“Tell me how to get off this thing again.” Stella remained seated. “I never quite figured this part out.”
Before he could get over there Corinne tried to instruct her, but clearly failed. Both started giggling when Stella somehow ended up sliding off and landing almost on top of Corinne.
When he looked over at Misty, he almost laughed out loud. She thought it was great fun to see her Aunty Stella hanging off the side of a horse. “Come help me set up, Misty Monster.” He tossed the checkered tablecloth her way.
“Mom seems happy today.” She spread the cloth out carefully and sat down. Her eyes never left her mother for long though. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen worry in those expressive little eyes. Peyton threw the leather pouch on the ground and sat beside her.
“She loves it out here, especially when she’s with you.” A piece of his heart broke off just thinking about what might happen….
“I know she’s sick. I know she’s real sick.” Misty crawled over and sat in his lap. “That’s why Stella came, I think. Cause Stella never came here before. And now Mom looks all skinny and sad and Stella’s here.”
Peyton settled her in comfortably and opened the bag. “Do you want PBJ or turkey?” He felt his jaw clench. Goddamn cancer. “Maybe Stella just finally got smart.”
Misty seemed to think about this for a minute and then reached for one of the smashed peanut butter and jelly concoctions. “Is Mom gonna die?”
Panic swept through him. Corinne and Stella were still laughing as they retrieved the rations kept on Pickles. This wasn’t the conversation he was supposed to have. He and Corinne had planned it all out. They’d wait until after the treatments were underway.
But he couldn’t lie. “We’re all gonna die someday, sweetheart.”
Misty took a bite and snuggled into him. She wasn’t normally this cuddly when she could be running or jumping or doing all the other things little girls liked to do. “I know, Uncle Pay.”
“Tell me what you learned in school this week. Are you smarter than me yet?” This evoked a little giggle.
“I’ve been smarter than you since I was four.” She laughed some more at her own joke. God, he loved this kid.
“Are you two eating without us?” Corinne eased onto the blanket gingerly and then lay on her back, looking up at the sky. Stella watched her friend with a tender expression.
“This kid says she’s smarter than me.” He set the bag of sandwiches aside. “What do you think of that?”
“I’d say she’s right.” Corinne, of course, could never pass up such an opening.
Stella took her seat in the only spot left– unless she wanted to sit on the grass– right next to him and Misty.
“Stella’s smarter than you, too.” Misty didn’t want to drop this topic of conversation. Knowing he’d catch her, she threw her weight toward Stella. “Aren’t you?”
This gave him a perfect excuse to look directly at her. She flicked her hat back a little and narrowed her eyes at him teasingly. “Oh, I don’t know about that. Your Uncle Pay can be pretty wily.”
Corinne turned her head in their direction. “Oh really? How so?”
Stella smiled secretively and hugged her knees beneath her chin. “Well, for one thing, he tricked me into falling in love…with Red.”
For all of half a second his heart jumped into his throat.
“Aw, that’s nothing. Everybody falls in love with Red.” Misty rolled off him and grabbed a bottle of water.
Stella pulled out a sandwich and tossed it to Corinne. “Eat.” It felt good to have somebody else nagging his sister about this.
But Corinne didn’t grab the sandwich. Her hands were clutching her abdomen and her eyes squeezed shut.
Stella glanced over at him and then crawled across to Corinne. “You okay, sweetie?” She brushed a few strands of hair away from Corinne’s face.
And then his sister, the tomboy, the toughest girl he’d ever known, rolled onto her side and moaned. “I think I need to go home.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
The hair onthe back of Stella’s neck stood straight up at Corinne’s admission. In all the years they’d known one another she’d never heard her friend cry out in pain like that. She wanted to throw her onto the horse and get her to the hospital now, this very second.
But the ride down was steep in places and Misty looked scared to death.
