Page 19 of The Fault Between Us
As the pounding of blood in her ears abated, she heard Frannie laughing hysterically. “Did you see that? Did you get a picture?”
Bridget’s whole body flushed. “Of all the stupid things!” She turned on her little sister. “Frances Marie Reilly, what is wrong with you?”
Frannie didn’t look a bit sorry. “A lot, according to you and Dad.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “That was the coolest.”
Red jerked the truck into gear and pulled back onto the road. He didn’t say a word, but his face was as hard as stone.
“Frannie, that was really stupid,” Claire said as she adjusted Jenny on her lap.
“Stupid doesn’t begin to describe it,” Bridget snapped.
Was she going to have to babysit her little sister in a place where there seemed to be a thousand ways to get killed? And Claire... for goodness’ sake, couldn’t she see this was no place to raise a child? Frannie deserved a spanking, and Claire needed to see sense. Dad was right. Claire needed to come home with Jenny, even if it meant leaving her ill-natured husband behind.
chapter 11:CLAIRE
Claire was absolutely mortified. What would Red think of the way her sisters were acting? She wouldn’t blame him if he turned the truck around this minute and headed home.
That stunt Frannie pulled. And Bridget. Since they stepped off the bus, Bridget hadn’t had a kind word for their little sister. Now, Bridget was threatening to lock her in the truck for the rest of the day like a naughty dog.
How quickly Claire had forgotten that her family was a far cry fromFather Knows Best.In fact, what was going on right now in the truck was the reason she’d escaped to Yellowstone in the first place. The winter Frannie turned sixteen, their once-peaceful house became a war zone with Frannie and Dad in open combat. By the time spring came, Claire was sick and tired of being the peacemaker. When Millie told her of her plan to work at Old Faithful for the summer, Claire grabbed on to the idea like a lifeboat on a sinking ship.
Her job at the Old Faithful Inn laundry was hot and sweaty work, but Claire spent her free time falling in love with Yellowstone—andnot worrying about her rebellious teenage sister pitted against her overprotective father. The summer of freedom was glorious... and then she met Red.
Claire tried to catch Red’s eye and let him know she appreciated how his quick thinking averted disaster between her sister and the bear. He kept his attention on the road as if World War III wasn’t going on around them.
She’d tried to smooth things over with Red this morning. Before anyone else was awake, she’d left the house and walked barefoot through the dew-wet grass to where Red was sleeping outside.
He’d been awake—watching the sun rise over the mountains—and lifted his bedroll so she could slip in. The lilt of birdsong accompanied the rippling music of the river as she curled into his warmth and tucked her head under his chin. “I missed you,” she told him. He pulled her close, and in the beauty of the sunrise, all was well. If only it could stay that way.
Now, the road wound past Morning Glory Pool and Castle Geyser. She’d love to show both wonders to her sisters, but the mood in the cab was mutinous and Jenny was starting to fuss. “Let’s go straight to Old Faithful,” she murmured to Red. He nodded once, his jaw tight.
Red followed the line of cars into the parking lot and found a space among the station wagons and convertibles. Claire gratefully unstuck her hot legs from the seat and scooted out of the truck with a fussy, wet, and hungry Jenny.
“Do I need to hold your hand or are you going to act your age?” Bridget griped to Frannie as they clambered out.
“I’m not a child.” Frannie sulked.
“Then stop acting like one.”
Frannie stuck out her tongue at Bridget.
Red held out his hands for Jenny. “I’ll take care of her.”
Claire passed Jenny to him with dismay. Red would rather change a diaper than listen to her sisters quarrel, and she didn’t blame him. Five minutes later, Claire sat between fuming Bridget and unrepentant Frannie on a bench facing the famous geyser.
A ranger with a megaphone gave his spiel. “Ten thousand gallons of water heated by volcanic magma has kept Old Faithful spouting about once an hour for as long as we’ve known her.”
By the time the ranger finished, Red joined them with Jenny. He cradled her in his arms and gave her the bottle Claire had packed in the ice chest. Claire watched him, a sudden surge of love for him. He hadn’t grown up with family. All this was new to him, and he was being patient with her difficult sisters. Red looked up from feeding Jenny and caught her gaze, his expression softening. Maybe they could salvage the day.
“There she blows, folks,” the ranger said.
The spouting began and the crowd leaned forward, oohing and aahing over the column of boiling hot water arcing into the clear blue sky. Bridget took a dozen pictures and even Frannie said, “Pretty cool, I guess.”
As the crowd dispersed, Claire led her sisters toward the Old Faithful Inn, Jenny happily babbling in Red’s arms. Claire showed her sisters the laundry building hidden behind the imposing hotel. “The laundry maids were called bubble queens,” she told them. “And we all lived together in the dorms over there.” She pointed to the building next to the laundry. “That window up there in the top row, second from the end, was mine and Millie’s.”
“And when you didn’t work, you got to do whatever you wanted?” Frannie asked, suddenly taking an interest.
“Did we ever!” Claire thought of the fun times she and Millie had as savages—the name for seasonal park employees. “We saw everything, went hiking and camping, and to dances.”
