by Linda Warren
Rosie frowned. “Are you just getting home? You had those clothes on yesterday.”
She told her sister about the events of the night and ended by saying, “I had to ask his father for help.”
Rosie leaned forward. “His father!”
She met her sister’s startled eyes. “You’ve never asked me about him.”
“I didn’t want to pry and I knew you would tell me when you were ready.” She paused for a second. “So...who is Chase’s father?”
“Elias.”
“Elias who?”
“Rosie...”
“Oh...you mean...Elias Rebel?”
“Yes.”
Rosie shook her head. “I don’t see how that could have happened. You never went out at night or dated.”
Maribel told her the whole story and Rosie crawled to the foot of the bed and sat by Maribel. “I was so scared and I didn’t know what to do when Miss Kate wouldn’t believe me.”
Rosie hugged her sister. “With everything that was going on at that time I guess it’s understandable that she wouldn’t. But still...it makes me sad.”
“I hope Elias doesn’t get into a big argument with his mom about it.”
“Elias can handle his mother. I don’t think I know anyone stronger than Elias. He’s rough around the edges and as tough as they come.”
“And handsome,” slipped out before Maribel could stop herself.
Rosie picked up on it immediately. “Oh, do you still have feelings for him?”
“Of course not.” The words sounded hollow to her own ears and she decided to be honest with her sister. “I thought I was in love with him. Being a silly teenager, it was clear to me that after we had sex, we’d run away and live happily ever after. That naive teenager woke up quickly. It was just wrong and we both knew it, except for one little thing. I was pregnant.”
Rosie hugged her again. “Oh, Mari, I’m sorry for all that you had to go through.”
Another person called her Mari, but he pronounced it Merry. Sometimes late at night she’d hear his voice in her head and she hated that she couldn’t forget it. That she couldn’t forget him.
Maribel hugged her back. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help you when you needed someone.” She brushed Rosie’s hair from her face. “Do you sometimes resent our mother for not helping us?”
“I did for a while, but I know she did the best she could.”
“Every day our mother would say, ‘I love you,’ over and over, but it had no meaning when it counted. When Dad would hit us, she would just cry and wring her hands. Not once did she try to stop him and not once did she take up for us. The day he found out I was pregnant he hit me so hard I fell against the wall. I was afraid I was going to lose the baby. I grabbed my stomach, trying to protect it, and I knew in that moment that I wanted the baby. I guess I’ll always remember Mom standing there with tears in her eyes, wringing her hands and not lifting a finger to help me. I stopped believing in love that day. As I drove away, something inside me died. Later, I knew what it was—my ability to love.”
“Oh, Mari.”
“I would protect Chase with my dying breath if someone was trying to hurt him.”
“Mom gave you money, as she did me. Doesn’t that count for something? She tried to help in her own way. She was just weak and didn’t know what else to do.”
“No, it doesn’t mean a thing. Shoving me off on Mrs. Peabody was not a motherly thing to do, even though it probably saved my life.”
“You can’t say that you don’t feel love. You love Chase. You love me.”
“Yeah, but I’ll never say those words to anyone again. They’re meaningless. That’s the way I feel now and I can’t change it.”
“That’s not healthy.”
“Mama. Mama. Mama,” Jake called as he ran into the room in his pajamas. “I’m hungry.”
Rosie kissed her son. “Aunt Maribel will fix you something.”
“’Kay.”
Maribel took the boy’s hand. “Come on, hotshot. Let’s see what we can find for breakfast.” Jake was almost four and he would be going to school in the fall. Rosie would have her hands full with a child in school and one in her arms. That was Rosie’s life—the one she wanted, filled with all the happiness she deserved. It wasn’t for Maribel. Maybe she was jaded. Or just smart. She would never get hurt again, though.
As she poured milk into a glass, she wondered what was happening at Rebel Ranch.
* * *
ELIAS SAT IN his truck outside his mom’s house, trying to come to grips with everything that had happened during the night. He had a son. He and Maribel had a son. Fast on that thought came one that he had to deal with: Did his mother know? There was just no way she would deny a Rebel grandchild. The only way to find out the truth was to walk into the house and ask her, which would probably be the hardest thing he’d ever had to do besides burying his dad.
Phoenix drove up and ran into the house, not even noticing Elias in his truck.
Showtime, he thought, as he got out and made his way into the house. A ball of dread wedged in his throat. Most people thought that was an alien emotion to him. He felt fear just like everyone else, even though everyone called him tough as leather. Today, he would find out how tough he really was.
Everyone, even Grandpa, was sitting around the big kitchen table eating breakfast. His mom sat at the head of the table and he could see her clearly, making sure everyone had enough food, making sure her sons were well-fed before a long day’s work.
Grandpa noticed him first. “Where have you been? You usually call when you’re gonna stay out all night.”
“Sorry, Grandpa, I didn’t have time.”
“You’ve been out all night and you plan to work today?” Falcon joined the conversation. “I hope you got some sleep along the way.”
“No, I didn’t get a wink.”
“You look strange,” Quincy added. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I spent most of the night in Wyatt’s office.” He wasn’t sure how to start the conversation so he started with the basics.
“Did you get arrested?” his mother asked.
“No. It’s a long story so I’ll try to shorten it as much as I can.” He told them about the stolen beer and the kids and Maribel’s son. “I went to the jail with Wyatt because I wanted to see what was going to happen to the boys. He let Billy Tom and Brandon go with their parents on the condition that they would be there for the hearing on Monday. And since he doesn’t know Maribel, he was going to hold her son until the hearing. Maribel asked for my help and I told her she’d have to give me a good reason to help her keep her son out of jail. She gave me one I wasn’t expecting.” He looked directly at his mother. “She said Chase was my son.”
“What!” echoed around the room.
Grandpa pointed a finger at Elias’s mother. “I told you it was going to bite you in the butt one day.”
“Shut up, Abe.”
All his hopes that Maribel had somehow exaggerated the situation died in that moment. His mother had rejected his child. That left a bitter taste in his mouth. All his life he had looked up to his mother. She was rock solid with family loyalty and love. How could she have done this?
“I guess that answers my next question. Maribel did come here to find me. What did you say to her?”
His mother clamped her lips tight in indignation.
“I’ll tell you what she said.” Grandpa was eager to take up the story. “She said to get out of her house and if Maribel spread that lie around Horseshoe she would call the sheriff.”
His mother got to her feet, her face a mask of fury. “The child is not yours, Elias. She’s playing you. I thought you, of all people, would see that. When she came here with that story, I told her my son would not betray h
is family. And he didn’t. I know him.”
Betrayal. Was that how she saw it?
His stomach hurt as if someone had tightened barbed wire around it. But he had to face the truth and he had to face his mother.
“I’m sorry if you see it as betrayal. It was two teenagers with raging hormones. It was a one-time thing and we knew it was wrong and we never saw each other again. We used protection but she still got pregnant and I never knew until tonight. I would have known if you had seen fit to tell me.”
“That child is not yours. How many times do I have to tell you?”
Elias pulled out his phone, tapped the screen and walked over and laid Chase’s picture in front of her. She refused to look at it. Falcon picked up the phone and stared at it.
“Oh...”
Quincy took it from him and passed it around the table. “Mom...”
“That is not Elias’s son, Quincy.”
“Mom...”
“Stay out of this, Phoenix.”
“Maybe you need to get a DNA test done,” Falcon suggested.
“I don’t need a DNA test. I know Chase is my son.”
“He is not your son, Elias,” his mother repeated in a steely voice he’d never heard before. And it brought out the anger in him.
“What is it? Is it because he’s my son? Falcon and Leah got pregnant and you and Dad then invited them into the house to live. When Leah left, you helped with the baby. There was no question of DNA. When Jude got Paige pregnant in high school and gave the child up for adoption, you hired an attorney to fight to get him back. There was no question of DNA then either. Phoenix heard he was a father and you wanted to raise the boy. So what is it? Why is my son treated differently?”
His mother carried her plate to the sink. “I’m tired of talking about this. We have work to do and it’s time we all got to it.”
Elias picked up his phone from the table. “That’s it, huh? If my son is not welcome here then I’m not, either. I’m out of here.”
“If you walk out that door, I will disinherit you.”
A powerful silence filled the room.
He turned back to look at the mother he’d loved all his life and he only saw an angry woman determined to stick to her principles of being right when she was wrong. She didn’t want to admit she’d made a mistake in turning away Elias’s child. He couldn’t change that, but he wasn’t going to stand for it, either.
All his life he’d put his blood, sweat and tears into this ranch because one day he would own part of it. Could he walk away from everything he loved? It wasn’t much of a choice. He had a son and he had to stand up for him as well as for himself. As always, though, he had something to say.
“Dad was alive back then. Don’t you think a Rebel/McCray child would have pulled him out of his malaise? It would have helped him to see that life goes on even after tragedy.”
“That boy is not a Rebel.”
His mother was taking a stance and he had to do the same.
“I’m outta here.”
Chapter Five
“Elias!” Before Elias could get out the door, Grandpa grabbed his arm. “No. I won’t stand for this.” Grandpa glanced at their mother. “You will not disinherit one of John’s sons. I gave this land to my son just like my father gave it to me and his father gave it to him. Elias is a Rebel and this land is his heritage.”
“Stay out of this, Abe,” his mother said.
“I will not stay out of it. I’ll invoke the codicil in John’s will if I have to.”
“What codicil?” Falcon asked. “I don’t remember a codicil to Dad’s will.”
“Well, then you better read it again because there is one. It states that John Abraham Rebel shall retain ownership of his home and as many acres as he sees fit surrounding it until his death. Then it will become part of Rebel Ranch.”
“So?” Falcon frowned. “That doesn’t mean much.”
“It means I can take five acres or a hundred acres or I can take it all back.” Grandpa flung a hand at their mother. “I knew she’d try to pull something and I wanted to be able to protect my grandsons. I’ll do anything to accomplish that.”
Quincy got to his feet. “Grandpa...”
“Take it all back, Abe, if that’s what you want to do.” His mother stormed out of the room and they heard her slam her bedroom door.
Elias had had enough. He put his arm around his grandfather’s shoulders. “Grandpa, I’ll be fine. I don’t want you to do anything silly with the will. Leave it like it is. I’m a hard worker and I’ll survive.”
“No. I won’t have it.”
“Grandpa, let it go.”
“Wait until things cool down,” Falcon suggested to Elias.
“I’ll talk to Mom,” Quincy said. “Just stay on Rebel Ranch.”
“Sorry, I can’t do that.”
Elias walked out the door, and he could hear his grandfather screaming, “Elias!”
He quickly drove to his grandfather’s house and grabbed a trash bag and dumped his clothes and shaving stuff inside. He then threw it into the back of his truck and headed out before Grandpa could make another scene. At the cattle guard he forced himself not to look back at everything he was leaving behind. Instead, he had to look forward to a future without Rebel Ranch. That was hard to swallow, but he had to make a decision based on what was best for his son.
Once he was out of sight of the house, he pulled over to the side of the road and grabbed his phone. He called Maribel.
“Is the kid asleep?”
“How did you get my number?”
“Is the kid asleep?” He wasn’t in a mood to mince words.
“Yes. And I need to get some sleep, too.”
“Call me when he wakes up.”
“I will not.”
He took a long breath. “The sheriff gave me full responsibility for Chase and I gave him my word. If you don’t call me later this afternoon, I’ll call Wyatt and he’ll pick Chase up and put him back in jail. And I will not lift one finger to help him at the hearing. Do you understand me, Maribel?”
“You wouldn’t do that.”
“Try me.”
“You’re... You’re...”
Elias cut her off by hanging up and drove on into town. He had to find a place to stay for the next few nights until he figured out what to do. Yesterday, his main worry had been getting hay off the field. Now he just needed a roof over his head. Life had dealt him a punch he hadn’t been ready for.
The only place to get a room was at the new motel on the outskirts of town. Louann and her husband Charlie Polansky were the managers, and Louann was the biggest gossip in town. Gossip had never bothered him before, though, and he wasn’t going to let it bother him now.
He went through the glass door and the bell over his head tinkled. Louann appeared from a side door behind the desk. She and Charlie lived on the premises. Her dyed blond hair was puffed up and layers of jewelry around her neck and on her wrists jingled as she walked.
“Elias Rebel, just the man I wanted to see. Your supposedly new son got our nephew in trouble. Brandon is a good kid and now look at the mess he’s in. Thanks to you and your rambling ways. Who knew Maribel McCray had a son by you? Your mother must be livid.”
Elias didn’t even flinch. He leaned his forearms on the counter. “You like gossip, Louann? I got a good piece of gossip to share with Charlie. I bet he’d like to know where you were two Saturday nights ago, sitting in a booth down at Rowdy’s with a man I’d never seen before.”
Her blue eyes bulged out. “How...? How...?”
“The black wig didn’t fool anybody, Louann. Now, I’d like a room.”
“Room?” She recovered quickly. “Why do you need a room? There are all kinds of houses on the ranch.”<
br />
Charlie walked in with a cup of coffee in his hand. “Hey, Elias. How’s it going?” Charlie was a mild-mannered man with a pleasant personality and Elias liked him.
“I’m trying to get a room.”
“I’ll take care of it.” He motioned for Louann to move aside. She frowned at him but stepped about three feet away, listening to every word.
“How long do you need it?” Charlie asked.
“I’m not sure. Maybe a week.” Elias had no idea how long he would stay here. He could only take things day by day.
“We have a couple of suites you might like. They have a small kitchenette and a bigger bathroom.”
“Does it have two beds?”
“Sure does.”
“I’ll take it.” He reached for his wallet and pulled out his credit card. Charlie handed him the key and that was it. No questions asked. The way it should’ve been in the first place.
Charlie pulled a card from his pocket. “If you’re interested in real estate, our daughter Gaynell is selling real estate these days.”
Elias took the card. “Thanks, Charlie.” He’d dated Gaynell back in high school a couple times and he didn’t want to go down that road again. But he just might need a house.
He drove around to the room and went inside. He sat on the bed, pulled off his boots, jeans and shirt and then he crawled into the nearest bed. He’d been awake so long his body was running on empty. But before sleep could claim him, two thoughts kept running through his head: he had a son. His mother had disinherited him.
* * *
FIVE HOURS LATER, Elias woke up, showered, shaved and changed clothes. There were several messages from his brothers on his phone, but he ignored them. He sat on the bed, trying to figure out his next move. Maribel and Chase needed a home and he had to find them one. He tried not to think about his mother. She was very stubborn and she had to come to grips with what had happened all those years ago. He had to give her time. In the meantime, he had to make a life of his own.
He saw Gaynell’s card on the nightstand where he’d put it earlier. Although he hated to do business with an old girlfriend, he needed her help. He tapped in her number.
