Pumpkins, Cowboys & Guitars

by Patti Ann Colt

  He lifted her fingers and kissed the tips. “I better sleep now then.”

  “You do that. I’ll be back.” She bounded off him, blew a kiss and shut the door behind her.

  He stared at the closed door bemused and scared and hating himself.

  The façade was cracked and going down.

  ∞∞∞∞

  Amy Rose tried to get more comfortable on the cushioned table, but was finding a cozy position elusive. Her heart pounded, vibrating in her ears in tune with the churn of her stomach. Panic and anxiety mounted with each thought. “It can’t be. Two heartbeats? She has to be wrong, Jess. Has to be. I can’t be having twins.”

  “Let’s wait until the doctor comes back to do the ultrasound. Breathe, sweetheart.” He took her hand and kissed it, but his concerned expression and the tears in his eyes made her want to cry, too.

  She held on, lacing her fingers with his. “I can’t do this.”

  He shifted around in front of her, tipped her chin up to him and kissed her again. “You can. We can. Plus, Mama is going to be ecstatic.”

  Amy took a moment to consider how happy everyone would be. Well, minus her parents. She was happy, too. Thrilled. Excited. Scared out of her ever lovin’ mind. “Leave it to you to get me pregnant with twins.”

  “My sperm likes your eggs. What can I say?”

  Dr. Stacy Walker-Crane came back into the room, heard Jess’s comment and chuckled. She was a tall woman with red hair braided down her back to her waist. “Okay, we’re ready. Let’s see if we can get a look see at these little ones.”

  Amy followed her instructions and laid back, lifting her shirt and lowering her pants so the doctor could have access to her stomach.

  “This is going to be cold.” The doctor squirted gel on Amy Rose’s stomach.

  Amy’s breath hissed out.

  “You okay?” Jess squeezed her fingers.

  “Yeah. That was a tad chillier than I expected is all.”

  Dr. Stacy adjusted the monitors. “Let’s make sure everyone can see.” She set things to her satisfaction and then put the scope on Amy’s stomach. After a few seconds of maneuvering an image came up on the screen. It all looked like a mass of blobs to her.

  Dr. Stacy stayed quiet, intensely focused on the picture. “Hold real still for a minute.” She squirted a bit more gel and went back to circling to probe around on her stomach. She pushed buttons. She pushed on Amy Rose’s stomach. She shifted the probe again.

  Jess leaned into to get a better look. “Is that a foot?”

  “Yes. Here’s a foot and a heartbeat, right here.” She moved the probe. “Here’s a hand and a heartbeat here.”

  Jess pointed at the screen. “What’s that?”

  Dr. Stacy repositioned the instrument and was quiet for several long seconds. “I do believe that’s another heartbeat. We don’t have twins.” She reached for Amy Rose’s hand. “You are having triplets.”

  Amy Rose stared at the doctor and started to laugh. “Uh, no. I’m not.”

  “Yes, you are. One. Two. Three.” She pointed to each baby on the screen.

  Amy Rose burst into tears.

  ∞∞∞ ∞∞∞

  CHAPTER TEN

  Kendra took the four pans of chocolate cake from the oven and set them on the island to cool. She quickly slipped four more onto the rack. Last week of July and another one-hundred ten degree day loomed. Locally, the weather media was in a countdown to the hottest summer on record. Not one local resident who stuck their nose outside needed the reminder. The area needed rain and a lot of it to stop all the fires.

  She yawned and stretched, then gathered the ingredients for the rest of the cake she was working on. After a week, she had yet to get in a system for making the Low Down’s desserts. But Sully had called last night and said he’d sold out all the desserts several days in a row. He wanted to increase his order and needed more. She was working her ass off, and was giddy with excitement.

  The raspberry tortes, strawberry cheesecakes and graham cracker crumb apple pies were made last night. This morning her focus was Boston cream pie and triple chocolate mousse cake. But she’d stayed up until eleven last night baking, then snuggled in next to an exhausted Shane, who’d came in from work late and passed out in her bed again.

  If she was a tad disappointed that he hadn’t woken, she appeased herself with the idea of an early morning rendezvous after her desserts were boxed and ready to take to Sully. Sleep wise, Shane was barely holding his own from days of hard work and deserved some pampering anyway. But her three-thirty alarm sounded too soon and she couldn’t keep this schedule day-after-day.

  “Something smells fabulous in here.”

  Kendra swiveled to the doorway and lost her breath. A tall, dark, handsome, half-naked fireman lounged in the doorway. “You’re awake.”

  “Yes. Finally. Can’t believe I slept so long.” He moved from the doorway in slow steps and cupped her face with his big hands. She was more than willing to drop her spatula and go up on her toes. Their lips met halfway. He was warm and rumpled and Kendra let herself fall into the strength of his arms around her, the pressure of his mouth, the taste of him. His lips dropped to her neck.

  “I’m interrupting.”

  She tipped her neck to give him better access. “I can take a break. For a minute.”

  Shane put a finger under her chin and lifted her mouth for a long, hard kiss, then stepped away. “I’m not interrupting a genius at work. Or a paycheck in the bank.”

  He opened the fridge and pulled out the orange juice. “Can I drink this?”

  “Yeah.” She reluctantly took her eyes from his backside, opened the cupboard and handed him a glass.

  He poured some juice and put the bottle back, then twirled the glass on the counter. “I have something I need to talk to you about.”

  Kendra’s cell phone vibrated on the counter. “Can you hold a minute? That’s probably my regular early morning call from my mother.”

  “Sure. I’ll go take a shower.”

  Kendra puzzled over the relieved look in his eyes, but let him go. “Good morning, Mom.”

  “Hi, honey. It’s your dad. Don’t hang up.” Kendra’s hand clenched into a fist around the phone. She pulled the phone from her ear, debating doing exactly that. What did her mother think she was doing?

  “Don’t hang up, please. The trial is starting in a couple weeks and we both know I’m going to prison.”

  She put the phone back to her ear. “Mom knew I didn’t want to talk to you.”

  “What does that solve, Kendra? You are still my daughter.”

  “In name only and I’d change that if I could.”

  Silence.

  “What did you expect? That you’d call and talk for a few minutes and all would be forgiven?” Kendra swallowed against a rush of anger. “It doesn’t work that way, Dad.”

  “I did something wrong. I understand how hard that is for you. I wasn’t the example you needed me to be.”

  “I’m not five, Dad. You did something so far past wrong, I can’t accept it. Even if they send you to jail for the rest of your life, it doesn’t change the volumes of hurt you have inflicted on a whole bunch of people.”

  “I know.”

  She barely heard his quiet words.

  “You pulled Mom and I into this mess with you, without any thought. That’s what I can’t stand.”

  “I’m sorry, honey. I know I was wrong.”

  “Wrong? You know you were wrong, yet you kept doing it? Why am I having this conversation with you? I don’t care anymore. I don’t have a father. Not one I will recognize anymore.”

  “Don’t say that, Kendra. Regardless, we are family.”

  “You should have thought of family before you stole and lied and didn’t conduct yourself with the trust and honor you always talked to me about.”

  She swiped at her nose, aware for the first time of the tears seeping down her cheeks. A red haze clouded pressed against her temples. “I ha
ve to go. Don’t call me again. I have nothing to say to you ever again.”

  “I deserve that, but I still love you. Remember that.”

  She hung up the phone without saying goodbye and put her fists through the chocolate cake in front of her, squeezing until the cake was a globby mess, then threw it at the wall and screamed. She dropped her head to the counter, rocked on the stool and sobbed.

  “Kendra, my God. What’s wrong?” Shane’s hands touched her shoulders.

  She surged out of her chair and slapped his hands away. “Don’t. Don’t. Touch. Not yet. Damn him.”

  “Who? Who was that?”

  She tried to draw in a breath against the crushing pain. A headache exploded behind her eyes and she surged to the sink and threw up.

  Shane reached around her and turned on the tap. He dampened a towel and handed it to her to wipe her mouth. “You’ve got to take a deep breath and calm down.”

  She pushed her hands under the cool tap water and stood there with her eyes closed, panting in short breaths like she’d run double her miles.

  Shane rubbed her neck. “That’s it. Keep breathing. In and out.”

  “I’m fine.” She filled a glass of water and took a drink, then turned off the water.

  “You aren’t. You lost all your color, your eyes lost focus. Who was that?” His tone suggested a pounding for the person on the other end of the phone was imminent.

  “My father.” She picked up the towel and dried her hands.

  Shane leaned down and kissed the crown of her head. “Oh God, honey, I’m sorry.”

  “I haven’t talked to him since the FBI cleared me and said I could leave. I wasn’t planning on talking to him again. Ever.” She turned into his arms and sagged into the comfort there. “He lied, lied about so much. I hate him.”

  Shane’s arms tightened. “Shhh. Take another deep breath.”

  She did as he asked, but the damn was busted wide and gushing. “He’s going to trial in a couple weeks, said he knows he’s going to jail. That I’m still his daughter, though, and he had to talk to me. For what reason?”

  Shane stroked her hair. “I don’t know, honey. Maybe he needed to seek forgiveness.”

  “Forgiveness? He didn’t ask for any, doesn’t deserve any. Said he was sorry, but what does that mean in the face of years and years and years of not being who he said he was? It was all a façade. Carefully constructed to conceal, never caring who it hurt or how bad.” She pulled away from him and paced to the counter, disgusted with herself for getting so emotional. “I shouldn’t have gotten so upset.”

  “He’s your father, Kennie. How could you not get upset?”

  “Not anymore. Told him I wasn’t his daughter.”

  Shane was silent and she turned to face him. “You think I shouldn’t have said that, don’t you?”

  Shane rubbed a hand over his wet hair and stared out the window. His jeans were unfastened, his chest was still damp from his shower, his expression pensive and drawn. “I’m not sure it’s as simple as that, Kennie.”

  “He was never who I thought he was, Shane. This has been going on for years.”

  Shane walked to her and brushed the hair from her face. “I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m saying I don’t think the anger is going to go away.”

  Kendra gripped the counter and stared at the mess she’d made with the cake. “God, I hate feeling like this. Why can’t people be the way you think they are?” She grabbed the garbage from under the counter and swept the mess away. “Don’t answer that.”

  “I couldn’t if I tried.” He pulled her back into his arms and kissed her forehead. “I’m here if you need me.”

  She sighed and laid her head on his chest, awash in exhaustion and too much work still to do. “What did you want to talk about earlier?”

  Shane released her and put the garbage away. “It’ll wait. You have desserts to finish.”

  “Yeah, what a waste of good cake. Remind me to not do that again.” She took a paper towel and cleaned up the mess on the wall.

  He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. “Which? Smashing the cake? Or talking to your father?”

  “Neither helped me much, so both.”

  “I’ll make a note of it. Need another set of hands?”

  She tried to envision Shane with his big hands frosting cakes and couldn’t see it. “No, I’ve got this. I need to concentrate. That means you have to put a shirt on.”

  He looked down at his bare chest and smiled. “I’ll save my distraction powers for later, then.” He took her face between his hands and kissed her again, with thorough attention and enticing actions.

  She broke away. “Go! Get out of my kitchen. Can’t tell Sully I was late with desserts because I was fooling around with my boyfriend.”

  He pulled back and gazed at her. “Boyfriend, huh?”

  “Well, that’s generally what I call someone I’m sleeping with.” She wished she could read behind the blue of his eyes to the thoughts in his head. “And the man I let talk me down.”

  He kissed her again, his face dropping to serious lines. “I beg you never to get that angry with me.”

  She went on tiptoe and lightly kissed his lips. “Make cake, not war. Now get out of my kitchen.”

  “I’m going. I’ll be back for lunch. We’ll go for a drive and get lost for a while. How about that?”

  “I’d like that.”

  Shane left her in peace and she spent the next few minutes getting organized and resolutely shoving her father aside. When Shane came back to the door, he was fully dressed, darn it.

  “I’ll see you later?” She shoved her bangs out of her face.

  “Yeah.” He stood in the doorway for a minute, searching her face.

  “Shane?” She smiled at him to reassure him that she’d gotten her balance back. “I’m okay.”

  “I know you are or I wouldn’t leave. I love you, Kennie.” The floor of the old house creaked as he moved down the hall. The front door quietly opened and closed.

  Stunned, she dropped her spoon into the bowl of icing, mouth opening and closing like a goldfish in a fish bowl. She grabbed a towel and wiped her hands, heart racing. Bubbles of joy seeped into every part of her and she started to laugh.

  The man had serious timing issues.

  It was good to know she wasn’t in this alone, but didn’t he know it was proper to wait for a response?

  ∞∞∞∞

  Shane pulled over half a mile from Kendra’s house. He was shaking so bad he couldn’t even pretend to keep the truck on the road. The sun baked the air. The heat waves pounded against the cab barrier.

  He gulped air like his oxygen tank had run out. “I’ve lost her.” He pounded the steering wheel. His chest was tingling and he had an ache in the back of his throat that spread with each partial breath.

  Oh God, what had he been thinking?

  That was just it. He hadn’t been thinking, only protecting himself. The lies were going to hurt her.

  Regardless of whether that had been his intention, the fallout was going to be huge. She wouldn’t be able to help making comparisons to the situation with her father.

  He should have waited to tell her that he loved her. At the least, fairness dictated she should know everything before he let her say the words to him, because some things couldn’t be taken back once said.

  He knew how he felt about her. He also had thought he’d known what he was doing.

  He gripped either side of his head and pressed against his temples. “What now? Man up and confess? Have to. Have to.”

  A truck slowed next to him and a horn sounded. His father.

  He rolled down his window to match his father’s actions.

  “Truck troubles?”

  “No Dad. Thinking.”

  His father raised a brow and looked in the rearview mirror. “Buy you a cup of coffee and you can tell me all about this distraction. Meet me at the Low Down.”

  Kendra would be at the Low
Down soon. He couldn’t risk it. “How about Ming’s Donuts? I have a sweet tooth this morning.”

  “Your mom will kill me for all those calories, but sure.” A horn sounded behind them. “See you there.”

  Seeing his father settled him. Having to pull it together to have coffee and formulate his thoughts eased the ache in his chest.

  He put the truck in gear, happy to follow his father to Ming’s and drive with his brain on remote control.

  His father bought them both coffee and sausage rolls with a chocolate glazed donut chaser. They eased into a small booth in the back corner of the small shop.

  “You want to tell me what has you looking like you lost your best friend?”

  Shane sipped his coffee, debating how best to say it. He finally blurted it out. “Girlfriend troubles.”

  His father sat back, surprise written across the weathered lines of his face. “Your mama will be real happy to hear you have a girlfriend.”

  “You might want to wait on that. I screwed up and I’m not sure what’s going to happen.” The tightness in his chest returned. Shane rubbed a hand across his heart.

  “How long you been seeing this girl?”

  “Woman, Dad. Woman.” Here it came. He held his breath and then spit it out. “Almost three months.”

  His father rubbed his nose and frowned. “Three months? Why haven’t you brought her home to meet us?”

  “I wasn’t ready. Wasn’t sure of us, her, me. I don’t know.”

  “That’s pretty broad territory. What did you screw up?”

  “Almost everything.”

  “Define everything.”

  “She thinks I’m a fireman.”

  “You are a fireman.” His father grabbed a packet of sugar for his coffee.

  “Yes, I am. But I left out the horse part, the cow part, the ranch part, the family part.”

  His father scratched the back of his neck. “You lost me. Why?”

  There was the whole crux of the deal. The one question he couldn’t answer, because he couldn’t talk about Bill Fudd and what had happened. He couldn’t stand the thought of what his family would think of him. He couldn’t make anyone understand how lousy guilty he felt and help them connect the dots to the whole mess either.