Texas Homecoming

by Carolyn Brown

  “I’m glad these things are only once a year,” Sonny groaned. “I don’t like hotels and being away from my own bed and pillow.”

  Cody thought of all the places where he had slept on a canvas cot without a pillow, maybe catching a couple of hours of sleep at a time. He would have been so glad for a spotlessly clean, warm or air-conditioned hotel some of those nights.

  “Give me time to take a shower to wake me up, and then we’ll go get some breakfast,” Cody said with a yawn. “How hungry are you?”

  “I could probably eat half a ham and two dozen eggs,” Sonny said with a wide grin. “I’ve been up for an hour and already had that last slice of pizza and talked to your mother. She’s making me an apple pie, and we’re going back to our regular way of doing things. I love all you kids, but I like my regular routine.”

  Cody made his way to the bathroom. “Me too, Dad.”

  “Think anything will ever come of whatever this is between you and Stevie?” Sonny asked.

  Cody turned on the shower and adjusted the water, then stepped back to the door. “Who knows? She’s a complicated woman.”

  Sonny’s chuckle came from down deep in his chest. “Aren’t they all? I’ve got a feeling this is more about you than it is about Stevie.”

  Cody nodded. “Dad, am I too old to think about starting a family? I’m almost forty.”

  “I thought that might be what was worrying you,” Sonny said. “I wondered the same thing when we adopted you and Lucas, and it was for nothing. I wasn’t a young whippersnapper when we got you boys. Sometimes a little age comes with a lot of wisdom when it comes to raisin’ kids.”

  “Well, us three boys sure had a good role model, so I hope you are right,” Cody said and closed the door.

  When he had showered, shaved, and gotten dressed in fresh jeans and a plaid shirt, he came out of the bathroom to find Sonny leaning on his cane.

  “I thought maybe you’d drowned in there, son,” he said. “Now I see you were just primping for Stevie.”

  “Maybe I was hoping for a beautiful nurse at the doctor’s office where we’re going,” Cody teased.

  “Son, it don’t take a genius to see that since you and Stevie were stranded you’ve got blinders on when it comes to any other woman,” Sonny told him. “I’ve gathered up all my stuff. Get yours together, and we won’t have to come back up here when we finish breakfast.”

  “Yes, sir,” Cody saluted.

  Sonny shook a finger at him. “Don’t be a smart-ass, or I’ll whoop on you with this cane.”

  “You haven’t lost your sense of humor,” Cody said as he put all his things in his duffel bag, and then picked up his father’s small suitcase.

  “Who says I’m teasing?” Sonny’s old eyes sparkled.

  * * *

  Stevie awoke on Thursday morning after dreaming about kangaroos and emus all night. Her roommate in college had told her that dreams were an omen of things to come. As she put on a pot of coffee and unwrapped a miniature Mr. Goodbar that morning, she wondered if the omen was telling her that she should go, or if it was warning her to stay in Texas. She had binge-watched McLeod’s Daughters after her mother’s death, and remembered an episode about emus—or was it another bird something like them?—that invaded the countryside every so often. Were her dreams telling her to stay away from Australia?

  When the coffee stopped dripping, she poured herself a mug and filled a bowl with fruity-flavored junk cereal. “It says fruit right there on the box, so it has to be good for me.” She remembered telling her mother that more than once, and every time, Ruth would just shake her head and laugh. While Steve ate, she opened her laptop and researched the small town where she would head up the vet clinic if she chose to go to the land down under. From what she could see, it didn’t look much different from the place on the television show. Leaving the actors out, she closed her eyes and thought about the countryside, the problems, and all the other factors that came from living so far away from a city.

  “Am I ready for that kind of heat and living?” she asked herself. “But it would be the adventure of a lifetime, and if I didn’t like it, I could resign…”

  She picked up her phone and called Rodney.

  He answered with “Hey, did you already make up your mind? Which one are you taking? We’ve got a pot going in the office here, and I’ve got money on Australia.”

  “I haven’t made up my mind, but tell me more about the position in Australia,” she said.

  “Aha, so you are leaning that way. They’ll pay for your flight, and there’s a small apartment about forty yards behind the clinic that will be yours free of charge. You will have to sign a two-year contract. I had my lawyer look it over, and it can’t be broken. If you don’t stay two years, then you have to give all your salary back to them. That’s what made me decide on the job in Las Vegas. That and the fact that my wife took one look at that apartment and said there was no way she was raising our two daughters over there for two years. Other than that, it’s a good deal, especially for someone who is single and has no family,” Rodney said.

  “Okay,” Stevie said. “I’m still weighing the pros and cons. I’ll let you know by Monday.”

  “Fair enough,” Rodney said, “but I will tell you this. If Darlene had been willing to go, I would have taken the job. I’ve always been interested in that part of the world.”

  “And besides all that, you really would like to win that bet they’ve got going at the office about which place I’m going to choose, wouldn’t you?” Stevie asked.

  “How did you know?” Rodney laughed out loud.

  “I know all of you,” Stevie answered.

  Rodney chuckled again and said, “I’ll look to hear from you sometime over the weekend or Monday at the latest.”

  “Talk to you then.” Stevie ended the call, finished her breakfast, packed herself a sandwich for lunch, and drove her mother’s car out to the barn so she wouldn’t have to use crutches. She still needed to think, and the tack room was far from finished.

  Her hair stuck to her sweaty neck as she swept the floor. She stopped long enough to tuck the errant strands back up into her ponytail and had started to mop when the door opened. She didn’t need anyone to tell her that Cody had made it home earlier than planned, or that she looked and probably smelled horrible. The afternoon sun caused his body to be nothing more than a silhouette, and even though she wanted to hug him, she hung back and kept the mop in her hands.

  He crossed the room in a couple of long, easy strides. When he picked her up, the mop hit the floor with a thunk, and he spun her around half a dozen times. “I missed you, Stevie O’Dell, so much,” he said when he finally set her down on the floor.

  “I’m a mess…you’re early…” she stammered. “I was going to go home and get cleaned up.”

  “Home! That’s the important word,” he said. “I’ve never been so glad to be back here on the ranch again, and we were only gone two days.” He wrapped his arms around her and then kissed her.

  When the steamy, hot kiss ended, her knees felt like they had no bones in them. “Welcome home, Dr. Cowboy.” She had to catch her breath between words.

  “Best place in the world…love,” he whispered.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The tack room hadn’t been so clean and organized since Cody and Jesse were fourteen and fifteen and had to straighten it up for punishment. That memory put a smile on Cody’s face as he passed through the room on the way to the barn. He and Jesse had snuck out of the house after bedtime one night and met a couple of boys who were old enough to drive out on the road.

  Jesse came through the back door and shook his head. “Are you remembering what I am?”

  “Yep,” Cody said with a grin, “but we agreed the party was worth it.”

  “It was at the time but spending every evening cleaning this place taught me a lesson,” Jesse said.

  “When Mama says no, she means no, and Dad will back her up on it,” Cody said.
<
br />   “That’s right.”

  “Just think about those twin boys you’ve got and how much trouble we used to get into when we were kids and teenagers,” Cody teased.

  “Yes, but that old barn out near Windom where we used to party has been torn down, and kids today would rather sit in front of a television and play video games than go out to an abandoned barn and drink beer.” Jesse shook his head in disgust.

  “History just might repeat itself.” Cody raised both eyebrows. “Sam and Taylor might be more interested in girls and beer than video games.”

  “That’s a bridge way on down the road,” Jesse said. “Right now, they’re more interested in a bottle of formula, and the only women in their lives are their mama, sister, and grandmother.”

  Before Cody could say anything, his phone rang, and when he saw that it was Nate, he said, “I should take this. I’ll meet you out at the pasture in a few minutes.”

  Jesse waved over his shoulder as he left the room. “See you there. Tell Stevie hello.”

  Cody answered the phone on the fourth ring. “Hey, Nate. Where are you these days?”

  “Houston,” Nate answered with his thick British accent. “I thought I was done six month ago, but I’m restless and about to go back. Want to go with me?”

  “Nope. Where are you off to this time?” Cody asked.

  “South Africa,” Nate answered. “The company I’m working for now has built a fairly good-sized new hospital with a surgery and about thirteen rooms near Nieu-Bethesda. I’ve been asked to be the chief. I’ve got a surgeon lined up, but I need another doctor, and I thought of you. It’s a one-year contract instead of six months, and the area is beautiful. I’ve been over there overseeing the building, and now I’m back recruiting a staff. The village has a population of less than two thousand, but we’d serve a large area. Interested?”

  “It’s still a no,” Cody said.

  “Will you at least think about it a few days before you give me your answer?” Nate asked.

  “My dad’s condition is gradually getting worse, and I’m needed here in Texas,” Cody said.

  “What if I sent you pictures of the town and the hospital?” Nate asked. “It’s not as sophisticated as a big medical facility here in the states, but it’s a far cry from a mud hut or a tent.”

  “I’d love to see the pictures, but—” Cody started.

  Nate butted in before he could finish. “Sending them to your phone right now. I’m really excited about this project, mate, and I hope it’s just the beginning of several more centers we can put up in the next ten years. You’d be getting in on the ground floor with me, and you know that we like working together.”

  “We did have some good times,” Cody agreed.

  “Think of those and all the people you could help if you put your name on the dotted line,” Nate said.

  “I’ll think about it, but don’t get your hopes up,” Cody said.

  “That’s fair enough. I’ll look to hear from you in a few days, then. Cheers, old mate,” Nate said, and ended the call.

  Cody took time to scroll through the pictures. Compared to the hospital he had just been in with his dad, the facility looked really small, but when he remembered working out of a one-room place with a generator for power, it was downright beautiful. The photo of the village, which sat at the base of a lush green mountain range, was different from anywhere he had been sent before. If his dad hadn’t been on the decline, or if Stevie hadn’t come into his life, he would have jumped at the chance to work with his old friend.

  He tucked the phone back into his hip pocket and got on one of the four-wheelers, intending to join Jesse in the west pasture. If it wasn’t too wet, they would be plowing that morning. He hadn’t even had time to start the vehicle when his phone rang again. This time it was Gracie Langston.

  “Dr. Ryan,” he answered. “What’s your problem, Gracie?”

  “I’ve got strep throat and maybe pneumonia. A fever for sure. Fifi’s puppies have made me sick.” Her tone sounded downright nasal. “The doctor’s office doesn’t have any appointments available, and I need help. I could die before Monday.”

  “I doubt you’re going to die, Gracie. But I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Cody slung his leg off the four-wheeler and jogged to the ranch house.

  Addy and Mia were both in the kitchen when he got inside. “Hey, Addy, sounds like Gracie Langston has a fever and is asking if we can come check her out so she doesn’t die before the doctor’s office opens on Monday. You free?”

  “Dying, huh?” Addy chuckled, knowing her neighbor’s hypochondriac tendencies. “Yeah, I can go with you. Watch the boys for me?” Addy asked Mia.

  “Sure thing,” Mia replied.

  “And will you call Jesse and let him know I’ll be back as soon as I can?” Cody asked.

  “Of course. And if Dad needs me to go help plow, I’ll call Nana to come babysit until you get back. And if Gracie has to go to the hospital, you can bring Fifi and her puppies home with you. I’ll babysit them until she gets well.”

  “Oh, no!” Addy shook her head. “If those dogs come to the ranch, you’ll never let them go back. If Gracie has to be away for a few days, she can hire someone to go to her house and take care of her animals.”

  Addy tossed Cody the keys to her SUV and grabbed a sweater on her way out the door. “I saw Stevie’s van leaving a few minutes ago. Where’s she off to?”

  “Glen Watson needs a cow checked for something or other, so she’s on her way to Dodd City,” Cody said as he got into the SUV and started the engine. “Do you remember me talking about Nate?”

  “Your doctor buddy?” Addy asked.

  “He called this morning, and…” He told her what Nate had offered him as they drove into town.

  “Are you thinking about taking him up on it?” Addy asked.

  “I told him no,” Cody said. “Dad might need more and more medical help. Jesse needs me on the ranch. It takes both of us to do what Dad used to do on his own. Before long, we’ll be hiring summer help and then…” He paused. “There’s this thing with Stevie.”

  “But your heart kind of aches for the job, doesn’t it?” Addy asked. “I remember when I first came to the ranch. I missed nursing so much. I knew I was doing good here as a personal nurse to Sonny, and the ranch was a good fit for Mia. But…” She shrugged. “All I can say is it wasn’t easy. These days, at least, I get to be your nurse. But don’t ever let me keep you from doing what your heart is telling you to do.”

  Cody hadn’t even thought of how taking the job would affect Addy. “Hey, I’m not going anywhere,” he assured her. “There will always be job opportunities, but right now I want to spend all the time that I can with Dad.” He parked in front of Gracie’s house and took his doctor bag from the back seat.

  Gracie met them at the door and motioned for them to come on into the house. Pink floral paper covered the walls. Frilly lace curtains hung over the windows. Doilies were under every lamp, on top of every table, and even graced the backs and arms of her rose-colored sofa.

  “Where do you want me so you can check my throat and lungs?” she asked. “I’m so afraid that you’re going to call an ambulance and send me to the hospital. My poor Fifi might grieve herself to death…” She stopped to pull a tissue free from a box and sneeze into it. “If I’m not here to take care of her.”

  “Let’s set you on a kitchen chair,” Addy suggested, and brought one out to the middle of the living room floor.

  Cody took her blood pressure and temperature. “Low-grade fever, but your blood pressure is good. Let’s take a look at that throat and listen to your lungs.

  “Quite a bit of drainage going on there,” he said, then put the stethoscope on her back. “Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Again. One more time. Lungs are good. I think you’ve got a good old common cold. You just have to let it run its course. I want you to take a vitamin C every day, and a Tylenol every four hours to help with the achy feeling. If you aren�
��t feeling a bit better in forty-eight hours, call me, and Addy and I will check on you again.”

  “I’m so relieved that I don’t have to leave Fifi,” Gracie sighed. “Her sweet little baby girls are too young to be left without a mother.”

  “Okay, then, call if you need us again.” Addy patted Gracie on the back. “I’m sure you’ll feel better in a couple of days. We send out bills at the end of the month, but if you want to pay us today, then…” She told her the amount.

  Gracie looked at her like she was crazy for just a moment, then shuffled over to a desk covered with figurines and wrote out a check. “I wasn’t thinking about you charging since you don’t have a real clinic.”

  “But he is a real doctor, and you didn’t have to get out and drive to Bonham to the emergency room where they would have charged you twice this amount. You did say the clinic here in town couldn’t see you until Monday, right?” Addy asked.

  “I expect you are right,” Gracie said. “I remember when doctors used to come to the house all the time.”

  “Take care of yourself. Lots of liquids and rest,” Addie said.

  Gracie waved them away with a dirty look.

  When they reached the SUV, Addy fastened her seat belt and asked, “Now that emergency is over, what is this thing you were talking about with Stevie? Are y’all more than friends?”

  “I’m not real sure what we are right now,” Cody said. “We flirt. We’re comfortable around each other, but there’s a sizzle there too. What does all that mean?”

  “That the two of you are very attracted to each other,” Addy said with a smile.

  * * *

  Glen Watson was one of those old farmers who wore bibbed overalls, chambray shirts buttoned all the way up to the top, and a straw cowboy hat no matter what the season was, and who always had a smile. And he never left her side when Stevie was taking care of his livestock.

  “Want to come in for a cup of coffee or a piece of pie?” he asked when Stevie had finished checking his milk cow and vaccinating her.