Page 91 of River Wild

“Amazing, aren’t they?” A voice comes from behind me.

I turn to see Macy standing there.

“Yes.”

“Oh, I remember you. You’re River’s neighbor, right? Carol.”

“Carrie.”

“Carrie. Of course.” She moves closer to the balloons, looking up at them. “He’s really talented, isn’t he?”

It takes me a second to catch her meaning. “Oh, the artist? Yes. Very.”

She brings her eyes to mine. “You mean, River?”

“What?”

“River. He’s the artist. He makes these. All of these.” She lifts her hand in the direction of the ornaments.

River makes these glass ornaments?

That brash, callous man over there makes these beautiful, delicate items.

Why didn’t he tell me?

“Oh. Didn’t you know?” she says, looking pleased at the fact that she knew something about River that I didn’t.

I swallow and shake my head. “No. He never told me.” I curse my voice for sounding so weak.

“How strange.” She flicks her long hair over her shoulder. “I wonder why he never said anything. But then he isn’t a big talker. Except with me, of course. We talk alot. All the time in fact. We spend hours just chatting about nothing really.”

Okay, Macy, don’t oversell it.I’m not a threat to you when it comes to River.

The guy doesn’t want to be my friend, let alone anything else.

Not that I do either.

“That’s … nice for you.” I hold back the eye roll I really want to do. I’m about to walk away from her when something occurs to me. “Did River make the Christmas ornaments you sold here last December?”

“Of course. We only sell his art here.”

The train.He made that.

He knew I loved it, and he gave it to me and never once said that he’d created it. He didn’t even want me to know he was the one who had given it to me.

Why?

He doesn’t seem to have a problem with Macy knowing. So, why me?

Probably because he thought I’d use it as something else to talk to him about. And he wouldn’t want that. Because he barely liked me on a good day, right?

Ugh. Why am I even bothered by this?

I’m not. I’m not bothered at all.

“Well … nice seeing you again”—not—“but I need to get my shopping finished.”

“Of course.” She moves out of my way as I turn.