True Colors

Renegade was at the fence, running wild, galloping back and forth around the paddock, skidding to a stop at either end and pivoting to start again.

“Whoa, boy,” she said, going to him. “It’s okay. The roping is over. It’ll be quiet again soon.” She reached out to touch his silky neck, but he reared up and spun away. “It’s okay, boy,” she said, trying to soothe him with her voice.

“I can’t get you out of my head,” Dallas said softly from behind her.

She turned. This was what she’d been looking for, why she was here, although she hadn’t admitted it to herself until right now. She tilted her chin just a little, waiting . . .

The kiss was like nothing she’d experienced before. It lifted her up and twirled her around and plunged her to the ground. She clung to him as she’d never clung to another human being in her adulthood, as if he alone could save her.

“Vivi Ann!”

She heard her name being called as if from underwater, far away. It came again before she returned to herself and reality.

“I have to go,” she said, pushing Dallas away.

He grabbed her elbow, held her close. “I want you,” he said in a low voice. “And you want me.”

She wrenched free and ran back along the side of the barn. In the parking lot, she found both of her sisters as well as Richard and Luke; they were all waiting for her.

“There you are,” Winona said, her sharp gaze scanning the area behind them. Was she looking for Dallas? Did she suspect something? “We thought we’d go out and celebrate the jackpot’s success.”

“Oh,” Vivi Ann said, trying to look casual. “Sounds great.”

Later, at just past one o’clock in the morning, Vivi Ann sat on the top porch step, with a sister on either side of her. She had a nice little buzz going, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to muddle her mind. “Who wants to do tequila straight shots?”

“No, thanks,” Aurora said. “I need to get home. Richard said he’d wait up for me.”

“Win?” Vivi Ann said. “You in?”

“Are you kidding? I’m exhausted.”

Vivi Ann put her hands behind her and leaned back, looking past the porch roof to the night sky. On the rise behind the barn, a light came on, a little yellow firefly of color amid the darkness.

I want you . . . And you want me.

She turned to Aurora, who sat beside her, studying the tiny flags on her scarlet nails. “Aurora, how did you know Richard was the one?”

Aurora cocked her head just enough to make eye contact. In the orangey porch light, her face was a mask of light and shadow. “Because he asked.”

“That’s it? Because he asked you to marry him?”

“No. Because he asked me everything. Was I warm enough? Did I like the movie? Where do you want to go for dinner? Richard is . . . kind. Like Luke.” Aurora gave her a little jut of the chin that was its own question. “I dated a lot of unkind men before—you all remember Dylan and Mike. Anyway, I was tired of being hurt when Richard came along.”

“Why don’t you just admit it, Vivi?” Winona said. “You don’t know if you love Luke.”

“She knows if she loves him,” Aurora said. “And she knows if she doesn’t. What she’s asking is if she should settle.”

“Settle?” Winona said sharply. “That’s ridiculous. It’s Luke Connelly we’re talking about.”

Aurora looked at Winona. “You’re her sister,” Aurora said. “Don’t forget that, Win.”

“How could I?” Winona muttered. “You two remind me often enough.”

“It’s been the three of us since Mom died,” Aurora said, still staring at Winona as she spoke. “Pea, Bean, and Sprout. We can get pissed off at each other and scream and shout and cry—that’s okay, that’s being sisters. But we stick together. And right now Vivi Ann is asking us some hard questions. Perhaps things should have been said months ago, but they weren’t, and now we live with that. You understand? We live with it.” She turned and looked at Vivi Ann. “Here’s the truth, Vivi: there are worse things than marrying a decent man and hoping to be content.”

“What about passion?” Vivi Ann said quietly.

“Passion fades,” Aurora said. She tried to smile, but it was false, that smile, and her eyes said something else entirely.