by Linda Warren
Before Hardy could stand, Grandpa got to his feet and Elias was too far away to pull him back down. “I got something to say, Hiram.”
“What are you doing in my courtroom, Abe?”
“Chase is my great-grandson and I want to make sure you do right by him.”
“Abe—”
“I got two words for you, Hiram. Jimmy Jack.” Saying that, Grandpa took a seat and everyone stared at him. Elias had no idea what Jimmy Jack meant, but by the flush on the judge’s face, Elias was sure that he did.
The judge recovered quickly. “I’d like to talk to Chase.”
Chase stood. “Yes, sir.”
“What possessed you to run from the sheriff?”
Elias put his hand on Chase’s back and he could feel him trembling. “Tell him the truth,” Elias whispered.
“I was scared. I knew my mom was going to be so mad and disappointed in me so I just bolted. I knew it was a mistake, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. I’m sorry I hurt so many people. I just...”
“What?”
Chase glanced at Elias. “You see, I was upset with my mom for moving to Horseshoe. I’m a good football player and I’m hoping to get a scholarship to play ball in college. My coach told me I was that good and I believed him. But moving here, I felt all my dreams were ruined and I’d never get a scholarship from a small school. I... I was trying to get my mom to change her mind, I guess. It was very immature of me, as someone told me.” He glanced at Elias again.
“What position do you play?”
“Wide receiver.”
The judge turned to the sheriff. “Is that true, Wyatt?”
“Yes, judge, I spoke to the coach this morning and he said Chase was a very good football player and he was sorry he wasn’t going to be playing for the team this year. He said he’s very talented and he will be missed by the school. The coach said he’s never been in trouble and is always on time for practice.”
Elias got to his feet and this time he wasn’t sitting down. “Judge, I’d like to say something.”
“Go ahead, Elias.”
“I’m hoping you’ll give my kid a second chance. He has a lot of me in him and I made a lot of mistakes as a teenager. You know that, but my dad kept me on track. I think I turned out to be a pretty good person, considering all the hijinks I got into with friends. If you release Chase into my custody, I will stick to him like grease on a pig. And I’ll keep him on the straight and narrow.”
“You spend too much time with your grandpa,” the judge remarked.
“And that’s a good thing,” his grandpa shot back.
The judge turned to Wyatt and Hardy once again. “What do you suggest, Hardy?”
Wyatt was the one who answered, “I trust Elias on this one. I believe he can turn Chase around. That’s just my opinion.”
“I suggest two months’ probation and one day a week for two months of community service,” Hardy said. “If he stays clean, everything will be expunged from his record.”
The judge banged his gavel. “Done. Everyone’s free to go. Chase, you have to check in with the sheriff later.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
Everyone got to their feet and Elias walked over and shook Hardy’s and Wyatt’s hands. “Thank you. I appreciate you giving my kid a second chance.”
“I’m holding you to your word, Elias,” Wyatt replied.
“You got it.”
The judge stepped down from the bench and Elias shook his hand, too. “Thank you, Your Honor. I promise Chase will never be in trouble again or he will answer to me.”
“Elias, I don’t doubt it for a minute.”
They filed out of the courtroom and the knot in Elias’s chest eased. His son wasn’t going to spend any time in jail. They walked out to Elias’s truck and Maribel and Chase hugged.
Maribel stroked Chase’s face. “I told you Elias would help us.”
“Yeah,” Chase murmured.
Maribel walked up to Elias. “Thank you.”
There was something in her voice that bothered him. “You don’t seem all that happy.”
“I feel like I’m losing my son. I’ve raised him for seventeen years and the judge put him in your custody.”
“Maribel, he’ll be eighteen in November. Why don’t we work on raising him together until then? I think we can manage that.”
“I’m his mother and I will continue to make the decisions concerning his life. I want you to know that.”
“I’m not in the mood to argue with you. Chase stays with me until his probation is over. We’ll be working on the house and there won’t be much time for anything else.”
She glanced across the street to the diner. “I have an interview with Gladys in thirty minutes. I’m hoping to get the waitress job.”
“We’ll be at the house.”
“Elias, please be patient with him. He doesn’t know how to do anything except play football.”
“By the time he reaches eighteen, he’ll know how to do a lot of things. He’ll know how to survive without his mother’s help.”
“Elias—”
“We’re doing this my way.”
She stomped her foot. “You’re so... You’re so...”
“Crazy.”
“Yes, and bullheaded.”
Unable to stop himself, he touched her nose with the tip of his finger. “And you love crazy.”
Chapter Eight
Maribel walked across the street to the diner, infuriated with Elias. She was not crazy about him. She once was, but maturity had changed that and now she was just concerned about her son. For him, she would put up with Elias.
She took a minute to calm her nerves before going into the diner. It was the same as it had been when she was a teenager—the same table and chairs and the same pictures of bluebonnets on the walls. The linoleum was worn through in places and the dingy gray walls desperately needed a coat of paint. The faded dark blue booths had gray duct tape on some of them to cover tears.
The diner had probably been in Horseshoe a hundred years. Gladys’ ancestors had owned it all that time. Gladys had to be in her eighties and Maribel didn’t know how she kept up with the pace of running a diner. She and Gladys sat in the booth talking and within minutes she had the waitress job. It felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
She drove to Rosie’s to see how she was doing and changed clothes. Leah was there with her son, John, and Rachel, Egan’s wife, was there with her son Justin. Everything was going fine. She told Rosie about the job.
Rosie clapped. “I’m so happy. Now you can stop worrying.”
She sat beside her sister in the living room. “Now I’m worried about you. I won’t be here all the time.”
“Don’t worry,” Leah said. “Rachel, who won’t go back to teaching until August, Remi and I have worked out a schedule so you can work. We’re going to make sure this baby is born healthy.”
“Thank you,” Maribel said. She told them about the house and that she would be spending a lot of time there, too.
“That’s wonderful,” Rosie said. “You’ll have your own home.”
“Yeah, but I’ll have to put up with Elias.” She made a face and everyone laughed.
Thirty minutes later, she was at the house. Chase was standing outside with a mask over his nose and mouth.
“What’s going on?”
“He’s fumigated the house for roaches and ants and it stinks. Tomorrow, he says we’re tearing out all the old carpet and linoleum. He’s working on the roof now. I can’t keep up with him.”
She patted his chest. “You’ll do.”
Chase pulled off the mask. “We went to the city to have the water and the lights turned on and they said they couldn’t get
to it until the end of the week. He said, ‘No way. I want it done now.’ They turned it on. Then we went to the sheriff’s office and I start my community service next Monday from eight o’clock to twelve o’clock. He paid for the stolen beer. All of it. He told the sheriff to tell Billy Tom’s and Brandon’s parents that he had taken care of it and I would work for every penny of it. Then we went to the hardware store and the lumberyard and then to Bubba’s. He said he wanted to buy a flatbed trailer and Bubba said just take one. He said no, he wanted to buy one and they went round and round. He wrote a check and laid it on Bubba’s desk. I don’t think Bubba’s gonna cash it.”
She noticed he wasn’t calling Elias by his name. He was just saying he. Chase probably never would call Elias Dad but she was hoping he would at least call him Elias. It would take time.
“You’ve had a busy morning.”
“Yeah. He knows how to get stuff done.”
“You seemed to like Mr. Abe.”
“Yeah. He’s cool. He had to go home to feed his dog, but he said he would be back to help. So far he hasn’t returned. I hope he’s okay.”
“I’m sure he is. Where’s Elias?”
“He’s on the roof tearing off the spot that has the hole. I have to go help him.” Chase pulled on a pair of gloves. They walked around to the back of the house and they both went up the ladder to the roof. Elias was tearing off shingles like a crazy man. He had the trailer backed up to the house and was throwing them onto it.
Elias sat back on his heels. “About time you showed up. Start pulling some of the shingles off and throw them onto the trailer.”
“With my hands?” Chase asked.
“Unless you can do it with your feet.”
“No. I’ll use my hands.”
“The shingles are brittle and come off easily. There’s no need for you to be up here, Maribel.”
“I’ll help Chase with the shingles, and please don’t tell me what to do.”
Elias wiped sweat from his brow. “Pigheaded as always. You’ll need gloves.”
“My hands will do fine.”
“Suit yourself.”
They worked until eight o’clock and by then they had all the shingles off the roof. Elias worked on fixing the hole. Taking a breather, Maribel watched him. The muscles in his shoulders and arms rippled as he sawed away the rotted wood. His movements were precise and even. He was strong, confident and all male. That’s what had attracted her to him in first place.
They’d put in a long day and they were all tired. A lot of progress had been made, though, because Elias never stopped working. Her son was learning a good lesson. Chase was wilted like a flower without any water, but he would survive.
Once they were on the ground, Elias asked, “Did you get the job?”
“Yes.” She was happy to tell him. “I start tomorrow at six o’clock and work until two o’clock. I have the breakfast and lunch run. I’ll be here just as soon as I get off.”
Elias stored away his tools in the toolbox on his truck. “What about Rosie?”
“Leah, Rachel and Remi have it handled.”
Elias pulled off his gloves and placed them on the dash. “I’m ready for a shower and some food.” He looked at Chase. “How about you?”
“Yes, sir.”
Chase was dirty from his head to his toes. She’d never seen him this filthy, even his tennis shoes were dirty. He wasn’t complaining. That’s what surprised her. She gave him a brief hug and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Walking away wasn’t easy. She’d spent every day of her life with Chase and it was hard to be away from him, but she had to let go. Soon, he would be off to college. He would grow into a man and she had to learn to deal with that.
And with Elias’s input.
* * *
ELIAS’S MUSCLES WERE tight and he needed a shower and some food. But he was pleased with the work they’d gotten done today. The boy hadn’t complained once. That had shocked him, but they were working toward a common goal: a home for them.
As they drove in to the motel, Grandpa pulled in right beside them. Grandpa was starting to get on his nerves, but he knew the old man just wanted to help so he had to lighten up.
“It’s Grandpa,” Chase said and got out of the truck.
Elias watched as Chase hugged Grandpa. “I thought you were going to help us today?”
“Ah, I got caught up at the ranch, but I brought food. It’s on the passenger side. Take it in and we’ll have supper.”
Chase looked at Elias, “Can I take a shower first?”
“I’d prefer it.” Elias handed Chase the key and he went inside with the bag of food.
“What’s going on at the ranch?” Elias asked Grandpa.
“Ah, your mother is holed up in the house and didn’t take lunch to the guys today. Quincy called and said Jenny was fixing sandwiches and stuff and asked me to pick it up and bring it out to the hay fields.”
“Did someone check on her?” He didn’t like the sound of this. His mother always brought food when they were working.
“Quincy did and said that she needed some time. She’s just stubborn, that’s all. She can’t admit she made a mistake.”
“Grandpa, you need to talk to Mom and tell her you’re not doing anything about the will. I want you to do that.” Elias thought that might bring his mother some peace.
“No way. Not until she admits she made a mistake and that she’s not disinheriting you. I’m not bending this time. She has to.”
“Grandpa...”
Grandpa walked into the room, completely ignoring him. He hated that his mother was hurting, and he was hurting, too. There had to be some resolution to all this. Right now, though, he was tired and needed rest.
Chase was in clean shorts and a T-shirt, digging food out of the bag.
“I’m taking a quick shower,” Elias said.
When he came out, the food was on the table. Chicken fried steak and all the trimmings, and Grandpa had even bought kolaches from the bakery. Chase talked on and on, telling Grandpa what they’d done today. Elias never realized he talked so much. He kept saying he did this and he did that. It took a moment for him to realize that was what Chase was calling him. He. Like he couldn’t say Elias or even, heaven forbid, Dad.
Afterward, Chase carried the trash out to the dumpster. Grandpa removed his clothes and crawled into bed, getting comfy. There was no need to tell him to go home because Elias knew he wouldn’t.
Elias slipped out of his jeans and slid into bed with a sigh. Chase came back and he and Grandpa turned on the TV. Chase flipped around until he found the Western channel.
“John Wayne, that’s a good one, boy. Leave it there.”
Elias counted in his head because he knew it would be about fifteen minutes until Grandpa fell asleep. And he was right. He heard the snoring. To his surprise, Chase was asleep, too. He got up and turned off the TV and the light. Then he welcomed the darkness that claimed him. Tomorrow was another work day.
It just wouldn’t be on Rebel Ranch.
* * *
ELIAS AWOKE AT five o’clock to make coffee. Then he went down to the convenience store and bought breakfast tacos. When he came back, Grandpa and Chase were up.
Just as they were getting ready to leave, there was a knock at the door. Elias opened it to find a very pregnant Paige, Jude’s wife, at the door. The baby was due in July.
“Good morning, Elias.”
“Paige, how did you find me?”
“I asked Grandpa.”
She dug into her purse and pulled out a set of keys. Handing them to him she said, “These are keys to my mother’s house, which is vacant. It belongs to me, my brother and my sister and you’re welcome to use it.”
He hadn’t expected this and for a mom
ent he was speechless. “Does my mother know about this?”
She lifted an eyebrow. “It may surprise you to know that I don’t have to clear things with Miss Kate. It is my house and I can do what I want with it.”
He thought about it for a minute and decided not to be stubborn or let his pride get in the way. They needed more space.
“It has three bedrooms and two baths and it’s furnished sparingly, but there is a washer and a dryer. Water and electricity are on. Please use it. Now I have to get to work.”
Paige was an OB/GYN doctor. She was the love of Jude’s life. They’d gotten pregnant in high school and had decided to give the baby up for adoption because Paige had a full scholarship to med school. But Jude couldn’t live with that decision and had raised their son alone. Twelve years later, Paige had come back and discovered that Jude had their son. There had been some ups and downs but eventually they’d gotten back together, and now they were expecting their second child.
“Thank you, Paige. I appreciate it.”
“Use the house,” she said as she hurried to her SUV.
“Who was that?” Chase asked.
“That’s your Aunt Paige,” Grandpa answered. “She’s your Uncle Jude’s wife. They have a son named Zane and he’ll be a senior next year. In your class.”
“I don’t care. I don’t want to meet him.” Some of the old resentment surfaced in Chase’s voice and Elias let it slide. It had to be hard to be thrown into a family he’d never met.
Grandpa patted Chase’s shoulder. “Someday you will. Zane is a good kid and he’ll show you around the school. But no one’s pushing you.”
Elias held up the keys. “Pack your things, kid. We’re moving out.”
Grandpa went home to feed his dog and to check and see if the brothers needed anything. Elias checked out of the motel and he and Chase drove over to Paige’s house. It was three blocks away from Mulberry Lane, which was going to make it very easy to go to work.
“This is so cool,” Chase said, walking through the house. “It’s neat and clean and not like that motel room. It has space.”
Elias thought it was cool, too. There was an old Formica table and chairs in the kitchen and a sofa, a chair and a small TV in the living room. Each bedroom had a bed and sheets and there was a dresser in the master bedroom.
