by Sharon Sala
Jimmy Franks felt like a million dollars. He’d bought himself a change of clothes at Wal-Mart, a burger, fries and a six-pack of beer to enjoy on the road, and he was heading west in his new ride with a smile on his face. As much as he would have liked a hit of the good stuff, the bigger high was knowing that he was finally on the road to finishing what he’d started all those weeks ago.
He tipped his last can of beer to his mouth, emptied it, then tossed it out the window as he drove.
“Say your prayers, McKay. I’m on the way.”
Cat and Wilson had continued the discussion all the way to Austin about when or how they would tell his parents they were married, and whether they would mention the pregnancy now or wait until it became obvious. But it was Cat who finally summed everything up.
“I do not want to start this marriage with secrets.”
Wilson nodded. “I agree, but I wanted it to be your call.”
“Then I say we tell them as soon as we get back.”
Wilson glanced down at what John Tiger had called “a hefty rock” and grinned. “Glad you like it,” he said.
Cat splayed her fingers, then tilted her hand toward the light. The facets of the stone in her wedding ring caught fire as the sunlight spilled through it.
“What’s not to like? It’s embarrassingly large, and I love the square cut. It matches your jaw.”
Wilson laughed. “Great. I’m right up there with the jewelry, but that’s all right. It’s always good to know where you stand.”
Cat grinned, then reached for the can of pop he’d bought for her at their last stop and took a sip, although it wasn’t her usual Pepsi. She’d opted for ginger ale in the hopes it would settle her stomach. She was still experiencing infrequent bouts of nausea and hoped the symptoms would dissipate as her pregnancy progressed.
“Feeling any better?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, and took one more sip before putting the can back into the cup holder.
Wilson glanced at his watch. “We’re about half an hour from the ranch. It will be good to get home.”
Cat leaned back and stretched her long legs as best she could beneath the dash as she thought about what he’d just said.
“You know, once we move out, your parents will probably be glad to get their house back to themselves.”
“I know. The old home place is about three quarters of a mile north of where the house sits now. It’s pretty run-down, but it could be fixed up. Or, if you don’t like it, we can pull it down and build a new one.”
Cat frowned. “Let’s take a good look at it first. I’m partial to stuff with character.”
“Ah…that would explain why you fell for me.”
Cat rolled her eyes and laughed.
She’d never thought life could be this good.
Nine
Dorothy McKay was standing watch at the front windows as Carter came in from the kitchen with a handful of still-warm peanut butter cookies she’d made earlier.
“Hey, honey, what are you looking at?”
“I’m watching for Wilson and Cat.”
Carter handed her a cookie. “They’ll be along soon. Why? What’s the deal?”
“Something’s up,” she said, then took a bite, chewing thoughtfully.
Carter stuffed a cookie in his own mouth as he continued to talk. “Like what?”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full, honey,” Dorothy said absently, then took another bite of her own cookie.
Carter grinned. He’d loved this woman for the better part of his life and was still going to be loving her with his last breath. But she had a tendency toward mothering him, and he didn’t need a mother. He preferred his wife. Still, it was a good idea now and then to agree.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “But these sure are good.” Then he stuffed another cookie into his mouth, chewed and swallowed without missing a beat.
Dorothy turned and smiled, then wiped a cookie crumb from the corner of his lips before giving him the last bite of her cookie, too.
Never one to turn down sweets, Carter took it, but fussed at her for brushing away the crumbs. He growled playfully, then snapped at her fingers like a puppy who was in danger of losing its bone.
“Hey. I was saving those crumbs for later,” he said, and then grinned.
Although she’d heard that phrase at least a thousand times over the years they’d been married, she still laughed. Partly because he expected her to, and partly because he was serious.
She threw her arms around his neck, and gave him a quick hug and kiss. He would have followed through with something more, but when he spied the familiar sight of Catherine’s SUV coming over the hill, he settled for giving her backside a soft pat instead.
“Here they come,” he said.
Dorothy spun out of his arms and headed for the door.
“Dang, honey, give them time to get parked.”
Dorothy frowned. “Oh, all right. But mark my words…I’m telling you, something’s up with them.”
“Why do you think that?” he asked.
Dorothy’s tone was firm. “I always knew when my kids were keeping something from me, and I could hear it in Wilson’s voice when he called earlier. Just because they all outgrew me and started shaving and having babies doesn’t change a thing.”
Carter grinned. Yep. He loved this woman pretty much to distraction and back.
“Okay…consider your words marked.”
Wilson pulled up to the front yard and then parked.
“Well, here we are. Home at last.” Then he laughed. “I always wanted to say that.”
Cat gave him a nervous look. “You can quit trying to cheer me up. I’m going to be a little uneasy until everything gets said.”
He hated that she was afraid, even a little bit, of his folks.
“I swear, they’re going to be happy for the both of us.”
“Then let’s go spill the beans, okay?”
He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “Okay.”
They got out in unison, then met at the back of the SUV to get the suitcases of extra clothes they’d packed in Dallas. The rest of their belongings would be shipped to the ranch, along with the contents of their respective apartments, but not for some time. They’d made arrangements for the stuff to go into storage until they had a permanent place to live.
As they started toward the house, the door opened.
Wilson watched Cat’s jaw clench as Dorothy came flying out.
“You’re back! My goodness, we’ve gotten so used to the both of you being here that it was lonely without you.”
“Thanks a lot,” Carter said dryly, as he followed her out.
Wilson grinned. His parents were a hoot.
“We missed you, too,” Cat said, and was only mildly surprised to realize that she really meant it.
“Then come in, come in,” Dorothy said, and reached for Cat’s hand. As she did, she saw the ring on her finger and froze. She looked at Cat, then down at the ring again, then back up at Cat, before throwing her hands up in the air. “I knew it! I knew it!” she said, and then started laughing and hugging them both.
“Knew what?” Carter asked, completely confused.
Wilson rolled his eyes, then looked at Cat. “What did I tell you?”
Cat couldn’t help but laugh. Dorothy was so funny, and Carter looked so confused.
“Will somebody please tell me what’s going on around here?” Carter said.
“We’re married,” Cat said.
Carter’s eyes widened. He looked at Wilson, then at Cat, grinned and shook his head.
“It’s about time.”
Wilson saw all the tension fading from Cat’s posture, but it was the light in her eyes he loved best.
Dorothy took Cat by the hand. “Let’s get inside. You must be starving. You can tell us all about it while we eat.”
“You don’t mind that we did this without the family?” Cat asked.
Dorothy paused on the th
reshold and turned around. Her eyes were dancing.
“Of course not. It’s your lives, but, honey, you better mark it down in your memory book, because it will probably be the last thing they’ll let you do alone.”
Wilson slid his arm across Cat’s shoulders as his mother moved into the house ahead of them.
“I’ll be carrying you across the threshold when we get our own place, okay?” he said.
Cat’s heart skipped a beat. “Absolutely, okay,” she whispered back. “But when do we tell them about the baby?”
Dorothy squealed. “Baby? Oh my lord…there’s a baby, too? I am in heaven!”
Wilson frowned. “For Pete’s sake, Mom, do you have microphones hidden around here that we don’t know about?”
Dorothy was laughing and crying simultaneously as she hugged them all over again. “It’s not microphones…it’s just a mother’s ears. One of these days Cat will know what I’m talking about.”
“Do you think so?” Cat asked.
Dorothy hugged her. “I know so. So now we really have something to celebrate. I’m calling the family.”
Cat looked at Wilson over Dorothy’s shoulder, grinning as she went from her arms to Carter’s.
Carter gave her a hug and then patted her on the shoulder.
“Do you know that of all the grandkids Dorothy and I have, not one of them is named for me?”
A little startled, Cat still managed to smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Dorothy frowned. “Carter, are you still harping about a namesake? For goodness sake, Catherine, don’t pay him any attention. He’s been making the same complaint for years.”
Wilson took Cat by the hand as they went inside.
“Wilson, why haven’t any of your brothers or sisters named one of their children after your dad?” Cat asked.
“Because his name isn’t really Carter. It’s Rupert.”
Cat’s eyes widened, then she started to laugh. She was still laughing when they walked into the kitchen.
“What’s so funny?” Dorothy asked, as she set a bowl of fruit salad on the table beside a platter of tuna salad sandwiches.
“I am so going to love being a part of this family,” Cat answered.
Dorothy beamed. “Well, that’s great, honey, because we love that you’re part of it, too. Now sit, sit. I want to hear all about the wedding. Where did you have it? What did you wear? Where are you going to live? You know we would love for you both to be here. There’s plenty of room. Wilson, your father is glad you’ve decided to help run the ranch. It’s about time. He’s getting up in years, and you’re the only one of our sons who cared a fig about ranching. Did you—”
“Mom!”
Dorothy blinked, a little startled by the tone of Wilson’s voice.
“What?”
“Take a breath.”
Carter grinned. “I’ve been giving her that advice for years. You can see how good it took.”
“Oh, never mind,” Dorothy said. “I’m going to call everyone now. Tomorrow’s Saturday. We’re having a party. The girls can bring cakes. I won’t have time to bake, because I’ll be using the oven to do the ribs.”
Cat watched Wilson’s mother in rapt fascination, wondering if this was what her mother would have been like. Would she have been this excited about seeing Cat married?
She reached for half a sandwich, scooped some of the fruit salad onto her plate, as well, then picked up a grape with her fingers and elbowed Wilson.
“What?”
“Open your mouth.”
He complied. She popped the grape into his mouth, then handed him a sandwich.
“I suggest we eat while your mom and dad are otherwise occupied.”
“We are definitely getting a place of our own—and soon,” he muttered.
Carter overheard Wilson’s comment, then added one of his own.
“The old home place needs some work, but it’s yours if you want to live there.”
Cat was overwhelmed by how fast everything was happening, but at the same time, excited. This wasn’t just the day she got married. It was the first day of the rest of her life.
“I’d love to see it,” she said.
“If you’re up to it, we’ll drive over after lunch,” Carter said.
“Why wouldn’t I be up to it?” Cat asked.
Carter blushed. “Well, you being…I mean, you’re gonna have a…”
Dorothy snorted indignantly. “Oh, for the love of God, Carter. She’s pregnant. I can’t believe, after all the children we raised and all the grandchildren they’ve given you, you still struggle with that word.”
Cat took a big bite of her sandwich, then rolled her eyes as she chewed and swallowed.
“Carter, you never mind what to call my…condition. This is delicious, and if it’s still down in half an hour, I’m good to go,” she said.
Happy for his reprieve, Carter grinned, then dug into his own lunch.
Dorothy ate in between phone calls, chewing and talking and laughing with her daughters and daughters-in-law without Cat being able to tell from her end which was which. It was obvious that Dorothy loved them all equally.
Cat finished her meal, then excused herself to go to the bathroom. On the way down the hall, she couldn’t help but feel a bit like Alice, when she’d fallen down the rabbit hole. What on earth could happen next?
Luis Montoya was more than a little angry. He was tired and wished he were anywhere but in a hotel in Nuevo Laredo. Conchita was still AWOL, and his focus wasn’t what it should be for worrying about her. Tomorrow he would visit with the local authorities and see what, if anything, they knew about Solomon Tutuola, and what kind of reaction he got when he mentioned the name Cat Dupree.
His stomach grumbled—a complaint that he had not fed it enough today. But dinner wasn’t happening until he knew what was wrong with his wife, and the one person who kept her finger on the pulse of the entire family was his mother, Amalia. The only problem was, if he called and asked her where Conchita was, she would think something was wrong with their marriage.
Then he sighed. Hell. Something was wrong with their marriage. He’d spent a lot of time away this past year, and now it might be about to bite him in the ass. And if something had happened to Conchita, his family would have called him. Still, he couldn’t rest until he made sure she was okay.
So he sat on the corner of the bed, punching in the numbers to his mother’s home phone and trying to figure out a way to get the information he needed without letting on that he was concerned.
The phone rang twice; then he heard his mother’s voice.
“Hello, Mama, it’s me, Luis.”
Amalia Montoya giggled. “I know it is you. Do you think I don’t know my own son’s voice?”
He smiled. Her infectious giggle was something the whole family teased her about.
“So how are you? Is Papi feeling better?”
His father was recovering from a broken leg and had been whining for weeks.
“Your father is a big baby,” Amalia said. “I told him so. He only has a little cast on his leg. I gave birth to eight of his children. He doesn’t know the meaning of the word pain.”
Luis’s smile widened. This was a familiar chant that his mother pulled out whenever she wanted to end a conversation in her favor.
“I know, I know,” he said. “And speaking as child number two, I am forever grateful.”
She giggled, which lifted Luis’s anxiety just enough to put him a little more at ease. Then she added, “Conchita told me you were gone again and that maybe you will be traveling into the United States?”
His heart skipped a beat. At least Conchita was alive and still speaking to his family, or his mother would not have known this much.
“Yes. I didn’t want to go, but I had my orders.”
“I know, I know,” Amalia said. “You are a good son.”
“Thank you, Mama.” Then he voiced his concerns. “I haven’t been able to get Conchita on t
he phone for several days. I know she can take care of herself, but I worry. Do you know if anything is wrong?”
There was an uneasy moment of silence, which only raised Luis’s concerns.
“Mama?”
“It is not for me to tell,” she finally said.
Luis felt all the blood running from his face. He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees, and found himself staring at the toes of his shoes while his heart tried to crawl out of his throat.
“Is she ill? Has something happened to her? Damn it, Mama, I have a right to know if my own wife is in trouble.”
He heard his mother sigh, then muffled conversation between her and his father.
“Your father tells me to mind my own business, but I told him you are my son and you have asked your mother a question. It is my duty to answer it, no?”
“Yes. It is your duty. Now what the hell is going on?”
“She has gone to Mexico City.”
“So?…That’s no big deal. She and her sisters often go there, especially when I am gone. Why doesn’t she just answer her cell phone? She always did before.”
“Maybe it is because she isn’t awake yet.”
Luis frowned. This was getting stranger and stranger.
“She’s gone to Mexico City to sleep?”
“Not exactly.”
“Mama. Please.”
“She went to have a boob job.”
Luis felt as if someone had slapped him in the face. It was the last thing he’d ever expected to come out of his mother’s mouth.
“Why on earth would she want to do something like that? She is beautiful the way she is.”
Amalia sighed. “It was her birthday. You couldn’t be bothered to stay around for it. She is at loose ends, my son. She has no children. Shopping is no longer enough to entertain her when you’re not around. So, as your mother, I am giving you some advice. When you get home this time, you need to make time for your family. And you need to see about adopting a baby for Conchita. If you don’t, your wife is liable to turn out looking like that crazy American rock star who keeps having doctors cut on his face.”
“Who?”
Amalia sighed. “You know…Mickey Jackson.”
