Authors: K. J. Jackson
Triaten stepped through the back kitchen door of the ranch,
the mid-day sun on his back. At the counter next to the stove, Stewart sliced carrots in rhythm to the classical music piping out of hidden speakers. He glanced over his shoulder at Triaten, giving him a nod.
“Shiv?” Triaten asked.
“On the river trail with Rafe, I believe. I usually ask her where she’s headed to, just in case.”
Triaten acknowledged with a tilt of his head
. “Thanks.”
Even though he already paid him handsomely, Triaten made a me
ntal note to raise Stewart’s salary. He was discrete, a fantastic chef, and he kept the place running better than Triaten ever could.
Triaten took off through the house, stopping at the library. A slow whistle escaped as he took in the
mosaic. Shiv had completed the main figures and was now just working on the outer landscaping of the scene, where the smaller tiles were to trail into the larger ones that would cover the remainder of the floor.
Triaten had seen enough of what the world had to offer in this
art medium, to recognize that what he was looking at was on par with masterpieces. He wondered if Shiv had any clue she was this talented.
He went out the front door and jogged over to the main river trail. His pace didn’t slow
once on the path, easily leaping over boulders and roots as he took on the incline of the route. Within fifteen minutes, he knew that Rafe could sense him on the trail, for he could hear the dog punctuating the air with warning barks. A minute passed before Rafe caught his scent, and the barking stopped. The dog soon burst through the trail at him, tail wagging furiously.
Triaten caught his ears and
rubbed his head as Rafe jumped, his front paws landing on Triaten’s chest.
“Hey boy, where’s Shiv?
”
Rafe
’s paws dropped to the ground and he took off up the trail, Triaten close behind.
Shiv
’s voice echoed in the woods, calling for Rafe. In moments, she came into view from around a bend in the trail. Her eyes lit up like fireworks when she saw Rafe was trailed by Triaten. She didn’t slow her pace, instead, ran full force down the trail right at Triaten.
With a huge smile and laugh, she
leapt, full force, onto Triaten’s body, sending him steps backward. But he managed to maintain his balance.
Laughing at her enthusiasm, he swung her to the ground.
“You are so much better than the bear I thought I was going to find.” Her cheeks glowed red from the cold, the running, or the grin that spread full width across her face. Her hair was in two low braids that came forward over her shoulders, entwined with the white ear buds that dangled onto her chest. She grabbed a hold of his upper arm with both hands.
“So tell me you’re actually back for a spell
— as much fun as Stewart can be, he goes to bed early and gets up early, and, well let’s just say, he isn’t you in so many ways.”
“I’m afraid I’m going to be a big
disappointment for you.”
“Ugh, really?”
Triaten’s smile faded. “Sorry, love. It’s why I’m up here on the trail looking for you. Were you headed down?”
“I am now
— especially if it’s all the time I have to say hi to you.”
Triaten inclined his head. “Let’s walk.”
Rafe jumped ahead of them, trotting along, stopping every few feet for some underbrush sniffing. They walked a stretch, Shiv’s feet occasionally slipping on slick wet leaves. Her arm, firmly wrapped around Triaten’s arm, kept her upright.
“Are Skye and Aiden back as well?”
“Yes. They’re cleaning up at their house right now. I imagine they’ll be up in short order.”
She nodded. “And you’re headed out again? How long this time?”
“Couple days, I imagine.” Triaten shrugged.
A frown flashed across Shiv’s face, but
it was almost immediately replaced by a bright smile. “Did you see the mosaic?”
“I did. It’s fantastic and you’re almost done, it looks like.”
“Yes, and if I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were making up reasons to be gone so I’d keep working at it. I think I’ll be pretty bored when that thing is done.”
They walked a few more steps in silence before Triaten took a deep breath and dove into the real reason he needed to find Shiv.
“I have to tell you something, Shiv.”
She stopped walking and dropped her hands from Triaten’s arm.
Her smile faded. “Is this when the shoe drops?”
“I have
to tell you where we went — Skye, Aiden and I.”
Suspicion crept onto her face. “Why? You haven’t really told me anything of where you go or
what you do. So why now?”
“We had to go help
Charlotte.”
“Charlotte
— the Charlotte that broke your heart?”
“Yes. She was in trouble.
And she came back with us. She’s in town.”
Shiv’
s eyes shot to the ground and her head bobbed slowly as she digested the news. “So this means...” she looked up at Triaten, “this means what?”
Triaten sighed. He honestly didn’t have an answer. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? The woman you said you were deeply in love with is back, minutes away from you, and you don’t know what it means? Don’t you want her?”
Triaten hesitated. “I
do. It’s just not as easy as that.”
“Why not? She doesn’t want you? You don’t want her?”
“No, that’s not it. I haven’t stopped loving her. I tried. But it didn’t take.”
Shiv’s hand flew up, palm stopping Triaten. “I get it, Triaten. She’s back. She’s special. You don’t have to say anymore.”
Shiv turned from him and started down the trail.
“Stop, Shiv.” Triaten’s hand shot out
, grabbing her arm and pulling her back toward him. His hand went under her chin, tilting her eyes up to his. “You don’t think you’re special?”
His knuckles brushed her cheek. “Why do you think I’m here?’
She grabbed his wrist, stopping the movement. “No matter what you say, I’m not special enough for you to not mention Charlotte being back. That tells me more than anything, Triaten.”
Triaten’s hand fell to his side. “I don’t know what to tell you, Shiv.
”
“You don’t need to tell me anything, Triaten.” Her arms crossed against her chest, and she looked down, kicking a small rock with her toe. “We never promised each other anything.”
His hand went to shoulder, but she pulled it away from him. “
I know it’s not fair to you that I don’t have it figured out, Shiv. And I have to figure it out. But first I have to go away for a few days. I have to go away for reasons that don’t have anything to do with you, or Charlotte.”
Her eyes darted up to him.
“Why? Who do you need to save now?”
“My father.”
~~~
A quick shower, clean clothes, and gear packed in the back of the jeep,
and Triaten barreled down the mountain, taking the odometer down only a notch as he went through Brigton. Summer traffic was long gone, and the main street was empty. So when Charlotte stepped out in front of the jeep at Joe’s, tires squealed as Triaten jerked to avoid hitting her.
Coming to a quick stop, the jeep angled across the road
, right at Charlotte’s feet. Triaten swore as Charlotte ran to the passenger side of the vehicle. He rolled down the window.
“Really
, Char? Was that necessary?”
She smiled at him, charm oozing as she leaned in the window. “I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss me.”
“I almost plowed you over, was that what you were hoping for?”
“No. I was hoping you would be driving at a normal speed for town and come to a gentle stop right in front of me. That didn’t happen.”
“No. Not so much.” Triaten rubbed the back of his neck. He was tired. “What do you want, Charlotte?”
“Aiden
told me what happened at the hotel and where you’re headed. If you’re going to find your father, I’m coming with.”
“No.”
“Yes. You don’t need to admit it. And you don’t have to want it. But you do need me with you on this one. This is your father.” Her tone left little room to argue.
Triaten’s hands gripped the steering wheel, knuckles turning white. He didn’t look at Charlotte, eyes trained
instead, on the road in front of him.
“I’m not letting you do this one on your own, Triaten. Whatever goes down with him, I’m going to be there. I’m coming with. This doesn’t have anything to do with us. This is about our hundred years of friendship. No pressure. No strings. I promise.”
Moments ticked past before Triaten leaned over with a sigh, and silently opened the door for her. Charlotte turned and ran back to Joe’s to pick up the long black bag that leaned against the building. She tossed it into the back of the jeep and then jumped into the passenger seat.
“Aiden said they’d be following after they went up to the ranch so Skye could see Shiv.
” She pulled her seatbelt on. “He figured they would be a few hours behind.”
Triaten
nodded, his voice gruff. “Good. Shiv could use the visit.”
Charlotte leaned back in the seat. “So where is Horace? We need to call Aiden and tell him where
we’re headed.”
“
Not sure. But I imagine he’s where he usually goes for any dirty dealings — the Badlands. If he’s up to anything, he’s doing it from there. I’ll call the possible hotels on the way to confirm he’s checked in.”
~~~
Driving fast, the location in the Badlands they were headed to was a half-day’s drive from the mountain. They could have gotten there quicker via helicopter, but Triaten didn’t want the rest of the elders to know where he was headed to.
For the first three of those hours, Charlotte bit her tongue
and chastised herself for promising no strings. She wanted — needed — those strings. So they rode in silence. Nothing but her own mind to make her crazy.
Triaten made no effort to engage her.
The sun set, and it wasn’t until they crossed into the grasslands separating the mountain range from the deep hills of the Badlands, that Charlotte could stand the silence no more. She was starting to get fidgety, and her chest was growing tighter and tighter — being this close to Triaten, coupled with not having a clue as to how to bridge the gaping wound between them — and she was broaching panic level. She had hoped for at least light banter between them. Not this weight of grim quiet.
She
didn’t want to have to resort to sitting on her hands to keep them still, so she turned in her seat, rummaging through her bag in the back. Finding the bag of clementines she was searching for, she sat back down, drawing her left leg to a fold underneath her right thigh.
“Clementine?” She offered as she tore open the bag netting, fingers happy to be busy.
No response.
She focused on Triaten’s profile. His eyes didn’t twitch away from the dark road in front of them.
Now he wasn’t even going to converse about an orange. Charlotte bit her lip, then jumped.
“I know I said I would give you time to figu
re all this out, Tri. But, dammit, I don’t want to.”
“You promised no strings, Charlotte. And what you’re talking about is a string.” His voice was casual, even if his words were not.
“I know. I thought I could be patient. But I was wrong.” She leaned her head against the headrest, her eyes not moving from him. Her nail broke the skin of the orange, and she peeled a long strip.
“We wouldn’t be in this spot right now if my mind had caught up to my heart. If I had stayed, things would be different,” she said, resigned. “You wouldn’t have gotten...‘involved’ with Shiv.”
Triaten’s thumbnail started to dig into the leather on the wheel. “Whatever is going on between us, Charlotte, we’re leaving Shiv out of it. She is not part of this conversation.”
“How can you say that
, Triaten? How can she not be a part of the conversation?”
“You
— me — we’re the responsible parties in this.” He shook his head to emphasize. “She’s an innocent bystander that just got blindsided by this drama. What I just had to tell her — she deserves better.”
“Shiv may be innocent, but right now, she’s a pretty big obstacle for me. For us.”
“And still innocent. And still a good person.” He ran a hand through his dark hair with a sigh. The dashboard lights lit the exasperation on his face. “Really Charlotte, you need to stop this. You were the one that made the choice to leave. You were the one that couldn’t wrap your head around the possibility of us. I was there. You were not.”
Charlotte wasn’t about to stop. “What did yo
u expect, Triaten? After all those years on the mountain, that I was suddenly supposed to throw a switch? A switch that made me believe you could love me like that? You were in and out of our lives, Triaten. In and out.”