Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

V ivian was nervous.

It was early evening with a cloudless starlit night overhead. The Bridgestone house was ablaze with lights, and several vehicles were parked off to the side. Snow still stuck to the ground, and the chill in the air was sharp. In the distance, she watched two men walk out of the barn. No doubt the animals were fed and looked after for the night.

"You good?" Dallas asked. He reached for her hand, his grip warm and strong.

"I will be, when I get this over with." She'd called her brothers Cal and Ryland, as well as her sister Scarlett, and had asked them to meet her at the ranch. Thankfully, none of her siblings had asked why or even bothered to poke into her reasons. They were here, and now she was outside looking in, a familiar stance for the black sheep of the family.

"Take your time. You're driving this bus, Viv. Let me know when you're ready, and we'll do this." They'd been sitting in Dallas's truck for a couple of minutes, and still, her stomach was full of anxiety. Full of the past. It was time to let it all go.

She exhaled, and Dallas squeezed her hand. The two of them exited his truck and made their way up the stairs, then walked inside.

The house was warm, and somewhere, a lemon-scented candle burned. She heard voices coming from the kitchen. With a shaky breath, she doffed her boots and hung up her winter coat while Dallas did the same.

With his hand at the small of her back, she headed toward the kitchen and paused in the doorway as she took in the scene.

Benton had a plate of muffins in his hands and wore a pink-and-white apron with a rose pattern down the front, the words Mama Bear across his chest. His handsome face was smiling down at his daughter, who in turn rocked Lily as if she were a baby. The scruffy furball was asleep, which was a miracle considering the noise produced by the pack of Bridgestones.

Cal sat on the island, eating from a bowl of chips, while Ryland, so much like Cal in looks, stood beside him, hands sunk into the front of his jeans while he listened to whatever it was Cal was saying. Over by the sink stood her sister Scarlett, long hair streaked with pink, pretty face alight as she explained something to Benton—who, of course, wasn't paying attention on account of his daughter.

This was her family. Her blood. They looked so easy together. Like they belonged. Would she ever?

A lump formed in her throat, and she would have taken a step back, but Dallas's hand was still there, keeping her anchored. He leaned close.

"You're not alone."

She nodded and moved forward, then cleared that damn lump from her throat. "Hey," she said, trying to smile as they all turned her way.

"Auntie, I've been taking good care of Lily. See?" Nora smiled and rocked the dog, while Benton took one look at Vivian and patted his daughter on the head.

"I think it's time for you to take Lily out for a pee."

"But she's asleep."

"Put her little coat on, and she'll wake up. Then maybe take her to the mudroom and give her a treat."

"Can I give her the big ones that look like little pink donuts?"

"Sure can."

Nora ran past the adults and disappeared around the corner.

Scarlett moved past her brothers and gave Vivian a hug. "You've been a stranger lately." Her sister stood back, and Vivian saw the questions and concern in her eyes.

"I know. I've been dealing with some stuff, and well…" She looked back at Dallas. "It's time to share some things."

Scarlett's eyes widened, and she looked from Vivian, then to Dallas, and back to Vivian again.

"No way," she whispered. "You guys?"

"Pay up," Cal said, jumping off the counter. "I called it."

"You must have had insider information," Scarlett retorted.

"I'm just smarter than you," Cal teased, coming alongside Scarlett with a wide grin on his face. "I knew Henhawk had a thing for Viv."

"We all did." Benton chuckled.

"Well, I didn't." Ryland looked confused.

"That's because you're too young to remember how they were," Benton replied. He turned to Vivian. "So, this is the big share? Not much of a surprise if you ask me." His grin slowly faded when he noticed how serious she and Dallas were. "What's going on?"

Vivian's mouth was dry. She crossed over to the sink and grabbed a glass from the cupboard, then filled it to the brim with water, which she knocked back in one go. When her heart relaxed a bit, she turned to face her family.

"I've got…" How could her mouth be so dry when she'd practically inhaled eight ounces of water? "We…" She looked up and immediately found those blue eyes that could make anything better. Dallas walked over to her and swept a kiss across her mouth. "Take your time," he whispered. "These are your people. You don't have to hide anymore."

Tears poked at her eyes, and she leaned into his touch as he gently wiped them away. With a slow nod, she inhaled and faced her family.

"You all know there was some trauma when we were young. You all lived it, same as I."

"If you're here to bash Dad, I don't want to hear it." Ryland's eyes narrowed. "The guy has paid his dues."

"Let your sister talk," Dallas said, his tone dark and heavy. "Or leave."

Ryland opened his mouth, but Benton put his hand on his arm and quieted him. "Go on, Viv. The floor is yours." Benton gave the youngest Bridgestone a warning glance, and Ryland fell silent.

"Ry," she said through dry lips. "There's a lot you don't know because you were young when most of it went down. I'm not going to sugarcoat anything. My life was hell back then." She looked at Benton, Cal, and Scarlett. "Our lives were hell. I will never minimize it, because even though you might not want to hear it, our father was responsible for a lot of that bad shit. But in answer to your question, no, I'm not here to bash Manley. I'm past that."

For the most part.

Her mind whirled in a thousand different directions. How much to share? What exactly to share?

"What's going on?" Scarlett stood beside Cal, their faces reflecting a lot of the turmoil that still lived inside her.

"I left the Triple B when I was seventeen. For a lot of reasons. Some wouldn't surprise any of you, and others were private. At the time, I felt like I had no choice. Like I had no place in this family because I didn't know how to make it work with so much pain around us." She looked at Scarlett. "I'm sorry I wasn't a better sister to you. Sorry I deserted you. You deserved more than I could give." She glanced at her brothers. "All of you did."

"You don't have to make excuses. We're all aware that our situation wasn't great. You had to run away in order to protect yourself. I get that." Cal shrugged. "I did the same thing."

"I ran away for a lot of reasons, Calvin. Protecting myself, my sanity, was part of it. But the big one, the one I kept secret from you guys, was that I was pregnant."

She saw the moment her siblings processed her statement. The moment an awareness permeated the air.

"Oh, no. I had no idea," Scarlett whispered, eyes full of tears.

"It's okay, Scar. I'm not here to play the victim. And I'm not here to explain my reasons. Those belong to me and Dallas. And yes." She saw the questions. "He's her father. I have a daughter." She glanced up at Dallas. " We have a daughter . She's fifteen, and she's beautiful, and she lives in Louisiana with a wonderful family. A family who have given her everything I could have wished for. Things that, back then, I wouldn't have been able to."

Silence followed her words, and for what seemed like forever, the Bridgestone siblings took in this new information. There were glances and shuffled feet, cleared throats and lowered eyes. And then Scarlett ran toward Vivian and hugged her as fiercely as her slim frame would allow.

"I'm so sorry you went through that alone. I wish I'd known."

"It's okay," Vivian whispered.

"No," Benton said roughly. "It's not. But I guess dwelling on the past doesn't help us now. It's good knowing you felt okay sharing this."

"We're here for you," Cal replied, his voice husky and low. "Whatever you need."

Scarlett stepped away. "Have you met her?" She looked to Dallas. "Is that why you two were away?"

"Yes," Dallas replied simply, his voice thick.

"She reminds me of Mom," Vivian whispered. "So much. It's hard for me sometimes, knowing she's with another family, you know? But she's so loved and happy, and I think now that I'm finally able to move forward, to live my life freely, that hurt will subside."

Dallas slid his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him, welcoming the strength of his body.

"What now?" Benton asked, eyes moving from Vivian to Dallas. "Are you going back to Alaska?"

"No." The answer came from Dallas, and she smiled at the possessive tone. "As of yesterday, the foreman's cabin is up for grabs," he said.

"Can I move in?" Ryland's shoulders shot up as he looked at his brother questioningly.

"Why in hell would you want to move into the cabin?" Benton asked with a frown.

"Jesus, brother, he's eighteen. Why do you think?" Cal chuckled.

"You're moving in with Dallas." Scarlett grabbed Vivian's hands and squeezed. "Oh my God, that's amazing. I never thought…" She stumbled over her words. "I just…Montana hasn't been your home for years."

"It's always been home," Vivian said. "I just had to fall back in love with it."

"You mean with me," Dallas said with a wicked grin.

"No." She turned to him. "I don't think I ever fell out of love with you. It just got buried beneath life stuff." She reached for him, her heart suddenly lighter than it had ever felt, and she drew him in for a kiss that deepened until the world faded away and she was only aware of the man she was kissing, of the feel of his skin and the touch of his mouth.

"Why is Uncle Dallas kissing Auntie Viv?"

She broke away from Dallas, and they both turned as Nora walked in wearing a pink tutu, and at her feet was Lily, who wore one to match—though the dog didn't look particularly happy about it.

Dallas knelt in front of the little girl. "Uncle Dal is going to make Auntie Viv his wife."

The little girl's eyes widened, and she jumped up and down. "You're getting married?"

He glanced up at Vivian, and she just about melted into the floor. "If she'll have me."

"I'm your unicorn, remember?" she teased.

Nora frowned. "But unicorns aren't real, silly."

Dallas picked her up and grinned. "Sure, they are. If you believe."

"Do you believe?" she asked Vivian.

The answer was easy. She looked at the only man she would ever love and smiled. "Yes, Nora. I believe with all my heart."

In that moment, she knew no truer words would ever fall from her lips. She was home and planning a future with the man who held her heart. A future that would have its bumps; she was, after all, a Bridgestone. And yet she couldn't wait.

Against all odds, Vivian Bridgestone had her happy ending, and this time, she wasn't letting anyone take it from her.

"Who wants a muffin?" Benton asked.

And just like that, the kitchen descended into a kind of ordered chaos. It was a familiar thing, the way her family interacted. Loud and expressive and comfortable. For the first time in a long time, Vivian finally felt like she belonged at the center of it.

After being on the outside looking in for years, it finally felt good to be a Bridgestone.