It Had to Be Him

by Tamra Baumann

  When he turned, he spotted Meg’s grandma making her way toward them. She carried a rifle over one shoulder and a cane in her other hand, looking like a fierce Annie Oakley with a limp.

  Haley waved. “Hi, Grandma!”

  The woman actually smiled. And she still had all her teeth. He’d never seen anything but a scowl before.

  “Hello, sweet girl.”

  She could be nice? He’d always assumed mean was just her nature. She must really hate him. “Hi, Mrs. Anderson. How are you today?”

  She cocked a brow. “Old. Tired. But still one of the best shots in these parts. I come to prove it to you, so you’d know I’m serious about shooting you again if you mess up, boy.” Before he could respond she asked, “So what’ve we got here? How’s it all going to work?”

  Meg popped her head from around his back. “Hi, Grandma. We should probably save you for last, or this show’s going to be over before it starts.”

  Ryan joined them too. “Yeah. At that distance, not many are going to be able to make that shot, Granger. I’m not even sure my men could hit that small target you got marked there.”

  Josh nodded. “Didn’t want to take the chance on anyone getting hurt by being too close. I’ll go last if I have to. I can make the shot, and I guarantee it’ll be worth the show.”

  Grandma grunted. “Cocky, aren’t ya?”

  “Nope. Just a really good shot.”

  Ryan asked, “Yeah, about safety. How much gas is in that tank, Granger?”

  “None. It’s all under control.” Josh had rigged it so a bunch of small explosions would go off, making a lot of noise for effect, but controlling what and how high things went up.

  Crossing his arms, Ryan said, “How does a software guy know how to blow up cars?”

  “YouTube. Are we all set?”

  Abe, the fire chief, placed the bag with the worries on the front seat and then gave him the thumbs-up. Josh handed Haley back to Meg. “There’s going to be a really big bang, Haley, and then some fire, but nothing to be scared of. Okay?”

  “Momma said it’s gonna go BOOM!” She flung both hands up in the air to demonstrate.

  “That’s right.” Satisfied he wouldn’t scare the crap out of his kid, he accepted the rifle Zeke held out.

  Josh turned to the crowd, put two fingers in his mouth, and whistled for everyone’s attention. “Ready to blow this rig?” After the cheers settled down, he said, “So, we’ll all use this rifle. You’ll get three shots. Hit the target dead on, and then she’ll blow.”

  Brewster called out, “What’s the prize if we hit the target?”

  “Bragging rights and a damn good show.”

  The men smiled and nodded. The women rolled their eyes.

  Meg’s grandma spoke up. “That’s a tough shot. We should use my Remington to give people a better chance. Got a problem with that, Granger?”

  He’d calibrated Zeke’s scope. It was as close to perfect as it could be. But maybe he’d score some points with Meg’s grandma and let her have her way. “Sure. Why not? But do you mind if I take a practice shot to test it out?”

  “Go ahead.” She handed over her gun. “Let’s see you take off the side mirror first.”

  Josh moved up to the bales of hay that surrounded the car and assumed a position slightly behind the vehicle to give him an angle. Taking aim, he held his breath, then slowly squeezed the trigger. The mirror dropped straight to the ground. He’d taken out the small support that held it to the car. “Looks true.”

  Grandma let out an unimpressed grunt.

  Josh handed the gun to Toby first. “You any better at this than darts?”

  “Yep.” He turned to Meg. “So if I make this—”

  Josh laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Not happening. Got it?”

  Toby smiled. “Loud and clear.” He made a show of rolling his shoulders and moving his feet into position, finally taking a shot. He came close, but missed all three times.

  After the next few shooters were unsuccessful, Meg’s grandma jumped the line and declared it was her turn. When no one argued, she hobbled over and accepted the gun from Josh. “Because I’m interested in knowing just how good you think you are, Granger, let’s have us some fun before we blow the car up. What do you say?”

  The gleam in the woman’s eyes and the soft chuckles from everyone should probably have warned him off. “I’m game. What did you have in mind?”

  “Let’s see how you do with something that’s not standing still. See those two big pinecones hanging side by side on the tallest tree at the top of the ridge there? I’ll go first. The one on the left.” She leaned her cane against the hay in front of her and aimed the rifle. After taking a moment to gauge the sway in the light wind, she popped off a shot. The pinecone burst into pieces, then drifted to the ground.

  “Nice shot, Mrs. Anderson.”

  He accepted the gun and calculated the range of movement, then took out his pinecone.

  She slowly nodded. “Not bad. Okay, how about we add a little pressure. There’s an old, run-down shed a ways over there. Through the trees. There’s one window left with four panes. See it?”

  He searched the stand of trees, finally glimpsing sunlight reflecting off the glass. It wasn’t far away. But getting a straight line of sight would be the challenge. “I see it.” Although he wasn’t sure how she was seeing it through her wire-rimmed glasses.

  In a raised voice, she said, “I told Meggy earlier I didn’t like the idea of you taking Haley away in that truck of yours. I’m not convinced you’d bring her back.”

  That wasn’t going to help his credibility, dammit.

  Grandma continued, “Shoot out a pane and you can take Haley to the ranch. Miss, or don’t take the challenge, and she stays here with me. All safe and sound.”

  All eyes turned to him.

  The chances of making that shot were less than 50 percent, even for him. The interest brewing in the people’s eyes was evident as they all stared at him. Waiting.

  Meg called out, “Grandma, stop!”

  Meg moved by his side. Then, loud enough for everyone to hear, she said, “You don’t have to do this, Josh. I know you’ll bring her back.”

  A little trust from Meg. At last.

  He shot her a smile, but if he didn’t at least try, the rest of the town wouldn’t fall in line. His negotiation training told him upping the stakes on the other side would be the next move. Remembering something Zeke had told him the other day, he said, “I’ll take the shot, but only if you take the shot too. If I hit and you miss, you’ll have to break down and finally accept Zeke’s offer for dinner and a movie.”

  Chuckles sounded all around.

  Zeke called out, “Never known you to back down from a direct challenge, Ruthie. What’s it gonna be?”

  Meg’s grandmother sent Zeke a scowl.

  Josh added, “But if we both miss, the whole deal is off, except you’ll have to quit pointing guns at me when I come to visit Meg and Haley.” He held his hand out for her to shake.

  Everyone waited silently as Meg’s grandmother stared at Josh’s hand while she considered. “You think you’re pretty clever, don’t you, Granger?”

  Meg laughed. “Welcome to my world.”

  Meg’s grandmother turned and checked out the target again. “You figuring what I am? Maybe thirty-five, forty percent chance we can hit that?”

  She might be old, but she was still sharp. “Yep.”

  “And you’re still willing to take the challenge?”

  He nodded.

  “Okay then, we got ourselves a deal. A body’s gotta eat dinner anyway and a movie won’t kill me.” She returned the shake. “You want to go first or second?”

  “Ladies first.”

  As Meg’s grandmother moved into position, Josh grabbed a handful of straw and tossed it up so they could both see how the wind took it. “A little to the left if it holds steady.”

  Her eyes shifted toward his. “But it’s gusting a
bit. What we’re both going to need is luck.” She lifted the rifle, stared down the sight, then whispered, “You bringing her back, Granger?”

  “Yep.”

  “I’m so old I’ll just plead Alzheimer’s or something and take you out if you’re lying to me.”

  “Understood.”

  He moved aside as she set up for her shot. After she pulled the trigger, the flapping of startled birds filled the air, but no glass breaking.

  “Darnation!” She handed the gun to Josh.

  He glanced at Meg, silently asking what he should do. If he missed, it’d save her grandmother’s pride, she wouldn’t have to go on the date, he’d be safe when he visited the guesthouse in the future, and he’d still get to take Haley to the ranch.

  He should probably throw it.

  After Meg shrugged, her grandmother called out, “What’s this going on between you and Meggy there, Granger? I’ll have to accidentally shoot you in the ass too, if you don’t get up there, be a man, and give it your best shot!”

  Clearly, this was where Meg got her attitude from. Related by DNA or not.

  After Meg smiled and nodded, he stepped up to the bale of hay and lifted the rifle to his shoulder. Slowing his breathing and his heart rate, he blocked out all the sounds around him, lining up the pane of glass glistening in the sunlight. He set his body, closed his eyes, then moved only his trigger finger, waiting for the outcome.

  The sound of glass breaking sent a cheer up from everyone except for Meg’s grandmother. “Guess we got ourselves a date, Zeke. But that doesn’t include any monkey business. Just making that clear right now.”

  Zeke chuckled. “We’ll see. Might be, you’ll finally see what a charming guy I can be when I put some effort into it. You’d be worth the effort, I reckon.”

  Grandma rolled her eyes.

  Still smiling at his victory, Josh handed Meg’s grandma the gun. “I respect a woman who drives a hard bargain. I think you should have the honors of blowing up the car.”

  “Don’t mind if I do. Nice shootin’, Granger.”

  She took aim, pulled the trigger, and then winced as the big boom filled the air. The car’s body blew five feet straight up off the axle, just as he’d planned. By the time it landed, fire engulfed the inside, flames flaring out all the window openings to add drama.

  It’d worked perfectly.

  “Now that was fun.” Meg’s grandmother smiled. “If you have any trouble with Haley this evening, you know where to find me.”

  “Thanks.”

  Ryan appeared beside him. “YouTube, huh?”

  Josh tilted his head as he watched the fire crew trip over themselves as they tried to put out a fire that’d go out on its own if they didn’t hurry. “The Internet is an amazing thing.” He clapped his hand on Ryan’s shoulder, then went to talk to Meg.

  He’d risked exposing his skills because it wouldn’t be much longer before he could tell the truth anyway. Hopefully the Zozobra legend worked on cars as well as tall puppets. Having Meg firmly in his corner before the truth came out would be good.

  Meg checked Haley’s backpack one more time to be sure she had everything she’d need if her asthma acted up. Then she added another juice box, more crackers, and a banana in case Haley got hungry.

  Josh took the backpack from her hands and tossed it in the backseat of his truck, next to Haley’s car seat. “We’re not going to Siberia, Meg. We’ll stop and get something if she gets hungry.”

  “Okay. Haley likes chicken nuggets, grilled cheese—”

  “Kid food. Got it.” He leaned down and kissed her. “We’ll be fine. Have fun at your girls’ thing.”

  Meg leaned inside and gave Haley a kiss. “Be a good girl, okay, Bug?”

  Haley nodded. “’Kay.”

  “And if you have trouble breathing, tell Daddy right away.”

  “Okay. Bye, Momma.”

  Meg’s stomach hurt. Josh didn’t have much experience alone with Haley. Even worse, he had to babysit until her girls’ night was over. She turned to him. “You know what? Maybe I’ll go along with you guys and just be late to Pam’s thing.”

  “You don’t trust me to bring her back?”

  Seeing the flash of pain in his eyes, she laid a hand on his arm and gave it a quick squeeze. “No. It’s not that. What if Haley has trouble breathing with all that dust in the barn?”

  Josh moved Meg aside and closed Haley’s door. “Then I’ll know exactly what to do. Stop worrying.”

  Meg huffed out a breath and crossed her arms. “When she has to go to the bathroom—”

  Josh laid his fingers over her lips. “I can handle this. But how about we stay at the guesthouse tonight so your grandmother will be close by? Would that make you feel better?”

  She nodded, but he didn’t move his fingers.

  “Great. Now smile and wave goodbye, so Haley sees how you aren’t worried.”

  His new bossiness was getting on her nerves.

  When she narrowed her eyes, he quickly removed his fingers and whispered, “I know how you get after these girls’ things. All that talk about men, too much to drink. You’ll be all hot and bothered. Begging me to put you out of your misery.” He got in, rolled down his window, and sent her a sexy grin. “I’ll wait up.”

  “How considerate of you.” As Josh and Haley backed out of the drive she plastered on a fake smile and waved. “Text me when you get there. And when you’re back!”

  Josh sent her a salute, then headed down the highway.

  Lord, this could be a disaster.

  Josh smiled as he headed south toward the ranch. Meg letting him take Haley had been a leap of faith for her. The ultimate show of trust. Big step.

  He’d get her to tell him she loved him yet.

  Josh glanced in the rearview mirror at Haley again. She’d just awoken from her forty-five-minute nap and was squirming around in her car seat. He reached for the end-of-the-world survival kit of a backpack Meg had sent along. His hand landed on some chunky cardboard books, so he tugged them out. “Want to look at these?”

  Haley nodded and took the books. “I have to go potty.”

  “Oh. Okay.” They’d just passed through a small town. It only had a busy convenience store that sold gas. The next town was bigger, but twenty minutes away. Better not risk it. Josh slowed the truck and then turned it around.

  “Hurry, Daddy!”

  Hopefully Meg had sent along a change of clothes just in case. “Almost there.”

  After they pulled into the last empty space in front of the store, he jumped out and opened the back door. After tackling the crazy harness system, he finally freed her from the car seat and then jogged toward the glass doors. He yanked one open and headed for the rear. There was a line outside the women’s restroom, but thankfully not one outside the men’s. Just as he was about to push the door open, he stopped and looked at Haley. Her face was scrunched as she strained to hang on.

  He couldn’t take her in there with guys at urinals showing their junk. Unless maybe he covered her eyes and made a dash for the stall? Probably a bad idea.

  He checked out the women standing in line. Maybe he could ask one of them to take her. The next one in line was tatted up, and had purple hair and fingernails shaped into deadly points.

  Nope.

  Haley couldn’t wait for the third woman in line who had a kid of her own.

  He turned and raced back to his truck, grabbed the backpack, and then headed behind the store and into the woods. “We’re going to have to go out here, okay?”

  Haley’s eyes widened. “Outside?”

  “Boys do it all the time. It’s fun.” He moved in front of a tree, suddenly realizing it didn’t work the same with girls. He’d have to get creative if they were going to keep everything dry. Josh shifted her in front of him and placed her tennis shoes against the bark. Then he widened his stance to keep his boots out of the way. “I’ll close my eyes, and then you pull everything way down to your shoes and let it rip.”
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  Haley giggled. “Okay.”

  She wiggled around, and then the telltale splatter hitting the dirt at his feet signaled success.

  She said, “Now we have to wipe and wash our hands.”

  Dammit. Being a guy was so much easier. He held Haley tight with one arm while his free hand groped around in the backpack. Please let Meg have included something to clean up with. He finally found a pack of baby wipes and handed one to Haley, hoping she could do that part on her own.

  “All done.”

  Thank God. He put her down and dealt with extracting more wipes from the container. When Haley appeared beside him again all dressed, she reached for a juice box. He caught her hands and used a wipe to clean them. Then he reluctantly handed her the juice. Inevitably she was going to have to use the bathroom again. He hoped they could make it all the way to the ranch so they wouldn’t have to find another tree.

  He handed her a bag filled with the orange fish-shaped crackers she’d asked for, and then carried her to the truck with a newfound respect for the well-equipped backpack. He’d had missions less complicated than taking a little girl to the bathroom. He should have let Meg finish whatever she was going to tell him about that.

  Back on the road again, he glanced at Haley looking at her books and stuffing crackers into her mouth. An unfamiliar warmth surged through him as he watched her.

  He’d feared he wouldn’t know how to be a good parent because of his background, but he hadn’t been prepared for how quickly a kid could take complete control over his heart. Seeing her joy at the simplest things and watching her learn was amazing. He didn’t know he could love anyone other than Meg so much.

  He still had a lot to learn about how to care for her, but luckily Haley often told him if he was doing something wrong. So far, so good. Meg had nothing to worry about. He could do this.

  After he pulled up beside the barn at the ranch, Josh grabbed his cell and turned to Haley in the backseat. “Wave hello to Mommy.”

  He snapped a picture of a smiling Haley, her hands, face, and shirt smeared with orange crumbs and her shorts twisted funny from their pit stop.