Page 60 of Viper

“We did, but we thought you were too young to receive mail from boys. I was hoping you didn’t find out about that.”

“Mom, it was an apology letter because he yelled at me.”

“We found that out after we opened it, and by then, it was too late to give it to you since it had already been opened.”

“So you read a letter meant for me and then persuaded me to come here and let my bumbling aunts take care of me. You even make me feel guilty for not wanting to come here. What the hell is going on? I’m serious; tell me what Dad and the aunts have cooked up?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Oh, I have to go. Goodbye, honey,” she abruptly hung up. I’m going to figure out what those three are plotting, even if it’s the last thing I do.

My aunts had raised my father after their parents passed away. He said Molly took care of him before his parents passed away. There was a twenty-year age gap between my father and his sisters because he had been a surprise addition to the family. Grandma was fifty-six when she gave birth to him. Aunt Hilary said it was the talk of the mountain when he was born.

My father went to college in Texas, where he met my mom, and decided never to leave Texas. My uncle on my mother’s side was a homicide detective, and I decided that was what I wanted to be. Over the years, I had kept up with the people on the mountain, primarily Levi Peterson. I had refused to return because he was so mean the last time I was here. I came back a few times while he was in the service. I even saw him at the little grocery store when I visited for a few days, and I snuck out so he couldn’t see me. I left the mountain before I saw him again.

He had sent me an apology letter, and I had carried around my anger all these years. He had been in pain due to his dog’s death and had lashed out at me. He felt remorse almost immediately afterward. I remembered his dog, who was always by his side. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing my own dog, Sara.

Since my accident, she has been my constant companion. Sara, a Bernese mountain dog and a golden retriever mix, was large but incredibly friendly. I can still see her running down the mountain after my wheelchair. I looked around, and there she was, sleeping on the rug.

“Would you like dinner now?”

“Aunt Hillary, what made you and my Dad decide to have me come here?”

“We wanted to ensure you were well taken care of, rather than having a stranger take care of you.”

“So, did my father call you and ask if you could care for me? It has to be hard on you and Aunt Molly, having me underfoot all the time, waiting on me, day and night.”

“No, dear, not at all. We enjoy your company. Let’s talk about what you’ll wear when Steel picks you up in the morning?” Aunt Hilary said, pushing me into the dining room.

“You call him Steel? I thought his team called him Steel?”

“No, everyone here calls him Steel except Molly and his aunts. Sometimes, other family members will call him Levi. But you have to admit, he looks like he’s all Steel.

“Aunt Hilary,” I exclaimed in disbelief.

“I might be getting close to eighty, but I can recognize a handsome man when I see one. All of those Peterson men are attractive. Actually, most of the men around here are handsome. I guess you heard that Cole Reed wasn’t dead; he was locked up in an Iranian prison. Now, he’s married to Bailey Peterson. Bailey never knew she had any family until Cole came into her life. Now she has lots of family members.”

“That’s a miracle that he was alive.”

Hillary scooted closer to me. “Don’t get me started on gossiping. There is so much happening on this mountain. You wouldn’t believe what you can learn sitting in the doctor’s office.”

“What are you talking about?” Aunt Molly asked.

“I was telling Charlotte about Cole Reed and his wife, Bailey.”

“We also learned Izzy is a Peterson and Bailey’s sister. So much has happened it will take us weeks to catch you up on everything. Ryan Reed is with Carly Harlow. I remember seeing her hiding in the woods with her dog. She had to hide whenever that mean Jim Harlow would get drunk or he would beat her. Yes, a lot has happened since we were young girls.”

“Did either of you ever fall in love?”

“Molly fell deeply in love when she was eighteen. Joesph Walsh was so handsome, and he loved Molly profoundly. It was almost embarrassing being around them.”

“What happened to him?”

“He ended up marrying someone else. His father was involved in illegal money laundering at the bank, and the father of the woman who Joseph married threatened to expose Mr. Walsh to the authorities if Joseph didn’t marry his daughter. It was a terrible ordeal, filled with a million tears.”

Molly wiped a tear away. “Joseph always came to see me while I was away at college, he explained everything to me. He told me he would love me forever, and I knew I couldn’t love anyone else. So, I went to school and learned everything about the banking business.

After graduating, I set out to ruin Joseph’s father and his wife’s father. I succeeded in banking, but when I saw Joesph with his son, I stopped trying to destroy them. I didn’t want to be like those men. Plus, I had your Dad to raise; he came first in my life.

“I’m so sorry, Auntie. That must have been an incredibly difficult time for you, so much that it affected the rest of your life.”

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