by Jordan Marie
“I guess.”
“So, could you answer?”
“Answer what?” I mumble, having trouble following this conversation and wishing she’d go back home so I could eat in peace.
“What you’d look for in a wife. I have to ask somebody and the only other guy around here that I could ask would be Green and he’s fifteen. If I ask him I know what’d he say.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. He would just say as long as her legs swing open as fast as he can swing a bat.”
I’ve seen Green swing a bat. That boy is destined for the majors so that’s saying something. All I can do is laugh.
“Will you help me, Jansen?”
“Don’t think I can, pretty girl. I don’t know what I’d look for in a wife. I was married once and I thought she was exactly what I wanted, but it turned out she wasn’t even close.”
“She wasn’t?”
“Nope.”
“How come?”
I sigh.
“When a man picks a mate...”
“A mate?”
“A wife. When a man picks a wife, he wants someone who has a little grit about her. One who will stick with you when things go bad.”
“Wouldn’t he rather have someone who would make it so things didn’t go bad?” she asks, innocently.
“Yeah, well, Maggie, the thing about life is that something always goes bad eventually.”
“Like when Orville died.”
“Orville?”
“Yeah. This was his farm. He loved Mom. All of us really. I miss him. He had a heart attack.”
“I’m sorry, Maggie.”
“Me too. I guess I better get back inside.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Maggie.”
“Bye, Jansen.”
“Bye, honey.”
I watch as she walks away and I can’t help but think about the man who took Ida Sue and her kids in. It’s obvious he was a good man if Maggie is anything to go by.
It’s a damn shame he couldn’t stay and watch them grow.
I sigh.
Or stick around and save this damn ranch, because right now I need a miracle to do it.
6
Maggie
“Mags can we hurry this up? I got a date,” Black whines.
“You’re fourteen, dick-weed. What kind of date could you have?” Green asks.
“He’s got one with your Mama!” Cyan cries and we all kind of roll our eyes at him.
“That doesn’t work, Cyan because his mom is ours too. Maybe you should give up the ‘Your Mama’ jokes,” I mumble with a sigh.
“Whatever,” he says, elbowing Blue.
Blue elbows him back, only harder so he falls against Green. On cue they all start rough housing and Petal starts crying.
“Will you guys stop it!” I growl, handing Petal her doll that she dropped. “We need to figure this out and do it quickly before Mom catches us.”
“She won’t come out here. She hates this old treehouse,” Black says.
“She hates heights,” Green adds.
“She sure does. Remember how she screamed like a little girl when we talked her into getting on that rollercoaster?” Blue laughs.
“She is a girl,” I respond with yet another sigh. “Can we talk about Jansen and get this settled so I can get Petal inside and ready for bed.”
“You shouldn’t have brought Petal out here. She’s kind of a blabbermouth.”
“Am not, Cyan!”
“Are too.”
“Am not! Mags tell him I’m not a blabbermouth!”
“You’re not. Cyan will you act like you’re eleven and not Petal’s age?”
“This ain’t going to work anyway. Mom doesn’t even like Jansen. Besides I’m not so sure it’s good having him around. We don’t need him. I can take care of the ranch,” Blue insists.
“It is a good idea. Jansen’s nice and he’s always doing things for us,” I argue.
“Like what?” Blue argues.
“Well, last week he spent time pitching me the ball so I could work on my hitting,” Green speaks up.
“And he helped me find my dolly when I lost her,” Petal says.
“He helped me with my Algebra,” Black says.
“He didn’t help me with jack shit,” Cyan says. “But I kind of like him.”
“I like him too,” Petal answers. “Even if his balls are rotted off!”
“His balls are rotted off?” Green yells.
“We can’t be gettin’ our mom no man that don’t have balls,” Cyan says.
“Wait. How do you know his balls are rotted off?” Blue asks Petal.
“Yeah. Has he been showing Petal his balls? Cause if that’s what he did we’ll have to kill him,” Black growls.
“Yeah kill him dead,” Green answers, sounding just as menacing.
“Petal, did Jansen show you his balls were rotted?” Cyan asks her.
I hold my head down, trying to figure out how to get control of my brothers and sister.
“Yep!” she says proudly, and I jerk my head up shocked.
“Oh, I’m going to kill that mother—”
“Green! Don’t say that word in front of Petal,” Black demands.
“Mother… trucker. I’m going to kill that mother-trucker,” he growls.
“I’ll be helping you,” Blue says, his voice even darker and menacing.
“Petal, maybe you should explain exactly how you know about Jansen’s… balls?” I respond, trying to get control of the situation.
“That’s easy. He was standing at the store watching Mom and he was smoking.”
“And?” I prompt.
“And that’s it. Remember? Momma told Black and Blue that smoking made your balls rot. And Jansen is always smoking.”
“Christ,” Green mutters, rubbing his jaw. I try not to laugh because it hurts Petal’s feeling if I laugh at her.
“I’m never smoking. I don’t want to lose my balls,” Petal mumbles.
“You don’t have balls, Dork,” Cyan tells her.
“Yeah I do! Mommy bought me a pretty purple one at the store last week.”
“It’s not that kind of ball,” Cyan argues.
“What kind is it?”
“Let’s go back to the reason we’re here. We need to make Jansen and Mom notice each other.”
“I still don’t see why,” Blue argues.
“Because Mom is sad,” Green answers.
“She don’t seem sad to me.”
“She cries almost every night,” Green says, looking at me. I frown, but nod my head in agreement.
“She really does,” I tell them. They all look at me. White and Gray might be the oldest, but they’re rarely here since going away to college. I’m the one they all look to, even Green. They know that whatever I tell them is the truth.
“You think this Jansen will make her happy?”
“I do.”
“Then, what do we do?” Blue mumbles, tapping his finger absently on his leg.
“We help them along,” I tell him with a grin and when I look at my siblings I can tell they’re all finally in agreement.
“What’s our first move?” Green asks.
“We need to force them to spend time together.”
“How do we do that?” This question comes from Black.
“I do have an idea… but we’re going to have to be sneaky.”
“Tell us more,” Cyan says with a sly grin.
My brothers and sisters can be pains in the ass, but in times like this, I wouldn’t take anything for them.
7
Ida Sue
“Did you need something?”
I ask the question, not bothering to hide the fact that I’m annoyed, as I walk into Jansen’s office. There’s an office in the barn and attached to that are barracks that the last foreman and cowboys used. I set him up in there when he agreed to take the job on. I haven’t really been here to see how he’s settled in, but it looks like he’s made h
imself at home—at least in the office.
He turns around to look at me and I really wish he hadn’t. He’s wearing a blue chambray shirt and faded jeans with his black Stetson. He looks good.
Really good.
If I wasn’t done with men in general, he’d make my knees weak.
But, I’m done.
I’m so far done, they don’t make words to describe how done I am.
“I don’t think so. Nice of you to ask, though,” he answers. I frown.
“Cyan said you sent him to come fetch me.”
“I—”
“And while we’re on that topic, do you mind not sending my children for errands? They’re my kids. If you need me then you can call the house or walk up there. You don’t need to be involving my children.”
“I—”
“I noticed you were playing catch with Green the other day.”
“I—”
“I’d prefer if you didn’t do that.”
“Ida—”
“I’m sure you meant well, but that’s just not a good idea. I don’t want my children to begin to rely on you.”
“I just—”
“I realize you didn’t mean any harm. I just think it would just be better if you kept everything formal with them. They don’t need to get attached to someone who is just passing through. I’m sure you understand.”
I wait for him to respond. I purse my lips and keep waiting. Jansen says nothing. Instead he frowns, crossing his arms at his chest.
“Well?” I prompt him.
Still he is silent.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” I ask. I can’t believe him! He could at least have the decency to reply.
“Are you saying I’m allowed to talk now?” he says and you can tell from his voice that he’s pissed.
“Of course, you’re allowed to talk.”
“I wasn’t sure since you weren’t giving me a chance to get a word in edgewise.”
“I was just making sure I was making my stance clear.”
I keep my voice firm, if not a little bitchy. I’m not about to let him intimidate me.
“Oh, you’re perfectly clear, lady.”
“My name is Ida Sue,” I remind him.
“I can see names seem to worry you a hell of a lot.”
“You wouldn’t understand,” I mumble, ignoring the pain that causes.
“Probably not, but there’s one thing you need to understand. I didn’t send Cyan or anyone up to get you. I wouldn’t do that. If I needed to talk to you I’d come to you, I wouldn’t have you walk out here alone when there could be predators roaming about.”
“Predators?”
“Coyotes? Bobcats? Hell, even a cow can be dangerous if it’s escaped from the fence and trying to get back to its calf.”
“I’ve been on this ranch for a while now, Mr. Reed, and I’ve somehow managed to take care of myself just fine.”
“Well, I guess we’ve both made things clear then.”
“I guess we have,” I answer, but I’m wondering what we discussed at all.
“Fine, then,” he says turning back around, dismissing me.
“Fine, then,” I mumble.
I expect him to respond, but he doesn’t. He continues working on his ledger. I stand around like an idiot for a minute or two and then, because I don’t know what else to do I leave.
I don’t know who Jansen Reed thinks he is, but I’m pretty sure he’s the reason God gave me a middle finger…
8
Cyan
“I don’t think Maggie wants us to do this,” Petal whines.
“She will when she sees how good it will work,” I tell Petal.
“But she said we needed to do somethin’ special!”
“That’s girl talk. I’m a guy and Jansen’s a guy. He’ll like this better, I promise,” I mumble. We’re standing in a supply closet at the school, watching the door to Mrs. McCallister’s room.
“But what if we mess it up?” Petal whines, pulling on my shirt.
“I’m telling you this will fix everything. You like Jansen, right?”
“Well, yeah. He had a tea party with me yesterday! He even made sure Dolly drank tea too. He’s nice.”
“Then, we need to do this. Maggie is waiting too long.”
“But she said it would be special because of Valentine’s Day,” she reminds me.
“That’s over a week away. The way Mom keeps bitching about him, she could have him run off before then. Do you want to chance that?”
“No. Dolly would be sad. She likes Jansen.”
“Then, we need to do this.” I relax when I see Mrs. McCallister leave her room. She’s so pretty. Whenever I pick out a woman she’s going to look just like her, with pretty blonde hair and blue eyes. I even want her to wear glasses just like her too.
“But I’m hungry. It’s lunchtime,” Petal whines.
“We can go eat as soon as this is done,” I mumble, watching Mrs. McCallister lock her door.
I was born too late. If I was just a few years older I’d be at the middle school with Black and Blue. They’d be a lot more help. I’m stuck here and the only ally I have is Petal. I could have asked one of my buddies, but I don’t want them blabbing all over the school that I’m helping to get my mom a man. Everyone talks enough shit about her. It pisses me off. She’s the best mom around. She sure beats the hell out of my friend Joey’s Mom. She barely knows Joey’s around. Everyone thinks she’s great cause she never misses one of Joey’s football games or his practices. Of course, she wouldn’t, because she’s screwing around on Joey’s Dad with the coach. Yet she loves to talk about my Mom. Maybe once I get Jansen and Mom together, I can be nice and help Joey’s Dad figure out what a ho-bag he’s married to.
“Okay, Petal, the coast is clear. Do you know what you have to do?”
“Gee, I’m not dumb, Cyan. I stand in front of the door and if Mrs. Mc-caster comes back or any other teacher, ‘specially the principal, I cry and distract them and get them away so you can hide or get away.”
“Right,” I tell her, pulling her hand and walking quickly to the room.
“How are you going to get in there? She wocked it.”
“Locked,” I correct her. Petal talks really plain, especially for someone in kindergarten. She has trouble with some words, though—locked being one of them. She’s really bad with sword. It always makes me laugh because it sounds like she says turd. Reverend Slone gets really mad when she does that because he always calls his Bible his sword. The congregation laughed for twenty minutes when Petal asked him why he thought the Bible was his turd.
It was awesome.
“That’s what I said,” she mumbles reminding me of what I’m doing.
“Black showed me how to break in.”
“He did? I wanna know!”
“Later. You watch and make sure no one comes down the hall while I do this.”
“Okay, fine. But you better show me later,” she warns. “You better hurry.”
“I am hurrying, hush before someone hears you.”
“But I need to pee!”
I ignore her and use the fake credit card I stole out of Mom’s mail and slide it back and forth in the crack of the classroom door, trying to push the lock open. Black makes this look a lot easier. He’s a master at it. Finally, there is a clicking noise and I can turn the knob.
“Hurry, Cyan!”
“Petal stop bouncing! I’ll be right back,” I growl. Little sisters are a pain in the ass.
“But, I got to peeeeee!”
“I’ll hurry,” I mutter. I sneak in the door, leaving the light out and walk up the aisle to Mrs. McCallister’s desk. This isn’t the first time I’ve broke in here, although Joey usually helps me. Only because he wants some of what I take.
Condoms.
Mrs. McCallister keeps a ton of them in the bottom drawer of her desk. She teaches Sex-Ed, though the school puts some big title on it like personal relationship health and educat
ion or some crap—mostly because a bunch of the parents got all pissy because we were putting rubbers on bananas. I’m just glad because I get free rubbers. I’ve even used two of them, which I think is really good. I mean, I’m eleven. My brother Blue is fourteen and he’s still a virgin. I think Black is too, but he’d never admit it. Joey is too, which means he never uses the condoms I give him, but he still likes to get new ones.
“Cyan!” I hear Petal hiss. She really doesn’t know how to be quiet. Next time, I’ll just ask Joey and if he tells anyone I’ll clobber him.
I reach down and grab several handfuls. I fill both my jacket pockets and my back and front pants pockets. Jansen is older though, so he might need more, so I zip my jacket and before I zip it all the way up, I throw a bunch in there. I’m just about to leave when I see the 3D diagram of a girl’s thing and beside it is the book that Mrs. McCallister always brings to class. I’ve always liked it, because it’s kind of a mystery down there and the book has really big pictures. I bet Jansen would like it too and if he doesn’t I can always keep it. I grab the book and hide it in my jacket too. It barely fits, but it will work until I can get back to my locker.
I walk quickly outside, turn the lock and shut the door.
“Okay I’m ready,” I tell Petal, not bothering to turn around and look at her. “Let’s go.” I take a few steps before I realize she’s not there with me. “Petal,” I whisper, although more loudly than I should and kind of urgent at that. She’s going to get us caught. “Let’s go!” I say again.
“I can’t, Cyan,” she says and she has tears falling down her face, her blonde hair all rumpled.
“What’s wrong?”
“I peed,” she cries. The words are somehow magical too, because when she says them she sobs and cries uncontrollably. I look down where she’s standing and there’s a big puddle under her. She pissed more than old Duke does.
Crap. Things are never easy with little sisters.
Never.
9
Petal
“Is it ready? I saw Jansen riding out on Duke,” I tell Cyan as I climb up the treehouse. I’m not supposed to climb it alone. Mom always gets mad at me. I tell her I’m a big girl now, but she just shakes her head at me. She’s old, so I reckon it’s hard for her to see me as grown up like I am. Adults are weird. I jump off the ladder and turn around to look at my brother. He’s writing on a big box. “I thought I lost my pink marker! You stole it!”