She hadn’t known about Doug’s drug use until it was too late. She only learned about it in court when she sat in the back and listened to every word of testimony from people the defense had called. They’d still convicted Brody Whitebear of manslaughter when in her heart it had been murder.
But it was manslaughter. She could say that now after years of healing and years of reading through the testimony and coming to terms with what she couldn’t believe when she was in the throes of dealing with her brother’s death. Brody hadn’t meant to kill her brother. He’d been protecting his sister. She would have done the same thing for Doug.
But she hadn’t known her brother at all. She’d missed all the signs of trouble. Some days that hurt more than anything else did. More than losing him. More than learning the truth.
But she still hated Brody. It didn’t seem fair, but it was because of him that Tara didn’t have the opportunity to make amends with her brother or help him.
As she pulled out of her parking space and began her drive back to town, she glanced in the rearview mirror. That was her regret. That was her mistake. She couldn’t blame Brody for that. She could accept that now that Doug’s death had been a stupid accident. It had taken her years to get to this point. Her denial had been born of anger, stupidity, and a destructive lifestyle that her brother had chosen.
And Brody had paid his debt for his part in it. There was no use making him suffer more because he still had to live with his part for the rest of his life. Anything that she did now to hurt Brody only served to be a cancer inside of her. It would continue to grow until it killed her.
With tears in her eyes, she pulled onto the main road. She had to let this go. She could’ve messed up Brody’s life because of her bitterness, something he didn’t deserve. It made her look like a fool in her own community. But if there hadn’t been physical evidence and if Trip hadn’t stepped up to vouch for Brody, he would’ve gone to jail for something he didn’t do. They would have believed her over him, a convict. She couldn’t live with that any more than Brody deserved it.
* * *
Brody watched the dust fly as Tara drove down the driveway and turned onto the road leading to town. He should still be angry with her. And he had been. But he knew full well how toxic anger could be.
Yes, what she’d done was wrong and it could have done major damage to his life. But he couldn’t help but think about how fired up she’d been in defending her position. He hadn’t wanted to notice just how pretty those dark eyes were when they were full of fire. Or the way her nose turned up just a bit, punctuated when she lifted her chin in defiance.
He could still see the way her hips swayed as she’d waltzed out of the barn, not once but twice. Brody didn’t date much at all. He wasn’t any place long enough and when he did manage to stay some place for a few months at a time, there was always an element of fear and mistrust as soon as a woman learned of his past. He still had a lot to work on in life without having to bring the trouble of a woman into it.
He smiled as he turned back to the barn and walked inside. He had no business in there except to remember. He walked up to the first stall and saw the little foal that was now standing strong on four legs.
Life ends and then there is rebirth. That’s what he was feeling. And for once, it felt good.
* * *
She’d given it a few days of work and dealing with insurance forms and phone calls before Tara couldn’t stand it anymore. Dixie was back at work, but Norma was now calling her on her cell phone to make sure she was at the store before she came with the bakery items. She’d been too shook up by the break in to feel comfortable waiting for her in the back parking lot to deliver the baked goods.
Tara couldn’t say she blamed her. More than a few times she’d been alone in the store, moving displays to fill in the empty space until new items arrived and she’d been overcome with fear at the thought someone might be there. She’d started locking the back door during the day and had given Dixie a key.
But things were getting back to normal. There was a rodeo this weekend in the next town which meant there’d be customers in her store again, something she desperately needed not only for money but also for her sanity. She needed normal again.
“You got some new stuff delivered,” Dixie said as she breezed into the store. “I brought into the stockroom. It’s from that Native American artist you like so much.”
“Shana was here?” Tara asked.
“Yeah, she was sitting in her car when I pulled into the back. She said she knocked but no one answered. I don’t know how long she’d been sitting there.”
Tara’s shoulders sagged. This was too much. How was she going to do business if she lost her vendors? “Guess the next thing I’ll have to do is install a doorbell out back. Thanks for taking care of it, Dixie.”
“You look like you’re still brooding,” she said, looking inside the pastry case at the goodies.
“Norma made triple fudge brownies,” Tara said, reading Dixie’s mind.
Dixie gasped. “Really? Where?”
“Last case. Take one. They’re good.”
“You had one?”
She lifted her hand and showed two fingers.
Dixie’s mouth dropped open. “That good?”
“I skipped lunch. And yes. Norma made
