Kelly walked around Xander and hoisted herself into the saddle. She wanted to get to Dr. Carl’s and check on the animals, see if he needed her.
As she rode, she thought that sometimes it was as though she could see her entire life in front of her. It was a perfectly straight road, with no side roads, no paths, no surprises anywhere.
She patted Xander’s neck. “Wonder where Vera is now? And what she and Adam are doing?” She grimaced. As if everyone in town didn’t know about their trysts in Adam’s grandmother’s hideaway. People in town said, “Bet Burke Hatten never foresaw that that place would become the Sex Shack.”
Kelly told herself Vera and Adam’s shenanigans were shameful. Embarrassing. She turned red when she heard the gossip, but sometimes... Sometimes she envied her sister. She and Pauly had had sex but it wasn’t anything that would cause giggles and blushes.
She shook her head. “I’m in a weird mood today.” They were at a straight path and she nudged Xander a little faster. It didn’t take much to make him gallop.
By the time she got to Dr. Carl’s office, she felt better. She went in the back way so no visitors would see her.
“Didn’t expect to see you here today,” Dr. Carl said. He was tall and thin and had gray hair. The people of Mason unkindly said his wife had given it to him.
“Adam Hatten kidnapped my sister and...” Kelly shrugged. There was a German shepherd on the table. “What’s wrong with Sergeant?”
“The kids fed him chocolate, so he has a tummy ache. How’s Adam taking his father’s death?”
“No idea, but it doesn’t seem to be bothering him.”
“What’s he going to do about Robbie?”
“I don’t know!” Kelly snapped, then said, “Sorry. He rode up on Xander and took Vera away. I don’t know anything. Maybe they’ll leave for Nepal or wherever tomorrow. Robbie be damned.”
Dr. Carl looked at Kelly. “You’re going to miss her a lot, aren’t you?”
Kelly sat down hard on a chair against the wall. “Do you ever feel like you have no control over your life? That everything has been planned for you and you have no choice about any of it?”
“Every day,” he said softly.
Kelly saw the sadness in his eyes. His first wife had died of cancer. Two years later, he’d gone to a convention in Dallas and had returned with a wife who had a son. He’d been ecstatic, floating on air, as he told people how happy he was. It was a year before all the air had gradually left his balloon. His new wife didn’t like small-town living, his stepson was in his own world and, worse, his wife had told him that birth complications had made her have a hysterectomy. There would be no more children. One night, after Dr. Carl had had too many beers, he told Kelly she was the child he was never going to have. If he remembered it the next morning, he didn’t mention it.
Kelly was about to say something when the door burst open. It was Mrs. Carl. She was plump but squashed into a girdle that prevented any part of her from moving. She was like a statue by Rubens that could turn its neck but the rest was immobile.
“Kelly, darling,” she said. “I’m so glad you’re here. Have you eaten? There’s a big horse outside. It looks dangerous, so don’t get near it. You look sad, so I guess Pauly told you. I told him what I thought of his plans, but it’s done no good. You need to talk to him. He’s postponing everything! I was so hoping for a spring wedding for you two. Apple blossoms. Lord knows there are enough apple trees around this town. Messy old things. Why aren’t you wearing the ring? I told Pauly to give it to you before he left. I guess he hasn’t done it yet. The wedding will have to be in the fall. Your attendants will of course wear green and—”
“Lillian!” Dr. Carl said loudly. “The children must make their own decisions.”
She gave her husband a look Kelly had seen many times. It was usually accompanied by, “If things were left up to them, they’d never happen.”
Frowning, Mrs. Carl glanced at her watch. “I’m going to be late for the beauty shop.” She looked at Kelly. “As soon as you have a date for your wedding, I’ll make appointments for you. Who will be your bridesmaids?”
“Uh...” Kelly said.
Dr. Carl stepped forward. “Are you going to cover that gray hair at your temples? I hope not. It gives you a nice look of maturity,” he said. With a gasp of horror, Mrs. Carl ran out the door.
“Sorry about that,” he said.
“That’s okay. I’m from Kansas, so I’m used to tornadoes.”
He laughed. “I take it by your expression that you have no idea what Pauly is up to.”
“None whatever.”
“I think I better let him tell you.”
“What’s this about a ring?”
“Lillian got the idea that Pauly hasn’t officially proposed to you because he’s been saving up for an engagement ring.”
“Was he?”
Mr. Carl shrugged. “I have no idea. But Lillian bought a ring for him to give to you. It’s rather nice.”
Kelly frowned. “And expensive?”
“Yes.”
Kelly didn’t ask but she knew that he had paid for the ring. “Where is he?” His expression said, You know where he is.
“Do you need me here?”
“No. Go see Pauly and sort out your life.”
“In that case, I’ll be back in about ten minutes.”
He gave a snort of laughter, and Kelly left, mounted Xander and rode back the way she came. Four years ago, Pauly had bought the ten acres that lay between the Hatten and Exton farms. It was farmland, with rich soil, and no artificial fertilizers had been put on it in over thirty years. Both Burke Hatten and Mac Exton had tried to buy the piece, but old man Anders had sold it to Pauly, saying, “I like what he plans to do with it.” As the town of Mason had seen, when Pauly wanted to, he could be very persuasive.
Kelly rode across the edge of the property her family had owned for three generations. Ahead, she could see Pauly’s land. There were hundreds of fruit trees, all in long rows, perfectly pruned, all weedless. There were about fifty chickens pecking away at the bugs that tried to eat the trees.
Over the last couple of years, Pauly had spent most weekends traveling around the Midwest, gathering branches of trees that people said had been planted by their great-great-grandfathers. “Only one in existence, that I know of,” the people said. “Best eatin’ apple you ever put in your mouth.”
Sometimes Kelly went with him on his trips. Pauly dealt with the plants while Kelly tended to any animals the farmers had. She never charged and it gave her experience.