by Mary Leo
And she turned forward in her seat, trying to get comfortable, but lately, unless she was surrounded by a mass of pillows, she was chronically uncomfortable.
She hesitated, her hands on the steering wheel, eyes facing forward, wishing he would say something to take her anger away, to convince her that he really did want to work this out.
“I hope you’ll be coming to the wedding. Dodge would like it. And my boys would love to see you there and so would I. We miss you, Helen, miss you like crazy,” he said.
She wanted to ask him how he could ask her to come to the wedding when it was supposed to be their wedding, as well. She wanted to tell him definitely not.
No way.
Never going to happen.
Instead she looked at him and said, “I miss the boys, too.”
Then she forced herself to turn over the ignition, pull the door out of his hand and drive away, leaving him standing in the street watching her taillights fade into darkness.
* * *
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Helen pulled up to the stables at the Granger ranch. She hadn’t seen Tater ever since she’d broken off the engagement with Colt. She’d completely neglected her animal and it would serve her right if he didn’t recognize her.
She hoped he did, for her own sake.
As soon as she turned on the lights inside the stable, she heard the familiar rustling of the horses inside their box stalls. For some reason, the smell didn’t make her nauseous. Instead, it worked like a balm to soothe her ragged nerves. Just seeing Colt again had brought up all her raw emotions. She felt sick over their circumstances and wished with all her heart that the hurt would vanish so they could be together again.
Helen found Tater’s stall and peeked inside. Usually whenever she was anywhere near, he would hang his head over the gate to greet her. This time, he stayed back, convincing her that he had forgotten all about her.
“Tater, it’s me, boy.”
She waited, and slowly he walked toward her. When he finally came closer, he pricked his ears then shied away, taking a couple steps back.
“What’s wrong? It’s me, boy. Come on. You know me. What’s got you so spooked?”
But he wouldn’t come to her.
His ears moved again as if he’d heard a noise or seen something that he didn’t like. His behavior had her confused especially since this horse was conditioned to hearing guns fire and balloons pop.
Nothing phased Tater.
“How about if I brush you? Maybe that will calm us both down.”
She found his soft brush in the bucket she kept stored with all her other favorite brushes and oils at the far end of the stable then made her way back to the stall. She thought she’d take him out and tie him in front of the stall to brush him in order to have more light. Plus, her belly was so big she couldn’t really move too quickly if she had to get out of his way.
Helen really missed Colt. It had been so nice sharing her life with him, with his boys and his family. Was their fight over that old school and her secret rides really worth them being apart? What was wrong with starting her own school somewhere else, like say behind Colt’s house? Okay, so maybe the house—as it was—was connected to the memory of his deceased wife. She could change that, could paint and remodel. Wasn’t a good relationship all about cooperation?
She didn’t want this ache in her heart to go on any longer. She loved Colt and he loved her, surely there had to be a way for them to find common ground.
When she reached the stall, she put the bucket down, and was about to slide the gate open when she heard the stable door open.
“I wouldn’t be goin’ near him, if I was you,” Dodge said as he ambled toward her.
Helen’s stomach pitched. “Why? What’s wrong with my horse?”
“He’s got himself an infected tooth. Been jumpy for a couple days now. Doc came by today and fixed him up, but it’s gonna take a spell.”
She slid the gate partially open. “He’s had bad teeth before and he’s never been spooked.”
Dodge raced over to her just as Tater whinnied and slammed his rear into the back wall, and lifted his front feet, striking a side wall with a heavy hoof. Tater’s angry movement frightened Helen, causing her to jump back and lose her footing. She started to go down, but Dodge caught her arm and held tight.
“I got ya,” Dodge said.
Helen’s balance was so off she couldn’t stop her momentum. Dodge struggled to keep both of them upright, twisting his upper body to hold them steady. Somehow he not only managed to keep them upright, but he also managed to keep from hurting her arm when she leaned into him with her full body weight.
“I’m okay. I’m okay,” Helen mumbled.
Dodge eased his grip, but didn’t let go of her. “You sure you’re good?”
“I think so,” she told him, but she was shaking so hard she could barely speak. “How about...you?”
He reached out and awkwardly slid the gate on the stall shut with his left arm.
“Think I wrenched my right shoulder, but thankfully, we didn’t go down.”
“Oh, Dodge. I’m so sorry. I never expected—”
“Ain’t nobody’s fault. Now, how about you and me go over to the house and set a spell? Blake put the tea kettle on before I walked on over here. Should be hot by now.”
She took a deep breath and let it out trying to calm her shaking body, worried about the adrenaline that had to be washing over her baby. Little Loran kept moving and kicking. Helen had never been so scared in her entire life, and now she had a new worry, her sweet baby girl.
“I could use a hot cup of tea...and a slice of humble pie if you’ve got the time to listen.”
“Door’s always open, Helen. I’d be mighty proud to serve up some of my own pie, if you don’t mind.”
“I’d do anything for you, Dodge. You just saved my life.”
* * *
EXACTLY ONE HOUR before the wedding, Colt helped his dad into a black suit coat then a black sling for his right arm. Colt didn’t exactly know how he’d wrenched his shoulder, Dodge wouldn’t say, but he knew it had something to do with Tater. He was surprised his dad would’ve gone near Tater when he knew the animal was hurting. Colt figured his dad’s age must be catching up with him and let it go at that.
Travis gave his dad’s new hat a once-over, then carefully placed it on his dad’s head. Blake made sure his dad’s burnt-orange-colored tie had the appropriate knot, and that his hair didn’t stick out of his hat in a peculiar way.
Dodge had gotten a haircut special for the occasion. His thick white hair now had a sheen to it due to the rinse his barber had insisted would bring out more of the highlights. Dodge had balked at the idea, but his barber could argue a golfer into climbing a tree. Colt was sure his dad agreed to all the primping and the new suit because both his barber and his tailor had been invited to the wedding along with anyone else Dodge had a mind to tell to stop by. In the end, there were more than three hundred guests waiting for the ceremony to begin in the restored barn. Colt hoped Helen was among them.
“How do I look?” Dodge asked, turning from the freestanding floor mirror that had been their mother’s. They were in the master bedroom that would soon belong to Blake and Maggie. Whenever Colt thought about his dad not living in the main house anymore, it made him sad to know it was the end of an era.
But life was about change, and a Granger change had been long overdue.
Dodge looked happy, content and like the true gentleman he was. His best pair of black boots had been polished to a spit shine, his face was clean-shaven, he smelled musky sweet from the cologne Edith had given him and his nails were perfectly manicured. Dodge hadn’t looked this good since their mom’s funeral, and even then, he’d forgotten to polish his boots.
“Like the handsome gro
om,” Blake said as he fastened a red rose boutonniere to his dad’s lapel.
All four of the Granger men had outdone themselves. They each wore black suits, white dress shirts and burnt-orange-colored ties. Their boots were polished and their hats were new. They’d coordinated their suits, shirts and ties and each met Edith’s stringent approval. This was her first real wedding, and she was bound and determined that it would be as perfect as a harvest moon.
Her first marriage took place at the courthouse. She and her husband couldn’t afford anything else. She told Dodge she’d always felt cheated and this time, she was going to shoot the works, which seemed to be the case if Colt was any judge of what this day was costing.
“I’m nervous, can’t fight it,” Dodge told his sons.
Colt had never seen his dad so fidgety. Most of the time, it didn’t matter what was going on, Dodge was as cool as an ocean breeze.
“It’s going to be fine, Pop,” Travis told him. “Everything’s under control. The preacher’s already here, and everyone’s gathering in the barn.”
“I dismantled the trampoline just in case any of my sons decided to make the leap, and Milo promised to keep an eye out for them. They’re too scared of Milo to do anything prickly. You’re free to enjoy yourself,” Colt said.
“You’ve got yourself the perfect day for a wedding, Pop,” Travis said. “Not a cloud in the sky, no snow in the forecast and it’s a balmy fifty-five degrees out there. Couldn’t be better weather if you’d ordered it. Did you?”
Dodge smirked. “I’d like to think I did, son. I couldn’t take it if somethin’ went wrong for Edith. She’s been plannin’ and lookin’ forward to this day for weeks.”
“Trust me,” Blake said, gently slapping his dad’s shoulder. “Nothing’s going to go wrong.”
And as if on cue, Buddy and the dogs, Mush and Suzie, burst into the bedroom. Colt’s heart skipped a beat.
“I spoke too soon,” Blake said.
“Dad, you gotta come quick.” He grabbed his dad’s hand and pulled. The dogs barked and Colt had no choice but to follow, hoping like heck this could all get resolved quickly.
“I’m sorry,” he called back to his brothers and his dad. “Whatever it is, I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”
When they were out on the front porch, Colt said, “I asked you boys to please be good today. This is your grandfather’s wedding. He and Edith will be disappointed if any of you get into trouble.”
“We didn’t get into any trouble, Dad. I promise. This is something good.”
The guests were arriving and parking their cars in the empty field that Colt and Travis had prepared for the occasion. There were small bouquets of fall-colored flowers tied to the fence that ran up to the house from the road. The front porch had been cleaned and the wood stained with a dark resin. More fall-colored flowers decorated the porch in huge vases and containers. Cream-colored ribbons and bows wound around the railings and a white plastic runner made its way from the house to the barn. Colt and Buddy sidestepped the carpet as they made their way toward the accumulating guests. Even the dogs knew better than to step on the runner.
“Buddy, I’m supposed to be helping Dodge get ready.”
“Gramps is all grown-up. He doesn’t need helping,” Buddy told him without looking back, still tugging on Colt’s hand.
When they finally arrived at the front door of the barn, Buddy stopped and looked around. Rows of white chairs lined the new barn floor. Streamers hung from the rafters and an arbor decorated in more fall-colored flowers stood at the back of the barn. All the walls had been painted a deep red and the rafters had been cleaned. The place looked like something right out of one of those magazines his mom used to read.
“She came, Dad. She’s here and she’s all dressed up looking like a beautiful angel.”
And sure enough, Helen stood next to Milo and Amanda, looking exactly like the angel Buddy just described. Her long deep green velvet dress fit perfectly over her round tummy, and her red hair glistened in the sunlight. She wore a floral headband that looked exactly like a small halo. He wanted to walk right over to her, take her by the hand and tell her to stop being so dang stubborn.
But he knew better. “She doesn’t want to talk to me, son.”
“Sure she does, or she wouldn’t have come.”
Buddy continued to pull on Colt’s hand. This time Colt pulled back. “Buddy, I said she doesn’t want to talk to me.”
He let go of Buddy’s hand and turned to leave.
“But you’ve got to talk to her, Dad, or Gavin will miss the whole wedding.”
Colt stopped dead, and turned to face his son. A combination of apprehension, fear and anger surged through his veins. “Why? Where’s Gavin? And where’s your brother Joey?”
“Gavin was all twitchy when he saw Helen. We had no choice, Dad. He made us lock him inside that old hay bin up in the loft so he couldn’t tell her about the school. He didn’t want to spoil your secret. You have to tell her or Gramps and Edith will never forgive him for missing their wedding.”
“You locked him in? With what?”
Buddy shrugged. “The old padlock that hung on the wall up there.”
“There’s no key for that padlock. Where’s Joey?”
“He stayed up there with him ’cause he got scared when we couldn’t get the lock open again.”
Colt bolted for the ladder to the loft. On his way, he had to pass Helen.
“Colt, I—”
He held her shoulders for a moment and looked into her eyes. She smelled sweet like the flowers she wore in her hair. “I can’t talk now, Helen. Gavin’s locked inside the hay bin. Please don’t go anywhere. You look beautiful, Helen. Really beautiful.”
And he hurried up the ladder with Buddy following right behind him.
* * *
THE LAST FIRE TRUCK left at the exact moment when Edith and Dodge were supposed to be walking up the white carpet from the house. Instead, the firemen had trampled the carpet, and their equipment had pretty much destroyed every flower and streamer that had been so carefully fastened along the fence.
The good news was Gavin had been freed from the hay bin after being locked up for more than an hour. He hadn’t been scared because the box was so old he had a lot of places to see out and Colt, his two brothers, along with Joey and Buddy had entertained him. The country band that Travis hired for the reception had played happy cowboy songs, and the guests had sung along.
The bad news was Gavin still twitched.
Dodge and Edith decided to postpone the actual wedding for a few hours and have the reception first, which gave Colt time to talk to Helen.
“You stayed,” Colt said when he finally saw Helen again. His shirt was dirty from crawling around on the floor of the loft. He had hay stuck to his clothes and in his hair. He needed a bath in the worst way, but he couldn’t afford to give up this time with Helen.
“I promised Dodge.”
“Since when?”
“Since the other night when he stopped me from going into Tater’s stall.”
Colt had just gotten over his nervous stomach and she’d gone and made it nervous all over again. Tater had been prickly for three days running. He couldn’t even get near him, let alone enter his stall. He was better now that the medicine was taking effect but that horse was still a bit spooked.
“Is that when he wrenched his arm?”
“Yes. It was all my fault. I insisted on going into the stall. If it wasn’t for your father, there’s no telling what could have happened.”
“Dodge has a sixth sense.”
She gave him a sheepish look. “Aren’t you angry with me?”
Colt could no more be angry with her than he could be angry at Gavin. They had both come through their ordeals unscathed and that was enough
for him.
“What good would that do?”
“Don’t you want to tell me I told you so?”
“Tater already did. Other than that, I’m so very glad you’re here.”
He was fishing now, fishing for something that told him she was willing to work things out.
“I told you, I missed the boys.”
He laughed out loud, and she joined in on the laughter. “How could you possibly miss my boys? They make more smoke than wet firewood.”
“That’s why I love ’em. You never know what they’re going to do next. Is Gavin all right?”
“He’s fine. It’s his dad who’s worse for wear.”
“You look great to me.”
And there it was...her smile. He’d walk a desert to see that smile.
“Not really. I look awful, but you look beautiful, or did I tell you that already?’
“A girl can never hear it too often.”
“Then stick around, babe, and I’ll tell you every single day for the rest of your life.”
“Is that a promise?”
That was all the lead-in Colt needed. He took her in his arms and kissed her, not caring who was watching or what they were saying. He kissed her hard and heavy, as if he’d been thirsty for her lips on his.
When he finally had his fill, he stopped and everyone watching applauded, letting out catcalls and hoots. Helen blushed so red her face almost matched her hair color. He figured he must have looked like a beet himself, but he wasn’t about to pay it no mind at all. That kiss had been enough to make a preacher blush and he was proud of it.
Buddy, Gavin and Joey came rushing up to them, each boy talking at the same time.
“You’ve got to show her, Daddy. I can’t stop itching,” Gavin said.
“Dad, you need to take her now. Please. Come on, Dad,” Buddy insisted.
Soon the guests got in on the demands, as well. “Do it, man!”
“Drive her over there!”
“Show her what you’ve done!”
“What are they talking about, Colt?” Helen asked, looking confused. “Is it your processing plant? I know you’ve started it and it’s okay. I’ve made peace with your decision. We can add an arena out behind your house like you suggested. That should work just fine.”