Page 12 of The Tryst

She smiles sweetly at Marcie, shaking her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” Her expression is masked into one of polite curiosity as she bends at the waist and shakes Sylvie’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too. And is this your dog?”

The scruffy brown dog submits to scratches as Sylvie nods. “His name is Renault.”

Holland blinks in surprise as she hears Sylvie for the first time. “You’re French?”

“Oui. But American too because my dad is American.” She looks up to Ethan and smiles with a newfound love that makes my heart skip a beat. It’s amazing to me how easily this family fell in love with this little girl, despite the rough start.

Holland straightens and her eyes flick to Kat and Gabe, and because I can still read her, I see the inquisitiveness mixed with confusion about this new Blackburn family she’s come home to. Kat grins at her mischievously, and I know my sister well. I think she’s relishing that Holland is a little on tilted ground from all the changes, and that’s perhaps a bit of petty payback for leaving us all without so much as a goodbye.

I can’t say that I disagree with Kat for those feelings, but an innate protectiveness for Holland has been raging through me since her return. I felt it for her when she was a little girl and it’s only grown stronger over time. The way things ended between us apparently hasn’t diminished that one bit, maybe just sent it into hibernation, and now the bear is waking up.

“Well,” my mom says, clapping her hands once, “let’s head into the kitchen and sit down to supper. It’s where we always did our best talking.”

We all follow her in where the table is set for a feast. I feel the tension rolling off Holland as she looks hesitant to take a seat but ultimately positions herself to the right of Kat with my dad adjacent to her at the far end. Miranda, our housekeeper, has outdone herself with the spread: roast chicken, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, cornbread and a big salad. A pitcher of lemonade sits in the center, next to a basket of freshly sliced sourdough.

“Everyone, dig in,” Miranda says after setting the last bowl down and we start passing dishes.

As we eat, the conversation flows easily. My mom chatters about everyone’s personal lives, with special attention to Abby and her new husband Kellan, since they’re not here. Ethan talks about the farm, which has expanded its breeding operations since Holland left. This leads to a round of bombarding questions to Holland about her job and life in Zurich. She handles it all with grace, her answers concisely factual with no hint as to her feelings. She’s holding herself in reserve and I can tell she’s waiting for the inevitable push by one of us, demanding to know why she left and cut off all contact.

It’s Wade who decides to delve in, but he’s always been the least tactful among us. He’s also the one who wears his heart on his sleeve.

“So, why did you just leave and never come back?” Wade asks, his tone more curious than accusatory but my mom reacts.

“Wade Thomas Blackburn.” My mom shoots him the stink eye. “Don’t be rude.” She then turns to Holland. “We’re just happy you’re back.”

Holland looks stricken, her eyes darting to me. I know she won’t tell the truth and true to form, a cool mask descends over her face. “I had a great opportunity to change schools to better match the degree I wanted, and then I just got so busy. It’s easy to lose touch when you move away.”

It sounds like a response she’d been practicing in front of the mirror, and I can see Wade wants to argue with her that it’s no excuse, but Holland then goes on to divert the attention from herself. She swivels to look at my sister. “So, you’re dating a Mardraggon now? What’s that all about?”

I nearly choke on my lemonade because Holland always thought quick on her feet and it kept me on my feet. I can tell Kat appreciates her sly wit and being freshly in love and eagerto explain, she launches into the story of how she and Gabe came together despite decades of our families hating each other. She bypasses the backstory of Ethan and his surprise daughter Sylvie, who was born of a Blackburn and Mardraggon one night stand and instead focuses on the clandestine romance she had with Gabe starting when they were in college.

I never realized until now how similarly Kat’s relationship with Gabe mirrors my own with Holland. While I never considered us a family that couldn’t trust one another, it seems both me and my sister were good at keeping our love lives secret.

Kat’s retelling is lighthearted and plays down the bad feelings between our families. She skips over the horrid night she was kidnapped as a result of sins instigated by Gabe’s father, Lionel, instead focusing on the positives from their union. My parents and Wade join in, each sharing bits and pieces of the story. Gabe grins, adding his own perspective, punctuating his feelings by leaning over to kiss Kat on the cheek.

I’ll begrudgingly admit it comes off comical how everyone tries to outdo each other with the details, and it feels like old times. The family gathered in solidarity and laughing over life’s hurdles and fastballs.

Talk eventually turns back to Holland and her current plans with the printshop. I’m duly impressed with her game plan to put the shop into some semblance of order so her mother can continue to run it, but I can see the worry in her eyes and hear the uncertainty in her tone. It’s subtle, not seemingly picked up on by anyone else, but then again, no one knows her like I do.

As dinner winds down, my dad asks Holland if she still rides.

She smiles brightly. “When I can fit it into my busy schedule. It’s definitely still my happy place but not nearly enough.”

“I remember when you kids would trail ride around the property,” my dad muses with a fond smile. “While we’re acompetition barn, there’s nothing like just having joyful fun on a horse, particularly with good friends.”

My mom nods her agreement with the same contented expression that they provided good lives for their kids.

“Some of my favorite memories,” Holland murmurs, drifting into my dad’s reminiscence. “It always felt like nothing could bother me here.”

“Let’s go right now,” I suggest, the words out of my mouth before I can stop them.

There’s complete silence as everyone turns my way. I haven’t said much during the meal, content to observe Holland and try to figure out all the things she refuses to tell me. But I don’t want it to seem like I’m the only one with a vested interest in her, so I look to my siblings. “Come on… we can all go out for a late sunset ride through the north pasture. Go down to the pond, do some fishing like the old days except because we’re adults, we’ll take beer with us.”

Holland’s eyes flare with alarm, I’m sure at the prospect of spending time with me. She shakes her head. “Oh no. I couldn’t impose. Maybe I could come back one day and have a lesson, which I’ll gladly pay for.”

“Nonsense,” Ethan says with a snort. “You won’t pay for any lessons here and anytime you want to ride while you’re in town, you just come on over and saddle up.”

“I don’t want to impose tonight—”

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