By Summer's End (Christian Fiction) (10 page)

“It’s
so nice to meet you,” Holly said to the woman who had just introduced herself
as Annabelle.

When she said she was Ryan’s sister, Holly
hadn’t been the least bit surprised.  Both were dark-haired and boasted the
same heavily-lashed brown eyes.  The sister was petite and looked to be about Holly’s
age.

“It’s so kind of you to come by,” Holly
said, though she was as yet uncertain as to the reason for the visit.  She’d
just gotten off work, had just climbed out of her car, and the woman had pulled
in behind her.  Like her brother, she drove a pickup truck.

“I wanted to welcome you to the
neighborhood,” she said, spreading her hands and indicating the countryside
around them.

“Thank you.”

Brianna popped her head out the front
door.  “Hey, Holly.”

“Oh, hi there.  Annabelle, this is my
sister, Brianna.”

Annabelle extended a hand.  “It’s
wonderful to meet you.”

“Annabelle is Ryan’s sister,” Holly
informed.

Brianna joined them on the porch and
accepted her proffered hand.  “You live in that beautiful home with the horse
barn,” she observed with a smile.

“Do you like horses?”

“I
love
them,” she gushed.  “I
used to have a horse of my own, but…”  Her words dwindled off and both women
could see the pain in her bright blue eyes.

“How long has it been since you’ve
ridden?” Annabelle asked with interest.

“It’s been a few years,” she admitted. 
“I miss my horse so much.”

“What was your horse’s name?”

“Wind Song,” she said with a sigh.  “She
was my best friend.”

“You know, you’re welcome to come over
to my place and ride when you’re free.”  She watched her intently.  “How old
are you?”

“Fifteen.”

“I don’t suppose you could use a
part-time job for the summer.  I could use a hand tending to my horses.  With
Ryan off gallivanting across the globe, and all the work to do around the
property…  Anyway, I’d love the help.”

  “Are you serious?  You’d pay me to
spend time with your horses?  I’d to it for free!”

“Well, I spoke too soon,” she said,
laughing, but sobered when she realized she should have asked Holly for
permission before bringing up the job offer.  “Holly, I apologize.  I should
have…”

Holly gave a dismissive wave. 
“Actually, we both appreciate the offer.”  She laughed.  “Brianna is bound and
determined to get a horse, but until we’re more settled and…”  Her words
trailed off.  There was little point in explaining that finances precluded a
big purchase at the moment.  “Anyway, it would be wonderful if she could enjoy
yours for now.”

Brianna was practically bouncing with
excitement.  Holly was pleased to see her enthusiasm and happy her kid sister
would finally have an opportunity to spend time with her favorite animal. 

Suddenly, Ryan drove up and pulled in
behind his sister’s truck.  Even from a distance, Holly could read the
quizzical expression on his face.

“Oh, I wonder what Ryan is doing here,”
Annabelle said with a subdued smile.

“Maybe he spotted your truck in the
drive,” Brianna observed, but then remembered that earlier he had mentioned
coming over later.  “Oh, wait.  He said something about coming by later when he
dropped off the rocking chair.”

Holly didn’t miss the speculative glance
Annabelle sent her way and felt compelled to explain about finding the chair on
the side of the road, and Ryan’s stopping to help transport it.  “He’s a Good
Samaritan, that brother of yours,” she said, feeling awfully self-conscious all
of a sudden.

“My brother?” Annabelle said loudly, for
Ryan’s benefit, as he strode toward them.  “A Good Samaritan?  Hardly.”

“You don’t know me at all,” he said
drolly, as he approached.  “What’s up, Sis?”

“I just stopped by to welcome Holly and
Brianna to the neighborhood, and,” she added, enunciating carefully, “to invite
them to dinner.”

Only Ryan looked more stunned than Holly
and Annabelle.

“Yes,” she said brightly, “I thought it
would be nice to get to know our new neighbors.”

Holly smiled self-consciously.  She
could see Ryan was taken aback, though he tried to hide his surprise.  She
sensed his hesitation and didn’t miss the pointed look he gave his sister.  “That
is really nice of you,” she said hastily.  “But we’d hate to trouble you.  And
I do believe Brianna mentioned having dinner on the table when I got home from
work…”

She smiled at Brianna, willing her to
answer in the affirmative.

Instead, she winced.  “I’m sorry.  I got
distracted for awhile.  Dave disappeared for several hours and I got worried
and…”

Holly forced back a sigh.  Her little
sister definitely needed work on recognizing her cues.  They would have to have
a conversation about that later.

Annabelle waved her hand.  “It’s no
trouble for me to cook. The truth is, I’m not much of a cook, but I’m
learning.  I’d like to think I’m improving.  Do you think so, Ryan?”

He appeared to shake himself, as if to
gather his thoughts.  “Oh, yeah.  Annabelle can cook when she sets her mind to
it.  Sort of.”

 “That’s hardly a ringing endorsement,
brother.”  She turned to Holly.  “Will you join us, please?  I would really
enjoy the company.”  She smiled sadly.  “I miss Ben so much…”

Holly met her gaze and saw the flash of
pain there.  Annabelle’s eyes clouded, but she quickly pulled herself together.
 She attempted a smile, but then her eyes widened in horror.  “Holly and
Brianna, I’m so sorry for your loss.  I should have said so earlier.  I adored
Ben.  He was like a second father to me.  You must miss him so much.”

“I’m afraid we really didn’t know Ben,” Holly
informed.  “I was stunned when he sent me the key to his house and wrote he was
leaving it to me.”

“I’d love to tell you about him,”
Annabelle said.  “He was a wonderful man.”

***

A half-hour later, Holly and Brianna
were driving over to the McGraw’s place.  Holly glanced over at Brianna, who
was virtually bouncing in the seat.

“I cannot
wait
to see the
horses,” she declared.  “It’s been soooo long.”

“Don’t get any ideas,” Holly said
testily.

“What does that mean?”

“If you climb on one and ride off,
remember, the McGraws know where we live.”

Brianna laughed.  “I’m no horse thief.”

“By the way, we need to have a code word
of some type, so you’ll know when I would prefer to stay home, rather than join
our new friends for dinner.”

“You … didn’t want to go to dinner?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Why not?  It’s nice of them to ask us
over.”

“I know, but I don’t know…”  She shook
her head.  “I got the impression Ryan really didn’t want us to come over.”

“Really?  I don’t get that vibe at all. 
I think he’s into you.”

“No.  I don’t think so.  I saw the look
of abject terror on his face when Annabelle invited us over.”

“I think you’re mistaken.”  Her eyes
twinkled.  “I think he likes you.  Maybe he was upset that his sister was
getting involved in his business, but he definitely likes you.”

“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

“Maybe, being his sister, Annabelle
sensed that Ryan likes you and decided to take matters into her own hands.”

“You mean, by throwing us together across
a dinner table?”

“Exactly.”

“I don’t know.  I do know that we’ll try
to get out of their hair as quickly as possible.”

“But … what if Annabelle invites me to
ride a horse?  Holly, I can’t say no,” she said, watching her with imploring
eyes.  “It’s been so long.  Holly,
I’m a horse person
.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Are you?”

“I have no idea.  I’ve never met a
horse, up close and personal.”

Brianna grinned.  “Tonight’s the night.”

“Oh, I don’t know.  I’ve never felt any
real inclination to get to know a horse.  And from what I’ve seen on
television, horses can be temperamental.”

“Some can be,” Briana admitted.  “But
you just have to let them know you care about them.”

“How?  Do you come bearing gifts?”

“Actually, an apple can’t hurt.”  She
turned in the seat.  “You have to go horseback riding with me sometime.  It
would be so fun.”

“We’ll see.  Looks like we’re here,” she
said, as she steered along the circular drive in front of the McGraw house,
which was even more impressive from close range. 

“It’s huge,” Brianna whispered.  “Do you
think they have a maid and a butler?”

“I have no idea,” Holly said as she
parked the car.  “But listen, Brianna.  We honestly can’t stay too late
tonight.  I’m really tired from my late evening yesterday and then my early
morning today.  I was hoping to turn in early, so…”

Brianna nodded.  “I know.  You’re
right.  We shouldn’t stay too long.”

“Thank you for understanding.  I do
appreciate it.” 

They left the car and walked together to
the front door.  Brianna rang the bell, and to her dismay, Annabelle answered
the door.  “Welcome,” she said, “we’re so pleased you’re here.”

Holly
took a shoring breath and followed both Annabelle and Brianna into the home. 
She was glad she’d taken the time to change into a nice dress and to freshen
up, because Annabelle looked gorgeous in a skirt and blouse. 

“Come on in,” their hostess said, and
led them past the home’s foyer and through an expansive archway that opened
into a massive great room.  A chef’s kitchen encompassed a large section of the
room and opened to a gorgeously furnished family room.  A Western theme was
predominant in the room, though the space wasn’t as masculine as one might have
expected.  Holly could see that Annabelle had managed to retain a subtle
feminine touch throughout.

“I love your kitchen,” Brianna said,
staring in awe at the commercial grade appliances.  “Your stove is even nicer
than the one…”  Her words trailed off and she promptly bit down on her lower
lip.  She’d made a decision to never again compare anything in her current life
to that of her past.

“Your kitchen and family room are
beautiful,” Holly said.

“If you’d like, I can give you a tour of
the whole house after we eat,” Annabelle offered.

“Really?  That would be great,” Brianna
enthused, before Holly could respond.  If truth be told, Holly didn’t
especially want a look at the house.  Certainly, it was gorgeous and she and
her brother were fortunate to live in such a beautiful home, but frankly, she
wouldn’t trade her manufactured home in her own little corner of the world for
anything.  She felt as if she’d finally come home.

Her attention was drawn to a French door
at the back of the room when it opened.  Ryan stepped inside.  “Hello,” he
greeted her with a smile, and then turned to Brianna.  “Did you want a look at
the horses before we eat?”

She glanced at Holly and Holly sensed
her hesitation.  She wanted to see those horses more than anything but was
trying to stay true to her promise to Holly.  Holly smiled and gave her an
encouraging nod.  “It’s okay.  Go ahead.”

To her dismay, Annabelle spoke up. 
“Hey, I wanted to show her.  Come on, Brianna, let’s go.”

“Okay,” she said, still unsure.

Holly gave her another reassuring nod
and Brianna followed Annabelle toward the French doors.  Annabelle hesitated at
the threshold.  “Holly, did you want to see the…?”

“She’s not really into horses,” Brianna
volunteered, and Holly winced.  She wasn’t especially pleased that her sister
had intimated she didn’t like horses.  She had no idea how she really felt
about them and would have liked to see them.  Unfortunately, when she opened
her mouth to say as much, she yawned.

“Holly can see the horses another time,”
Ryan said.  “She’s obviously tired.”

“Oh, okay,” Annabelle said with a
smile.  “We’ll be back shortly and I’ll pull the roast out of the oven.  It has
about ten more minutes cooking time.”

Ryan nodded and watched after his sister
as the door closed behind her and Brianna.  He turned his attention to Holly. 
“Please sit down.  You look like you’re about to fall over.”

To her horror, she yawned again.  “I am
so sorry,” she said.  “I’m afraid I haven’t worked a double shift in awhile.  I
guess it took a toll.”

He only smiled and gestured toward a
plush corduroy chair.  She sat down and sunk into the softness of the
over-stuffed seat cushion. 

He sat down across from her, in a
leather recliner.  He met her gaze and smiled self-consciously. 

She matched his smile, equally
self-consciously, and then smoothed her hands along the armrest of the chair. 

“Did you have a good day at work?” he
asked, clearly desperate to make small talk.

“I did.  I really enjoy working with the
children.”

“You’re obviously great with kids.”

She smiled at the compliment, though
he’d only seen her around one kid—her sister.  Had he arrived at that
assessment based upon their interactions?  She realized she’d deduced correctly
when he spoke.

“You’re great with Brianna.  It’s hard
to believe you’ve only known one another for a relatively short time.”

She was slightly taken aback, since she
hadn’t been aware that Brianna had apparently told him about their recent
reunion.  “Brianna told you about her parents passing away?” she said,
surprised.

He nodded.  “She did.  She also mentioned
how much she enjoys living with you.”

She couldn’t help smiling at that.  “I
enjoy living with her too.”

“It … can’t be easy…”

“It feels as if I’ve known her forever. 
I guess it’s that blood connection,” she mused.  “Of course, we didn’t always
get along.”

“The move has worked out, hasn’t it?” he
said, watching her intently.

“It really has.  I think it was good for
both of us to start fresh, away from our past lives.”  She sighed.  “I know she
still struggles with the loss of her parents, but she tries not to show it.”

“She’s trying to stay tough for your
sake?” he ventured.

“That, and…”  She paused for a moment to
gather her thoughts.  “Well, the truth is, her parents—we have the same
father—wouldn’t allow the two of us to know one another.”

He watched her with interest, his brown
eyes fixed on her face like guided missiles.  She felt slightly uncomfortable
confiding in an acquaintance, but he had proven a very helpful acquaintance. 
She continued, “I was twelve when Brianna was born.  I couldn’t have been more
excited to be a big sister, but it just wasn’t to be.”

“Your … father wouldn’t allow it.” 

“Him, his wife—both of them…”  She gave
a shrug.  “Either way, Brianna grew up thinking I didn’t care about her.”

“But you obviously did.”

“I wanted to know her more than I’ve
ever wanted anything.  From the time I was twelve, I sent her letters and
gifts, so that she’d know I cared.  Her parents sent them back to me.”

“That had to hurt.”

“It … did.  But fortunately, my mother
remarried a few years after the divorce.  My stepfather was a wonderful man.” 
She forced a smile, though it was a sad one.  “I couldn’t have loved him more
if he’d been my own dad, and he loved me like his own.”  She shrugged.  “He was
a loving, moral man and a terrific example.  I’ll always be grateful for having
had the opportunity to know him.”

She paused, lost in her thoughts for a
moment.  “When he died—I was nineteen—I was lost.”

“I’m sorry.  But I understand.  My
mother passed away when I was seven, my dad several years after.”  He smiled. 
“Your Uncle Ben filled a real void in my life after my dad’s passing.”

“I wish I could have known him.”

“He’s your uncle on your mother’s side?”

“No, he was my dad’s uncle.”

Ryan considered that.  “So you have no
real idea why Ben left you his place.”

“No idea whatsoever.”

“It’s a real mystery then,” he murmured.

“It is, and I sure wish he were still
alive so I could thank him.  His amazing gift came at just the right time.  I
don’t think Brianna and I could have lasted much longer in my very small
apartment.”

“I tend to enjoy the wide open space
around here too.”

“You’ve lived here all your life?”

He nodded.  “I’ve traveled extensively,
but this has always been home.”

“And will continue to be,” she said with
a soft smile.

“Well, I’m not sure about that,” he admitted. 
“I’ve had the wanderlust of late.  I’m not sure if I want to remain here or…”

“Are you tired of the rain?  Everyone I
meet seems inclined to warn me that it rains an awful lot here.”  She turned to
stare out a window at the still-blue sky.  “I’m told the sky is typically a
miserably gray…”

“Yep.  We’ll know if you’re a true
Pacific Northwesterner if you manage to survive a gray fall and winter—and
spring—and sometimes summer—and still like it here.”

“It’s a good thing I’m a glass-half-full
kind of girl,” she said with a grin.

“It’s a good thing,” he concurred.

Both Holly and Ryan glanced to the
French doors when Annabelle and Brianna returned.  Brianna’s face was flushed,
her eyes sparkling, and she was clearly fused with eager energy.  “Holly, you
should have come with us.  Annabelle’s horses are beautiful!  Seeing them makes
me miss Wind Song so much.”

She turned to Annabelle.  “Thank you for
showing them to me.”  Her expression was hopeful.  “Were you serious about
letting me help out with them?  I would really love it!”

“Absolutely.  When can you start?”

“Anytime.  Just tell me when.”

“Would you like to come by tomorrow?  I
know it’s Saturday, but I’m going to be home all day.  My fiancée is coming
by…”

“Your
what
?” Ryan exclaimed,
jumping to his feet.

His sister smiled and dangled her ring
finger in front of his face.  He moved closer for a look at the sparkling
diamond engagement ring and then returned her smile.  “Congratulations!  Why
didn’t you tell me?”

“I was waiting to see if you happened to
notice…”  She turned to Holly.  “He didn’t.  Typical man!”

Brianna charged forward for a peek at
her ring, and Holly joined her.  “It’s beautiful,” Brianna said.

“Gorgeous,” Holly enthused. 
“Congratulations.”

“I’m so happy,” she cried gleefully. 
“Harrison is such a great guy.  Everything I’ve ever wanted…”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ryan said drolly.  “He’s a
catch.  Wasn’t that oven timer supposed to have rung by now?  I thought we were
having roast?”

Annabelle glanced over at the appliance
and her eyes widened.  “I didn’t set the timer!” 

She dashed over to the oven and yanked
open the door.  “It’s burnt.  It looks like a brick!”

“Pizza anyone,” Ryan said without
skipping a beat.  “I’ll drive into town.  Er, Holly, would you care to ride
along?”

Surprised by the invitation, she smiled
shyly.  “Oh, sure.  Okay.  Brianna…”

“Go, go,” she said, with a flutter of
her hand and sent Annabelle a hopeful look.  “Maybe we could visit the horses
for a couple more minutes…”

“Sure.”

“Let’s go,” Ryan directed to Holly, and
to his sister, mumbled, “Harrison is going to starve.”