Craig. “Let’s go show you off. Maybe you can get your husband to
dance.”
Dina’s transformation faded at the
mention of her husband. Quinn would’ve kept her away from his company longer
but when she caught sight of him it was clear Ted wasn’t pleased.
“’Bout time,” he said when they met up.
“Time to get back to the ranch. I’m sure Scotty is hungry.” He took his wife’s
arm and threw an angry look in Craig’s direction.
Dina smiled weakly. “Thank you very much
Quinn. Make sure to thank Jacob for me as well. It was a nice surprise.”
“I’ll make sure I tell him.”
The couple went off in the direction of
the parking lot. The back of Ted’s thick neck glowed a beet red.
For a long moment, after losing Dina’s
company, Quinn considered her next move. There was no way she could join her
brother and Craig, she didn’t have the strength to hide her feelings from him.
Marisol remained with her new friends and Robby flirted with some girl from
town.
Even though she loved to dance and
listen to music, she really wanted to take Piper out onto the prairie and ride
until the sun sank below the hills. Solitude would give her a chance to think.
The whole day had filled her brain right up, the noise, the people. Craig. It
was almost too much.
Before anyone could grab her attention,
Quinn walked away from the gathering and headed for the barn.
It took only a few minutes to have Piper
out of her stall, slip a bridle on, and mount up. Quinn turned the mare away
from the party and trotted her out of the ranch yard, down an old road that
hadn’t been used much in the past ten years or so.
At the end of the road, not ten minutes
from the main house, Quinn stopped Piper and stared at the original Long Knife
Creek Ranch house. Her grandparent’s home. Where her father had been born.
Where Quinn and Jacob had grown up. Once it had been white, but the paint on
the house had chipped away under years of harsh prairie weather and now it was
a gray with faded green shutters. There was a barn too, as gray and abandoned
as the house, the roof swaybacked. Yet, no matter how abandoned the place
looked, Quinn always saw this as the heart of Long Knife Creek.
Once, before heading to college, Quinn
used to come out here and dream the house was pretty and white and the barn
strong. There had been horses living in that barn, horses she raised
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