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Reaching the table, Vi sat carefully to avoid splinters. A white-bellied fish flipped in and out of the water, causing tiny ripples. Harry paddled toward her, honking as if they were long-lost friends, then waddled up the bank. Vi gazed at him. The large stone hadn’t inflicted more damage than a crooked gait. Her mouth tilted. The goose couldn’t walk in a straight line but zigzagged to her.
Harry rubbed his neck against her legs. Insistent. She held out a hand, keeping her fingers together. Sniffing her hand, he squawked, ruffling his feathers.
Her lips pressed into a flat line. A goose was glad to see her.
She attempted to concentrate on a mental task list so her mind wouldn’t fall into the Rory-abyss. Her meeting with Jesse needed to happen. Another practice with Cyrus. She shivered. Preparations were all well and good, but what would she do if real trouble ever presented itself? Wisps of smoke drifted in the air, a reminder she needed to call Tavo about the illegals. Fear poked at her efforts to concentrate. She’d text Silas now.
Maybe the morning’s events were all a bad dream. What if Rory cared about her, despite the obvious land grab? The air sucked from her lungs when she considered life without him. Vi scrounged through her pockets for an orange.
Her phone chimed. She pulled it out, glancing at the screen. Rory. She flicked to his text. Surely, he’d explain Marvin’s visit had been a giant mistake.
Vi, sorry to break it to you this way. I’ve thought a lot about what you said in Houston and have decided it would be better if we didn’t see each other anymore. Don’t call or text. It was fun while it lasted.
Vi blinked and reread the message. Her phone clattered on the picnic table as she squeezed her eyes shut to blot out the loathsome words. Pain stabbed her heart.
Rory didn’t stop with taking her land. He’d waited until he’d gotten everything. Her arms crossed her stomach, and she rocked back and forth on the picnic table, gasping for breath. Several minutes passed. She wheezed, grabbed her phone, and trod along the path, her vision eclipsed by anguish.
Smoke spiraled into the sky. The scent choked her air passages, but Vi kept going.
Bereft of a plan, Vi wandered into her room at Paige’s with no memory of driving or walking into the house. She needed Cyrus. The large dog stretched and pranced about, thrilled to see her. He jumped on her bed, and she grasped his fur in her fists, burying her face into his neck.
The tears she’d bottled up gushed. She shook with sobs. Cyrus whimpered, anxious to comfort her.
Light footsteps came from the hallway, and Paige appeared at the doorway. Lines puckered her forehead. “Mija, what’s wrong?”
“Did you know?” Vi asked dully.
“Know what, Mija?”
Vi didn’t want to talk about it, but the words rushed out of their own accord. “Rory and his dad want to buy my land. And he broke up with me today.” She winced at the phrase—such junior-high terminology.
Paige sat on the bed with a bewildered expression. “What? No … it’s not true.”
“It is. A man came out to my place today and said so.” Vi finger combed Cyrus’s fur as if he needed every hair in place.
“Have you talked to Rory?”
“Why would I talk to him?” Vi continued petting the dog. Relating what happened to Paige proved agony enough without piling on more.
Paige perched on the edge of the bed. “Rory’s dad had a heart attack this morning. I got updates from Rory for a while, but his phone reception must be bad. I’m leaving for the hospital.”
The news jolted Vi out of her misery. “Was Rory with him when it happened?”
Paige nodded vigorously. “Mr. Spence wasn’t his normal self when he arrived at work this morning. Everything irritated him, and he grouched at Becca over petty stuff. Later, she told me it’s been going on for a while. He and Rory argued. About your property. Mija, I heard it. Mr. Spence sent a man out to your place this morning, but when Rory found out the property belonged to you, I’ve never seen him so distressed.” She patted Cyrus on the head.
The nanosecond of hope disappeared when Vi remembered the other blow. She dug in her pocket for her phone and pulled up the text she’d received from Rory.
“Here. Read this.” Vi grimaced at their mutual declaration of love in previous texts. “Ignore the other texts. Read the last one.” She handed the phone to Paige.
When she read it, Paige looked more puzzled than ever. “Are you sure it’s not a mistake? This doesn’t sound like Rory at all.”
Even though Paige’s take confirmed her first thought, Vi sniffed. “It’s right there in black and white.” She pressed her fingers against her hot cheeks.
Paige handed her the phone. “You need to talk to Rory. Even if he didn’t want to see you anymore, he wouldn’t do it this way. Something’s wrong.”
Vi let out a long sigh. “Paige, he says not to text or call him. Sounds pretty final to me.” She turned her phone off.
Paige slid off the colorful quilt. “Well, I’m going to track him down. I want to see how Mr. Spence is doing.”
