Designer Genes

by Diamond, Jacqueline

  After they left, Quade rapped for order. “Let’s get back to the subject, please.”

  “You get back to the subject,” ordered Popsworthy. “Are you running against me or not?”

  “Say yes!” shouted George Weinbucket.

  “Y’all know something?” drawled Bobette Moriarty, who rarely drove in from her ranch but, when she did, enjoyed stirring things up. “I’ll vote for you, Quade, if you’ll change the name of this town. We’d have a better chance of gettin’ us some funds if people weren’t always makin’ jokes about Nowhere Junction.”

  A shocked silence greeted this proposal. If she’d meant to put Quade on the spot, she couldn’t have found a touchier subject.

  He sidestepped her comment neatly. “Seeing as a lot of people around here are such baseball fans, maybe we could call ourselves Major League, Texas,” he joked.

  “Major League?” Judging by Horace’s relish, he apparently believed he was about to squash his rival into road kill. “A little place like this? The best we could call it would be Minor League, and who wants to say they’re from Minor League, Texas?”

  “Who-all wants to say they’re from Nowhere Junction?” replied Bobette.

  “Me, for one,” cried Gigi.

  Carter was beginning to worry that they might be in for a free-for-all, or possibly a food fight with Finella’s fritters as the weapon of choice, when Billy Dell popped back into the room.

  “Miz Buffy, would you mind joining us?” he said. “Willie gets hysterical when she’s in labor and complains that nobody understands what she’s going through. Since you yourself recently had a baby, maybe you could reassure her.”

  All eyes riveted on the slender woman rising from her seat. “Of course.” Buffy scooped Allie into her arms. “Carter, would you mind taking her?”

  His mouth tried to form a series of nonchalant replies but none of them took hold, so he merely nodded. He could hear speculation ripple through the audience as he accepted the baby and Buffy whisked out.

  The meeting was dissolving into chaos. Even Quade could read the writing, or perhaps it was the block printing, on the wall. “We’re obviously not going to solve this problem tonight. Please, all of you, give some thought to the future of our school.”

  As everyone rose to leave, Finella shot Carter a sympathetic smile. “Could you use a lesson in diapering?” she asked. “Buffy may be gone for a while.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said in relief. “I sure could.”

  *

  Buffy’s feet ached by the time she stumbled home shortly after midnight. What a proud idiot she’d been to wear strappy sandals with stacked heels to the school board meeting. After hours of standing around a labor and delivery room, they dug into her skin and cramped her arches.

  Otherwise, everything had gone splendidly, despite the agonizing screams of the mother. In between hollering, Willie had apologized, and brightened when Buffy assured her that movie stars screeched even louder and swore like truck drivers. How Buffy could possibly know such a thing hadn’t occurred to her, and a white lie seemed justified under the circumstances.

  If Allie did indeed stay in Nowhere Junction, she’d have a playmate only six months younger, a little girl named May Zeppa Grimes.

  Buffy wished she could see Mazeppa’s face when she learned about the name Willie had chosen. It occurred because Mimsy and Billy couldn’t stop talking about her comments at the meeting and laughing over her disgust with Finella’s latest culinary concoction.

  All evening, Willie had heard Mazeppa this, Mazeppa that. The name had stuck in her mind, blotting out the Biblical succession that might otherwise have prevailed.

  Speaking of Zeppa, it was a relief to see the shopping cart stowed in the living room. “That was nice of Carter to bring it home for her,” Buffy told her sore feet.

  Her toes curled, urging her to remove the shoes. Buffy, however, wasn’t eager to turn on a light, and with only the faint moonglow to guide her, decided not to risk a smashed toe.

  “You can handle it,” she told her pedal portions, and went in search of her daughter.

  Her feet winced as she left the carpeted front room for the hard wooden floor of the hallway. Buffy peered into her own room first. The portable crib was empty.

  Approaching Carter’s room, she nearly stumbled over Rover, who formed a large shapeless mound on the floor. His only response was a sleepy “oof.”

  Carter’s door stood open. Moonlight streaming through the window highlighted two intertwined shapes beneath rumpled covers. Allie’s little head rested on Carter’s arm, and his large frame curved around her protectively.

  Tears pricked Buffy’s eyes at this simple, physical demonstration of love between father and daughter. Although she’d never experienced such a relationship, she recognized instantly how precious it was.

  Now that she’d seen this tableau, she couldn’t take Allie away. And she refused to be parted from her daughter. Somehow or other, Buffy had to stay in Nowhere Junction.

  Through misty eyes, she studied the man in the bed. In the warm air, he’d left his pajama top unbuttoned so it fell open, revealing the firm contours of his chest. Someone ought to run her hands over it, and soon.

  As long as she planned to stay, Buffy needed to find out if this fierce, tender man could possibly love her. Because she might, just might, be falling in love with him. And she didn’t want to go there alone.

  *

  By the time Buffy awoke, Carter had gone to work and Mazeppa had returned from visiting her namesake in the hospital. She rocked Allie in one arm and beamed like a lighthouse while fixing toaster waffles for breakfast.

  “I won’t say May Zeppa’s cuter than this little darling, because that isn’t possible,” the woman chortled. “There’s a special quality about her, though.”

  “There sure is,” Buffy said, although in truth she’d caught only a glimpse of a disgruntled, red-faced newborn before she was whisked away for a checkup.

  “First goddaughter I ever had,” the older woman confided. “That makes it a doubly blessed event.”

  “Blessed all the way around,” Buffy agreed.

  They’d scarcely finished eating when Finella arrived with a trunkful of new dresses that the talented seamstresses had whipped up overnight. As they hung them in front of the garage, Buffy noted with relief that Finella and Mazeppa were able to work side by side without quarreling.

  Buyers began arriving by truck, car, horseback, foot and, in one case, tractor. Elbow-deep in axle grease, Carter paid them scant attention. Buffy did see him glance at his daughter’s playpen from time to time, though.

  She kept busy waiting on customers. They consulted her about colors and styles, and several ladies special-ordered dresses. She valued the custom orders highly, since, unlike ready-made stock, there was no danger of garments being left unsold.

  In any case, they sold everything on hand by midafternoon, netting over two hundred dollars for Buffy’s share. Most of it was earmarked for auto repairs, but she splurged at the grocery store on steak, baked potatoes and ice cream for Murdock’s visit.

  Her only regret was that she’d had no time alone with Carter. She was eager to tell him about her change of plans. She was even more eager to see his reaction.

  Would he welcome her decision to stay in town? Might he offer to help her find a job? Above all, did he regard Buffy as merely an accidental coparent or as something more?

  It was after four o’clock now, and Carter would be leaving to fetch his father as soon as he showered. Their discussion had to wait.

  *

  On the way to his father’s place, Carter supposed he ought to be pleased that the dress sale had gone well. It was good to see funds being collected for the school and for Buffy’s empty purse.

  It worried him, though, that she was taking in so much. At this rate, she’d pay him off in a jiffy and be on her way out of town.

  He had to change her mind. He couldn’t let go of his daughter now th
at he’d found her.

  He wasn’t sure how to let go of Buffy, either. But he’d known from the start that she was too dangerous for a man as easily dazzled as him.

  And dazzled he certainly was.

  *

  Driving back from the ranch with Murdock, Carter broke the news that he had a granddaughter. The response was the most enormous grin he’d ever seen on his father’s face.

  “I knew that little cutie was one of us!” Murdock smoothed down his striped second-best shirt. “She’s the spitting image of your mother. It struck me the first time I laid eyes on her.”

  “It sure did,” Carter acknowledged as they rumbled along the narrow highway.

  “Now you’ve got to do the right thing by that little gal Buffy,” said his father.

  “Whoa!” Carter couldn’t believe his father’s train of thought. “Dad, we hardly know each other.”

  “You know each other well enough to have a child together,” the man growled.

  “It was an accident. Not our accident, either.” Carter had explained the circumstances. Apparently they meant nothing to the ecstatic new grandpa.

  “Accidents have been happening since Adam and Eve got lost in the garden and asked the wrong snake for directions.”

  “She would never agree to marry a yokel like me.” That was, in Carter’s opinion, the main sticking point.

  “You have to persuade her,” said his father. “Then you can raise your daughter properly.”

  “Buffy’s not the kind of woman you can rope and hog-tie, Dad.” She was, he reflected, like quicksilver: fluid and fascinating and impossible to hold.

  Or was his father right? A man would never know what a woman’s answer might be unless he popped the question.

  Logically, they ought to get married, despite the impersonal way this baby business had happened. He’d enjoy having a wife like Buffy or, since he doubted there was another woman like her in the wide world, a wife who was Buffy. While she had her flighty qualities, she was practical, too. Just look at her dress business.

  As for whether she’d be willing to settle down with a small-town grease monkey, maybe she’d marry him for Allie’s sake. Or because she fit in here. People liked her.

  Before Carter could inspect the subject from any other angles, they reached his house. Murdock rushed into the kitchen and hugged his granddaughter. Then he sat her on his lap and talked to her for the next fifteen minutes, until the steaks were ready.

  Buffy smiled at the doting picture. Her flowing blonde hair and pink sundress made her seem as fragile as cotton candy, Carter thought. And as likely to melt away.

  His natural caution warned him to consider all the ramifications before proposing marriage. But if he waited, he might lose her. And Allie. And his mind.

  He had to take a chance. At worst, she’d stomp on his pride, humiliate him beyond belief, laugh in his face and spread the story all over town, making him the butt of jokes. But it was worth the risk. Also, he didn’t believe she had a mean bone in her body.

  Plus, the folks in Nowhere Junction weren’t cruel like city folks or Groundhogs. A bunch of mean girls over at the regional high school had tried bullying a local girl on-line. Next morning, she’d found an apple, a lemon meringue and a pecan pie on her doorstep with sympathy notes. As for the mean girls, there’d been anonymous threats to throw custard pies in their faces at the prom. Carter doubted anybody would have done it, but the girls had publicly apologized, just to be safe.

  Mazeppa, who’d been napping, joined the group for dinner. She’d showered and changed into a blue-and-white striped blouse and a blue skirt she’d bought that day.

  “You know, you’re not such an ugly woman after all,” Murdock remarked, studying her between glances at the baby in the playpen.

  “I’ll try not to let your flattery go to my head.” Despite her sarcasm, Mazeppa’s smile testified to her pleasure.

  With her dark hair washed and held back by barrettes, she was reasonably attractive, Carter supposed. Not that any woman could hold a candle to Buffy.

  “I heard you have a new goddaughter in the Grimes household,” his father continued. “And I have a new granddaughter. Somebody ought to break out the champagne.”

  “Afraid I don’t have any,” Carter said.

  “He doesn’t drink,” Buffy added. “I suppose you know that, though, Mr. Murchison.”

  “Call me Murdock,” he said. “No, wait. Make that Grandpa. I like the sound of it.” Mazeppa snorted. “Something wrong with that?”

  “A title like Grandpa has to be earned,” she said. “You can’t bat your eyes at our little Allie and figure that’s all it takes. Volunteer to baby-sit. Whittle toys for her. Be a presence in her world.”

  “Don’t think I won’t.” He turned to Carter. “I guess it’s time I bought a car, so I can visit more often. Any idea who has one for sale?”

  “I might,” Buffy said.

  “That sports car I saw in the garage?” Murdock shook his head. “I was contemplating one of those sport utility vehicles.”

  “No way,” declared Mazeppa. “Anybody’d think you were a teenager! You’re an old coot, and you should drive a sedan.”

  “If I were an old coot, would I be playing footsie with you under the table?” He quirked an eyebrow.

  “That’s my foot you’ve been kicking, Dad,” Carter said.

  His father’s face turned beet-red. Mazeppa didn’t laugh, though. Her expression might best be described as speculative.

  Buffy broke the awkward moment by retrieving the vanilla ice cream, with chocolate chips for topping. “They were on sale at Gigi’s, as I guess everybody heard,” she said of the chips. “I’d melt them if you had a microwave.”

  “Behind the times, is he?” harrumphed Murdock, disregarding the fact that he himself lived only a few decades this side of the Stone Age.

  “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to buy one,” Carter conceded.

  “Popsworthy stocks a couple of microwaves,” Mazeppa said. “I’ll bet he’ll give you a discount if you promise to vote for him.”

  “Not me! I plan to write in Quade’s name, whether he’s running or not.” Until this moment, Carter hadn’t given the matter any thought, but it struck him as a good idea. Having big-mouth Popsworthy as mayor would make town meetings even more painful than they already were.

  “A write-in candidacy for Quade Gardiner?” said Murdock. “He’d make one heck of a better mayor than Horace.”

  Buffy listened with apparent interest. At least she wasn’t angry the way she’d been at dinner last night when he said it was his responsibility to provide for his daughter. Carter hoped her mellow mood would last.

  He’d ask her to marry him later tonight. As soon as he could get her alone, as far as possible from Zeppa’s prying ears.

  And then, she gave him a break. When it was time to drive Murdock home, Buffy offered—completely on her own initiative—to ride along. He considered that a good omen.

  “We’d be glad to have you,” he said. “Mazeppa, would you mind watching the little one?”

  Asking Zeppa to baby-sit was like asking Horace Popsworthy to deliver a campaign speech. “Just try to stop me!” she said.

  “Much obliged.” Carter was amazed at how normal his voice sounded. His throat felt thick, and not because of the ice cream, either. He was suffering from the roller-coaster emotions of a man about to toss the most important dice of his life.

  Murdock fetched his Stetson from a peg and walked outside with Carter and Buffy. “I never realized what a fine woman Mazeppa is when she cleans up,” he said.

  “Don’t get too friendly,” Carter warned. “Next thing you know, she’ll move into your barn.”

  “Still, she has good sense.”

  “I like her,” Buffy said.

  “And she was right about me buying a sedan,” his father said. “It’ll be the safest thing for Allie.” The rest of the way to Murdock’s, they discussed cars. There was a sales lot in
Groundhog Station, and Carter promised to check the website and find out what they had available.

  At the ranch house, George wagged his tail lazily in greeting, while Lucas uttered a sound halfway between a snarl and a whine. Carter had never known a dog so quick to hedge its bets between trying to scare them off and begging them not to hurt him.

  “You say good-night to that little girl for me.” Murdock swung down from the truck.

  “I sure will,” Buffy sang out.

  Carter’s hands went cold as he drove away. He had Buffy to himself, the stars were dancing overhead and there might never be another moment as perfect as this. “There’s a place I’m fond of, where we could sit and talk,” he said. “How about it?”

  “Sure,” she said. “Whatever you like.”

  Another positive omen, he thought. And for extra good luck, a couple of falling stars flashed by, although that might be some fool on the outskirts of town shooting off bottle rockets.

  Carter hoped he’d feel like shooting off bottle rockets too in a few minutes.

  Chapter Nine

  Buffy couldn’t believe her good luck. She’d been seeking a chance to tell Carter she planned to stay in Nowhere Junction, and he’d just offered her the perfect opportunity to talk to him alone.

  Talking might not be enough, however, she mused as she studied his profile. At the pool, he’d ducked an opportunity to kiss her. Maybe he’d simply been acting like a gentleman. But it was also possible that he didn’t find her attractive.

  A kiss would reveal whether he was developing feelings for her, and she needed to know. There was zero point in sticking around Nowhere Junction otherwise, because she hadn’t seen another man who held a candle to him. Well, that Quade fellow might be accounted good-looking, Buffy supposed, but she preferred Carter’s easy-going kindness.

  After they took his father home, they followed the highway back toward town. She was searching for the right words, a diplomatic way to suggest they pull over and make out, when Carter turned onto a gravel road. The truck bumped along toward a meandering line of trees silhouetted against the moonbright sky.