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After only a slight hesitation, he guided Homer over to the tree.
The time capsule had been stuffed in a huge knothole in the hollowed-out trunk. Corbin had to dig through dead leaves and debris to get to the rusty old tackle box. He thought it would hold a collection of things that were popular when Belle and Liberty were kids. Instead, there were two envelopes. One with Belle’s name and one with Liberty’s.
He didn’t care what Liberty had written. But he did care what Belle had.
Carefully, so as not to rip it, he worked open the envelope and took out the folded piece of paper. When he opened it, his heart tightened at the neat, concise handwriting.
When I’m thirty, I will be living right here on the Holiday Ranch. I will be married to Nick Jonas—sorry, Libby, I called first dibs—and Nick and me will have twin daughters who I will name after the holiday they are born closest too because that’s our family tradition. (I hope it’s not Halloween.) I will have a tiny little wiener dog that I will name Oscar Mayer and maybe a cat that Daddy won’t make sleep out in the barn. And horses. Lots of horses. Liberty and her husband, Joe Jonas, will live here too with the rest of our family. Since that’s a lot of people, Nick will build us another house close to Cooper Springs. A cozy house—cuz I love cozy—with a garden and a front porch where I can rock my daughters to sleep and listen to my husband sing the songs he wrote for me.
Moisture collected in Corbin’s eyes and he took a moment to collect himself before he carefully folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope. Once the box was hidden in the tree, he remounted and headed back to the ranch. When he got there, he expected to get the cold shoulder.
He didn’t.
As soon as he stepped in the door, Mimi yelled at him to wash up for supper. When she saw his swollen eye, she made him sit down and got him a bag of ice to hold on it while he ate. He wasn’t very hungry, but since Darla had gone to the trouble to make him his favorite chicken and dumplings, homemade dinner rolls, and cherry pie, he forced himself to eat.
During supper, Hank talked about the ranch as if he wasn’t going to lose it while Darla watched Corbin with sad eyes and Mimi cuddled Tay. When Hank ran out of conversation, Mimi finally spoke.
“I see I got some new flowers. Did something happen to the garden while I was gone?”
“Gilley.”
Mimi laughed. “I figured as much.” She stroked Tay’s head. “I knew it wasn’t my sweet girl.”
That was the final straw. Corbin had about as much of their fake kindness as he could take. “It’s not gonna work. I’m not going to let you stay. Especially after what y’all did.”
Mimi smiled softly. “I don’t blame you a bit. But I think you’ll miss us. I’m sure gonna miss you.”
Before he could figure out how to reply to that, the front door opened. His heart jumped and then settled in disappointment when it turned out to be Jesse. His brother looked wild eyed and distraught.
“Libby’s not here?”
Darla got up, her eyes concerned. “No. Is she missing?”
Jesse flopped down in a chair and covered his face with his hands. “We got in a pretty intense argument. I was sticking up for Corbin and she was sticking up for Belle.” He paused. “She broke our engagement and left me.”
“So I heard,” Mimi said.
Jesse lowered his hands. “Libby called you?”
“No. Cloe did.”
Jesse jumped up, but Mimi stopped him from leaving. “Sit back down, Jesse. You’re not going over there tonight. Liberty needs some time to cool off or you’ll just make matters worse.” She glanced at Hank. “Hank William, grab a couple bottles of my elderberry wine and take these boys out to the barn. I figure you’ve dealt with your daughters enough that you can give some good advice.”
Hank looked surprised. “Me? I’ve never figured out how to deal with my daughters.”
“Then I guess y’all will need to figure it out together.”
The last thing Corbin wanted to do was go to the barn with Jesse and Hank. “I’m not—”
Mimi cut him off. “Don’t sass me, Corbin Whitlock. Now git!” She glanced at Jesse. “You too.”
He and Jesse got up and begrudgingly followed Hank out the door. While Hank went to the cellar to get the wine, they stood on the porch and glared at each other.
“What were you thinking seducing Belle, Whitty?” Jesse asked.
“I didn’t seduce Belle.” He glanced back at the house. “And keep your voice down.”
“Why? If you didn’t seduce her, you have nothing to be ashamed of.”
