Rough Riders: Gone Country Part 29

Sierra burst into the kitchen, shopping bags hanging from both arms. "Dad! You have to see all the totally awesome stuff I got today."

Vi trailed behind her, smiling.

"Hey, Vi. Looks like you guys had a productive day."

"We did."

"You have time for a drink?"

Vi appeared taken aback by Gavin's question. "What are you drinking?"

"Crown and water."

"I'll have one. Light on the Crown since I'm driving."

Rielle skirted the pile of shopping bags, intending to duck out of the kitchen, but he circled her wrist, stopping her. "Please stay."

"I don't want to intrude," she whispered.

"You're not. So stay."

"All right."

Gavin mixed Vi's drink and poured a soda for Sierra. "All right, sweetheart, tell me about your day and show me what you got."

"First, we went to the toy store. There were so many awesome fun toys it was hard to pick one. So I got Amelia a Gloworm because I remembered how much I loved mine."

That caused a pang. Didn't seem that long ago Sierra was dragging that dirty, well-loved Glo-worm everywhere.

"Then we went shopping for girl clothes at the western store. OmiG.o.d the stuff is so cute. You should see the tiny jean skirt with pink leggings and a b.u.t.ton-up western s.h.i.+rt with lace edging. And she's getting matching pink cowgirl boots with rhinestones!"

Sierra was talking enthusiastically about all the things they'd bought...for someone else?

"Which leads me to this." Sierra flipped the lid off a s...o...b..x, taking out a pair of pink cowgirl books with rhinestones on the toes and dark pink leather decorating the shaft. "Aren't these the coolest boots you've ever seen? I wanted some so bad..." She squealed and leaned over to hug Vi. "Thank you so, so much, Grams, for buying them for me."

"You're welcome, dear."

Gavin went motionless. Since when did Sierra call Vi...Grams?

Since Vi started buying things for her.

"I cannot wait to wear these to school tomorrow. Marin will be so jealous."

"The bottoms have a slick finish so make sure you scuff them up first," Vi warned.

"Will do." Sierra hugged her boots. "It is insane how much I love these things already."

Vi laughed.

Sierra tossed the box on the floor and snagged another bag. "Then we went to this boutique called Sweet Repeats that sells the funkiest things. Jewelry, clothes, scarves, jackets." She grinned. "Check this out." She held up a black suede jacket with fringe on the underside of each sleeve. "Look at the metal studs on the lapels and down the front. It's bad-a.s.s, but doesn't make me look like a thug."

"And you can wear black with anything," Vi pointed out.

"I will wear it with everything everything, I promise. Thank you."

Vi had bought her a f.u.c.king leather coat, too?

Sierra pulled out yet more things Vi had purchased for her.

A pair of jeans with rhinestones on the rear pockets and the front pockets.

A fur-lined vest.

A long-sleeved thermal s.h.i.+rt the same pink as the boots with Cruel Girl Cruel Girl emblazoned across the front. emblazoned across the front.

A bag overflowing with bangles and baubles.

"And last, but certainly not least..." Sierra unwrapped a cork bulletin board. She piled two stacks of fabric and two spools of satin ribbon on top of it. "A memory board for my room. We're gonna fancy it up next week, huh, Grams?"

"Absolutely. As long as it doesn't interfere with your school work."

Sierra jammed all her new items back in the bags and hugged Vi. "Thank you so much for today. I had a lot of fun."

Vi brushed the hair back from Sierra's face. "I did too. We'll do it again soon."

"I hope so. Gotta put my stuff away!" Sierra announced and raced from the room.

Gavin swallowed a gulp of his drink. "Well, that won't happen again."

"What?"

"You taking Sierra out and buying her everything she wants."

"Why is this a problem for you? Because I didn't ask your permission to buy my granddaughter a few things?" Vi held up a finger to stop his protest. "Yes, Sierra is is my granddaughter. You may still have a problem with our family ties, but she doesn't. Don't expect her to have your issues with the situation, Gavin." my granddaughter. You may still have a problem with our family ties, but she doesn't. Don't expect her to have your issues with the situation, Gavin."

"So is it a coincidence, that she started calling you Grams Grams after you bought all that s.h.i.+t for her?" he demanded. after you bought all that s.h.i.+t for her?" he demanded.

"Sierra has been calling me Grams for months. Never in front of you, because she's been afraid of how you'd react. Now I see that her fear was justified."

Why hadn't Sierra come to him with this name change business? "And because she's accepting of the family tie, that gives you the right to try and buy her love or affection or attention or whatever it is you want from her?"

Vi skewered him with a hard look. "That gives me the right to spend my own d.a.m.n money however I see fit. I bought gifts for my other granddaughter, so it's only fair I do the same for Sierra. And don't forget, you wouldn't let us buy her anything for her sixteenth birthday. Then today she sees me buying things for Amelia's birthday? How do you think that made her feel?" She jabbed her finger at him. "Exactly like you do. Like you aren't really part of the family. Like some family members matter more to me than others."

"f.u.c.k."

"Why did you move here, Gavin, if you didn't want your daughter to be part of our family? You expect her to stand at arm's length like you do? She is not you. You are her father, but you shouldn't have the only say in whether we can build a relations.h.i.+p. Doesn't what she wants matter?"

"Oh, trust me; she'll be your BFF if you keep buying her things every time you're together."

"That's the only reason Sierra could possibly want to spend time with me? That's bulls.h.i.+t. You're making horrible a.s.sumptions about her. And about me. That girl is not shallow, and yet I suspect sometimes you treat her like her mother. So you shouldn't be surprised when she acts exactly how you treat her."

Gavin's jaw tightened.

"I'm not trying to buy her love. I'm not fostering a relations.h.i.+p with Sierra to get to you either, because if I thought I could buy your love? Son, I would've gladly paid the price the day you came looking for us. As far as today? I won't apologize. I won't let your paranoia and distrust ruin the wonderful afternoon that I got to spend with my granddaughter."

They stared at each other without speaking.

Gavin knew Vi had several legitimate points, but he was still p.i.s.sy.

"I can't deal with this right now."

It wasn't until he went looking for Rielle that he realized she'd witnessed the whole scene...and he'd left her in the kitchen.

Rielle should've snuck out when she had the chance. Maybe she still could. But one look at Vi's miserable face and she knew she wouldn't. Especially after Vi drained her drink. "Want another?"

"I'd like to have the whole d.a.m.n bottle."

"To drink? Or to smack Gavin upside the head?" Rielle asked lightly.

"Both." Vi studied the ice cubes in her gla.s.s. "I wasn't in the wrong."

A statement Rielle let lie.

"I keep hoping he'll come around."

"He will. However, it may take more time than you think it should."

"Being pushy, am I?"

"No. Gavin has his own way of thinking." Rielle didn't say more. She wouldn't violate the trust he'd placed in her.

"He's being ridiculous if he believes I was trying to buy Sierra's affection. When he lived in Arizona, I followed his parameters. But then he moves here, down the road from us, and I'm still supposed to wait for him to give the green light so I can get to know Sierra? Or she can get to know me? Gavin sure doesn't have a problem with Charlie spending time with Sierra, or that Charlie buys her food and little tokens every d.a.m.n day. But he objects when I do essentially the same thing? That feels a lot like punishment and a little like manipulation."

Rielle agreed. "So you, or Charlie, or both of you haven't brought any of this up with Gavin?"

"No. We're aware of Gavin's boundaries. Before he moved here we kept contact casual because we were afraid if we pushed too hard, he'd cut off all contact with us." Vi's chin trembled, but she firmed it.

In that moment Rielle clearly saw the family resemblance between mother and son and her heart broke for both of them.

"Does he want me to apologize for giving him up for adoption?" Vi asked softly.

"Maybe this sounds simplistic, but have you sat him down and tried to explain to him what you went through? What it really meant to be pregnant at sixteen? How you felt during the pregnancy and after?"

"Not since he first came to us and I was in such a...state of shock that I don't think I explained myself very well. He hasn't brought it up since and I'm afraid to." Vi looked at her. "Have you talked to him about your life as a pregnant girl?"

"A little. But he doesn't understand. It's...vague to him. Like watching a forgettable TV movie of the week."

"We're different sides of the same coin, aren't we? You kept your baby; I gave mine up."

"Is that why you were so nice to me and Rory?"

"Out of guilt? Maybe. Nothing against your folks, Ree, but I got the feeling they saw Rory as a mistake. I admired you for doing what I couldn't. So part of me always wondered if I'd kept Gavin, if some woman would've taken the time to make sure I was okay."

From the moment they'd met Rielle had seen behind Vi's brusque nature to the sweet thoughtful woman beneath. It hadn't escaped her notice that a lot of people said the same thing about her being so p.r.i.c.kly, which was probably why she and Vi had always gotten along so well. "I appreciated those random visits. Not because you brought over a bag of groceries, but because you spent time with me and listened to me."

"I only wish I could've done more. But I was happy that you broke free of your parents'...mold, for lack of a better word, and raised Rory how you wanted."

"Rory had as normal a childhood as I could give her."

"Is that the gist of this? Gavin doesn't know how thrilled I was to get to buy Sierra a pair of pink cowgirl boots? Every girl her age needs something frivolous. When I was her age I had the world on my shoulders and I'm happy that she doesn't."

Rielle reached for her hand, her heart hurting for Vi. "Gavin lashed out before he thought it through."

"Maybe I should consider it a good sign that he cared enough to get p.i.s.sed off at me."

"There's a healthy way of looking at it."

"Can I ask...does he talk to you?"

"About his relations.h.i.+p with you and Charlie? No."

"But he does open up to you about other things?" Vi clarified, "I don't want specifics. I just want to know that he's finally got a woman in his life who cares about him like he deserves."

"I care about him. He knows that. He's just adrift in a lot of aspects of his life. And his ex-wife really did a number on him so he doesn't trust easily. Even with me."

"I'll admit I was happy when Sierra told me about you and Gavin. You two are good for each other. But between us, I won't tell him that, in case he gets it in his fool head to rebel against my approval and break it off with you."

"Deal. And I won't tell him he was acting like an a.s.s."

"Oh, no, go right ahead and tell him that part."

After Vi left Rielle heated up a plate of leftovers. One thing that hadn't changed in their relations.h.i.+p was separate mealtimes. She'd done that intentionally-it'd be easy to get into the habit of cooking for him and Sierra and horn in on their family time.

Gavin was frustrated by Rielle's "separatist" att.i.tude. But Sierra needed that alone time with her father. Just the two of them, cooking together and catching up on their days.

Rielle found Gavin upstairs, watching a game. She plopped down beside him. "You all right?"