Wildflowers from Winter (4 page)

Although he fell asleep early, Bethany stayed curled up in the chair, staring at the screen, letting her mind take a much needed respite from its constant motion. Until early turned to late, and late turned to the depths of night, when she could no longer resist the bed she lay in now. If Evan thought she was weird for watching five
Andy Griffith
episodes in a row, she really didn’t care.

She brought the covers to her shoulders and stretched. The kind of stretch that arched her back and brought her toes over the edge of the bed. She wanted to stay there, in that room. Outside was Peaks and everything that came with it. Her mother. Small-town gossip. Her looming visit with Robin. Inside was comfort. Peace. A calming familiarity.

A faint tapping filtered through the bedroom walls, creeping through
the peaceful aura she’d cultivated upon waking. Bethany yawned and burrowed beneath the quilt. She let the heavy fabric encapsulate her in darkness and pretended she hadn’t heard the noise. But the knocking grew louder. More insistent. She snaked her arm toward her cell phone and peeked at the time. 10:00.

She swung her feet over the side of the bed, curled her toes against the cold floor, and rummaged through her suitcase, taking out a cashmere sweater and her favorite pair of Calvin Kleins. She dressed, pulled her hair back into a neat ponytail, and rinsed her face and mouth before tiptoeing down the steps. By the time she reached the door, the knocks had grown desperate. Wrapping one arm across her waist, she grabbed the handle and pulled.

Bethany hadn’t seen her mother in two years, and suddenly there she stood. On Grandpa Dan’s front porch, of all places. The color drained from Mom’s face. Her hand fluttered to her hat, her throat, then rested awkwardly by her side. “So it’s true. You’re in town.”

A groan took shape deep inside Bethany’s chest, but she clamped her mouth to prevent the sound from escaping and moved out of the doorway. She hadn’t been in town for twenty-four hours, and somehow Mom already knew she was here. And why should this surprise her? Perhaps ten years elsewhere had clouded her memory, but this was Peaks. There would be no hiding.

Mom hesitated before stepping inside, like the place had ghosts. “When were you going to tell me you were in town?”

Bethany kept her hand on the doorknob. “How did you know I was here?”

“Evan told me. Why aren’t you staying at home?”

“Evan? How do you know Evan?”

“He’s my mechanic.”

Bethany pointed to the floor. “I thought he worked here, on Dan’s farm.”

“He also fixes cars. Mine wouldn’t start this morning, so he jumpstarted it for me.” Mom leaned forward, as if she wanted to hug Bethany but wasn’t sure how to approach it. So instead, she bit her lip, her chin dimpling in several places. “He told me you were in town.”

“Mom, really, don’t take this so personally. Coming here was a last-minute decision. I was just about to call you when you knocked on the door.”

“So why don’t you come home and stay with me?”

Bethany would rather live with Dr. Nowels and his ridiculous toupee. She may have lived there for nine years, but that trailer had never been her home. “Because there’s more room here. And I want to take care of Dan.”

“He’s a grown man, Bethany. He can take care of himself.”

“He had a heart attack.”

“That’s because he’s never eaten a healthy meal a day in his life. It’s not your job to take care of him now that he’s suffering the consequences of his behavior.”

Bethany narrowed her eyes. “Did you steal those words straight from Pastor Fenton, or did you come up with that on your own?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The ‘consequences of his behavior’? Are you listening to yourself?”

“Dan’s body is a temple for the Lord, and all he ever eats is bacon and dough—”

“How would you know? You’ve barely spoken with him since I was nine.”

Mom’s spine stretched out in slow motion until she stood at least an inch taller. “I hardly think his eating habits have changed over the years.”

“So Dan’s just getting what he deserves? Like father, like son, is that it?”

“Your father was a good man.”

Bethany tilted her head back and laughed, zapping all traces of pigmentation from her mother’s face. “Absence really does make the heart grow fonder.”

“I loved your father.”

“You can keep saying that, but it’s not going to change anything.”

Mom twisted her hat. “What happened to him was not my fault.”

“Of course not. It was
his
fault, remember? He was suffering from the
consequences of his behavior
.” She put air quotes around her mother’s convenient phrase. “Did you and Fenton ever figure out what he did wrong?”

“Pastor Fenton was trying to help. That’s all he’s ever wanted to do.”

The edges of Bethany’s vision blurred. “Trying to help?”

“You don’t see it because your grandfather poisoned you against him.”

Her temper snapped. This was exactly why she left. Exactly why she couldn’t handle her mother. She would not stand in Dan’s foyer—in the house that should have been her father’s—and listen to Mom defend the man whose lies had torn apart her family. She yanked the door open. “Thanks for stopping by. But I can’t talk to you about this, Mom. I never could.”

A headache gathered in Bethany’s temples as she scrubbed the dish, working hard to scrape off the crusted oatmeal stuck to the sides of the bowl. No amount of scouring would wash away her mother’s words. She paused and looked out the kitchen window. Evan’s Bronco pulled down the long drive and parked next to her car. When he entered, she kept her back to him and focused on the hot water splashing against the bowl.

“Morning.” His one-word greeting sounded gruff, like he needed to clear his throat.

She shut off the water and set her hands on either side of the sink. “Good morning.” As soon as she gathered the nerve, she’d turn around and teach him a lesson in minding his own business. He had no right telling her mother she was in town.

He stomped around behind her, his boots squeaking on the linoleum, his keys hitting the counter. The refrigerator door opened and shut, something cracked open, and by the time Bethany spun around, Evan had tracked a trail of soggy snow through the kitchen she’d just cleaned.

She followed the mess into the living room where he sat with his head in his hands, a can of Pepsi in front of him on the coffee table.

“Why did you tell my mother I was in town?”

He ran his fingers through thick hair but didn’t respond.

“Did you hear me?”

He looked up from his hands, startled, as if seeing her for the first time. Somehow, his bloodshot eyes were worse today than they were yesterday. “What?”

The anger she’d nursed since kicking her mother off Dan’s porch lost some of its steam. Did this guy have a drinking problem? “I wanted to know why you told my mom I was in town.”

He leaned into the cushion and dragged both hands down his face.

She stared, waiting, two seconds away from tapping her foot. And the longer she waited, the more time she had to replay the conversation with her mother. About Dan. Her father. Pastor Fenton. If a person wanted to believe in God, fine. But the minute the person used those beliefs to attack someone Bethany loved was the minute it stopped being okay. Her anger returned, in need of a target, and Evan just sat there, ignoring her. Like he had no intention of responding.

“Are you going to answer my question?”

“I mentioned your name because you’re her daughter. I thought Ruth knew you were in town. And it was something to talk about. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late.” He studied her for a stretched-out moment. “It’s pretty normal to tell your parents when you come in town, you know.”

“My relationship with my mother is none of your business. You shouldn’t have said anything.” She grabbed a coaster from the end table and placed it
under Evan’s pop can, more to escape his glowering stare than from any real concern about ruining the coffee table. She didn’t know why he was glowering. She wasn’t the one who’d done something wrong here. She snatched the afghan from the corner of the couch and shook it out. “She was upset this morning, and because of you, I had to deal with her.”

The springs in the couch squeaked. “Wow.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said, wow.”

She turned around and startled. Evan stood directly behind her—much too close—and underneath all that stubble, his face was ridiculously symmetrical.

“So sorry to inconvenience you,” he said.

Her pulse fluttered against her neck. She took a step back and covered the silly reaction with her hand.

“I have a lot on my mind.” It seemed like he wanted to say something more, like he might elaborate on whatever it was she didn’t understand or was supposedly doing wrong, but before he could, the front door opened and a gust of cold air swept through the room.

Dan wiped the slush and mud onto the welcome mat on the porch, saw the pair of them, and smiled.

“Where’ve you been?” Bethany’s question came out harsher than she’d intended.

“Fixing the tractor.” He stepped inside, rubbing his hands together. “It’s chillier than I thought out there. Going to be a long winter, I think.” He looked from Bethany to Evan, his smile stretching wider. “You two getting better acquainted?”

If that’s what he wanted to call it.

Dan came over and sat in the recliner, groaning as he sunk into the cushion. “Thanks to you two, I’m as stiff as a board. This old body isn’t meant to stay indoors.”

Neither of them responded.

“Any news?” Dan addressed his question to Evan.

Evan returned to the couch, leaving Bethany stranded in the middle of the living room. If she wanted to sit, the only spot available was next to him. She took the seat and brought the bundled afghan onto her lap, her stiff posture identical to her mother’s. Back straight. Fingers digging into the tops of her thighs. Only this wasn’t church. This used to be her haven. And Evan’s presence was throwing everything out of whack.

He shook his head. “Still the same.”

Dan’s face fell.

She searched for an excuse to get up and leave, so they could talk crops or cattle or whatever farm stuff they were discussing.

“Evan here sure knows an awful lot about you, Bethany.”

The comment snagged her attention.

Dan dug into his back pocket, pulled out a can of snuff, and started to pack it with the tap of his finger. “I told him all kinds of stories about you and Robin. The trouble the pair of you used to get into out here on the farm whenever you came to visit.”

Bethany crinkled her forehead. Why would Dan tell Evan silly stories about her and Robin? Why would Evan care?

Dan’s mouth pulled down at the corners. “So Micah’s not doing any better?” Micah. Robin’s husband. Only Dan didn’t direct the question at her. Bethany whipped her head around and stared at the man next to her.

“I just got back from the hospital.” Evan’s voice rattled. He cleared it and shook his head. “Robin doesn’t want to believe what the doctors are saying.”

She looked from one man to the other, her mind scrambling to put the pieces together.

“Are you sure the doctors are right? Isn’t there a chance?” Dan asked.

Evan stared at the carpet. “They wanted to give it some time at first. I think the doctors were hoping he’d pass on his own.” He drew in a long
breath and let it back out. “His heart might be beating, but Micah’s gone. The only thing keeping him alive is the ventilator. We’re just waiting for Robin to make the decision. To send him home.”

Confusion bubbled up inside Bethany’s throat. “How do you know Robin?”

“Micah and Evan are brothers,” Dan said. “Didn’t he tell you?”

The room lurched. Puzzle pieces clicked together. Evan stared back at her, and she finally understood his cloaked animosity. Thanks to Dan, Evan knew she and Robin had been best friends. And thanks to her, Evan knew she hadn’t asked about Robin or her husband once since her arrival.

Guilt and shame rippled through her. Robin’s husband was in the hospital, supposedly not going to recover, and she was getting bent out of shape about an argument with her mother. She almost bit her lip. Almost. But she refused to turn into Mom at a time like this.

“We’re going over to see her this evening. Her dad left this morning. He had to get back to Ohio. So this is her first night alone.”

Bethany grabbed the armrest of the sofa and forced herself to think clearly. As much as her stomach twisted at the thought of seeing Robin again, she would have to visit her eventually. She came back to Peaks for Dan. But she came back for Robin too. Evan presented her with the perfect opportunity. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to come with you,” she said.

His head snapped up. “What?”

“I want to come with you when you go visit her.”

“You’re kidding.”

“That wouldn’t be a very funny joke.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why do you want to see Robin? You haven’t spoken in years.”

The incredulous look on his face sparked something inside her chest. “One of the reasons I’m back is
because
of Robin.”