Montana Reunion

by Valerie Hansen

  “All of them? Okay, whatever you say, Annette.” Tony gathered up his tools and the few screws he’d had left over. “I’m done here.”

  The possibility that his statement harbored a double meaning was not lost on her. The finality of his words left little doubt that he was finished trying to explain himself, as well as done constructing the box.

  “Stormy and her babies thank you,” Annette said. Considering the animosity in Tony’s expression when he glanced at her, he knew exactly what she’d meant by excluding herself. It was going to be a cold day in August before she forgave him for slandering her innocent mother.

  As soon as Tony slammed out the backdoor, however, she began to feel a deep sense of loss. There was something about having him around that cheered her. Normally it did, anyway. Now that he was gone and clearly upset, she wanted to follow him, to soothe his hurting heart, to bring back his warm, loving smile.

  She would not, of course. There had been a time, in her teens, when she had actually contemplated running away to try to follow and find him. But that was then and this was now. A stable, adult woman did not go rushing after someone who clearly did not share her affection. He probably never had.

  Still, she had to blink back unshed tears when she heard him gun the truck’s engine and speed away, tires squealing.

  Chapter Seven

  Tony called himself every kind of fool. He never should have tried to convince Annette of his former loyalty, not when it meant turning her against her own mother. It would have to satisfy him that his conscience was clear. As for Mrs. Lakey, he’d back off and let the Lord handle the details.

  Which, of course, was not easy. Turning problems over to God never was. Now that he realized his mistake, he could see why Annette had taken offense. The difference between him and her was that he knew the truth. Even if his mind had played a trick on him by insisting he’d left the planned farewell note when perhaps he had not, there was absolutely no doubt about the letters. Writing them had been a painstaking effort, one that he’d labored over for hours and hours.

  Tony gritted his teeth. What he wanted to do was go confront Annette’s mother himself. What he would do, however, was cool off and bide his time—with the Lord’s help.

  A message waiting at the animal hospital when he returned to check was the answer to an unvoiced prayer. Tony quickly dialed the number.

  “J.T. Sorry I missed your call. How’s your mom?”

  “Better. That’s partly why I wanted to talk to you. I thought I’d stay longer than we’d planned if you have everything under control on your end. Do you?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. So far there’s been nothing unusual. Just a litter of pups, the usual vaccinations and a couple of foundered horses.” He snorted a chuckle. “Those guys are big.”

  “Most of ’em are. That’s the whole idea,” the senior veterinarian quipped. “They’d be hard to ride if your feet dragged on the ground.”

  “Speaking of riding, you do plan to be back before the rodeo starts, don’t you? I mean, I can still stand in for you if I have to, but those bucking bulls and broncs are murder to work with.”

  “Now, see? I like them best. Show me a snappish little dog and I can hardly make myself touch it, let alone treat it. Together, you and I would add up being one pretty good vet.” He paused for a few seconds. “If you ever decide you want to partner with me, let me know.”

  Tony huffed. “If you ever decide to move out of Jasper Gulch and go back to civilization, the same goes for you.”

  “Yeah, right. You know how unlikely that is. My roots are in Montana.”

  “Thankfully, mine aren’t.”

  “You could do worse,” his former mentor said. “Well, as long as you haven’t run my practice into the ground or made my assistants quit yet, carry on.”

  “A week more, you said?”

  “Give or take. You in a hurry to leave?”

  Tony sighed. “No. Just wondering.”

  “You sound depressed. Have you had trouble living down your old reputation? I’d think not, considering the turnaround you made in life.”

  “There are a few holdouts,” Tony admitted ruefully. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

  The moment he made that claim, he knew it was untrue. He could face a raging mob without a qualm and still not know how to handle the only relationship that truly mattered to him. The one with Annette.

  * * *

  Bothered and curious in spite of herself, Annette was barely able to concentrate on her afternoon customers. While several older women snoozed under warm dryers, she finally gave in, grabbed her cell and hit speed dial.

  Her grip on the phone tightened and she pressed it tightly to her ear while it rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Mom. It’s me.”

  “Hi, honey! Good to hear from you. We’re drying out after the storm faster than I’d expected. How about you?”

  “Same here. Listen, I’ve been thinking. I wonder if you might help me remember something.”

  “If I can. What’s this about?”

  “Tony Valdez.”

  Dead silence ensued. Annette waited for her mother to say something, then gave up and continued with, “Remember him?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. I was delighted when he left town.”

  “That’s kind of why I’m calling. Do you recall him leaving me a note or sending me any letters?”

  “Why would you ask such a thing?”

  It was the strident tone of her mother’s voice that triggered Annette’s wariness. Could Tony have been telling the truth?

  “Because I need to know,” Annette insisted.

  “That all happened a long time ago. I hardly even remember what he looked like. Just that he was a hoodlum. We were well rid of the likes of that boy.”

  “Maybe you were wrong about him. What if he grew up and became a model citizen?”

  “The day I believe that will be the day they crown me Miss Jasper Gulch,” her mother quipped. “Which reminds me, I still think you should enter.”

  “Eight or ten years ago maybe I’d have stood a chance. Twenty-six is far too old to compete with the Shoemaker girls.”

  “You should have taken my good advice when you were younger.” Her mother sighed. “It’s sad to see you miss wonderful opportunities that only come around once in a lifetime.”

  Once in a lifetime? It was impossible for Annette to stop thinking about the way she had idolized Tony and the faith she’d had that there was a good, honest person lurking beneath his tough facade; a person waiting for somebody like her to believe in him and bring out the best.

  “You need to answer my question,” Annette insisted, taking care to try to sound nonchalant. “Did Tony Valdez leave me a goodbye note?”

  “I have no idea.”

  There was something off-putting about her mother’s inflection; something that caused Annette to keep pressing. “Let me put it this way, Mom. Even if you didn’t look to see what might have been inside envelopes addressed to me, were there any?”

  “I suppose there could have been.”

  “Did you give them to me?”

  “I must have. It’s just been so long that you’ve forgotten.”

  “Un-uh. You may have chosen to put it out of your mind, but I never would have. I was hurting too badly in those days.”

  Annette was trembling so much she had to either sit down or fall down. While she searched for the strength to continue, the extended silence apparently triggered her mother to speak.<
br />
  “You would have been hurt much worse if we’d let you get involved with that Tony or his no-good friends. I did you a favor and your father agreed. Those boys belonged in jail.”

  There it was. Tony was right. Annette’s mother had blamed him for crimes he didn’t commit and had kept his letters from reaching her. All this time she’d believed he didn’t care when the opposite had been true.

  Now, of course, everything was different. He was a college graduate with a professional career and she’d been left far behind. Through no fault of their own, they had drifted too far apart to ever belong together the way they once had.

  A sense of enormous loss enveloped Annette. She ended her conversation with the click of a button and stuck the phone back in her pocket. When it began to ring almost immediately, she turned it off.

  That was exactly how she felt, she realized. Disconnected and dead. The family she had always trusted had betrayed her. The person she had loved had been wronged, both in the past and by her recent rejection.

  Could she ever hope to put that right? She strongly doubted it, yet she had to try. All the apologies in the world were not going to change the past, but perhaps she could at least soften Tony’s anger and help him move on.

  Without me, she admitted sadly. Well, so be it.

  When he left Jasper Gulch in a few days or weeks, if she had anything to say about it, he’d go with his head held high and the stigma of his past erased. She could do no less.

  Chapter Eight

  Tony quickly realized he’d made a mistake by suggesting that Annette confront her mother. Any probing into their hazy, shared past would have to be her idea or she wouldn’t be in the right frame of mind to accept the truth, when and if she heard it.

  “Assuming Mrs. Lakey ever admits she did anything to keep me away from her daughter,” Tony mumbled to himself as he turned onto Shaw Boulevard from Massey Street.

  It had occurred to him to wonder if Annette’s parents had been the ones to cast extra suspicion on him all those years ago, not that his buddies and their behavior had been totally innocent. A lot of his prior problems were nobody’s fault but his own. He was just sorry it had taken him so long to realize he was headed down the wrong path. “Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go,” as the card in the popular board game read.

  Working for J.T. behind the scenes at the animal hospital had helped keep him off the streets as a teen, but it had not been enough to fully change the course of his wayward life. That had taken his parents’ relocation and an intervention by a dedicated youth pastor.

  Somewhere in the depths of his confusion and aching heart, Tony had found the path to Jesus and therefore to God. His reform had not been instantaneous, nor had it been accompanied by claps of thunder and bolts of lightning, but it had occurred just the same.

  Was this another step in his rehabilitation? he wondered. Had the Lord engineered his return to Jasper Gulch? And if so, what was he supposed to accomplish while he was there?

  The first thing that popped into his mind was an image of Annette. So pretty. So sweet. And yet also a strong, independent woman who ran her own business. In that respect, she was more stable, more settled, than he was. Establishing a veterinary practice was extremely expensive, which was one reason he’d accepted a part-time position as soon as he’d been licensed. It wasn’t the kind of job he’d wanted to ultimately hold, but at least it had helped pay off his tuition loans. So had a second job as a lab tech. All in all, he’d had plenty to do; it had simply not been totally fulfilling.

  Off to his left he could see the white-painted steeple of Mountainview Church of the Savior, the oldest house of worship in town and one of the most venerated buildings. Its presence called to him, as if offering the warm welcome he’d been denied by those who still viewed him as a juvenile delinquent.

  Instead of continuing along Shaw Boulevard, Tony turned toward the old church. By the time he pulled into the gravel lot beside it and parked, he had decided to go in. Even if the pastor wasn’t there he could sit silently in a pew and talk to God, try to make sense of what had been happening and the way his supposedly well-ordered life seemed to be in chaos.

  Until he pushed on the side door, he hadn’t considered that the building might be shut up tight.

  Tony was turning to go when he heard a click behind him and a voice that said, “I’m here. Sorry. I guess Reverend Peters forgot to unlock the door.” The man extended his hand. “Ethan Johnson. I’m going to be taking over Reverend Peters’s position soon.”

  “Tony Valdez.” They shook hands. “I hope you’ll like it here.”

  “I’m sure I will. Are you a member of the congregation?” The pastor held open the door and stepped aside as an invitation to enter.

  Hesitating, Tony smiled at him. “No, just visiting. I don’t even know why I’m standing here except that I was driving by and had a crazy urge to stop.”

  “Oh?”

  Tony nodded. “Yeah. I’m beginning to get the idea that God may have sent me back to Montana to make amends for my past mistakes.”

  “Would you like to come in and talk about it? I have an hour or so free before the current pastor is treating me to an orientation tour.”

  Tony checked his watch. “Thanks, but I’ll have to take a rain check. I’m on my way out to the Shaw ranch to check a couple of heifers.”

  “Oh, are you the new veterinarian?” Ethan beamed at him. “I’ve heard about you.” Once again he extended a hand of greeting and acceptance.

  “And you still want to shake my hand?” Tony returned his grin. “That’s very Christian of you.”

  Chuckling, Ethan clasped Tony’s right hand with both of his and said, “My pleasure.”

  * * *

  The next few days with Stormy and her pups were fairly uneventful. The noises the little ones made as they blindly explored their tiny world were adorable and surprisingly soothing, so much so that when they were all asleep Annette missed their soft squeaks and murmurs.

  The mama dog had gotten into the habit of feeding her babies, then cuddling with them and napping for a while before hopping out and joining Annette. Nearly every time she turned around, there was Stormy, either curled up nearby or wagging her bushy tail and looking at her with eager expectation.

  “Well, at least it’s warmed up outside,” Annette told the dog. “Would you like to go for a walk, girl?”

  Stormy’s tail rapidly traced figure eights in the air.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” Annette laughed at herself. “Here I stand, having a conversation with a dog and believing we actually understand each other.” She rolled her eyes. “All I wanted was to do a good deed. Who would have thought it would come to this?”

  “I would have,” a deep, masculine voice behind her said.

  Annette jumped as if receiving an electric shock. “Oh! Tony! I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “Sorry if I scared you.”

  It was a far more complicated feeling than that, she admitted silently. Yes, her heart was pounding and she was having trouble getting enough oxygen, but that had little to do with being startled. If someone like old Rusty had come in without her noticing, the shock would not have lingered and made her insides quiver.

  She didn’t have to force a smile. It blossomed unbidden. If she could have found adequate words she would have asked him if he could ever forgive her for doubting him. The sooner she revealed her full conversation with her mother, the better, yet she hardly knew where to begin.

  “How are your furry roommates?” he asked.

  “Fine, I think.” Annette laid her hand lightly on Stormy’s head and ruffled her silky ears. “When will the pups open their eyes and start to explore?”

  “Another week
or so should do it.” Tony came toward her. “Mind if I take a look?”

  Backing up to give herself breathing room, she reached for the frayed red ribbon.

  “Hold on. I brought you something,” Tony said. He produced a roll of leather from his jacket pocket. “A collar and leash. I’ll get her vaccinations up to date before I leave town and give you the tag to attach.”

  Watching him adjust the collar around the dog’s neck, Annette fought back tears. His hands were strong yet his touch was gentle. It didn’t matter what had happened in his past; he had become a good, good man, one she was proud to know.

  “I...”

  “No, me first,” Tony said. “I need to apologize for saying what I did about your mother.”

  “No, no. You were right,” Annette insisted.

  His expression was solemn and sad, even though a slight smile lifted one corner of his mouth. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I realize there’s no reason to dig up old grudges.”

  Meaning, he had no intention of discussing it further or giving her a chance to make amends. Well, she wasn’t going to give up on him. On them.

  “I think we should talk it out,” Annette said flatly.

  “There’s nothing to talk about.”

  Now what? Should she continue to press him or back off for the present? A lot depended on how soon he’d be leaving town. The one thing she was not going to do was let him go away again without telling him that she believed in him.

  “I think there is. I got my mother to admit she withheld your letters. I know you were telling me the truth.”

  “Good.”

  “That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”

  Tony slowly shook his head. His gaze met hers and held. “What else is there?” His expression hardened before he went on, “If you had believed me before you found out what she’d done, there might be more to talk about. You made your choice, Annette.”