A Cowgirl at Heart

by Christine Lynxwiler

  Lightning flashed wildly across the sky, followed quickly by a loud clap of thunder, then more lightning. The storm had arrived.

  CHAPTER 11

  Crystal looked out the window of her upstairs bedroom at the darkening clouds. Jeremy’s house didn’t have a basement. She picked up her phone. Maybe she should call and just make sure he knew the weather was bad. She shook her head. His parents would call him. He didn’t need her. He’d made that clear when she’d taken the brownies over. And even clearer after church yesterday.

  Her phone sprang to life in her hand and her heart leapt. Jeremy.

  “Hello?”

  “Crystal, it’s Jeremy.”

  Since when did he need to identify himself? “Hey.”

  “Listen, I don’t know if you’ve been watching the weather, but there’s a line of thunderstorms heading for Sharp County.” He cleared his throat. “They mentioned Shady Grove specifically.”

  “Do you and Beka want to come down here? We can all camp out in the basement.”

  Silence.

  “Jeremy?”

  “We’d better just go to Mom and Dad’s. It’s closer. But you go on to the basement.” He hesitated. “Please. Right now.”

  “Okay, I will.” She couldn’t wrap her mind around reality. He cared enough to beg her to go to the basement, but he didn’t want to be around her.

  “Crys?”

  “Yes?”

  “I love you.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “I love you, too, Jeremy.” And I’m not going to let you throw us away.

  “We’ve got to go get ready to drive down to Mom and Dad’s.”

  “Y’all be careful.”

  “You, too.” And with that he broke the connection.

  She swiped the tears off her face and pulled on her sweatpants and a sweatshirt. She didn’t really care if she blew away in a storm right now, but she’d promised him she’d go to the basement. She’d promised him she’d love him forever. And she kept her promises.

  ***

  Andrew reached down and lifted Elyse to her feet. “What happened?” He picked up her cell phone, dusted it off, and held it out to her. “Do you know that man?”

  Her phone rang in his hand, and she stared at it as if afraid to answer it.

  He looked down at the caller ID. “It’s your mom.”

  Lightning flashed as she took the phone and slid it open. “Hello?” Thunder boomed. He kept his arm around Elyse and guided her to the house while she listened.

  They were almost to the front door by the time she said, “Okay. Thanks. Love you, too.” She slid the phone shut and glanced up at him, her brown eyes huge in a pale face. “Mama said there’s a severe thunderstorm heading this way. We have to get the dogs into the basement right now.”

  She unlocked the front door, and Andrew followed her inside. The dogs ran to greet them. “Do you have a weather radio down there?”

  Elyse nodded and rubbed the dogs’ heads absently. “I have a whole kit. Even food and water for the dogs. After the tornado hit Highland a few years ago, Daddy made us all get prepared.” She slapped her leg with her palm. “Let’s go, girls.” She glanced at Pal. “And boy.”

  Andrew walked down the basement stairs behind her and the dogs. He was concerned about the storm, but most of all, he wanted to know what had happened outside awhile ago. Had Elyse just tripped in the storm? Or had she recognized the man he was struggling with? Something had changed in her eyes when she’d seen him.

  By the time Andrew stepped off the bottom step, Elyse had already turned on the weather radio and cranked the volume up. They listened, in silence, to the computerized monotone voice repeating the local conditions. She plopped down on the tweed couch, and Andrew sat on a recliner next to it. She tucked the dogs around her, like a mother hen with her chicks. Her eyes met his, and she looked away.

  The radio voice was talking about the storm now, naming the places in the path and the approximate arrival time. “Shady Grove at 9:45p.m.”

  Andrew looked at the clock. Five minutes. He gave Elyse a tentative smile. “Are you scared of storms?”

  She nodded. “One of my long list of fears.”

  He stood and gave Pal a gentle pat. “Scoot over, boy.” He sank onto the couch beside her and put his arm around her shoulder. Pal plopped down in his lap. “Would it be okay if I prayed?”

  Elyse looked at him, and for the first time, her eyes brimmed with tears. “I’d love that.” She hit mute on the radio.

  They bowed their heads, and he prayed from his heart, asking God to keep them all safe from the storm, to watch over those traveling in it, and to heal whatever brokenness tonight brought.

  When he finished, Elyse laid her head on his shoulder. “Thanks.” She closed her eyes.

  He hated to bring his question up again, but if the answer was no, he needed to call Jack Westwood immediately. “Elyse?”

  She opened her eyes. “What?”

  “Did you know that man out there?”

  She closed her eyes again.

  The seconds ticked away, the storm a dull roar outside, while he waited for her to answer.

  Finally, she sighed and opened her eyes. Tears sparkled in the brown depths. “I know who he is.”

  “Who?”

  “His name is Luis Reynolds. He’s my biological father.”

  Andrew stared at her.

  “Biological father sounds like a term that ought to be used by people who were given up for adoption as babies, doesn’t it?” Elyse said, almost as if to herself. “It doesn’t sound right coming from someone who remembers when he brushed her hair and taught her to tie her shoes and answered to ‘Dad.’”

  Andrew’s breath caught in his throat at the deep pain he heard beneath her words. “What happened?”

  She shrugged and blinked hard. “A lot of things. But mostly prison.”

  “How old were you?”

  “Eight when I went into foster care. Ten when the McCords adopted me.”

  “And you haven’t seen him since?”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t even know he was out of prison.” She shivered.

  Andrew tightened his arm around her shoulders. “What about your biological mother?”

  “Dead.”

  He read between the lines. Mother dead, father in prison. That had domestic violence written all over it. And now the man was out and after his daughter. “We need to call the sheriff.”

  She shook her head. “Absolutely not.” All trace of tears disappeared from her eyes as they flashed. “You’re not to tell a soul about him showing up. Or I’ll never speak to you again.”

  He sat up straight. “Elyse. Use your head. He may intend to harm you.”

  “He would never”—she held his gaze, her expressive eyes telegraphing the certainty she had that she was right—“never physically hurt me. And emotionally, there’s nothing he can do to me that he hasn’t already done. We’re not telling anyone.”

  Andrew could tell her mind was made up, and considering he had his own secrets from the local police, he felt he had no choice but to respect her decision. He didn’t want to scare her, but he had to make sure she had all the information. “Your—Luis said something while we were struggling. I couldn’t make out the whole sentence, but I did catch one word.” He looked across at her. “It was ‘Zeke.’”

  Elyse shivered. “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “I know. But I’m sure that’s what he said.”

  Her phone rang. She answered it, talked for a minute, and then hung up. “That was Mama. Apparently the storm blew over without doing any damage. And she said that was the last front for tonight, according to the radar.” She gave him a sheepish look. “Which we’d have known if I hadn’t muted the radio and left it. Sorry.” She pushed the dogs off gently and stood.

  Andrew followed suit. “So if you’re not going to tell the police, what are you going to do?”

  “Pray. And keep my eyes open.” She smiled at him. “
And be thankful that you’re around.” Her expression grew serious. “Promise you won’t tell anyone about him showing up here tonight, please.”

  Andrew couldn’t refuse. “I promise.”

  She blew out her breath. “Thanks. Together we can figure this out.” She hurried up the stairs with the dogs close at her heels. When Andrew got to the top of the stairs, she was looking out the window at the yard, lit up by an orange guard light. “I don’t see any wind damage at all. But it does look like we got a lot of rain.”

  “Your dad will be glad.” As soon as he said the words, it sounded awkward. Jonathan McCord was her dad, but after tonight...

  He could see in her eyes that either she’d read his thoughts or it had sounded odd to her, too. “I only have one dad. So don’t feel funny saying it.”

  He nodded. “I’d better get back over to the camper and try to catch up on the sleep I lost last night.”

  She gave him a tired grin. “Yep. You have to get an early start on the barn in the morning and impress Luke.”

  He chuckled. “You have my number, don’t you?”

  She walked him to the door. “I knew your pride wouldn’t take his needling about sleeping late very well.”

  In the foyer, he stared into her eyes and wondered how she’d come to mean so much to him in such a short time. He’d known Melanie for years before they’d even dated. This wasn’t like him. He knew there was no future here. Yet he couldn’t stop himself from kissing her.

  At the last minute, she turned her head and his kiss fell on her cheek. She stepped back and looked down at the floor. “I’m sorry, Andrew. But my life has been turned upside down lately. And when you get done with the barn in a couple of months, you’ll leave. I’d rather not make that day any harder than it has to be.” She looked up at him with a smile. “Friends?”

  He nodded. At least one of them had good sense. It was a logical decision. But logic didn’t stop the disappointment. “Good night then ... friend.”

  “Good night.”

  He slipped outside and stood there until he heard the dead bolt engage; then he walked slowly back to his camper, all thoughts of sleep gone from his mind.

  ***

  Kaleigh hit the snooze button on the alarm, and her hand came away with a sticky note attached. She squinted at it. Be Quiet. She rolled over. It was the second day of a new week with a new goal added to the first one: “Don’t talk when silence will do.” Since she was still in the privacy of her bed, she groaned. Her feet hurt, and she hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet. And she had to get up an hour earlier to straighten her hair. Now, thanks to Operation New Me, she wasn’t even going to be allowed to complain about it all day. This week was shaping up to be hard.

  After her shower, she straightened her hair and slipped into the outfit her roommate had left on the bed for her. Ugh. Basic brown from head to toe. Same strand of pearls she’d borrowed last week. And brown shoes. She grunted with relief when she saw they were flats. “Happy feet,” she whispered.

  Her first class was Advanced Journalism, and Carlton was in it. When she walked in, he glanced up but continued talking to a girl with hair even straighter, wearing an even drabber outfit than Kaleigh had on. She wasn’t all that surprised. Their coffee date after class last Friday had been kind of a bust. She’d been scared to talk, afraid he’d find out that even though she was a journalism major, she wasn’t really a fan of Homer or the classics. She needn’t have worried. He was nice, but most of his conversation subtly pointed out how smart he was.

  It doesn’t have to be him, Kaleigh reminded herself. A wedding date was a wedding date, whether he had numbers behind his name or not. She scanned the guys in the class and sighed. So many geeks, so little time. Not that she was opposed to a smart guy with glasses. But she drew the line at hands softer than hers.

  She walked over to her normal seat and sat down.

  “Kaleigh?”

  She turned around to face Nathan Manchester, the guy she’d beat in the Ping-Pong tournament. “Yes?”

  “You look different.” He tilted his head. “You look good.”

  She bit back a sarcastic retort. Be quiet, she reminded herself. Not every word that came to her brain had to come out of her mouth. “Thank you, Nathan.”

  She turned back around and buried her face in the Iliad, which she’d actually checked out of the library this morning. Not that she was going to read it. But it made a good prop for being quiet.

  “So what’s so different about you? I can’t put my finger on it,” Nathan said from behind her.

  Um, everything? Kaleigh sucked her bottom lip into her teeth and held it.

  “I guess it’s your hair.”

  Be quiet. That’s all she had to do today. Just be quiet.

  “Hi, Kaleigh.”

  She looked up. The Iliad was turning out to be better bait for a wedding date than a neon jig for a bigmouth bass. “Hi, Carlton.”

  “Would you like to go eat lunch after class?”

  “To the cafeteria?” She had a meal plan card, so it was the cheapest choice.

  He made a moue of distaste with his mouth. She’d never seen anyone actually make a moue before, but it was the only way she could describe what he did. She almost giggled, but she was pretty sure that would ruin today’s goal.

  “I was thinking more along the lines of Colton’s Steakhouse.”

  “Are you buying?” the old Kaleigh would have said. The new Kaleigh just smiled. “That sounds good.”

  Carlton strode confidently back over to his seat. It was only Tuesday, and the second step of Operation New Me was already going well. To celebrate, Kaleigh turned around to smile at the guy behind her. “So, Nathan, played any Ping-Pong lately?”

  CHAPTER 12

  Elyse woke with a terrible sense of foreboding. She felt the weight of dogs all around her, which was unusual. In that moment between sleep and wakefulness, she remembered inviting them up there but couldn’t quite recall the awful thing that made her need the comfort of having them close. When the full memory of last night came to her, she put her pillow over her face. For eighteen years, she’d been afraid that someday her biological father might find her. That was one thing she didn’t have to worry about anymore.

  She threw the pillow off, and the dogs stirred. Majesty and Missy leapt onto the floor, anxious to go outside. Nikki snuck in for a quick good morning kiss on Elyse’s cheek then joined the other two. Pal, on the far corner of the bed, blinked several times as if wondering where he was.

  “I’m right here with you, boy,” Elyse murmured. “Some days it’s hard to make sense of things.” She sat up and looked at the clock. One hour until the first grooming appointment.

  She slid her feet into her flip-flops. The dogs led her down the hall to the back door. She let them out, hurried into the kitchen, made coffee, snagged her Bible from the table, and went out to sit on the deck and read. Instead of starting in Proverbs where she’d been reading lately, she flipped over to the first chapter of 2 Timothy. She had verse 7 memorized, but today she needed to see the familiar words in black and white: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.”

  Elyse leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Why was it so hard to let go of her fears? Without opening her eyes, she made a noise of disgust. Maybe because she had so many. She ticked them off on her fingers, the rational as well as the irrational ones—fear of Luis coming back into her life, fear of cows, fear of people finding out that as a child she’d been a con artist, fear of storms, fear of speaking in front of people, fear of going too fast in a vehicle, and ultimately fear of being killed.

  As she finished the list, she sat up and opened her eyes. Several of those she’d faced in the last few weeks. Luis was back, and sure, it was scary, but the world hadn’t ended. She’d told Andrew about her childhood, and he hadn’t shunned her. When they’d been in the basement last night and Andrew had prayed that God would keep them safe from the sto
rm, Elyse had believed He would. She smiled. That was faith. Stronger than she used to have. She glanced out at the dogs, in her mind’s eye seeing Zeke again raising that pistol to shoot Pal. And she’d thrown herself on top of him and the gun. The old Elyse couldn’t have done that. God was giving her what she asked for.

  She remembered a preacher saying not to pray for patience if you weren’t ready to learn it through life experiences. For the past several years, if she had been pressed to describe her life in one word, she’d probably have said, “Boring.” But since she’d made the decision to overcome her fears, her life had been filled with excitement and danger. And even though boring was ... well, boring, it was a lot more relaxing than danger. Still, through danger she was facing her fears. And coming out alive. “Thank You, Lord, for Your protection,” she whispered.