Rowdy

by Patricia Green

  Soon enough after lunch, however, Rowdy showed up to take them to Rexburg.

  Bob insisted on having Melody and himself along for the visit, which was no surprise to Gretchen, but Rowdy was chafed. Considering her recent conversation with Neil, she knew there was wisdom in Bob's protectiveness, so she didn't argue about it.

  Eventually, with Gretchen's persuasion, the pair was allowed to follow in the limo.

  It was only an hour and a half from Pocatello to Rowdy's parents' ranch outside of Rexburg, so the trip was brief. Gretchen debated with herself numerous times about whether to tell Rowdy about Neil's re-emergence, but never resolved her internal argument. She needed to hear back from Harry first, and Harry was in court that day, dealing with someone else's legal matter. He only had a few clients, but they were all important people. Gretchen had to wait her turn.

  They rolled down the long gravel road to the main house and came to a stop nearby. The limo was not built for gravel roads, so bumped along lamely, catching up after a minute or so.

  Amy bounced out of the truck and ran to Rowdy, taking his left hand, ignoring the cast wound around it. "Come on! Hurry up!"

  "Slow down, peanut. Let your mama take a breath. This is important to her, too."

  As Amy waited impatiently, Gretchen touched her hair, thankful she'd had the blonde refreshed just before Las Vegas. She hoped she looked her best. Bob and Melody piled out of the limo, looking around curiously as they did. The ranch was miles away from anything threatening. Gretchen wondered if they felt foolish for insisting on coming to such an innocuous and safe place.

  "Okay," she told everyone. "Let's–"

  "Rowdy!" came the female shout from the front door. Then a woman came out and hurried over. She was older, middle-aged, and looked robust and healthy, slender but strong. Her shoulder-length hair was mostly dark brown, with a few gray streaks. Some of Rowdy's features were mirrored on the woman's face, and Gretchen was sure this was Rowdy's mom.

  She gave her son a big embrace and a kiss on the cheek. "I heard you drive up. Introduce me to…" Her gaze fell on the pair by the limo. "Everyone."

  "Ma," he said, indicating Gretchen with a smile. "This is Gretchen Nelson, and this little excited Miss is her daughter, Amy." He took Gretchen's hand and gave it a squeeze, then released it. "Gretchen, this is my ma, Wanda Jackson."

  "Mrs. Jackson, it's a pleasure to meet you."

  "Now, now," the older woman returned. She moved in for a hug and wrapped her arms around Gretchen who returned the warm gesture. "No, 'Mrs. Jackson’. You call me Wanda." She hunkered down to Amy's level and smiled at the little girl. "Hello, Amy. I'm Wanda, Rowdy's ma. Welcome to my ranch."

  "You have horses, right?"

  "Yes, quite a few."

  "Can I sit on one?"

  "Maybe. We'll see how the day goes."

  Amy thought about it for a few seconds. "Is Rowdy my daddy?"

  There was utter silence as Gretchen felt like she'd melt into the cold gravel, she was so embarrassed.

  "Amy!"

  Wanda Jackson looked up to Rowdy from her place down by Amy. He, too, was embarrassed, Gretchen could tell. He simply shook his head at his mother.

  "No, Amy, Rowdy is not your daddy. But if you want to call me Granny, it's okay. I will pretend to be your gramma."

  Amy's smile went from ear to ear. "I have a grandma, but she's far away. You could pretend to be my grandma. We can be friends."

  "I'd like that," Wanda told her, standing. She took a few steps back and looked over at Bob and Melody. "Come closer," she called to the pair. "Don't be shy!"

  They got closer, Bob, overdressed in his fine black suit, black peacoat and sensible shoes and Melody in a navy-blue pantsuit and dark blue parka. Bob held out his hand for a shake.

  "Ma, this is Gretchen's security team, Bob Finlay and Melody Williams. I told you about the need for security."

  "Right." She shook Bob's hand, then Melody's. "I'm Wanda Jackson. Well, won't you all come in? It's a mite chilly out here."

  "Thank you," Gretchen replied gratefully. It was cold. She wondered how Wanda was managing with only a down vest rather than a parka. She figured you got used to the weather.

  They followed into the house, finding a spacious living room decorated with western paraphernalia, Christmas ornaments including a big, fluffy, brightly lit tree, and personal mementoes. Right away, Gretchen spotted pictures of a younger Rowdy, alongside pictures of a young girl she presumed was Rowdy's sister, Lucky, on the mantel. A warm fire blazed there. Gretchen felt very welcome indeed.

  Lucky made her appearance just then, smiling broadly. The resemblance between the two siblings was slight, but noticeable, mostly in their smiles and dark hair. Lucky looked to be about twenty years old, younger than Rowdy's twenty-five. She was slender, like her mother, and friendly, giving everyone a hug, even Bob and Melody. She saved a special hug for Amy. "I have cookies in the kitchen," she said. "Would you like one?"

  Amy looked up at her mother who nodded. Turning back to Lucky, she said, "Yes, please."

  Lucky stood and offered her hand. "Come on! There's more than I can eat."

  The group, except for Wanda, sat down. She stood to one side. "I'm afraid Rowdy's pa won't be here until supper. He's seeing to a sick horse. Would you like some eggnog?"

  Everyone said yes though Bob and Melody asked to leave out the liquor, and Wanda moved away to get the drinks.

  The late afternoon soon became evening, and Wanda excused herself several times to see to dinner. Gretchen offered to help, and after a brief pause, Wanda accepted her offer.

  As she was helping make salad in the huge ranch kitchen, they chatted about things. Rowdy's father, Colt, came in through the back door into the kitchen while Gretchen was working. Amy played with biscuit dough nearby. He was a hearty man with a ready laugh. His hair was thick but totally gray, as were his beard and mustache. He gave Gretchen a warm hug and then did the same for Amy who responded with a kiss on his grizzled cheek. "Will you be my grandpa? Wanda says she'll pretend to be my gramma. I don't have another grandpa. Can you pretend with me and Wanda?"

  "Absolutely!" he said, though he shot a non-verbal question at Wanda. Wanda just nodded and smiled. "I don't have any granddaughters. You can be my very first pretend one. You call me grampa and I'll come runnin'."

  Grateful he was so accommodating, Gretchen went back to helping and soon they served dinner in the country style dining room where the floor was covered in a Navajo-style, thick wool rug and pretty serving dishes were housed in a large, walnut china hutch. Lucky had set the big table for all nine, including their limo driver, Jeff, who appeared to feel out of place until Wanda made sure he was included and welcome. There were pine sprigs, pinecones, red ribbons and candles in the center of the long table. The china gleamed in the candlelight.

  They began their meal with a prayer, led by Colt, then they dug in. The food was a gigantic ham, potatoes, rutabagas, carrots, creamed peas, biscuits Amy was proud of, and a winter salad put together by Gretchen. They followed the meal with a slice of gingerbread topped with fresh, whipped cream. Gretchen felt like she needed to be rolled out of the room. She was going to have to run five miles on the hotel treadmill the next day to make up for the overindulgence.

  Amy got tired a short time after dinner, and it was clear it was time to go. They secured her in the limo and climbed into the vehicle, including Gretchen. Rowdy would be staying another night with his parents, then come pick her up the following day for a surprise followed by a winter trail ride. He promised Amy could sit on his horse with him, where she wouldn't fall off. Amy was just about beside herself until she fell asleep, happy and exhausted.

  Gretchen felt herself drawn into Rowdy's life like she belonged there. Once back at the hotel and settled into her bed, she said a fervent prayer nothing would go wrong to ruin what was growing between them. She had faith God would lead her down the right path if she'd just listen to Him with her heart.

  Rowdy cam
e by early the next morning, dressed finer than usual, in a red Western shirt with broad yoked shoulders and mother of pearl buttons. His jeans were nearly new and he was wearing his dress boots, black with red stitching. Over it all he had on a black down vest, and on top, his black cowboy hat with a red hat band.

  Gretchen found it odd he'd dress so well for a trail ride, but then remembered he'd mentioned a surprise. She was glad she'd dressed in her best jeans and a pale pink, thick sweater under her red parka. Topping her head was a matching pink knit hat with a bright blue pompom on the top. Amy had insisted on wearing a dress, but Gretchen nixed that idea, pointing out jeans were better for riding a horse. Amy went along grudgingly, but she was so excited about riding the horse, they could have asked her to wear a red rubber nose and she'd have cooperated.

  They hurried off in the truck and limo and made it to Rexburg in no time. Instead of driving to the Jackson ranch, they stopped at the corner of Main and Maple street where a high-school marching band was tuning up their instruments, and numerous horsemen- and women were waiting atop their brilliantly decorated mounts. The Idaho State University drill team was warming up, with a long line of fancy cars idling in the cool morning.

  Clearly, it was a parade. A Christmas parade?

  Rowdy parked his truck on a side street and everyone got out of their vehicles. Rowdy led them over to a person with a clip board.

  "Rowdy Jackson, ma'am," he said to the official-looking woman.

  "Of course! I recognize you. Your picture has been in the paper as often as chickens lay eggs. Are all these people going to ride with you?"

  "No, just these two," he indicated Gretchen and Amy.

  Gretchen was catching on. It was a parade. A parade for Rowdy. Winning the world championship was big in Rexburg, as it should be. But bringing all these people together during the winter was quite a feat.

  "And the others? Is that a limousine?"

  Rowdy looked a bit pained when he replied, "Yeah. Long story. Anyway, can they follow along behind us? If you want, they can wave at people like they belong there. But they have to be nearby."

  She looked very skeptical but agreed. "Tell 'em to line up after the red Mustang convertible.

  "Yes, ma'am." Rowdy conferred with Jeff, Bob and Melody, who agreed reluctantly to cooperate, then he came back.

  Gretchen was very surprised at this turn of events. She was going to ride in a parade with Rowdy. Everyone in Rexburg would think they were an item. It was very nearly a commitment from him. She wasn't quite sure what to do with this revelation, but didn't have much time to figure it out as she, Amy and Rowdy were led over to a convertible car and asked to sit on the back where the roof tucked in. Amy had only seen a parade once, and that was the Rose Parade on TV, so she didn't really understand what was going on. But she went along, realizing something exciting was happening.

  "Put the little one between you," the organizer said. "We don't want her to fall off."

  They arranged themselves and waited for the parade to begin.

  "Rowdy! This is amazing. And all for you?"

  "Yes'm," he said, some embarrassment on his handsome face. "They insisted. I guess they think I'm some sort of hometown hero, putting Rexburg on the map."

  "You are a hero," Gretchen assured him. "You accomplished something wonderful. You deserve to be congratulated." She took his hand behind Amy's back.

  "Couldn't they just have sent a card?" He was being facetious, but Gretchen could tell he was proud to share this event with her.

  They sat there for about ten minutes, and Gretchen was awfully glad for their parkas and snow boots. The parade began with the drill team and marching band and the convertible lurched forward amidst the long line.

  People lined Main Street, cheering and clapping as the parade rolled by. When their car with Rowdy came by, they cheered louder and shouted their congratulations to him as they passed. Rowdy smiled and waved. Gretchen wasn't sure what to do, but she and Amy waved as well. Amy was having a ball. Media people took pictures and so did Gretchen. This was a lifetime milestone.

  Main Street wasn't a long one, so the parade was short, but it was fun for everyone. Gretchen had spied Rowdy's parents in the parade crowd and pointed them out to Amy, who waved and called, "Granny, Grampa" which undoubtedly set the tone for the town's understanding of her relationship with Rowdy. If Rowdy noticed or cared, he said nothing about it. He just waved and tipped his hat a dozen times as the parade lumbered by.

  After the event, Bob and Melody hurried out of the limo to secure Gretchen and Amy amidst the fifty or so townspeople who wanted to shake Rowdy's hand and say a few words. Gretchen waited patiently until the crowd mostly dispersed.

  "Well, that was a doozy," Rowdy said as Bob gathered his chicks and put them back in Rowdy's truck, which had been retrieved by Jeff.

  They hurried off to the Jackson ranch and met the family there for lunch. It had been quite a whirlwind morning, but she was so proud to be part of Rowdy's circle.

  Chapter 9

  After lunch, there was a trail ride, which Amy loved as she sat astride Rowdy's saddle, held securely by his good arm while he guided the reins as usual with his left, despite the cast. They found out his horse's name was Daffy, because his whinny reminded Rowdy of Daffy Duck. They only went two miles or so, by which time Gretchen's thighs and butt were getting sore. It had been a long time since she'd sat a horse and calling up all the muscle memory took its toll. For once, Bob and Melody did not come along. Neither had ever ridden a horse and it was tomfoolery to think they'd take to it immediately and still be able to do their jobs. The countryside was sure to be safe anyway, so their vigilance wasn't strictly necessary out on the trail.

  As they were dismounting in the barn, Bob approached with Gretchen's phone in his hand. "Harry for you," he said.

  Gretchen took a deep breath then took the phone, then exited the stable and wandered around to the side where her conversation would be private.

  "Hi, Harry."

  "Hello, Gretchen. Having a good time in… Rexburg, right?"

  "Yes. In Idaho. It's a very nice place. I have a boyfriend now." Before he could interrupt, she offered, "Bob did a background check and he passed."

  "Good. What's his name?"

  "Rowdy Jackson." They chatted about Rowdy and his lovely family for a few minutes. Then Harry brought up an unexpected subject.

  "Gretchen, I need you to come back to Reno. The FBI have some questions for you. It's about some investment you made which turns out to be a scam."

  "Oh, no."

  "Yes, you did it again. How many times do I need to tell you to run these things by me? I'm getting tired of bailing your butt out of these scrapes."

  "I'm sorry. I always think they're good investments. It always seems like I can manage this one or that one on my own."

  "But you can't, Gretchen. You have no experience managing this much money, and every charlatan and con man in the US and beyond would like to have you for lunch with a side of fries."

  She sighed, feeling very foolish. "I'm sorry. I'll do better."

  There was a pause. "Try, please. I'll manage this for you until you get here. When can you come?"

  "Can it wait until after Christmas?"

  "That's a week away and then people will be taking time off to be with their families. I think it would be better if you would come right away. You can get it over with before Christmas."

  Harry was presuming the interview would be a quick one, but Gretchen was unsure. What kind of questions was she supposed to answer?

  "I'm not being accused of anything, am I?"

  "No. They just want to know what you know about the guy who sold you the fake bearer bonds. I had to turn the bonds over to them, of course. Just so you know, no one legitimate sells bearer bonds anymore. They stopped being sold decades ago. You lost about a hundred thousand on the deal. You can't do that too many more times, Gretchen."

  A hundred-thousand dollars was a lot of money. She kind
of remembered the bearer bonds deal. The guy had gold and the stock market was bullish on gold right now, so Gretchen thought it was a safe investment. He said there were a lot of pensioners who, in their wisdom and experience, were also investing with him. It was one thing for her to lose so much money on this grift, but another thing for pensioners to lose their life savings. She truly hoped it was not the case and he'd been lying about that too. If she'd been financing further fraud perpetrated by this guy, she'd never forgive herself.

  "I really screwed up."

  "Yes. Now get your butt back to Reno."

  "Wait! I have a problem I need to talk to you about."

  "Okay, shoot."

  She explained her conversation with Neil. "So, does he have any rights where this is concerned? He abandoned us before Amy was born. I can prove I told him I was pregnant, as both of my parents were there. He's just after our money, don't you think?"

  "Yes, he probably is. His rights are limited unless he files to get custody. Then it's up to a judge. I can tell you from personal experience, however, custody is generally awarded to the mother, especially when the mother is financially capable of supporting the child. Let me check into Neil's current state of affairs and we'll see if he sues for custody."

  "He can't have Amy, Harry. He just can't."

  His voice was soothing. "Don't worry. We'll keep her safe."

  Gretchen believed him and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Harry. I'll be back in Reno tomorrow. I'll call you."

  "Good. See ya then."

  They rung off and Gretchen went back into the stable where they were still milling around the horses and putting them back out in the paddock.

  Rowdy was not happy when he heard she'd have to go back to Reno before Christmas. He'd thought they'd spend the holidays together. Gretchen assured him it would be a quick in and out and they'd be back by Christmas.