Chapter Three
Tyler
Tyler got off the plane in Howe, Montana, expecting to see his parents waiting for him. Instead, he walked up to the area surrounding the baggage claim and locked eyes with Declan’s wife, Bronwyn. He hadn’t seen Bronwyn since she and Declan had gotten married, and she’d been little more than a child then. Now, she looked different, grown up, still as short and curvy as she’d always been but now… her huge brown eyes carried the weight of being a soldier’s wife. Her long, curly mocha hair was swept back back in a loose ponytail, which only highlighted her pale skin, her pink lips, and her sad eyes.
Ty could hardly believe she was the same girl, but she had those same giant doe eyes that he’d always found so unsettling. It was like she was looking right through him, inside of him and beyond him, and it made him more nervous than anything he’d faced down in all of his years on the battlefield. He approached her hesitantly and pulled her into a one-armed hug, trying not to make her feel uncomfortable.
“Bronwyn… I can’t believe how… grown up you are. How long has it been?”
Bronwyn took a few steps back as she pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes. It was clear she was trying to hide tears that were welling up.
“Six years. You haven’t been back for more than a few days since the wedding, and you never seem to be in town long enough for us… me, to see you. I know your parents have missed you.”
Tyler nodded. “I meant to come home more often, but there never seemed to be time. Now. I should have been here. Maybe Declan would have stayed.”
Bronwyn tensed up and he immediately knew he’d said something brutally unkind. “Wynnie, I didn’t mean anything…”
She didn’t say another word. She just turned and walked out of the small airport, and headed straight for her truck, which was parked outside. As Ty waited for his bag to come through the luggage chute, he kept muttering under his breath, “Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.”
* * *
The ride back to the farm was silent. Bronwyn looked straight ahead as she drove, and Ty watched the scenery fly by. He hadn’t been back to Howe in four years, but in that time, nothing had changed. The streets were the same, and the farms. Even the old men sitting outside the diner looked exactly the same. It was as if time stood still in his hometown. The only thing that had changed was Bronwyn, and he found the way she had aged utterly unnerving. She was like a fairy in cowboy boots, and he couldn’t stop watching her out of the corner of his eye.
When they pulled up in front of the farmhouse, Roger and Annie were already on the porch, waiting for them to arrive. Tyler didn’t even have time to get out of the truck before his parents rushed him, and gathered him in their arms, sobbing. Bronwyn couldn’t deal with anymore crying, and she hurried into the house to avoid another scene. Tyler couldn’t help but watch as she ran inside and slammed the screen door shut behind her.
Roger pulled away from Tyler and shook his head sadly.
“She’s not really dealing with any of this. She seems to be on auto-pilot, and nothing we say is bringing her back.”
Tyler nodded. He knew that feeling well; it was easier to push down the hurt than it was to deal with it, but that also meant eventually, she was going to explode. Annie pulled Tyler from his thoughts by taking his hand in her own and squeezing it tightly, as if he might float away. When she spoke, her voice was barely a whisper.
“Tyler, we’re going to need to go back to our own house soon. We have the horses, and the cats. But Bronwyn can’t take care of all of this on her own for much longer. Is there any chance you could stay here, with her, and help with the farm?”
Tyler looked around at the property, and everything looked to be in pretty good shape. But he assumed that there was something going on he couldn’t see, so he nodded that he would. But in truth, the idea of staying alone in the house with Bronwyn made him nervous; he just couldn’t pinpoint why.
He followed his parents into the house and was blown away by how perfect everything was. It was more like a small carriage house, but it was warm, with a roaring fireplace in the living room, and over-stuffed furniture filling every corner. The walls were painted cheery blues and yellows, and family pictures covered every surface. There was even a picture of Tyler and Declan as kids, in the entryway leading up to the stairs. Tyler couldn’t pinpoint why, but he could never imagine Declan living anywhere like this. His brother was a wild thing, and this was never the life he talked about living when they were kids.
Tyler walked into the kitchen where Bronwyn was making coffee, and putting together a plate of leftover Thanksgiving food. Tyler sat at the antique breakfast table, and watched her as she worked silently.
“I’m sorry for what I said at the airport. I hope you know I didn’t mean anything by it. Not… what it sounded like. I just feel like Declan was always chasing after me, trying to prove he was brave like his big brother. If it wasn’t for me, he may never have joined the Marines, you know?”
Bronwyn turned and brought the plate of food over to where Tyler sat, and set it in front of him, along with a glass of red wine. She sat down next to him with a mug of coffee and let out a long sigh.
“You’re no more to blame than I was. We never should have gotten married; we were too young. I think he thought he was easier to keep running away than come back and face me. Hell, maybe neither of us are to blame. Declan made his own damn decisions. He could have come home at any time but he kept re-enlisting. I loved him, but this felt… inevitable.”
Tyler watched Bronwyn as she talked. It was almost as if she’d been preparing herself for this moment for so long, it hadn’t even come as a surprise. She’d become so used to being alone, it was all she even knew anymore. He picked at the food out of respect, but even after the long flight and who knows how long since a home-cooked meal, he couldn’t bring himself to eat.
Luckily, they were interrupted by Annie and Roger, so Tyler didn’t have to say anything. He had no idea what to say anyway. They sat down at the table, nervous as fleas.
“Bronwyn, honey, we really need to go back to the ranch tonight. Would you be okay with Tyler staying here with you for a while? Just until you get settled and he figures out what to do next? We don’t want to leave you here, but we can’t ask our neighbors to stay at our place any longer,” Roger asked anxiously.
Tyler felt his stomach flip nervously. He wasn’t sure this was the best idea, but he had no legitimate reason to say no. And he could tell by the look in Bronwyn’s eyes that she wasn’t sure either. But she shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.
“I’ve been doing fine on my own, but I guess I could use help getting the repairs done on the barn. And the goat pen needs a few touch-ups. If Tyler wants to stay here and help me with those things, that’s fine, I suppose.”
Annie smiled sadly across the table at Bronwyn. “I think it will be good for both of you. You’ll see. Even if it’s just while Tyler looks into getting into school, and finding a place to live. You’ll see.”
Tyler had to stifle the urge to laugh nervously. His mother was always so sure about everything but this time…
He wasn’t so sure this was the right call for any of them.