Page 75 of Willow Vale

Every time I thought we were going to head to our apartment after I picked River up from the main house, Travis convinced me to spend it at his. Not that I required much convincing when I wanted to soak up as much time with him as I could.

In the mornings, the three of us cooked breakfast—me trying to negotiate with River to have something green for a change, and Travis answering the hundreds of questions my brother had first thing in the morning. Our little routine.

It was evident that River loved Travis just as much as he loved Desmond and Amelia. If he wasn’t running to me when I walked through the door, he was running to Travis.

I could see the affection written all over Travis’s face every time he gave River a hug.

I’d seen him smile more at the two of us than he had at anyone else on the ranch or at the bar. It turned out he was a big softie when it came to us. When I teased him about that the other night while River was taking a bubble bath, Travis made sure to shut me up with a long, searing kiss. He probably would have done more than kiss me had it not been for River running out of the bathtub naked, the top of his head full of suds.

I chased him around with a towel while River chased Travis for kissing me, calling us gross. It was quite the sight. After wrangling the little troublemaker and putting a movie on in the living room until he dozed off, Travis and I laughed about it until we had tears in our eyes.

I started my application to go to nursing school too, though I hadn’t told Travis about it yet. I wanted to be sure I’d get accepted before getting my hopes us. If I got rejected, at least I’d rest easy knowing I’d tried.

The Rusty Pint was a good place to make money, I’d admit. I loved working with Desi and Jake, and Manny too.Saul and the other bar regulars treated me kindly, and I always found myself smiling during my shifts. Listening to Desi sing on the weekends also became a highlight of my nights.

One night I couldn’t stop laughing when she sang a rendition of “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton after dedicating it to her boss. Travis had scowled, but I knew he didn’t mind.

For the first time in a long time, I was happy despite the run-in with Irene a couple of weeks ago.

But I had to wonder if my happiness now was enough in the long run. I needed to give River a better life. One that he deserved. His school would get more and more expensive as he grew up, and I didn’t think a job with tips and hourly pay would cut it when it got to that. I didn’t want to struggle more than I had in the past to make ends meet.

I wanted stability.

I wanted to accomplish something on my own for a change.

After confessing everything I’d buried deep down to Travis, something changed inside me, even if only a little. It was like I became aware of the survivalist mindset I had. How unhealthy I was being because I constantly neglected myself—not just physically but mentally too. I knew I had to work on it to get better.

For now, I’d take small steps.

I was hauling grocery bags into the Bronco, lost in my thoughts, when I felt a prickling sensation in the back of my head. I paused, turned to see what made me hyperaware of my surroundings. Only to find nothing. The parking lot wasn’t as full as it normally was on the weekends and there wasn’t anyone standing by their car. I looked around as I walked toward the driver side of the cab but still, I didn’t see anyone.

So why did I feel like I was being watched?

Dinner at the Adlers’had quickly become a routine of ours now that they’d all but dragged us into the fold.

Tonight, we were celebrating Wren’s return home.

She’d been staying in her childhood bedroom upstairs during her visit, which I now found out was her subtle way of moving back until she knew if she could work as a trainer on the ranch. Now they were moving her into the spare bedroom downstairs to make it easier for her to move around with her cast.

If she minded, Wren didn’t show it. In fact, she didn’t show us very much these days. Her smile, her random jokes, even the mischief in her eyes whenever she saw me and Travis together—they were pretty much gone.

Wren hadn’t asked about Nila, nor did she seem interested in going to the stables.

I hoped it was because she was tired or uncomfortable from the cast and not for another reason she wasn’t telling us about. Either way, Finn and the rest of the Adler men were looking over Nila with all the care in the world.

Sometimes, River and I went to the stables too to feed and groom the horses along with Amelia. Travis started giving River small riding lessons and I snapped a few pictures while they slowly walked Sable along the pen.

We were all gathered around the dinner table now. I listened to River as he told me all about how he and Desmond spent most of the afternoon together, watching how Finn and the ranch hands went about tending to the livestock. Finn impressed River greatly with the process of dropping haybales along the fields in a moving truck and watchinghorses trot on over to eat, all while blasting country music in his truck.

When Finn asked him if he had fun today, my little brother answered by yelling, “Today was so damn fun, we should do it again!”

I nearly dropped my fork on the cream tablecloth.

“River North,” I said with narrowed eyes at the same time Travis said, “Language.”

“What did I say wrong?” River looked genuinely confused as to why we both chastised him before he turned to face Finn, who was trying his best to hide his sneaky grin.

“Finnley,” Desmond chastised.

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