The Staying Kind (25 page)

Epilogue

“Awesome job, Rio!”

Sadie stood at the fence, her shiny black cane resting against the railing as she clapped her hands enthusiastically. Rio grinned at her mentor, then at Travis and Jessa before moving Dante out of the lineup of thirteen other horse and rider teams toward the young woman who held the ribbon out for her.

Third place yellow. It might as well have been blue. Might as well have been the biggest, bluest ribbon in the world because that’s how wonderful she felt when they fastened her ribbon on Dante’s bridle.
Top of the world, in fact.

With her prize, she urged Dante into a trot and headed to the out gate. The rush, the joy, flowed through her like a river, more powerful than she had expected.

Maybe it was everything combined. The joy of riding Dante and competing with him after all of Sadie’s hard work and faith. The joy of seeing the man she loved waiting for her with as much happiness and pride written on his face as she felt in her entire body. It was almost too much to bear.

“It’s only third place,” she said as she slid out of the saddle into Travis’s arms.

“You did beautifully. I couldn’t have asked for a better job,” Sadie declared with pure satisfaction. “I think I made the right choice putting you up on Dante right away instead of starting you slowly with Fleur.”

Rio grinned. “Jessa has done an amazing job with her. I think you made the right decision too. Besides,” Rio ran her hand down Dante’s smooth neck, “he and I have it together. I can’t imagine being on any other horse. I can’t wait until the next class.”

She slid her arm around Jessa’s shoulders, hugging the girl against her side. “My yellow will look nice next to your two blues. I think I’d like to keep the blue streak going.”

As Jessa grinned widely, Sadie vowed, “With that attitude I have no doubt you will. Now take the horse to the stable. And Jessa has to head to the ring to practice for her next class.”

Sadie and Jessa, leading Fleur, headed one direction and Rio, along with Travis and Dante, returned to the barn, Travis with a tight hold on Rio’s hand.

“So, how does it feel?”

Rio couldn’t stop smiling. “Like I’ve started my life fresh and it’ll be the most incredible life in the world.”

“You are a strong woman, Rio,” Travis squeezed her hand. “You deserve all this and more.”

“I wish it could be as perfect for Storm.” The only cloud on her otherwise sunny horizon. Her mother currently resided in jail and would be there for a very long time. For that Rio couldn’t summon one speck of sympathy. This punishment was a long time coming and Rio refused to shed any tears for Katrina Presley’s fate. Jerry, the boyfriend, had been caught two days after the break-in. As a habitual criminal, this latest incident was enough to put him away for years.

Even so, several weeks passed before Rio felt completely comfortable. At least she had Travis there to bring her through it.

Putting her last meeting with her mother out of her mind proved to be difficult. It didn’t take much to recall that scene. Katrina on the other side of the glass, leaning back in the plastic chair, staring at her with a sneer on her thin face, dispassion in her dark eyes.

“Why did you do it?” This was the only question Rio could think to ask at the time.

Katrina had shrugged indifferently. “Because you owed me.”

The retort had taken Rio by surprise. “Owed you for what?”

“Look at you, in those fancy clothes. That hell of a big diamond on your hand. Life has been pretty awesome for you, and why shouldn’t you share the wealth?”

“Because what I have has
nothing
to do with you. You’ve done nothing but make my life miserable.”

“Except for one small detail. I brought you into this world, sweetie. For that I think you owe me a bunch.”

“Then why did you go after Sadie? Why beat her up? She’s done nothing to you.”

“Why should that make any difference? She’s got a nice place. Why not go in? She wouldn’t miss a few things. Jerry was the one who knocked the old lady around.”

The way Katrina had spoken, so casually, as if she were talking about a trip to the grocery store, had infuriated Rio. The anger, like a white-hot poker, hit her straight in the gut. She’d never been given to violence, but if safety glass hadn’t been separating them, Rio might have grabbed her mother by the throat.

“You really don’t care, do you?” Rio asked, deadly calm. She’d refused to let Katrina see her rattled.

“Why should I? She don’t mean anything to me. I’m in it for me, same as Jerry.”

“And Storm? You okay with ruining his life?”

“He made his own decision. Don’t pretend he’s the same old kid he was. He’s a man now. At least he knows who’s on his side. Sure wasn’t you.”

“I’ll always regret not being able to help him. And I hope you’ll never hurt him again.” Rio stood, but hadn’t taken her eyes off her mother. The woman would never change.

“Enjoy your life, Katrina. I hope you spend a lot of years here. Maybe someday you’ll realize what you’ve done. The mess you’ve made of our lives. Somehow I doubt you ever will.” With that, Rio had swung around and strode away, putting Katrina Presley completely out of her life.

For good.

Storm was still in jail. Because of his cooperation with the police, though, he’d been given a much shorter sentence. Rio hoped when he finally got out he’d set himself on a different path. With their mother locked away, there was the possibility he wouldn’t be so inclined to slide back into his old life. If Rio could help him along the way, then maybe she could feel somewhat redeemed, and be able to let go of her guilt for leaving him behind so long ago.

At last she could enjoy the stability in her life. She had a reason—no, several reasons—not to ever leave any of it behind.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so content,” Travis commented as he helped her unsaddle Dante.

Rio grinned and gazed at her husband-to-be. The man looked beyond her past and the family ties that nearly brought his own family down. How could she ever have thought about walking away from him?

She set the saddle on the stall door and circled around Dante where Travis stood. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding her hand up so she could see the glitter of the diamonds on her finger. Then she brought her gaze to him, felt his heart beating against her. “I am. I’m the most grateful, content woman on this earth, Travis. To think all my wanderings brought me right here. I never looked for home before. But home found me. And I’m not leaving it.”

Standing on tiptoes, Rio pressed a kiss against his lips. “Ever.”

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