Page 31 of Memories of the Past

The old ranch house probably hadn’t seen this type of activity since my mother’s passing, I thought to myself as I glanced out the front window. The driveway was full of cars, and the living room was full of people from town who had come to spend their afternoon sharing memories of my father. I glanced over to Lyle, who stood talking with one of the other ranch hands from Darling Ranch and was about to make my way over to them when I heard my name.

I turned around to see Brooke standing behind me, a soft smile on her face. “Hey, Brooke. Thank you so much for coming. Mom and Dad would be thrilled you stopped by. They always loved the diner and bakery.”

“You’re welcome. I can’t begin to tell you how much your parents are going to be missed. I mean, it was hard not seeing your mother for a while, but your father still came by, but it will be all new for me once again. For the first time in my entire life, I won’t be serving your dad his favorite breakfast any longer. It makes me sad to think that.”

“I know. He sure did love it there,” I murmured, remembering all the times my parents had gone into town just for breakfast when I lived here. From what I remembered, it had been his Sunday treat. It was a couple of hours in the morning that he got away from the ranch with my mom where he could leave some responsibility behind and just relax. “Thanks for coming, Brooke,” I said, leaning in and giving her a hug. “It’s been good to see you, and I appreciate the support, and the mushroom quiche that you dropped over as well.”

“Well, it was the least I could do.” She smiled up at me and placed her hand on my bicep. “If you need anything, a shoulder, a friend, you know you can stop by anytime. My door is always open.”

I glanced around the room and caught Trinity watching us, a look of what appeared to be jealousy washing over her face. It was a look I’d seen a long time ago—years ago—over the same person I was speaking to now. I walked Brooke over to the door and said good-bye, seeing her out, and then turned back to the crowd. Trinity came walking out of the kitchen with a cheese tray in one hand and a plate of crackers in the other. I watched as she placed them down on the large dining room table and spoke to a couple I recognized. She smiled and laughed, then made her way back into the kitchen, not once glancing in my direction.

“Thomas, I’m so sorry to hear about your father,” I heard a deep voice say, and turned to see Connor Darling, the new owner of the Darling Ranch. Connor’s parents had retired and had left the ranch to him. From what I’d heard from Lyle, this was the first year that ranch had turned a decent profit. Connor and his young bride had just moved onto the property in the spring, and Connor was hell-bent on making it the most profitable and largest ranch in all of Willow Valley.

“Hey, Connor, thank you.”

“Mom and Dad wanted to stop by, but after such a long drive back, Dad wasn’t feeling too well.”

“It’s not a problem. I know they send their respects. I did see them earlier today at the funeral, so you tell him not to worry about it,” I said, shaking his hand.

“Will do. Look, I know you’re probably not sure yet about what you are planning to do with the place, and now is probably not a good time to ask, but if you’re looking to re-home those cattle out there, I have room and would be willing to pay a hefty sum for them. Same with the horses.”

It was just like Connor to start trying to negotiate some sort of business deal. Lyle had warned me, which I appreciated; however, it wasn’t necessary as I’d gone to school with Connor. He hadn’t changed. Plus, I knew his father had been the same in his day. The Darling family name had come up more times at my father’s dinner table than I cared to remember, and I knew my father would probably cringe that I was even thinking of selling the animals to him.

I cleared my throat. “I’ll have to let you know,” I muttered. “Not sure what I am going to do just yet.” I was still debating on weather I wanted to sell or try and make a go of it here. I glanced across the room at Trinity. To be honest, I already knew the answer.

As if she could sense I needed out of this conversation, she looked over at me then walked right over and waited by my side, standing there with her arms crossed in front of her. “Excuse me for interrupting, Connor, but Thomas, could I see you for a moment?” she asked.

“Sure. What is it? What do you need?”

“Could I see you in the kitchen?”

“Well, I guess that is my cue. Thanks for coming, Connor, and thank you for the offer. I’ll let you know once I decide.” We shook hands, and then I followed Trinity into the kitchen. “What’s going on?” I questioned.

Trinity smiled at me. “Nothing. I could tell from the look on your face that you wanted or possibly needed out of that conversation, so I thought I’d come save you.”

As I looked at the sparkle in her eyes, I realized I’d had no clue when she had become this beautiful. I mean, she was always gorgeous to me. It just seemed that now she was even prettier. I smiled.

“You have no idea how happy I am that you did that. I also want to thank you for all that you are doing here today. It’s been a huge relief off my shoulders to have someone making sure all the food is full. But on that note, I didn’t want you here to work.”

Trinity looked around the kitchen and walked over to the counter where the large slab cake was. She picked up the knife and sunk it into the soft icing, cutting the cake into tiny squares. “It’s not a huge deal. Really, I like keeping busy.” She shrugged.

She pulled the knife from the cake and proceeded to cut it again, this time her eyes meeting mine. We both stood there not saying anything, just looking into each other’s eyes. Silence fell around us, and suddenly, it felt as if we were the only two in the entire house. I was just about to lean in and kiss her when a loud eruption of laughter came from the other room, interrupting the silence that had fallen between us. Her eyes immediately left mine and she focused on slicing the cake.

“I’ve got to get this cake out. I’m sure people are waiting,” she said quietly as she pulled the platter closer to her.

I wanted her to turn back to me, to meet my eyes again. However, she was focused, and I just stood there watching her as she cut and placed the squares onto the platter. I cleared my throat. “This might be forward of me, but I’d love it if you’d stay tonight. It would be nice to spend the evening with someone, have dinner. It gets lonely out here.”

Trinity glanced at her watch, and then looked around the room. I could tell she was feeling a little uneasy, which was not my intention at all.

“It would be nice to just relax and watch a movie. No ulterior motive here. Perhaps have a coffee out on the front porch after,” I said, holding my hands up. “I promise, just two old friends, relaxing and sharing an evening together.”

“Oh… of course. I didn’t think…” She swallowed hard. “Well, I guess I could, but I should head back into town to the store and make sure that Ava is okay first.”

“You do whatever you need to. Or you can always call her. I do have a phone,” I said, nodding to the old beige phone that hung on the wall.

A small smile fell onto Trinity’s lips at something I said—an actual smile. As my eyes washed over her face, I could see the hint of blush in her cheeks.

“I guess I could do that,” she said, looking into my eyes. “I could even cook us dinner.”

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