“It’s goin’ to be Sunday before I’ll have your car ready. And it’s goin’ to cost a little more than I thought. I had to get some parts shipped here overnight. I hope you’re not mad.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Oh, I’m mad but not at you, Bobby. I’m angry with myself for driving so far with an old car.” Why hadn’t she listened to the Buchanans—and to Mom and Dad? They seemed to know the car wouldn’t make the trip. Why did she have to be so bullheaded all the time?
Back in her room, she plopped on her bed and flipped on the television. Nothing to watch but the news, and it all seemed bad—another missing girl report and a drug bust. She turned off the TV and tossed the remote aside with a groan. She’d have to call Mom and Dad and ask for some money to get her home. She burst into tears. She couldn’t call them. But she couldn’t call Ben and Judy either, because they didn’t have the money.
She rolled over onto her stomach and dialed the number, anticipating the reaction she’d receive.
When Mom answered the phone, Cora kept her response simple. “Hi, Mom.” She held back the tears to keep her voice steady.
“Cora? Where are you? I thought you’d be home by now.”
“I’m still in Lewistown. My car broke down, and they couldn’t get it finished today. I’ll have to wait and leave Sunday.”
“Well, if you had let your father fly you home, you wouldn’t be stuck in some little roadside town alone!”
“Mom, it isn’t a roadside town. It’s Lewistown, Georgia. It’s right outside Columbus.” She stretched the truth a bit. This place was the smallest place she’d ever been.
“Don’t be smart with me, young lady. Your father is going to come get you.”
“I don’t need him to come get me, Mother. I just need him...to send me...some...money.” She gritted her teeth. Being needy was killing her.
“He will do no such thing. He’ll come get you. Now tell me where you are, and I’ll have him call you back. If you’d only listen to your parents, you wouldn’t get into trouble!” Mother was on her usual high-horse.
“I’m not in trouble. I had a problem with my car, and I don’t have enough to pay for the repairs. That is an unfortunate incident. Not trouble.”
“Your dad will call you in a few minutes.” The line went dead.
She was a married woman, twenty-five years old. Why did they still treat her like a child?
Within a few minutes, her cell phone rang.
“Hello, Dad.”
“Cora, your mother said you called and you need some money.”
“Yes, sir.” She squeezed her eyes shut, expecting an eruption.
“How much?” He calmly asked.
“A hundred dollars. Enough to pay for my room and food until Sunday.”
“What about the rest of the trip home? Have you thought about that? What if something else happens to your car?”
“I don’t know. I hope nothing else will happen. Bobby is checking to make sure everything works right.”
“Bobby? Like you can trust a stranger from a small town? A mechanic, at that. They’re rarely trustworthy.”
“Dad!”
“Cora, you’ve got to learn to be more responsible. You should have thought ahead. Why didn’t you let me fly you home? It would have saved everyone a lot of inconvenience.”
“Daddy.” Anger rose in her throat like a volcano. “I wanted to get home on my own. I had to prove to myself that I could make it without anyone’s help.”
“I guess you see now that you can’t,” Dad shot back. “You’ve never been able to do anything on your own. If you had never married Clark, and stayed in college instead, you could have met a nice young doctor or lawyer. You could be happily married with several children by now. But you had to do things your way. What has that gotten you? Deserted! Now, I’m coming to get you, and I don’t want to hear another word about it!”
Her hair stood up at the roots, and she made her decision. “You are not coming to get me,” her voice quivered. “What’s the difference between sending me a hundred dollars and you spending the money to come get me? It’s cheaper to send me the money.” Silence rang on the line.
“You know what, Daddy? A nice family offered me a job here. They think I’m a good person. I feel good about myself when I’m around them. That’s more than I can say for you and Mother. You want me to be more responsible? Then I’m going to stay here for a while. I think coming home right now would be the wrong thing to do.”
“If that’s how you want it, then so be it,” he said, his tone an icy steel. “But do not ask for my help again. I will not come looking for you. If you’re ready to come home, you can find your way. The door is always open.” The line went dead.
Cora stared at the phone with her mouth agape. Had Dad really hung up on her? Had he really released her? Good! No, not good. She wanted her daddy. She wanted him to be proud of her. What had she done? Maybe she should’ve gone home the way he’d demanded.
No! If she had, she’d have lost herself again. She couldn’t bear the thought of Mom and Dad being angry with her, but she had to find herself. The distance between them might only be a few hours, but it might as well have been a thousand miles.
* * *
Evening came, and Cora finally stopped crying. She’d stayed in her room all day. Ms. Lottie came up to check on her and asked if she wanted to work, but she declined. She felt like the bits of roadway those bulldozers were scraping up back in Atlanta.
When she gathered her strength to clean herself up a bit, she went down for dinner. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and her stomach rumbled its disapproval.
She entered the aromatic dining room, and there sat R.L. and Pearl, with two of the biggest smiles she’d ever seen. She tried to reciprocate, but their smiles faded when they saw her. She must look a mess.
“Cora? Are you feeling okay?” Pearl asked. “I thought you’d be headed for home by now.”
“I should be headed that way.” She plopped into a chair at the table with the O’Reillys.
“Why aren’t you?” Pearl asked.
“My car isn’t going to be ready until Sunday. It’s going to cost a bit more than I’d hoped. So I’ll be staying a little longer than planned.” The words crawled out of her mouth. Here she was, confiding in people she hardly knew. Strangely, this was easier than talking to Mom and Dad.
“What are you going to do for money? Do you need to borrow some? Or are you planning on staying here and working with Ms. Lottie?” R.L. inquired.
“That all depends on you two.” Cora smiled.
“Us? Why us?”
“Well, Mrs. O’Reilly, were you serious when you said you’d like to have me out at the ranch?”
“Oh yes!” Pearl exclaimed.
“Then I’ll come. I don’t know how long I can stay, but I’d love to help you out with your granddaughter, and I could use the money.”
“It’s settled then. You eat dinner with us, and we’ll get your things and take you home tonight.” R.L. clapped his hands.
“Don’t you need to clear it with your son first?”
R.L. shook his head. “No. He’s so busy with the ranch, he’ll hardly notice you’re there.”
Pearl clarified, “He’s swamped with trying to keep the ranch going. It’s hard to make a living these days like we did in the old days. And it’s a passion of his. He doesn’t like change. Please know R.L. didn’t mean to imply you wouldn’t catch our son’s eye.”
“Of course, I understood what you meant.” Catch his eye? What exactly do they have in mind?
As Cora ate with her new friends, her heart felt lighter.
* * *
A thirty-minute drive out of town led to a quiet region with nothing but flat farmland sprinkled with green hills and valleys. Cora’s mouth flew open when they pulled under the archway and drove down the long, curving drive toward the Southern Hope cattle ranch. Bradford pear trees lined the gravel drive leading the way to the place she’d call h
ome for a few days. The plantation-style home and roving pasture was like something out of a movie where the rich landowner dominated the community around him.
Cora climbed out of the car, drinking in the turnaround drive, brick-paved parking area, and grandiose porch with the swing at the end near the pasture. Flowers bloomed in the numerous flower beds surrounding the walkway to the front door.
“I hope you’ll find the house to your liking. Please know that whatever we have is yours. And feel free to ask for anything you can’t find.” Pearl opened the front door, and they walked inside.
“Thank you.” Cora forced her mouth shut and tried to pretend that she wasn’t enamored with this place.
“It looks like our oldest son has retired to his office and our other two young adults are out for the evening. Our granddaughter is in bed already too. Let me show you to your room.” Pearl led the way up the winding staircase.
Once settled in her room, Cora called Ben and Judy and told them what had happened with Mom and Dad. Her cell had no signal for some reason, so she’d called from the phone beside the bed and gave them the number, then hung up before giving herself a chance to get emotional. She snuggled against her plush pillow, her body underneath cool cotton sheets that smelled like summer flowers, and soon fell fast asleep.
* * *
Cora awoke to birds chirping, dogs barking, horses neighing, and cows mooing. She yawned and moved her legs, but the covers barely budged. She opened her eyes to a young child sitting at the foot of her bed. With eyes like those of a fawn and hair much like golden silk, this tiny princess said not a word. She only stared at Cora.
Cora sat up in her bed, fluffing her pillows so she could lean back against the antique headboard. She pushed her hair out of her face and smiled at the angel. “Hello.”
“Hi.” The girl looked down at her hands.
“What’s your name?”
“Susie.” She rubbed her hands together. She was obviously nervous meeting Cora for the first time.
“My name is Cora. How are you?”
“Good.” She smiled.
“How old are you?”
“Free.” Susie held up three fingers.
Cora smiled.
“Knock, knock. Cora, are you awake?” Pearl asked from the hallway.
“Yes, come on in.” She’d feel more comfortable if she wasn’t in her nightgown.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but Susie seems to be miss—” Pearl spotted her granddaughter at the foot of Cora’s bed. “I’m so sorry. Susie, you should have asked Gramma before coming in here. Cora is new to the ranch. You might have startled her.”
“She’s fine.” Cora winked at Susie. “She’s so lovely, I could squeeze her.”
“Then you don’t mind her coming in here unannounced?” Pearl asked.
“Gracious no. She’s welcome in here anytime, especially if I’m going to be helping out with her.”
“Let me take Susie downstairs. You get dressed. Breakfast is almost ready. Cook likes us to eat by eight.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m used to being ready for Ms. Lottie. I’ll be right down. I’ll see you in a minute, Susie.” Cora waved to the little tot, and the child giggled. “Oh, by the way, Mrs. O’Reilly, will your son be at breakfast?”
“Rex? Oh yes, he’ll be at breakfast. He usually works with the ranch hands before coming in. I can’t wait for you two to get to know each other. He’s the one who told us you worked for Ms. Lottie.” Pearl took the child’s hand and left the room.
When the door clicked shut, Cora gasped and threw her head back onto the headboard. “Rex? He can’t be the same Rex from Ms. Lottie’s. She’d never let on that the O’Reillys were his parents.” Could Cora work for him? He seemed so…so…temperamental.
Cora showered and dressed. She touched up her face, trying to cover the dark circles that never seemed to disappear, and then followed her nose to the room where the family sat around the table. And there he was—the same Rex she’d served several days earlier.
“Morning.”
“Good morning.” R.L. welcomed her into the room. “Cora, this is Matt, Clarice, and Rex.” He waved his hand in their direction. “And this is Cora Buchanan.” He motioned toward her. “She’s going to help us with Susie for a little while. I trust you slept well.”
“Like a baby. I haven’t had a night’s sleep like that in quite a while.” She recalled the long sleepless nights she’d endured since Clark’s disappearance. As she walked over to the chair pulled out for her by R.L., Susie yelled out for her to sit beside her. Everyone laughed, but Rex showed no emotion.
As she sat down, she darted her eyes at Rex with the speed of a hummingbird feeding on nectar, quick enough so he wouldn’t see her looking. When she’d seen him at Ms. Lottie’s, covered in dust from working, he was a bit appealing, but less than at this moment. She glanced at him again—this time for a little bit longer. Her breath stalled as she watched this man who seemed to define masculinity. She hardly noticed his younger brother—Was his name Matt?—who seemed closer to her age.
Rex’s skin featured a tan from his time outdoors, and his wavy hair and eyes possessed a darkness that caught Cora off guard. A thick mustache rested lazily on his upper lip, and a dark beard covered his face. Heat burst from her chest. Her neck was probably turning red. Her heart beat like a flame flickering in a breeze. Guilt twinged through her for taking a second look at him—the first man since Clark to get her attention.
Rex looked up while she stared at him. “So you’re the woman Mom and Dad hired to watch after Susie?” He gnawed on a piece of bacon, a muscle in his jaw ticking.
“Yes, I’m going to try things out.” She swallowed a piece of fried egg whole.
“I saw you at Ms. Lottie’s.” Rex studied her.
“Yep. I worked there all of last week.” The lump in her throat built and threatened to choke her.
“Nice to meet you again. I told Mom and Dad about you and that you seemed pretty nice. You plan on staying long?” Rex swigged his coffee.
“I’m not exactly sure yet. I originally planned to return to Florida to be with my parents. My car broke down, and I needed money. That’s why I worked for Ms. Lottie. Then your parents asked me to come here.”
Rex examined her face for a minute, gulping the coffee in his cup. Then he set his cup down with a bang on the table. “Well, if you don’t think you’ll be here long, don’t bother staying at all.” Rex shoved his chair back and stood. He swiped his napkin across his mouth and tossed it onto the table.
“Rex! You apologize to her.” Pearl glared at him.
Rex ignored his mother and continued, “I don’t want Susie to get attached to you if you’re going to turn around and leave her. She’s already lost her mother. She doesn’t need to lose anyone else.” Rex swiveled and stalked from the room, grabbed his Stetson hat from the hall tree, and bolted out the front door.
Her face burning, a motionless Cora stared at the doorway where Rex had only moments before stood. “What did I do?” Tears sprung from her eyes.
R.L. shook his head. “You did nothing. Rex is a tough one. He’s had a hard time getting over Patricia’s death. He doesn’t mean any harm.”
"Yeah right." Matt laughed. "Dad, you should take him out behind the woodshed."
"Matt, contain yourself."
Pearl interrupted R. L. and shot Matt a warning look. “Cora, I’m so sorry. Rex hasn’t been himself since he lost Patty last year. That’s why we wanted you to come out here and work with Susie. She needs someone so badly.” Pearl frowned.
“I’ll try to do all I can, but I’m not sure I can work with him. I can’t promise I’ll be here forever.” Should she leave now before Susie grew attached to her? Or should she stay awhile and give her the love she needed? Cora needed love too. They could be good for each other.
* * *
Susie hardly let Cora out of her sight the whole day. She smiled with her dark eyes in a way that made Cora grin. Her ideas for f
un never ran out, and she insisted on holding Cora’s hand everywhere they went. She showed Cora every toy in her princess room and invited her to a tea party.
Cora finally belonged to someone, like she did when she was little and would climb into her grandmother’s lap. Except this time she was the adult and not the child. Unconditional love flowed as freely as a river.
At dinner, Matt and Clarice filled Cora’s ears with details of their lives, but Rex didn't dine with them. Matt, obviously a girl-chaser judging by his description of his day, tried a few moves on Cora during dinner. Twenty-five, her same age, he worked with R.L. at their offices in the city. Matt dressed in Calvin Klein suits, with vests and ties, and bold colored shirts, contrasting Rex’s rugged style. He wore arrogance like a medal and boasted a smirk on his face and a glimmer of trouble in his blue eyes.
Clarice, twenty-one years old, overly tanned, and finely manicured, had plenty of friends and wrapped herself up in their lives. She concerned herself more with the latest fashions and gossip than with anything else. Her glossy dark hair, like that of her siblings, fell right above the collar. Her dark eyes, covered in frosty blue eyeshadow and lined with thick lashes and dark liner, could knock a man off his feet. They held the same sparkle as Matt’s, although of a different color.
Cora laughed silently as Clarice tried to prove she knew more about life than her mother did and tried to worm her way into her daddy’s heart. Matt and Clarice were pleasant but spoiled like the young adults at the Country Club back in South Carolina and were in great need of a reality check.
After dinner, she bathed Susie, read her a story, and put her to bed. Susie wrapped her arms around Cora’s neck and squeezed. She told her she loved her, and Cora’s heart filled with joy.
Cora's back ached after the long day of caretaking. She needed quiet, so she poured a cup of coffee in the kitchen then stepped on to the porch to rest her weary body on the swing. The porch light glowed dim, and the crickets serenaded her. The privacy soothed her soul like crashing waves on a beach at sunset. As she sipped her coffee, a bird sang, and the song relaxed her even more. What kind of bird chirped such a peaceful song at dusk?
Song of the Meadowlark (Intertwined Book 1) Page 3