Texas Homecoming

by Carolyn Brown

  “I’d love to,” Stevie said, and then remembered that she had a date with Cody.

  He’ll have to understand, Stevie thought. Mia will want the whole family at the dinner so they can meet Beau, and Cody will want to pass judgment on the kid anyway.

  “Great!” Mia said.

  Mia went out into the corral with the alpacas. She petted each one, giving the babies even more attention by crooning to them like they were human. “Poppa, what are you naming the new cria?” she asked.

  “That’s up to your nana,” Sonny said.

  “Since her sister’s name is Dixie for that group and all these cats running around here are named for country music ladies, maybe we call her Patsy or Reba,” Pearl answered.

  “Reba sounds more Southern, don’t you think, Stevie?” Mia asked.

  “Kind of does,” Stevie answered. So much for tough love. She would bet dollars to cow patties that Mia had already said something to Pearl about naming the new cria Reba.

  “Then Reba it is,” Pearl said.

  “I should get on back to the bunkhouse,” Stevie said as she stood up, “and get all the things y’all loaned me washed and ironed.”

  Pearl laid a hand on her shoulder. “Honey, you don’t worry with that. We’ll just throw them in with our stuff tomorrow morning after Cody gives you a ride home.”

  “Thank you,” Stevie said with a smile, “y’all have been so good to me. I’ve enjoyed getting to spend time with you.”

  A couple of huge icicles fell from the edge of the barn at the same time and broke into millions of pieces when they hit the barn floor right in front of the chairs, the noise sounding like someone throwing a brick through a glass window. Mia squealed and threw her hands over her head. Pearl jumped up and shielded Sonny’s body with hers. Stevie dropped to her knees behind the lawn chair.

  “What was that?” Sonny asked.

  “Just icicles,” Mia gasped. “Good thing you weren’t sitting outside, Poppa. If one of those things hit you, Uncle Cody would be sewing you up.”

  The expression on Mia’s face went from happy to scared to sad all in a split second, and then she said, “I’m going to the house now. Poppa and Nana, scoot your chair back a little way. There’s lots more of those icicles just waiting to fall off the barn roof. I’ll see y’all at supper.”

  Stevie straightened up. “That was a close call. It sounded like someone throwing bottles at us. Might be a good idea to do what Mia suggested and move both of your chairs back a couple of feet. You could still see the babies out there romping around.” She looked up at several more icicles dripping water and threatening to let go of the edge of the roof.

  Sonny got to his feet and moved his chair back a little way. “Wouldn’t it be something if the Dixie Chicks and Reba ever got together on a tour?”

  “If that happens, we’ll buy the tickets, and all of us will go see them,” Pearl told her, and whispered under her breath for Stevie’s ears only as she moved her chair, “Mia is upset about something. Can you check on her?”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Stevie said with a slight nod. “See you later, Sonny.”

  He waved over his shoulder.

  Stevie found Mia outside the barn, bent over at the waist and sobbing so hard that she could hardly catch her breath. Stevie put her arm around the girl’s shoulders and said, “Want to talk about it?”

  Mia rose and wiped her tears on the sleeve of her mustard yellow work coat. “Yes, please, but in the bunkhouse, not at home.”

  “Are you having second thoughts about inviting Beau to dinner?” Stevie asked as they made their way down the pathway, which was fast becoming a sloshy mess instead of being slick with ice.

  “No, I really like him and want to see what the family thinks about him,” Mia answered.

  Stevie gave her some space, both mentally and physically. She wanted to hug Mia and tell her everything was going to be all right, not to let things upset her that much, but she kept quiet.

  When they were out of the cold and in the warm bunkhouse, Mia removed her coat and threw it on the rocking chair, then collapsed on the end of the sofa. Stevie sat down beside her and draped a supporting arm around her shoulders again.

  “That icicle…” Mia stammered, “could have killed Poppa…” She hiccuped. “If he’d set his chair even closer to the corral like he usually does. It really scared me, and then I got to thinking about him not being…” More tears flooded her cheeks. “You know, not being here all the time.”

  “But he didn’t sit closer because Pearl didn’t want the cold breeze to hit him. She takes good care of him, so you don’t have to worry,” Stevie said.

  “It breaks my heart that I disappointed him and Nana so much.” Mia had gotten the crying jag somewhat under control, but she kept hiccuping. “I took what all they had done for me for granted, and I can’t ever undo what I did. Every time I look at those alpacas, I think about how foolish I was.”

  “Sometimes, it takes a pretty hard shock to wake us up.” Stevie went to the bedroom and brought back a box of tissues. “I wish I would have come home a year before I did, or that I would have started a vet service here when I first got out of school. I missed years and years with my mama.”

  “I can’t bear to think of not having Poppa and Nana around.” Mia pulled a tissue out of the box and blew her nose. “I would have never forgiven myself if something had happened to either of them while I was off blowing my money on Ricky.”

  “Neither of them would want you to worry like this,” Stevie told her, “but I understand how you feel.”

  “Thank you,” Mia said. “It’s been a tough year. This time last year I just stopped going to classes so I could pay the bills on the apartment Ricky and I were living in. I wound up going through thousands of dollars that I had in my savings, then I sold my sheep, and we ran off together.”

  Stevie’s phone rang, and she pulled it out of her hip pocket. “This is Stevie O’Dell,” she said without looking at the caller ID.

  “This is Raymond Green, and I’ve got a horse tangled up in a roll of barbed wire. I think she might need stitches,” he said.

  “I’ll be right over,” Stevie said and took down directions to his house, and then she remembered that she didn’t have a vehicle. She held the phone out from her face and asked Mia, “You reckon we could use the work truck for an hour or so? Raymond Green has a horse with a problem.”

  “I’m sure we can,” Mia answered as she dried her tears. “Does that mean I can go with you?”

  “Of course,” Stevie said. “You can even drive if you want to. We just need to get some supplies out of the van and put them in a duffel bag. We’re going to have to untangle some barbed wire from a horse’s leg and stitch up a gash.”

  Mia took her phone from her hip pocket and called her mother. “Mama, Stevie has to go check on Raymond Green’s horse. Can we use the work truck, and is it okay if I go with her?” She listened for a few seconds and said, “Yes, ma’am.”

  Then she hopped up, picked up her coat, and said, “Mama says we can use the truck anytime we need it and if it hadn’t been close by, we could have used her SUV. I’ll jog up to the house, drive the truck to the barn, and pick you up.” She was putting on her coat as she dashed outside.

  Stevie dumped what was left in her go bag onto the bed, put a few things in it, and then threw an apple into the bag before she left the bunkhouse and jogged to the barn. By the time Mia drove up, Stevie had loaded what supplies she thought she would need out of the van and was waiting at the door.

  “I know where Raymond lives,” Mia said. “It’s just a couple of miles toward town from here. We can be there in a few minutes. That poor horse has to be in a lot of pain. I’ve always wanted a horse, but Poppa says no. Daddy says that when he was a little boy Poppa had to put his horse to sleep, and that he’d had him for more than twenty years, even before they adopted Daddy and Uncle Cody and Uncle Lucas. Having to do that hurt him so badly that he wouldn’t have ano
ther horse on the place.” Mia rambled on and on the entire distance.

  When Mia turned in to the lane leading up to the ranch house, Stevie interrupted her and said, “Keep following the path toward the barn over to the west. The horse is in the corral out back of that.”

  Mia nodded and kept talking. “It would break my heart to lose Maggie. She was my first hembra, and she’s produced a cria every year for me. We’re here.” She braked and turned the engine off. “Can I help carry anything?”

  “No, I’ve got it,” Stevie answered.

  Raymond met them at the gate and opened it for them. “She’s gentle as a lamb. I’ve had her more than fifteen years, and I’ve been using a vet out of Paris, but he retired at Christmas. I’m sure glad that you’re setting up a practice close by.”

  “What’s her name?” Stevie asked.

  “Buttercup,” Raymond said. “I’m not against taking orders if you need help.”

  Stevie started by rubbing the horse’s nose and speaking softly to her. “Hello, Buttercup. I’m here to help you. I promise to be as gentle as possible. Looks like you’ve got a nasty cut on your leg. We can fix that right up, and you’ll be all better soon.”

  She dropped down on one knee and opened her bag. She removed a pair of wire cutters and began to snip the barbed wire away in pieces, a little at a time. “Good girl. You’re doing just fine. We’ll get this nasty old stuff off you in just a little bit and clean this up. Raymond, will you take all these pieces and put them in the trash, please?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said.

  “And, Mia, get out that bottle of povidone-iodine and the chlorhexidine. That’s what we’ll use to clean the gash. From what I’m seeing, it’s not deep enough to need stitches, but we’ll treat it with some antibiotic and wrap the wound with a sterile bandage. I’d like to check on it every three days, if that’s all right with you, Raymond,” Stevie said.

  “Anything you need,” Raymond said, and nodded in agreement.

  “How do you know whether to stitch or not?” Mia asked.

  “It’s a judgment call most of the time, but this is below the knee and it’s not deep enough to see soft tissue. Stitching it would probably make it swell. We’ll just wrap it up good, and you probably should keep her in a stall for a few days. Get her out and walk her for maybe twenty minutes each day,” Stevie said as she cleaned the wound, treated it with antibiotic cream, and then wrapped it up. “How long has it been since she had a tetanus vaccination?”

  “Two years last month,” Raymond said. “I was waiting until the weather got better to call you to come out and vaccinate the cattle and get her up to date on her shots.”

  “I’ll take care of her today, and we can make a date next week for me to come out here to check the cattle.” Stevie took what she needed from the bag and gave the horse a shot. “That’s a good girl,” she said and then brought out the apple. “And here’s your lollipop for not kicking me or throwing a fit.”

  Raymond removed his cowboy hat and scratched his bald head. “You’re really good, Miz O’Dell.”

  “Just Stevie,” she said, “and thank you. I love animals, and I think they should be treated with respect and love.”

  “Pretty good way to look at things,” Raymond said. “What do I owe you?”

  “I’ll bring a bill when we check her in three days, or if you like, I can bill you at the end of each month for whatever services I render,” Stevie told him.

  “Fair enough. I’ll be calling on you, so billing me will make it easier for both of us.” Raymond hooked a thumb in Buttercup’s halter and gave a gentle tug. “Come on, baby girl. We’ll get you in a nice clean stall, and I’ll be out tomorrow morning to walk you around the corral.”

  “See you soon.” Stevie gathered up her things and headed toward the pickup.

  “That was amazing!” Mia said. “Were you serious about treating all animals with love?”

  “Yep, I was,” Stevie said.

  Mia slid behind the steering wheel and asked, “Even the two-legged kind like Uncle Cody?”

  “Only if he doesn’t kick and eats the apple all in one bite like Buttercup.” Stevie put her bag on the wide bench seat and got into the passenger side of the truck.

  “I’m going to love working with you,” Mia giggled.

  “Right back atcha, kiddo,” Stevie said.

  * * *

  Cody flopped down on the sofa that evening and said, “Dad got a hold of Bubba, the guy who owns the tire shop and wrecker service in Honey Grove. He can’t get out here until Monday, but he’ll bring four new tires out and put them on your van then.”

  Stevie brought two cups of coffee from the kitchen area and set them on the coffee table. “That was sweet of him to do that for me.”

  “He likes you,” Cody said. “The whole family does.”

  “Well, I like them right back.” Stevie sunk down in her spot on the sofa. “Where’s Tex tonight?”

  “He went home with Mama and Dad. He migrates between the three places, and we all spoil him,” Cody answered. “Mia tells me that we’re both going to be having Sunday dinner at the ranch house. What happened to our date? You afraid to be alone with me?”

  Stevie kicked off her boots and drew her legs up onto the sofa. “I’m alone with you now.”

  “But now, we’re roommates or friends, not a couple on a date,” he argued.

  “How about we go out the next Friday night?” she asked. “It’s important to Mia that we all be there when Beau comes to dinner.”

  “It’s true. I do want to meet the kid. But how about tomorrow night instead of waiting a week?” Cody asked.

  “I’m going to be busy getting settled back into my own place tomorrow night,” she told him, “but if you want to come over and have pizza and a movie night with me, then we could call that a date.”

  “Will I get a good night kiss?” he teased.

  “I don’t usually give those out on first dates,” she answered.

  “How many second dates have you been on?” he asked.

  She cocked her head to one side. “Not sure that’s any of your business, Doctor.”

  There was no getting ahead of this woman. “Ha! Fair enough,” he answered. “But you can at least tell me if there was ever anyone serious, right?”

  “There were a couple.” She shrugged. “They were good guys—respectful and kind—but I backed away when they wanted a serious commitment.”

  “Same for me,” Cody said. He had never discussed his past love life with anyone, but he found it a little liberating to talk about it, even in generalities.

  “What was your fear of committing?” he asked. “Was it your father? Was he the perfect man in your mind?”

  Stevie shook her head. “I don’t have daddy issues, and I’ve known for years that my dad was far from perfect. He was a quiet man of few words, who loved reading and big band music. He left most of the business of raising me up to my mother, but I loved him and accepted things the way they were. I didn’t hate him, and when he died suddenly at the end of my junior year in high school, I missed him something fierce,” she answered.

  “Then who was the perfect man in your life?” Cody asked.

  “You, Cody Ryan”—Stevie locked gazes with him—“were the cowboy I’d built up in my mind to be perfect, even after you broke up with me. But believe me, I’ve found out that you do not belong on the pedestal I had you on, and for that, I’m very grateful for these past few days.”

  Cody finally blinked and looked away. “I’ve never been perfect, Stevie—far from it. I’m sorry that your idea of me has ruined what might have brought you happiness.”

  “I’m not.” She shrugged. “Mama always said that God protects drunks and fools. Maybe I was a fool to have such an idea, but then again maybe having it kept me from making a huge mistake in my life.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Leaving Sunflower Ranch was a little anticlimactic the next morning. Stevie simply put the things that be
longed to her in her go bag and tossed the clothing the folks at the ranch had loaned her into an empty laundry basket and left it at the foot of the bed. She had wanted to take it all home and launder it, but Mia wouldn’t hear of it. She sent a text to Mia and told her where she could find the basket and got a simple one back that said, OK c u later.

  She looked around the bedroom to be sure she didn’t need to do anything else and sighed. She was excited to get back to her own house, but she’d made friends here—no, she’d been part of a family. That was even better than making friends, and she would miss it.

  Cody knocked on the frame of the open door and leaned on the jamb. “I thought we would grab some breakfast at the diner. We could call it our first date.”

  “Or we could just call it breakfast,” she said.

  “If I pay for it, and if I walk you to the door when we get to your house, then it’s a date,” he argued.

  Date.

  That was a word Stevie never expected to hear from Cody Ryan. She was happy that he asked her out, so why was she arguing with him?

  Because I love the banter and the vibes it creates, she thought.

  “You win,” she said, “it’s a date.”

  He picked up her coat and held it for her. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a date. It had to have been at least a year before she came home to Texas. That would have been when she and Trenton, her second serious relationship, had broken up. He had been in advertising, was good-looking, and made a lot of money, but he was looking for a wife. When Stevie turned down the ring and the proposal, it was all over, and he had since married another woman only a few months later.

  Wow! Can it really have been that long? she wondered as she picked up her go bag. She took one last look around the bunkhouse and made a mental picture of the whole place. She would miss being here with Cody and miss all the suppers and good times she had had with the whole Ryan family. She and Cody would date—that was a given—but things would never be quite like the time they had spent in the tack room and the bunkhouse.