Chapter 22: Chapter 22

WREN

Penelope and I spend the weekend hiking and exploring Bryxton and the surrounding area. Lance joins occasionally but says he wants to give us plenty of one-on-one time.

It’s nice for me to have the opportunity to explore more of the area as well since I’ve spent about ninety-nine percent of my time at the farm.

I love catching up with my sister. I learn that she is going to quit her job and stay home with the boys.

Since I paid off their mortgage, they only need Joel’s income to make ends meet which makes me so happy.

Mom stayed home with us when we were young and we loved it. I’m thrilled my nephews get to have their mom home with them.

On Sunday, my actual birthday, Lance hires one of the farmhands to drive us into town so we can have dinner and then go to a bar for a few drinks.

After we order dinner and get our cocktails, Lance leans toward Penelope and grabs her hand.

He’s looking insanely gorgeous tonight in a dark blue button-up shirt, bootcut khaki pants, and his signature cowboy hat.

“Dearest Penelope, would you do me the honor of telling me the most embarrassing story you have of our dear Wren here.”

My eyes go wide. “Oh my god, don’t you dare, Penelope. I have plenty of dirt on you too,” I warn.

She looks at me and laughs. “Oh, come on, Wren! You were pretty cool for a little goth kid.”

Lance’s eyebrows go up as he looks between us. “Excuse me?! Goth kid? I thought you were a tomboy!”

Penelope laughs, and I give her the scariest death stare I can muster.

“Oh, she was, but she still held on to her goth phase for way too long. Think Lydia in Beetlejuice,” Penelope says before dissolving into laughter.

Lance looks at me with a huge grin. I just fold my arms.

“Wow, so did you hold séances and do photoshoots in cemeteries?” he asks.

I unfold my arms to take a drink.

“I’ll have you know I made contact with multiple ghosts in my high school years,” I say, and they both crack up. “Say, when does your flight leave tomorrow, Penelope?” I ask sarcastically.

“You know you love having me here.”

“I have missed you—and the others. I can’t believe how big the boys are,” I say.

“Well, when you only see them twice in the last two years…” She trails off. “Mom keeps asking when you’re coming home.”

“I know. I just don’t know if I can ever function there again.”

“I get it, and I know you…like it here. Are you staying after summer?”

An awkward silence falls between all of us. Lance clears his throat and takes a drink.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. We just want to see you have a life again. On the road you felt like a ghost. When you were at the fire camp, we didn’t hear from you for weeks,” Penelope says.

“I know. Look, as soon as I figure it out, I’ll let you all know,” I say.

When our dinner arrives, we switch to lighter topics like Lance’s upbringing and our shared passion of working on cars.

At the end of the meal, we all eat a piece of cake and Lance pays for our dinner despite our protests.

We decide to skip the Rusty Ram Saloon for obvious reasons and instead walk to Sawtooth Country Bar a few blocks away.

It’s a dive bar with a dance floor on one end and a mechanical bull on the other. A large square bar sits in the middle.

We order a round of drinks and find a booth off to the side of the mechanical bull.

“I’m going to have one more drink and then I’m getting on that thing,” Penelope declares as she watches someone mount the mechanical bull.

“That’s a terrible idea,” I laugh.

“Hey, this is my first vacation since Liam and Henry were born and I can’t hook up with a mysterious stranger, so this is the most exciting thing I can do!”

I laugh. “Let me know when and I’ll come back to town and watch the boys while you and Joel take a proper vacation,” I offer.

“Wren, you don’t understand. My kids are wild now, completely feral. You wouldn’t last one day alone with them,” she says as she sips her drink.

“I didn’t say I’d do it alone. Mom will help!”

Penelope looks at Lance who is sitting beside me, his arm casually resting on my thigh.

“Do you want kids, Lance? Not my kids, but in general?”

I laugh.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Lance says.

“Really?” I ask.

Lance smiles at me and nods. “Of course, kids are great. And they love farms. At least me and my brothers did.”

“Oh boy, a bunch of little Lance Tellers walking around sounds terrifying,” I say, and he laughs.

“We were pretty rowdy but having space and farm chores helped keep us in line. The worst thing I did was use a cattle prod on my brother,” he says. “My mom laid into me for that one.”

“Your mom seems sweet, but I would NOT want to cross her,” Penelope says.

“Same,” I say.

“Why don’t I get us another round?” Lance asks.

“No, I’ll do it. I have to pee anyway,” I say.

The bathroom is down a hall at the far end of the building so I make my way through the dance floor and into the women’s bathroom.

When I leave, the hall is completely empty. I’m walking toward the entrance to the loud music when someone grabs me.

Before I realize what’s happening, I’m yanked into a janitor’s closet. A large man pins me to a wall with his body, one of his hands covering my mouth while the other gestures for me to be quiet.

Once my eyes adjust to the light, I see Tad looking down at me.

“Hey, bitch. Remember me?”