It was Labor Day and Lorri was glad for the extra day off after the long weekend of celebrating with Cody. There was nothing that made her feel more alive than spending time with old friends.
She worried about Ryder. He hadn’t come back to the reception. She’d stayed longer than she normally would have just in case he returned.
Pam was a night owl. That girl had always had more party in her than Lorri back when they were in school, and that hadn’t changed one bit.
It had been a long night though, and she was slow moving today for it.
She went up to the loft. All of the cuttings from the mat board and framing of Cody and Kasey’s present were still on the floor. She swept them into the trash and put everything away.
Then she sifted through the large portfolios lined against the wall. Work in different stages had been neglected for so long that she didn’t remember how they’d started.
She was anxious to see what she could create now with so many new beautiful things inspiring her.
Mister came upstairs, a little more clingy than usual after she’d been gone so much over the weekend. He laid on the floor and lifted a brow, as if to accuse her of being the one to make a mess this time.
“I did. You’re right, and you were so good. I’m going to take you for an extra-long walk today. Maybe even a ride.”
His head popped up. She’d have to take him for a ride now. He already had his hopes up.
With the mess cleaned up, she sat in her chair and pulled an easel in closer. Making long, sweeping motions with a charcoal pencil, she lightly sketched an outline. She was not even sure exactly what she was creating at first but it came together quickly. She abandoned the safety of the sketch process and started dipping her brushes into paint.
She worked for hours, stopping and stretching her arms up in the air, twisting from side to side. I haven’t used these muscles in a long time. She took her phone from the corner of the easel and was shocked to see that the day was nearly gone.
“Mister, I owe you a walk.” She dropped her brush into the cleaning jar and washed her hands in the hall powder room. “Come on, buddy. We haven’t even eaten all day.”
She made two sandwiches, one for her and one for Mister. She had a strict rule about sharing scraps with him, but that dog adored a good PB and J, and she loved treating him to one once in a while. For each bite she took, she tossed a piece of his sandwich to him. No matter how bad of a toss she made, Mister snagged it in one hungry bite.
“Last one.”
Mister anxiously shifted on his paws, watching her. Instead of throwing it, she handed it to him, and he took it with all the grace of a child. Gentle and slow.
She rubbed him under the chin as he slopped the peanut butter around in his mouth.
He followed her to get the leash and then sat on command, waiting for her to connect it and lead the way outside.
She walked the neighborhood with new appreciation of what this land once represented. A thriving family business. Crops and cattle. Generations of habits and dreams. It was hard to imagine a time when none of this was here.
One day would all the small farms in America be gone, gobbled up by developers hoping to entice families into newer, trendier homes? Someday would these neighborhoods be bought and sold again? Perhaps demolished and turned to rubble only to be cleared away to let the soil again take control and grow crops or nourish livestock? It seemed doubtful, although only fair. Then again, maybe this type of community that Bloom had created was the best of both worlds. It could be if each of the homeowners took advantage of their acreage to grow food for the community, or at least themselves. Her neighbors had chickens; they brought her eggs once a month. A neighborly gesture. She supposed the hydroponic gardens and farmers market subsidized by the college also helped. Grown on the land and purchased at a fair price by the folks living here. It felt like an equalizer, although she doubted Ryder would ever agree on that point. She couldn’t blame him really.
She counted the number of homes as she and Mister walked through the neighborhood. Lorri understood Ryder’s misgivings, especially since he’d thought the property would remain in their family, but all in all it seemed like a really good compromise.
It was a long walk, and Mister had slowed considerably. “You’re going to have to step it up, Mister. I can’t carry you home.”
He looked at her as if to say, “How much farther?”
“We’ll take a rest, but just for a minute.”
Mister sat and panted happily.
She imagined all of this area, the lay of the land, the way it rose and fell slightly, imagining it being nothing but green fields with cattle grazing against a backdrop of an old farmhouse. Old tobacco barns like the ones at The Wedding Ranch might have dotted the area too from years gone by when tobacco was the big cash crop here. She’d heard tearing down an old barn was bad luck; did Bloom know that?
She wondered if Bloom ever thought about the legacy of the land that he bought, changing its purpose as he escorted it into a new age and purpose.
He probably believed he was doing the right thing too.
Puzzles. Life is full of them.
If she hadn’t been drawn by the advertisement about the new housing development and moved here, would she and Ryder have ever crossed paths? She was strangely connected to this man. In such a short time she trusted him, and although she kept telling herself they were friends, she knew this was something stronger. Something she wasn’t looking for.
“Lorri!”
She turned to see Tinsley jogging toward them. “I recognized Mister a mile away.”
“Not too many like this guy around.”
“Special guys are hard to find,” Tinsley said. “You’re lucky.”
Lorri glanced down at Mister, but her brain tossed Ryder’s image in front of her mind too.
“How was your weekend?” Tinsley asked.
“It was really great. I visited with some old friends. Caught up.” She purposely stayed vague, afraid she’d let it slip about Cody being in town, although that probably wasn’t a big deal now.
“I was wondering if I could ask you a favor.”
“Sure,” Lorri said. “What can I do for you?”
Tinsley patted Mister on the head. “It involves this guy. The Animal Rescue Dog Walk is coming up. We’ll be raising money for the animal shelter, and I’m putting together a team with some of the girls down at the vet clinic. Would you let Mister walk with us and be our mascot?”
“Of course. He’d love that.”
“There’s more.” She pulled her shoulders up. “I was hoping you could help me design a T-shirt to sell. I’ve got someone who can take the artwork to screen-print format if you can create the design. I know shirts with Mister’s face on them would really sell, and that would help so much. I’ll pay you for your artwork, of course.”
“I’d be happy to create a design for you, but at no charge. I owe you, and Mister will love the walk.” Lorri’s mind was already swirling with ideas. “What size are you thinking? A front-pocket design or shirt back? Are there any requirements, colors, or logos we need to include?”
“It’s sort of up to us, but I’d think having the animal shelter logo on it would be helpful. I just think a picture of Mister would be great.”
“I love this kind of job where I can get creative.” Lorri thought about her already busy schedule. “When’s the dog walk?”
“The second weekend in October, but I was hoping to get going on the T-shirts so we can sell a bunch early, that way we could reprint more with the profit from the first sales and sell them during the event too. Kind of doubling the investment.”
“I like the way you think,” Lorri said. “I’ll put together a couple concepts this afternoon and email them over to you.”
“I can’t wait.” Tinsley clapped her hands. “This is so great. Thank you.” She let out a breath. “So, there’s something else, and I know this is none of my business—”
“But you’re going to ask anyway.”
She giggled. “Yes. I am, because I’m dying to know if it’s true.”
Lorri braced herself. She was certain Tinsley was getting ready to ask about Cody.
“Well, word around town is that you went horseback riding with Ryder. Is that true?”
“Oh?” The question caught her completely off guard. “Well, yes. We’ve gotten together a couple of times since he rescued me at the fair. Did you see his truck here?”
“I still can’t believe he stepped foot in this neighborhood. He swore he never would.”
“How did you hear about the horseback riding?” She was certain no one had seen them, and she hadn’t told anyone besides Pam.
“Dalton Mill is a small town. Everyone knows everything. I don’t really know how, but it’s just the way it is.”
“When do I get to be in the loop on all of that?”
“I guess when everyone considers you one of us,” Tinsley said, shrugging it off as common knowledge. “I already do, by the way.”
“Well, thank you. It would have been nice to know about Ryder’s wife before I asked. I didn’t realize he’d been widowed. I felt terrible for asking.”
“Oh yeah. Isn’t it sad?” Her eyes darted as if wondering herself. “I should’ve told you. I guess it’s old news, everyone kind of knows, and I didn’t really think about it. Oh gosh. Sorry. It really tore him to pieces. People say he used to be so different. I didn’t know him before it happened. I was still so young, but Mom says he was such a great guy before that happened.”
“Seems like a great guy now.”
Tinsley’s brow arched. “Most of the time he’s grumpy. They say he used to be warm and open, a wonderful father and husband. He turned inward after he lost them. People thought it would be temporary, you know, that he’d snap out of it at some point, but he’s been on autopilot for a long time now.”
“That sounds terribly lonely.”
“He keeps to himself and his sister and her kids. His family is everything to him. I don’t think it helped when his folks sold out and left town to see the country.”
“Couldn’t have made it any easier.”
“This is just me speculating, but I think he carried a lot of guilt. I heard he was supposed to have driven his wife to Raleigh, but he’d been racing against the rain to get the hay up. His wife didn’t want to put the trip off, so she decided to drive herself.”
“That would be hard to shake.”
“It was some guy high on drugs and alcohol who hit them. They say his blood alcohol level was so high it was a wonder he could even press the accelerator. Drunk, high, whatever it was—those who believe addiction only hurts the addict aren’t seeing the whole picture.”
“You’re so right.” Lorri’s jaw ached. She’d mourned the strangers Jeff killed while under the influence, knowing there was a family somewhere that would never be the same. Just talking about the situation made her ache with guilt too. The what-ifs that may have changed that situation always assaulting her. “My brother was an addict. It’s a terrible thing. It hurts so many other people and I don’t know if he ever understood that.” In her brother’s case it wasn’t so much the illness as it was his bad choices that had torn her family apart. Like dominoes, once they started falling, they took everything in their path down.
Lorri continued, “Ryder told me a little about the accident the other night. He didn’t give me details though. No wonder it’s so hard for him to talk about.”
Tinsley’s brows lifted. “I’m surprised he told you anything at all. He must really trust you.”
She realized they had built a significant bond in the time they’d spent together. Genuine trust. “We’ve become good friends. He’s a good guy. Funny.” He makes me laugh. “He’s easy to be around.”
“Good. You could use some fun. Seems like the only person you spend your time with is this guy, and he’s not human.”
Mister barked.
“I’m not saying that’s bad,” Tinsley said. “Boy, he’s so sensitive.”
“I promised him a ride later, so I better get this walk over with. You want to come along with us?”
“No. I’ve got some stuff I have to do. Thanks for lending me Mister for the walk though. I was hoping you’d say yes.”
“He’ll love it. Thank you for asking me to help.”
Tinsley raised her hand in a wave and began jogging in place. “Can’t wait to see what you come up with.”
Lorri watched her run off, ponytail bouncing from the back of her ball cap. “How about that, Mister. You’re going to be a star.”
He picked up the pace, apparently liking the sound of that.