Morgan waited for her next words, standing before her as his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had done with other heads of the family. There had been a Hughes working at the Parker Ranch for almost as long as there had been a Parker Ranch.
“What would you say,” Mae continued, “to seeing what you can sniff out? I know you can’t leave the ranch right now. But you wouldn’t have to. The woman’s right here. Talk to her. See if you can get her to tell you anything she won’t tell us.”
Morgan thought of what had passed between Christine and him in the room upstairs only moments ago. He hadn’t meant it to happen. Something had just… clicked. And the next thing he knew, the situation had gotten out of hand. Me Tarzan, you—
“You find that amusing?” Mae demanded, catching his unconscious smile.
Morgan immediately focused his thoughts. “Actually,” he said, “I was thinking that it probably won’t do any good. She puts me in the same category as she does you.”
“As a Parker, you mean,” Mae stated.
Morgan nodded.
“But you aren’t,” Mae said, “not by blood. And that could come to mean something if you played your cards right. You’re trained for this kind of thing. You can do it.”
“What exactly do you want me to find out?”
Mae twitched in her chair. “First, who that little girl’s daddy is. If it’s Ira, it puts a whole new complexion on everything. And second, who she is. Not just where she comes from and what schools she went to. I mean the deep stuff—what she thinks, what she’s made of.”
“That’s a tall order, Mae. Particularly right now. The roundup—”
“I know what I’m asking of you, Morgan. But if I didn’t have faith in you, I wouldn’t do it. I’d like to have this all resolved by family meeting time.”
“This family meeting time?” Morgan echoed, surprised by her rush. The date she was referring to was little more than six weeks away.
“I know, I know, and there’s Rafe and Shannon’s wedding happening at the same time. But I have that well in hand. What I don’t have in hand is the wild card this little lady’s thrown us.”
“Did Rafe give you the list of investigators?”
“He did, and I’ve already placed a call. I think we can get to the bottom of this in a week or two if we just put our minds to it.”
Morgan kept his doubts to himself. Mae didn’t like to have her plans questioned.
The meeting was over and he was free to go, but Mae stopped him on his way out. “Rafe tells me your daddy’s arm is hurting him. Does he need a trip to the medical center, do you think?”
“Mom talked to his doctor this morning. He says discomfort is typical, but if it keeps up, to come see him.”
“Dang doctors, they never tell you much.” Mae gave him a level look. “I was scared silly we were going to lose him. Laying out there on the range overnight, his head busted and his arm busted. He wasn’t a pretty sight when we took him to the hospital, I can tell you. Then that long wait! Delores was afraid he was going to slip away before you even heard the news. By the by, did you get that rustler you were after then?”
“We got him,” Morgan said, his lips tightening.
“Good,” Mae said firmly. “Too bad we can’t still string ‘em up!”
THE TWO REMAINING moving boxes were sitting in the hallway outside their door when Christine and Erin ventured from the bedroom later that afternoon. Morgan—it had to have been Morgan—hadn’t tapped on the door or anything. He’d just left them there, waiting to be found.
“We could have gotten them ourselves,” Christine grumbled as she pushed the boxes into the room.
“I like him, Mommy,” Erin said softly. “He’s nice.”
Christine took a calming breath. Erin didn’t have any idea why her mother had reacted as she had earlier. She didn’t understand the trap set by sexual attraction.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” she murmured.
“He is! He brought me Golden Belle, didn’t he? And he helped us when we—”
Christine cut her off. “Did you hear that?” she asked, lifting a hand. “Did you hear a dog bark? I wonder if it’s that big one we saw earlier?”
Erin liked dogs. She cocked her head to listen, and when she heard another bark, she said excitedly, “Let’s go see!”
Pulling Christine by the hand, she dragged her to the head of the stairs, where both paused to peer down to the floor below. It was quiet. No one seemed to be about. They went downstairs quickly and hurried outside.
Sure enough, the big dog stood guard beneath one of the trees in the courtyard, his tail wagging as he looked up into the branches.
“What’s he see?” Erin asked. “A squirrel?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure if there are tree squirrels out here. But I guess—”
A squirrel scampered down the trunk, ran a short distance onto the grass and flicked its tail, daring the dog to come after it.
The dog barked again, made a halfhearted leap forward, then settled onto his stomach and whimpered softly.
The squirrel flicked its tail one final time before scurrying up the next tree.
“Why didn’t he chase it, Mommy?” Erin asked. “The squirrel wanted to play!”
Christine frowned. “I don’t know.” Then as they drew nearer, she saw the reason. “Ah,” she breathed. “He’s old, Erin. Look at his muzzle. See how white it is? And the way he moves?” The dog had gotten up to come slowly toward them. “Hi, boy,” Christine said in greeting.
The dog wagged his tail, then went straight to Erin and gazed at her with warm brown eyes.
Erin fell instantly in love. Dropping to her knees, she wrapped her thin arms around the dog’s neck. “Hi, boy. What’s your name? Mommy, isn’t he sweet?” She giggled when a warm pink tongue darted out to lick the underside of her chin. “You like me too, don’t you?” She giggled again when she was rewarded with another kiss.
“His name’s Shep.” The young woman they’d met earlier in the morning had approached them unnoticed. Faded jeans encased her long legs, her body-hugging T-shirt bore the logo of a country-rock band, and her mass of coppery hair cascaded to her shoulders. Her gaze was friendly, curious. “He’s Rafe’s dog,” she said.
Christine automatically stiffened. When it came to any member of the Parker family, she felt the need to be on guard.
Jodie smiled at the dog’s behavior. “He likes you, Erin,” she said. The young woman’s gaze swept over Christine. “How’re you settling in? Has Aunt Mae fired up the barbecue yet and measured you for the spit?” Jodie laughed at Christine’s surprised expression. “I know how it works. Make the offender squeal and squirm. You had the nerve to come here and say something she didn’t like. And now you’ve got to pay.”
Was this a new approach, or was Jodie a true cuckoo in the nest—a Parker who didn’t toe the family line? Christine shrugged and said noncommittally, “We’re doing all right.”
“Well, if things get too hot, come over to our place.” She pointed out the house on the far side of the courtyard. “My dad and I live there. I’m usually home most of the time.” She saw Christine’s gaze move to the house next door to theirs, nearest Mae. “That’s Rafe’s place. He and Shannon—mostly Shannon, because he’s so busy with the ranch right now—are redoing it inside. Harriet’s helping her when she can. She lives over there.” She pointed to the house Christine already knew was Harriet’s. “And I help, too, sometimes. So can you, if you want. Shannon’s getting worried that the place isn’t going to be finished in time for the wedding. Not that it’s all that big a deal. She practically lives over there now, anyway.”
She paused, her eyes narrowing. “You’re from Houston, right? I’m thinking of enrolling at Rice University there next fall. Aunt Mae wants me to go to the University of Texas in Austin, but I don’t want to. I think if I’m the one going to college, it should be my choice. Don’t you?”
Christine didn’t care where Jodie furt
hered her education, but the young woman did have a point. “The person doing the work should have the most say,” she agreed.
Jodie broke into a warm smile. “All right! Yes! I had a feeling I was going to like you.”
“You like me because I sided with you and not with your aunt?”
“It’s not just that,” Jodie said, then grinned. “But yeah, that does help.”
They watched as Erin and Shep gamboled a short distance away in the shade of another tree.
Jodie’s smile faded. “Don’t get me wrong. I love Aunt Mae. She can be fierce, but she can also be. She helped raise me after my mother took off when I was a baby. So if it wasn’t for her. My daddy hasn’t got a clue about raising a kid.”
“Your mother left you?” Christine asked. She was always fascinated by other people’s experiences with their mothers.
“Yeah.” Jodie looked down, clearly unwilling to go on.
Christine respected her reticence. She had plenty of that of her own. She motioned to the house just behind them, the house next door to Harriet’s. “Whose place is that?”
Jodie glanced around. “That’s my daddy’s brother’s house. My uncle Thomas…and his wife, Darlene. You haven’t met them yet, because they aren’t here. They’re off visiting their son in Lubbock.” Her smile reappeared. “Everyone held on to their hats real good after they drove off, because we thought for sure the earth was going to open up or something. Uncle Thomas just doesn’t do that kind of thing! I doubt he’s been more than a couple hours’ drive away from the ranch since he and Aunt Darlene got married.”
Her voice lowered. “Their son, Richard, and his wife are having marriage trouble. Aunt Mae wasn’t pleased when she first heard about it, and she still isn’t. She told them to go stop the divorce proceedings. As if they could! But they left, just like Aunt Mae wanted them to.”
“She’s quite a woman,” Christine murmured, her flat inflection not indicative of a compliment.
“She really is,” Jodie agreed, her voice wry.
BREAKFAST NEXT MORNING was a repeat of the day before. Christine and Erin again managed to go down late enough to miss Mae. Only this morning the long dining-room table sported several varieties of cold cereal, an even larger choice of jams and jellies, fresh fruit, orange juice and a plate of homemade biscuits. As they were seating themselves, Marie came through from the kitchen, a pitcher of milk in one hand and a pot of steaming coffee in the other.
“You didn’t need to go to so much trouble,” Christine said as her gaze moved over the array of food.
“It’s no trouble,” Marie replied.
“But—”
“It’s my job,” Marie interrupted crisply. Her blunt features remained set.
Christine again thought of Mrs. Tobin and her warm care.
“Look! Lucky Charms!” Erin declared as she spied a box of her favorite breakfast cereal. Her enthusiasm was constrained, though, by the presence of the housekeeper.
Marie answered gruffly, “It’s Wesley and Gwen’s favorite, so I thought…” She hesitated, as if wondering if she’d said too much.
Christine studied Erin. With her big dark eyes and silky black hair, her resemblance to the Parkers was uncanny. She’d been struck by the similarity after meeting Harriet and LeRoy’s children. Erin might truly be one of them.
Once again, the resemblance seemed to work in Christine’s and Erin’s favor. The housekeeper became almost friendly.
“We have some honey if you’d like that with your biscuits,” she offered. “When I was a little girl, that’s what my momma always used to give me for a special treat.”
Erin, possibly remembering Mrs. Tobin, responded with a similar tentative step toward friendship. “Thank you,” she said politely. “And thank you for the Lucky Charms, too.”
A full smile brightened the housekeeper’s face. “I’ll go get it,” she said, and hurried from the room. Seconds later the honey was on the table. “Enjoy your meal,” Marie invited. “And if there’s anything else you need, you just let me know.”
Christine offered an experimental smile of her own. If Erin was a Parker, the housekeeper seemed to have decided, then both daughter and mother were due some respect. That is, unless and until this conclusion was proved wrong.
AFTER BREAKFAST Erin wanted to go outside, but she didn’t want to go by herself. So Christine settled in one of the chairs set beneath the trees in the courtyard and watched as Erin amused herself with made-up games. Shep wandered over and played with her for a time, then stretched out in the grass by Christine’s chair.
Christine pretended not to notice when Harriet stepped out her front door, saw them in the courtyard, hesitated, then forged ahead to offer a greeting.
She was a big woman, tall and strong, but this morning her cheeks were pale.
“Oh, gosh!” she sighed, slipping gingerly into the nearest chair. “I’d almost forgotten how bad it can be in the morning.” Her hand rested weakly on her stomach.
“How far along are you?” Christine asked.
“The doctor says about eight weeks. I usually only have trouble for a week or two about this time, then I sail through the next seven months without a problem. I hope that’s the way it’ll be now.” She glanced at Christine. “LeRoy says he thinks he’ll have your car fixed in the next day or so. It’s got a lot of little things wrong with it and a couple of bigger ones, but all in all, he says it’s sound.”
Christine sat forward. “How much is it going to cost? I don’t7h;that is, I…” Should she admit she didn’t have very much money? Was that something a person in her position should do?
Harriet shook her head. “LeRoy’s got a lot of spare parts lying around, and the one or two new things he needs, Rafe’s taking care of out of the ranch’s miscellaneous fund.”
Christine frowned. “I don’t want charity.”
“It’s not charity. Ira drew you the map, he was off a bit, you got lost and your car broke down. It’s a Parker mistake, so the Parkers will pay for it. That what Rafe says.”
“But—”
“You’ll have to take it up with him if you want to argue. He’s not here right now. He’s over at Little Springs visiting Dub. That’s Morgan’s—”
“I know who Dub is. I’ve met him,” Christine said quickly, then to prevent further talk of Morgan she said, “I’m confused. Little Springs, Indian Wells…I thought this was the Parker Ranch.”
Harriet smiled, a little color returning to her cheeks. “It is. Little Springs, Indian Wells, Red Canyon, Big Spur, Little Spur, Drop Creek. The ranch has nine divisions altogether. It’s so the cowboys and everyone else can know what area they’re talking about. It’s too big otherwise. Measures in the hundreds of sections. And a section is—”
“Six hundred and forty acres,” Christine supplied.
“Did you grow up on a farm or in ranch country?” Harriet asked.
“I was good at math in school.”
Harriet let the nonanswer pass. “Little Springs has always been the foreman’s place, and for as long as I know, a Hughes has lived there. I don’t know what’s going to happen if Dub can’t continue. Morgan’s doing the job now, but—Not that Rafe’s going to push Dub and Delores out. He wouldn’t do that. But if he has to name a new foreman, he’s got to put him somewhere. Maybe Morgan will stay on, though. Maybe he’ll—”
“What happened to Dub?” Christine interrupted. It made her uncomfortable even to think of Morgan Hughes. It had been bad enough before, when she’d thought of him merely as one of the enemy, but after what had happened yesterday…She tried to concentrate on what Harriet was saying.
“He had a really bad accident. His horse went down out on the range. It was evening before anyone knew he was missing, and by the time a search got going, it was too dark to do much. First thing in the morning it started up again, but it took most of the day. Found him in a canyon, unconscious, his arm a mess, ol’ Thunder, his horse, standing not ten feet away. LeRoy said it was Thu
nder that saved him. There was a lot of brush in that canyon. Made it hard to search.”
“I saw his cast,” Christine murmured.
Harriet grimaced. “Doctor’s not sure how much use of his arm he’ll get back. Really messed up his wrist. Might work good enough if he retires, but Dub wasn’t ready to retire yet. He’s sixty-three, but you couldn’t tell it from the way he did his job. He put most of the younger cowboys to shame. We’re all worried sick around here about how he’ll take it if he has to quit. It’s not going to be easy.”
“Doctors can do amazing things,” Christine said. She was thinking of her mother, and how long the medical profession had managed to extend her mother’s life, even when she wouldn’t do much of anything to help herself. Not even give up drinking, the activity that was killing her.
“Shannon’s the one to talk to about that,” Harriet said. “In fact, I was just telling Rafe that maybe she’d be the best to help Dub if he did have to give up working directly with the horses and cattle. She’s been through so much herself.”
Christine waved at Erin who’d stopped playing long enough to check her whereabouts. “Like what?” she asked. It didn’t hurt to know something about the people you were dealing with. She knew Mae was busy checking up on her.
“Do you remember—it’s coming up on a year ago now—when a light plane went down with six people on board, and one of the dead was Nathan Bradley? If you don’t follow Texas politics, you might not recognize his name, but he was quite a powerhouse in the capitol.”
“The name’s familiar.”
West Texas Weddings Page 8
