Spring in Snow Valley

by Cindy Roland Anderson

  After a moment, Aunt Faith turned to Grant. “We’ve never said you can’t rodeo.”

  Grant sat there, staring at his plate. “You didn’t let me do it this past year.”

  Uncle John pursed his lips. “We wanted a season off, Grant, but I told you that we’ll sign you back up.”

  Grant didn’t look up. “Can I be excused, please?”

  Uncle John nodded, and Grant took off like a shot.

  Daniel wrinkled his face at Destiny and then lifted one shoulder. “So, are you going to go to the barn dance with Chase Wednesday night?”

  This had not been the question Destiny had expected. She frowned and knew she was blushing. “Uh, no.”

  Aunt Faith’s eyes lit up. “Yes, you should totally go.”

  Nervous flutters zinged right to her stomach. “Not in my plans.”

  Aunt Faith held her eyes for a second, and Destiny saw something in hers—pain, regret, something so lost. Then she blinked and turned to her husband.

  Uncle John nodded. “Okay.” It was the kind of “okay” that Destiny had heard a lot over the past two years from her parents when she’d refused to paint. When she’d refused to accept invitations to Snow Valley from her aunt and uncle. When she’d refused to keep going to a therapist. That kind of “okay” meant it wasn’t okay, but they didn’t know what to do anymore.

  Daniel found a sudden interest in his meal, keeping his gaze fixed on his plate.

  Uncle John tried to smile. “So, how was the flower shop today?”

  It surprised Destiny that she actually wanted to try to help them smooth things over. It was a strange situation for her, because she was usually the one pitching a fit, and everyone else was on eggshells around her. Now she didn’t know how to act, but she wanted to make things better for her aunt and uncle. Until this moment, she hadn’t even thought about how things would have been for them or for Fate’s brothers. “It was good. I …” She knew she was blushing. “It was good until the end. I don’t know what happened, but I set off some alarm. Adam Moon had to come down and fix it.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “And he wasn’t too happy about it.”

  Uncle John’s strained, pretending face turned to one of real humor. He let out a light chuckle. “Ah, poor Adam. I’ve heard he is studying for the GRE this week. Trying to get into a pretty prestigious college. He’s been in a mood.”

  Daniel let out a snarky laugh. “You could have him take you to the barn dance.”

  For some reason, Destiny blushed.

  “Daniel.” Uncle John’s voice cut down like a carver’s knife. Daniel jumped, and his eyes snapped toward his father. “No more of that talk.”

  Destiny paid no attention to Daniel, but she did find something else interesting. “In a mood, huh? That’s what Janet and Chase both said about him today.”

  Aunt Faith giggled and wiped her face. “He’s a good guy, but we’ve known him as a little boy, too, and he can be somewhat eccentric.”

  Eccentric was Aunt Faith’s code word for “strange.” It made Destiny feel better to know that even her aunt and uncle, who were like the best people in the world, understood what a jerk he was. She smiled. “Good to know.”

  Aunt Faith suddenly got a faraway look in her eyes. “Fate always liked both the Moon boys, but she definitely preferred Chase.” She looked at Destiny. “But you probably knew that.”

  Destiny looked down at her hand, which had started to shake.

  Aunt Faith moved on. “Tomorrow is the Easter egg hunt and potluck at the park across from the Flower Girl. Do you want to walk over and meet us at the park after work?”

  Still reeling from Aunt Faith’s comment about knowing what Fate would want, she just shook her head. This was the reason she’d avoided Snow Valley. She didn’t want to talk about Fate or remember her. She reminded herself that she just had to get through the next six days; then she would never have to come back. She couldn’t put her aunt and uncle through another episode after Grant’s comment earlier, but she didn’t want to meet up with anyone else in Snow Valley. Sure, it’d been fun to go mud bogging with Chase, but she didn’t need more socializing here. “Um, I don’t think so.” She needed to put in some good texting time to all her friends at their various spring break locations, do some Facebook checking. Yes, that’s what she would do.

  Uncle John let out a grunt. “Aw, come on, Dez.”

  Dez. It was the nickname Fate had given her.

  “Faith,” Uncle John said softly, “do you want to show her?”

  Aunt Faith stood. “Come with me, Destiny.”

  Destiny stared at Aunt Faith. She and her mother didn’t look alike at all: her mother was short and blond, while Aunt Faith was a tall redhead. Both she and Fate had gotten the red-haired gene, which probably was the main thing that people noticed about both of them.

  Now, staring up at Aunt Faith, Destiny also stood. When Aunt Faith commanded, she expected to be obeyed. Even though it’d been a year and a half since she’d been here, she never grew out of respecting her elders.

  Destiny followed her up the stairs of their farmhouse-style home. It was huge, open like a cabin, but modern. Aunt Faith had definitely been the country girl to her sister’s city girl. Destiny’s own home was sleeker, with contemporary art hanging from the walls; Aunt Faith’s home had always felt lived-in and cozy. It was massive, but her parents had stayed at Uncle Frank’s house during the wedding, because Destiny had insisted she didn’t want to come here. Little had she known she’d get stuck coming here anyway.

  Now, Aunt Faith led her down the corridor up to the attic room, with Uncle John trailing behind—he’d picked up her suitcase and followed them. They climbed the steps and then entered the large room; shadows darkened the space within, but Destiny remembered the attached bathroom at the other end. The glass windows still had the best view, allowing her to stare out at the whole ranch. She’d loved that room growing up. It’d been so big that Aunt Faith and Uncle John had put another bed in the room for Destiny when she stayed.

  Stopping just inside, Aunt Faith put a hand on Destiny’s shoulder, and her eyes filled with tears. “I know we don’t talk about this. About her. And … I understand why you haven’t been back … even though it’s hurt me.” Tears spilled down her cheeks.

  Destiny stared up at her. She’d thought that staying away and blocking it all out had been best for everyone, but she realized now how much Aunt Faith had missed her. Her own eyes suddenly stung with tears.

  Aunt Faith blinked. “When you decided to still go to MSU for school, we did this, hoping that you’d come … home more.” Another round of tears. She flipped on the light.

  Destiny stared at the room, unable to breathe, speak, do anything but tremble. The room was painted blue-green, and it looked completely different. Where Fate’s bed and dresser and everything had been before, there now stood an easel and paints and a desk with sketch pencils and paper. So much paper. And chalk, and ….

  Overcome with emotion, she stepped into the room, noticing that there was framed art all over the room—her art. There were pictures she’d drawn and painted over the years and given to Fate, Aunt Faith, and Uncle John. Pictures of her and Fate. The horses. The farm. Her parents. Her mother and Aunt Faith.

  Tears spilled now like a river. She moved to the pictures, remembering each one, remembering the trips, the adventures. She stopped in front of one picture depicting the river where they had the swimming hole and the swing.

  Aunt Faith put her hand on her shoulder. “I know you haven’t been able to come. I know …” She broke off, tears smearing her black makeup. “But I need you, Destiny. I … I lost my daughter. I can’t lose you, too.”

  Destiny's resistance crumbled, and she hugged her aunt—a real hug. It was like she was waking from a dream … like she’d just been living someone else’s life since Fate had died. But now, holding Aunt Faith, it was like coming home.

  They stayed like that, holding each other for a long time. Over her shoulder
, Aunt Faith’s voice came broken, almost pleading. “We love you, Destiny. We want you to come visit us and be here and paint and remember with us.”

  “Yes, we do.” Uncle John was in the doorway. Sniffing, Destiny broke loose from Aunt Faith and ran to him, and he gladly took her in his arms. “You mean so much to us.” He released her. “And your parents may have told us about the art program in Paris next year.”

  Her heart picked up speed, but she shook her head. “No.” Absolutely not. “I’m not doing the art program.”

  Aunt Faith gave her a small smile. “Destiny, you are so good. Your uncle, your parents, and I—we just …” Her eyes became intense. “Fate would have wanted you to live your life, do your art.” She sighed. “Destiny, honor Fate by living your life to the fullest. By showing the world your talents.”

  Feeling too vulnerable, all Destiny could do was nod and wipe the tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked around the room, amazed.

  Uncle John and Aunt Faith took that moment to withdraw. “We even installed a painting sink in the corner.” Aunt Faith sounded hesitant. “We’ll let you see what you think.” They gently shut the door.

  Destiny nodded, trembling. She turned and caught sight of the large painter’s sink, with buckets and soap at the ready. As if in a dream, she made her way around the room, inspecting every picture she’d painted here while visiting them. Shocked and humbled, she thought about what Aunt Faith had said. Honor her life.

  Moving to the large triangular window that faced out toward the farm, Destiny put her hand on the glass and let the tears well. “I know they want me to live my dream, Fate … but what about your dreams?”

  Taking in a long breath, she turned back to the easel. A picture formed in her mind, drawing color and life from her stirring imagination: girls and moms in Easter dresses and little boys in bowties running around a park, hunting for Easter eggs. Suddenly filled with that long-absent desire to create, she picked up a brush.

  Chapter 5

  Adam drove through Snow Valley Main Street, liking the fact that he was up early. He would stop at the flower shop for just a few minutes and then be off to Snow Peak. It was his favorite time in the morning: after sunrise, but before the day really started. Even though he was a computer geek, he had to get fresh air to feel complete. He got to the flower shop and pulled up to the front curb. Ten minutes, and then he’d be on his way.

  He noticed something move out of the corner of his eye. No one should be up this early—not out on Main Street or in the flower shop. But there was Destiny, in the front window, hunched in front of a fake tree. Janet had kept it in the corner of the flower shop, but Destiny had moved it. He saw her tying up … eggs? Yes, it looked like she was tying dyed eggs to the tree.

  Parking his Subaru, he got out and saw that she hadn’t noticed him. Apparently, she was so engrossed in her work that she wasn’t paying attention to much else.

  He was almost to the shop door when something stopped him in his tracks. As beautiful as she was, it wasn’t the fact she was there in the window with her hair pulled back with one of those headbands, the hippie runner ones that all the girls were wearing. It wasn’t her black yoga pants or the white shirt that hung off one shoulder. It wasn’t even her bare feet, for once free of those stupid clogs.

  It was the painting behind her. Done in pale greens, yellows, and pinks, it was a watercolor, but the image was so clear. It was an Easter egg hunt, but it wasn’t like the one at Snow Valley Park. No, it had people all dressed in Sunday best—old school Sunday best. The women wore hats, and their dresses were long and flowing, matching those of the girls holding their hands. Little boys in blue suits with bowties were running around, and the looks of laughter and mischief on their faces made him actually grin. How had she captured that feeling so perfectly?

  It was spectacular. He could picture the whole front window coming together, and even unfinished, it was amazing. She must feel the way he did in the moment just before he’d finish creating a program. He understood that feeling of accomplishment when someone made something original.

  At that moment, Destiny jerked at the sight of him and let out a yell, her hand flying to her chest. It kind of delighted him, in some bizarre way, that he’d scared her, and he grinned. She just glared at him and went back to hanging the delicate eggs.

  Ah, he deserved that. He knew he’d been an ogre yesterday. Crossing to the front of the flower shop, he flung the door back and almost ran into her as she sped across the floor to the flower refrigerator.

  “Sorry,” he said.

  She didn’t even look at him. She just pulled open the refrigerator, tugged out several daisies, and moved back to the display window. “Don’t worry, I won’t touch your precious inventory system today.”

  Feeling guilty for not telling her the whole truth, he sighed. The store computer was nestled in his arms; he’d decided last night that he might as well work on it back at his work loft above the barn. His parents had allowed him to build it when he was a sophomore in high school, because he needed a quiet place away from the house to work—Chase was like a puppy that couldn’t keep quiet, ever. “I don’t think it was you.”

  She stopped. “What?”

  Natural beauty. That’s how he would describe her. She didn’t look like she had a lick of makeup on. Without her clogs on to make her taller, she looked more vulnerable, but the glare she gave him was still fierce.

  Turning to the front desk, he put the computer down and pulled it out of the bag, getting it set up. “It wasn’t the inventory that triggered the complete shut down and hacker attack.” He gave her a warning glance. “Even though you should always scan the inventory before you accept it. But it turns out Janet had been on some sites the night before, and somehow a cookie had slipped through my program.” He shrugged.

  “So it wasn’t my fault. At all.”

  He didn’t like her tone. “I said the hacker meltdown wasn’t, but you still didn’t inventory properly.”

  “I was told to unload it and scan the boxes. I wasn’t told I had to do it in any certain order.” He could hear the edge in her voice.

  Glancing up, he held her angry gaze. He’d seen those eyes last night before he’d gone to sleep; there were flecks of yellow and blue in the emerald, almost like cat eyes. He tried to focus, which he did best if he treated her like a jerk and not like some apologetic computer geek. “Look, once again, it’s the fine print stuff with you. Maybe you should ask before you commit the sin, not just go off half-cocked doing anything you want.” It was the conversation he had, on almost a daily basis, with his brother Chase—who, he need not mention, had come back last night and bragged to no end about the fun they’d all had going mud bogging. “Just don’t push the explode button, and you won’t have to have me come babysit you again this week.”

  Destiny waited for a beat, then smiled, relaxing and turning back to her project in the front window. “I’ve learned an important lesson about you, Adam Moon.” She slipped around the curtain, out of sight

  He scoffed, refusing to rise to the bait. Instead he put everything together and got the computer up and ready for the day, ready for any transaction, totally protected. Everything was back in order and functioning because of him—he was the responsible one, the one everyone ran to. Okay, fine, he wasn’t the fun one. But so what?

  He put the computer bag away and rushed to the front door. What did he care about what she had learned about him? Or what she thought?

  Getting in his car, he looked up at the front window and noticed that she’d woven daisies into the fake tree, making it look like it was blooming with spring. That, along with the eggs and the picture, made it magnificent.

  He sat there, hating that he liked the front window so much. She was his brother’s age, he reminded himself. Not that age mattered after eighteen; he just hadn’t really dated after Laura. Okay, he’d had a crush on Janet Snow, but somewhere deep inside he’d known that’s all it was: a crush. Then he thought of
Laura again. She’d taught him a big lesson their freshman year—women were fickle.

  As he watched Destiny, he saw something about her he hadn’t noticed before. Yesterday, when he’d seen her clogs and tight jeans and made-up face, he had categorized her with the sorority girls that liked football games and parties. But right now, he saw a different Destiny. She was focused, intent on creating something beautiful; her passion resonated with him on a level he hadn’t connected to in a long time.

  Shaking his head, he started the car and pulled himself away.

  Chapter 6

  Destiny couldn’t deny she liked the compliments in regards to the front window. Customers popped in and out all day, buying for various activities going on around Snow Valley that week. Every person who walked in commented on the front window. Not all of them asked who’d done it, so she didn’t tell them. But by the end of the day, most of the town knew. Even Aunt Faith and Uncle John had come in at closing time and complimented her on it.

  She’d stood out front with Aunt Faith on one side and Uncle John on the other. Without thinking, and unsure why she’d done it, she’d put her arm around both of their waists. “I did it last night. I did it in the room you made for me.”

  Aunt Faith had immediately hugged her, tears streaming down her face.

  Destiny knew what her mother had been talking about when she’d told her she needed to “heal.” This was it. She needed to come to terms with Snow Valley, her aunt and uncle, and all the people here.

  Being here made her feel completely different. In fact, she felt so different and good that she’d smiled and said yes when Chase pulled up to the store and asked if she would be seeing him at the park for the Easter egg hunt and potluck.

  Now, as she sat at the park on a big picnic quilt of Aunt Faith’s, Destiny realized she’d never actually been to a Snow Valley Easter egg hunt. Usually she came for the month of July, but she’d never come for spring break.