It’s a beautiful clear Colorado night, and here on the Western slope, we can see the stars so much better than in a big city like Denver. This is what I liked about growing up on a ranch. The big sky. The sheer beauty of nature.
Even living in town, I appreciate the splendor. Snow Creek is a small municipality, and at night, I can still see the beauty of the stars.
“Where are your mom and dad?” Brendan asks.
“I don’t know. Let’s go ask Gina.”
My sister stands by the stage, where Jesse Pike and his band are setting up for their performance later. She looks like a runway model in her velvet leggings and silk tunic, complete with thigh-high leather boots. While I dress down, Gina always dresses up.
“Gina,” I say.
She turns from her conversation with Jesse’s cousin, Cage Ramsey. “Oh, hey, Ava. Brendan.”
Good. She’s focused on Cage, so she doesn’t try that eye batting thing with Brendan.
“Do you know where Mom and Dad are?” I ask.
“I don’t. They actually left the house before I did. They should be here. Aren’t they?” She glances at her Rolex.
“Not that I’ve seen,” I say.
“I’m sure they’re around somewhere,” Brendan says.
I know what he’s doing. He doesn’t want Gina to worry. He already knows I’m worried. My sister is completely naïve to what’s going on with our family, and she still has one semester left of college before graduation. I want her to focus on that, not on some family drama that I can’t even put into words—other than grandmother. Gina will find out soon enough that our parents, aunts, and uncles have been keeping secrets, and she’ll be as pissed as I am. She can be blissfully ignorant for one more semester.
“Let us know if you see them,” I say as nonchalantly as I can, and then I pull Brendan aside. “I don’t like this.”
“They’re going to be here, sweetie. This party is for them, after all.”
“I have no doubt that they’ll show up. But they were late to Thanksgiving.”
“They were late to Thanksgiving because they were talking to me. They’re not talking to me this time, obviously.”
I glance around the backyard. “But your parents… They’re not here yet.”
Brendan raises his eyebrows. “You think your parents might be talking to my parents?”
“I don’t know. I’d believe anything at this point. Maybe—” I grab his arm as his parents arrive. “I guess not. Your parents just walked in.”
He takes my hand and leads me over to them. “Hey, Mom. Dad.”
“Hello, honey.” Lori Murphy looks casual but elegant in midcalf boots, a black skirt, and a white angora sweater. “And hello, Ava. You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I murmur. “So do you.”
“You haven’t by any chance seen Ryan and Ruby, have you?” Brendan asks.
“No, we just got here.” Sean smiles. He’s wearing the usual for men. Jeans and a button-down, his in canary yellow. Interesting choice with his graying auburn hair, but it works for him.
Easy to tell the ranchers from the townies. Brendan and his father wear semicasual shoes. My cousins and uncles wear cowboy boots.
“Okay. I’m sure they’re here somewhere.” Brendan takes my arm, and we walk away from his parents. “Can I help you with anything?” he asks me.
“No. The staff is handling things for the rest of the evening. Aunt Jade, Aunt Marj, and I are officially off duty.”
Where the hell are my parents?
Surely they wouldn’t blow off their own twenty-fifth anniversary party.
What’s going on? And what does it all have to do with a grandmother?
I try desperately to wipe the thoughts from my mind. I worked hard for this party, and so did Aunt Jade and Aunt Marj.
But I’m losing patience. I want to know what’s going on.
And come tomorrow?
My parents will answer every one of my questions. I will use every tactic, both fair and unfair, to get the information out of them. I’m done waiting.
If the tower is going to fall, I will be ready.
Chapter Ten
Brendan
Ryan and Ruby Steel finally show up a half hour later, and the party officially begins.
Ava is clearly distraught. Her cheeks lack their usual gorgeous flush, and she’s biting nonstop on her lip ring.
“First Thanksgiving and now this? My parents are never late to any family gathering.” She rubs her hands over her arms, as if easing a chill. “The tower. The damned tower.”
I want to ease her mind, but she knows much more about the tarot than I do, and she trusts it for guidance.
“I looked up the tower card online,” I say.
“Why?”
“Because you’ve been so disturbed by it. But you know, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”
“I know that, but I depend on my intuition, Brendan. I didn’t get any positive feelings at all from that card. Not from the situation, not from the card.”
“What about liberation? Revelation?”
“Maybe I don’t want anything to be revealed. Maybe I want to live in the world that I’ve lived in for twenty-four years. The Steel universe as it is.”
“I’m sorry.” I drape my arm over her shoulder. “I should’ve known I couldn’t find anything to make you feel any better.”
“I appreciate that you tried, Brendan.” She leans forward onto her toes and brushes her lips lightly over mine. “Really, I do. But looking up a card online isn’t the same as having studied and practiced the tarot for as long as I have. The tarot isn’t something you can learn overnight. It requires dedication, practice, intuition, emotion. All I can tell you is how I’m feeling about that card.”
“It’s still sitting on your kitchen table, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“Why haven’t you put it back in the deck?”
“I don’t know. I feel like it’s glued to the table.”
“But without it, you won’t be able to do any more readings.”
She drops her gaze to the ground. “I know. I’ve thought of that. I thought of it today, even when I got home early this morning. I thought about drawing a card, but I couldn’t bring myself to replace the tower in the deck.”
“I wish there were something I could do.”
“I know you do. I appreciate you trying. I really do. But looking up cards online isn’t going to help me, Brendan.”
“What will help you?”
“Just knowing you’re here. Knowing that whatever this is between us isn’t some fleeting thing.”
“It’s not,” I say. “Not on my end, anyway.”
Her cheeks redden. Finally that gorgeous flush. She looks up and meets my gaze. “Not on my end either, Brendan.” She takes one of my hands. “I wasn’t looking for this. I certainly wasn’t expecting it. But I’m so glad we have it. Whatever it is.”
“I think”—I push a stray hair that’s come loose from her ponytail behind her ear—“it might be love, Ava.”