Hill Country Reunion. Myra Johnson
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life and let me tend to mine.” Dismal as it was. “Bye, sis. Give Mom and Dad hugs for me.”
Later, as he arranged socks and T-shirts in the chest of drawers, his hand grazed the small velveteen box he’d never been able to part with, its contents an ever-present reminder of what he’d given up. He opened the lid for one more longing look at the classically elegant diamond ring nestled inside, while his sister’s parting words played through his mind. What if he and Diana really could find their way back to each other?
And how many more regrets would he carry through life if he didn’t try?
* * *
Closing the shop after the early Sunday morning coffee-and-doughnuts rush, Diana almost decided to skip church. Why risk running into Tripp again in case he tagged along with Doc Ingram?
But the past was the past, and she was a big girl now. Anyway, Juniper Bluff was too small a town to avoid Tripp for long—seeing him twice in the same day had proven as much—and she refused to rearrange her life on his account.
Even so, when Doc Ingram and his wife arrived without Tripp in tow, Diana relaxed slightly. She offered a friendly nod but couldn’t help wondering how much Tripp had revealed about their shared history.
Leaving the sanctuary after worship, Diana spotted Christina Austin, pregnant with twins and already showing. Her service dog, Gracie, stood faithfully at her side. The gentle golden retriever, who helped Christina deal with the aftereffects of the traumatic brain injury she’d suffered in a car accident a few years ago, reminded Diana yet again how an animal’s love and devotion could make a positive difference in someone’s life.
She ambled over to say hello. “Hey, lady, how are things at the ranch?”
Christina turned with a cheery smile. She held the hand of her seven-year-old stepdaughter, Eva. “It’s another Camp Serenity weekend. Need I say more?”
“Ah. That explains your handsome hubby’s absence. Did Joseph stay home, too?”
“No, he’s around here somewhere.” Christina’s glance swept the crowded foyer. “He had a question about his pony for Doc Ingram.”
Eva looped one arm around Gracie’s neck. “I have a pony now, too,” she told Diana. “Her name’s Candy.”
“Wow, that’s great!” Diana knelt to tweak Eva’s pale yellow curls. “Can I come see her sometime?”
“Sure. We’re gonna do a trail ride with the campers after lunch. Wanna come with us?”
Diana hadn’t had much time lately to take her own horse out on the trail, and the weather today would be perfect. She pushed to her feet. “What time are y’all heading out?”
“They’ll saddle up around one thirty,” Christina replied. “Seth can always use an extra hand to keep those energetic campers in line.” She patted her pregnant belly. “And I’m not much help these days, especially if it involves getting on a horse.”
“It does sound fun.” Diana checked her watch. She could easily grab a bite for lunch, run out to her parents’ ranch to load Mona in the horse trailer and make it out to Serenity Hills in time for the ride. “Okay, count me in.”
By one o’clock she’d stowed her saddle and other gear in the tack compartment of her dad’s one-horse trailer, already hitched to his pickup. Mona, her copper penny bay mare, looked eager for a change of scenery and pranced into the trailer with her head held high.
“Hope you settle down before we get there,” Diana said as she clipped the trailer tie to Mona’s halter. “I don’t need any extra drama this weekend.” Seeing Tripp Willoughby walk into her doughnut shop yesterday was about all the drama she could handle for the next, oh, fifty years or so.
At Serenity Hills, Seth Austin and his stable hands already had several horses saddled and tied to the corral fence. Waving to him as she passed, Diana pulled into a parking area next to the barn.
As she stepped around to the rear of the horse trailer, Seth ambled over and offered a friendly hug. “Christina said you’d probably join us. Need some help with Mona?”
“I’m fine.” Diana grinned toward the camp counselors struggling to buckle riding helmets onto the heads of several rambunctious campers. “Anyway, looks like you’ve got your hands full over there.”
“That’s the truth. Two more hours and we’ll have peace and quiet again.” Seth exaggerated a look of fatigue, but Diana knew how much he enjoyed the arrangement he and his grandparents, Bryan and Marie Peterson, had made with the San Antonio–based philanthropic organization that sponsored Camp Serenity. Besides saving the family from having to sell the guest ranch, the camp provided fun and adventure for kids who might otherwise never have the chance to get out of the city, much less to learn about horses and riding.
Diana unlatched the trailer door, and Seth gave her a hand lowering the ramp. Sidling into the trailer, Diana clipped a lead rope to Mona’s halter and prepared to back her down the ramp. Apparently, the drive over had only heightened the mare’s excitement. “Easy, girl.”
“She’s lookin’ kind of feisty.” Seth laid a steadying hand on Mona’s rump.
“No kidding.” Diana barely got her toe out of the way in time to keep from getting stomped on. “Maybe I’ll take her over to the round pen and see if I can settle her down some.”
Seth returned to his campers while Diana walked Mona to the round pen. Standing in the center of the fifty-foot-diameter pen, Diana used a lunge whip to send her horse into a trot around the perimeter. When Mona began to settle down after a few circuits, Diana wasn’t quite so concerned about getting tossed on her keister somewhere out on the trail.
At the horse trailer, she buckled on Mona’s saddle and bridle and mounted up as Seth started her way leading his trail riders. Immediately behind him were Joseph on Spot and Eva riding her new palomino pony.
One hand gripping the reins and saddle horn, the little girl grinned and waved. “Hey, Miss Diana! You came!”
“Sure did, hon. Is this Candy? She’s adorable!”
Eva beamed. “You can ride next to me, okay?”
“Love to.” Diana prepared to fall in step.
Then, as she glanced back toward the other riders in the lineup, a familiar pair of crystal-blue eyes locked gazes with her—Tripp.
She froze, her jaw going slack, while Tripp Willoughby drew closer and closer.
“Miss Diana,” Eva called, “hurry and catch up.”
She snapped her mouth shut. Nudging Mona with her boot heels, she reined the horse around and trotted up next to Eva. When she could find her voice, she said, “Hey, Seth, what’s with the, um, new volunteer?”
Straining to look past her over his shoulder, Seth grinned. “Oh, you mean Doc Ingram’s new partner? He’s just along for the ride. We’re renting him one of the staff cabins.”
“So he’s...he’s living here?” Her voice climbed an octave. “On your ranch?”
“Yep. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to introduce you. Remind me when we get back later.”
Diana grimaced. “That’s okay. We’ve already met.”
* * *
Diana was riding with them? Great. And Tripp assumed living out at Serenity Hills would mean fewer unexpected encounters with the woman he’d never gotten out of his heart.
Could this move to Juniper Bluff get any more complicated?
Maybe if he made sure to stay at the rear of the line, he could spare them both more discomfort.
And yet...man, she looked good on the back of a horse! He’d seen Diana in boots and jeans plenty of times, even gone riding with her when they used to spend weekends now