by Linda Warren
Rico patted his back. “But weren’t you already awake?”
Dusty rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know.”
Rico thought it was time to lighten the mood and to get out of the house. “Have you ever been to a carnival?” he asked Dusty.
Dusty raised his head. “No. What’s that?”
Rico looked at Ana. “Are you game? I saw in the paper there was one in the mall in Temple. I think we need to have some fun.”
She smiled that smile he loved. “I’m game.”
It wasn’t long before they were in the truck and on the way to Temple. Dusty’s eyes lit up when he saw all the lights, but he was scared. He held on to Rico. When he tried to put him on a ride, Dusty always pulled back. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
But then Ana walked to a ride with twirling teacups and went to sit in one, holding out her arms for Dusty. She held him as the teacup spun round and round and round. Dusty giggled and shouted to Rico, “Watch us!” He rode the pony carousel with Rico and Ana on both sides of him. A big smile split his face.
They ate cotton candy and had hot dogs for lunch. Rico won a teddy bear for Ana and a stuffed dog for Dusty. At one of the games, he broke the target with the baseball and the man wasn’t pleased. Sometimes he didn’t know his own strength. At the back of his mind, though, he knew there was still a lot of anger in him. He glanced at Ana and Dusty. But that was changing.
Dusty was antsy. He wanted to go on another ride. They found the kiddie bumper cars and Dusty wanted Rico to ride with him. Rico couldn’t get his long legs into the small car and Ana had to take him. After a moment, Dusty wanted to ride by himself.
Smiling, Ana said, “That hurt my feelings. I’ll show him.” She got on a separate car and she and Dusty bumped into each other over and over and over. Giggles erupted through the noise on the warm afternoon. And it wasn’t just Dusty’s giggles. Ana was having the time of her life. Rico stood and watched them. He never knew Ana was such a big kid. He loved it.
As he stood there, he thought back to his childhood and couldn’t remember a time his great-grandmother had taken him to anything like a carnival. At church there was a children’s playground and she often let him play on the swings and slides. But he never laughed like they were laughing now. The clip on Ana’s ponytail broke and her hair tumbled around her. She didn’t bother with it. She kept playing with Dusty.
“Watch us!” Dusty shouted to Rico.
“I’m watching!” he shouted back. He couldn’t stand it. He pulled out his wallet and paid the man for a ride and for Ana and Dusty another ride.
“I thought you couldn’t get into the car,” the man said.
“I think I needed a little motivation,” Rico replied as he stepped on to the ride and then into a car. Other people got off the ride, but Ana and Dusty sat watching him. It wasn’t easy, but he managed to wedge inside the small car, drawing his knees almost up to his chin. The steering wheel was between his legs and he could drive the car. First thing he did was bump into Ana and she came right back at him. Then Dusty bumped into him and he turned around and went after Dusty. Then Ana got his car against the rail and he couldn’t move it.
She laughed. “Hey, I really drive like this. I’m good at it.”
“We’ll see.” He went after her once again. On and on they played with the bumper cars. Rico paid for another round and they went at it again.
Finally, he said, “Enough.” His chest hurt from laughing so much. Ana and Dusty climbed out of their cars, but Rico had a problem. He was wedged in and couldn’t move.
Ana leaned over his car. “Do you have a problem, Mr. Johnson?”
He met the humor in her voice. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” She glanced at the man who took money for the rides. “Could you help us please?”
“I told him he was too big for these cars,” the man grumbled, “but I let him ride ’cause the kid was having so much fun.”
Rico would be embarrassed if he wasn’t so darned amused. The man took one arm and Ana took the other. They pulled and he was able to get out of the car. He rubbed his knees. “I’ll never be the same again.”
“Getting old, are you?” Her eyes twinkled at him.
“I’ll show you old.” He grabbed her around the waist and tickled her rib cage. She threw back her head and laughed uncontrollably. The sound was infectious and he swung her around laughing with her. Dusty jumped up and down with excitement.
This was real happiness and he never wanted it to end.
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING they overslept and were in a rush to get Dusty to school and Rico to work. Anamarie took Dusty to school, but she didn’t have time to make his lunch. She told perky Ms. Holt she would bring his lunch later. She hurried to the grocery store to buy stuff Dusty said he liked and then went to her house to fix it and to check on things since she’d been away. The closed-up house was lonely and depressing and she could see clearly what had been missing in her life—a man to love her just the way she was.
They’d had so much fun yesterday. It was a time out of the time for her as she saw Rico as someone who could laugh and play and enjoy life. It would be a long day without seeing him. She hurried back to the school to drop off Dusty’s lunch and then she stopped by Angie’s office to chat.
“Wow!” Angie said when she saw her sister. “You’re absolutely glowing.”
Anamarie sank into the chair across from Angie’s desk. “That’s because I’ve been running all morning. We overslept and I barely got Dusty to school in time and then I had to go to the grocery store to get things for his lunch.”
“Whatever you’re doing is working.”
She leaned forward and whispered, “It’s called love.”
“Yeah, the four-letter word that makes women do crazy things.”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen when we have to give Dusty back, but I know one thing. I will never regret this time with Rico. He’s the most wonderful man and I could sit here all day and talk about him, but I don’t want to sound foolish and insecure.”
“Ana, you’re the most mature person I know, and I’m so happy you’re enjoying yourself.” Angie glanced over her shoulder. “Have you been to the bakery?” Angie’s office was next to the bakery and the scent of kolaches baking wafted through the door.
Anamarie shook her head. “No.”
“Please go and just say hi,” Angie urged. “It would help ease the tension.”
Angie was sweet and loving and she wanted everyone to get along. She loved everything and everybody, but sometimes things just didn’t work that way.
“I’ve spoken to Mom and Dad and they know what I’m doing. Other than that I don’t feel the need to go into the bakery. I talked to Margie. She’s doing great and doesn’t need me looking over her shoulder.”
“Mom does seem rather calm about all this.”
The connecting door suddenly opened and their mother stood there. “I thought I heard Anamarie’s voice.”
Anamarie gritted her teeth, a normal reaction around her mother. “I just stopped by to visit with Angie.”
“Why?” Her mother was instantly on the alert. “What’s going on? You girls never tell me anything.”
Anamarie picked up her purse. “I think I’ll go. I have a lot to do today. I have to run some errands and then do laundry and...”
“Are you his maid now?” Her mother’s irate words burned her skin like a bull nettle.
Trying not to overreact, she replied, “No, Mom, I’m a lot more than that.”
“I don’t want to hear it,” her mother snapped.
“I’ll see y’all later,” she said, going out the door.
As she drove home, she thought about what her mother had said and tried not to let it get to her. She and Rico were together because of Dusty, but they loved each other. D
idn’t they? He’d never said the words and he had never mentioned marriage. Was she getting in over her head once again?
* * *
IT WAS THE first time Rico was late for the morning meeting. The guys razzed him about it and it didn’t bother him. He was happier than he’d ever been in his whole life and he could take a little ribbing.
“C’mon, Rico,” Elias said. “We’re burning daylight.”
“Would you let him get a cup of coffee first?” Falcon spoke up.
Paxton handed Rico a cup and he gladly took it. He’d only had time for one cup this morning.
“We’ll finish that fence today and tomorrow then Rico and I will start cutting hay in the north pasture. We’re going into hay season and everyone has to pull their weight.” Elias was in full work mode.
Rico glanced at his friend. “Don’t you find out the sex of the baby tomorrow? It’s circled on the calendar in the barn and it’s circled there.” He pointed to the calendar on the wall.
Elias sank into a chair. “How could I forget that?”
“Take a deep breath, Elias,” Falcon told him. “Quincy and Egan will start cutting in the north pasture tomorrow. You take care of Maribel.”
“Ah, you can’t talk to him,” Grandpa said. “He’s wound up like an eight-day clock.”
Everyone chuckled.
After they all filed out to go to work, Rico held back.
“Miss Kate, could I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure, Rico. You can talk to me anytime you want. Is the little boy okay?”
“He had a rough day Saturday, but he seems fine now. That’s what I wanted to ask you about. Could I have more time off this weekend to spend with him?”
“Take all the time you need.”
“Rico.” Falcon leaned back in his chair. “You haven’t had any vacation since you’ve been here. Take a couple of weeks or more if you need it. This ranch will survive for a few weeks without you. Although, I don’t know if Elias will.”
“Thank you. The weekend will be fine.”
“You’ve been with us for a long time and you’ve become a part of this family. I hope you know that.”
Rico nodded and walked out with Falcon’s words ringing in his head. Sometimes he felt like family and sometimes he felt out of place. That was from all the bad things that had happened in his life. He was eternally grateful to the Rebels and maybe one day he would feel like he was one of them instead of the hired hand. But he wasn’t there yet.
The fence building didn’t go according to plan. They broke the wire stretcher and had to make a trip to the barn to get another one. Then they ran out of barbed wire and there wasn’t any in the supply shed. That called for a trip into town. It was four o’clock in the afternoon when they finally finished the fence. Elias called it a day. Rico was eager to go home, too. Ana and Dusty were waiting for him.
Since he was early, they weren’t expecting him. He quietly opened the door and saw them sitting at the coffee table playing with dominoes. Dusty was counting the white spots on the black dominoes.
Ana was the first to notice him and then Dusty jumped up and ran to him. “I’m counting, Rico. I can count all the way—” he lifted his arms toward the ceiling “—to a hundred. Wanna hear me?”
Dusty started to count and Rico sank down by Ana on the sofa. “How was your day?”
“Good.” She smiled at him. “And it’s even better now.”
It was for him, too. Dusty continued to count loudly and he watched her face as she stared at Dusty. She was falling in love with the kid, as he was. At that moment a doubt entered his head and he hated himself for it. But he had to wonder if she was here just because of Dusty. The kid satisfied all her motherly instincts. Where did that leave him when they had to let Dusty go?
He pushed the doubt away as he helped her prepare supper. Their time together was too good to do otherwise. After supper he got a call from Wyatt. He clicked on immediately wondering if Darlene was going to get out early.
“Hey, Wyatt. What’s going on?”
“Stuart found a will in Wendy’s papers.”
“And?”
“She left everything to Dusty.”
“That’s good. It will give Darlene and Dusty a new start.” Ana was giving Dusty a bath and he couldn’t hear Rico on the phone.
“There’s nothing to inherit. Stuart also found two bank loans with the house as collateral. Wendy borrowed twenty thousand six years ago to pay for Connie’s wedding and then another twenty thousand a year ago so Connie wouldn’t lose her expensive home in Austin. To make this short, the bank owns the house. I talked to the banker today and they will be taking ownership tomorrow. You think there’s anything in the house that Dusty might want? Stuart said he got everything that belonged to the boy. I went over there today and looked around. There were pictures of the Millers, Connie, Darlene and Dusty in Wendy’s bedroom. I took them down and put them in a box. There is also a baby book of Dusty. I put that in the box, too. After tomorrow, you won’t be able to get anything out of there.”
“I don’t want to take him back there.”
“There’s nothing much in the house. Very little furniture. There was a can of corn and a can of green beans in the cabinet and a half a stick of butter, two eggs and an empty milk carton in the refrigerator. Also there was an empty jar of peanut butter and jelly on the counter. They were living at the poverty level here in Horseshoe, Texas. That gets to me.”
Things like that got to him, too. It reminded him of his childhood. Although, they had never gone hungry.
Rico cleared his throat. “He’s well taken care of now and hopefully we can ensure that for the future.”
“Yeah, thanks to you. By stepping up you’ve become a big part of this community.”
Had he? It didn’t feel like it. People still shied away from him.
“Connie has gone back to Austin. Now I have to deal with the bank.”
“Good luck.”
“Do you want to come by and pick up this stuff?”
“No, I don’t think so. Just keep it for when Darlene gets released. I’m sure she would want it.”
He placed his phone on the counter and stood there for a moment. The walls started to close in on him. He’d had that feeling in prison. There were walls and bars and no place to go. He was trapped. Why did he feel that way now?
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Ana asked.
“Nothing.”
There was a whole lot going on inside him. For the first time he realized he was trapped in the middle of a little boy’s life. He had to remain detached. How was he supposed to do that?
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING Jericho made sure he was on time. It was a long day. He’d already told Ana he would be late and he was pleasantly surprised when Quincy called a halt at six o’clock.
Rico stopped the Polaris Ranger at the barn. He got out and stretched his muscles and paused at the sight at the north end of the barn. Elias sat on a bale of hay; his forearms rested on his thighs and his hands dangled as if he didn’t know what to do with them.
Oh, man, he thought. Something must be wrong with the baby. He wasn’t sure whether to approach him or not. But then they’d been friends for a long time. If Elias needed someone to listen, he’d be there.
“Hey, Elias, what are you doing here? I thought you took the day off.”
“You know life never turns out the way you plan.”
“I can testify to that.” Rico took a moment and then asked, “Is the baby okay?”
“Yeah.” Elias rubbed his hands together. “Maribel’s fine, too.”
That was a relief. “So what are you having? A girl or a boy?”
Elias held up two fingers.
“What does that mean?”
“We’re having twins.”
“Oh.”
>
“I can’t even imagine it,” Elias said. “Now we have to buy two of everything.”
“What are they?”
“Boys. Maribel is heartbroken. She wanted one of them to be a girl.”
“Why are you so down? Why aren’t you jumping for joy?”
“Well, Rico, I built the house in town for Maribel and Chase so they’d have a place to call home. It has three bedrooms, one for Chase, one for Grandpa and one for us. Where are we going to put two babies?”
“You can add on.”
Elias shook his head. “Mom has been after me for a while to move into the big house. It sits on my share of the land.”
Rico frowned. “Miss Kate’s giving up her house?”
“No, we’ll all be living together, Mom, Grandpa, Chase, the new babies and us. There’s room for all of us. Doesn’t that just warm the cockles of your heart?”
“At the expression on your face, I just want to laugh.”
Elias’s eyes narrowed. “You better not.”
“Your mom will be a lot of help with the babies and you’ll be living on the property again.”
“Yeah, there’s that.” Elias stood and patted Rico on the shoulder. “See you tomorrow.”
Rico stared after his friend. Married life wasn’t easy and he witnessed that today in Elias. He was strong and tough, but two little babies had sidetracked him. The Rebel family was stronger, though, and there would be lots of help from family members. That’s what family was about.
* * *
THE WEEK WENT smoothly and on Saturday they took Dusty to a mall in Temple to buy new clothes. Mrs. Miller had patched his underwear and socks but his clothes were threadbare. His sneakers were also worn. They spent most of the day looking at boys’ clothes. Dusty was excited. He’d never had new clothes.
As they were leaving, they noticed a large trampoline and kids were jumping on it. The kid had to wear a harness and then he could jump almost to the ceiling. Squeals of laughter echoed around them.
Dusty stopped walking and watched the kids. Anamarie squatted by him. “Do you like that?”