Page 26 of Butterfly Sisters
He took the knife and began slicing, dropping the slices onto the mound of lettuce in Nan’s bowl.
“How about you? What are you doing now?” he asked, that earlier curiosity she’d seen in his eyes returning with a vengeance.
“I’m a property management consultant in New York.” She hoped he couldn’t hear the thinness of her words—the present tense that she knew good and well she’d used. “How about you?” She handed him another cucumber.
He paused just enough to make her question whether he feared that she’d judge him on his line of career. If he only knew there’d been many times when she’d wondered if she’d have liked a slower pace.
“After high school, I worked on Jax Wrigley’s cotton farm.”
Biggest cotton farm north of Rutherford County. She could still hear the raspy voice of old man Jax, boasting about his fields in town.
“When the old man passed, he left it to me. I’ve been running it ever since.”
“Oh wow… just you?” She didn’t want to pry, but she did wonder if he’d met anyone over the years or if he’d only dated casually like she had.
“Yep. That’s how I like it,” he replied, but his words didn’t hold their truth in his eyes.
“Youlikebeing alone?” she challenged, unsure of why she wanted him to be honest with her when she wasn’t being entirely forthright with him.
“It’s easier. Not so… complicated.” He gave her an appraising once-over, making her feel self-conscious. “Besides, I’m not entirely alone. I’ve got Elvis.”
The dog perked up. Colton grabbed a sugar cookie from the cookie sheet beside him and tossed it through the air, Elvis catching it with skill. The dog smacked his chops, his tail wagging furiously.
“He’s a great dog.” When she said it, she could almost swear by the way Elvis’s eyes met hers that he understood. He moseyed over and nudged her leg. Leigh bent down and gave him a little cuddle.
“He likes you,” Colton said. “It’s amazing. He hasn’t warmed to anyone but me. That’s how I knew he was the right dog when I got him at the shelter.”
She kept her attention on him and picked up the knife he’d been using to begin chopping tomatoes, dumping them into the salad.
“When we walked along the cages, they said not to bother with the dog at the end. ‘He’s not friendly to anyone,’ they’d said. But he was looking straight at me and I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I asked if they’d open the cage and when they did, he came right to me and nuzzled my leg.”
She looked down at the dog and smiled. Elvis wagged his tail. “It’s like he knew the kind of person you were. He could sense your kindness.”
“But your mama’s kind. Why can’t he sense that?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe he had some sort of sixth sense that you were his person.”
The corner of Colton’s mouth turned upward and he reached down to pat Elvis’s head. “Maybe.” Then Colton’s dark eyes found hers. “So, what does he think ofyouthen?”
Meredith burst through the door, her canvas hanging from her fingers, sending Elvis into a barking frenzy. “Hey,” she said to Leigh and Colton, reaching down to pet the dog. Elvis darted away, barking louder, and Colton shushed him.
Meredith leaned her latest painting against the wall.
“This is incredible,” Leigh said, squatting to get a better look.
Meredith had captured the yellow and orange in the sunrise, the sparkles on the lake, and the way the light slanted down through the pines, a small rope swing in the distance. Her technique was soft and gentle, the lines blurred, giving it a uniquely southern farmhouse feel.
“Thanks.” Meredith bounced over to Colton and gave him a playful jab in the arm. “Hey there!” she said just to him, as if she’d needed to greet him personally. “Making salad?” She plucked a cucumber slice from the bowl and popped it into her mouth.
Colton grinned at her, and Leigh’s stomach tightened at their easy chumminess.
“What in the world?” The words trailed behind her sister as she was suddenly distracted by Mama’s decorating outside. As quickly as she came in, she was gone again.
“That painting is… wow.” Colton carefully picked it up and held it in front of him. “She’s so talented.”
“Yes.” Leigh peered at it, and for the first time in her life she felt inferiority creep in. The mere idea caused her cheeks to flame with heat. What was going on?
Elvis jumped up and walked over to her, nudging her hand as if he could tell. She bent down and rubbed his neck. Perhaps it was being back at the cabin, or everything else going on, but she felt oddly emotional, as if she could have a breakdown any minute. That was all she needed—to take away from Meredith’s moment with a mental collapse. Meredith would never let her hear the end of it.
