Roz Fox - More to Texas than Cowboys

Greer opened the refrigerator and stuck her hand in to make sure it was working. She’d already transferred everything from the cooler. Unwrapping the cheese, she treated Shelby to one of her famous no-because-I-said-so-and-I’m-the-mom looks. “I said pretend. And I’m not building a fire in the fireplace and cooking our cheese sandwiches over coals, either.”

“Bro…ther! If we’d gone to Noah’s house like he offered, I bet I could watch TV.”

Greer paused with the knife poised above the block of cheddar. “Shelby, you used to be shy around Whippoorwill guests, especially those we didn’t know well. I’m surprised you’re so taken with Father Kelley.”

Shelby cast down her eyes and kicked rhythmically at the table leg. “Hey, this is our table.”

“Did you think I’d leave it behind? And quit changing the subject.” She slit open the packing box, removed the griddle and wiped it off with paper towels before plugging it into the wall socket.

“Noah’s nice. He doesn’t treat me like I’m a kid. In Colorado most of the ranch guests talked to Luke Sanderson and me like we were still in kindergarten.”

Picking up two slices of buttered bread, Greer tested the griddle and when it sizzled to her satisfaction, she flipped the bread on the hot metal, quickly layered on cheese slices, then put another piece of bread on top. “I cut up a couple of those apples we bought at Tanner’s. Granted, it’s late, but we need something besides a sandwich.”

Shelby slid off the chair and cradled her injured arm. She figured out how to open the fridge. As she set out the plate of sliced apples, she asked casually, “If this is where you lived before you went to Denver, does my real daddy live here, too?”

Greer’s body stilled except for her heart, which kicked into high gear. So was that what Shelby’s sudden interest in Noah Kelley was about? Did she figure he was the approximate age of her father? That maybe he knew her father? As a matter of fact, Greer thought, swallowing a lump, Noah and Daniel Harper probably were the same age.

Clearing her throat several times, she paused to turn the sandwiches and give her racing mind time to sort out a proper response.

“Did you hear me?” Shelby asked, staring solemnly at Greer.

“I heard. Why all the interest? Did…someone here bring up the subject?” For a second Greer’s heart seemed to stop. Holden Kelley could have told his son all the sordid details.

“No. Luke asked if that’s why we were moving to Texas. To find my dad.”

“The answer is a resounding no.” Greer singed her fingers transferring the hot sandwiches to plates, where she cut them in half. Setting one in front of Shelby, Greer unplugged the griddle, then sat opposite, in her usual spot. She hoped to keep this conversation brief. “I think we’ve done okay. I mean, you and me alone, kiddo.” Seeing how her daughter poked at her sandwich halves with one finger, Greer cut them into more manageable bite-size pieces.

Shelby nibbled on one, set it back, and after she swallowed, muttered, “Noah’s stronger than you. When he carried me from the car I felt…safe.”

Greer started to flex her arm and show her muscle, as they used to do teasingly with Luke. He was two years older than Shelby and loved to lord it over her. There was no laughter in Shelby’s eyes now, so Greer planted an elbow on the table and massaged the tight muscles gripping her neck. “I can’t argue with your logic. Men are physically stronger, so women have to work smarter to make up for that genetic oversight. But I’ve always kept you safe, honey.” Sighing long and loud, Greer knew her assurance had neither assuaged nor deterred Shelby’s curiosity. “Eat. I don’t know where your biological father is. He lived in Houston. That’s a long way from Homestead. We met at a college way east of here. Kids often travel some distance to attend colleges and universities.” She didn’t identify exactly where she’d met Dan. One day, she’d answer all her daughter’s questions. When Shelby was old enough to understand.

The girl chewed methodically and swallowed. “You don’t have any pictures of him. I know ’cause Luke and me looked one time when you were on a trail ride and Lindsay was supposed to watch us, but her boyfriend came over.”

Greer gasped. She’d thought Luke’s sister was so mature. “That’s right, honey. I don’t have pictures of him. I’ll say this once and that’s all. Sometimes in a relationship people discover they aren’t headed down the same path.”

Shelby wrinkled her nose. Greer realized she was being far too vague. “Honey, he wasn’t a man I could count on. You…me…we both deserved better.”

“Then I guess he’s not like Noah. We could count on him.”

Having just taken a bite of her sandwich, Greer sputtered and choked. “What makes you think you can know that about the man after only a couple of hours?”

The girl munched a wedge of apple and swallowed. “I feel it,” she said in total earnestness. “Didn’t you, Mama?”

No danced on the tip of Greer’s tongue. But some unseen, unnamed force kept her from blurting out the harsh word. Truthfully, Noah had been a rock today. He’d given no indication that he wasn’t a person who could be counted on. Rather than say something petty, Greer slid out of her chair and took her plate to the sink. “I’m going to make up our beds and run water for you to have a bath, Shel. Kristin said to wrap your cast in plastic so it doesn’t get wet. I thought you could skip your bath tonight, but you got dirty in the fall. You’ll rest easier and sleep better after a soak in the tub.”

Shelby yawned. “Gosh, I’m tired. Do you know where we packed my stuffed animals? It was okay not having them when we slept in motels, ’cause I shared your room. But I really want them tonight, Mama.” Her lower lip trembled.

“Honey, they’re in a box. But my bedroom’s only steps down the hall from yours. Are you sure you need your animal friends tonight?”

Shelby nodded vigorously. “Okay,” Greer said, handing the girl a glass of water and the pain pill Kristin advised Shelby take at bedtime. “Bath first and then you can sit in bed and read to me while I open boxes until your animals show up. This pill will help you relax.”

“If I had a real dog instead of a stuffed one, we wouldn’t have packed him in a moving box. He’d be here to keep me company.”

“Enough about getting a dog, Shelby Lynn. We’ll get one eventually. What’s a ranch without a dog or two? It’s just that there are things around here we need to finish first.”

Greer ran water in a nice big tub in a remodeled bathroom her mom had scrubbed to a shine earlier. The fact that each cottage had a private bath, and even the one in the bunkhouse had upgrades, had gone a long way toward making this particular ranch more attractive to Greer than others Miranda had offered. It was also scary because the loan reflected those improvements. The local banker for the project had taken every opportunity to impress upon Greer the magnitude of the debt she’d taken on. She had to be open for business and bringing in an income by Thanksgiving. She simply had to, or her dreams would go the way of others that had failed here.

“Water’s ready,” she called to Shelby. They laughed together over wrapping the cast in clear plastic. Yet when it came time for Greer to actually help with Shelby’s bath, the girl grew modest. Greer knew being bashful was partly Shelby’s age. If nothing else, it forced her to see how the years had flown past.

“Shel, I want us to be real partners in this ranch. You’re okay with us leaving Colorado and coming here, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. But I’m just a kid. You want me to be like Chuck Hazlett? Luke Sanderson said Chuck’s his daddy’s partner in Whippoorwill.”