Redwood Bend

from me—I insisted we stay in close touch and I spent considerable time in Prescott, where he got his degree.”
Katie couldn’t help but laugh at the image of a teenage boy holding on for dear life while his grandmother, who had probably always had a driver, learned to handle a Jeep in the snow, or facing off with a huge, antlered buck. And how about a frisky college freshman putting up with regular visits from his grandmother?
“You were so devoted to him,” Katie said. “I hope he’s that devoted to you.”
“Most of the time,” she said. “He does get his back up when I don’t shrink into the background like a good little granny.”
Katie reached for her hand. “Oh, I think Dylan knows better than to expect that.”

Eighteen

I t was just after lunch when Dylan phoned Katie at the cabin. “Hey,” she said, “where are you?”
“I just stopped by Jack’s to call you. I’m having a hard time getting everything I wanted to do done. Are you feeling okay?”
“Sure. Fine. I can’t wait to hear about all the things you’re trying to do.”
“Oh, you might be surprised. You aren’t wrangling a bear or anything, are you?”
“No, of course not. But, Dylan, your grandmother came by this morning. You missed her.”
“Add that to my list—I should see her,” he said. “Will you be okay till dinner time?”
“Well, I don’t know,” she teased. “I might lose my head and chop down some trees or something…”
“I’ll be satisfied if you stay away from the wildlife,” he said. “I’ll bring the boys home. I should finish everything by the time their program lets out. I can bring us dinner from Jack’s.”
“Are you sure? Because I don’t mind…”
“Take a nap or something. I’ll see you a little later.”
When Dylan went back to the bar from the kitchen he said to Jack, “I’ll need some more directions. I missed my grandmother this morning and she’s staying with Muriel St. Claire. Can you tell me how to get there?”
“Sure thing,” Jack said. He wrote out the route on a napkin. “You’re running all over the place today.”
“It’s turning out that way.”
He went first to Muriel’s to see his grandmother, happy to see how comfortable she was in Muriel’s home. Muriel was out riding with the man in her life, Walt Booth, which left Dylan to have a relaxing visit with Adele on the front porch. He didn’t have to say much—Adele went on at length about how much she enjoyed Katie. “I do hope you’re smart enough to see you have a winner there,” she said to Dylan.
Then Dylan headed for a home under construction in the mountains between Virgin River and Clear River…all these rivers…yet another thing this place had in common with Montana. The house appeared to be nearly finished and he recognized Conner’s truck parked outside. Unfortunately there were other vehicles as well and Dylan had hoped to catch Katie’s brother alone. But with no alternative, he went inside.
The house was filled with the sound of hammering, power saws, air compressors and the scraping and sliding of equipment and large slabs of building materials. There were men putting up drywall, installing hardwood planks and cutting ceramic tiles for the floor. He found Conner in the kitchen, fitting granite counters. “Hey,” he said. Conner looked up. “Got a minute?”
Conner’s first reaction was to frown. He wiped his hands on a rag from his back pocket. “Your face is looking better.”
Dylan almost laughed. “I think yours is improved.”
“Just don’t improve it any more. It hurt like a bitch.”
“I came to ask you a question. Want to step outside?” Dylan asked.
“Let’s just do it here,” Conner said. “In case I need backup.”
“You won’t. I hope we’ve made our peace for Katie’s sake. And for Andy and Mitch.”
“As long as you treat her right, I’ll be fine.”
“I’m going to try my hardest to, Conner, I give you my word. Did you know those boys have never been on a horse? Never had a dog? Never been for a ride in a small plane?”
Conner sighed. “What are you getting at?”
He shrugged. “I have a horse, a dog, a small plane…”
“Yeah? And how should this interest me?”
“If it wouldn’t make you go totally crazy, I’d like to take them back to Montana with me for a couple of days. I have things to attend to there—property, animals and a business. I think they might have fun—it’s a good place. I want them to see where I’ve lived the last