7. CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

DIANE

I get up early the next morning. The house is so quiet I hold my breath as I creep across the floorboards. In the kitchen, the coffee drips slowly and I pull on a light sweater from the hall closet.

The soft scent of dewy grass greets me as I push open the back door. Bird chatter in the tree behind the house. I can hear my chickens stirring inside their coop.

I pour a little cream in my coffee and climb down the porch steps. My bare feet are quickly covered by bits of grass as I head across the yard. Some of the horses are already out of the barn meaning a few of the ranch hands must already be awake. I lean on the rail and click my tongue, making the closest horse lift its head and stare before going back to grazing.

The world is so quiet, just waking up. The sun sends a faint glow through the mountain that towers over Carter Ranch. I could draw the outline of the horizon with my eyes shut. It's so familiar to me it feels like slipping into an old pair of jeans.

This is all I've ever wanted.

Maybe it took a lot to get here. Some of the things my husband did we've never spoken of and don't plan to in the future. That's how I prefer it.

Carefully, I clamber up on the fence and drop down on the other side without spilling my coffee. Warm cup in hand, I gather up my skirt with the other and start walking.

The house falls away, looking like a postcard. I lift my head and inhale, holding it in. Soaking in the part of my life where I get to live my happily ever after, one day at a time. I let the air flow from my lungs and mingle with the wind.

Pale golden rays break the horizon. It's time to get breakfast going.

As I'm walking back, something stirs in front of me. There's a rush of wings and a meadowlark rises from the grass.

Dark against the rising sun.

THE END