by Geri Foster
A knock sounded at his back door and he instantly drew his gun. If Crawley had come calling he’d be met with a loaded forty-five. Walking across the kitchen, he shoved aside the curtains and saw Buddy Morris standing outside.
He unlocked the door and greeted the lazy young man. Aaron had done a piss poor job of picking out work hands. This guy couldn’t tell his butt from a fencepost.
“What do you want?”
“Just checking to make sure you found the gas can.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
“I made sure when I filled it up I hid my face from the security cameras.”
“Okay, you did good. Now get back to the bunkhouse and get some rest.”
The boy looked like he’d come to claim his lollypop for helping him out. Well, he didn’t pamper anyone, especially a man with a record as long as Morris’. Yes, he had been running a ranch long enough that no one came to work for him without being checked out first.
Every one of the men Aaron hired was of questionable character, which proved again his own son didn’t have the brain of a pissant, let alone a successful rancher.
“You have anything else you need me to do?” Morris asked, anxious to get on the boss’ good side. It appeared he wanted him to know about his willingness to go far beyond the boundaries of the law. Just the kind of man he needed.
“You stand by, Morris. There’s going to be plenty going on soon and I’m going to need a guy like you. One I can trust and count on.”
Morris grinned, showing his stained, crooked teeth. “Yes, sir. I’m here for anything you might need.”
He grinned. “I’m sure you are.”
Chapter 12
Sunday afternoon, Candi and Tyler joined her parents after church for dinner. She hadn’t mentioned Austin to them and hoped they hadn’t gotten wind of any new gossip lately.
No such luck.
“So,” her mama began, passing the bowl of mashed potatoes. “I hear Austin Crawley is back in town. Bet Russ is happy about that. He’s getting up there in years, you know.”
“I think he’s close to you and daddy’s age,” she said, trying to turn the conversation away from Austin. “I know he’s over sixty-five. He mentioned his Social Security check once.”
“Well, he might be our age, but he’s alone,” Simone Anderson said. “And that makes a big difference when you get up there.” She glanced down the table. “Right, Dad?”
He grunted and continued eating. She knew at times Tyler found it confusing for her and her mama to refer to Joseph Anderson as ‘Dad’, even though Tyler kept reminding his grandma that he was grandpa and not her dad.
“I hear his son Austin isn’t just visiting, but is moving to town.” Her mama’s words slipped out as smooth as Southern gravy.
“I think he’s here because of his job. They’re opening a new FBI office in Krum.”
“Oh,” her mama blotted her lips then turned a solemn gaze on her. “And how do you know that?”
The stiff note to her mama’s voice made it clear she had her own ideas on how she knew. Knowing it would irritate her and not wanting her to know too much anyway, she answered in as vague a way as possible. “He told me.”
“We went out to Uncle Jeff’s ranch yesterday and worked our butts off,” Tyler said with a wide grin. “It was fun.”
Well, there goes keeping it to ourselves. Shaking her head softly, she corrected, “Don’t say butt, Tyler. It’s not nice.”
Her mama leaned back and tossed her a familiar look of disgust. “You seeing Austin Crawley now?”
She shrugged and kept her eyes on her plate. “We’ve gone out a couple of times.”
“I don’t need to remind you that’s how you got where you are now.”
She shot a quick look at Tyler as if to say ‘child in the room’, then, glared at her mama. “I’m exactly where I want to be. Don’t treat me like a child.”
Her dad straightened and cleared his throat. “Now, now, your mama meant no harm. It’s just that she loves you and wants what’s best, that’s all.”
“I understand, Daddy.” Not really, because it was clear her mama was just being nasty and not trying to look out for her at all. Still, she didn’t want to get into an argument in front of Tyler. “But I’m all grown up and don’t need dating advice from her.”
“Except when you leave us with the aftereffects to deal with and explain.”
Anger, hot and furious raced through her veins at her mama’s words, spoken right in front of Tyler. Glancing his way, she noticed his eyes were pinched, his head slightly tilted like he was trying to work out what his grandma meant. Shooting to her feet, she threw down her napkin and took Tyler’s hand. “I think we’re done.”
“But Grandma made chocolate cake and I want a piece.”
“We’ll stop at the store on the way home.”
Her daddy rose, pressing down his hands, hoping to calm the room. “You don’t have to go, Candi. Your mama didn’t mean that like it sounded.”
Mama folded her arms over her chest and averted her gaze. “Like hell I didn’t,” she stated. “It’s always something with you, isn’t it? You just take what you want, damn the consequences.”
Careful to keep her voice calm, she said, “Please don’t use that language in front of my son.” Done with her mama and all her vitriol, she turned to her dad and apologized, “We’ll see you some other time.” Taking Tyler’s hand, she turned to leave.
“Please,” her dad begged. “Can’t we just sit down and enjoy dinner anymore?”
Looking into her dad’s face, she saw the torment there, but she couldn’t help that. “We could, but others would rather lecture and criticize than see the good that has come of things. I will not be told one more time that a certain outcome was a mistake.” This time she reached the door before turning back around. “We won’t be back, Dad. I hope you’ll come to visit us sometime.”
Mama jumped to her feet, her eyes wide with indignation. “Now, wait just a minute. You’re being silly. You know Tyler usually spends the afternoon with us.”
She looked down at Tyler, who gazed up at her expectantly. “I think a little space will be good for all of us right about now.”
“Space? I’m his grandma, I have a right to see him,” her mother said, her eyes narrowed to slits. “You’re deliberately being cruel.”
“I am not. You are his grandma and I appreciate that you want to be in his life, but I’ve taught him that if you can’t say anything nice, you shouldn’t say anything at all, and I don’t allow him to hang around with anyone who doesn’t understand basic human kindness.”
“We both love him with all our hearts,” her dad interjected.
“I believe you do, Dad.” She intentionally left out her mama in that, hoping that Tyler wouldn’t catch the omission. “But it’s been years and it is clear to me that mama can’t get past certain things and I’m tired of trying to prove that I’m a decent, loving mother and a good woman. It breaks my heart that you refuse to believe that about your own child.” She said the last looking her mama straight in the eyes.
Opening the door, she stepped out of her parents’ home with the firm intention to never, ever return. In a life filled with struggles and heartaches, she didn’t need a weekly reminder of how much she’d disappointed her parents by keeping her son. And with Tyler growing up so fast, she didn’t need him to one day understand all the backhanded comments his grandma threw her way.
Yes, they loved him now, but her mama had practically dragged her to the abortion center to get rid of what she called “the unwanted fetus”. Candi won that day by threatening to post her experience in the local newspaper if her mama didn’t stop the car and turn right back around.
She had stopped, but when they’d arrived back home, before her dad returned from work, her mama kicked her out of the house with no place for her to go since Aaron had already turned his back on her.
Luckily, Kendall had taken her in without question and then went
on to convince the Humphries to let her stay there until she found better arrangements. Seven years later and she and Tyler were still there, and Hellen and George made it clear they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Behind the wheel, she batted back tears. Frustration and anger mounted an all-out assault on her conscience. She’d never talked to her parents like that before and she regretted doing it in front of Tyler. Thank God he wasn’t old enough to understand what she had meant by all that. And maybe she was a little harsh; while her parents couldn’t forgive her, they did love Tyler…now.
Glancing at him through the rearview mirror, she smiled. “I’m sorry about all that noise, Tyler. Sometimes grandma makes me so mad I say things I don’t mean.”
“I know,” he said softly. “I hear her talking to Grandpa. She thinks you made a big mistake. Once she told Grandpa she was ashamed of you and he got really mad and told her to shut up and never, ever say that again. What is she talking about Mom?”
She smiled. “Nothing you need to worry about. She’s wrong and one day she will need to accept that. But as for those angry words? Sometimes it’s really hard to be an adult, son. Angry words just seem to spill out of our mouths like water from a bucket.”
He laughed. “Sometimes that happens to kids too.”
She laughed with him.
“Are we going to see Austin later?”
“He said he’d stop by and maybe we could go to the park.”
He grinned. “I’d like that.”
“I’m glad. You missed out on that chocolate cake. You want to stop at the store?”
He shook his head. “Not if you let me have some of those chocolate chip cookies you made last night.”
“Hmm,” she muttered. “How many are we talking about?”
“Six. I want to share them with Kyler.”
“It’s a deal.”
“Mom?”
“Yes, son?”
“You’re the best mom in the whole world.”
Tears started falling in earnest, thankfully, silently. He’d paid her the greatest compliment a mother could ever hope for.
Austin went to his hotel room, took a shower and put on clean clothes. He and Uncle Jeff had spent the day riding fences, securing up the barn and making sure the water supply proved to be clean and readily available. As he buttoned his shirt he rolled the soreness from his shoulders. Two straight days of being a cowboy had taken a toll on his FBI body. He seriously needed to start hitting the gym again.
He combed his hair and felt the excitement build as he thought about seeing Candi. It was only a little past five, but darkness started to spread across the land. Maybe it was too late to go to the park.
In his vehicle and headed toward Candi’s, he passed the convenience store and saw Lucas’ cruiser parked outside. Curious about Aaron and wanting to let him know what happened at Uncle Jeff’s place last night, he pulled in and parked.
Just as he was getting out of the vehicle, Lucas walked out with a Coke in his hand. “Hey Austin, what’s up?”
“Just wanted to know how the Travis guy is doing?”
“He’s not a happy camper, I can tell you that. He’s sworn to sue me, you, the Mayor, the judge and every other person he could think of.”
He shook his head. “I’ve never understood that man. He had the best girl in town and a daddy with lots of money and he just couldn’t get his life straight. Hell, he didn’t even have to work. But he’s blown it all to hell.”
“I know,” Lucas agreed. “Looking at him has taught me that, when Rachel and I have kids, we’re not going to spoil them. That’s basically all that’s wrong with Aaron Travis. Daddy has babied him all his life. He’s never had to stand up and be a man.”
“I don’t honestly think old man Levi wants him to be a man. It’s a lot harder to control a man than it is an immature little idiot that goes around making trouble.”
“Truer words were never spoken. Levi wants to run the town and everyone in it. I think his biggest obstacles have always been the three grandmas. Given the chance, they’d run that man out on a rail.”
“I don’t imagine it helps that Aaron got Grandma Faith’s granddaughter pregnant and wouldn’t take responsibility.”
“Oh, don’t even go there. I thought, back when all that was happening, any day we’d hear that Aaron had been found dead in a ditch somewhere. That guy has no idea how lucky he is to still be breathing.”
“Something else I need to bring to your attention.”
Lucas turned serious. “Okay, I’m all ears.”
“I spent last night out at Uncle Jeff’s place. We heard a disturbance, checked it out and found a five-gallon gas can full of fuel.”
“Where did you find it?”
“Right next to the barn.”
Lucas’ eyes widened. “No kidding?”
“Serious as a rattlesnake.”
“You figure that’s a clear message from Travis?”
“That’s my guess. I took the can and I’m going to have it examined by the lab in Dallas. They’ll look for prints, but might also be able to tell where the gas came from. Maybe we’ll get something on a security camera, too.”
“No matter what you learn, keep me informed. I’d love to stamp a crime on Levi. It’s been a long time coming.”
“I’m taking it in tomorrow. We should know in a few days.”
Lucas looked him up and down. “Where are you off to?”
“Candi’s. I mentioned the park, but I think it’s going to be too dark. So maybe she and Tyler will enjoy some ice cream.”
“I’m glad to see you and Candi getting so close. I know in the past you weren’t the settling down kind, so I hope you’re not leading her on.”
“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t do that to someone as kind as Candi. I can’t say I’m going to marry her, but we are enjoying each other’s company.”
“That’s good. Candi hasn’t dated a soul since having Tyler. She’s so afraid to pick the wrong guy and for her son be left out in the cold.”
“I’d never do anything like that.”
“I know, but if Candi at times seems a little skittish, it’s because Tyler is her number one concern.”
“Now you sound like her big brother.”
Lucas chuckled. “I guess I do. We all are. You see, Candi’s mother can be a real—” He lowered his gaze. “You know what.”
“I can imagine. But, the town of Rainwater has nothing to fear from me. I won’t break her heart then run away.”
Lucas slapped him on his upper arm. “You’re a good man, Austin, and I’m glad you’re back.”
“Me too.”
After saying goodbye, he drove to Candi’s and knocked on her front door. She answered with a smile but she’d obviously been crying. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Anything wrong?”
She opened the door wide while shaking her head. “It’s just family stuff. Nothing to concern yourself with.”
Lucas’ words came back, and her red eyes translated to an argument with her mom. “I hate to see you upset. Will ice cream make it better?”
About that time, Tyler came through the door, smiling from ear to ear. “Howdy, Austin. What are you doing here?”
“I think I came to take you and your mom for ice cream.”
“That’s great!” he turned to his mom. “Can we go? Can we, huh?”
“I don’t know, you had a lot of cookies earlier.”
Tyler waved his hand. “Aw, that was a long time ago. I’m hungry already.”
“Then how about we have a pizza before the ice cream?”
“That’s a great idea,” Tyler screamed. “I barely ate anything at Grandma’s. I’m hungry.”
Candi looked up at him with sad eyes. “Are you sure? You know you don’t have to do this.”
“I want to.” He put his arm around the young boy’s shoulders. “Why wouldn’t I want pizza with two of my favorite people?”
“Hey!” Tyler shouted. “Let’s see if Russ
wants to join us.”
“I don’t know,” Candi said, her blue eyes silently questioning him.
He held up his hand. “My dad is at Uncle Jeff’s. They were going to the local barbecue place for supper.”
“Then he can’t have pizza with us,” Tyler surmised. “Let’s go, I’m starving.”
“Okay, but first a jacket, young man,” Candi instructed. “It’s dark and the temperature is going to drop.”
Tyler ran to his room and came back with a jean jacket he struggled to slip his arms in. Candi instantly went over and helped him and in no time, they were ready to leave.
Evidently, in Rainwater, on Sunday night, the Pizza House was the place to be. They were lucky to find a place to sit. After agreeing on what to order, the waiter brought their drinks and they waited.
“Was Uncle Jeff happy with all the work we did yesterday?” Tyler asked. “Did you tell him how hard we worked?”
“I sure did and he appreciated it very much.” He grinned. “He said when you get older, he might just make you a cowboy.”
Tyler had never looked happier. “I’d love that. Man, how cool would it be to live on a ranch?”
“It’s a lot of hard work. Yesterday you just got a sample. How would you like to do that every day?”
Tyler folded his hands on the table and leaned closer. “I’d do it twice a day, if I could.”
He rolled his left shoulder, as pain ricocheted around his back. “I don’t know about that. Between yesterday and today, I’m pretty sore. I guess I’m not used to such hard labor.”
“What did you do today?” Candi asked.
“Mostly we mended fences.” He loved the way her eyes glistened in the dim lights. “Can’t move the cattle until we’re sure they won’t get loose.”
“That’s a lot of walking,” Tyler said.
“Oh, Uncle Jeff has horses. I spent most of the day in the saddle.”
“Are you kidding me?” Tyler’s voice dropped, and his eyes grew even wider. “You were horse riding?”
“Well, I refer to it as mending fences, which is a lot of hard work.” He held out his raw palms. “Even with leather gloves, my hands took a beating.”