True Colors

“You will not believe what just happened.”

Aurora turned to her. “What?”

“Vivi Ann came home. And she’s with Dallas.”

“Have they been together this whole time?”

“Who am I? Carnac the Magnificent? I don’t know, but they looked lovey-dovey.”

“This is going to be bad. Did you tell her you were sorry?”

“Me? She’s the one who started all this.”

“No,” Aurora said sternly. “You’re the problem.”

“How do you figure that? Did I fuck Dallas Raintree while I was engaged to Luke? Please, enlighten me with your superior brainpower, Aurora.”

“Luke is a friend, Winona. Vivi is family. When the chips were down, you chose Luke. The whole town knows it. How long did you wait before you told him and Daddy?”

“I’m not listening to this,” Winona said as she walked out of the cook shack.

In the arena, she felt suddenly conspicuous. As she looked around, she wondered what people were saying about her part in this. Once she began to worry about her reputation, she couldn’t stop. Climbing to the highest row of bleacher seats, she sat in the shadows until the roping ended and then went to the cook shack.

“That’s what the whole town is saying, huh? That I told Luke?”

Aurora turned off the griddle and wiped it down. “There are no secrets in a town like this.”

“It’s not fair. I did the right thing. People will see that in the end.”

Aurora sighed. “I’m going to find Vivi Ann. You coming? Or are you hiding out?”

Winona bit back a mean retort and followed her sister out to the parking area. The trucks and trailers were pulling out, moving up the driveway in a multicolored snake of traffic. When they were gone and the parking lot was empty of vehicles, Winona and Aurora were by the fence and Dad was standing near the loafing shed. All of them waiting.

Vivi Ann and Dallas strode toward them, hand in hand.

The five of them stood there, in the purplish falling night, surrounded by black fields and the sounds of horses moving back and forth along the fence and the tide ebbing back toward the sea.

“He ain’t welcome here,” Dad said.

Dallas moved closer to Vivi Ann, put his arm around her. “We got married.”

No one spoke; it felt for a moment as if time had stopped. Vivi Ann looked directly at Dad. “I want us to belong here, Dad, to keep running the ranch, but if you don’t want us . . .”

Winona knew then that Vivi Ann was far from dumb. She’d painted their father into a corner to get her way.

“I don’t suppose I have much choice now, do I?” he said. On that, he turned and went into the house, closing the door hard behind him.

Aurora moved forward and hugged Vivi Ann. “He’ll come around. Don’t worry.”

Vivi Ann clung to Aurora. “I hope so.”

Aurora gave Dallas an awkward hug and then headed for her car. As the BMW’s engine roared to life, Winona stood there, too shaken to speak.

Vivi Ann moved toward her, but didn’t let go of Dallas’s hand; it was a reminder that they were a couple now. Together. “How do you want to handle this, Win?” she asked quietly.

“I only told Dad because Luke was beating Dallas up.” Winona heard the crack in her voice and it pissed her off. She sounded weak when she wanted to be strong. “I was trying to save Dallas.”

Dallas stepped forward then, as if he belonged there, as if he had a place between the sisters. “You wanted everything she had,” he said.