Chance McCall

by Sharon Sala

  “Excuse me,” he said. “I didn’t know Charlie had company. I’ll come back…”

  “Come in,” the woman said, and went to meet him. “I’m his daughter, Laura. I didn’t know anyone ever came to see Dad. It makes me feel good knowing someone still cares. We live so far away…”

  “You probably don’t remember me,” Chance said as he shook her hand. “My name is Chance McCall. I used to work for—”

  “Yes, I do!” she said, and the smile on her face grew. “Dad talked about you for years.”

  Chance felt instantly at ease. She didn’t look much like Charlie, but when she smiled, he got goosebumps. She was Charlie’s daughter all right.

  “Do you come often?” she asked.

  Chance shook his head. “I live up in Tyler. In fact, this is the first time I’ve been back to Odessa since high school.”

  Laura nodded and walked back to her father’s bedside.

  Charlie seemed asleep but, then again, maybe he wasn’t. His hands moved through the air and his mouth moved silently as he talked to whoever was presently occupying his mind. His eyelids fluttered as if he was trying to find his way back to reality.

  “He’s not doing so good this week,” she said, patting her father’s arm. “I just wish we lived closer. I feel so helpless.”

  “Why didn’t you move Charlie close to you?” he asked, and then thought that the question might have been out of line. Thankfully, she did not seem to mind.

  “My husband is in the service. We move around so much we don’t have a place to call home. If I moved Dad every time we moved, he’d be lost and disconcerted…You understand, I’m sure. Right now we’re in Virginia. But not for long. I don’t know where I’ll go when David…that’s my husband…leaves again. He’s going to the Persian Gulf. He’ll be there at least a year, maybe more, and I’m not allowed. Not after the last mess.”

  “What are you going to do?” Chance asked.

  “I don’t know,” she sighed. “We looked into buying here, but with the economy and our budget, it’s not in the cards right now. We can either afford the lot, or the house.” She laughed.

  A lot was explained in that one answer. Charlie’s daughter did love him, and she was doing more than most by making long trips back to visit him. What she said finally registered.

  “You mean…if you had the land, you could manage to build a house on it?” he asked.

  She nodded. “We think so. But…I’ve quit worrying about it. We’ve looked and it’s no go. I suppose I’ll rent…but it’s so expensive and such a waste of money at our age.”

  Chance took a deep breath. This was going to come out all wrong, he just knew it. But he had to try.

  “Laura…I don’t want you to misunderstand, but if you’re not real picky about neighborhoods…I have some land in town. I’ll sell it cheap.”

  Laura smiled and patted his hand. “Thanks, Chance. But we couldn’t manage a large mortgage right now.”

  “It’s yours for a dollar, if you want it. And the neighborhood isn’t dangerous, it’s just not on the best side of town.”

  She stared. “A dollar! But, why? Why would you offer a total stranger such a thing?”

  Chance looked down at the old man.

  “I owe him,” he said. “More than you’ll ever know. Money could never repay what he’s done for me. But now, the way he is…it’s all I can do. If I do it for you…I do it for him…don’t you see?”

  Laura began to cry. The tears ran silently down her face. “Now I know why Dad thought so much of you,” she whispered, digging in her purse for a tissue. “He always said you were special. He was right.”

  Right now, Chance didn’t want to think about how special Charlie was to him, or he’d start to cry too.

  “If you’ll call this man,” he quickly wrote down Ken Oslow’s name and phone number, “he’ll handle everything for you. I won’t be in town much longer, but I’ll try to come back as often as possible and visit.”

  “When you come,” Laura said, “stay with me.”

  It was an offer he didn’t refuse.

  Ken was surprised to hear Chance’s voice, and then what Chance asked of him made him grin with delight.

  “I’ll be more than happy to do that,” he said, as Victoria walked into the room. “Boy, oh boy, it’s a wonderful gesture, Chance. And you know what’s even better? It’s going to piss Logan off big time.” He laughed. “Yes, that’s right. He doesn’t give anything away…ever.”

  Victoria smiled as she listened to her husband and brother’s conversation. They were hitting it off, just as she’d predicted. But she wondered what they’d concocted that was supposed to aggravate her father. She found out as soon as Ken hung up the phone.

  “Chance just gave away his land in Odessa to Charlie Rollins’s daughter. He’s selling it to her…for a dollar. That way she can be close to her father while her husband is overseas.” He slapped his leg and laughed some more.

  Victoria grinned. “You’re right, I suppose,” she said. “If Daddy knows that something he’s paid taxes on for twelve years has just been sold for a dollar, he’ll have a fit.”

  “It’ll be good for him,” Ken said. “And from the sound of Chance’s voice, it was good for him, too. He really liked Old Man Rollins, didn’t he?”

  “He was the only father Chance ever had.”

  Ken nodded. The laughter disappeared from his voice as he hugged her. “Well, whether he likes it or not, now he has two. Logan seems hell bent on proving that he’s not an asshole. Personally, I think it’s a lost cause.”

  “Kenny!” Victoria said, and punched her husband playfully on his arm. “He’s not that bad.” And then she looked at the expression on Ken’s face and sighed. “Well, maybe he is…but he tries.”

  They stared at each other and then broke into laughter.

  There was one more thing left for Chance to do. And this time, it wouldn’t be so easy to cure the pain that lingered inside. He couldn’t get rid of it for a dollar. And it wasn’t going to go away by getting mad. He had a score to settle and, strangely enough, it was with himself.

  He cast a long shadow across the tombstones as he walked slowly along the pathways, his dark eyes somber as he searched the markers for the one bearing his mother’s name. The sun was hot on his back. The wind was one long steady gust. He shoved his hat down tight on his head and narrowed his eyes against the searing heat.

  He almost missed it. The small, flat stone was barely noticeable against the higher grass framing it. But there it was. Leticia McCall. Rest in the peace you never knew.

  Chance’s heart skipped a beat as the tears shot instantly to his eyes. He knelt.

  “Well, Mom,” Chance said softly, brushing away the dust on the marble, “I’m back. You always knew I would be, didn’t you? But I came back for a reason. This time, I need something you can’t give. I need your forgiveness.”

  His voice broke. He wiped tears with the heel of his hand and swallowed before he could speak again.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was so busy feeling sorry for myself, I didn’t think of you.” His voice softened, his touch lingering across the gray stone as he traced her name with his forefinger. “I love you, Momma, and I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m so, so sorry.”

  For long moments he knelt, absorbing the memories that flooded his mind as he remembered earlier days when he’d been younger, when she hadn’t been so lost.

  Then he stood and turned, brushed the dust off the knees of his jeans, and shifted his hat on his head. The lowering sun caught him full in the face, highlighting the strong planes and features that had been imprinted by his parents’ fleeting love. He started to walk away, then stopped and looked back. For one long moment he stared down at the tombstone. He could almost hear her calling, “Chancey…is that you?”

  “Yes, Momma. It’s me.” He touched the brim of his hat, in a strange gesture of courtesy to someone long gone, and said, “I’ll be seeing you.”

 
; 20

  “Juana, did you get all the stuff to make enchiladas yesterday?” Jenny asked.

  She nodded, and continued to shuck the fresh sweet corn piled high in the sink.

  “Are we going to have corn tonight, too, or is that just for—”

  “Jennifer, niña, would you please get out of my kitchen and let me do my work? If you say Chance comes home today, then he’ll come. And if he comes, I will have food. If…” she stared pointedly, “you will leave and let me get busy.”

  Jennifer grinned. “I’m leaving,” she said. “And of course Chance is coming home today.”

  Juana was puzzled. “What makes you so certain?” she asked. “Did he call?”

  “No,” Jenny answered. “But today’s Saturday. He’ll be home by tonight.”

  Juana rolled her eyes and went back to her work.

  Jenny wandered through the house, anxious now that the time was near. Remembering the man who’d called himself Chance’s father made her uneasy. Even though Marcus had all but ignored her at one time, he’d been a shadowy figure in the background of her life. It felt good knowing that their relationship had progressed.

  “What are you doing?” Marcus asked, as his daughter paced the living room.

  “Killing time.” She fluffed the throw pillows on the sofa.

  “Until what?” Marcus asked. If something was happening, he hadn’t been told.

  “Until Chance comes home.” She carried an arrangement of flowers from the mantel to the table by the window.

  “He’s coming home today? When did he call?”

  “He didn’t. I just know that it’s today.” She stepped back and surveyed the room.

  The assurance in her voice made Marcus worry. What if Chance didn’t show up today? What made Jenny so all-fired certain it would be today?

  “Okay,” he said, trying not to let doubt seep into his voice. “But if he doesn’t make it, I wouldn’t worry. He’ll be along…just like you said…when he’s ready.”

  “Marcus! Quit trying to bolster my spirits. You don’t understand. It’s Saturday. He’ll be home. You wait and see.”

  And then her face lit up as she remembered. “Wait here! I want to show you something.”

  She came hurrying back with a stack of magazines. He smiled as he saw the title of the magazine on top. Bride. It figured.

  “I’ve found the perfect dress,” she said. “Look, what do you think?”

  Marcus took the picture she offered and tilted it toward the window for better light.

  Jenny smiled, watching his intense concentration. She knew he didn’t know satin from fur balls, but it was sweet that he was trying to get involved. And then she looked past him, out of the window.

  “Oh, Marcus!” she whispered. “Look!”

  He turned and lost his place in the magazine as it fell shut. A familiar red pickup truck had just topped the rise and was coming down the driveway toward home.

  The rest of the magazines fell to the floor at her feet. Jenny began to move. She made it to the door without crying. But the minute she reached the porch, the tears began to flow. She hit the ground running.

  It was late evening when Chance reached the last leg of his journey. Familiar faces and places had taken on new meaning. He could just imagine the look on Jenny’s face. He wondered if he should have called, but he wanted to surprise her.

  The pastures were in need of some rain, he’d noticed on the way to the ranch. It looked like their neighbor to the north had cut his prairie hay. When he came over a slow rise he saw a vehicle coming to meet him. He pulled over to let it pass, and smiled as he recognized two of the men from the Triple T.

  “Hey, it’s the boss!” They waved from their window. “Welcome home!”

  Chance grinned. Damn, but it felt good to hear that!

  The small pond in the north pasture was next in sight. The three cottonwood trees at the side of the spillway waved in the breeze. Even the landscape was welcoming him home. Chance’s stomach twisted in nervous anticipation. The house was just over the next rise.

  His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. He slowed down as he topped the hill, feasting his eyes on the Triple T and what it meant to be coming back.

  And then he saw her, a small figure in white, coming out of the door and off the porch. She was running. Chance pressed down on the gas. Urgency overwhelmed him. He’d waited entirely too long to hold her again.

  The closer he came, the faster she ran. He could see her face…and the laughter…and the tears. And then he was out of the truck and she was in his arms.

  “Jenny, Jenny, Jenny!” It was all he could say. Holding her was the next best thing to heaven.

  “I knew that you’d come today,” she said. She wrapped her arms around his neck as her feet left the ground.

  “How did you know that, darlin’?” he asked. “I wanted to surprise you.” He was pressing urgent little kisses along the contours of her face and neck.

  “Because it’s Saturday night, you fool.” She was smiling and crying, all at the same time, as Chance swung her around and around, stirring up a small dust cloud beneath his feet.

  And then his laughter rang out, pure and long. Jenny Tyler loved him.

  Epilogue

  “Did the caterers get everything in place?” Marcus asked, as Juana darted from the kitchen to the buffet and back again.

  “Yes.” She sighed. “Go see to your guests. I’ll see to the food.”

  Marcus grinned and complied.

  The wedding was all he’d expected and more. Jenny made a beautiful bride. And walking down the aisle, with her on his arm, had been the most uplifting experience of his life. He might have missed out on a lot of things, but he’d finally been there when it had counted.

  The front door to the house opened and closed with constant regularity. Henry had stationed himself as official butler for a day. He was dressed in a western suit and brand-new boots that made his hobble more obvious than usual. But he’d sworn to be a part of Jenny’s special day, even if it killed him.

  Marcus was anxious that everyone arrive for the reception before Jenny and Chance. They’d been detained at the church while the photographer insisted on more pictures, even though the guests had long since departed for the Triple T ranch.

  The front door opened, and another small group of people entered. Marcus had seen them at the church, but had taken little notice until now. A young man and woman walked in, each firmly in charge of a blond little boy. Twins! Marcus smiled to himself. But it was the older man who walked in behind them that made him take a second look.

  “Well I’ll be damned,” he said to himself. Even at this distance, through the crowd of people, he could see the resemblance. He didn’t know whether to punch the man’s face or shake his hand. From the little Jenny had told him, this man had given Chance nothing but grief.

  “Marcus,” Henry said, as he walked them over to where he was standing. “This here’s Chance’s sister and her husband,” and then he grinned, “and their boys. Ain’t they somethin’?” And then as an afterthought, he included the older man in his introduction, but Marcus could tell that Henry, too, was reserving judgment. “And this is Logan Henry.” He muttered as he walked away. “Says he’s Chance’s father.”

  Logan would like to have complained about the lack of respect in the old man’s voice, but in all conscience, he knew he deserved it. From what he’d learned in the last few weeks, Chance was a highly respected employee…and now son-in-law…of Marcus Tyler.

  The look that passed between the two older men was reserved. Logan knew he was here on sufferance.

  The phone call inviting him had been a surprise. When she’d identified herself as Chance’s future bride, his attention had become instantly focused. She’d told him, in no uncertain terms, what she thought of his treatment of Chance. Then she’d invited him to the wedding.

  Her reasoning still made his head spin. If he knew his women, and that was one thing on which Logan Hen
ry was definitely an expert, his son had just married a tiger. He grinned. Those were always keepers.

  He headed for the bar, grabbed himself a drink, and began to blend into the crowd of guests.

  Jenny was fidgeting. She yanked on her sleeves and pulled at her veil. She smoothed the dark cloud of hair away from her face, and secured it back beneath the fluff of net and pearls that crowned her forehead. She pulled down the mirror over the visor and checked her makeup again, just to make certain that there was some left.

  Chance had kissed her all the way from the church to the car, and then it had taken him five minutes just to put the key in the ignition and drive. He couldn’t seem to keep his hands off of her. Jenny smiled. That was just the way she wanted it. Needy and begging like this, Chance was going to make tonight memorable, to say the least.

  Chance grinned. He saw her smile. He knew what was on her mind, as well he should. He’d just spent the last twenty minutes putting it there. He watched her fidget with her wedding dress and was damned glad he didn’t have to wear all that stuff.

  “You okay, darlin’?” he asked, and slipped his hand beneath the yards and yards of skirt, trying to find his Jenny.

  “Just drive,” she said. “I can’t wait to get home and get this off.”

  “Me neither.”

  She laughed, and then remembered. When they got to the reception, he was probably going to be mad.

  The Triple T came into view. Jenny took a deep breath. Maybe she should prepare him. Maybe springing it on him unannounced wasn’t such a good idea after all.

  “Chance…”

  “We’re here, darlin’,” he said. “Come on, let’s get you and all that fluff out of the car. We’ve got cake to cut, champagne to drink, and a party to start. After that, they’re on their own. I’ve been lonesome too long.”

  He was referring to the fact that she hadn’t let him get too close to her, let alone make love to her, since he’d returned from Odessa. It had taken exactly two weeks to plan and execute this wedding, and she wanted their wedding night to be really special. As far as he was concerned, it had been two weeks too long.