The Turbulence of Butterflies (Max Howard Series Book 6)

by Fischer G. Hayes

  Clete was bent over the grill and under the hood of his truck when I drove up. The driver’s side door was still open and the engine was running. He lifted himself off the truck and wiped his hands on an old cloth rag. The man had a grin on him that reached from ear to ear. He was the happiest go lucky man I knew, but obsessive in his work ethic. His truck probably didn’t sound right to him and he was going to fix it before he did anything else.

  “Hey, Max. That was something else, huh?” he said referring to the scene at the Pape Ranch. “Do they know who it was?”

  “Not yet.”

  “I’m glad it wasn’t Tomás. You want some tea?”

  “If you have it.”

  “We sure do. Go sit up on the porch. I’ll get us some as soon as I turn off the engine.”

  I waited for him, then we walked up to the front porch and Clete went inside. I took a seat on one of the rockers he had bought from the feed store in town. A local fella made them and I had bought a couple of them myself.

  After a few minutes he and Janice came back outside with the iced tea. I got up and gave Janice a hug hello.

  “Where have you been, Max? We haven’t visited in months.”

  “I know. The Pape Ranch is taking so much of my time I may as well move out there.”

  Clete grinned. “Don’t start,” I said to him. I knew he’d already got the full story from Emily. He was my foreman and a damn good man, but he still knew too much about my business thanks to all the women in my family who felt the need to share with others was just being sociable. Janice was plugged into the Howard family grapevine as much as Clete was.

  “How’s Sunny? I heard about her sister. Is there anything we can do?”

  “She’s due to come back any day now. If her sister hasn’t passed by then, she’ll have to go back. Katie will probably stay.”

  “Well, we’ll help take care of her, don’t you worry,” Janice said.

  We sat there for a few minutes enjoying our tea. It was sweet with lots of sugar and tart from the quarter slice of lemon; just as I liked it. It was good Texas sun tea. It reminded me of when I was a boy on the ranch.

  “I need to ask another favor of you, Clete.”

  I could see the look of concern in his eyes. Clete was a big man and Janice had him on a diet. She’d have a fit if she knew I had bought him a po-boy for lunch. I figured he was worried I was going to spill the beans.

  “Sure. Whacha need?”

  “Have you seen that young buck with the one set of horns around lately?”

  “I see him once in a while; mostly in the evenings down by the corn feeder. Ever since he was shot he’s been real skittish”

  “You having any luck with the feeder?”

  “Oh, yeah. I could take more’n a couple of hogs a day if I had the time. The problem is, our freezer is full and there are so many feral hogs in Solms County now, you can’t give them away, even if you clean them. I quit putting corn out. I can take plenty without bait.”

  “If you see that buck, try and get a good picture of him for me on your phone. I’d appreciate it.”

  “Sure, we’ll go out this evening after supper.”

  “Well, Janice, thank you for the iced tea. You make the best.”

  “I know how you like it, Max. Tell Sunny I’m here for her.”

  “I will. Clete, walk with me to the truck.”

  I didn’t say anything until we were away from the house. “I guess, you heard, I kicked Kevin out of the house.”

  “Yes, sir. I got an earful from Miss Emily. But I understand why you had to do it.”

  “I knew you would. If something were to happen to me, you make sure he understands. He’s a good kid, really.”

  “Yes, sir, he is.”

  “I want to see what he’s made of. You get that, right?”

  “I think he’ll do all right. He just hasn’t had the chance to try on all you taught him, is all.”

  “That’s on me, sad to say. Thanks, Clete.”

  “Is there something else bothering you? You seem itchy.”

  How much did I tell Clete? I figured it was best just to let him know to be prepared without going into any detail. I had no proof; only an uneasy feeling and of course, my suspicions.

  “If you see a black jaguar on the ranch, shoot it. Don’t hesitate; put it down.”

  “There’s another jaguar?”

  “It’s on the Pape place now, but I suspect we might see it here before long.”

  “I’ll take care of it, don’t you worry, Max. He’s deader than that big ol’ tusker I took several months back.”

  Clete was one of the best hunters I knew of in the county. Making him aware of the jaguar should have made me feel better, but it didn’t. I didn’t feel like this new jaguar showing up on the Pape Ranch had anything to do with a new animal totem for my spiritual path. When Angelina had first arrived she’d tried to convince me that my animal spirit was the great blue heron. We had never really bonded and so the spotted jaguar, Buster, had filled the void until his death. I wasn’t ready for another run at having an animal totem.

  Chapter 15

  Emily was someone I felt in awe of most of the time. Never mind that she was my daughter and I was damn proud of her. She was everything I struggled to be and it seemed to come naturally to her. When she spoke, I generally listened. I didn’t necessarily do as she asked or take her advice in some matters she felt I needed guidance with, but I gave her opinions my attention. That trait seemed to aggravate her and the other women in my life for some reason and I could never understand why.

  Anyway, our conversation had not gone well after I returned to the Meeting Center. To say that she was exasperated with my parenting skills in regards to the situation with Kevin was an understatement. Being the good parent that I was, though, and despite her opinions to the contrary, I kept my mouth shut and let her vent. When she was done, I gave her a fatherly hug, which was like hugging a cast iron flag pole in the dead of winter, and I left without any further comment. Sometimes there was just no point in defending myself with people. Their mind was already made up and I wasn’t going to change it.

  The issue for me at the moment-aside from Kevin-was the possibility that Angelina’s bad Mayan mojo had returned to the ranch. Everything else paled in comparison. Kevin’s predicament and my family’s reaction to Kevin being kicked out of the house weren’t going to keep me up at night anymore; I’d lost enough sleep already. Angelina’s bad karma in the form of the Magali’s ghost would, however. The ghost or spirit of Angelina’s mother was not something I could express my concerns about to others without sounding like I was deranged. I was now as reluctant to talk about this new development as much as Tomás was

  It wasn’t like I had any proof that she had come back, just the suspicion that she had unfinished business with me. A second jaguar showing up in my life, however, was just too much of a coincidence to ignore and proof that the whole business with Angelina had not run its course. My former foreman, Juan Fuentes, had said his wife and Angelina had been lost crossing a swollen river in Mexico, but had she really?

  That evening, I went into town for a pizza. I picked up a six pack of Shiner Bock to go with it and I was all set for the evening out on the patio with a couple of beers to watch the sunset. I figured it was the last good meal I could get away with before Sunny returned to Texas, which I had begun to have second thoughts about. Maybe it was safer if she stayed out there in Washington State.

  When I had finished half the pizza it was around nine. I knew the graduation ceremonies were probably over by then and I hoped the kids would stay at home to celebrate. Ariana didn’t strike me as the type who would want to party the night away. Unfortunately, Kevin was. It was too dangerous to be out and about in New Haven on graduation night and I was tempted to call Kevin to remind him of all the drunk drivers on the road, but I blew it off. Kevin didn’t need me to remind him of anything. Besides, it was time to see what Sunny was thinking about and when and
if she was coming home. I had it in the back of my mind after four beers that she might not.

  “Hey, you cayuse. How’s my girl?” I said when Katie answered Sunny’s phone. I wanted to ask her what she was doing for fun, but she didn’t give me the chance.

  “Are you taking care of Apple?” she demanded without so much as a hello.

  I was feeling just too mellow lying in Sunny’s lounge chair and working on my fourth beer to let my daughter get me down. “I sure am. She’s so spoiled she’s not gonna want to fool with you,” I replied.

  “Baloney,” she said.

  That was not a word I’d heard her use before, but I knew where it came from. It was a favorite expression of Sunny’s oldest sister. Everything was baloney to her. It was definitely time to bring Katie home. There was no telling what else she was learning out there.

  “Let me speak to your Mom, Katie. I love you, Sweetheart.”

  “I’m mad at you. Why did you tell Kevin to leave?”

  Surprise, surprise. “He has his own family now. He has to find a job so he can pay for a place for them to live in,” I said to keep it simple for her.

  “Baloney.”

  “Go get your mother, Katie, Darl’n.”

  Sunny took her time coming to the phone. “What?” she demanded.

  “I just wanted to see how you’re doing and if you were coming home anytime soon.”

  “Did you go the graduation?”

  “Oh, thanks for telling me about that, by the way. No, I didn’t go. They didn’t want me there.”

  “I wonder why?”

  “They’re young and think it’s all about them. Life is so much easier when you’re teenagers in love and it’s just the two of you against old world ideas.”

  “You’re impossible.”

  “Will you stop worrying about them? Ariana has a job at the Center. They won’t starve any time soon. Kevin should have a job by the time she has the baby.”

  “What about his education? How is he going to go to school and work a fulltime job?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, Sunny. That’s up to him. Life is full of choices and he has to learn to live with them. If he wants his degree bad enough he will find a way, or he won’t.”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t think like that. I’m going to help them.”

  “You are helping them. Who do you think is paying Ariana’s salary? The Center isn’t making any money.”

  “We’ll have to do more. They need a place to live.”

  “Let Kevin work that out.”

  “No. He’s my son and that’s my grandbaby. I’m going to help him find a place.”

  “Listen, Grandma, let’s not have a falling out over this. Give Kevin a chance to handle this. We’re his safety net, if he can’t. He needs the chance to stand on his own two feet.”

  “Grandma! God, don’t you dare call me that again.”

  “I’ll try to remember. When are you coming home?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to deal with Ariana or her parents. They blame Kevin. Why is all of this happening now?”

  “You want me to call the Alvarados and remind them it takes two to tango?”

  “Don’t you dare call them. I’ve already spoken to Ariana’s mother,” she said.

  “Sounds like you need a little TLC yourself. You want me to come out there? We can fly back together.”

  “Would you, Max? I’m so exhausted.”

  “Will my scalp be safe, if I set foot on the Lummi Reservation?”

  I heard a slight snort on the other end of the call and I took it as a good sign.

  “I don’t know. I’ll speak to the war council and see if I can get some kind of guarantee for your safety during your visit. When can you come?”

  “I’ll get a flight out tomorrow. I’ll call you as soon as I know the flight.”

  “Tell me this will be okay, Max.”

  “It will, Sunny. I love Kevin, too. Good night.”

  After I closed the call, I gathered up the pizza box, picked up my empty bottles, and went inside to pack. There were still slices of pizza left and I squirreled them away in the back of the freezer for those times when I needed real sustenance.

  I was going to get my wife and child and bring them back to Texas where they belonged and I felt elated at the prospect, though concerned. Going out to Washington was always such a strain on Sunny and it seemed to take something out of her. Those people out there thought differently than regular folks from Texas and her gentle spirit paid a price for her visits to the Lummi Reservation. And, I had reconsidered the threat that Magali posed and now felt that it was better to have my family close rather than way out there. I could protect them better here on the ranch from whatever evil that was about to visit us again.

  . . .

  I flew into Seattle the next day and rented a car. I could travel by car to Bellingham faster than waiting for a connecting flight out of SEATAC to Bellingham and I was anxious to see my girls.

  Earlier, while waiting on my flight out of San Antonio, I had called James Lee to bring him up to speed on what had happened at the Pape Ranch. Well, almost all of what happened; I left out what Tomás had told me. I informed my son that I was leaning toward selling the ranch, but that I wanted him to still estimate the projected costs for the commercial development of the ranch. I thought we needed to see the big picture before we closed on any sale of the property. Dealing with all of the infrastructure and acquiring the capital needed for the project was more than I was qualified to do and I knew James Lee had the people in his organization that could crunch the numbers. I gave him Hannah’s and Shane’s numbers in case something delayed me out in Washington. I also asked him about getting some security for the site and he said he’d look into it. I called Shane and told him I didn’t want him or Hannah on the Pape Ranch under any circumstances until I returned.

  When I approached the Interstate 5 Exit for the Lummi Indian Nation’s Tribal Reservation, I called Sunny to let her know where I was.

  “You’re here?” I could hear the anticipation in her voice.

  “Almost. Will I need a police escort to ensure my safety on the res?”

  “It’s been taken care of. I told them you came in peace and were bald now. Besides we were always suckers for white men waving a white flag. I booked us a room at the new hotel at the airport. It’s cramped here at the house with all the family. Get checked in. Katie and I’ll meet you there in about half an hour.”

  “How are you going to get there?”

  “I’ll have someone drive us. Everyone is here now for Ruby.”

  If I wasn’t the mature, self-assured man that I was, I might have wondered why that once again on another visit to the Reservation, the older white-man and husband was being kept away from the wife’s family. All the more reason, I told myself, to get Sunny and my daughter back to Texas. I wondered if Sunny’s first husband had also experienced that with her family. Probably not; they were closer in age. Her family probably saw me as nothing more than an old white man lusting after one of their beautiful young Indian maidens. “Well, you are, aren’t you?” I said to myself as I went around the round-about and headed back south toward the airport. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Sunny.

  That evening we went out to dinner at a seafood restaurant in Squalicum Harbor. I was in the mood for fresh caught wild salmon.

  “Seth said there wasn’t any such thing as a unicorn,” Katie informed me once we were seated.

  I hadn’t brought up the subject of her pony yet, mostly out of guilt, and I was hoping she wouldn’t. I’d neglected to brush it even once. Seth must have been one of her dozen or so cousins she had on the Reservation and I had yet to meet, I told myself. What surprised me was that Katie was such an ardent believer in unicorns when she had left. Her room was a shrine to the imaginary icon. My little girl was growing up too fast on the res.

  “Well, I’m no expert,” I said and took out my phone. “Seri, show me a narwhal,” I said int
o the phone. I showed Katie the image that was displayed.

  “Momma, look.”

  Katie showed her mother the picture and Sunny nodded. I took the phone back and found the group of images Clete had sent me while I was in route to Seattle. I selected one that showed the one-horned buck from the side.

  “Clete took this. He’s the one I saw cavorting out in the pasture. It sure looks like a unicorn to me.”

  “That’s a deer,” Katie said disappointedly.

  “Are you sure?”

  Katie gave me that eye I knew well from her mother. She seemed to have perfected it while she was out here and it said to me she was no fool.

  “Did you know Kevin and Ariana are married? Evidently, they’re of legal age in Mexico and have been married for almost a month,” Sunny said.

  “No, I didn’t know that,” I said sheepishly. Kevin should have told me that. “At least he did the right thing, even if it was in Mexico and probably not legal in the States.”

  “Ariana’s parents couldn’t afford to pay for a wedding. Emily said Kevin has rented a garage apartment from Ariana’s uncle. It feels so weird not being able to talk to him. I hate it.”

  “I didn’t realize you couldn’t.”

  “I want him to call me. I’m his mother.”

  I smiled to myself. Sunny frowned back at me, though. Katie was sitting next to me in the booth and when she saw her mother frown across the table from us, she turned and frowned at me too. I frowned back at her and we were locked into a staring contest until the waitress arrived to take our order.

  “Give him a month. If he hasn’t found a job I’ll have Shane offer him a job on his crew.”

  “Clearing trees?”

  “It’s honest work.”

  “Should I call him?” she asked.

  “You’re asking my opinion?” I was shocked and it must have registered on my face.

  “You’re right; it was a moment of weakness. I’ll call him when we get home,” Sunny said.

  . . .