I admire Violet for what she's trying to do here, and even though I'm still mad at Karri, I'm grateful Violet took her in, too. Violet does have a lot of work on her hands. No wonder Grace has become bitter. I can see managing a group of wayward teens would leave little time for romance.
I frown. Andrés seems to have a bigger workload each week, and has been coming home later and later. I wonder if his huge workload isn't the underlying cause of his nightmares.
I find Grace in the main house. She doesn't see me at first as I come in through a side door. She and a teen girl with Goth black hair and too many tattoos to count are bouncing around to Katie Perry while they set vases filled with flowers down the center of the longest dining table I've ever seen. It must seat at least thirty people.
"Hey, hummingbirds," I say.
Grace spins around, nearly losing hold of her vase. She sets it down on the table and holds her arms out for a hug. "Christina, you scared me," she laughs.
I'm surprised by her giddy tone. She's been so depressed over her relationship with Violet. I wonder if something has changed.
After we exchange an embrace, she asks the teenager to finish up. Then she loops her arm through mine and we go for a stroll through the foyer and out into her small herb garden. Only a few plants are blooming, but the place is even more beautiful than the last time I saw it. A little stone path, lined with several lattice archways, skirts the perimeter. In the center of the garden is a stone birdbath and a freshly painted white bench swing. A large oak tree is at the edge of the garden, and the canopy of branches adds just the right amount of shade to this surprisingly mild winter day.
I lean into Grace as we continue to walk arm-in-arm. "It's lovely."
"Thank you," she says with a smile in her voice. "It was my Christmas present from Violet."
We sit down on the bench, and I gaze into the house's large bay windows. "What a wonderful present."
"I know she loves me. I've been selfish to want all of her attention when she's committed to such a good cause."
Grace is smiling at a plant stem she twirls between the tips of her fingers.
A couple of kids nod to us as they skirt the outside path on the way to the barn behind us. They are covered in paint splatter and grinning ear-to-ear.
"Yeah, she is," I say, still in total awe at how much the ranch has progressed. "I can't believe how many kids are here."
"We've got teachers that come up during the day." Grace nods to the retreating kids. "School just ended, and now they have to finish their chores."
"What does Karri do all day?" I ask in as disinterested a tone as I can muster. I shouldn't care what Karri does with her day, but some part of me is hoping she's turning her life around.
"She's actually doing a lot more than I expected. Violet sent her grocery shopping today. One of the ranch hands went with her to supervise, and Karri came back with everything on the list." Grace's cheeks flush a rosy pink. "With the kids in school and Karri gone, Violet and I had a few hours to ourselves."
I nudge Grace in the ribs. "That's awesome."
She heaves a sigh before leaning back in a casual pose. Though she isn't the poised and polished Grace I'm used to, she most definitely looks happy.
"Thanks for listening to me gripe this week." Her voice is laced with shame, as if she's the only person on the planet who's ever had love problems. "How are you and Andrés?"
"Great, thanks." I laugh. "But his cousin is still a bitch."
Grace snorts and shakes her head. "Tell me something I don't already know."
I'm nearly tempted to address the fact that my poised and polished friend just snorted, but I like this new, casual Grace.
"Nora turned out to be an even bigger bitch." My cheeks flush when I think about Nora's betrayal, and I feel as if she slapped me in the face. I wish there was some way I could magically erase my memory, and forget those hours of precious wasted time I spent in that woman's company.
"I suspected something was up." Clasping my hand in hers, Grace fixes me with a penetrating gaze. "Tell me."
***
After I fill Grace in on the sordid details of Nora's betrayal and my mom's revenge, Grace offers me the most amazing solution, a wedding at Violet's ranch. Her garden, she says, will make the perfect backdrop. I think she couldn't be more right, but I don't want to put Violet and Grace out. Grace says she'll talk to Violet, but she insists the preparation will give the kids a meaningful project to work on. My spirits have lifted by the time I leave Grace's beautiful garden. She points me in the direction of the stables, where Karri is doing stall duty.
I'm not sure what that entails, but I suspect it isn't pretty. My eyes have to adjust to the dim light as I walk down the wide corridor flanked by stalls on either side. I remember these horses from my last visit. Violet comes from a long line of horse breeders, and when she inherited this ranch from her parents, they left her a profitable champion bloodline.