Long, Hot Texas Summer

by Brown, Carolyn

  A grin turned up the corners of Loretta’s full mouth. “Thank you. I’d begun to think you’d rejected every strand of my DNA.”

  “Only the parts we aren’t going to talk about today,” Nona said.

  Their phones rang at the same time. Nona dug hers out of her purse and Loretta fished hers from her shirt pocket and put it on speaker.

  “Hey, are y’all in Amarillo yet?” Jackson asked.

  “We are passing the second Conway exit right now,” she said.

  “Would you please go by the vet’s office while you are there? They’ll have the order ready and they’ll bill me, so you don’t have to pay for anything.” His drawl seemed even deeper on the phone.

  “Depends on how much room it’s going to take up,” she said.

  “You could put it in your purse. It’s a vial of vaccination medicine that we need to finish working one more pen of calves this week. And tell our daughter that the tractor is fixed. It took twenty minutes,” Jackson said.

  “Then we’ll be glad to make a stop at the vet’s,” Loretta said. “Anything else?”

  “Just a minute. I’ll ask Flint.” He muffled the phone with his hand but it didn’t cut out all the noise. In a few seconds he said, “Flint says to tell you thank you, but that’s all we need.”

  “Who all is there?” she asked.

  “Flint, Travis, and Waylon, but Travis is on the phone with our daughter. He’s whispering and I don’t even want to know what they’re talking about. See you later. Oh, a reminder while you are shopping, we still do the big Fourth of July thing here at Lonesome Canyon. So you might want to pick up something for that,” he said.

  “You telling me I look shabby in what I wear every day?” she asked.

  Nona put a finger over her lips. “Shh, not so loud.”

  “Darlin’, you look great in anything or nothing,” Jackson said.

  Nona blushed. “Tell him that I heard that, so everyone in the living room did too.”

  “Bet that caused our daughter to suck air,” Jackson chuckled. “Y’all have fun now.”

  “What does that mean? Why would he say that?” Nona quickly hung up and looked at the phone lying on the console between them.

  “It means that your father still has a sense of humor,” Loretta said. “What were you whispering about? I kind of doubt it had anything to do with rain or stops at the vet’s or whether you should have the hairdresser cut one or two inches from your hair.”

  “Private,” Nona said.

  “Ditto,” Loretta told her.

  “I never thought I’d be asking this question, but are you and Daddy dating?”

  “Private.” Loretta smiled.

  “My God! You are too old to be dating and you’d be terrible together. You are both bullheaded, stubborn, and you couldn’t make it work the first time, so what makes you think you could at your age?” Nona stopped to catch her breath.

  “Still private.”

  Nona inhaled deeply and set her jaw like her father did when he was angry. “I don’t want to live in a house with the two of you permanently. I want you to go home, Mama.”

  “I will when you go with me.” Loretta made a show of looking in the rearview mirror.

  Nona crossed her arms over her chest. “It ain’t about to happen. I’m stayin’ on the ranch. It’ll be mine someday and I’m not going to lose what my ancestors have built for me.”

  “And if your dad remarries and has more children?” Loretta asked.

  All the color left Nona’s face. “You’re not pregnant. Not at your age. Good God almighty, tell me you aren’t sleeping with him.”

  “Wouldn’t be any worse than being pregnant at eighteen. And if I am sleeping with him, it’s private. Are you ready to discuss your sex life with me?”

  “Hell, no!”

  “Then don’t expect me to talk about mine with you. I will answer your question. I am not pregnant. And I wasn’t talking remarrying your father. I was talking about other women. Once we decide we never should have been together in the first place and move on, he will probably find someone else and they might have kids,” Loretta said.

  Nona threw her hand over her forehead and leaned back against the headrest. “What a horrible thought.”

  “You might need that education after all,” Loretta said.

  “I’ll take my chances,” Nona said.

  “Okay, have it your way. We’ll go to the vet’s place first so we don’t forget, and then it’s on to the spa,” Loretta said.

  “We aren’t through talking about this,” Nona said.

  “I am definitely finished talking about it. This is our day and we’re not going to spoil it with any more arguing. You are beginning to sound like Emmy Lou.”

  Nona frowned. “Ouch! That’s not nice. Okay, then tell me what’s going on with you and Daddy. I saw those little flirty glances at the breakfast table this morning.”

  “I see little flirty glances all the time between you and Travis. We’ll talk about what you think you saw this morning right after we talk about what I definitely see between you and your boyfriend.” Loretta parked the car in front of the same vet’s office they’d used years before. Hot wind rushed into the car when she opened the door and cool air went out just as fast.

  “Mama, you are exasperating!” Nona said dramatically.

  “Good. It’s payback for all the times when you’ve been the same way, but I’m still not fighting with you today.”

  “Leave the car running,” Nona said.

  “I don’t hear you complaining about the heat when you’re out there hauling hay or working cattle.”

  “That’s different. You aren’t going to talk to me about this thing between you, are you? You’re really not playing around with me?”

  Loretta raised one eyebrow and said, “Of course I’m joking. I’ll tell you everything in one word. Private.”

  Nona frowned. “Well, shit!”

  The gesture reminded Loretta so much of her own mother that she grabbed her phone and punched in the office number as she made her way into the vet’s office. She had to walk all the way from the back side of the parking lot, since there were four trucks with long cattle trailers taking up 90 percent of the big space.

  “Good morning, Loretta. I was about to leave for my lunch break. Wish you were here. We’d grab a salad at that little café around the corner,” Katy said.

  “Nona reminded me of you, so I called to tell you that I love you,” Loretta said.

  “Well, thank you, but I’d rather hear those words with you standing beside me right here in the office. Please tell me that Nona has come to her senses and tell me what’s going on with you and Jackson.” Katy asked.

  “Where did that come from? I was talking about you and Nona. How did he get into the conversation?” Loretta slowed down.

  “There’s something different in your voice. Either you beat him at the game or you’ve joined his side,” Katy said.

  “You even sound like her. She demanded that I answer that same question, so I did, with the same word she gave me when I asked her what she was whispering about with Travis.”

  She could hear Katy sigh. “And what did you tell her?”

  “Private. She used that word today and I really like it,” Loretta laughed.

  “It must be an inside joke. But it’s good that you two are talking. That’s the first step in getting her home. And Emmy Lou said that she called and you and your sisters made up. I hate it when you fight,” Katy said.

  “Me too. I’ll talk to you later,” Loretta said.

  A young woman with blonde hair and brown eyes looked up from behind the desk at the vet’s office. She wasn’t a day older than Nona and her name tag identified her as Kayla, a vet tech. Nona could do that job. With an extra year of college she could be standing in that place w
earing makeup and cute little scrubs.

  “Good morning, may I help you?”

  “I’m Loretta Bailey. I’m here to pick up some medicine for Lonesome Canyon Ranch.”

  “I’ve got it all ready. How is Jackson? Haven’t seen him in a few weeks. I didn’t even know he’d gotten married. How do you like the canyon? It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Kayla pushed a small bag across the counter.

  “Yes, it is. Thank you,” Loretta said.

  “Tell Nona I’ll call her in a few days and we’ll go do girl things. She and I try to get together a couple of times every summer,” Kayla said.

  “I will do that. She’s out in the van. We’re off for a spa day.”

  “That is so nice. Bonding time, huh?”

  “You might call it that.” Loretta smiled.

  Nona was on the phone and giggling when she reached the van.

  “Tall redhead. Yes, Kayla. I swear it’s my mother and she and my dad are not married, trust me. I’m pretty tied up right now with the ranchin’ business, but how about we catch up at the Fourth of July picnic? Good, I’ll see you then.”

  “Your friend?” Loretta asked.

  Nona nodded. “Mama, it’s not like I come to the ranch every year and do nothing but work, work, work. I have a life here. You could have told her that you and Daddy weren’t married.”

  Loretta started up the engine. “I didn’t want to waste a single minute of my time with you today, and I already had to walk halfway to China just to get the medicine for your dad. We have to be home by six, remember?”

  They walked into the spa with five minutes to spare before their appointment. The slim brunette behind the counter looked up and grinned. “Hi, Nona. I heard you were back for the summer. I can’t wait for the picnic. I’ve got a date with Waylon’s youngest brother.”

  “No kidding. First date?” Nona asked. “Mama, this is my friend Gretchen.”

  “Pleased to meet you, ma’am. Nona has talked a lot about you. I used to be her babysitter too until she outgrew the need for one. I’ll take you on back,” Gretchen winked.

  “Nice to meet you too,” Loretta said. “So how long have you been working here?”

  “I was raised in this shop. My mama owned it until last year. She promised she’d sell it to me when I finished college. I kept dropping out and working for her, but then I decided I wanted to own the place, so I got serious. Right here are your cubicles. You know the drill,” Gretchen said.

  Loretta hung her clothing in the closet and donned the white robe, belting it in at the waist. If only Jackson would tell Nona the same thing—finish college or the ranch would never be hers. Nona might find out that she wanted something different than a ranch that wouldn’t be hers for another forty years if she had one more year to think about it. She could have her own veterinary-supply company. Hell, with a few more years she might even get into vet school.

  “Mama, you ready?” Nona asked.

  “Yes, I am,” Loretta said.

  It had been a wonderful day except for that statement Nona had made about not wanting her mother to stay on at Lonesome Canyon. It stung, but then, she’d taught her daughter to tell the truth.

  They’d turned down the lane and gone under the ranch sign when Nona finally sighed. “Okay, Mama, it’s been on my mind ever since I said it and I need to explain something. I said I didn’t want you on the ranch and I meant it.”

  Loretta tapped the brakes and slowed the van down to a crawl. “But?”

  “But it’s like this. I feel safe on the ranch. I feel safe at our home in Oklahoma. Both are peaceful and quiet to my soul. I don’t mean quiet as in no noise.”

  “I understand,” Loretta said.

  “I love both of my homes, but I want to be a rancher. Get that straight right here before I go any further,” Nona said seriously.

  “Okay, but that’s not a secret.”

  “No, ma’am, it’s not. There’s tension in the air when you and Daddy are together. Like I’m waiting for the whole ranch house to explode. That’s why I don’t want you here on a full-time basis. So please, Mama, if you love me like you say you do, leave me alone. Let me ranch. Let me make my own decisions. And go home.”

  Loretta would do anything for her daughter. Living on Lonesome Canyon had proven that, hadn’t it? And there was an eerie feeling in the house when she and Jackson were both there. It had always been that way between them. Loretta had always thought of it as passion. Maybe other people saw it differently.

  “Tell me something, Nona. When you and Travis are together, is there static in the air?”

  Nona shook her head. “It’s love, not static.”

  “That’s the way you see it. I see it as static. You know what I mean?”

  Nona tilted her head to one side. “What are you saying?”

  “I see your relationship with Travis as something that keeps you from hearing the music, like with static, or knowing your lines in life,” Loretta said.

  “Maybe you hear the static because you aren’t supposed to hear what our hearts are saying to each other. Maybe static is God’s way of letting a couple have something that is totally private,” Nona said.

  Loretta smiled. “Now you are beginning to understand. Maybe what you are feeling between your father and me is static. Maybe finally our hearts are trying to let go and it’s our own private business. Look, there’s Travis and your father waiting on the porch for us. And, Nona, I’m not going home until the end of the summer. Until the first day of school has passed, I will have hope that the static will clear up.”

  Nona groaned.

  Loretta parked the van and hit the button to open the back door. “Don’t get in such a hurry to see Travis that you forget to unload all those bags.”

  “We can’t leave things like this,” Nona said.

  “Yes, we can. You face your static. I’ll deal with mine.” She honked the horn and motioned for the two men.

  They both swaggered out toward the van, but Travis was barely a dot in her peripheral vision. Jackson’s white T-shirt stretched over his broad chest and big arms. His skin was tan, but by the end of summer, the sun would have him baked to a nice soft brown.

  “Are you still in love with Daddy?” Nona whispered.

  “What makes you ask that?” Loretta answered.

  “It’s in your face right now. Tell me it’s not true. It would be a match made in hell. I’m surprised you got along long enough to make a baby,” she said.

  “Who’s having a baby?” Jackson picked up half a dozen bags.

  “No one that we know about,” Loretta said quickly.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” Nona said.

  “What question? Did you ask me something?” Jackson asked. “With all these bags, I imagine you are asking for a raise. Well, it isn’t happenin’, not until the end of the summer when we see if you’ve learned enough to earn your room and board.”

  “Mama?” Nona asked.

  “Don’t look at me. You wanted to be a rancher and he’s your boss. I’m not running interference for you,” Loretta said.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” Nona said.

  “Go get your birth certificate out of the file cabinet and read it.” Loretta swung the door open.

  “What’s that got to do with anything?”

  “Read it carefully. If it says that I have to answer any of your questions because I gave birth to you, then I will. You have the right to ask. I have the right to ignore you. I hope you have five daughters and one wants to fly jet airplanes, one wants to go to Africa and work as a missionary, and the youngest grows up to be a real estate agent and lives with me,” Loretta said.

  “And the other two will be ranchers, right?”

  “Oh, no, they’ll open up a spa in Oklahoma City and I’ll send lots of business their way,” Loretta sai
d.

  “You two fightin’?” Travis asked as he reached into the van for the rest of the bags.

  “No, we’re discussing the scientific facts surrounding static.” Loretta smiled brightly.

  “Holy shit, Jackson! Why doesn’t someone haul some gravel in here?” Loretta asked.

  The old work truck bumped along over the muddy road, hitting enough potholes to make for a rough ride. Loretta held onto the armrest part of the time and had both hands on the dash when the going got really tough.

  “It’s private land. County ain’t responsible for it.”

  “Well, whoever the hell owns it needs to ante up for a couple of truckloads of gravel. This is horrible,” she said.

  “I’m glad you came back,” Jackson said.

  “So you don’t like fending for yourself when Rosie is gone?”

  He whipped the steering wheel to the left to avoid a huge hole. “I can fend for myself, darlin’. I like having you around, and there is the fact I didn’t want to drive to Amarillo today for that Bovi-Shield to vaccinate the six-month-old calves for respiratory virus. But I could have done it. I’ve run this place all these years without you.”

  She was plastered against this side when she stopped sliding. If it hadn’t been for the steering wheel, she would have wound up in his lap that time. “The potholes are so big you could lose an army tank in them.”

  “Ezra’s lane is like life—it’s one hell of a rough ride,” Jackson said.

  “Don’t go all philosophical on me.”

  “Just talking about life, ma’am.” Jackson dodged a hole on the right and only missed the barbed-wire fence by a whisper.

  “Tell me again why we’re going to Ezra’s?” Loretta asked.

  “He called while y’all were gone and invited us to come visit with him. He doesn’t do that very often, and I learned a long time ago that you don’t go if you are not invited. He’s rougher than ninety-grit sandpaper and mean as a rattlesnake, but he tells it like it is. I like the old guy,” Jackson said.

  Jackson slowed down even more for the cattle guard under an archway. A curved metal sign announced that they were entering Malloy Ranch and the ride became smooth sailing.