by Pamela Tracy
“The body’s been there a bit longer than thirty years. If Billy was alive today he’d be fifty-five. So, let’s assume he was twenty-four.”
“A year younger than the supposed twenty-five to forty,” Emily agreed. Then, she hit her hand on the steering wheel. “I cannot believe I’m having this gruesome talk while driving to the hospital to welcome a niece or nephew.”
Donovan thought about it for a moment. “It probably has to do with where you were and what you were talking about before Jesse called me.”
“I’m going to be an aunt,” Emily said, awe in her voice.
They’d long left the confines of Apache Creek. For a few miles, there was nothing. Now they were in the big city of Phoenix, spread out, and Donovan noted that they’d passed a street called McDowell at least four times. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“Nearest hospital is here in Phoenix. We’ve a clinic in Apache Creek. Plans are in the works to build a hospital.”
“Want me to drive?”
She looked at him and then back at the road. “No. I know where the hospital is. We’ll be there in five minutes.”
“I wasn’t worried.”
Her driving was the least of his worries. What he needed to worry about was the fact that he willingly jumped into her truck to head to the hospital to celebrate the birth of a baby whose mother he’d known for only a little more a month and a half.
He was getting entirely too involved in a family that wasn’t his.
“There’s a parking place.”
Before he could offer an opinion about whether the spot was too narrow, which it was, she’d parked the truck. He edged open the door and squeezed out. Not being a fool, he didn’t comment.
She headed for the entrance in a half jog, half hop movement. Halfway to the door, she whipped out her phone and punched in a text, waited a moment and then said, “Jesse says to come up to the fourth-floor waiting room.”
“I guess that means the baby’s not born.”
Her phone pinged, and she paused to read the next message.
“Maybe we could stop by the second floor first.”
“Why?”
“Karl’s here, too. Seems the news about his son was too much for him.”
Chapter Eleven
Emily sat in the chair closest to Karl and took out her cell phone. Quickly she texted Jesse: What’s happening? Having baby yet?
Not yet was his quick response.
Donovan pulled a chair over next to her. Feeling relieved, she took his strong fingers in hers, feeling their warmth, and tightened her grip before saying a prayer. She prayed for Karl, for Eva and ended with Billy.
Donovan whispered an “Amen” but didn’t add anything. After a few moments, Emily said, “Elise needs to be here. She and Cooper’s family, especially Garrett. They’ve pretty much adopted Karl as their own.”
“I got that impression.”
Emily quickly sent a text to Cooper, updating him on Karl’s status. To Donovan, she said, “Up until Cooper’s little brother started working with Karl, not just his place but Karl, himself, was run-down.”
“I like his ranch. It reminds me of the past. I don’t think we want to lose all the places that remind us progress was created on the back of hard work and dreams.”
He surprised her. It might have been the most poetic thing he’d said. And, coming from the man who’d designed and built the Baer home, it was contradictory.
Confusing.
Who was the real Donovan Russell?
Karl moaned a little, turning restlessly and then settling in the exact same position he’d started at.
“Karl’s doing pretty well, considering he’s in his eighties. Last time he was here, the doctor said he had a strong heart, good lungs and all that. Back then, his biggest enemy was the will to live. He doesn’t have that problem anymore.”
“How do you know?”
“Because not a day goes by when he doesn’t get a visit from either one of the girls, Cooper’s family or Jilly Greenhouse. Then, too, at least four or five times a week he comes to the ranch to eat.”
Her phone pinged the arrival of a text from Cooper: On our way.
“That’s nice,” Donovan argued, “but—”
“But, most important, he came back to church. Doesn’t miss a service. I’ve never seen him happier.”
“And you think church is the number one reason for that change, not the people giving him their time?”
“Absolutely.”
Donovan started to say something, obviously thought better of it and said, “He looks good for being in his eighties.”
“He still works the land. Mostly telling or showing Garrett what to do.”
Karl moaned again.
“I’m here, Karl. Do you need the nurse? Just squeeze my fingers. I’ll call someone.”
Karl didn’t squeeze, but his fingers felt cold and so terribly thin. She knew he was eating. Oh, never a whole hamburger, but he’d put away half. Her dad said not to worry. That it didn’t take as much coal to move a train that didn’t go far.
Whatever that meant.
Donovan stretched his legs out, clearly uncomfortable, and looked around the sterile room. Emily made a mental note to call the church secretary. In two days’ time, Karl would have enough cards to fill all the shelf space.
“It has to be hard,” Donovan said, interrupting her musing, “having just one child, and that child disappointing you.”
“Or maybe,” Emily said, “knowing that you disappointed your child.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Something Elise told me. She said Karl always blamed himself for Billy running away, something about Billy being bullied and Karl telling him to man up.”
“That’s what my dad would have told me.”
“I think the type of bullying going on has changed in the last decade or two. I’m not sure what Billy would have dealt with in the seventies, but I know the bullying I witnessed the past ten years. It needs to be stopped. No tolerance.”
“You weren’t bullied, were you?”
Emily was a bit impressed. Donovan brought his legs in and almost stood. He looked ready to take on the world on her behalf, or at least the bullies of the world.
“No, I was left alone, but I had Elise as a big sister, and my dad was at the school a lot.”
She saw him mentally doing the math. “Elise was in school when you were?”
“I was a freshman when she was a senior. But, really, my dad ran the after-school rodeo club. There wasn’t a detail of my life he didn’t know. If someone bullied me, one of the kids in the club would have told him. That’s a great way to deter bullies.”
Donovan grinned. “I can just see your dad marching into a classroom, picking a student up by his shirtfront and shaking him.”
“No, if it were serious, my dad would have requested the bully either be expelled or, more likely, he’d have made it mandatory that the bully be forced to join the rodeo club. Most bullies aren’t into team sports that don’t involve knocking people down. I was left alone, but I witnessed plenty.”
A nurse breezed in, picked up the chart at the end of Karl’s bed, made a notation and then hustled over to adjust a knob on the wall by Karl’s pillow.
When the nurse finished, she said, “Are you Karl’s family?”
“Close enough,” Emily said. “I’m Emily Hubrecht. My dad is Jacob Hubrecht. He’s listed as the emergency contact. How’s Karl doing?”
“We’re keeping him comfortable.” The nurse patted Karl’s shoulder gently and smiled. “The doctor should be around later this afternoon. He can tell you more. Will your father be available?”
“Yes, let me give you my cell phone number. My dad’s on t
he fourth floor. My oldest sister is having a baby.”
“Right now?”
“She’s in labor.”
The nurse walked to a dry-erase board and wrote down the number Emily shared. Then, she said, “Mr. Wilcox will probably be out for another two hours, if that helps any. I’ll leave the doctor a note.”
Standing, Emily said, “If Karl needs anything, let me know.”
“I’ll call you if he so much as burps,” the nurse promised.
Free, Emily flew from the room with Donovan at her heels. At first, she turned the wrong way, but Donovan gently guided her back to the elevator and pushed the up button, giving her a look that told her he didn’t trust her to go the right direction. When the door opened to a corridor of color, with painted balloons on the walls and stuffed animals displayed under glass, Emily felt her knees start to buckle.
“I’m going to be an aunt,” she whispered.
In the distance, a baby cried. The scent of talcum powder and something else, maybe vanilla or coconut, lingered in the air. Laughter echoed down the hall. Emily followed it until she came to a waiting room so filled with people that she had no place to sit.
“Emily!” Timmy hurried toward her, crawling over Cook’s feet and practicing falling. “I held Eva’s hand in the car and told her to squeeze whenever she got a pain.”
“I hope she didn’t squeeze too hard.”
“She did,” Timmy shared, “but I didn’t complain.”
“That’s what family is for,” Emily told him.
Timmy stayed by her side, which didn’t surprise Emily. In the family, she was the closest one not only to his age, but to his size. He might be feeling a bit overwhelmed.
While Donovan knelt next to Harold Mull, the ranch’s foreman, Emily hurried over to her father and asked, “You heard anything?”
“Jesse texts every few minutes but only says that she’s in labor. I don’t know if the contractions are getting closer together or what.”
“When he stops texting,” Jilly said, “you’ll know it’s close to time. He’ll be too busy becoming a daddy to care about us out here.”
Emily felt tears form. She’d hoped that Eva would ask her to go into the delivery room with her, but she opted for only Jesse. She’d taken a children’s book, one Emily recommended, called Love You Forever. Jesse had orders to read it should the pain get too bad.
Emily’s cell sounded. She looked at the number and held up a finger to her dad. “Hello.”
“It’s Cooper. Garrett, Mom and I are down in Karl’s room. Anything happening up there?”
“No, is Karl still asleep?”
“Yup.”
“The nurse wrote my number on the dry-erase board,” Emily said. “She said she’d call if anything happened.”
“I’ll add my number and come up. Is Elise back yet?”
“No, I’m not even sure what time she left Two Mules.”
“She left when she found out your dad was being questioned by the police.”
“Then she should be here by now.” Emily felt the tug of worry. The drive between Two Mules and the next small town was isolated and downtrodden. If she’d broken down, it would take hours, but she’d have called.”
“She not answering her phone?” Emily asked.
“What’s going on?” Jacob asked, picking up on Emily’s concern.
“Cooper wants to know where Elise is.”
Jacob took the phone from Emily. “Elise texted me that she wound up donating blood for her student. They wouldn’t let her drive right after. She should be on her way now.”
Emily couldn’t hear what Cooper said, but Jacob responded with, “She didn’t want to worry you while you were helping Garrett at ASU.”
“She could have called me instead of making me worry,” Emily grumbled.
“Worry doesn’t add a single day to your life,” Jacob said, handing the phone to Emily.
After she ended the call, Jacob said, “I forgot to ask him how Karl’s doing.”
“You can ask me. Donovan and I were just down there. He’s sleeping. I gave the nurse my number. If something comes up, she’ll call.”
“I told the captain he was ten times a fool for letting a stranger break the news to Karl. When it comes to Billy, Karl never stopped believing. Finding out the boy was so close yet...”
Jilly leaned forward. “Shhh, not everyone knows yet, and this probably isn’t the time or the place.
As if to prove her point, two more people pushed into the waiting room.
“Did we miss anything?” Eva’s best friend, Jane de la Rosa, hurried over to Emily. She held a basketful of blankets and sleepers.
“No, she’s still in labor,” Jacob said.
Jane’s mother joined them, making sure to stand next to Jacob before saying, “Exciting day?” The words were upbeat, but Emily didn’t miss the look Patti de la Rosa gave Jilly. It had been years since her father and Patti looked more than twice at each other, but Jane always claimed that her mother still wished things had worked out.
“One of the best,” Jacob agreed.
Looking around the waiting room, Emily had to agree. Harold and Donovan were laughing about something. Cook was looking through the basket Jane had brought in. Already, Cooper, Garrett and their mother were crowding through the door.
Emily wasn’t sure if Cooper and Garrett knew that the body had been identified as Billy Wilcox. She doubted it.
Emily wasn’t even sure if Elise knew.
Patti stood on one side of Jacob, Jilly on the other. Emily had to admire Jilly. She didn’t look as if she cared a whit what Patti was doing.
Patti, on the other hand, seemed a little frantic in her actions, her voice a little too loud. “You’ve never said whether Eva’s having a boy or a girl.”
The room did quiet. After all, it was the question of the moment. No matter how many times she’d been questioned, Eva hadn’t shared whether she was having a boy or girl. Jesse had been no help when he’d been asked. He’d just shrugged and said if his wife wanted the family to know, she’d do the telling.
“I’m not sure,” Jacob admitted.
“I’m sure you’d like a boy,” Patti observed. “You’ve only had girls. You’d enjoy a grandson.”
Jacob looked a bit surprised. “What do you mean, I’ve only had girls? I’ve got one of the best grandsons in the world. Timmy can outride most teenagers and he’s only been on a horse for the last three years. He’s one of the best dinner companions I’ve got. And you should see him create a Lego world. He’s all the boy I need. Should Eva have a boy, both Timmy and I will help take care of him.”
Across the room, Timmy looked up. He seemed to grow in that moment, mature. Emily, already feeling sentimental because of Eva, couldn’t swallow.
In truth, she couldn’t remember ever being more proud of her father.
It occurred to her that everyone she loved most was at the hospital. Except for Elise.
Her eyes sought out and found Donovan.
He wasn’t smiling.
* * *
When the clock signaled eight, most everyone headed downstairs to eat. Jacob ate with one hand holding his fork and the other holding his cell phone. With Emily settled next to him, Donovan tried to figure out just exactly how he’d gotten involved in all the family dynamics.
He felt at home with the entire extended family.
He sure hadn’t felt that way when he was with Olivia and her friends and family. He’d always escaped at the earliest possible moment. Tonight, he didn’t even mind eating cafeteria food while discussion swirled around him.
“I think if it’s a boy, he should be named Harold,” Harold said. The man personified a cowboy in a Jack Palance sort of way. His hair was dirty blond, thick and shaggy. Hi
s face was permanently tanned, lined and partly obscured by a shaggy mustache.
Donovan immediately pictured a tiny baby in a cowboy hat with a red kerchief around his neck.
“Really?” Jacob said. “You think that Harold is a better name than Jacob?”
“Not enough Harolds in the world.”
“There are three Jacobs in my class,” Timmy announced. “One goes by Jake.”
“Jacob could be the middle name,” Patti suggested. “Then, Eva and Jesse could name him whatever they want.”
“Eva could name him David after me,” Cook offered.
“I didn’t know David was your first name,” Timmy burst out.
“It’s true,” Jacob said. “No one knows your name is David.”
“I do now,” Patti laughed.
“We’re not even sure it’s a boy,” Jacob said.
“It’s a boy,” Harold said.
“I’m named after Mom,” Jane said.
When everyone looked at Patti, she nodded. “My first name is Jane. I’ve always gone by Patricia because my mom was Jane. It got too confusing. That’s another reason why I think Jacob should be a middle name. You guys have way too many J names. Jacob, Jesse, Jilly—”
“Jane,” Jane put in.
Conversation continued with the naming game changing from half-serious to not a chance. About the time that Timmy suggested Eva should name the baby Luke Skywalker, Donovan nudged Emily. “You need to eat. Elise will be here any minute.”
Her plate was full. She was as bad as her father, constantly looking at her cell.
“Oh, I didn’t tell you. She’s texted a moment ago. She’s up in Karl’s room.”
“Does she know?” Donovan asked.
“Know what?” Harold asked, reminding Donovan that families were a lot like small towns. If you wanted to keep a secret, you didn’t share it unless you were two states away.
A look passed between Emily and Jacob. As if sensing the seriousness, everyone at the table leaned forward.
“I wasn’t told to keep this to myself, and seeing how Karl collapsed—”
“The two are connected?” Patti guessed.
