Page 133 of Crystal Iris
“And you think it’s because of me?”
“I know it is. Still, you need to do what’s right for you. I’m not the best at relationship advice, though.”
“Did you… talk to Sawyer last night?”
“Yeah, he hates me.”
“I doubt that.”
“He does. He’ll never forgive me for leaving like that. I had to lie to him too. I didn’t want Hoyt coming after me—not until I figured out if my mother was alive. Luke’s death… Hoyt took it personally. I couldn’t bring something like this up and—if it turned out she was gone—break his heart again. He likes to take care of everyone, but I know he’s the one who needs it.”
She gets up and says, “I gotta finish packing too.”
“Thank you. For talking to me.”
“Of course. I know my brother can be hard to open up to… I’m here if you need to chat.”
“Thanks.”
I’m standing by the fence of Mona’s ring. She looks scared, but to my surprise, she comes closer.
I look into her eyes… and somehow, she looks back at me. Straight into my soul.How do horses do that?
I run my hands through her soft mane. “I’m not leaving you,” I tell her. “I’ll be back soon. You can trust them, you know—they only want to help you.” I give her a big hug. “One day,” I say, “we’ll ride all the way to that mountain over there, just me and you. But for that, we both need some practice.”
“She doesn’t even let us get this close. I think she likes you,” Hoyt says, walking toward me.
“The feeling’s mutual. But she did let you touch her when she arrived.”
“She was still drugged.”
“Are you guys ready to go?” I ask him.
“Jo is in the truck waiting.”
Twenty-Eight
“Anybody can play weird, that's easy. What's hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple complicated is commonplace. Making the complicated simple—awesomely simple—that's creativity.” – Charles Mingus
The flight to Alaska is long with the connecting flight, and I welcome the rest. Johanna sits next to me, while Hoyt sits behind us.
“What’s the plan, Johanna?” Hoyt asks when we land.
“We eat and we sleep. It’s too late to… go there now,” she answers.
“Right, too late to say hello to our own mother.” I can hear the agitation in his tone.
“Hoyt, please,” Johanna pleads.
“Fine, I told you we’re doing it your way,” he says.
“Thank you,” she replies, and I can see they both look worried.
“Thank you for coming, Iris,” Hoyt says, passing me my dinner in our room.
“I’m happy to spend time with you and Johanna. I like her.”
“I think she likes you too. She told me to do things right, with you.”
