6. CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SIX

WESTIN

TWO YEARS LATER

Outside, I hear truck tires crunch up the drive. Across the table, Sovereign shifts in his seat and unfurls his legs, stretching out. Our eyes meet.

The clock over the stove ticks. Sovereign clears his throat and I clear mine. Diane is by the sink, leaning back and watching the percolator bubble. The scent of coffee fills the warm kitchen. I get up and circle the table, leaning across the counter to pull the window over the sink open. A light breeze comes through, smelling faintly of newly cut grass.

"I don't know if you should be here," Diane says tentatively, looking right at Sovereign.

He lets out a deep sigh. "I had business."

"Or you're worried you're going to get embarrassed," she quips.

He grunts, cracking his neck. I circle the counter and reach past Diane to get one of our whiskey glasses down. It's the same one Sovereign and Keira gave us as a wedding gift. I pour a splash in the bottom and carry it to the table, sitting back down.

Outside, a door slams.

"You sure you don't want to leave out the back?" I ask.

Sovereign shakes his head. "I came down here on business. I got as much right to be here as any."

He's made up his mind. Upstairs, I can hear Allison's feet pattering. I sent River over to my mother's for the night to get him out of the way.

"Sure you don't want to go have a cigarette on the back porch?" I ask.

He shakes his head.

Boots crunch on the gravel. Then they come up the stairs. A hollow knock splits through the house.

"You're on," says Sovereign.

Downing the rest of my whiskey, I set the glass aside. My feet sound heavy as I move down the hall and pull the latch up. I open both doors and there's a young man with blue eyes and dark hair standing on my porch.

"Hey, Cash," I say.

He clears his throat, shifting his weight. There's a bit of sweat on his temple and I know he's all knotted up inside. He holds out his hand and I shake it.

"Came to pick up Allison, sir," he says.

"I know," I say, stepping aside. "Come on in."

He steps over the threshold. I take his arm as he moves past me.

"Your dad's here," I say in a low voice.

He freezes, giving me a deer-in-headlights stare. "My—my dad's here? Why?"

"I think he just wants to make sure you're behaving," I say. "He said he came down to get some papers for the horses we traded, but that's bullshit, you know."

"Thanks for the heads up," he says.

"As long as you act right, we've got no problem with each other," I say.

He nods, a quick jerk of his head. "Yes, sir. I mean, I will."

"Alright, you go on into the kitchen."

His throat bobs as he swallows. I give him a firm nod and he uses his palm to smooth his hair down on either side. Then he goes down the hall and I follow him. He trips up on the floor, right as he enters the kitchen, but manages to catch himself quickly.

Sovereign shifts in his chair. His pale eyes rest on his son.

There's a long awkward silence. Diane clears her throat and turns off the stove, grabbing a mug and filling it up. She circles the table and hands it to Sovereign, but other than taking it, he doesn't move. Awkwardly, she wipes her hands on her skirt.

"Let me go see what Allison is up to," she says.

She disappears into the hall, leaning up the stairs. "Hey, honey. Cash is here for you."

Something falls and hits the floor. It sounds like a hairbrush. Then Allison faintly calls, "Can you come up here a second, mom?"

Diane climbs the stairs quickly. I hear a door open and shut above us. Silence falls and I know Allison is probably almost in tears upstairs. I've lived with Diane and my daughter long enough to know it's always right before we have to be somewhere when their hair won't cooperate and they can't find anything to wear.

"Want to go have a smoke?" I say.

Cash's eyes go wide and he glances at his father. Sovereign stands, one hand on his coffee.

"Come on, don't act like you aren't smoking and drinking with Deacon's boys," he says. "Let's go, it could be a few minutes."

We go outside to the back porch. The sun is still up, but the edges of the horizon are dark blue. Cattle low from the fields. Sovereign, Jensen, and I put up a pasture around the back the other year and it's where we keep the horses now. There's a new barn, a hundred yards from the house. I can see River's horse leaning out of the window, staring down at the creek.

Sovereign digs around in his pocket and takes out his metal lighter. I crack open the pack I took from the everything drawer in the kitchen. Smoking is a young man's hobby, but now and then, I'll have a cigarette on the back porch. Especially when the haying season goes on a little too long.

Sovereign is the same way. He says he's got too many mouths to feed to have bad habits. But, when the occasion calls for it, we have one. And we can both tell that Cash is nervous off his ass tonight.

Nobody talks. That's okay, that's just the way things are. After a while, the back door creaks open and Diane steps out.

"You better get going, Cash," she says.

He hides his cigarette behind his back. "Yes, ma'am."

"Why don't you go around the house and start your truck," she says. "You don't need an audience just to go down to the diner for a coffee."

I reach behind his back and take his cigarette, jerking my head towards the side yard. He grabs his hat off the railing and disappears around the house. Sovereign lets his head drop back, releasing a stream of smoke into the sky.

The door opens behind Diane and my daughter walks out, looking shy. My throat gets tight because Allison looks so grown up. Maybe part of me thought my children would just stay little forever. Running around the farm in their bare feet. Begging for me to pick them up. Tagging along to the general store so they can get candy from the register.

"Where's Cash?" She purses her lips, just the way her mother does.

"Around the front," I say. "Let me walk you."

Diane gives me a look and I ignore it, ushering Allison into the house. In the kitchen, I take her by the elbow and pull her in for a hug. She melts into me, laying her cheek on my arm.

"Hey, dad, I'm just going on a date," she whispers.

I kiss the top of her head. "I know, I just didn't realize you and Cash were so grown up until tonight. Time goes fast."

She squeezes me hard and lets me go. I stand there in the kitchen and watch her go down the hall, blonde hair tied back in a braid the way Diane always does it for her. It hits me that this is exactly what Diane wanted for our future. Her daughter is safe and she gets to choose who she loves.

It's so simple, but for some of us, it was so hard.

The front door shuts. Cash's truck revs and goes down the drive. He's driving carefully, trying to prove that he's responsible. In the silence, the world feels at peace.

I think this is a milestone for both Diane and I.

The back door is kicked ajar and Sovereign walks in, tossing the cigarette butts into the trash. He grabs his hat from the table and fits it on.

"Let's see about those papers," he says.

We go into the office and I rifle through the files until I find what he's looking for. He takes the folder and loiters by the door.

"Did you need something else?" I ask.

He clears his throat. "No. I think this is good."

"Allison and Cash?"

He jerks his head in a nod. "Yeah. It's good."

"Yeah," I say. "It's good."

We walk out to his truck. The moon hangs low and the stars glitter the way they do over Sovereign Mountain. We grew up together in these mountains. We shared our blood, sweat, and tears over the last three decades. It fits that after all this time, our kids are sweet on each other.

Sovereign gets in his truck. "See you."

I lift my hand. "Later."

He backs out and stops. "You tell me if Cash doesn't get her back at a reasonable time."

"Will do."

He peels out and I go back inside, sliding the lock down. Diane is in the kitchen, I can hear her radio going. We're alone for the night, at least for the next few hours. I hang up my hat next to River's in the hall and head into the kitchen. She's wiping down the table.

"Come here, darling," I say.

She looks up, frowning. "What's this?"

"I said, come here, darling."

She sets the rag aside and comes, hesitantly. I reach behind her and turn the radio up. It's Hank Williams, a slow tune. Her face goes pink as I slide my hand around her waist and pull her near. She was so pretty when I met her all those years ago, but somehow, tonight, she's the prettiest she's ever been.

"What's gotten into you?" she asks.

"Nothing," I say. "I'm romantic like this."

She snorts. "No, you're not. But I do like it."

I weave one hand through hers, her soft, small hand covered in mine. We sway slowly and deep inside, I know this is what it was all for. All the darkness, the brokenness. The violence that left behind a permanent stain on my hands. It all came down to this moment, where I hold the woman I've loved for over a decade and a half in my arms. And all is right for tonight.

The radio crackles. The signal is poor out here some days. She sighs and sinks deeper and I rub her upper back in slow strokes.

She's safe. She's happy. She got to choose her future.

She turns her head to look up at me. "I honestly thought you were going to just throw me on the bed the minute the house was empty."

"Well, hold on," I say. "The night is young."

The song tapers down. There's a lull in the music and I reach back and turn it off.

"Now it's time for me to throw you on the bed," I say.

She steps back and that look steals over her face. My stomach swoops and the front of my pants go tight. Quick as a flash, I snag her arm, but she turns and dashes up the hall. It takes me two strides to wrap my arm around her waist and another stride to toss her over my shoulder.

We might have been married for over a decade, but we still know how to make the bed frame slam into the wall. I work my way from her feet to her head, leaving kisses and bite marks all over her perfect skin. Just when she thinks I'm all done, I take her for a second round.

It's about eleven when the front door opens. I'm shirtless, in my sweats, propped up on the headboard. Diane is in her slip and dressing gown, rubbing cream into her face just inside the bathroom door.

We both freeze and our eyes meet.

"Should I go say goodnight?" she whispers.

I shake my head, then nod. "Yeah, I think so. If it didn't go well, she'll probably want to talk."

She adjusts her clothes. "Do I look like I just had sex?"

"Just smooth your hair a little," I say.

She tugs it up and puts it in a bun at the nape of her neck. Then, I follow her to the bedroom doorway and loiter with the kitchen just in my sightline. I can hear Allison taking her boots off in the hall. She says something to Diane and they both go into the kitchen.

"It seems like it went well," Diane says, her voice deliberately casual.

Allison has her hands tucked behind her back, her heel kicking on the floor. "Yeah, I think it did."

"Can I be a little nosy?" Diane says, handing her a glass of water.

"I mean, a little bit." Allison's blushing now.

"Did he kiss you?"

She blushes dark pink. "No, he got all tripped up and embarrassed. But he did ask if I wanted to go out again. Is that…okay with you?"

Diane leans over and gives her a hug. "Of course, honey."

"Will dad be okay with that?" She purses her lips, biting the inside.

"He's fine," Diane says. "And so is Sovereign. If you like Cash, you go out with him. It's not like you haven't had time to think it through. You've been crushing on him for a while now."

Allison opens her mouth and then her eyes narrow. "Is dad listening right now?"

I step back and decide now is a good time to go shower before I turn in. It's a few minutes later when I hear Diane come back to the bedroom. I run my hands through my wet hair, wiping my face. It was a long day of working in the barn and my muscles ache. Maybe they ache more than they used to.

Diane pulls back the curtain. "She's sharp, she clocked you."

"I shouldn't have been eavesdropping," I say.

"This is all new to us," Diane says, bending to kiss me on the wet shoulder. "It's okay. But she's happy and he wants to see her again. So far, so good."

I kiss her mouth, leaving water droplets on her chin. "So far, so good, darling. You get in bed and I'll shut everything off."

She disappears, giving me a sweet smile. The bed creaks and I know she's snuggling up under the quilt. At peace, I finish showering and dry off before sliding into bed beside my wife.

Tomorrow is another day. We're heading into the busy season. River is getting older and he's a big help to me now. I know if I get too busy, Jensen, Deacon and his boys, and Sovereign and Cash will come help out. Whatever we need, I only have to ask for it.

She mumbles as I pull her against my chest. Her hair smells sweet, like yellow lilies in spring. Maybe a little like the first time I slept with her, wrapped in her sheets upstairs. Honeysuckle in the air. Her skin is like silk, her body is warm. Every day I go to bed thinking about her and every morning I wake up forever grateful that she chose me.

She gave me all this—the kids, the farm. Everything I have I owe to Diane and the chance she took on me all those years ago.

The world is a vast place. And I'm glad to be in this corner of it.