Texas Rich

by Fern Michaels

  When Billie climbed the stairs with a tray holding the beer and a single rose in a bud vase, Moss was asleep. Three hours, he’d said. He looked so tired that it nearly broke her heart. Carefully, so as not to awaken him, Billie untied and removed his shoes and socks. There was a fresh uniform hanging in the closet; and she’d take it downstairs with her and give it a pressing. It would give her something to do. She bent over the bed to kiss him lightly on the cheek, hoping against hope that he’d awaken and take her in his arms. He didn’t.

  At the bottom of the stairs she met Agnes, who was carrying a small Big Ben alarm clock. “I’ll just take this up and set it on the dresser. Your little clock will never wake Moss. He needs a cowbell.”

  Billie’s glance flicked away from her mother to hide her resentment. Moss was her husband and she wanted to do for him, and she didn’t need Agnes’s interference. Agnes thought of everything. It was always her decision what they would have for dinner, what mass they would go to on Sundays, what day the sheets should be changed, whether or not the windows should be opened, when and how Moss should be told about the baby. Since her marriage, Billie had experienced a growing sense of powerlessness and inconsequence. Every choice or decision seemed to have been taken out of her hands by Agnes’s greater wisdom and experience. It rankled. It was a small wonder that Agnes had not told Moss about the baby.

  Billie had been fantasizing about the moment when she would announce her pregnancy to Moss. In the movies the wife always prepared an intimate little dinner and then afterward snuggled into the husband’s lap and shyly made the announcement. None of Billie’s daydreams were coming true. This was the first time Moss had been home in two days. When could she tell him? On the run, when he had a few minutes for her before rushing back to the base? It wasn’t fair. If only she knew what was going on at the Navy Yard ....

  A feeling of dread stayed with her as she sharpened the creases in Moss’s trousers and ironed his shirt. Moss had seemed exhausted but exhilarated. The thought made her queasy.

  When Moss’s freshly pressed uniform hung on the back of the closet door and his newly shined shoes stood in military line beneath, Billie took the morning paper into the living room. Her eyes raked the columns of the Philadelphia Inquirer. News of the war on both fronts leaped at her, but she could find nothing to explain Moss’s absence. It was hateful. She wished it would all end so people could get on with their lives.

  With nothing better to do, she sat on the front porch and worked the crossword puzzle, her concentration broken by thoughts of Moss lying upstairs on their bed.

  When Moss loped down the steps a short while later, he found Billie dozing in the wicker chair. “Hey, is this how you spend your time, lazybones?” he teased lightly. He was already dressed in the freshly pressed uniform and his hair was still wet from his shower and shave. “I’ve gotta go now. If I get a chance, I’ll call you later. Don’t wait up for me.”

  “Moss, wait!” Billie pleaded, running down the walk behind him. “We really didn’t get a chance to talk. I have so much to tell you. What’s going on at the yard? Why aren’t you coming home? Is something wrong?”

  “Can’t talk now, honey. The admiral’ll have my hide if I’m not back on time. You be good and I’ll call you later, if I can.” He kissed her soundly and drove away. Billie watched after him, feeling foolish and ashamed and damned angry. He still didn’t know about the baby.

  Moss could see Billie standing on the sidewalk in the rearview mirror. For a brief moment his conscience pricked him, but then his thoughts leaped forward to the yard. Admiral McCarter and big brass from the Pentagon were debriefing West Coast command on the success of the air-sea strike and occupation of Guadalcanal. It was a foregone conclusion that the enemy would attempt to retake the island and reestablish strategic control of the South Pacific. When they did, the Enterprise would be there to meet them. Things were moving and Moss was determined to move with them.

  Poor Billie, Moss thought. Maybe tomorrow he’d wrangle some free time and take her to the movies. It would be nice to make long, leisurely love to her afterward. Very nice indeed ... But it was not bedroom action that he wanted now. Fighting, that was what he wanted. He refused to think of how he and Agnes had used Billie. She was a wonderful girl, soon to be the mother of his child, and she meant the world to him.

  When Moss returned to the house on Elm Street, Agnes took one look at him and sat down on the hard kitchen chair. She told him Billie was out back weeding the pole beans. “When do you leave?” she asked quietly.

  “Day after tomorrow. I got it, the Big E. She’s coming into Pearl for repairs and that’s where I’ll meet her,” Moss said, and realized that Agnes was neither surprised nor upset by his news. She’d been expecting it.

  “Before you go out to Billie I want to remind you ... she’ll want to tell you about the baby herself.”

  “I won’t forget. You know, don’t you, that I didn’t act on this transfer until I knew definitely that she was pregnant. Now I have to call my father and tell him,” Moss said thoughtfully. Call Pap and give him the double whammie. The shock of knowing his son was about to be transferred to the Pacific front would be softened by the news of his first grandchild.

  Billie felt herself being picked up off the ground and then turned around to face her husband. “Moss!” The happy surprise that had brightened her features faded into disappointment when she looked into his eyes. “Mother told you!” she accused. “I wanted to tell you.”

  Moss squeezed her tight, burying his face into her neck. “What difference who told me, little mama. C’mere and give me a kiss. I can’t tell you how happy I am!”

  Billie’s disappointment ebbed with the force of his kiss and his warm arms holding her tight. What difference who told him, as long as he was happy, as long as he loved her this way.

  As Moss held her, inhaling her sunshine fragrance, he reminded himself what a bastard he was. Not enough of a bastard to spoil this moment for her, though. His own news would wait until dinnertime when Agnes was there to soften the shock. Tender lovemaking would take the edge off later. He, Moss Coleman, was finally out from under; no one was going to jerk his strings anymore. Not Seth, not Agnes, not even Billie.

  Together, arms around each other, they walked toward the house. “We’re having roast beef, rare. Mother said it’s the only rump roast she ever cooked that could still wink at her.”

  Moss laughed. They did try to please him, he knew, and he appreciated it. There would be the inevitable string beans-made the way his mother prepared them. Small new potatoes with the skins on, fresh biscuits to dip in his gravy, and strawberry-rhubarb pie for dessert. He’d announce his news over the pie—after he finished it. He did love pie. “I can hardly wait until later,” he said, leering at Billie. “I haven’t been much of a husband for you lately.” She grinned and made a grab for his leg, but he was too quick for her. “I’m going to jump into the shower. Help your mother in the kitchen. It’s like a steam room in there. Why don’t we eat on the back porch?”

  “Would you like that?” Moss nodded. “All right, the back porch it is. Mother, we’re eating on the back porch. I’ll clean off the table and set it. Hurry up, Moss. The gravy cools quickly.”

  Agnes chattered nonstop through dinner. She felt anxious yet triumphant. It was as if she were conducting a symphony and it was being played chord by chord, note by note, building to the crescendo. She could sense it and so could Billie. It was in her eyes.

  Moss laid aside his fork and leaned back in his chair. “You should give my mother the recipe for that pie.” There was no easy way. Straight out. Say it. “Billie,” he said softly, “I got my orders today. I leave day after tomorrow.”

  Billie’s fork clattered on her plate. She knew it, just knew it. “Where? Where will you go?” she managed to croak.

  “Pearl Harbor. The Big E is in for repairs and I’m assigned as a pilot. It’s what I want, Billie. I have to do it. Can’t you see that?”

&n
bsp; Billie lowered her head, her soft blond hair hiding her bitterness. “Even knowing about the baby, you still want to go?”

  “Yes. But I don’t want to think of you here alone. I’ve given it thought and I want you and your mother to go to Austin. I can make all the travel arrangements. You’ll live with my family until this is all over and I come home to you.”

  “Go to Texas!” Billie gasped, feeling as though the world were caving in under her feet. She didn’t want to leave Philadelphia, leave everything that was familiar to her. She wanted to stay right here, have her baby here, be here when Moss came home.

  Moss’s eyes linked with Agnes’s across the table. “I guess I shouldn’t have included you along with Billie without asking you first.”

  Bitter tears. stung Billie’s yes. He hadn’t asked her. The urge to scream was so strong that she choked and reached for her water. Moss was off his chair in an instant, clapping her on the back. Again he looked at Agnes. They were in agreement. It would be all right. Agnes would make it all right.

  “You’re going to love Texas, honey,” he said. “You too, Agnes. You’ll have the entire right wing of the house if you want it. I’m calling home tonight and I want both of you to talk to my parents. I don’t want you to worry, Billie. Promise me. It’s only right that our baby be born in Texas, in my home. You and your mother will have everything you need. It’s a big house, Billie. You won’t find my family getting under your feet, if that’s what worries you. And you’ll have the right kind of care for the baby. Neither of you will want for anything.”

  “I have everything I want right here and now,” Billie murmured, lifting her gaze to meet Moss’s eyes. “As long as I have you, that’s everything to me.”

  “I know, honey, and the same goes for me. You know that. It’s only that I’ll feel better knowing you and Agnes have someone to take care of you. And I want my son to know his heritage. You understand, don’t you?”

  A son, he was saying, Billie thought. What if the baby was a girl? Heritage? What heritage? A ranch somewhere in Texas? Milking cows and planting corn? What was Moss talking about?

  Moss realized her confusion and grinned. “Honey, I guess there’s something you and your mother don’t know about me.” He looked at Agnes to include her. “Remember when I said my folks had a spread in Texas? Well, that’s true, but I didn’t tell you how far it spread. Sunbridge isn’t just a little ole ranch, honey. It’s an empire, built by my father. Naturally, someday it’s going to be mine and our baby’s. And it’s not out in the sticks, either. Austin is a city, bigger than Philadelphia, with good schools and paved streets, honest,” he teased, trying to lighten the situation. “You’ll have your own car and anything else you want. But most important, Billie, I’ll know someone is looking out for you.”

  Billie was listening so intently she failed to see the smug confirmation on Agnes’s face. “Tell me the truth, Moss. You put in for the transfer, didn’t you? You asked for it. You pulled strings and did what you had to do to get to the Big E, didn’t you? I thought all that stopped once we were married.”

  The truth. When caught with your pants down, always opt for the truth. “I told you from the beginning I’d do anything to get out of here. There’s a war on and I want to be part of it. I didn’t lie to you, Billie. I never lied to you.”

  “But that was before the baby. What about me and the baby?”

  “Go to Sunbridge, Billie. For me and the baby. You’re a Coleman now, and that’s where you belong. You’ll have everything you’ll ever need or want. Give it a chance, honey.”

  “I don’t want or need anything or anyone but you!”

  Agnes took over. “Billie, we’re going to Austin. It’s settled. Moss is right. This is best for you and the baby. I’ll be there so you won’t feel alone among strangers. And I’m certain you will love the Colemans once you get to know them.” Sunbridge. He’d said the name of the ranch was Sunbridge. “It’s a good idea, Moss. Billie should be with family at a time like this. What do you think I should do with this house?”

  “Put it in the hands of a good realtor and do your business through the mail. My father will handle it for you if you don’t want to be bothered.”

  It was settled. Agnes was as excited as a child at Christmas. Sell the house. Nothing to come back to even once the baby was born. Sunbridge would be her home, too. It was more than she’d dared hope for, but it had all fallen into place. It was perfect and, given time, Billie, too, would see how perfect it was.

  “I’ll wash the dishes. Why don’t you take Billie for a walk? Or ride down to the park; exercise is important for her now.”

  “That sounds good to me,” Moss said with forced brightness. Why couldn’t Billie understand? Why did women have to be so emotional? He hated what he was doing to her, but he refused to let himself brood about it. Moss linked Billie’s arm through his and patted her hand reassuringly as they walked down the front steps. It would be all right. He’d see to it.

  Billie fell into step beside her husband. She had to accept his decision. To fight him would be to alienate him, perhaps lose him, and that she would never do. If she felt betrayed, she would simply have to deal with it. For now, time was precious and she wasn’t going to spoil it. Making things unpleasant wouldn’t change a thing. Except, perhaps, how Moss would feel about her. Swallowing down her tears, she smiled up at him, a smile that came from her heart.

  Moss put his arm around Billie, relieved by her smile. She was so warm and sweet. So endearing, so pregnant. He smiled in return. He’d love her for what she was to him, his wife, the mother of his child. Without Billie loving him the way she did there would be no baby, no way out of the Navy Yard. He’d always love her for that.

  It was just before nine when Billie and Moss returned home. Time to call Texas. Agnes watched as Moss shifted from one foot to the other. He was nervous and she realized this was the first time she’d ever seen him so. Usually his brash confidence, just bordering on insolence, carried him through everything. Everything but with his father, evidently.

  Moss covered the mouthpiece of the phone. “The operator is having some trouble getting through. There’s the time difference, too.” When Seth Coleman’s voice came booming over the wire, Moss held the receiver away from his ear.

  “Moss! Son! It’s good to hear your voice. Got a letter not too long ago from a woman who says she’s your mother-in-law. We decided to sit on it till we heard from you. What’s this all about?”

  “It’s true, Pap.” Moss glanced over at Billie, who was watching him intently. He hoped Pap wouldn’t demand explanations he couldn’t make. Hell, he’d postponed this phone call too long. He should have called from the yard, where he’d have had relative privacy.

  “Why’d you do a fool thing like that? Wartime is no time to get married. A man isn’t thinking straight. There’s a lot of women willing to give tail without your marrying them!” There was a pause; an idea had just occurred to Seth. “Did you have to get married, son?”

  “That’s about the size of it, Pap,” Moss said uneasily, glancing again at Billie, wondering how much of Seth’s conversation she could hear.

  “What’s she like, this filly you married?”

  “Aces, Pap. Remember that colt you gave me when I was ten and how I loved her?”

  “I remember that you rode her to death,” Seth growled harshly.

  Moss’s eyes clouded. Why did Seth have to be such a bastard? He’d loved that horse. Zap him now. Get it out. “I’m sending Billie and her mother to Austin. I’m being reassigned to the USS Enterprise. I leave in thirty-six hours. I’m going, Pap. It’s hands off this time around. The only thing I want from you is to take good care of my wife and her mother. You make sure that my son gets into this world the way he should.” The silence on the other end of the phone didn’t surprise Moss. Seth was going to chew on that little tidbit for a long time to come.

  “That’s the third dumbest thing you’ve done since you got shipped to Philadel
phia. If you’d kept your pants zipped, you wouldn’t be married....”

  “I don’t want to hear it, Pap.” He forced a smile for Billie’s sake. “You’re going to have a grandson, Pap.”

  “It’s my own son I want right now!” Seth shouted. “Just stay put. I’ll get on the phone and call in some favors. Twenty-four hours is all I need and you can forget shipping out.”

  “Pap, you lift one finger and I’ll never forgive you. This is what I want. Leave it alone. I mean it.” He waited for silence. He wanted to make sure Pap had heard and was listening. “You’re going to love Billie. Think about it, Pap. You’re going to be a grandfather.” Bait. Throw the old man a little bait and see if he grabs it.

  A thick rattly cough came over the wire. Moss could just picture the speculations, the choices, that were running through the old man’s head. The baby was going to clinch it. Seth would never chance alienating his son and grandchild. “What’s the mother like?” Pap asked.

  Moss almost laughed. How could he tell Pap that Agnes was a ring-tailed bitch? “Just like you, Pap. You’re going to love her, too.”

  “Your mother wants to speak with you,” Seth said coldly. “Don’t hang up when you’re done talking to her. We aren’t finished yet.”

  “Yes we are. You just haven’t accepted it yet.” Moss grinned down at Billie and drew her close. It was done. The old man wouldn’t cross him now, not with the heir to the Coleman empire in the offing.