11
Visitors
Mariska
How one man can be the most infuriating person in the world and at the same time the most irresistible is beyond me. As we ride back to the house, I try not to let my impatience grow as he again takes a slower pace, holding poor Freckles from the gallop she so desperately craves. I want to scream, “I’m not made of glass!” But I don’t.
I look up at the sky and take a deep inhale. It smells like rain. An enormous formation of dark grey clouds rolls slowly from the south, building into what looks like an upside down volcano, and the grasses sway in ripples like water, showing their light green undersides before returning to darker green on top.
I want to sit on the porch and sketch it all out. It will be my first painting here—Coming Storm.
Stuart pulls up beside me. “When we get to the house, head on in. Cheyenne gets jittery in bad weather, and Freckles is already a handful.”
I press my lips together to keep from saying what I want to say, and instead I only nod. We’re off again, but as we get closer to the house, I forget all about being impatient with him. A new car is in the driveway, and by the time we’re at the barn, Stuart’s mother is on the porch followed closely by his sister Amy.
We pull up, and I quickly hop off Cheyenne, heading toward the two women at the ranch house.
“There she is!” Sylvia calls, and Amy’s face breaks into a huge smile.
“Come here and give me a hug!” She skips down the porch steps, fashionable as always in a fringed beige tunic over dark skinny jeans and brown western ankle boots. “You really are a wonder!”
She gives me a tight squeeze, then loops her arm through mine, leading me back to the house, her pale blonde hair swirling in the breeze around us.
“What have I done this time?” I ask with a laugh.
“First you get him to settle down, now you turn him into a father!”
“The wonder is how she puts up with him,” Sylvia grouses, following us inside.
I can’t help it, I burst out laughing. Amy drops my arm and looks at me, a wide smile on her face, eyes dancing. “Oh, no. What happened?”
“Nothing!” I’m laughing so hard, tears are spilling onto my cheeks.
“Now you have to tell us,” she insists.
Shaking my head, I try to swallow my mirth. “It’s just what your mom said. I was thinking the same thing as we were riding back.”
Sylvia comes up behind me, putting her arm over my shoulder. “Try to be patient with him. Like I said, he’s a lot like his father.”
Amy’s lips press together in a small frown. “But not entirely,” she says quietly.
I can tell there’s a story there, but I don’t have time to say any more. My future sister-in-law has my arm again and is dragging me to the kitchen. “Come on. I’m here for the weekend, and we’re going to do all the corny things you’re supposed to do when you’re pregnant.
“Like what?” I look from her to Sylvia, who only shakes her head.
“Amy’s always been very headstrong,” she says.
“First!” Amy reaches in her brown suede bag and pulls out an old-school camera. “Turn to the side, and let’s get a picture of that bump!”
“Oh,” I poke out my lips as I pull up my loose
black top. “We have wait on that one. No bump.”
“Hmm,” Amy frowns, pressing her hand against my flat stomach. “I thought you might be hiding something under there.”
“I’m only twelve weeks.” I turn to the side, looking down. “And it’s my first time, so apparently that means it takes longer.”
She’s quiet for a split second before waving her hands. “No matter! We’ll take one anyway. You have to have a reference point, after all. Come over here.”