"Dallas, there is nothing wrong with helping him," Helen insisted. We sat at the table, drinking our tea.
“Helen, when he finds out what I did, he is going to kill me,” I told her.
“Oh, come on. I'm sure he will appreciate it an
We got back into the barafter Sandra kicked out the men who had started the fight. Everyone ordered more drinks. The boys went back to the pool table. The girls and I sat at a table near the pool table to watch the boys play. “Wow, so, you and River, huh?” Laura asked and smirked. “Psh, yeah, right. We have all been telling them two for years that they should get together.” Liz rolled her eyes.
"Mommy?" A little voice whispered. I groaned. “W-what?” My eyes fluttered open. The bright light that shown through my curtains made my eyes hurt, and I squinted. Lyle stood on the side of the bed with a smile. “I'm hungry,” Lyle whispered. “Wh
I stared up at him and waited for an answer to come, but it didn’t. “Forget it,” I huffed. I tried to move away from him, but he stopped me. “I love you, Dallas,” River said.
“Your turn,” I said. I smiled wickedly at River. We were playing a game that we used to play a lot when we were younger called Mancala. The game was in the middle of us on the bed. We sat cross-legged across from each other. The radio was turned up but not too loud. “You’re such a cheater,” River muttered.
A beautiful blond woman stood in front of us. She had blue eyes, full pink lips, and a little boy beside her. The boy had blue eyes and dark brown hair. He was a mirror image of his father. I gasped at the sight of them. She was about the same but different with age. She had a defined scar above her eyebrow that hadn't been there prior to the accident. “Tia?” I breathed.
“I should really get a car soon,” I muttered. River chuckled. “Well, actually, when you're done with work, we're going to pick up the truck. It's fixed.” “Maybe I shouldn't b
Things weren't easy after River and I got into an argument. Two weeks had passed. Helen was stuck right in the middle of things. I bought a 2004 Dodge Ram that was black. It had an extended cab. It was always good to have a four-wheel-drive in Montana. The winters were terrible. Sometimes it was hard to get to town and back home. I didn’t pester Bonnie about telling River. I knew that he would find out,
“I don't have anything picked out dear, but surely I can help you,” Bonnie said. She started to get off of her rocking chair. I grabbed her arm to stop her and smiled warmly at her. “It's okay. I don't mind doing it. I'll just run to the store and buy some stuff. You stay here and rest. I'll leave Lyle here if you don’t mind? River is still outside working.”
River's Point Of View “Look, Lyle, you have to lose this attitude. Especially with your mother because it is beginning to piss me off,” I said sternly. I looked over at him as we pulled away from the house.
“Lyle, Bonnie!” I called up the stairs. “What?” Lyle called back in irritation. “Get your butts down here. You're going t
There was no point in waiting or having a real wedding. We asked Willow and Helen to be witnesses, and we got married. It was a small event. We did it at the courthouse in Anaconda. I didn't want a big wedding, and River didn't care as long as I was happy. River won the state championship. Several of his players were offered scholarshi
Helen came back out to the porch and sat a cup of tea down on the table between the two rocking chairs. “How is he doing?” Helen asked. Both of us had on winter jackets, scarves, hats, and mittens. It wasn't too bad outside. It was almost forty degrees today.
It was Christmas morning. I snuck down the stairs. I didn’t want to wake anybody up. A month had gone by since the incident with Bonnie. Bonnie was back home and mostly in bed. The first thing I did was step into Bonnie’s room to check on her. Her vitals were good. She was sound asleep. I left her to rest and went into the kitchen to make coffee.
The announcer called out the names of the finalists, and I was one of them. I was also in the lead. I looked at River nervously. River rolled his eyes. “Don't tell me you're nervous, baby.”
"I want to be a cowboy for Halloween!" Lyle said. I knew my son well. I pulled out the costume. Lyle saw it and screamed excitedly.
There was angerin his eyes like I had never seen before. “You're never going back there. You're turning him in,” River said. River paced back and forth in front of me. “Seriously, my word against his? Good luck with that, River,” I muttered. I rested my elbows on my knees and leaned forward on the couch. I buried my face in my hands.
“Alright, baby. You got this,” River encouraged. “You have to beat fifteen point two seconds.” I nodded and took a deep breath, then let it go. My horse Crixus turned to face the correct direction. Crixus was a smart well-trained horse.