Emily's Chance (v5)

by Sharon Gillenwater

  Emily hadn’t told them, or anybody, that she had contributed five thousand dollars to the fund. And why not? She could afford it, and she had already developed a close connection to the people of Callahan Crossing. But she was glad she had already given her donation before her mother mentioned theirs. Otherwise, she would have questioned herself. Had she given that amount because it was what the Lord led her to give? Or was she trying to outdo her parents?

  She had a strange relationship with them. Always trying to make them proud of her but rarely succeeding. At the same time, she seemed to look for ways to prove to herself that she was as good or better than they were.

  A psychiatrist would probably have a field day analyzing her.

  6

  That evening, Chance sat across the dining room table from his mother, sister, and Emily. The three women were huddled together looking over the museum plans he’d drawn up. He stifled a yawn and glanced at his watch. Only 8:00, but he was ready to crash.

  He’d had a long, busy day. The meeting that morning had been fruitful, gaining him a new client. The Parson family had lost their home and almost everything else in the fire, but they had good insurance and would be able to start on a new house in a few weeks. They’d studied the sample building plans he had available and had taken several variations home to study. He encouraged them to make any changes they wanted, and he’d do his best to accomplish them if they were structurally feasible and fell within their budget.

  After a quick burger at the Sonic, he’d spent the afternoon working on the cleanup, not stopping until dark. He missed dinner with the family and picked up some fried chicken, potato salad, and half of a small watermelon at the grocery deli. Such was the life of a bachelor. After dinner and a quick shower, he’d printed out a copy of the museum floor plans and sent a digital version to Emily via email.

  Now, here he was, half-listening to the conversation as they discussed how to set things up. He was more interested in watching the light shimmer in Emily’s golden hair. She had abandoned her usual workday ponytail, letting it hang loosely around her shoulders. His fingers itched to touch it, to see if the gentle curls were as soft as they looked.

  Did she know how pretty she was? Her eyes were the color of the bluebonnets that filled the pastures in the spring. The soft blush on her cheeks reminded him of the flush of a newly ripening peach. He was no dummy. He knew some of that sparkling color had been brushed on. But he had seen her without makeup that morning. The added blusher only lightly enhanced her natural coloring.

  Her face was nicely shaped, and her nose was perfect. Maybe too perfect. If it was her dad’s handiwork, he was very good. But he would be, nipping and tucking the Dallas elite.

  Chance decided it didn’t matter if her nose had been sculpted a bit. It suited her. His gaze moved down to her mouth. Nice. Kissable. Smiling. He looked up, relieved to see she hadn’t caught him studying her.

  A childish giggle drew his attention to the living room, where his brother-in-law, Nate, was giving Zach a horsey ride on his back. Crawling around on the floor, Nate glanced up at him and grinned. Chance had never seen a man as content with a ready-made family as his friend.

  Chance was happy for them and for little Zach who finally had a daddy who loved him. Nate was already talking about adopting Zach if they could get past all the legalities. Chance prayed they could.

  “I think that will work just fine.”

  His mom’s words penetrated his thoughts and he looked back at her. “No changes?”

  Jenna laughed and glanced at Emily. “See, I told you he wasn’t paying any attention to us.”

  “More fun to watch your son.” Chance grinned at his sister and leaned forward, trying to decipher some notes and lines Emily had made on the drawing. He thought he caught the gist of what they wanted, even though he was looking at it upside down. “What did I miss?”

  “We’ll need to add cabinets and counter space in the kitchen along with the refrigerator and an industrial dishwasher. Possibly a warming oven would work too.” Emily turned the sheet around so he could see her scribbles and the lines she had sketched in. “There is room for a long, narrow island in the middle. We’re debating about using stainless steel worktables with a shelf on the bottom or having a cabinet with a couple of shelves to give more storage space.”

  He studied the drawing for a minute. “You’ll have a safety issue with open cabinet doors, especially if someone has a cabinet or drawer open along the wall too. Nobody would be able to get through. I don’t know if they make stainless steel worktables with two shelves, but you could have an island cabinet built with two shelves and no doors. And don’t forget the basement. There’s plenty of room for storage down there.” As Emily’s eyes widened, he paused. “Or not. It isn’t heated, and it wouldn’t be handy for everyday use. But the society might be able to use it for something.”

  Turning the sheet back around, Emily tapped her lip with the edge of her index finger, totally distracting him. Dragging his gaze away from her mouth, he looked up and met his sister’s twinkling eyes. He frowned, warning her not to say anything. She grinned and nodded minutely.

  “You can order the cabinets?” asked Emily.

  “Cabinets, sink, appliances. I’ll get all of it for you wholesale. I might finagle some kind of discount if you go with the worktables, but you might do better shopping around for those and the other tables and chairs.”

  Emily looked at Sue. “Let me play with this on the computer and see how many tables we can fit in the meeting area.”

  “I’ll get the Historical Society together later in the week and organize some committees after folks have toured the building,” said Sue. “I’m sure they’ll be thrilled with it. Except for using your software to draw out the ideas, you shouldn’t have to deal with the meeting room and kitchen. We’ll handle that. You need to concentrate on the museum itself.”

  “Works for me.”

  His mom relaxed against the back of the chair. “You two make a good team.”

  Her comment was a little blatant, but he agreed. “That we do.” He winked at Emily. Leaning forward to stack up the papers, she rolled her eyes, and he almost laughed out loud. His mom had turned away, watching Zach run around the living room, so she missed Emily’s reaction. It was probably a good thing.

  Chance pushed his chair away from the table. “I’m going to mosey on home. Hey, Zach, I’m leaving. Can I have a hug?”

  His nephew walked around the end of the couch and into the dining room, his pace half the speed it had been earlier. It was a sure sign the little guy was running out of steam. When Chance picked him up, Zach wrapped his arms around his neck in a sweet hug, then laid his head on Chance’s shoulder.

  “You tired, buddy?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Maybe it’s time for you to go home and go night-night.”

  Zach raised his head and leaned back a little to look him in the eye. “You go night-night too?”

  “Pretty soon. I have a few things to do first.”

  “You go night-night in your bed. I go night-night in my big boy bed.”

  “That’s right. Those are some long sentences.” He really was missing too much time with his family. Hugging the little boy again, he looked over his head at Jenna. “When did he start putting so many words together?”

  “Just the last couple of days. And you’ll note that he said I, instead of using my for everything. He doesn’t always do it, but he’s learning.”

  “That he is.”

  Zach pushed on his chest. “I go see Papa.”

  “Okay. Good night.”

  “’Night.” When Chance set him on the floor, he walked over to his grandpa. “Night-night, Papa.”

  As Dub picked him up and hugged him, Nate stood. “Looks like we’re headin’ out. You ready, honey?”

  Jenna gave her mom a quick hug, then stood. “I’ll get Zach’s coat while he tells everybody bye.”

  She came around the table and gave
Chance a hug too. “Spend a little more time around here, bro. We miss you.”

  “I miss y’all too. Things will get back to normal when I finish my part of the cleanup.”

  “Then you’ll be running every which way building houses.”

  “I’ll be running more crews than ever, that’s for sure. But I have good folks lined up, so I should be able to get home in time for supper more often.”

  Jenna wiggled her finger, motioning for him to bend closer. When he leaned down, she whispered, “You can’t court your lady if you aren’t around.”

  “I know. Believe me, I intend to correct that situation as soon as possible. Starting Sunday afternoon if the weather cooperates.” He straightened, and Jenna stepped back.

  “Good. Time’s a-wastin’.”

  “Don’t I know it.”

  Emily stacked up the drawings and notes they’d made. “I need to go out to the bunkhouse for a little while and check on some things I was cleaning this morning.”

  “Mind if I go with you?” Chance walked around the end of the dining table. “I haven’t seen any of the things you salvaged.”

  “Don’t mind a bit. Let me put this in my room and grab my coat.”

  Sue rose too. “I’d better go get some sugar before our baby boy heads for home.”

  “I’ll wait here and catch him again as he goes by.” Even if Chance saw that kid two or three times a day, he finagled a hug at every opportunity. Holding that little guy and sharing the special love between them was a precious thing. He praised God that Jenna and Zach had been blessed with a loving family. How hard it must be for single parents who didn’t have that kind of family support to nurture and care for a child alone.

  By the time Emily returned, he had been the beneficiary of another big hug around the neck. Zach held out his arms to Emily when she stepped up beside them. When she took the little boy and held him close, Chance’s throat tightened.

  Zach straightened, resting his arm on Emily’s shoulder. “You show Uncle Chance the bin . . . bin . . .”

  “Binoculars?”

  “Yeah. Binoculars.”

  “He can look at them, but it won’t do him any good to look through them tonight.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s dark. You can’t see much through them without light. He needs to use them in the daylight.”

  “Oh.” Zach swiveled around in her arms to look at Chance. “You use the bin . . . binoculars in daylight.”

  “All right. I’ll do that. Sleep good, buddy.”

  “Okay.” Zach turned to Nate, who stood patiently waiting beside them. “I go night-night now, Daddy.”

  At the word Daddy, Nate’s smile practically lit up the room. He reached for Zach and set him on the chair seat. “Okay, but let Mom put on your coat.”

  As Jenna stuffed the wiggling child into his coat, Chance caught Nate’s eye. “Careful, you’re gonna bust your buttons.”

  “Good thing all my shirts come with snaps.” Nate glanced at his family. “Or Jenna would be sewing buttons on every day.”

  Chance looked back at his parents and brother. “Good night, y’all.”

  “Good night.” Though his parents didn’t speak in unison, it was close.

  Chuckling at Will’s lazy wave, Chance followed the others into the kitchen and grabbed his coat. He, too, was blessed by having a loving family. They agreed on most things, but if they couldn’t come to a resolution on something, they chose to amicably disagree.

  Outside, Jenna and her family headed across the yard and followed the dirt road to their house. Chance and Emily took a different path, winding around a couple of winter-sad flower beds and along the side of the vegetable garden dotted with bare stalks of something or other until they reached another road.

  The bunkhouse had been built far enough away from the main house to ensure privacy for the rancher as well as the occasionally rough-and-tumble cowboys. The ranch house had been moved a few times over the years, but Emily was working in the original bunkhouse.

  The light from Emily’s flashlight led the way. Chance had a smaller one in his coat pocket. On a full moon night, he wouldn’t have used one. But a quarter moon didn’t illuminate the landscape enough to avoid the ruts or occasional rock.

  “Have you had any time for a tour of the ranch?”

  “I haven’t seen it all, but Will drove me around a couple of days ago.”

  Chance grimaced in the darkness. Definitely a good thing he’d declared his intentions, to his family at least. “Where did you go?”

  “To Red Ridge and a couple of other pastures. I don’t remember their names. We stopped at an old house, but there wasn’t much to see. It’s about to fall down.”

  “That would be Uncle Jack’s place. He and our great-great-grandfather Aidan established the ranch, but they didn’t get along too well. They built their houses so they couldn’t see each other. Jack was flamboyant and a big spender. Aidan could make a nickel go so far the buffalo got sore feet.”

  Emily laughed. “I hadn’t heard that one. I’ve studied his photographs in your father’s office. You look a lot like him. Though not as stern.”

  “My grandpa agreed with you. He said I had Grandpa Aidan’s eyes. He always made a big deal out of it because nobody else along the way has had green eyes.”

  “Tell me more about Aidan and his brother.”

  “They were both hard workers and smart businessmen, but Aidan was constantly harping on Jack about spending too much. They came out here in 1880, near the beginning of the cattle boom. It was open range then, but they bought some land, mainly to make sure they had a secure water supply. One section has a creek running through it. They named it Jack’s Creek, and the name stuck. The other section has Aidan’s Spring.”

  “Where Nate and Jenna got married.”

  “That’s right. They camped at the spring the first year or so and took care of the cattle. They built a one-room shack at their campsite and went through two winters living there. By then they’d made some good money, so they decided they should each have a house. Living at the spring provided water, but it was more secluded than either of them wanted. So Jack built his place, and Aidan built a two-room dogtrot up here.”

  “The old house on the other side of the barn.”

  “Yes. At first he hauled water from the spring. Later he put in the windmill. He and his wife, Clara, lived there until their second child was born. By that time, he and Jack had made a fortune, but Jack was tired of Texas. He wanted to live the good life, be a rich cattle baron without the cattle. So Aidan bought him out.

  “Jack went to England and found an aristocratic wife. Bought her, basically. Her father needed money, and Jack was happy to provide it in exchange for a lady wife.”

  “Did he stay in England?”

  “No, they moved back to the States and settled in Boston. Some of their great-grandkids came out to visit when we were in high school. They were my dad’s age and nice enough, but a little snooty. Jack might have been flamboyant, but he was shrewd. He invested wisely, and so have his offspring. They’re probably worth about the same as we are, but I think they considered us hicks.”

  “Have you ever visited them in Boston?”

  “Nope. And I don’t plan to. Me and cities don’t get along. Too much traffic and too many people.”

  “I love being in the city. Going to the museums, concerts, theaters, restaurants, and even the occasional sporting event. Don’t you find cities exciting?”

  “Oh, sure. Dodging idiot drivers going eighty on the freeway in heavy traffic gives me more excitement than I see in a year around here.” In a normal year anyway. The range fire that hit town held enough excitement and fear for a whole lifetime.

  She laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of a little traffic.”

  “I’d rather ride a bull than spend ten minutes on the expressway in Dallas. I was there on business last year and had to go through the High Five. I thought sure somebody was going
to bump me, and I’d go flying off into space.”

  “Why, Chance Callahan, I didn’t think you were afraid of anything.”

  “Anybody in their right mind should be scared of a freeway interchange with five levels.”

  Right now what made his stomach burn was the thought that her love for the city might be a tall horse to saddle.

  7

  When they reached the bunkhouse, Emily unlocked the door and flipped on the light. “Where did Aidan and Clara live after the dogtrot?”

  “He built her a house in town. She and the kids lived there most of the time. He stayed at the ranch during the week and went to town on the weekend. Several ranchers had homes in town so the wives could be around other women, and the children could go to school.”

  “Does your family still own the house in town?”

  “No. My grandfather sold it after his parents died. He and Grandma preferred living out here.” Chance followed her inside and closed the door. “Of course, they also had a Model T Ford and used it to go to town and back. He improved the road they’d used for years with the wagons.”

  “Which benefited the neighbors too.” Emily took off her coat and draped it over a chair back.

  It was warm in the room, so he slipped off his coat too, and laid it over another chair. He scanned the items spread out on three six-foot-long tables and shook his head. There were some dishes, vases, knickknacks, and various metal items, all cleaned. “I’m sorry we ruined so many things with the water, but it couldn’t be helped.”

  “I know. The water didn’t do as much damage as the smoke. Many of the textiles are too old for the type of cleaning necessary. This is about a third of what I think I can restore. We also have the pictures and records you and I saved. We need to get some good donations. I want to make a ranching display. Your dad said I could have his great-grandfather’s saddle and tack, along with some old tools.”

  “Make sure he gives you a branding iron.”