He indicated the full-sized couch against the window at the frontof the house. He didn’t have a love seat, but a recliner faced a TV mounted to the wall in front of them. The kitchen—clean, with white appliances—held a six-person dining room table, and a single back door that was almost entirely made of glass.
“Bedrooms and baths down there,” he said. “And there’s no laundry room, but there is a laundry closet.” He took a few steps and opened an accordion door to reveal a stackable washer and dryer.
“It’s everything you’d need, and two of the bedrooms are empty. So if there’s stuff that you want to bring and store, I’m sure we can make another trip up to Redwood.”
Momma disappeared into other rooms, though when Winnie wandered after her, she found them empty, save for the last one in the corner that connected to the second bathroom and made an ensuite. Ty had put a king-size bed there with fresh linens and two nightstands with lamps.
He’d spent a lot of time on his phone this week as he’d made arrangements to have this house cleaned, inspected, and furnished for her parents or for himself. He’d wowed her parents with his good cooking, and he’d even gotten Taylor to laugh a few times.
No matter what, Winnie had fallen more and more in love with him, with everything he said and every move he made, and every preparation he put together on her behalf. He’d had Conrad send pictures of Rocky and Salmon, and he’d assured Henry and Angel that he’d be back at Lone Star next week.
Winnie realized in that moment that his brother was also engaged, and she might not be able to have her non-winter, non-February wedding this year. Worry worked through her gut and then Winnie told herself that she and Ty weren’t even engaged. In fact, she’d told him that he was absolutely not allowed to propose to her before they’d been dating for six months, which put them right around the Fourth of July.
Winnie wasn’t sure why that mattered, only that it felt fast otherwise. She wanted to be very sure this time.
As opposed to last time?she thought. She and Carver had datedfor almost two years before he’d asked her to marry her, and they’d been engaged for fourteen months.
She realized this as she followed her mother out of a corner door in the master suite and onto a private, master-only deck.
The date on which things happened had mattered to Carver.He’dproposed to her on New Year’s Eve in an extremely romantic grand gesture, and they’d been set to be married only a few days after Valentine’s Day.
“This is a really nice place,” her mother said.
Winnie leaned her head against her mom’s shoulder. “Yeah,” she said. “It’s really quiet and peaceful here.”
“What would you rather have us do, Winnie?”
Winnie didn’t think her mom had ever asked her opinion before, at least not about something like this. “I think you should do whatever you think will make you happy, Mom,” she said. “And whatever you think will be easiest for Daddy, because he’s going to do whatever you say.”
“Yeah, probably,” Momma said. “I think this would be really nice for before the surgery, but we’ll need somewhere with level ground where he’ll be able to walk after it.”
Winnie nodded. “So maybe you’ll stay with me until our appointment on Tuesday,” she said. “And then once you know when the surgery will be, you and Daddy can make a decision. You might even be able to go back to Oklahoma for a couple of months.”
Momma shook her head and sniffled. “No, I think you’re right. We need to be here, and we need to be away from Taylor. That girl needs to figure out her life.”
Winnie had listened to her mom complain about a great many things, but her words never turned into actions and things never changed much, so she simply agreed.
“We told her when we come home she has to move out,” Momma said.
“What?” Winnie’s eyes widened, and she gaped at her mother.
“So we won’t go home before the surgery,” Momma said. “Wetold her she probably has six months, and she needs a job and her own place before then.”
“Wow, Momma. Do you think she’ll actually do it?”
Her mother sighed and leaned against the railing, gazing out over the fallow land. “I don’t know, Winnie. But you know, I think we’ve enabled her long enough, and she and your father don’t get along. I think she’s poisoned me a little bit against him, and I want to be a good caretaker for him and a good support.” She smiled over to Winnie. “The way you are for Ty and he is for you.”
“Do you like Ty, Mama?”
“Yes, Winnie,” she said. “He’s wonderful.”
“Yeah, but we thought that about Carver too,” she said.
“Ty and Carver are nothing alike,” Momma said.
“How do you think they’re different?” Winnie asked, because she had her own reasons, but she wanted to know what her mother thought.
“For one, every single thing Ty thinks or feels is right there on his face. He doesn’t have a disingenuous bone in his body.”
