Echo Falls, Texas Boxed Set

by Patti Ann Colt

  “They look pretty awful, don’t they?” Robin fidgeted in her chair. She tried to move her fingers, but it hurt too badly.

  “Actually, I was thinking how lucky you are this wasn’t worse. You came close to really serious damage.” Chad’s lips were so close to hers that all she had to do was lean forward an inch. Their eyes met and she knew he was thinking the same thing. Both froze in place, but then Chad leaned back and took her other hand, swiftly cutting away the bandage.

  “You are going to have to take it easy today.”

  “But…”

  “No buts, Robbie. You’re supposed to keep these stitches dry and not lift anything. Want me to go get Doc’s instructions to prove it?”

  “No.” Robin sighed, frustrated. It was pointless to argue when he was right. She’d heard the doctor’s instructions, too. She gazed at the tanned skin above the collar of Chad’s shirt and had irresistible urge to drop her nose there and inhale

  his scent. Instead, she turned and took a sip of her coffee through the straw, grimacing at the necessity. It totally ruined her morning coffee.

  “I have two groups of first graders coming in for a tour of the farm today. Boo and Lindy are going to be my helpers. While we’re out in the patch, they can get their pumpkins. And you can rest.” Chad stood and returned the scissors to the drawer and dropped the used gauze and wrapping in the trash.

  Irritated that no one seemed concerned with asking her, she struggled to keep from snapping at him. “I see you have it all planned out.”

  “It’s not really a plan. I thought with the help I’ll have for the tours, it would make sense to include the twins.”

  “I didn’t know you did tours.”

  “Yeah, for about two years now. The elementary school brings their classes out. We have a hay bale maze set up that they play in, eat popcorn, drink cider and talk to them about what we grow and how we do it. Then, we give them a ride on a trailer out to the field pulled by the tractor and they get to pick out one pumpkin each.

  That’s the hard part. The choosing. All together, it takes about three hours. I’ve got two classes coming today.”

  She was silent for a long moment, studying his face.

  A frown puckered his forehead. “I would never hurt them, Robbie.”

  “Oh Lord, Chad. I know that. I’m just not myself today.”

  She scooted back in her chair and wandered to the edge of the darkened family room. Somewhere outside Bessie began barking. Chad came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “Promise me you won’t do anything. One trip to the emergency room is about all my heart can take.”

  “I promise. That wasn’t my idea of fun either.”

  “What is your idea of fun?” His lips brushed the shell of her ear.

  Robin shivered with awareness and couldn’t have found an answer even if she’d had one. Which she didn’t. She never had much fun.

  Chad tightened his hold. “My personal favorite is to take the truck out to the middle of the pumpkin patch and sit on the tailgate, drink hot cocoa and watch the stars. Pretty tame, huh?”

  Chad started to pull away, but stopped when she gave in to her need and turned, looping her arms around his waist.

  “No. That’s sounds really nice.” She couldn’t help it. She needed to hold him. Robin laid her head against his heart, carefully wrapped her arms around him and squeezed.

  Chad hesitated for several moments and then tightened his hold. His lips settled against her temple.

  “Thank you,” Robin whispered.

  “No thanks are needed, Robbie.”

  Chad tried to get some air in his lungs, but damn well couldn’t find any. She was voluntarily in his arms and he wasn’t going to blow it by letting her feel how hard she was making him, or by taking her down the hall to bed.

  “You don’t even know us, Chad and yet you take better care of us than anyone ever has.”

  That statement stuck in his throat. “Even your parents?”

  Robin snorted. “My parents never married. My mother abandoned me when I was six. I followed my father from job to job for nine more years, before he finally dipped into the cash till where he worked and disappeared. After that I was in foster care until I turned eighteen. Caring? No, that wasn’t really part of the scenario.”

  Before he could open his mouth to respond, Bessie’s barking became more frantic and two heads popped up from the sofa.

  “Whatcha doing?” Boo grinned.

  “Hugging?” Lindy’s hopeful tone wasn’t hard to interpret.

  “Just talking, honey.” Robin shrugged out of his hold. “What in the world is Bessie barking about?”

  Chad hesitated for a moment—wanting to drag Robin back into his arms. Instead he went to the back door to see why Bessie was raising such a ruckus. He’d let her out of the shed earlier. Robin and the twins followed him.

  Another dog stood stiff while Bessie sniffed him through the fence. Then she backed off and barked at him some more.

  “Look Mommy. Another doggie.” Lindy and Boo plastered their noses to the screen door, contained from rushing into the yard by his restraining hand on their shoulders.

  “You two stay put.” Chad started around them to investigate. They followed him barefoot onto the steps. He grabbed them. “Whoa. I said to stay with your mom.”

  The twins reluctantly returned to Robin.

  Chad walked to the fence line. Seeing him, the dog bared his teeth. Chad stopped in mid-step. “It’s okay, fella.”

  “Let me.” Robin came down off the porch and went around Chad, talking softly to the dog. The animal wagged his tail and moved along the fence line toward Robin.

  Chad grabbed Bessie by the collar. She growled at him.

  Robin ordered her to sit. She sat.

  Annoyed, Chad gazed at Robin, then at the fickle dog. “How do you do that?”

  Robin shrugged, continuing to speak softly to the other dog, who had also sat.

  Chad glared at the dirty, brown shepherd. He looked back to the back porch to check on Boo and Lindy. They avidly watched the activity, their eyes round and shiny like the dew-filled grass.

  “Shh. Fella. It’s okay.” Robin bent to her knees to survey the animal.

  Chad dragged a non-cooperating Bessie to the shed and shut her in with the puppies. They hadn’t even tried to leave the shelter. Bessie must have sent them inside with one of her commanding barks when she’d seen the other dog.

  He returned to Robin and squatted beside her.

  The other dog tolerated his presence for a moment and then danced away, tail tucked down and wary.

  “No collar.” Chad rubbed his jaw. “He looks like he hasn’t had a good meal in awhile.” He could see the dog’s ribs and hip bones through his shaggy fur.

  Robin raised her eyebrows, the unspoken question between them.

  “We can feed him.” Chad sighed. “And give him a bath, see if he belongs to anyone around here.” Which he probably didn’t, but having lost this argument once before, he wasn’t willing to have it again.

  The dog backed up to a clump of bushes and stood there.

  Robin opened the gate and approached him.

  Chad followed a few steps behind her. “Be careful.”

  The words were barely out of his mouth when the dog snarled, exposing sharp teeth.

  Chad lunged.

  ~~CHAPTER SEVEN~~

  Chad jerked Robin away from the dog. She lost her balance and tumbled backwards. They fell in a tangle of arms and legs, Robin landing on top. The dog sat, cocking his head in confusion.

  “Did you hurt your hands?” Chad wrapped his arms around her.

  “No. I’m fine.” She relaxed against him to get her breath, before she struggled to her feet.

  The twins jumped off the porch, ran across the lawn and plunged into the bushes near the dog before Robin or Chad could stop them. They sank onto the wet grass in their nighties. Chad rose to his feet, wiping his dew dampened hands on his pants.
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br />   “Look, Mommy, kittens!” Boo clapped her hands. Lindy handed a gray tabby to Boo and took a black one for herself. The shepherd circled around them, nervous as a new father.

  “It’s all right, Rover. Sit.” Robin watched until the dog did as she ordered.

  Chad rolled his eyes at her. “Rover?”

  She shrugged and grinned.

  “Can we keep them?” Boo asked.

  “No!” Chad and Robin shouted together.

  “But why?” Boo’s lip curled in a manipulating pout.

  “They’re so cute!” Lindy’s eyes sparkled.

  “I’m out of this.” Chad brushed the back of his pants and walked to the gate.

  “Coward,” Robin muttered under her breath. “Sweetie, we already have Bessie and her puppies. And dogs and cats don’t get along real well.”

  “But Rover was taking care of them.” Lindy stroked the black kitten who began to purr. “It means he likes them.”

  “Yeah, they’re buddies. He’s sorta being their mom.” Boo smiled, her busy hands hugging the gray tabby.

  Robin pursued her mouth, bombarded with frustration. This wasn’t her farm. She couldn’t speak for Chad. She looked his way for some kind of support. He stood several feet away, hands tucked in the back pockets of his jeans, grinning. Drat him! The girls would be so disappointed when they had to go back to their house and couldn’t take any of these animals with them.

  Robin ground her teeth. “I’m sure Mr. Chad won’t allow any more animals.”

  He returned, squatted next to the twins and ran a light finger over the smallest kitten. “As long as Bessie doesn’t mind, I think we could find them a warm place to sleep and feed them, but they can’t be in the house.”

  “But, Mr. Chad…” Both girls whined.

  Chad rose to his feet. “Not in the house, girls. They need to go to Doc Rucker first and get checked up. They could have worms or fleas or ticks.”

  Boo found the flaw in his argument. “You didn’t make Bessie get checked.”

  “You’re right. I didn’t. She hasn’t been in the house, though, has she? But we’ll take her and the puppies.”

  “Rover, too?”

  Robin bit the inside of her lip to keep from laughing.

  Chad shook his head in defeat. “Rover, too.”

  “In the house, you two, and get dressed,” Robin ordered.

  “Yeah, we have a date in the pumpkin patch, remember?” Chad accepted the kittens as the girls reluctantly handed them off. He leaned closer to Robin when they were out of earshot. “Since you got here, I’ve had more animals dumped on this farm.”

  Relieved to see humor dancing in his eyes, Robin petted the gray tabby and watched it arch its back for the caress. “You could have said no.”

  Chad raised his eyebrows. “Right. Back at ya, Mom.”

  “I hate telling them no,” Robin admitted, studying the two kittens. The truth was she’d gotten told no too many times as a kid and hated denying her children.

  “How is it you are so good with animals?”

  Robin looked at him. “That foster home I lived in, the one with the veterinarian and his wife?”

  “Ah. Right.” The kittens had nestled against Chad and were purring. Rover danced at their feet. “I lived there for two and half years until he died, spent a lot of time with animals.”

  Chad nodded. “You ever think about going to veterinary school?”

  “Yes.” Robin didn’t expand her answer— couldn’t. He’d hit a sore spot without realizing it and the words were dammed up in her throat along with the memories of Doc Potter’s promises— promises left unfulfilled by his widow and an unexpected pregnancy.

  Chad studied her expression for a moment, then let the subject drop. “Let the girls enjoy the animals while they are here. Tackle the rest later.”

  “Easy for you to say.” Robin watched Chad walk to the shed, juggling the kittens. Rover trotted behind like a bodyguard. She followed the girls into the house.

  Chad went into the shed and gathered a box and an old blanket. Rover stuck close to his heels.

  Bessie rose to her feet and growled at the other dog. Rover, on his best behavior, stood still and let Bessie sniff him. Satisfied, but still restless, she pushed the puppies to the back of the shed, guarding them against the intruder. All the fight had drained out of the shepherd and he seemed anxious to please. Chad set up the box in the corner and laid the kittens in it. They curled together in a ball.

  He dumped some dry food in a bowl for Rover, took the dog outside and put the dish on the ground. Rover inhaled the contents, then went back inside the shed, lying down by the kittens. Chad would bring some cat food back for the kittens later. The girls came out of the house in jeans and white tennis shoes. Boo wore a green shirt and Lindy an orange one. He walked toward them, smiling when he realized he could finally tell them apart. Each girl had her hair in a messy ponytail. Since Robin couldn’t have handled the hairbrush, he applauded their attempt to do it themselves.

  Robin followed the girls to the driveway.

  “We’re ready, Mr. Chad.” Lindy turned to kiss Robin goodbye. Boo did the same.

  “Get in the truck.” Chad wanted to collect a kiss from her pretty pink mouth, too. Their first kiss had been sweeter than cotton candy at the fair, more potent than a gulp of coffee in the morning and he was dying to repeat it. Instead, he lifted her hands in his and inspected her stitches, assuring himself there had been no damage from their fall.

  “You promise to stay off your feet?”

  Robin smiled. “It’s not my feet that are hurt.”

  Chad laughed.

  “I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself.”

  “Not until your stitches come out.”

  “I’ll rest. I promise.” Since she couldn’t cross her fingers behind her back to negate the promise, he had to accept her words as truth.

  A bus turned down the lane and he heard the first graders shouts. He let go of her hands and got in the truck before he kissed her in front of God, her daughters and Mrs. Swan’s first grade class. Helping the twins into their seatbelts, he started the engine. He waved and drove down the driveway. He couldn’t think any more about kissing her. Right now, he had a date with his girls and a pumpkin patch.

  Chad watched as Hank, Trudy’s husband, maneuvered the tractor pulling the trailer full of Mrs. Swan’s first graders down the dirt path. They were almost back to the market, but the noise the kids made could still be heard in the warm afternoon air. He’d stayed behind with Boo and Lindy to let them take their pick from the best pumpkins in the field.

  “I want this one, Mr. Chad.” Lindy squatted by what was easily a twenty-five pound pumpkin. It was fat and round, needing a toothless grin and a place on the front porch. The hopeful look on Lindy’s face made the decision a simple one.

  He grinned. “Okay.”

  Her face lit up. “Really?” She screamed and jumped up, throwing herself into his arms.

  Feeling the soft weight of her in his arms and the excitement in her hug put a lump in his throat. “You make the bestest pumpkins, Daddy Chad.”

  The round “ooh” of her mouth told Chad she hadn’t meant to say “Daddy” out loud, but before she could take the words back, Boo screamed. “I found it, Mr. Chad! I found it!”

  He carried Lindy down the row, set her on her feet and stooped next to Boo to study her choice.

  Boo chewed her lip in uncertainty. Her pumpkin was tall and skinny and looked like a black top hat belonged on its head.

  “Looks good to me.”

  Boo squealed and launched into his arms for a hug. “Can we really have them Mr. Chad?”

  “Yes, Boo.” He put her down. “But we’ll have to leave them and walk back for the truck. They’re too big to carry that far.”

  Pulling his knife, he carefully cut Boo’s pumpkin from the vine and hefted it into his arms, the girls trailing him down the row. He carefully set Mr. Top Hat on the ground and did the sa
me to Toothless.

  “Look, Mr. Chad, somebody’s coming.”

  Chad squinted down the dirt road and saw his truck slowly making its way their direction.

  “Well, before we go back we have one more job to do.”

  Boo hugged his leg. Lindy took his hand and stuck her thumb in her mouth. Gently disengaging her thumb, he pulled Boo from his leg and squatted at eye level.

  “We need to find a very special pumpkin for Mommy. Can you do that?”

  Both girls nodded, patted their choices, as if to assure themselves they were still there and went in search of a Mommy pumpkin.

  Chad watched them darting from pumpkin to pumpkin. The truck came to a stop beside him, his sister at the wheel.

  “Hi!” Meg swung out of the cab, her platinum hair blowing in the slight breeze.

  “Hi yourself. What are you doing here?”

  “I had a pass from school today for a curriculum committee meeting. It ended early. I decided to make a run out here for a pumpkin. I need one for my classroom.” Meg’s nonchalance made Chad grin.

  “You teach high school English. What do you need one in your classroom for?”

  “Don’t you know that kids never outgrow pumpkins?”

  “Yeah, right. You mean you haven’t.” Chad grinned at Meg.

  Meg shrugged.

  “Go ahead.” Chad made a sweeping gesture to indicate the patch. “This is the best of the bunch.

  Want some help?” “Sure.”

  “Lindy. Boo. Come here.” Chad motioned the girls back his direction.

  “Girls, this is my sister, Meg.”

  “I didn’t know you had a sister, Mr. Chad.”

  Boo reached her hand out to shake Meg’s. “I have one too,” she told Meg proudly.

  Meg reached out and shook Boo’s hand, then Lindy’s.

  “I need some help, girls. I need a nice round pumpkin for my classroom.”