Page 15 of Run, Run Mistletoe
“So what if I did? I was just helping a friend out.”
“You lied to me. You deliberately went behind my back and lied to me.”
“To help you. Not to hurt you. I knew you needed help to get the kind of vehicle you need.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make. You didn’t even ask me.”
Each word she says stings more than the cold flakes driving into my face.
“I knew you’d say no.”
“You’re right. And that would have been my choice. My choice to make. I’m the one that has to live with it. Not you.”
“If you’d lived. That truck was a death trap. You’d both be dead somewhere if you bought that.”
Her head comes up and there’s tears on her pale cheeks. “You think I don’t know that? I never would’ve bought that truck. I would have figured something else out. You didn’t even let me try. Just stepped in and fixed it all.”
“Yes, I did. And I’d do it again. I care about you, Misty! A lot. I can’t bear to think about you driving something unsafe with Velvet inside. I care about her too.”
“We’re not your responsibility, Frankincense. We never have been and we never will be. You need to go. Let me know how much money you put out and I’ll set up payments or something.”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“I’m not a charity case. Just tell Helena and she’ll tell my mom.”
And she turns away, her slim body fighting the wind, her little heathen following behind her, but glancing back and staring at me for a second.
I swear that dang goat looks like she’s sad. Like she knows what just happened.
My chest aches and I want to stay, want to talk to her. But I don’t want to force her to do something she doesn’t want to do.
So I turn to my car and step inside, then I slowly drive away, my eyes on the rearview window, hoping for just one more glimpse of her.
But all I see is white.
9
MISTLETOE
“Iknow he made a mistake but you need to forgive him, honey. You’re both miserable. You love him. He loves you. It’s exactly what we were hoping for when we told him that you wanted to sell.”
My head pops up and I stare at my mom. It’s been a week since he left and my whole body hurts every time I think about him. My chest aches. My eyes hurt from crying.
I didn’t know how much I came to rely on the guy even though he’d only been here a few days. I definitely didn’t realize how much it was going to hurt when he betrayed me.
“What do you mean that you told him I wanted to sell?” Mom flushes and fiddles with her shawl. It’s the first time she’s been out here in forever. She came looking for me with Helena because I haven’t been into town at all.
“Well, we knew that you two would be perfect for each other but you’d never even try if we didn’t get him out here. So Helena told him that she wasn’t feeling well and that she was having trouble and then she told him that you were interested in selling the farm.”
“Mom! What were you thinking?”
Her head comes up and she glares at me. “I was thinking that my only daughter deserves to have a man that would take care of her and not run off with his…well, I’m not going to say that word. We just wanted you two to be happy.”
“Well, we’re not.”
“That’s just because you’re both as stubborn as mules.”
“I can’t believe that he paid for part of that car. Didn’t even ask me about it.”
