Texas Daddy

by Jolene Navarro

  Everyone had a breaking point, and being in Clear Water might be hers. She needed a new plan that involved getting out of town as soon as possible.

  It had been twelve years. Enough time for her to get over it. What was wrong with her? She hadn’t had a panic attack in the last five or six years. Maybe longer. It was this town, and being around her family.

  A horn beeped several times. Oh man, it was Danica and the twins. They were all waving, too happy for a tragedy to have taken her dad.

  Her breathing came in irregular patterns as Danica put her Accord in Park. Suzie rolled down the window, her twin pushing her way over her shoulder as Nikki got into the front passenger seat. Lizzy smiled so big and the sisters started talking at once, echoing each other just like Danica and Jackie did when they were growing up. Did they still finish each other’s sentences?

  “Hey, girls, slow down. We got some new baby bats at the sanctuary and they’re excited.” She turned to the girls. “You’re freaking out your aunt.” Danica smiled at Nikki, but there was concern in her eyes.

  She tried to return the smile, but thinking about all she missed was overwhelming. Her nieces were six years old; her dad was getting older. Her son would be twelve soon.

  Everything froze. Her lungs, her brain, the blood pumping to her heart. Adrian said she didn’t understand being a parent. No, no, no. She couldn’t go there. She couldn’t.

  A warm touch brought her attention back to the car as a large raindrop fell on her leg. No. Not a raindrop—a tear, her tear.

  She buried her head in her hands. She couldn’t lose it here, not in front of her young nieces.

  “Nikki?” Her sister’s voice shook. They had never seen her cry, even after their mother died. She made sure of it. She was the oldest. Her father and the twins needed her to be strong. Then Daddy married Sheila, making things worse.

  She still needed to be strong.

  “Girls, get your seat belts back on.” Danica leaned over and hugged her. In a hushed voice, she spoke close to Nikki’s ear. “I don’t know what is going on, but you’re going to let Jackie and me take care of you. I don’t know why you’ve stayed away so long, but if it was something we did, you have to tell us so we can fix it. We love you.”

  Nikki nodded and glanced back at the identical girls in the back seat. Their dejected little faces looked so much like Dani’s and Jackie’s at that age. The image of them on the way to their mother’s funeral.

  They had been too little to really understand, but they knew life had forever been changed. Their father had gone numb, disappearing into himself. The woman that held his world together, the one he was going to grow old with, left them without warning. The dash of a panicked deer in front of her mom’s car was all it took for her laughter and love to be gone forever. Leaving Nikki to take care of everyone. She wiped her face.

  Then she’d messed up, believing a lie. She’d given all her love to the wrong boy. She couldn’t keep it inside any longer. The time to tell her sisters the truth was close.

  * * *

  Adrian stared at the door Nikki disappeared through. He should apologize. When had he turned into one of those old grumpy cowboys?

  The therapist, Teresa Ortega, took Mia to the table and wrapped ice on the hurt leg. She greeted him with a friendly expression.

  “We were just talking about the timetable to get back on her horse. You have one determined young lady.”

  He needed to get the idea of barrel racing out of his daughter’s head. Now he understood why his mother had refused to attend the shows after watching his first ride. She’d been at every one of them, but sat in the parking lot and waited for his ride to be over.

  Maybe if he had been in the parking lot instead of watching from the railing, he could have had an easier time letting her back on her horse. The doctors said the deep sand of the arena saved her from a much worse injury, or even death. He couldn’t get the image out of his head of that bright yellow ribbon flying as she pitched back and forth like a Ping-Pong ball.

  “Daddy! Ms. Ortega says I’m impressive!”

  He put his hand on the back of her neck, reassuring himself that she was fine and would heal. “You’ve always impressed me.”

  After several questions and instructions for the exercises Mia needed to complete at home, he got her secured in the truck. “Sorry about the church event, but you just got your cast off. I don’t think you’re ready for a rock-climbing trip.”

  Arms crossed, she leaned her forehead against the window and nodded. “I know.” Defeat in her voice.

  It was so much easier when she was younger. He dreaded her becoming a teenager. Glancing behind them, he checked for a clear path. Just like the side mirror, his gut told him they were much closer to the teen years than they appeared. He had to do something to make her feel better.

  “Hey, bug, maybe we can have one of those tea parties when we get home?”

  She rolled her eyes—not a good sign.

  “Daddy, I’m too old for tea parties.”

  When had that happened? He tried to remember the last one. No one warned him time was up. He tried to remember the last time he carried her from the truck so she wouldn’t wake up.

  “Maybe your tío will let you paint his nails. That’s always fun. What about your new coloring books? I haven’t colored in a while.”

  “Daddy, you’re so silly. How about I color and you watch the game. The Spurs play tonight. We could invite some people over.”

  “Sure. You have some friends you want to call?” He turned the truck down the back road behind the school.

  “Well, I was thinking more for you.”

  His head whipped in her direction. With her hands in her lap and looking straight ahead, she was trying too hard to look innocent.

  “Me?”

  “Daddy, why don’t you ever date? Tío does. I know he hasn’t found anyone that he likes for marrying, but at least he’s trying. You don’t go anywhere but work and my activities.”

  “What?” When did his daughter start taking note of his and George’s social life? He was gonna have to talk to George about being more discreet. She was getting older and noticing things. Maybe if he just ignored it for right now, he would come up with a better answer later. How did a father talk to his daughter about dating? He had always told her she could ask him anything. He was rethinking that policy.

  “Daddy, we could ask Nikki to come over. She’s new in town, and she likes the Spurs. I know. I asked her, because I know how important that is to you.”

  His hand gripped the steering wheel as he turned down the caliche road to their house. “I think we should keep it to just us tonight. Why do you think I should be dating?”

  She shrugged and pulled on invisible threads at the edge of her shirt. “It would be nice to have another girl around the house and to see you happy.”

  “I’m happy.” He heard himself grumble. It had been them and George for her whole life. Parking in front of the barn, he watched as she climbed down from the side step of the truck and made her way to the house. She turned and looked at him, waiting for him to follow her. When had he become not good enough?

  Chapter Five

  The announcer called for the next event, pole bending. Mia sighed as if the world had ended. Now he wished he had found someone to cover the concession stand hours he signed up for at the beginning of the season. Being here seemed to torture her.

  As a couple of boys ran off with giant pickles, she tightened the lid on the jar with another sigh. He poured heavy cheese sauce over corn chips and handed the four Frito pies to Katy Buchannan, making sure to smile. Hopefully it didn’t look as fake as it felt.

  She gave him that “oh, bless your heart” look he used to get all the time when he first became a single father. She leaned in and spoke low. “How’s
she doing? It must be so hard for her to be here.”

  Adrian took the money for the Frito pies and Big Red sodas. “I think it might be harder for me than her, but we’re good. They have her in physical therapy now. We’re taking it slow, one day at a time.”

  “I hear you’ve been rescuing damsels in distress on Main Street. Maybe you’ll finally have a date for the July Jubilee.” The spark in her eyes and the girlish giggle warned him. That speculation of his love life gave her way too much enjoyment.

  Oh man, the gossip mill is already grinding. He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at his daughter to make sure she wasn’t listening. “I think if Nikki heard you referring to her as a damsel in distress, you’d need to take cover. She’s made it clear she doesn’t need help, and I’ve never taken a date to the Jubilee. I don’t need the complication. Nikki plans to be gone by then anyway.” Which was a good thing for his peace of mind.

  The young Bergmann twins Suzie and Lizzy skipped to the counter. Their mother came up behind them. Danica’s red curls already ran loose from her braid. She smiled at Adrian. “We hoped you would help to convince my wayward sister to stay around. It’s time for her to come home.”

  Katy laughed. “Did you hear he was spotted carrying her from my store?”

  Danica winked at him. “I know. Isn’t it adorable?”

  The snack bar suddenly got warm, and Adrian pushed up his sleeves. He needed to find a way to stop this bull before it got out of the barn. The only problem was, as the women kept talking his mind stopped working.

  “Mom! Can we get hamburgers?”

  Now, there was a problem he could fix. “Sorry, girls. No burgers today, but I can make you Frito pies or nachos.”

  Danica looked past him. “Are you working by yourself?”

  Katy leaned over the counter and scanned the area. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t even realize you were alone. Who signed up to work with you?”

  “Vickie, but Ashley got sick. She came in and set everything up and then had to leave because Jake was going to work. I told her I could handle it as long as I didn’t have to cook the hamburger patties too. Mia’s not riding, so I’m fine.”

  “I’d help, but I have all four boys here. Speaking of which, I need to leave. See you later. We’re praying for you, Mia.”

  Danica rested her elbows on the counter bar. The twinkle in her eye sent dread down his spine and into his gut. Her voice was low, so he had to lean in to hear her.

  “Nikki’s here. I’ll put her in charge of the twins and come help you.” She was digging money out of a huge leather bag. “Girls, you each get a dollar. Maybe you can come visit after your shift.”

  With the money in hand, they went to Mia to get a pickle.

  “Really, you don’t need to. It’s not—”

  “Stop right there. If you saw another parent working the shift alone, what would you do?”

  That trap was set, and he knew there was no getting out of it. Without anything worth saying, he just looked at her, defeated. He had a feeling he would also be talking to Nikki before the day was over.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Come on, girls.” She looked at Adrian. “I’ll be right back.”

  The girls stood on their toes to talk to Mia. “When do you get to ride again? Do you want to come see our new horse Opa bought us?” The Bergmann twins talked so fast it was hard to tell who said what.

  “Daddy, can I just walk over with them? I won’t get on a horse. I promise to just talk to my friends. I want to see their new horse and visit Rachel. Please, Daddy.”

  “You need to stay here.”

  “Adrian, she can come with me. I’ll bring her back.”

  A group of teenage boys rushed the counter, wanting to buy drinks and candy. He nodded at Danica before giving his attention to the group of young ropers. He knew the burn in the pit of his stomach was based on unfounded fear. He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. Mia would be walking across the rodeo grounds with Danica. Nothing was going to happen.

  As he pulled four bottles out of the cooler, his daughter wrapped her small arms around him and pressed her cheek against his back. “Thank you, Daddy. I’ll be careful.” And with that, she was out of the concession stand, waving to the boys as she walked past them on her crutches.

  The boys all smiled as she giggled. Adrian narrowed his eyes. The day he had to worry about boys was approaching too fast. He was starting to miss his little girl already.

  He wasn’t ready for this new phase of life. He glanced over the boys’ shoulders as he took their money. Mia was laughing as she followed Danica through the small crowd. Nope, his little girl was getting older and more than her broken leg was the problem. If he couldn’t keep her from breaking bones, how could he even begin to know how to protect her heart? He gave each boy a hard glare. Not sure why, but it made him feel better.

  * * *

  “Did you ride when you were young?” Mia leaned in closer to Nikki as they sat on the lowest bleacher. They chatted about horses as they waited for the twins to take their new horse through the poles. A girl Nikki didn’t know ran first. The flying lead changes were beautiful to watch. She couldn’t imagine the girls riding that fast.

  “I was four the first time I was out on a horse by myself.” Now that seemed impossibly young. She tried to remember when she started craving the speed. Maybe around nine or ten, but it all blurred together.

  She did remember when jumping from cliff tops and taking on white-water rapids replaced horses. Maybe her ex was right and she was trying to find her breaking point.

  She smiled down at her unexpected physical-therapy partner. “I was on the back of a horse every day until I started playing sports in middle school. I started splitting time, but rode whenever I could. We would hit as many rodeos as we could get to on the weekend. My dad used to rope, so it was a family event.” Until her dad married Sheila and messed everything up, but a ten-year-old didn’t need to hear those stories. Other than the girl might need to know that she was better off without a mother than being stuck with a bad mother. Not every woman was designed to care for children.

  “There you are. It’s time to go home.” From behind her, the deep calm voice she tried to forget penetrated her consciousness, derailing all her other thoughts.

  Why did Adrian De La Cruz get under her skin more so than any man in her past? If she didn’t turn around maybe he would walk right past her and focus on his daughter. He had said it was time to leave.

  “Daddy, Rachel’s next and then Lizzy and Susan will be coming up. Please can we watch?”

  Nikki’s dad sat on the other side of Mia, taking pictures with a crazy long lens. The only empty spot was the one right next to Nikki. Adrian slid onto the edge of the metal bench. She scooted closer to Mia. A rumbling sound came from his throat. Did he just growl?

  She kept her focus straight ahead and tried to ignore the way the rough sound tickled the nerves along her spine. It wasn’t meant to be a good sound. He was probably thinking of the last time they had talked. It had ended with him being mad at her. It wasn’t her fault if he was uptight and sexist when it came to his daughter. She straightened her spine.

  Adrian shook his head in what looked like disgust. “I can’t believe they have Cooper on that horse. That mare is crazy. She’s too hot for a six-year-old.”

  Nikki’s father agreed with a nod. “I told Peterson that horse was too much for his grandson. The kid’s only six, but the idiot has to prove everyone wrong.”

  Relief that it wasn’t her he growled at softened her back. Then she saw what upset Adrian and her father.

  The powerful buckskin made the redheaded boy look small, too small to handle the horsepower under the miniature saddle. The boy pulled hard on the reins and the big mare tossed her head. The muscles in her massive neck and chest bunch
ed as she pawed the ground. The kid looked scared with a death grip on the saddle horn. His grandfather Jim Peterson walked out. Maybe he was going to lead them out of the arena. Instead he popped the horse on the rear and yelled at the boy. “Show her who’s boss, Cooper.”

  The horse lunged, and the six-year-old leaned over the saddle horn, now both hands hanging on as if he was going to fall. Adrian muttered something under his breath and stood. Nikki looked back at the boy. His eyes shut tight, he wasn’t even looking as the horse took the first pole and started weaving through them on autopilot.

  At the last pole the mare turned right instead of left. The boy’s eyes opened, and he pulled hard on the reins as he tried to turn the horse back on the correct pattern. The big buckskin threw her head and twisted the opposite direction.

  Nikki stood with everyone else in the stands as the horse lost balance and went down. With both hands on the saddle horn, Cooper stayed in the saddle even as the horse popped back up, but the boy lost the reins.

  With no way to control the animal, he clung to the saddle horn as the leather reins flew, out of reach. With one hand reaching out, Cooper grabbed for the lost strap. The horse came to a quick stop and reared. He lost his balance and landed on the sandy area floor. The horse looked even bigger as it came down and went back up, front hooves striking out.

  Adrian was over the panel and running to the boy. Nikki grabbed the top railing to follow but her father put his hand on her shoulder. “With your leg, you’ll just be in the way.”

  She gritted her teeth. He was right. So she watched, helpless, from the sidelines as Adrian scooped the small body into his arms and shielded the boy from danger with his back to the horse. A few other cowboys joined him, herding the now-crazed horse away from the boy. Gwyn, Cooper’s mother, came running.

  “Cooper! Oh, baby! Cooper?” The petite blonde struggled through the deep sand.

  Adrian had got to the side of the arena near Nikki. A couple of the other guys corralled the white-eyed mare on the opposite side.