All Roads Lead to Texas

by Linda Warren

  “People say he’s not too bright, but they’re wrong. He can do all kinds of things.”

  “Yes.” Callie laid a dish on the stack. “A lot of people underestimate Odell.”

  “Why do you call him that?”

  Callie looked at her. “Because that’s his name.”

  “I know, but I never heard anyone call him that until I came to work here.”

  “Please call him Odell. It’s an insult to call by that other name.”

  “I will. I’d never hurt his feelings.” Wanda paused, then asked, “Callie, how do you lose weight?”

  Was Wanda interested in Odell? Callie’s matchmaking instinct went into high gear, but she quickly shifted it back to neutral. She had to let things happen naturally.

  Callie put away a dish. “For starters, you can stop having soft drinks and candy bars for breakfast.” When Wanda arrived in the mornings that’s usually what she had in her hands.

  “But I always eat that.”

  “Too many calories. Try a whole-grain cereal and low-fat milk and a piece of fruit, then have salads, vegetables and lean meats for lunch and supper.”

  At Wanda’s frown, Callie added, “Dieting is all about will-power. If you want something bad enough, you’ll do it.”

  “I guess.” Wanda put the last of the dishes on the stack.

  “What about my hair? I don’t know what to do with it.”

  Again Callie’s heart went out to this young girl who had no one to guide her. Callie studied the long stringy hair that hung down Wanda’s back. “How about getting it cut into a shorter style? I believe Kristin’s aunt has a beauty shop in town.”

  “Ms. Raejean, but I’ve never been in there.”

  “I’ll make an appointment and I’ll go with you. Would that help?”

  “Oh, yes, ma’am. Thank you. You’re so pretty and I knew you’d know all about these things.”

  Buddy came in the back door, stopping the conversation. “Are you ready for a trial run?” He was helping Odell and Bubba Joe so the air could be in by the opening.

  “Yes.” She smiled. “And thank you for helping.”

  “No problem. When are the youngins coming back?”

  “Not until dark I’m afraid, but Mary Beth will be glad to see Rascal.”

  “He’s laying on the front porch, watching the gate.”

  Rascal was very attached to Mary Beth, as was Buddy. They were all forming bonds here in Homestead. Callie was glad to get to know her father. They talked a lot about the past, the mistakes and the heartaches. They both treasured this time together.

  Odell and Bubba Joe came in and Odell screwed the last vent into place, then Buddy switched on the control. Odell held his hand toward the vent because he couldn’t actually reach it without a ladder. Throwing his baseball cap into the air, he shouted, “It’s working.”

  “Thank you, Odell,” Callie said. “Thank you, Buddy, Bubba Joe.”

  “This calls for a celebration,” Bubba Joe said. “Odell and me are headed to the Lone Wolf for a beer. Anyone else want to come?”

  Buddy shook his head. “Not exactly my kind of thing anymore.”

  “Sorry, Buddy, I…”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Buddy said. “You boys have a good time.”

  Wanda picked up Odell’s cap and handed it to him.

  Ask her to go. Callie was mentally urging him. But he and Bubba Joe disappeared out the door without a glance at Wanda.

  CALLIE HAD A ROAST on for supper and she finished the vegetables while talking to Buddy. The house was so much better with the air-conditioning on. The heat from the stove wasn’t so oppressive and cooking was going to be an even greater joy.

  Soon the kids came charging in, all talking at once. After hugging Buddy and Callie, Mary Beth and Rascal hurried upstairs. Callie assumed she had to go to the bathroom, but she usually announced it.

  Wade slipped an arm around her waist at the sink. “Mmm. Air. Nice. You smell good.”

  “That’s beef, I believe,” she replied with a twinkle in her eyes.

  “With gravy?”

  She nodded.

  “My kind of woman.”

  She so desperately wanted to kiss him and the desire was echoed in his eyes. Leaning closer, she whispered, “Anyone in that jail cell tonight?”

  “I’ll check—later,” he said with a grin, and walked into the breakfast area where Buddy was listening to Adam and Brit.

  “We had a roundup today, didn’t we, Wade?” Brit asked for Wade’s confirmation, just in case Buddy didn’t believe her.

  “Sure did, cowgirl.” Wade sank into a chair and Brit slid onto his lap.

  “It was very exciting,” Brit added. “Cows and babies were everywhere bellowing ’cause they weren’t real happy we were taking care of them.”

  “Yeah.” Adam joined in. “We branded some calves and sprayed cattle for flies and ticks and things. Pop let me help.”

  Callie froze. Was that something Adam should be doing? She glanced at Wade and knew that neither he nor Jock would let the kids do anything they shouldn’t. And Adam lived for the times he could be on the ranch. He hadn’t even mentioned Nigel lately.

  Mary Beth walked slowly into the room carrying Fred in the goldfish bowl, Rascal behind her. Callie ran to help her, not understanding why she’d bring Fred down.

  The bowl safely on the table, Mary Beth announced, “We have to brand Fred.”

  Silence engulfed the room, broken only by a few snickers.

  Wade pulled Mary Beth onto his lap beside Brit. “Little bit, we don’t brand fish.”

  Mary Beth looked at him with serious eyes. “Pop says you have to brand your animals ’cause when people steal them, everyone will know who they belong to. So we have to brand Fred in case anyone breaks into our house again and takes him.”

  “Don’t be a doofus, Mary Beth. You can’t brand a fish,” Brit said.

  “I’m not a doofus,” Mary Beth snapped back. “And why not?”

  Before Brit could formulate a response, Adam took over. “Because Fred’s too little. Those branding irons are really big and are not for fish. They’re for cattle.”

  “Then we have to get a fish branding iron.”

  “There’s no such thing.” Adam’s voice rose as he was losing his patience.

  “We know where Fred is at all times.” Wade took over. “He’s in his bowl swimming around. That’s just the way it is with fish. With cattle, they have wide-open spaces and rustlers sometimes take advantage of that. But Fred, he’s pretty safe and if anyone takes him, I’ll bring him back.”

  “Promise?” Mary Beth wanted proof and Callie knew what was coming.

  “I promise.”

  Mary Beth made a face. “A real promise.”

  Wade glanced at Callie for help.

  “You have to kiss your palm and hold it to your heart,” she told him.

  Wade did as instructed.

  Mary Beth nodded. “My daddy always said that a promise is a message kept in the heart and never to be forgotten.”

  “You got it, little bit.”

  Callie watched Wade with Mary Beth. He was good with kids and she knew he was a good father. And he deserved to be a father again with a family and a home—something she couldn’t give him. Suddenly all the hope and joy she was feeling dissipated. But she would never let it show.

  After supper, the kids went to take their baths and Wade and Buddy helped with the dishes. That done, Buddy reached for his cap.

  “I’ll mosey on to my place, that is unless you need me to babysit.”

  Wade’s cell buzzed and he answered it. “Okay. I’ll be right there.” He replaced the cell on his waist. “Virgil arrested Norris at the Saddle Up beer joint for drunk and disorderly. I have to get over to the jail. I’ll call you later.” He gave her a quick kiss and was gone.

  She watched him go with a sad expression.

  “You care for him a lot,” Buddy remarked.

  “Yeah. It happened so qu
ickly and I let my emotions get involved when I shouldn’t have. I’ll be leaving as soon as the custody hearing is settled and that’s going to hurt him. Hurt me and the kids. That’s the last thing I wanted. I just…”

  Buddy put his arm around her and patted her shoulder. Callie leaned on her father for the first time in her life and she felt an incredible joy from that.

  “Sometimes you have to let your heart lead you,” Buddy said. “Wade’s a good man. I remember him as a kid following Jock around, watching his every move. There was little doubt that he’d go into law enforcement. Then his son died and he came home. Never saw a sadder man, the light had completely gone out of his eyes. But when he looks at you and those kids, it’s back. Wade Montgomery can handle anything, but I think if you had your way you’d stay here in Homestead.”

  She drew back. “I can’t, Buddy. I have to take the kids back to their life in New York. A life John had planned for them. It was his wish and I have to honor it.”

  “And what about your happiness?”

  “Oh.” She blinked away a tear. “I’ll put that on hold for a while.”

  He touched her cheek. “You’re an unbelievable young woman. Now, I better get going. Rascal,” he called. They could hear thumping upstairs but Rascal didn’t come down.

  They exchanged an amusing glance. “Mary Beth is probably trying to hide him under the bed again. Mary Beth,” Callie shouted. “Bring Rascal down this instant.”

  “He can stay. I’ll pick him up tomorrow.”

  “No. Rascal is your dog.” Callie knew Rascal was the only company he had and she wasn’t taking that away from him.

  “Mary Beth,” she shouted again.

  Silence, then the patter of bare feet sounded on the stairs. Soon Mary Beth and Rascal appeared. Mary Beth had on her Barbie pajamas and her blond hair was hanging loose down her back, a pitiful expression on her face.

  “Does Rascal have to go home now?”

  “Yes,” Callie answered.

  “Maybe—”

  “Yes,” Callie repeated, stopping Buddy before he could even make the offer.

  “Bye.” Mary Beth gave Rascal a hug, then Buddy.

  Buddy kissed Callie’s cheek. “At least she didn’t want to brand him.”

  “Give her time. I’m sure she’ll think of it.”

  “Yep.” Buddy smiled, and Callie realized he didn’t smile much. He looked so much younger when he did, probably similar to the boy Glynis had known.

  Buddy stopped at the door. “Don’t worry too much. Things have a way of working out.”

  As she locked the doors, she hoped those words were true. She took Mary Beth’s hand and they went upstairs. With the kids tucked in, she took a long, hot bath, letting her muscles relax. But her thoughts kept straying to Wade and she wished she was relaxing in another way—with his body against hers.

  Her cell phone buzzed and she quickly got out of the tub to answer it. It was her lawyer, Gail.

  “How you doing?”

  “Fine. What’s happened?” Gail would only call if there was some progress in the case.

  “I called in some favors and a judge has finally agreed to a hearing in three weeks. I just wanted to let you know.”

  “Thanks. This is good, right?”

  “Yes. This is sooner than I expected. I just wish I had something concrete against Nigel. That would help tremendously.”

  Callie told her about Wade and the investigator.

  “Let me get this straight. You have the local sheriff helping you?”

  “Yes,” Callie admitted, smiling. “He’s a very nice man and he’ll help us all he can. But I do not want his name used in anyway. He could lose his job.”

  “Well, honey, give me this nice man’s name and phone number. All I want from him is info and maybe soon you can bring the children home to New York.”

  She gave Gail the number and hung up, sinking onto the edge of the bathtub. Three weeks. That wasn’t much time. What was she doing opening a café? She wouldn’t even have time to get it off the ground.

  Three weeks. Suddenly that was too soon. She wanted that year. She needed that year. Or maybe she needed to face reality.

  She put on her pajamas and trudged down the hall to her room and heard the girls giggling.

  “Callie, make them go to sleep,” Adam called from his room.

  She turned on the light and climbed into the bed, sitting against the headboard. “Time for a meeting.”

  Adam jumped onto the bed and sat cross-legged. The girls pushed up beside Callie.

  “I want to tell you something.”

  “I vote yes.” Brit quickly raised her hand.

  Callie frowned. “Yes, what?”

  “I vote yes that you marry Wade.”

  “Me, too.” Adam’s hand shot into the air.

  “You’re marrying Wade? Oh, boy. Oh, boy.” Mary Beth threw her arms around Callie. “I want to be a flower girl.”

  Callie closed her mouth that had fallen open at Brit’s announcement. “Wait a minute. Where did you get an idea like that?”

  “I saw you kissing Wade,” Brit informed her.

  “When?”

  “When we came back from the ranch the other day. He kissed you and you kissed him back.”

  “A lot of people kiss, Brit, but it doesn’t mean they’re getting married.”

  Her face fell. “Then you’re not marrying Wade?”

  “No.” But she wanted to, and she had to hide her inner desires. That wasn’t in the cards for them. “Have you guys forgotten why we’re here?”

  “Nu-uh.” Adam plucked at the sheet.

  She let out a patient breath at the word. We’re not Texans. We’re New Yorkers, she wanted to shout. But deep down she so desperately wanted to be Texan. She had to focus on what was important. “My lawyer called and a hearing has been set. We may be able to go home sooner than we thought.”

  There was no yelling or shouting for joy. Just total, absolute silence. Adam jumped up and ran into his room.

  “Go to sleep, girls.” Callie got out of bed. “I have to talk to Adam.”

  Brit and Mary Beth snuggled down in the bed.

  “I still vote for marrying Wade,” Brit muttered.

  “Me, too.”

  Callie heard Mary Beth’s response as she entered Adam’s room. He had his back to her. She sat on the edge of the bed.

  He flipped over. “I can’t go back. Pop needs me. I need him.” His voice trembled with unshed tears and it made what she had to do so much harder.

  “Our life is in New York. The life Daddy planned is in New York. You and he talked about it lots of times. You’d go to his private school that excels in academics then on to Harvard like he did.”

  “I…I…”

  She gathered him in her arms and held him tight. “I know you like it here, but look at this like a vacation and we can come back.”

  “We can?” he mumbled.

  “Sure.”

  He pushed away and looked into her eyes. “Promise?”

  She made the special promise. That was all he needed—reassurance that he could return.

  Tucking him in, she knew she was lying. For the first time, she’d lied to them. Once they left, they’d never return. She’d promised John and she’d keep her word—even though it was breaking her heart.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  IT WAS AFTER TWELVE when Wade finished at the courthouse. Norris was in the holding cell and the two men he’d been fighting with were in the jail in the basement. Keeping them apart for the night was the best course of action. After they sobered up, Gil Schafer, the district attorney, would decide what to do with them. Norris wasn’t getting off easy this time. He was going to learn a lesson the hard way. When Wade called Cora Lou, she said to keep him locked up or she might kill him. Seems the good ol’ boys were fighting over a waitress.

  Exhausted, he thought of going over to Callie’s, but knew she was already in bed. That knowledge didn’t keep him from watching
the door earlier, hoping she’d stop by. But Norris was in the holding cell, so it would have been a waste of time. He could become territorial over that jail cell. He had other uses for it these days.

  He grinned as he got into his car. Straitlaced Wade Montgomery was breaking the rules, and in the days to come he might have to break a few more. Suddenly, keeping Callie and the kids safe was more important than anything—his job, his future. He didn’t even pause to question his actions. He just headed home.

  Driving to the back of the house, he noticed a light was on. Pop was in bed long ago and he always turned off the lights. Wade went through the kitchen to the den. Pop was hunched over in his chair, staring at a piece of paper on his lap. Something was wrong.

  Walking farther into the room, he saw what the problem was. The FBI bulletin on Callie was in Pop’s hand.

  Jock looked up at Wade, but he didn’t say anything. His brow was wrinkled and his eyes worried.

  “Where did you get that?” Wade asked.

  “I was going to show Adam my .45 Colt revolver I used when I was sheriff—the one I shot that bank robber with. When I opened the safe, this was laying on top.” He held up the paper. “Her husband was abusing those kids, wasn’t he? That’s why she kidnapped them, right? You can’t let the FBI take her. They’ll put her in jail. Someone like Callie doesn’t need to be in a place like that.”

  Wade dropped to the sofa, facing his dad, not at all surprised that Jock was taking up for Callie. She’d broken through his hardened defenses when no one else could—not even Wade.

  Removing his hat, he said, “It’s not her husband, but her stepfather she’s running from.”

  Jock shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

  “The kids are not hers. They’re her half siblings.”

  “What the hell’s going on, Wade?”

  Wade told him Callie’s story, confident that Jock would do nothing to harm them.

  “Why would her mother do such a thing? Anyone can see how much Callie loves those kids.”

  “I believe she was coerced by Nigel Tremont, that’s the stepfather. You remember Simon Marchant—I used to work with him in Houston.