by Arlene James
“I don’t want you to have to bathe him tonight,” Jake was saying, waving a hand at Frankie. “He’s filthy, and you’re tired.”
“I’ve got to bathe Tyler anyway.”
“I can wash myself,” Tyler objected loudly.
Tina smiled stiffly at Jake. “There. Tyler can wash himself, so I’m free to take care of Frankie.”
Tyler opened his mouth, but Wyatt cut him off, fed up with mouthy kids and this Tina-Jake thing. “I guess y’all want to turn in early since you start Tyler’s classes tomorrow.”
“What classes?” Tyler demanded, frowning.
“Schoolwork,” Tina replied lightly. “We don’t want you to fall behind in your studies.”
“They have a good school here in town,” Jake pointed out.
“I told her that.”
“I made a thorough check before I agreed to this move,” Jake went on.
Suddenly, Tyler gripped the edge of the table in front of him and shouted, “I want to go to my old school! I want to go home!”
Visibly blanching, Tina tried to placate him. “Son, we are home. And tonight you can sleep in your own room. It has all your toys and books in it and the same blanket and pillows. Your stuffed fox is there, and—”
Tyler leapt to his feet, bawling at her. “It’s not my room! That’s stupid! You’re stupid!”
“Whoa,” Wyatt said, at the very end of his patience, but Tyler was already running down the hallway.
Obviously embarrassed, Tina quickly rose to follow her son, but first she apologized for him. “I’m sorry for that. He’s unsettled and confused and...” Her explanation dwindled away.
“He called you stupid,” Wyatt pointed out. “You can’t let him get away with that.”
Her chin came up but not her gaze. “He’s just repeating what he heard his father say so often.”
Wyatt’s stomach churned. No wonder she was prickly. He softened his tone. “All the more reason to put a stop to it. People shouldn’t speak to each other that way. Males especially shouldn’t speak that way to females. He has to learn that.”
She nodded and turned away, softly saying, “I’ll clean this up later.”
“We’ll handle this,” Wyatt told her. “You go talk to your boy.”
“I’ll take Frankie into the shower with me,” Jake decided aloud, “and get him ready for bed.”
“Thank you,” she replied in a choked voice. Then she followed Tyler from the room.
When she was gone, Jake pointed a finger at Frankie. “I don’t ever want to hear you say anything so disrespectful to any adult.” Big-eyed, Frankie nodded, and Jake immediately softened. “I know you won’t. Hopefully, in time, Tyler will learn not to misbehave like that, too.”
“Hopefully,” Wyatt muttered, but with a father who called his mother names in front of him, the kid already had a strike against him. Wyatt felt a new empathy for both Tina and Tyler.
Oh, yeah. Tonight was a really good night for prayer meeting.
Chapter Six
Apparently, showing up for prayer meeting at the Countryside Church was tantamount to announcing to the community at large that the Smith brothers were in residence. The first to mention it was the electrician recommended by the Billings family, who stopped by the next day.
“Everyone’s excited to have y’all at Loco Man Ranch,” the thin, fortyish man said to Tina. “Wouldn’t be the same without a Smith here, and now there’s five or six of you.”
“Three,” Tina corrected. “That is, four: Wyatt, Jake, Ryder and little Frankie.”
“Oh, you’re not a member of the family?”
“Uh, not exactly.” She didn’t want to go into details, so she said simply, “Dodd was my stepfather.”
That raised his shaggy eyebrows, so she quickly turned the conversation to business. After describing the problems, she wasn’t surprised to hear that the entire house would need rewiring, and while the price of the project was not as much as she’d feared, she still broached the subject of providing the materials herself. The electrical contractor proved amenable, so she took out her cell phone and turned it on. She had been careful to keep it off for fear that Layne would try to track her through it, but she needed to call the wholesaler.
Thankfully, the conversation was brief. It took the electrician longer to write out a detailed list than it did for the wholesaler to agree to provide the materials at wholesale.
After some finagling, the electrical contractor left to get the supplies, promising Tina they would have power in at least part of the house by nightfall.
As soon as the electrician departed, guests began arriving. A battered pickup arrived, containing three women, one of them a mere teenager who couldn’t have graduated high school even a year earlier. They brought with them a cake in a foil pan.
“Mrs. Smith?”
“I’m Tina Kemp, Dodd’s stepdaughter. There is no Mrs. Smith.”
“Well, that’s good news,” declared one of the women, a willowy blonde with sharp features and entirely too much makeup.
Tina was shocked into silence as the elder of the women introduced herself as Sharon Umber. Sharon introduced her daughters, Peggy and Olive.
“We met the Smith brothers at church last night,” Peggy gushed.
“And of course we want to welcome them to War Bonnet,” said her mother. “Uh, I mean, we want to welcome all of you.” With that, she pushed the pan at Tina. “Chocolate cake.”
“Thank you,” Tina managed to say, inviting them to sit at the kitchen table with a wave of her hand.
While she filled glasses with iced tea, Peggy asked, “Are the Smith brothers here?”
“Jake’s around here somewhere,” Tina said. “Ryder’s upstairs working. I’m not sure where Wyatt is, but he’s on ranch business, I’m sure.”
“And you’re what? The housekeeper here?” Mrs. Umber wanted to know.
“I’m the homeowner,” Tina stated flatly. “Dodd left the ranch to his nephews and the house to me. They’re only staying here temporarily.”
Sharon Umber looked confused, but then she glanced around the old-fashioned, bare-bones kitchen and remarked, “I imagine someone will be building a new house soon, then.”
“Well, it won’t be me,” Tina said. “I like this house, and I intend to refurbish it.”
“There’s sure nothing around here to rent,” Mrs. Umber said. “I hear Lyons is building apartments, though.”
“A rancher doesn’t want to live in an apartment.” Her youngest daughter scoffed. “Especially if he’s got a wife.”
“Better and better!” declared Peggy, giggling.
Tina almost choked on her polite laughter. No doubt Sharon and her daughters were calculating which of the brothers was most likely to build that new house and just how likely he needed a wife. Tyler and Frankie ran into the room just then, asking for a snack.
Tina cleared her throat. “How does chocolate cake sound?”
The boys bounced up and down, yelling, “Yay!”
Tina parked them at the table, introducing each to the Umbers, and went for paper plates and the milk carton. She was still dishing out cake when another vehicle arrived, with two women this time: Mrs. Carla Landis and her friend Marti Jewel, a single woman in her thirties. They brought cookies. Tina made room at the table and went for more glasses. When the third car showed up, the Umbers finally excused themselves.
Meri Billings Burns and her sister, Ann Billings Pryor, brought flour, sugar, canned vegetables and homemade jams, which would come in very handy. Moreover, they were there to see Tina rather than check out the trio of bachelor brothers. Meri showed photos of her baby girl. Ann, too, had a daughter, a toddler, as well as a son in first grade.
“We’ll have to get Donovan and these boys together soon,” Ann said, smiling at Frankie and Tyler.
“We’ll make it happen,” Ann promised. “And I’ll have Donovan look for Tyler at school. I hope we can expect to see you both on Sunday as it’s Easter.”
“Easter,” Tina echoed uncertainly. She’d forgotten all about it. She’d always made a big deal of Easter with Tyler, and this year she hadn’t even thought of it.
“Yes, we’ll be at Easter services,” she promised, returning to the table, “but Tyler won’t be attending public school.”
“Why ever not?” Carla Landis wanted to know. “My sister and brother-in-law both teach there. It’s an excellent school.”
“I—I just think Tyler is...safer at home for now.”
Carla and her friend Marti immediately said they had to leave. Fearing she had offended them, Tina thanked them for coming as she walked them to the door. Turning back to the Billings sisters, she sighed.
“I didn’t handle that very well.”
“Oh, don’t worry about Carla,” Meri said. “She’s thin skinned, but she gets over it quickly.”
“I hope you’ll reconsider sending Tyler to public school, though,” Ann added.
Tina shook her head. “I can’t. I just...can’t.”
The sisters smiled and changed the subject. Tina again promised that she and Tyler would be in church on Sunday. The women made approving sounds before getting to their feet.
“I need to start Stark’s lunch,” Meri said.
“And we really should rescue Callie,” Ann put in. “She’s got her kids and ours today.”
“Thank you so much for coming by,” Tina said, ushering them to the door, “and please give Callie my best.”
The sisters took their leave. Sighing with mingled relief and pleasure—Meri and Ann were two women she felt she could truly be friends with—Tina turned back to the table, only to spy Ryder standing there with his arms folded.
“You hiding from someone, Tina?”
“What? Don’t be silly.” Flustered, she forced herself to walk calmly across the room to begin clearing the table. “Why would you ask such a thing?”
He looked at her for a long moment; then he dropped his hands to his waist. “Takes one to know one, I guess,” he muttered, turning away.
She wanted to call him back, ask what he meant by that, but she didn’t dare. A woman who couldn’t bear questions couldn’t ask them, either. She just couldn’t chance that one of the brothers would decide she was unfairly keeping her son from Layne and notify him.
Recalling what Meri had said about making her husband’s lunch, Tina started building sandwiches. Wrapping them, she stowed them in the cooler before slicing an apple and rinsing the slices in pineapple juice to keep them from browning. She’d serve the remaining juice to the boys with their supper. All the while, she pondered her situation.
Could she really operate this decrepit house as a B and B? She looked at the old refrigerator. It wasn’t nearly large enough, but until it was running again, she dared not open any of the jars that the Billings sisters had brought with them or even stock the larder sufficiently.
For the sake of her son, she would somehow make this work. She knew in her heart of hearts that Layne would destroy the child out of sheer maliciousness if he ever gained full custody. He’d turn Tyler into a hateful, belligerent younger version of himself just to hurt her.
So, yes, she would hide, and she would homeschool, and she would spend every penny she had to keep Tyler from his father.
And she would pray.
For all the good that seemed to do.
* * *
“You sure you’re not letting your own situation color your judgment?” Wyatt asked softly, dropping down next to his brother on the porch step two evenings later.
Ryder shook his head, his gaze focused on his hands. Apparently, he’d deliberated quite a while before telling Wyatt what he’d overheard.
Ryder and Tina had made real progress over the past few days. The place was clean and organized. The porch was sound and the ceiling patched. Wallpaper had been stripped away in the dining room and new drapes hung. Nearly the whole house had been rewired, so they had lights, refrigeration and hot water out of the faucet. Wyatt was looking forward to a little TV tonight, but he’d returned from visiting area cattle breeders to find Ryder hanging around outside, waiting for him.
“If she’s not hiding, why won’t she let that boy go to school?” Ryder wanted to know. “And why does she keep her phone turned off? The electrician complained about it, said he normally calls his clients if he needs something while he’s working, but with her, he has to stop what he’s doing and go in search of her because she keeps her phone off.”
Wyatt frowned. “Maybe she just doesn’t want to run down the battery. When you asked her, she denied that she was hiding. Right?”
“Yeah,” Ryder admitted. “Sort of. I’d have let it go after that if not for what the electrician told me. And there’s something else.”
“What’s that?”
“Tyler asked me to call his dad and tell him where they are.”
Wyatt grimaced. “Man, I do not want to get in the middle of that.”
“I understand,” Ryder said, “but if she’s hiding Tyler from his father...”
Wyatt shook his head. “We don’t know that. But I’ll talk to her after supper, see what I can find out.”
Ryder nodded. “I hate to be the one to bring this up, considering my own situation.”
“You’re hiding from the press, not a legal situation.”
“Still, if anybody knows there are good reasons to hide, I do.”
Sighing, Wyatt clapped his baby brother on the shoulder. Would he ever recover from the tragedy? Accidentally killing his sparring partner in practice had nearly broken Ryder.
Then Uncle Dodd had died and left them the ranch. The solution had fallen straight into Wyatt’s lap, and he was still convinced that it was the right move, despite the complication of Tina.
So far, Wyatt had dealt with her by having as little to do with her as possible. That didn’t keep him from thinking about her, though. Her beauty seemed to blossom more fully every day, particularly as he came to see a softer side to her. She was more vulnerable than she wanted anyone to know, especially when it came to her son, which meant that Wyatt couldn’t put off this conversation.
After a supper that included an excellent meatloaf, he made sure that Jake got the boys ready for bed while he helped Tina clean the kitchen. He meant to take her into the den for a private conversation, but no sooner had she folded the last dish towel than she pushed open the screen door and walked down the steps out into the night. Wyatt followed, closing the back door behind him.
She turned, arms crossed, when she heard the door close, then she turned away again. “I could never get enough of the stars. They’re always so bright out here. Dodd and I used to sit on the front porch steps and gaze up at the night sky while Mom watched one of her silly shows. Having the old TV working again made me think of those nights. People in the city don’t even realize how many stars there are.”
“That’s true,” Wyatt said. “The night sky in Houston is a murky gray with a few dim twinkles.” He waited, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans, but she didn’t say anything else, so he took the bull by the horns. “Tina, we need to talk.”
She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes gleaming in the moonlight. “What about?”
“Are you hiding from someone or something?”
Looking away, she hugged herself a little tighter. “Ryder asked me that earlier, and I can’t imagine why either of you would think such a thing.”
Wyatt noticed that she hadn’t exactly denied the accusation. “Would you tell me if you were?”
“That would be foolish, wouldn’t it?
”
Disappointed, Wyatt bowed his head, sending up a quick prayer for the right words. “It’s starting to look like you’re hiding Tyler from his father.”
Gasping, she whirled around. “Why would you say such a thing?”
He heard the tremor in her voice and sighed. “Tina, if he has custody of Tyler—”
“I have custody of Tyler,” she interrupted hotly. “Full custody granted by a court,” she added. “But Layne is threatening to sue for custody. His lawyers advised me b-before I left Kansas.”
Wyatt rubbed his hands over his face, suddenly quite tired. “I see. So, this is your way of avoiding a custody battle you fear you’ll lose.”
Tina rushed forward into the rectangle of light thrown onto the ground from the window in the door behind and above Wyatt. He caught his breath. She was the most amazingly beautiful woman he’d ever seen, but he couldn’t let that sway him. He had to know the truth.
“You don’t understand,” she said. “Layne’s parents have money, lots of it. They’ve never been particularly interested in being grandparents...or parents, so far as I can tell, but their usual way of dealing with Layne is to simply give him what he wants. Art school in Paris. A lavish wedding. A house. Cars.”
“So, he basically has unlimited funds to fight you in court.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t he do it at the time of the divorce then?”
“Tyler was too small, too much trouble, I imagine. He and Layne simply weren’t that close, but as Tyler has gotten older, Layne’s tried to influence him. He pushes Tyler to pick sides between us, and he courts him with expensive gifts and entertainment. He tells Tyler lies about our marriage, and he knows I won’t tell him the truth because it’s not good for Tyler to know that I caught Layne cheating on me.”
Wyatt could hardly imagine such a thing. Why would a man cheat on a woman like Tina? Wyatt rubbed the nape of his neck.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, but I have to ask if you’re allowed to take Tyler out of state without his dad’s permission.”
“Yes. But that won’t keep Layne from filing for custody. He claims that I can’t provide adequately for Tyler and that I don’t spend enough time with him. He’s even tried to say that I’ve alienated Tyler’s affections, though it’s Layne who’s tried to do that. I never criticize him to Tyler, because it’s not good for Tyler to hear awful things about his dad.” She shoved her fingers into her hair, adding, “He’ll eventually figure it out on his own, anyway. Unless Layne warps him, which he would do just to spite me.” She flailed her arms in a gesture of exasperation.