“Well, he always did love this place.”
“He was devastated when you left. Daddy found him drinking himself to dea—”
“That’s enough, Mama,” West booms, and we both turn to see my brother, livid as he stands in the entrance to the kitchen. I hadn’t even heard the sneaky bastard come in.
“Well, someone has to tell her.”
“Tell me what?”
“Nothing,” West snaps at the same time Mama opens her mouth. “You ran off to marry someone else. You weren’t here, so you don’t need to concern yourself with the fallout after you left.”
“I didn’t run away to marry someone else. I ran to get the hell away from … this.”
“And what exactly is wrong with this?” Mama’s tone is icy as she turns her own livid expression on me.
I pinch the bridge of my nose to stave off a headache. It seems like every time I open my mouth, I’m jamming my foot in it. “Nothing, Mama. I just needed a change. I wanted to do something different. Something no woman in this family has ever done.”
“Bullshit,” West growls. “You left because you couldn’t stand the sight of Colt after what happened.”
“Don’t you dare tell me what I felt. You have no idea what we went through, what I went through.”
“Maybe if you’d stayed, we might’ve. You broke a lot more than just Colt’s heart when you left. You broke ours too.”
“Well, there ain’t nothing to be done for it now, is there?”
“I guess not. So how long before you’re back to your rich fiancé and your fancy New York City apartment?”
“Geez, West. Why don’t you make it a little clearer that you can’t wait to be rid of me?”
“I’m just looking out for everyone. You ain’t just Winchester Wild. You leave a trail of chaos wherever you go, little sister. You always have. You’ll forgive me if I’m on damage control while you’re in this house.”
“That’s enough, West. Your daddy hasn’t even been gone a week and already you’re chasing away his only daughter.”
“I ain’t chasing anyone away.”
“No, because Lemon’s made of tougher stuff than that, but you’re trying for all you’re worth.”
“I’m just making sure we’re all—”
“Why don’t you head back to work and let me worry about this family? We certainly don’t need protecting from Lemon,” Mama says.
“Yes, ma’am.” He grabs his hat off the rack by the back door and heads out, slamming the screen back on its hinges.
I let out a sigh. “Maybe I should just stay at the cabins?”
“You’ll do no such thing.”
“They don’t want me here, Mama.”
“Then they know where the door is and how to use it.” She pats my hand and I squeeze hers back. “Now, come help me with this pie. We got a lot of baking to do for your daddy’s wake.”
“Mama, have you even stopped since you left the hospital?”
“I’ll stop when I’m …” she trails off and for a beat, I just watch her, waiting for her to finish a sentence I must have heard her utter a thousand times before.
“Mama?”
Tears form in her eyes and she wipes them away with the backs of her hands and keeps rolling out her pastry on the counter. “I’m fine. I’m fine. You know he wouldn’t want me to lie about, cryin’ over things I can’t change. This family ain’t gonna feed itself.”
“This family knows how to fix themselves a sandwich.”
She makes a tsking sound. “So, when are we getting to meet this handsome fiancé of yours? Is he flying in for the funeral?”
“Um … we broke up.” I take a bite of a potato chip and chew, thinking about how I stormed out. “Well, it wasn’t so much a breakup as it was me kicking him in the unmentionables after I found him cheating on me with my best friend.”
“Brooklyn? Oh, Lemonade. I am so sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s only okay if you castrated him.”
I laugh. “I’m pretty sure that’s still illegal in New York, Mama.”
She shakes her head. “Well, it shouldn’t be. You want me to send your brothers after him?”
“No. He isn’t worth it.”
“No, he isn’t. There’s never been anyone worthy of my little girl but—”
“Please don’t say Colt. Things are different now. We can’t go back to who we were.”
Mama raises her hands in a warding gesture. “Okay. No more talk of Colton.”
I sigh and try to figure out why I fell apart the second my high-school boyfriend touched my hand, but I haven’t shed a tear over walking out on the man I was going to marry. Why am I not more upset about my engagement ending? Why haven’t I cried about it? I’m not even that mad. What does that say about our relationship?
She nods and whispers, “Well, you know what your daddy always said—it’s no good cryin’ over spilt milk now, Lemonade. You just gotta do your best to clean it up.”
“I wish I knew where to begin.” I climb off the stool and walk around the counter to help Mama. I learned how to be a strong, independent woman from her, and Colt and my brothers may not want me here, but it’s clear that this family needs me now more than ever. Maybe even just as much as I need them.
CHAPTER SIX
Colton
I finish mucking out Bye Bye Belle’s stable. She’s close to foaling and irritable as all hell, so I reach into my pocket and pull out a sugar cube before offering it to her in the flat of my hand. She takes it and I rub her nose and give her a little loving because God knows she needs it right now. We both do.
Fuck.
Lemon Goddamn Winchester. I never thought I’d see her again. Especially not when her mama said she was engaged to be married. When she first left, I didn’t think it was gonna stick, but as the days passed and not having her in my life anymore got worse and worse, I gave up hope of her ever coming back to me. Now I wish I hadn’t prayed so hard for her return because those old wounds that I tried to stitch up just burst open, and I feel as though my entrails and internal organs are in plain view for everyone to see. Especially her.
Footsteps echo down the stable corridor and I yell at Wade to get a wriggle on. When there’s no answer, I swallow hard because I know it ain’t Wade who’s just walked in.
“Not Wade,” she says.
“No, I guess you’re not.”
“I could never be that annoying.”
“Well …” I pick up a brush and comb Belle’s coat.
She whinnies and Lemon enters the stable and pets her nose. “You poor darlin’. Not long to go now, huh?”
“She’s ready to drop any day.”
“She’s a little old to be foaling, isn’t she?”
“Yeah. A young colt got out through a broken fence and found his way into her pasture.” I duck under her neck and brush her other side. “We were worried for a while she was going to lose it.”