By now the low rumble of Trevor’s truck had grown familiar enough she could recognize it without turning. Becky kept walking, but it was difficult to consider refusing the man anything after the magic he’d performed a few days ago.
Life being what it was, she hadn’t seen him since her day off, although she’d spotted him in the fields at a distance. And that was fine. She didn’t expect him to be around all the time.
If he were around more often, she’d never get anything done.
As the truck closed in, she turned to greet him, confusion rushing in. That wasn’t his familiar face smiling at her through the driver’s window. Instead an older woman rolled down the window and offered a greeting.
“Hi, Becky. I’m Kate Coleman—Trevor’s mom. Can I give you a ride? I’m headed into town to the quilt shop.”
“Thanks.” She wasn’t about to argue with Trevor’s mom about how she was just fine walking. Still, she wished she knew how much he’d shared with his family. “We’re going be there before it opens,” she warned as she crawled into the passenger seat. “I was giving myself enough time to make it on foot.”
Mrs. Coleman waved off her concern. “We’ll grab a coffee first.” She glanced quickly at Becky before fixing her eyes on the road ahead of them. “Are you enjoying working in Rocky?”
“It’s been wonderful,” Becky said honestly. “Hope has an amazing shop, and everyone has been so nice.”
“All the quilts I made when I was growing up were from scrap fabric and old clothes. Sometimes I feel scandalized buying a piece of material and chopping it up.”
That was exactly how Becky felt. “Almost all my previous projects have been the same. You use what you can get, I suppose.”
“Speaking of which, Trevor mentioned you might be interested in some extra canning. I didn’t want to stop by with anything before I checked to see what you needed.”
She might be a little embarrassed at the offer, but Becky wasn’t going to turn it down. Everything would be a huge help at this point. “I would appreciate anything you have extra of, but can I offer a trade? If there’s anything you need help with, let me know.”
“I’ll take you up on that,” Kate said. “We try to get the whole Coleman family together a couple times a year, and we alternate where we meet. Dana—that’s the Angel Coleman family—asked if I’d mind hosting the family Canada Day picnic again this year.”
“And you need help?”
Kate nodded. “I wasn’t expecting it, and there’s a lot to get ready before next weekend. It’s too short notice for my daughter Anna to take time off, and the other girls will help when they can, but even with Melody and Rachel coming over, I could use another set of hands.”
That Rachel would be there was the icing on the cake. “I’ll help. Just let me know when you need me.”
“I’ll talk to them, and if it works out, why don’t you come over tomorrow night for dinner? We can work for a couple hours, and when we’re done, you can raid the pantry for some canning and one of the girls can drive you home.” She was turning into the drive-through of Tim Hortons. “What do you want?”
“A coffee would be great. Thank you.”
“Cream? Sugar? Or are you one of those tough types who takes it black?”
She was the type who rarely got coffee from a coffee shop. Coffee was a treat in the first place, these days. “A little cream and sugar, please.”
Kate put in an order for two single-singles, and a dozen donuts, smiling as she passed over Becky’s drink. “I know you didn’t ask for any, but help yourself to the donuts. I’ll take the rest home, and the boys will devour them like a hoard of locusts, so we may as well enjoy our favourites while we have a chance.”
It was still too early to suggest Kate drop her off, especially since the woman had bought her a treat. So Becky sat firm and struggled to think of something to add to the conversation.
The only thing that leapt to mind was to rave about Trevor, and she didn’t know if either he or his mom would appreciate that.
Except Kate was the one to bring him up. She’d pulled off to the side of the road beside a park area, taking a long drink of her steaming-hot coffee before selecting a chocolate-covered doughnut out of the box. “I heard Trevor and Lee were out a few days ago giving you a hand.”
“Rachel, as well,” Becky said. “You raised some very hard workers, Mrs. Coleman. And very giving sons.”
“That they are, although I don’t know that I should take credit for them. After kids reach a certain age, it’s a lot less about how you raised them, and more about the choices they make all on their own. And what their nature is like, I suppose.” She gave Becky a quick glance before focusing out the front window. “Lee has always been the one to think things through before he started a task. He’d figure out the best and easiest solution to any problem. Anna would dig in her heels and fight until she got the job done.”
This had to be leading to some kind of warning. Bells were going off in her head as Becky nibbled on her doughnut and waited for the other shoe to fall.
“Steve and Trevor—they were my easygoing kids. Steve’s grown up a lot over the past year, but Trevor?” Mrs. Coleman shook her head, an indulgent smile on her lips. “That boy has always been willing to give the shirt off his back to anyone, at any time.”
Becky swallowed hard. She didn’t feel bad being on the receiving end of this conversation. She got it. Kate was making sure she didn’t have any underhanded plans for her son.
Only she didn’t think Trevor was the type to let his mom make his decisions for him. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and Trevor was a grownup.
In some ways, though, Becky was a little jealous she didn’t have anyone in her life keeping an eye out for her like Kate was watching out for her son.
This conversation was going under the heading of things she simply wasn’t going to think about too hard, or dwell on.
Good thing she had a lot of experience with changing topics when there were things she didn’t want to discuss anymore. “Trevor doesn’t want to give the shirt off his back,” Becky said with a completely straight face. “He just wants to give his truck to everybody.”
Kate jerked her coffee cup back from her lips, covering her mouth with her hand as she caught a laugh. “I guess you do know him well enough if you’re making that kind of comment.” She offered a smile that seemed a lot more welcoming. “Trevor went riding with his father this morning, and he parked the big beast blocking the garage. Either I did a vehicle shuffle, or took his.”
“Obviously Trevor doesn’t mind other people driving his truck.” Becky focused forward. “When I come over, will we be cleaning or cooking?”
“A bit of both? We’ll play it by ear. You know how to get to our place?”
She shook her head. Kate gave directions, and Becky paused, her thoughts whirling.
Trevor’s place was to the north of her, and there were a few other Coleman homes accessible from that direction, but not his parents’ house. The Moonshine Coleman place was nowhere on the road that it made sense for Kate to be casually driving past Becky’s. “You went out of your way to pick me up this morning.”
Kate nodded cheerfully as she got the truck into gear and headed toward the quilt shop. “I wanted to meet you.”
Oh boy. Becky took the bull by the reins, not sure where she was finding all this attitude. “And? Do I pass muster?”
Laughter rang out, then Kate reached over and patted her shoulder. “You’ll do fine, Becky. The interrogation is over. I can see why Trevor likes you.”
Maybe the conversation should have been uncomfortable or awkward, but in some ways it felt very freeing. “Thank you.”
“By the way,” Kate added, “I expect you to come to the party, as well. On Canada Day.”
Becky didn’t get a chance to say if she could or not. Kate didn’t give her an opening, just assumed her answer was yes.
“Here we are,” Kate announced, parking outside the Stitching Post.
“Are you coming into the shop?” Becky asked, not sure if that part had been an excuse to give her a ride.
“I am most definitely coming in,” Kate answered, joining her on the sidewalk. “I haven’t seen Hope for a while, and even with her visiting next week, I find we can never have a really good conversation with everybody else around.”
Hope answered Becky’s knock at the door with a smile, and she seemed pleased that her aunt-in-law had stopped in to visit in the brief time before the store opened.
Kate exclaimed over the growing size of Hope’s belly. “You’ve popped since the last time I saw you,” she teased.
“Ultrasound last week said there’s only one kid in there,” Hope assured her. “I double-checked, because that would’ve been just my luck that Matt would get the Coleman genes as well.” She glanced at Becky to explain. “There’s been a set of twins every generation. Matt’s got twin brothers, and his oldest brother and his wife have twins. I wasn’t looking to add to the legacy.”
“My sister married into a family with twins,” Kate said. “She wanted so badly to have two at once. I think one at a time was more than enough.”
“One will be enough for me to start with.” Hope led her aunt toward the notions she needed, leaving Becky to deal with another wave of nostalgia and sadness.
Talk of babies and family made her sister’s absence worse. She wondered what Sarah was doing, and how the children were. Becky missed being around them, finding ways to make them smile.
Everything else she didn’t miss still tipped the scales way over in favour of her new life. Lingering sadness was worth the intoxicating freedom she had now, especially the positive things she’d gained by making friends with the Colemans, and Trevor.
But some day…
“I’ve got what I need, so I’ll head out and let you girls get to work.” Kate turned to Becky. “I’ll send word with Trevor if things change. Otherwise, I’ll see you tomorrow night at six.”
Hope waited until the bell had finished swaying as the door closed behind Kate before whirling on Becky. “Holy moly, you had to do the meet-the-parents thing already?”
“She didn’t ask what my intentions were,” Becky said with a laugh, although Kate had come pretty close.
“Kate is cool, although I love my mother-in-law even more. All of the moms in the Coleman family are great.”
“I’ll get to meet them next week,” Becky shared, suddenly feeling a little awkward. “Is it okay with you that Mrs. Coleman invited me to the family thing on Canada Day?”
Hope looked confused. “Why would it not be okay?”
Becky shrugged. “Just wasn’t sure if you minded mixing work with non-work company.”
Her boss came over and laid both hands on her shoulders, looking Becky straight in the eye. “Trust me, I have no objections to spending time with you here at work, or out there when it’s play time. So stop that nonsense.”
It was good to know. “I feel the same.”
“You know, if you get a ride with a different member of the family every day, you really won’t need a car,” Hope teased.
“I should post a sign-up schedule,” Becky said with mock brightness.
The other woman laughed. “Don’t do it unless you honestly want all of us up in your business all the time.”
“Colemans? Into other people’s business? Really?”
Hope snickered, and they both headed off to their tasks. Something very satisfying glowed inside as Becky moved through her day.
No, she might miss her sister and the kids, but this was all being done with the intention that someday she could offer them freedom as well. Until then, there was nothing about her current situation that wasn’t amazing.
She took down another bolt of fabric and went to work.
It wasn’t until after lunch Trevor felt the time was right to lead the conversation where it needed to go.
They’d had a glorious morning, from the fresh sunrise slowly breaking over the dew-drenched land to the slow easy stride of the horses as they’d worked their way toward the northeast corner of the Moonshine land. All their fences butted up against other Coleman land, but it was still important to make sure none of the cattle could dance from range to range unsupervised.
There was something satisfying about tugging wires into place, or pounding a post a little straighter. Years ago when he’d done this task with his father, Randy had been the one to do the heavy labour while Trevor braced the post, determined not to flinch as the heavy sledge whistled by, far too close.
He’d trusted his dad, but it’d still been an exercise in restraint to keep from fidgeting.
Now they’d turned it around, and Randy was the one bracing the post. Sometimes with an arm, sometimes a knee as Trevor lifted and swung, his motions sure and steady, just the way his father had taught him.
They hadn’t talked much. They hadn’t needed to as they’d let the horses move at a steady pace along the fence line, the shared tasks a sort of communication all of their own.
Randy finally broke the silence. “It’s good to have this time with you,” he said. “I think back to what I dreamed of when you boys were little tykes. About how nice it would be to have your help when that meant more than pretending to get things done while you were getting in the way.”
Trevor laughed. “You never let on that we were a pain in the butt.”
“Of course not,” Randy said. “Because while you were, you were also so pleased to be out doing things with your old man, and there’s something to be said for the ego-stroking that hero worship provides.”
They grinned at each other before Trevor turned and led their horses in a shortcut around a pond. “I can’t believe you and your brothers managed to ranch all the Coleman land by yourselves back when you were young. There are so many more of us now, and at times it seems we can barely keep up.”
“We weren’t quite as ambitious back then,” Randy pointed out. “Even with the six of us boys doing as much as we could, we weren’t using all the land nearly as efficiently as we do today. Plus, your grandpa was a force of nature until he passed away.” Randy’s admiration was clear as he spoke of his father. “I swear that man put in twice as many hours as the rest of us even when we were young bucks.”
“I wish I would’ve met him,” Trevor said seriously.
“I wish you could’ve, too.” Randy stared over the land, thoughtfulness drifting over his face. “It could be, though, that work ethic of his was what killed him in the end. As if he used up all the energy that was supposed to last a lifetime before he turned sixty. One minute he was there, and the next he was gone.”
“Good reminder we need to take care of ourselves.” Trevor waited for his father to respond to his blatant challenge.
Randy sighed heavily. “Did your mother put you up to this?”
“Totally my own idea,” Trevor admitted. “I thought getting you out on a horse to do chores was inspired.”
“It was a good move.” Randy gave him a dirty look, before shaking his head. “Being sick is frustrating like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” he confessed. “I might not have had as much energy as my dad, but I’ve never felt like a lazy fool before this past year.”
“And yet, the Moonshine Colemans continue to do well.”
His father looked disgusted. “It’s the three of you boys, plus Anna and Mitch, plus Melody, plus Kate, who’s working harder than I ever intended her to when I asked her into my life.”
“But this is why we’re here. We’re family,” Trevor said firmly. “And Mom knew damn well what life was going to be like on a ranch, and she still signed up for it.”
“So maybe she’s not as smart as I always thought she was,” Randy snapped.
Trevor pulled Tigger to a halt, eyeing his dad. “And maybe you need to accept that we all love you a hell of a lot, and it’s not the extra chores that’s gonna break us, it’s worrying about you. Wondering if there’s anything we could do to help you feel better.”
“They can’t figure it out—”
“Not when you throw up your hands and stop looking for a cure.” Trevor leaned forward on the pommel of his saddle, his concern cutting through his manners. “You want to make Mom’s life easier? You get your ass in to the doctor again, and if it means I have to haul you to Calgary or Edmonton, or even further to get some testing done, it’ll be worth it.”
Randy sat silently glowering at him.
“Maybe you’re not out there at all hours dealing with the chores, or physically attacking all that needs to be done, but you’re the heart and soul of this family. Not trying to get better is slacking off in your job, and I’ve never seen you be a slacker before this.”
A dozen years ago his father’s expression would have sent him hightailing it toward safety, but now Trevor stared him down, confident that nothing he’d said had been over the line.
Grasses swayed around them, a soft breeze brushing them as time slowed. A long while passed before his dad nodded, mouth set in a tight line.
“Stubborn bastard. Fine. I’ll call the doctor when we get back today, and see what cockamamie thing he wants to try next.” Randy snapped up a finger to point at him. “But I’m holding you to your promise. I don’t need Kate spending any more time in those damn hospitals, so from here on, you’re my ride. And if I want to tell you all the gory details, you have to listen.”
“No problem.” He’d accomplished what he’d set out to do. Anything else was bonus. “I have this great stereo system in my truck. I’ll crank that baby up to maximum, and you can describe anything you want.”
His dad rolled his eyes before grabbing his horse’s reins and heading off to the next section they needed to check.
It still seemed as if something was on Randy’s mind, but Trevor waited. Not so much because he had great patience, but because he’d begun daydreaming about Becky.
Another good reason to be out on the horses instead of the quads—the animals knew the route off by heart, walking slowly over the rough terrain, pausing as soon as he signaled them with his knees so he could dismount to tighten a line.
It gave him lots of time to think back to Becky’s face as he’d touched her, the layer of bubbles a screen of innocence covering her while he’d done wicked things to her willing body. He could hardly wait to see her again. To touch her, and get to know her better.
His father interrupted a lovely daydream involving him, Becky and the sturdy kitchen table that was the right height that if he stripped her down, he could feast on her before sliding between her thighs and fucking them both senseless.
“We did get a lot done in the old days.”
Trevor blinked himself back to the here and now, a trifle embarrassed by the direction his thoughts had drifted. Very glad his father couldn’t read his mind.
Randy glanced at Trevor almost nervously before looking away. “Although we didn’t always get along as good as you kids.”
Okay, this was new. Trevor’s curiosity rose rapidly. Conversation about the original six Coleman brothers was rare. He’d asked a lot of questions when he was young, but for the most part the answers had always been so boring that slowly he’d let it drop.
Maybe he shouldn’t have.
“There were only three of us boys, and Anna. And all of us knew better than to push her around too much,” Trevor admitted, trying to make an opening for his father to follow.
“Just like Mike,” Randy returned. “He was the bossy big brother, but none of us minded because he was right so damn often. It was hard to argue with him when you knew you’d just end up looking a fool a few days later.”
Mike Coleman was the head of the Six Pack clan—Jesse’s father. And, yeah, Trevor had always minded his manners around the man, yet never really been afraid of him. Not the way he disliked Uncle Ben.
Randy held the reins loosely in his hands, the motion of his horse rocking him slowly.
“Mark was the one who reminds me most of you,” his father confessed. “And I don’t think anything like generations repeat themselves, but you’ve got the same giving spirit.”
“I’m glad you can say that after I bullied you into seeing the doctor,” Trevor muttered. “Is Mark the one who died?”
“That was John.”
They’d reached the highest point of the Coleman land in the area. Too hilly for pastureland, it was used for grazing. Years ago Trevor used to come up here to stare out over the Coleman land, because from this vantage point, he could see in all directions almost to the borders.
A neat, orderly rectangle divided into…
Jesus Christ. He was a fool. He was a fucking fool.
Six brothers.
He twisted in the saddle toward his father, pointing to the northwest at the different clan holdings in succession. Gathering frustration made his voice shake as he recited the names. “Angel. Whiskey Creek. Six Pack and the extra family holdings. Those were the bits that belonged to John, right?”
Randy nodded stiffly, his face tightening as Trevor continued to point around the circle.
“Moonshine land. And the land where the rental sits—which still belongs to Mark Coleman. Your brother who moved away. He never sold it, even though I thought he did.”
His dad didn’t answer. Didn’t have to.
Trevor was torn between laughing and swearing. “You know I’ve been trying to find out who owns that parcel for nearly a year.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. But you didn’t ask me,” Randy said quietly.
Fuck. “And this is the all-fired secret that everybody except me, Rafe and Jesse seems to know? That there’s a chunk of land in the area that belongs to the brother who took off and has had nothing to do with the family for thirty years.”
“Pretty much,” his dad admitted. “I don’t know who knows and who doesn’t at this point, actually.”
“Damn stupid secret, if you ask me,” Trevor snapped. “If he still owns it, but he’s not using it, then there’s no reason why we can’t—”
“Drop it,” his dad ordered. “Mark left for his own reasons, and I don’t want you to go stirring up trouble.”
“How is getting in touch going to cause trouble?” Trevor demanded. “You’re not making any sense.”
“And sometimes things don’t make sense until you know all the details, and I’m not ready to tell you the rest of it. I just wanted you to know…” Randy dragged a hand through his hair before jamming his cowboy hat back on his head, frustration clear in his every move. “I should’ve kept my mouth shut, but maybe it’s nearly time to try and do something, but it’s not time yet. Trust me on this.”
Crazy mixed-up…
From one extreme to the other, Trevor wasn’t sure if the day had been a screaming success, or if he should go home and scream.
He shook his head. “And here I thought one of the reasons for living in a small town was that secrets couldn’t last.”
“Some things are better not talked about,” Randy said quietly. “Look on the bright side. I promise I’ll tell you everything, sometime soon.”
Great. “I’m looking on the brighter side. When we get home today, you’re going to call the doctor, and that means a lot more to me than missing brothers, or the fact I’ve been searching for information that’s been under my nose for a hell of a long time.”
Randy made a face. “You had to remind me of the damn testing, didn’t you?”
“It’s my giving spirit,” Trevor taunted before softening his tone. “I’m sorry, I’m being an ass. I won’t poke for more information until you’re ready to tell me, but I will keep you to your promise to be here for the family.”
“Agreed.” His dad rode close enough to pound him on the back briefly. “Now, if we want to finish this section before the sun goes down, we’ve got to stop chattering like old men on a porch with nothing to do but rock and chew.”
Getting back to work was a good thing. It gave Trevor time to mull over all of the revelations he’d had tossed his direction.
Once again secrets hovered, but he’d told the truth. The best thing about the day was his father’s promise to try to get healthy. The rest of it would be dealt with whenever.
The future might be filled with unanswered questions, but that was fine. Today, and tomorrow were enough to focus on.