I pick up a sun-bleached photo of Mollie. She was really fucking cute as a kid. Blonde pigtails. Big smile that showed off the two front teeth she was missing. There are countless photos of her on horseback. More’n a little shocking to see City Girl cheesing it on top of a gorgeous, spotted Appaloosa. But she looks at ease in the saddle. Happy, even. Wonder if she misses it. The horses, the sunshine. The wide-open spaces of life in Hill Country. I shove that thought aside in an attempt to ease the ache in my chest.
