Page 1 of Westin

CHAPTER ONE

DIANE

My bare feet rest on the dusty porch steps. My brother, David, stands by the barn, face shaded by his hat. The trailer backs up slowly, beeping and flashing lights as the horses in the paddock watch with blank eyes.

The trailer comes to a halt. Jensen Childress kicks the truck door open and jumps to the ground with a puff of dust—he’s a handsome man with a cut jaw and a dirty hat on his head. Two of his cowboys appear at his heels, and I take that as my cue to check dinner.

I scramble to my feet. I’m wearing a cotton sundress that buttons up to my neck and leaves my legs bare from the knees down. It’s only the beginning of the summer, but it’s shaping up to be a hot one. I wish I could wear shorts, but all the men stare at my ass when I do. Except for Jensen; he’s always respectful.

“You watching the beef?” David snaps. “It’s almost time to eat.”

I want to flip him off. Maybe I’d have done so when Nana was still alive, but not since David slammed me into the hallway wall so hard he knocked the faded family portrait on the ground and cracked it down the middle.

That’s the last picture we have of our parents, taken when I was a baby and he was five years old.

Who knew that little boy would grow up to be such a dick?

I nod and slip back through the screen door. The big ranch house is quiet as I move down the hallway, stirring up dust, reminding me I need to clean myself up before we have company. I step out the back door to where the beef is cooking. It’s a huge piece, and I have to push hard to get the spit to rotate. Fat sizzles as it hits the open bed of coals.

I wipe my forehead. I’m grimy, and my hair is greasy from cooking all morning and afternoon.

In the distance, a truck revs up the driveway. I recognize it as one of the two remaining Garrison brothers, and a chill runs down my spine. They’re both so fucking mean, especially Avery. He’s the oldest, and he’s got eyes like a snake watching a bird.

I consider it a mercy that the middle brother, Clint, passed recently. He used to watch me with a hungry, unsettling gaze.

The truck door with GR emblazoned in red opens, and the youngest brother, Thomas, who’s a few years older than me, jumps out. I slip back, unwilling to be noticed. He has always had a thing for me, and sometimes, it feels aggressive. I find him immature and unsettling, but I tolerate his presence because I have to. His family is important around here, and we need their business.

The beef is done; it just needs to be taken off and wrapped in foil to keep hot.

I creep back into the house and find David talking with Jensen on the front stoop. He glances up, narrowing his eyes. Jensen gives me a polite smile, taking off his cowboy hat.

“Can you carry the beef in?” I ask.

A crease appears between David’s brows. I know he wants to chew me out for interrupting, but he also knows I can’t carry it by myself. He sighs, pushing past me into the hall. I follow, keeping my distance.

He’s annoyed, so I stay quiet, holding the door open as he brings the beef inside and lays it on the kitchen counter. Then, he wipes his hands and gives me a hard stare.

“You’d be more useful if you’d been a boy.”

He slings those words casually, like they don't hurt. My eyes sting, but I keep it to myself. It’s not the first time he has expressed that sentiment.

“Make the potato salad. That much you can do.” He jerks his head and grabs his hat, pushing past me. The screen door slams.

The clock over the stove chimes five. I need to get upstairs and wash, but David’s right. I still have to make the potato salad. Wrathfully, I switch off the gas stove and dump the boiling water down the drain, filling it up with cold water to set.

I rip off my apron and stomp upstairs to my room at the far end of the hall. No one can hear my rage, so it’s alright to let it out.

The floor is worn by my feet. This has always been my room, every pivotal moment of my life centered in these four walls. It holds my childhood, the treasured memories like my Nana braiding my hair in bed while we watched the stars come out through the window. It was my escape when Nana fell asleep and never woke up.

I turn on the shower in the bathroom and circle around to the big window overlooking the yard.

The mountains spill out in the distance like sentinels holding up the sky. Down below, Thomas and Avery Garrison stand by the barn with David. They’re in a circle smoking cigarettes, all just shooting the shit, talking about nothing. Tonight, after dinner, they’ll get drunk and burn trash in the back field. It’s the same thing every time.

Tomorrow, hungover and in a bad mood, David will slam everything in the kitchen trying to make a cup of coffee.

Quietly, I lift my middle finger and flip him off in secret. Then, I pull the curtain. My dirty dress goes in the basket, and I step into the shower. I’ve had endless chores to do since this morning, and I’m sticky with sweat and dust.

I hurry through, jumping from the shower with my soaked hair hanging down my back. It feels like something exciting is going to happen. Tomorrow, I turn twenty-one. No one has mentioned my birthday, but that doesn’t surprise me. We haven’t celebrated anything since Nana left.

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