To Believe

by Carolyn Brown

  “I’ll help her with the cow.” Trey said softly.

  “Hell, no, you ain’t helping me with nothing,” Jodie swore. “You wouldn’t know the back end of a cow from the front end of a bull, and even if you did I wouldn’t let you touch my favorite cow. Great God in heaven, you can’t pull a calf in hundred dollar britches.”

  Roseanna started toward the door. “I’ll do it. I’ll hurry. I know what to do and she’s right, you can’t ruin those slacks. I’ll be back in half an hour if we’re lucky.”

  “I’m helping with this cow. These slacks can be replaced,” Trey said firmly. “I want to learn and I’m doing it. Either with you or without you. I’m going.”

  It was prophetic the way it hit Rosy like a bolt from the middle of the fairy ring. He was going to make friends with Jodie tonight, with or without Roseanna beside him. She’d give her eye teeth to be a fly on the wall when he and Jodie had to work together. The fireworks would rival those of the Fourth of July. If Jodie lost one of her prize heifers, she’d never, ever, in a million years forgive Trey, so he’d better be prepared to pull when she yelled or else suffer the consequences. However, if they worked out their differences while birthing that calf then they might be friends forever.

  Jodie popped her hands onto her hips and glared at both of them. “You ain’t going. I’ll do the job myself and if I lose Miss Sarah then I’ll lose her. If you can’t go …” she turned to look at her sister.

  Roseanna raised her voice. “Oh, shut up, Jodie. All you need is some strength and Trey is stronger than me anyway. He’ll do fine and if you lose that cow, you’ll cry your eye balls out, so shut up and take Trey. Some sister you are, come steal my feller when there’s a fairy ring.”

  “Okay, but I don’t like it, and he’s not your feller and never will be,” she pouted. “Come on you worthless bag of citified crap, and if you gag one time, you are a dead man.”

  He hopped in the passenger seat of the pickup truck.

  Steal her feller. She’d said those words and said them to Jodie. His chest puffed out until it strained the buttons on his shirt. She might not admit it later but she’d actually called him her feller.

  It was only a quarter of a mile to the pasture where her cow was down, heaving, trying to deliver a calf which was too big. She ran to the cow’s side, soothing her with a soft voice and rubbing her sides, telling her she would be all right in a little while. Then while he watched, she went around to the cow’s rear end and shoved her arm up inside the cow as far as she could reach.

  “Help me,” she barked. “I’m not losing this calf and I’m not losing this cow. I’ve raised her since she was a newborn calf herself. Don’t you dare start turning green around the gills. I swear, whoever said women folks were the weaker sex had rocks for brains. Put your hands in here and get a firm grip on this calf. When the next contraction comes I’m going to push her sides and you are going to pull like your life depended on it.”

  His nose twitched. “Tell me again what are you going to do and what my job is supposed to be?”

  “You are going to pull him out of there, simple as that. Now shove your arms up her and get a firm grip on this calf.”

  He sucked in a lung full of air and tried not to think about where he was putting his hands. When she yelled for him to pull he did. Lord, it was just a baby cow, not a full fledged John Deere tractor, but it didn’t budge an inch.

  “Again,” she said.

  He gave a hard yank and something shook loose. Blood, water and gunk covered him as he sat down hard in the grass, but there was a half-grown black Angus calf on the ground in front of him.

  Jodie was everywhere at once, swabbing at the calf and talking to it, “You sorry black critter, don’t you dare die. You ignorant, stupid calf, breathe, dang it, your momma didn’t go through all this for you to die. Open your eyes and breathe.”

  If he’d been that calf, he wouldn’t have hesitated even a split second. The first time she slapped him, he would have sucked up some air. He felt a kinship with the calf … maybe if she’d plant a boot in its ribs and kick real hard it would breathe.

  The calf’s sides heaved and it gasped. “Hot dang, Trey,” she screamed excitedly, “it’s going to live.” She slapped him so hard on the back he gasped as hard as the calf did.

  “And the mother cow?”

  Jodie beamed almost as brightly as the moon. “She’ll be fine, now. You did good, and you didn’t even turn green. You look like you crawled up inside Miss Sarah and went hunting for that calf.” She laughed at the mess all over him. “You might as well throw those britches away. That won’t ever wash out.”

  He laughed with her, not knowing what was so funny. He was sitting on his bruised hind end in the middle of a field where the smell of fresh cow manure permeated the air, and who knew what covered him from head to foot. Literally. It was in his hair; it was on his loafers. They had a live calf between them and they’d saved a cow from dying and they were laughing like they’d been at a comedy show.

  He stuck his hand out to her. “Truce.”

  She eyed it for a minute and then shook it. “Truce, on one condition. That you treat my sister right from now on. You ever make her cry again and I’ll …”

  “… kill you,” he finished the sentence for her but didn’t let go of her hand. “Jodie, I’ve got a plan and it’ll work out just fine. I love that woman so much my heart hurts at the thought of ever losing her again.”

  She held up a worn, muddy, bloody boot. “All right, then truce, it is. See these boots. You hurt her again and I’ll kick you all the way back to Tulsa with these.”

  “And if you ever need help with a cow again, come and get me. I didn’t gag,” he reminded her with a twinkle in his eye.

  She patted the cow’s sides. “He’s pretty good after all. Think we’ll keep him around, Miss Sarah. Now what’s this big plan?”

  He shook his head. “Nope. I won’t jinx it, Jodie. I’ve got less than six weeks before Granny Etta comes home.”

  “Think you can like this ranch, Trey? There are no pent houses around here or big, fancy Broadway theaters in Sulphur, either. We’re a bunch of country people. We work hard. We eat hearty, and we love with every ounce of our strength. So if you aren’t willing to be a part of that, scoot on back to your real life in the big city. We are accepting no compromises this time, Trey. It’s whole heart or no heart.”

  “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this place or this way of life,” Trey said honestly. “But Roseanna is here and that’s where my heart is, so we’ll have to see if my plan will work.”

  “Better haul yourself back up to the lodge, then, and work at this mysterious plan. I’m not so sure I like you any better but I’m willing to let you try to work this out. I won’t hog tie Rosy and carry her off until she comes to her senses. Is that enough?”

  “Guess so,” he nodded.

  “Take my truck. I’m within walking distance to the house. I’ll come and get the truck in the morning.”

  He caught the car keys in the air when she tossed them at him. “Thanks Jodie.”

  “I mean it,” she said. “Don’t you hurt her again.”

  “I promise,” he nodded.

  Roseanna waited on the porch, still mesmerized by the fairy ring which was disappearing as the clouds shifted. She was curled up in the white rocker, a big, fluffy towel around her head and her body wrapped like a cocoon in a pale blue terry bathrobe. Bare feet peeked out from the hem of the robe, and she didn’t have a smidgen of makeup on.

  His hands trembled and his heart thumped.

  “Baby all right?”

  “Baby and mother are fine. What an experience,” he nodded and sunk into the porch swing. “What’s better is Jodie and I called a truce and buried the hatchet, as your daddy says.”

  “I figured that’s what you had in mind when you insisted that you were going to help her with Miss Sarah. I’m glad you’ve settled your differences. But, Mr. Fields, you do need a show
er. I can smell you from over here. I’m going to sit right here and watch the fairy ring until it disappears. If you don’t take all night you might get another look before it’s gone. It could be the last one you ever see.”

  “Is there some kind of magic in those things? Does it mean the new baby calf will be extra important since he was born under a fairy ring?”

  “Don’t know. I’ve always felt like they were magic,” she said.

  “Ever stood under one with Kyle?”

  “No, never stood under one with anyone but Jodie and my family.”

  A grin covered his face as he trudged into the house and upstairs. He dropped his nasty clothing beside the tiny shower stall and turned on the water. When it was steamy hot, he stepped inside and scrubbed away the muck from his hair, face and body, then he toweled himself off and slipped into a pair of black silk boxer shorts and matching robe, and slapped on a little of the cologne he knew she liked.

  “Oh, no,” her eyes were as round as saucers and her body was disagreeing, saying, “Oh, yes, yes, yes,” when the front door opened and he was on the porch again. When the cologne wafted through the air, her senses almost got the best of her judgment and she came close to throwing caution to the wind and dragging him back to her bedroom.

  “No, what?”

  “No, you can go right back to your room and put on some pants and a shirt.” She won the first round of the fight with her aching body.

  He ignored her and sat down on the top step. “I’m not going to seduce you. Come and sit beside me on the porch steps. We can see the moon better from here. I just want to talk for a while.”

  “Trey, this …”

  “Shhhh,” he laid his forefinger across her lips and just the touch made her body go into a spasm. “I’ll be good. I promise. Believe me.”

  “There’s that word again. Believe. It scares the devil out of me.”

  “Then you should be an angel. Sit right here in front of me. I’ll work all the kinks out of your back and make you limber as a rag.” He began to rub her shoulders when she sat down in front of him on the next step. The touch of his finger tips on her skin was almost more than she could bear. A familiar old oozy feeling in her insides was reborn. She thought she’d left it behind several months before. He worked his way down to the middle of her back.

  “Your turn now. You’ve been out pulling a calf. You need a rub more than I do,” she murmured huskily.

  “Not tonight. You’re all relaxed. It’s bedtime,” he said, only a little bit of hoarseness in his voice. “Good night, Rosy.”

  “Thank you.” She turned slightly and pulled him down to kiss his mouth but missed and kissed the tip of his nose.

  “That’s a strange good night kiss, but I’ll take what I can get. Maybe next time I can have a real kiss.” He disappeared into the house, leaving her sitting on the porch in her robe.

  This was the woman he wanted to stand beside him through life, to sit with him when they were old and gray and the grandchildren and great-grandchildren came to visit. This was the sexy lady he wanted to make love with and live with the rest of his days, and then lay down and die a peaceful death, knowing he had the best this earth had to offer. He wanted to share the passion of life with her for the rest of his days. The fairy ring might be magic after all because he and Jodie had made peace even if it was conditional. If he could get that woman to accept him, the rest of the family was a breeze.

  She made her jelly filled knees stand up and carry her though the house and down the hall to her bedroom.

  She looked in the mirror and murmured, “Don’t test me, Trey. Please don’t test me. I’m afraid I’ll fail.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Roseanna poured a double amount of bath salts into the tub and sank down in the hot water, letting it work its magic powers on her tense muscles. She’d decided she wouldn’t attend the anniversary party and was on her way up the stairs to tell Trey when Jodie arrived. She’d baited her and at that moment Rosy could kick herself from letting Jodie win the argument, but she did and there wasn’t any other recourse but to go. She replayed the conversation, word for word as she soaked.

  “So why aren’t you going? Afraid of those people?” Jodie had asked.

  “No, I’m not afraid of them. It would just be awkward.”

  “That’s fear,” Jodie had told her.

  “I’m not afraid and why do you want me to go? Good grief, girl, a week ago you were ready to kill him, and now you want me to go to this big anniversary party. What changed your mind?”

  “I don’t think he’ll ever change but you need to find that out for yourself. He’s down here in our world and he’s not doing a bad job of living here, but I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that when he gets back up there he’s the same old egotistical Colin Vance Fields, the third. He won’t be Trey, the plain old college professor. He’ll slip right back into his old world and by the end of the weekend, he’ll be having a lot of second thoughts about you. So you should go. When you come back on Sunday evening, he’ll be out of your mind forever. This summer thing that he and Granny Etta cooked up is just the byproduct of that kidnapping incident.”

  Roseanna slowly opened her eyes and returned to the present. The water was lukewarm so she got out and wrapped up in an oversized towel. She and Trey had argued when she agreed to the date on her terms. She’d pay for her own hotel room and she wouldn’t stay at the Ambassador where the party was held. She had made reservations at the Holiday Inn on Skelly and a taxi had been ordered when she checked in to deliver her to the party.

  The sky was an artist’s palette of orange, pink and blue swirls as the sun dipped below the horizon. Wearing only her towel, she sat in a recliner and watched the colors as they intensified and then began to dull as daylight ended and dusk settled over Tulsa. Finally with a long sigh, she pulled the drapes and went about getting dressed for the evening. She’d chosen a long, red dress with a draping neckline, spaghetti straps and a side slit halfway up her thigh. She’d toyed with the idea of showing up in skin tight jeans, boots and a western cut shirt, but that wouldn’t be fair to Trey’s grandparents. It was, after all, their anniversary party.

  It took only a few minutes to pull her long brown hair up into a twist, secure it with a clip and use a curling iron on the ends. She’d chosen long, dangling rhinestone earrings and a matching three strand choker to enhance the red ensemble. A touch of blush to highlight her high cheekbones, a little eye shadow to give her green eyes depth and she was ready to go. A quick check in the motel mirror reminded her she’d forgotten something. She applied lipstick to her full mouth—the same bright red as her dress. She pulled on three inch spike heels with nothing but skinny leather straps holding them on her feet and draped an ultra sheer stole around her shoulders. As she shut the door, making sure the plastic key was in her purse, she had second thoughts about the whole getup. But it was either wear it or not go. It was all she’d brought.

  The taxi was waiting at the front of the hotel when she walked out. From the look on the driver’s face, Roseanna figured he’d made her for a hooker on her way to work the Ambassador Hotel that evening. The jitters started when he parked behind a long line of limousines and waited his turn. She fidgeted with the tiny red satin purse with a rhinestone strap and wished she’d chosen something less flashy, like a plain black sheath with nothing but a gold chain. It was all Jodie’s fault. She’d been the one who talked her into going as well as the one who’d picked out the dress and accessories.

  Trey waited just inside the doors. Several people acknowledged him when they arrived then went on through the hotel lobby to the conference room which had been decorated and set up for the party. He counted ten limos before a taxi pulled up to the front doors and Roseanna got out of the back seat. His mouth went as dry as if he’d been sucking on alum for an hour. He’d never seen her in red and she was absolutely stunning.

  “You are beautiful,” he said hoarsely as he offered her his arm.

  �
��And you don’t look so shabby yourself. New tux?”

  “No, I can’t afford a new Armani tux on a professor’s salary. This is the last one I bought before …” He left the sentence hanging.

  “I had second thoughts,” she whispered when they reached the doorway.

  “Why?”

  Greta turned from a group of men, crossed the few feet separating her from her brother and glared at him from no more than six inches away. “What in the devil is she doing here?”

  “She’s here at my invitation,” Trey said.

  Greta whipped her head around to give Roseanna her meanest look: dark eyes shooting daggers at her through slits, a full mouth pinched into a firm line, black eyebrows knit together in fury. “Go home to your little chicken farm. You didn’t fit in with us then and you won’t now.”

  “That is enough Greta,” Trey said.

  Roseanna took Greta by the arm, squeezing hard enough to hurt, not so much as to leave a bruise. “Give us a moment, Trey. I have to visit the powder room. I’m sure Greta would be delighted to show me where it is, wouldn’t you, darlin’?”

  “Of course,” Greta grimaced.

  Roseanna didn’t let go until they were behind doors. Then she leaned against a wall and faced Greta without blinking. “I’d think you’d have more class than to cause a scene at your grandparents’ anniversary,”

  “What do you know about class? You’re nothing but a pig farmer.”

  “I’m not going to get into a mud slinging match with you, Greta. Your tune was a lot different a few weeks ago when you wanted me to rescue your brother. What changed it?”

  “Laura is here. Didn’t Trey tell you? There’s still a chance for them, or was until you showed up,” she sneered.

  “Yes, I know she’s here. I don’t think there’s a chance for them anymore. Are you aware of what happened when Trey was kidnapped?”

  She moved to the mirrors where she checked her make-up. “You found him and brought him home.”

  “Sometime when you can get outside the little pond where you are a big fish, ask your folks to explain the situation concerning Trey’s kidnapping. Ask them to treat you like an adult. For heaven’s sake, you are twenty-four years old. Grow up.” She turned around and walked out, leaving Greta admiring herself in the mirror.