Page 2 of Darling Bride

He makes a grab at me, but I duck.

“I’ll make you pay up for that, darling,” he says, a ghost of a smile on his face.

I shrug, gathering my skirt to trek up the hill. “I hope you do, sir.”

River is already on his feet, climbing over the fence. I stand at the edge of the yard, hands on my hips, waiting on him. Westin has his arms crossed over his chest. His brow is lowered, but I can tell he’s more impressed than angry.

River pulls up in front of us, hands behind his back.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey,” says Westin. “What are you doing?”

“Not much,” River says, squinting back at the hill. “Walking.”

“Oh yeah?” Westin says, glancing at me.

There’s a long, uncomfortable silence. River shifts. He’s got bright hazel eyes and Westin’s chestnut hair. I can already tell he’ll be the spitting image of his father someday.

“This is the third time you tried to ride the colts,” Westin says finally.

River drops his eyes to his father’s feet. He squirms for a minute.

“I like the black one with the white socks,” he says. “I just want to ride him, dad.”

Westin sighs. “Alright,” he says. “If your mother says it’s alright, you can have that one.”

His head jerks up in shock, eyes huge. I whirl, giving Westin a sharp stare.

“Let’s discuss that,” I say. “Sneaking around and trying to ride them is one thing. Giving him one to break is another.”

Westin puts a hand on my waist, leaning down until his mouth is over my ears.

“Trust me on this one,” he says.

I take a breath and release it, letting my shoulders sink. “Alright, you two figure it out. But he just got the cast off his arm two months ago, so don’t go breaking something else.”

Truthfully, I don’t mind as long as he’s safe. I don’t think an opportunity to learn some responsibility would be a bad thing for River. He’s flighty, all over the place all the time, and maybe this will ground him. Or he’ll forget all about it in a week, which is probably Westin’s plan.

Back inside, Allison has breakfast finished. Westin makes River wash up at the spigot outside. Then everyone sits down at the table and I pass the plates around.

“I’m getting a horse,” River announces to his sister.

She shrugs. “Okay, I already have a horse.”

“An already broken one,” he says. “Dad’s letting me break one of the colts.”

She shrugs again. Nothing gets under her skin, except for one sore subject that I hope River doesn’t bring up.

But on cue, he does.

“Are you going to Sovereign Mountain?” he says, a shit-eating grin on his face.

Westin rubs his fingers over his eyes. “Son, I’m gonna beat your ass if you start a fight.”

He wouldn’t. He’s never laid a hand on his children, but he does plenty of threatening that keeps them in line. I pat his knee under the table and he takes my hand. His thumb absently plays with my wedding band.

Allison sniffs at him. “I am, not that it’s your business.”

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