Page 7 of The Lilac River

No explanation. No goodbye. Just… gone.

The first I knew was a frantic call from her mom later that morning.

For two months, I looked for her. Called every college I could. Drove to Ohio on a gut instinct, thinking maybe she’d gotten cold feet but still chased her dream school.

But there was nothing.

Just the echo of everything we’d said. Everything we’d meant. And everything I’d never stop carrying.

But she’d given up her place. Disappeared completely.

It broke something in me. The part of my heart she didn’t rip out, I poured into Bertie. The rest? A hollow husk that barely kept me standing.

I leaned back in the chair, boots hooked on the porch balustrade, gazing out over the land that raised me. Silver Peaks gleamed in the distance; its namesake mountain peaks scarred with white snow lines. This ranch had become my anchor; hard, honest work that grounded me. Funny how I used to want out of this life. Now I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

I used to think love was the thing that made a man. Now I knew it was duty.

Bertie’s laughter echoed through the late afternoon. She swung from the tire I’d hung just last year, hair flying, face pure sunshine. Wilder was in the distance, fixing a fence with Mack, their laughter low but familiar. A good moment. A peaceful one.

Until Gunner ruined it.

“That’s a meaningful look on your face, big brother.”

He swaggered around the corner, leather gloves tucked in his pocket, ball cap tipped back. Same crooked grin as always. “Looks like maybe you spent the whole of your day off thinking.”

“Nothing to think about.”

“Bullshit.”

I rolled my eyes. “Stop grinning at me. It’s annoying.”

He dropped into the rocker next to mine, Mom’s old chair, and copied my position, boots up. “So? Any deep revelations about Lily Jones?”

Her name hit like a punch. Always did.

I forced my expression flat. “Haven’t given her a second thought.”

“Wow. That lie came out so fast I almost believed it.”

Before I could answer, Wilder’s laugh rang out again. Gunner and I glanced toward the pasture where he and Mack were finishing up.

“Did you get all the branding done?” I asked.

“Yep. Frank and Jimmy moved fifty pairs up to high ground. We can do the rest tomorrow.”

I nodded absently, eyes drifting back to Bertie. She was climbing into the treehouse now, bare feet kicking with excitement. School couldn’t come fast enough. She was ready to go back.

“Talk to Dad today?” Gunner asked.

I frowned. “A lot of questions today. What’s going on?”

He didn’t answer right away. His jaw clenched. Shoulders tight. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

“Gun?”

“Dad,” he finally muttered. “Went into town. Needed him to sign a check for the food bill.”

My hackles rose. Dad hadn’t worked the ranch in years yet still clung to every bit of control.

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