by Linda Warren
“Can I call Mom and tell her?”
Elias handed him his phone. He talked for a minute and handed the phone back. Chase fidgeted and then asked, “Can Mom stay here with us?”
Elias had to think about living with Maribel and how it would affect him and her. They really were strangers. But he didn’t want to upset Chase. “If she wants to.”
On the way to Mulberry Lane, Chase asked, “Can I have my phone back?”
“Your phone is at the sheriff’s office and you’re not getting it back until you show some maturity and responsibility.”
“But I can’t talk to my friends in Dallas.”
“That’s what happens when you break the law. Been there, done that, kid. My dad took my truck away for a whole month one time and I thought I was going to die. Learned a big lesson. Never be stupid again.”
“What did you do?”
“Bubba and I got drunk one night when we were about seventeen and decided to paint the Catholic church bell red. The Horseshoe community was not amused and it took me and Bubba about two days to scrub that red spray paint off that bell.”
“You had a truck when you were seventeen?” That’s all that Chase had picked up from his tell-all.
“I got a used truck when I was sixteen.”
“Wow! My mom can’t afford to buy me a truck, but she lets me drive her car.”
“And we all know how that turned out.” Elias hadn’t meant to be so critical. It had just slipped out.
“You’re never going to forget that, are you?”
“Probably not.”
They went to work, tearing old tar paper off the roof and checking for rotted boards. By noon, they had all the new tar paper on. They picked up the scraps from the ground and loaded down the trailer to run to the dump ground. On the way back, they stopped at the Dairy Queen and got a hamburger. Chase had stayed right with him all the way. Even when Elias had pushed him, he hadn’t balked. He had to admire the boy for that.
Next, they started tearing out the old carpet to get the smell out of the house. Elias was cutting it into strips to pull it out when Maribel showed up. She was absolutely glowing, her eyes sparkled and a smile lit up her face. For a moment, Elias had a hard time catching his breath.
How was he going to deal with her on a daily basis?
Chapter Nine
“How did it go, Mom?” Chase asked.
“Great.” Maribel was bursting with excitement. For once, everything was going right in her life and she felt happy. “Everyone was so friendly and nice and I learned the ropes easily. A lot of people came in who I knew as a teenager. I made thirty-two dollars in tips. Can you imagine? In Horseshoe, Texas?”
“Did you wear a low-cut blouse?” Elias asked.
He was on his knees cutting carpet and she kicked the back of his boot. “No, I did not. And if you say that one more time, I’ll kick you higher.”
He turned and sat on his butt. “Ah, Maribel, now there’s the temper I remember.”
She thought it best to just ignore him. “So what are we doing?”
“Getting rid of the old carpet.” Chase pointed to the floor. “He’s cutting it into big pieces and then he’s going to stick it in the window and pull it onto the trailer, which he has parked right up to the window. I’m supposed to help.”
“Let’s do it, kid.” It was hard work and it was getting late by the time they finished. Maribel was soaked with sweat. It had to be ninety degrees.
She had to talk to Elias and she wasn’t looking forward to it. Elias let Chase drive the truck and trailer around to the back of the house. That left them alone in the kitchen. The perfect time. “Chase told me about Paige’s house.”
Elias guzzled down a bottle of cold water. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Yeah, it’s much better than the motel room.”
She took a deep breath. “I brought my stuff from Rosie’s and if you give me the key I’ll go over and start supper.”
“You will, huh?” His white T-shirt was brown and his jeans were caked with dirt. And yet, he still managed to look handsome with his dark hair falling across his forehead. She had to stand her ground and not let him get to her.
“I’m staying with my son,” she stated.
“You do know that I will be living there, too.”
“I’ll just have to take the bad with the good.”
He leaned in close to her face. “And the bad is very, very bad.”
She stared him straight in the eye. “I can handle it.”
He leaned against the cabinet and folded his arms. “Are you sure? What do you think the people in Horseshoe are going to say when they find out we’re living together?” The devilish glint in his eyes made her that much more determined.
“Gossip doesn’t bother me anymore.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Unless it bothers you.”
He laughed, a kind of a mocking sound. “I think you know the answer to that.”
She held out her hand. “Keys, please. I’m not playing a cat-and-mouse game with you.”
He stared at her for a moment and she resisted the urge to look away. Could he read her thoughts?
“Do you ever think about that night?”
“Keys, Elias.” She wasn’t having that conversation. Not today.
“They’re on the dash of my truck.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you at the house.”
“We’re taking a load to the dump ground first.”
She nodded and went out the back door to Elias’s truck. Chase was sitting in the driver’s seat.
“This is a cool truck, Mom. He’s going to let me back up the trailer to the house tomorrow.”
Chase was learning so much from Elias and she couldn’t fault him for that. But she was just afraid her emotions were getting involved and she didn’t want them to. She didn’t want to be attracted to him again. She couldn’t be.
“That’s nice. Hand me the keys from the dash.”
“You’re going to the house?”
“Yes. I talked to Elias and I’m moving in.”
“Cool.”
It was anything but cool. It was survival, and she would do anything to stay with her son. Even banter with Elias.
She drove to the house and looked around. She then unpacked her things in the master bedroom. Yes, she was taking the master bedroom. Elias might have another opinion, but she wasn’t budging.
Taking a quick shower, she decided to wash her hair because it was filthy with dust. Then she put on shorts and a tank top and headed for the grocery store. She bought extra things like milk and cereal and chocolate chip cookies because Chase loved them. She didn’t stay too long, though, as she had to cook supper.
As she finished making a salad, the guys came in. “I’m taking a shower,” Chase called as he headed down the hall.
“Me, too,” Elias said and went toward the master bedroom.
She was putting the steaks on plates when Elias walked in. “It’s almost ready,” she told him.
“You put your things in the master bedroom.”
“Yes.” She turned to look at him innocently. “Is that a problem?”
“Could be. You should’ve asked.”
She fluttered her eyelashes and felt like an idiot. “May I please have the master bedroom?”
He pulled out a chair and sat down. “That doesn’t work on me.”
She wasn’t sure what worked on Elias, but she wasn’t moving out of the master bedroom.
They sat down to eat and Chase did all the talking about what they did and what they were going to do. And he continued to call Elias he. There was admiration in his voice, though, but he never once referred to Elias by name or anything else.
She and Chase were putting dishes in the
dishwasher when there was a knock at the door.
“I bet it’s Grandpa.” Chase ran to the door and came back with Grandpa in tow.
Elias stood up to confront his grandpa. “Why are you driving at night?”
“I can drive anywhere I want.”
Elias sighed. “Have you had supper?”
“Yeah. I had to eat at Quincy’s to pacify him.” Grandpa looked around. “Is there a TV in here?”
“There’s a small one in the living room,” Chase said and looked at Elias. “Can I put it in my bedroom?”
“Sure. I think it gets one channel.”
Chase and Grandpa worked with the TV and she was left alone again with Elias.
He sat down at the table. “That old man is going to drive me crazy.”
Maribel finished wiping the cabinet and took a seat across from Elias. “He just misses you.”
“I guess. He falls asleep in his chair and I wake him up every night and tell him to go to bed. Who knew that was so important?”
“Sometimes it’s the little things that count.”
Elias took a drink of his iced tea and there was silence for a moment.
“It was nice of Paige to offer the house. I’ll make sure everything is cleaned and washed when we leave.”
“I’m sure she’d appreciate that.” He got to his feet. “I better check on Grandpa.”
In a minute, he was back. “They’re both asleep with Cowboys and Aliens playing on the TV. I don’t think that’s Grandpa’s type of Western.”
He sat down again and took a swallow of tea. “I have a lot of questions, Maribel.”
Her nerves tinged with dread. “Well, I don’t feel like answering them.”
“Did you not think once in all these years to pick up the phone and call me and tell me about Chase?” He wanted answers and she had a feeling he knew how to get them.
“No,” she answered honestly. “I would never have called Rebel Ranch after what your mother had said. I wasn’t that brave back then. Chase and I found a home and life was good.”
“I had a right to know.”
“Why do we have to rehash all this? It’s done and I can’t go back and change anything.”
He twisted his glass. “Were you happy about the pregnancy?”
Maribel stared down at her hands clasped in her lap. “At first, no, but when my dad was beating me the first thing I did was cover my stomach. At that moment, I knew I wanted the baby and I would protect it with my life.”
A frown etched across Elias’s face. “Did your mother know you were pregnant?”
“Yes.”
“And she didn’t help you?”
This was the hard part, telling someone else about her mother. “No. All my life, my mother has said, ‘I love you, Maribel,’ over and over, but when it counted she did nothing. As a mother, I don’t understand that. I stopped believing in love that day.”
“You don’t mean that. You love Chase and you love Rosie.”
“They know I love them, but I’ll never say the words to them. They don’t mean anything. Actions speak louder than words.”
“You need help, Maribel. I mean you need to talk to a therapist or something.”
She stood. “Shut up, Elias.” She turned and walked into the master bedroom. Inside she was trembling and it took a moment for her to calm down. No one understood how she felt. That pain went deep and she didn’t want to feel it again. Ever.
She stripped out of her clothes and pulled a big T-shirt over her head. As she reached to pull back the covers, Elias walked in dressed in jockey shorts and a T-shirt.
“What...”
“The other bedroom has a three-quarter bed and it’s too small for me. I won’t get any rest and I need my rest. I’m sleeping in here. It has a king-size bed.”
“You are not sleeping in here. You’ll just have to make do.”
He smiled a crooked smile and she knew she’d lost. “I don’t think so.” He crawled into the bed as bold as ever.
“Elias...”
He reached up and turned off the lamp and rolled onto his side. “Good night, Maribel. You can sleep in here or in the other room. Your choice.”
“You’re... You’re...so...”
“Crazy?”
“And infuriating.” She stomped out of the room and went across the hall to the other bedroom. He had her so wound up she wasn’t going to sleep. And like him, she needed her rest. She counted to ten and calmed down.
What would he do if she slid into bed with him? That was the problem. Knowing Elias, she wasn’t willing to chance it. But oh, would she love to get even.
* * *
ELIAS WOKE UP to the smell of bacon frying, which had his mouth watering. Hot damn! Maribel knew the way to a man’s heart. And other places. She hadn’t taken him up on his dare last night. He’d hated to uproot her from her little nest but he had needed sleep. He shaved, changed clothes and headed for the kitchen.
She was at the stove in tight jeans and a white knit top. Her hair was up in its customary ponytail.
“That’s what I like, Maribel. A woman who can cook.”
“Don’t talk to me, Elias, or I just might smack you.”
“Come on.” He leaned against the counter, sipping coffee and watching her every movement. If she could have read his mind, she probably would have smacked him. There was no one as attractive as Maribel. “I couldn’t sleep on that little bed”
“If that’s an apology, I’ll accept it. I’ll move my stuff into the other room.”
“You can still have the bathroom. I just want the bed.”
“Whatever.” She placed a platter of scrambled eggs and bacon on the table. “Chase, Mr. Abe, breakfast!” she called.
Chase ran in fully dressed and ready for the day. Grandpa trudged behind him. “Wow, Mom. This smells good. We usually have breakfast tacos.”
“Sit down and eat. I have to go to work.”
“Always liked a woman who could cook,” Mr. Abe said.
She patted him on the shoulder. “It must run in the Rebel family.”
She didn’t wait for a response. She hurried to the bedroom to get her purse and phone and then headed for the back door.
“Chase, please put the dishes in the dishwasher before you leave so they’ll be clean for tonight.”
“Okay.”
“You sure are bossy,” Elias remarked.
“I haven’t even started,” she said. “All beds better be made when I come home.”
Grandpa laughed and she loved that perplexed look on Elias’s face.
* * *
FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, Elias and Chase were out the door and headed for the house. Grandpa went home to do what he could at the ranch. They worked in one of the bathrooms, breaking up the old tile and pulling it out. At eight o’clock, they were at the lumberyard to pick up shingles. Elias had the trailer loaded down and they spent the rest of the day putting on a new roof. Teaching Chase was a test of his patience. He could have just done it himself but he wanted him to learn.
“I’m so slow,” Chase complained.
“You’ll get faster at it. Put the roofing nails in your hand and use your fingers to reach for the tip. You’ll get the feel of it. Hold it down and hammer it in. Over and over. And try not to nail your fingers.”
The kid was getting better.
“Hey, Elias.” Jericho came up the ladder to see what they were doing.
Elias sat back on his heels. “What are you doing here? I’m sure they need you at the ranch.”
“Falcon sent me into town to get more string and supplies. It’s lunchtime so I thought I’d stop by and check on you. We sure miss you at the ranch. Falcon hired two teenagers and we’re still behind. No one can do t
he work that you do.”
Rico was a friend of his brother Egan. They met in prison when Egan had been unjustly accused of a crime he hadn’t committed. Rico had saved Egan’s life and for that their mother had offered him a job. No one regretted that decision. Jericho was a hard worker and loyal to the family.
Chase was staring at Rico and Elias realized he hadn’t introduced his son. Rico was intimidating sometimes. He was well over six feet with long hair tied into a ponytail at his nape and a long slash marred his face. He was the type of dude you’d want to have your back every day of the week.
“Rico, this is my son, Chase.”
Rico looked at Chase, closely.
“Go ahead and say it,” Chase said. “Everyone else does.”
“You look just like your dad.”
“Yeah.”
Elias waited for Chase to say something else, but he didn’t. He was probably tired of hearing it, but then he was going to hear it for the rest of his life.
“Grab Chase’s nail bag and let’s show him how to put on a roof.”
Chase stood back and watched as Elias and Rico nailed shingles to the roof as fast as they could.
“Wow!” Chase shouted. “I wish I had my phone so I could videotape this and put it on YouTube.”
“And then we’d have to hurt you,” Elias said jokingly.
Chase grinned, and for the first time, Elias felt a connection to his son.
* * *
WHILE CHASE HAD his first community service day, Elias drove to Temple to finalize the sale of the house. It didn’t take long for him to sign the papers and send the money to the Spencers. It was a done deal. Gaynell raised an eyebrow when he had the deed put in Maribel’s and Chase’s names. It would be their home and he couldn’t be happier. But his funds were dwindling and soon he would have to look for work.
On his way back to Mulberry Lane, he saw the Kuntz boys, Freddie and Scooter, and their cousin Leonard walking through a residential area. As boys known for stealing, that couldn’t be good. He pulled over to the curb and rolled down his window. A lot of nights, Freddie and the boys hung around outside Rowdy’s asking for beer. Elias never gave them any. No one in Horseshoe seemed to care about the boys, especially their mother. He hoped CPS could get them out of a bad situation.