True Colors

“That’s not true,” Winona said, but she knew—they all knew—that it was.

“You did me a favor, Win,” Vivi Ann said, “even though you meant to hurt me. The truth is, I don’t care about all that crap now. I’ve found the man I love and we’re on the ranch. Nothing else matters to me.”

She was right. Somehow, impossibly, Vivi Ann had broken all those rules, and a good man’s heart, she’d slept with a stranger and brought him home, and still she’d paid no price. Golden.

“I know that forgive and forget isn’t your forte,” Vivi Ann said, “but it’s the only way we have now. I can do it. Can you?”

Winona was as backed into the corner as her father had been. There was nothing she could say now except yes. Anything else would make her look petty and spiteful. “Of course,” she said, surging forward to give her sister a lackluster hug. “Forgive and forget.”

Chapter Eleven

Some things couldn’t be forgotten, no matter how hard you tried. Humiliation. Loss. Jealousy. They were buoyant emotions that kept popping to the surface. In the end, you grew too tired to keep them submerged. Winona knew: she’d tried. She kept trying, but sometimes, like tonight, the effort seemed unbearable.

When she heard the doorbell ring, her first thought was: What if I just don’t answer?

It rang again.

There was nowhere to hide in your own family.

Turning away from the sink, she headed for the door and opened it.

Aurora stood there, dressed and ready to go. She had teased her brown hair into a poufy banana-clipped ponytail and painted her face with layers of color. Shoulder pads emphasized her small waist, which was circled by a wide, rhinestoned leather belt. Her denim dress looked plain by comparison. “Don’t give me that sucked-on-a-lemon look. Let’s go.”

Wordlessly, Winona followed her sister out to the road where her car was parked. Climbing into the Beemer’s backseat, she wished she were anywhere but here. “This is a stupid idea,” she said.

“Your opinion is noted,” Aurora said.

Winona made a great show of sighing and crossing her arms. “Where’s Richard?”

“He’s working late tonight. He’d rather eat his shoe than come with us.”

“I can relate.”

“I’m so not interested in your theatrics.”

They turned into Water’s Edge and drove up to the cabin.

At the front door, they knocked, and in moments Vivi Ann answered.

“Phew,” Aurora said, “they aren’t naked.”

Winona rolled her eyes. “It’s not even dark out.”

“What you know about hot sex is equivalent to what I know about beekeeping,” Aurora said curtly. To Vivi Ann she said, “We’re going to the Outlaw.”

“Of course you are, it’s Friday,” Vivi Ann said.

Dallas rose instantly and moved in behind Vivi Ann, putting his hand possessively around her waist.

Aurora studied him, her eyes narrowing. “Do you love her, Tattoo Boy?”

“It seems I do, Junior League wannabe.”

Aurora smiled at that. “Then take her to the Outlaw. This is how it’s done.”

“She’s right,” Winona said sharply. “The best way to stop the gossip in town is to show them how happy you are.”

Dallas stared at Winona. “You don’t look too happy, Winona. I guess you like the gossip about Vivi.”