Page 73 of Luna

Luna grinned, thinking about the mischievous Rawlings twins. Ben and Brett couldn’t seem to avoid trouble when it trailed so closely behind them.

The conversation was lively and fun as Caterina drove them out to the B Bar D Ranch. Aundy and Marnie had just arrived when they got there. Together, the five of them walked up the porch steps, but before they could knock on the door, Dacey swung it open and welcomed them all inside.

The men were conspicuously absent, but Luna didn’t mind. If Hunter was there, she likely wouldn’t pay a lick of attention to what she was doing. Since there were more helping hands available than were needed in the nursery, Caterina and Luna volunteered to whip up a morning snack and oversee lunch.

They fried zeppole, coated them in sugar, and made tea, then Luna ran upstairs to let everyone know it was time for a break.

The nursery walls had been painted a pale, soft shade of green. Dally wanted the cute animal wallpaper she’d selected on the south wall where the crib would be, and a matching border would go above the chair rail around the rest of the room.

Dally looped her arm around Luna’s on the way down the stairs. “Thank you for being here today. If I failed to thank you properly before, thank you for helping with the meals during harvest. We couldn’t have fed everyone without you.”

“I was happy to help and glad I could be here.” Luna meant what she said. A week after she’d returned home from her stay at the ranch, Nik had dropped by with an envelope full of cash and apologized they hadn’t paid her sooner. She’d tried to refuse it, but he’d insisted she’d earned every penny. Luna had tucked the money away with her earnings from Caterina’s restaurant. Ilsa mostly paid her in clothes, which Luna preferred because she got the far better end of the bargain when she helped in the dress shop.

When they reached the dining room, Dally leaned closer to her. “He misses you being here,” she said, then she walked over to take a seat between her mother and Aundy at the table.

Luna pondered Dally’s words the rest of the morning. By the time they gathered for lunch, the wallpaper border was up, and the women were in fine spirits.

“Where are the men today?” Marnie asked, looking around as though she expected Hunter to join their women-only gathering like he had the day they’d met to help Dally choose the nursery’s paint and wallpaper.

“Nik is at the hospital performing an emergency surgery,” Dally said, passing a bowl of salad to Aundy after taking a serving. “Dad went with Hunter over to his place. Walker’s crew is working hard on the house, and Hunter wanted Dad’s thoughts on a few things.”

Luna felt disappointed she wouldn’t have the opportunity to see Hunter, but she was glad he was spending time with his father. Things he’d said and hadn’t said, made her think his father had been upset about his moving to Pendleton. Perhaps Mr. Douglas had a change of heart after seeing how excited Hunter was about his place.

As they ate, Luna watched Dacey. She found the woman to be as full of fun as her daughter. But she wore expensive clothes, even to paint in, and she had the appearance of someone cultured, sophisticated, and wealthy.

Luna could never live up to that. Never be part of that.

The truth of her future, or more aptly, the lack of any hope of a future with Hunter, crashed over her. She might have wished for one with him, might have dreamed it would happen, may have even held out hope of the possibility they could be together, but she knew it was just wishes and dreams and pure folly on her part.

Suddenly losing her appetite and her joy in the day, Luna toyed with the food on her plate, unable to take more than a few bites. She volunteered to wash the dishes and clean up while the others returned to the work of transforming the bedroom upstairs into a nursery for a much-wanted and beloved child.

Luna wished she would be in Pendleton to see the baby once it arrived, but she knew what she had to do. It was time to return to New York City and her family.

Even if she had no desire to leave Pendleton, she couldn’t stay. Not when Hunter would eventually forget all about her, fall in love with a suitable bride, and marry a woman who would fit in with his family.

When Caterina breezed into the kitchen to get a drink of water, she stopped next to Luna and put her hand on her cheek.

“Are you not feeling well, bambina?” Concern made lines deepen on Caterina’s brow.

“No. I need some air. Would you mind if I walk home?”

“Not at all, but I’ll drive you back to town.” The woman took two steps toward the doorway, no doubt intending to tell everyone they were leaving.

Luna grabbed onto her hand to stop her. “No, Caterina. I’ll walk. The air and exercise will do me good.”

Caterina studied her a moment, then nodded. “I’ll let the others know you needed to leave.” Her cousin gave her a hug and kissed both of her cheeks, then Luna slipped out the door and walked back toward Pendleton.

She wasn’t in a hurry and took her time meandering along the road. She stopped to get out of the sun beneath a big cottonwood tree and found a dandelion blossom that had dried to a puffball of fuzz.

Luna knelt down and plucked the stem, closed her eyes, and wished with all her heart that Hunter would spend his life with a woman he truly loved. One who loved him deeply and completely in return, even if that woman wasn’t meant to be her.

Tears burned her eyes when she rose to her feet, and she ran the rest of the way into town. She cut through alleys and avoided speaking to anyone as she made her way to Tony and Ilsa’s home. Once there, she threw herself on her bed and cried until her heart felt like it had cracked into a thousand pieces.

When Ilsa returned home, Luna rolled onto her side, with her back to the door, and pretended to be asleep.

The next morning, she rose early and went downstairs, making a big breakfast and forcing herself to act normally as they ate and then readied for the church service.

Once they were seated at the church, Luna could feel Hunter’s gaze on her. Following the service, she walked with Tony, Ilsa, and Laila down the aisle, listening to her family and friends talk about their plans to gather at Dogwood Corners for the afternoon.

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