Page 15 of Willow Vale

I cast my little brother an unimpressed glance which only entertained him more as he clinked his beer against mine.

While I’d taken after our father with blue eyes and brown hair, Finn was all Mom. His hair was dark blonde, and his eyes were a shade of gray with hints of blue along the edge of his irises. He was three years younger than me but even at twenty-eight, I still only saw a kid who loved pranks a little too much and always had a bruise or two on his legs from all the falls he took. He didn’t have so many of those now, but he did have a considerable number of tattoos on his arms.

I sighed, not in the mood to entertain him tonight. “Nothing. Long day.”

“Isn’t that every day?” Finn teased, crossing his arms over his chest.

“The ranch never sleeps.” I shrugged, as if that should be explanation enough. It was, in a way. Ranching wasn’t easy work, even for a sage rancher like our father who has been talking about hanging his hat up soon.

It was rough, dirty, and liberating work all at once. The animals, the land, the long days, bad weather, and unexpected long nights when things came up. And yet, I loved every second of it. Now that my dad was older, the thought of taking over Silver Hill without him one day left a seedling of doubt. But I quickly swiped those feelings under the rug.

I wasn’t going to let thoughts of a life without either of my parents rule my thoughts.

Not today.

“I’m heading out after dinner to check the fences along the south side of the property. Make sure we don’t have any surprises again.” Last week we had a fence down along the highway and I spent days hunting down heifers. Not something I wanted a repeat of anytime soon.

“I’ll go with you,” Finn offered. I grunted in thanks, not feeling up to forcing a conversation. Unfortunately for me, my brother had no problem talking. “Should have known you’d be in a mood. Dad warned me.”

“What does that mean?”

Finn shrugged with that grin again. “I heard Lila is working at the bar now.” Before I could ask him how he knew that, he said, “Dad said he ran into her yesterday and they talked for a bit. I’ll admit it was very interesting that you hired her so suddenly when we’d agreed that I was going to fill in for a while. Not that I’m complaining. I get enough ofyou barking orders at me while you’re on the ranch. I’ll miss getting free beers, though.”

“Because you always pay for your own drinks,” I said dryly. “You and Dad gossip too much.”

Finn, never missing a beat, said sarcastically, “Oh, I’m sorry, should I talk about something more interesting? I can talk about the massive dump that Sable left for me in his stall if you want. You’resowelcome by the way.”

That made me grin. Sable’s an American Quarter horse and a bit of a handful, and he was also mine. When I worked at the bar, Finn usually took care of him for me. Today, I’d make sure to give him a nice reward for making my brother work for his money.

The sound of gravel crunching around the front of the house interrupted our conversation, and we walked along the wraparound porch in time to spot a black Ram parking beside my truck.

“Hey, Dad. Want a beer?” Finn asked our dad as he trudged up the steps.

“Boys.” My dad smiled at us both. In true Desmond Adler fashion, his eyes crinkled the way they always did when he saw one of his kids, and a big dimpled smile stretched across his face. “I think I’ll just head in and join your mother before we eat dinner.”

As he said that, the front door opened, and the rich scents of mom’s cooking wrapped around us. Warm and familiar like a hug.

“Well, look who it is.” Mom stepped out to greet Dad with a kiss on his bearded cheek. “Welcome home, honey.”

“Milly,” Dad said tenderly, soaking up every second just like he always did, hugging her until she patted his back. I smiled down at my beer, more than used to seeing them dote on each other this way.

“So, what did the doctor say this time?” Mom asked, narrowing her eyes.

Where Desmond was all heart and hard work, Amelia Adler was all determination and fierce loyalty—the backbone of this family. It’s what made Silver Hill so special to us. She always knew how to make you feel welcome while also knowing when to give some tough love. We liked to make jokes that somewhere along the way they switched personalities. She brought down the hammer whenever we got into trouble, while Dad teared up during the holidays and family gatherings or pretty much anything that made him emotional. One time I caught him wiping away tears after watching that depressing Sarah McLachlan SPCA commercial. I didn’t let him live that down for weeks.

Dad sighed. “I’m fit as a fiddle. I can have all the red meat I want and a bottle of whiskey to go with it.”

“Nice try.” Mom gave him a tight-lipped smile, noticing the way Finn and I rolled our eyes at each other. “There’s a plate of chicken and fresh salad with your name on it. Doesn’t that sound delicious?”

“Yeah…delicious,” Dad grumbled as they started to head into the house. “Honey, did you manage to talk to Lila?”

That instantly piqued my interest.

“I did. She called me this morning and we chatted for a bit. She’ll be bringing River over tomorrow before her shift.”

“What’s all this about?” I asked before they could walk into the house.

“Lila mentioned she needed a babysitter yesterday, so I told her I’d ask Milly if she could watch River while she worked at the bar. He’s a lively little ball of energy, that one,” Dad said, and Mom smiled as if she already knew that.

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