Page 29 of Memories of the Past

“That would be wonderful. That should hold me over until they get their act together with the library.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at the annoyance in her voice. I’d imagine she could have stalked the library herself at one point if given the task. When I focused back to our conversation, I’d noticed Aunt Vi had grown quiet. “What else?” I asked.

“Trinity, I wanted to talk to you about something,” Aunt Vi said, her voice taking on a serious tone.

“Oh, are you sure everything is okay?” I asked, suddenly worried that something might be wrong and that she hadn’t been able to say anything. Or perhaps her health wasn’t good, and she wasn’t feeling well.

“Trinity, I had a visitor today.”

“Oh? Who?” I asked.

“Thomas Jenkins.”

My jaw clenched tightly. How dare he go out there and visit my aunt, I thought to myself. The audacity! I could feel the irritation building inside of me, and I reminded myself to have a talk with him when I next saw him. I needed to give him a piece of my mind and tell him not to bother my aunt. I let out a breath and did my best to calm myself, remembering that he wasn’t the one on the other end of the phone. Aunt Vi had done nothing wrong.

“Ah, that was nice of him to stop by,” I lied through clenched teeth. “Hope you had a nice visit.” It was like my mouth was on autopilot, spewing out words I didn’t mean.

“Has he been by to see you?”

I closed my eyes. “Yes, he’s been here. His father passed away, so he came home to sell the ranch, that’s all. After that is done, I am sure he will be gone. Good riddance.”

“Yes, that was what he said. It’s too bad about his father. You know, Trinity, I’ve been thinking that perhaps the two of you should get together, try to work out some of your differences. Perhaps he could do some of the work around the bookstore that’s been needing to be done,” she said, clearing her throat. “Lord knows the place could use a little love.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Well, Aunt Vi, he has been by, and he has been doing some work around here. It was somewhat of a miscommunication, to be honest.”

“A miscommunication?”

“Yes,” I said, stroking Luna’s head. “He made me angry, so I shoved a list at him. I didn’t expect him to actually do any of it.”

“Wonderful, dear, and…” She practically ignored everything I’d just said.

“And what? I took him some food, and I’m going to the funeral tomorrow.”

“Well, that is good. I’d expect nothing less, but really, Trinity, I think you should—”

“Aunt Vi, Thomas and I…” I grew quiet. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to tell her; all I knew was that I didn’t want any interference from anyone. We were worlds apart; he still had rodeo in his blood, and I knew he had no plans to stay in Willow Valley. My home was here, and I had no desire to leave, so to be honest, there really was no point in trying to reconcile our differences.

“Dear, I know, he broke your heart.”

“Yes he did.”

“But that was years ago.”

“May have been, but, to be honest, I’m not sure I’m over that just yet. The day he walked in, I was so shocked and surprised to see him standing in front of me that I wasn’t sure how to react. It’s been years, and he still looked the same. It was like I was transported back through time.”

“I understand, but try and keep an open mind okay.”

“An open mind? Right, so I can get hurt again? No, thank you.” I frowned. As if Aunt Vi should talk. She had done the same thing all those years ago, according to her diary.

“Trinity, it’s time to stop being so stubborn. People do change. Sometimes, you just need to give them a chance to prove it.”

I closed my eyes, it was on the tip of my tongue to ask her what happened between her and Jed and explain that I had read her diary, when she let out a yawn.

“Sorry, Pet, I need to get to bed. I have an early-morning gardening class to take and need to get some rest. It was a very long and exciting day. Will I see you soon?”

“You will,” I said. “Love you, Aunt Vi.”

“Love you too, Pet.”

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