by Emmy Eugene
“Maybe you’ll have more time with Russ,” Libby suggested. “No babysitters at night. Henry can take them while you go out with your boyfriend.”
“That feels weird,” Janelle said.
“Yeah, I know.” Libby leaned back in her chair. “I don’t know, Janelle. What did you tell him?”
“I told him the pick-up line at the elementary school was a bear and to get there fifteen minutes early.” Her mind felt like one giant blank space, and Libby stood up as her phone rang.
“I’ll be right back.” She left the room, and Janelle picked up her cell as it vibrated against her desk.
My parents had a flood at their place this morning, Russ had sent.
That’s terrible. Janelle didn’t know how to tell him about Henry. Maybe she didn’t need to.
Of course you do, she thought, and she tapped out another message. Can I call you real quick?
Give me a few minutes, he said. She set her phone face-down and closed the lid on her laptop. The black words on white paper still ran behind her closed eyes, and she focused by drawing in a deep breath and opening the folder for her court hearing that morning. She had already gone over it, and she knew what arguments she was going to make to the commissioner.
Sometime later—definitely more than a few minutes—her phone vibrated again, and she picked it up to see Russ’s name and face on the screen. Her heart pounced, and she answered the call with, “Hi,” and a sigh.
“Mornin’, sweetheart,” he drawled. He sounded tired too. “This week is going to be a killer.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, my parents will stay out at the ranch while their house gets restored. It was a broken pipe that went to the dishwasher.”
“Oh, wow,” Janelle said. “That stinks.”
“Yeah, the entire main level is full of water. And we have our last harvest this week, and Travis and I are going whole-hog on the dog enclosure, because Seth gets home next Sunday.” He exhaled. “But this wasn’t about me. What did you need?”
Janelle opened her mouth to tell him, but the words flew. “Uh, nothing.”
Russ didn’t say anything for a moment, and Janelle hated that she hadn’t just told him. “You wanted to call me for nothing?” he asked.
“It’s Henry,” she said, feeling the weight of the world settle right on the back of her neck. “He’s actually rented an apartment in town and wants to spend the next couple of weeks doing holiday things with the girls.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, that sums it up,” Janelle said. “I just got off the phone with him.”
“He doesn’t have a job in Austin?”
“He’s on leave,” she said, going on to explain briefly what she’d seen in the reports and cases he was dealing with. “And I don’t know. I feel like maybe I need to supervise the visits or something.”
“I’ll be honest, I’m not going to be much help this week,” he said. “It’s fine. My family party is next Friday, though, and I really want you and the girls there.”
Janelle had started to shake off some of the paralyzing thoughts, and she clicked over to her calendar. “Next Friday…I can do that. It’s at the ranch?”
“Yes,” he said. “Dinner at six.”
“Gifts?”
“Nope,” he said. “But it’ll be my parents and my brothers, and all of their significant others. So just Jenna and Millie. I think Jenna’s brother might be coming too. I’m not sure.”
She started adding a calendar event. “I’m putting it on right now. We’ll be there.” In the past, she wouldn’t have had to clear it with Henry, but now she did. She also wanted him to know she knew what the allegations against him were, and that she didn’t trust him to be alone with the girls. Not if he was drinking.
So she had another hard phone call to make.
She didn’t want to let Russ go quite yet, but she didn’t know what to say to him. They just breathed on the line together, and Janelle stole some of his powerful, quiet energy before she managed to say, “Thanks, Russ. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Anytime, baby,” he said, his voice husky and contemplative too.
Janelle took a few minutes to let her emotions wash through her. Over her. They threatened to pull her right into a black pit, but she fought against them. She squared her shoulders and picked up her phone again.
She’d make this call. She’d go to court. She’d get through the day. She’d done it all before, and she could do it again.
She just wished she didn’t have to do it alone.
Chapter Seventeen
Russ called a meeting for everyone at Chestnut Ranch, and they met in his tiny office on Monday afternoon. He filled everyone in concerning the flood, ending with, “And Momma and Daddy will be living in the homestead for this week. Travis has been working with the restoration company the most, and he’s going to keep doing that.”
His brother nodded, and so did Rex and Griffin.
“Sorry we didn’t get their calls,” Griffin said.
“You wouldn’t have done anything different anyway,” Russ said. “It’s fine. We got them out, and we’ve hired someone to clean it all up.” He looked down at his clipboard. “This week, Travis and I are going to focus on the dog enclosure. Griffin and Rex will take over all the chores except for the dogs. That leaves Darren and his crew to do all the crops. It’s our last week of that for a couple of months, and we need all the fields cleaned up, mowed, and set for the winter.”
As if Mother Nature wanted to make his life a little harder, a clap of thunder filled the sky.
“And it’s supposed to rain a bit here at the beginning of the week,” he said.
“We have ponchos,” Darren said. “We’ll get it done, boss.”
And Russ knew they would. Darren was an excellent cowboy who’d landed at Chestnut Ranch several years ago after an ugly divorce and a bankruptcy at his own ranch just outside of Fredericksburg.
“And Seth is coming back on Sunday,” Russ said, his emotions sneaking up on him. He had no idea where they’d come from, but he missed his older brother powerfully in that moment. He cleared his throat and continued. “We’ll have dinner at the homestead that night to celebrate with him. Everyone is invited.”
“Everyone’s invited to Thursday night dinner too,” Travis said. “And our ranch party next Friday night.” He nodded at Darren, Tomas, and Brian, and they all nodded back.
“Okay, that’s it,” Russ said. “Oh, wait. We need to have one more check of the cattle this week sometime…” He flipped a page. “I don’t like it when it rains and we don’t know if they’re standing in water all the time.”
“The farthest field is soggy,” Griffin said. “I was out there on Saturday, and it was bad then.”
“Let’s move them somewhere else then.” Russ thought about the winter pastures they had ready. “Maybe section eleven?”
“We put the bulls there,” Rex said, moving to stand next to Russ. “What about over here?” He pointed to the southern sections on the map.
“That’s close to the river,” Russ said. “I don’t normally put cattle there in the winter. We lose ground every year to the floods when it rains.”
“It’s just today and tomorrow,” Rex said. “I’ll move them in the morning, and we’ll see how it goes.” He looked at Russ for his approval, and he simply gave it. He didn’t have another pasture at the moment, and if Rex was willing to take lead on a chore none of the brothers liked that much, Russ wasn’t going to argue.
“Great.” Rex clapped Russ on the shoulder, and the cowboys started to disperse. Before he could even set his clipboard down on the desk, his phone buzzed. That was his mother—again—and Russ tried not to be frustrated by her constant messages. It was like she’d just gotten a phone and learned how to text for the first time.
Daddy needs his weighted blanket to sleep. Do you think you could run to town and get it?
Russ sighed, because no, he couldn’t just “run to town” and get
the blanket. A drive there and back took a half an hour, minimum, and he’d skipped lunch as he’d already driven back and forth from the ranch to their house twice that day alone.
I miss you, he sent to Janelle, because it was past the time where she normally texted him from the pick-up line at the elementary school. He hadn’t gotten a single text, and Russ felt like he had a mountain of chores to finish all by himself.
He reminded himself that he loved this ranch. He loved horses, and cattle, and even mowing down winter wheat.
He loved his parents, and he’d do anything for them. Since his father’s injury, Seth’s responsibilities had picked up, but Russ and the others hadn’t really had to do much.
He did now. He could do it.
Miss you too, Janelle said.
Russ stared at the words as warmth moved through him. Life got busy sometimes, he knew that. He went back to his mother’s message and answered it with, Sure. I’ll go now. Anything else you need?
No, dear. Thanks.
He messaged Travis and asked him if he needed anything in town, but he also said no.
Russ was an hour late for the cinnamon rolls, and he didn’t have time to wait in line anyway. They’d probably be gone already, besides. But he grabbed his keys from the homestead and checked on his parents, who were both seated on the couch in the living room. “I’m goin’ now, Momma.”
“Thank you, baby,” she said, not bothering to look up from her crochet. She did look over to Daddy, who snored softly. “This is too much excitement for him.”
Russ wondered how in the world he was going to go on the service mission to the Dominican Republic if a couple of inches of water tuckered him out, but he didn’t say anything. His parents were grown adults, and they’d never done anything all too exciting. His daddy had worked the ranch, with Momma right beside him. Russ hadn’t even known she was part of a huge cosmetics company until a few months ago.
“Be back in a few,” he said, and he left the homestead.
In his truck, he called Janelle, who picked up on the first ring. “Hey,” she said, and she sounded a bit better this afternoon than she had that morning. Music came through her speaker, and he feared he’d interrupted something.
“Hey,” he said. “Where are you?”
“Oh, uh, just my house.”
“Are you baking this afternoon? I can hear music.”
“Yep,” she said, and the music quieted. “You know how Kelly is with her pop songs.”
Russ had the distinct feeling that Janelle wasn’t telling him the truth. He’d felt it this morning too. “I do,” he said. “Are you really at your house baking?” He didn’t want to question Janelle, but if she was lying to him now, what could he expect her to do in the future?
“Yes,” she said. “It’s just that…Henry is here too.”
“Ah.” Russ didn’t like that one little bit, and the small storm cloud that had been hovering over him since he and Travis had run from the homestead that morning to see what was going on their parents’ house morphed into a full-blown tornado.
“It’s nothing,” Janelle said. “I just don’t trust him to be alone with the girls. So I’m hanging out on my laptop while they make cake pops.” She lowered her voice and added, “Ugly ones, too.”
For some reason, that got Russ to laugh, and everything seemed brighter after that. “All right, sweetheart. I’m driving to town for the third time today, and I need a good story. What have you got?”
“You want me to tell you a story?”
“Anything,” he said. “I just like hearing your voice.” He didn’t even care if he was revealing too much about how he felt about Janelle Stokes. Surely she already knew. He couldn’t hide anything when he kissed her, and he had the sudden thought of asking her to sneak away for a moment so he could do just that.
She started talking about her friend, Libby, at work, and Russ just drove, her sweet voice painting pictures for him and making the drive go by so much faster.
On Tuesday, Russ stood in the kitchen, trying not to listen to Travis and Millie argue in the formal living room. But it was really hard, as only he and Rex were in the kitchen, and neither Travis nor Millie seemed to care about how loud they were talking.
“I’ll go get Daddy off the back porch,” Rex whispered.
“Hurry,” Russ said back, practically slamming a cupboard after he took out plates. Maybe Travis and Millie would then be reminded that sound travels.
He heard the front door open, but he didn’t hear it close, and Russ continued getting everything ready for lunch. The back door opened, and voices filled the house. Darren laughed at something one of the other cowboys said, and relief rushed through Russ.
Travis appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, his face a perfect mask of anger. Russ stared at him in shock. Had he and Millie really just broken up?
He seemed to be able to ask the question without words, because Travis nodded and turned to go up the steps. He disappeared at the same time the boys came into the kitchen, and Brian said, “Russ, can you cook for us every day?”
“No, sir, I cannot,” he said. He’d barely had energy to do it today. The only reason he’d put together the baked chicken and potatoes was because Momma had made a comment about everything in the homestead being frozen or from a box. She wasn’t entirely wrong, but the brothers had managed to survive without her for several years now.
They laughed, and Rex came in with Daddy on his arm and Griffin right behind them. Momma brought up the rear, and Russ waited for her to ask about Travis. But there was a lot of noise, and it only increased as the cowboys went through the line to get their food. Once everyone was seated at the table, Russ asked, “How did the cattle move go?”
Rex had already reported to him, but he looked up and made eye contact. “Good,” he said. “The south fields along the river don’t seem to be compromised right now. I’ll check on them this afternoon and every morning to make sure.”
“Thanks, Rex,” Russ said, grateful for more than just the ranch report. Rex could be very loud, sure. He made a lot of things into a joke that usually annoyed Russ. But he was incredibly loyal too, and he worked hard, and he never complained about anything.
He’d left town for a while several years ago, and Russ had wondered then if they’d ever see him again. But he’d come back about five years ago, and while Russ wished he hadn’t walked in on him and Janelle kissing, Rex was a good brother.
“Is Travis in his shop?” Momma asked. “Doesn’t he know lunch is ready?”
“I texted him,” Russ said. “But he doesn’t get great service out there.”
“He’s not out there,” Griffin said, glancing at Russ and back to Momma. “I stopped by when I came in. Shop was empty.”
“Where is he then?” Momma peered out the glass doors that led to the patio, and Russ wished he could kick Griffin under the table without it being too obvious. But he sat too far away.
“Winner and Cloudy aren’t here either,” Rex said. “He’s probably out with the dogs.” He didn’t seem to care, but Russ met his eye again, and definite anxiety lived there.
“I’m sure he’s fine,” Russ said. “We don’t all eat at the same time every day, Momma.” Thank goodness. Russ loved his men and his family, but he felt near the end of his rope, and it was only midday on Tuesday.
The conversation moved on to something else, and eventually the cowboys got up to get back to work. Rex helped Daddy to the couch, and Momma cleaned up the kitchen.
Russ started for the stairs, because he needed to check on Travis—and make sure he knew Momma had already been asking about him.
He knocked on his brother’s door and said, “Trav? It’s Russ.”
“Come in,” he said from behind the closed door, and when Russ entered the bedroom, he found Travis standing at the window, which overlooked the front of the house and out onto the ranch.
“Hey,” Russ said, moving to stand beside him. His brother wasn�
�t the neatest person on the planet, but he made his bed every day. He put his dirty clothes in the hamper. And he kept his desk relatively clean. The scent of cologne and leather hung in the air, and Russ didn’t know what else to say.
Several minutes went by, and he finally said, “Momma was asking why you weren’t at lunch.”
“She’s still downstairs, isn’t she?”
“She sure doesn’t have anywhere else to go,” Russ said, and maybe it came out a bit darkly. He wasn’t sure. But she’d criticized him for how late he’d come in last night, and for making too much noise that morning. It was almost like she’d forgotten how early ranchers rose and how much work they had to do before the day was truly done.
Travis chuckled, surprisingly. “She sure doesn’t.” He sighed. “I’m not talking this to death. Millie thought I was cheating on her, and I broke up with her.”
“Because of Caroline?” There had been some incident at the bell choir concert where Caroline Landy had kissed him and Millie had seen it. Some sort of scavenger hunt that Russ—and Travis—didn’t understand.
“No,” he said. “I had to go meet with the restoration company this morning. She thought I was with another woman, which I mean, I was. But Gabby works for Oakwood Restoration, and she literally just walked me through the cleanup and how much it’s going to cost.”
“Wow,” Russ said. “I’m sorry, Travis. You really liked her.”
“Yeah.” He nodded, and Russ wondered what he was looking out.
“Did you leave the dogs outside?”
“Oh, shoot,” he said. “Yes, I put them in the enclosure because you were busy and I didn’t want them to bother Daddy.”
“I’ll go get them,” Russ said. “They like taking an afternoon nap with him.”
“How is he going to go to the Dominican Republic?” Travis asked. “Do you think they’ll let him sleep every day?”