Hill Country Homecoming

by Julie B. Cosgrove

  He reached down and jiggled her shoulder. “Sarah? Wake up. It’s morning.”

  She groaned and rolled to face him. Maria whisked open the curtains to let the sunrays inside the room. The new day’s light emphasized the imprint of the carpet’s weavings on her face. Hair, disheveled and tangled, covered her shoulders. Her makeup had smudged under her eyes and mascara trails dirtied her cheeks. She’d obviously been crying. Yet she still looked beautiful. He caught his breath.

  “Maria, please bring some strong coffee for Miss Mansfield.” He lifted Sarah by her elbows and placed her on the leather sofa, brushing hair strands from her eyes.

  She yawned and stretched, revealing her belly button under her crumpled sweat shirt.

  He tried not to stare at the small diamond stud piercing it.

  “Travis?”

  He crouched on his heels to her eye level and laid a hand on the couch cushions on either side of her. “Yep.”

  She sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I fell asleep, I guess. Where’s Rex?”

  “Don’t know. Probably sniffing rabbit trails from last night. What were you doing?”

  The rosiness in her cheeks deepened. “Thinking about all the mistakes I’ve made.” Her eye-rims reddened again, as did the tip of her nose, a sure sign the water works might begin all over again.

  “Um, don’t be so hard on yourself. We all do.”

  She jumped up and began to pace. “I’ve really messed up, haven’t I?”

  Travis rose and leaned against the mantle. “You mean with Tucker? Lover’s spat, I’m sure. Lots of couples have them. Pressures of the wedding. Surely you—”

  “No. Not just with him. And he’s definitely history, by the way.”

  Is he? A jolt hit Travis’ heart. He took a breath.

  “I mean with you. Daddy…” She waved her hands around the room. “And all of this. Arrgggh.”

  Travis stepped forward and locked his fingers onto her shoulders. “Sarah, calm down. I don’t understand.”

  Her lips quivered, inches from his. Lush, needing comfort. He moved closer…

  A scream pierced the room. The two stared at each other for a moment, then turned towards the sound of heavy footsteps. Maria appeared with wide eyes.

  “Miss Sarah, Travis. Come quick. Mr. Mansfield.”

  They dashed up the stairs in unison and halted at the master bedroom door.

  The old man lay in a heap on the floor, his breathing barely audible.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Sarah crumpled beside her dad, whimpering his name. “Call 9-1-1.” She raised her gaze, wide-eyed and wild. “Now!”

  “Right.” Travis snatched his boss’s phone off the bedside table and dialed for an ambulance. “They are on the way. Is he still breathing?”

  She answered with a shiver. “I’m…I’m not sure.”

  “Where’s the nurse?”

  Sarah’s voice shrilled. “I don’t know.”

  Travis laid his palm to the man’s mouth. He felt a wisp of warmth. “Barely. Grab the bedspread and let’s get him warm.”

  They tucked the covers around her father’s pale frame and pressed a pillow under his knees.

  “Should we raise his head?”

  Travis shrugged. “Or his feet, maybe? Don’t know. He’s not a horse, so…”

  She laid a shaky hand on his shoulder. “You saved him last time. Please, try again.”

  The nurse dashed in, her curly hair damp. “Sorry. He looked peaceful so I slipped out to take a shower.” She took his pulse. “Weak, but getting steadier.” She tucked the quilt closer to his body. She called his name. No response. She called it again.

  Sarah clutched Travis’ hand and squeezed it. “I don’t think he’s aware of his surroundings.”

  The nurse continued to assess her patient. “Agreed. It looks like another stroke.”

  Travis heard a strange sound. Like laughter but more eerie. Sarah rocked back with her fist to her mouth. Uh-oh. She’s losing it.

  He grasped Sarah’s upper arms and gave her a little shake. “Hang in there. We’ll make it through this. Don’t give up hope. Pray with me.”

  Sarah’s blank eyes half-focused on him. “Will God hear me after all this time?”

  “Always.” Travis took her hand and placed it over her father’s. Then he grasped her other hand in his and completed the circle by holding his boss’s left hand. He bowed his head and called out to Jesus. Moments later, the sirens once again bounced off the ranch house walls.

  “I’ll tell them where to come.” The nurse dashed out.

  Stomps sounded on the stairs.

  Emergency responders burst into the room, followed shortly by the county clinic’s physician. Dr. Andrews nodded. “Cook called me. Luckily, I was over at the next ranch, stitching up one of their hands.”

  Travis stood and guided Sarah to the side. “Let’s give them room to do their job. Come on.” He led her into the hallway where Maria and Cook hovered, tears rushing down their faces. Manny and two other ranch workers, George and Adam, huddled halfway up the staircase with bewildered stares, hats scrunched in their hands.

  Sarah’s breathing became shallow and shaky. “He’s gotta be okay. He has to be. I still need him here on earth. I never told him I’m sorry.” She buckled, hunched over as her sobs turned to wails. She hugged herself and rocked as she blubbered. “God, forgive me. It’s all my fault. I’ve killed my father.” She slithered down the wall to the floor.

  Travis looked to Maria, then to Cook. Both of them shook their heads in bewilderment. He yelled to the technicians in the bedroom. “We need help here. She’s gone off the deep end.”

  Dr, Andrews knelt by the shaking daughter. “She’s having an anxiety attack. Let’s get her away from this.”

  Maria pointed down the hall. “Her room is this way.”

  Travis gathered Sarah into his arms and carried her to her bed as her sobbing screams became more jagged and irrational. She thrashed out at him as he tried to steady her on the mattress, her cries growing louder. “I have to be with him. Let me go. Let. Me. Go.”

  He turned to the doctor and the private care nurse. “Do something.”

  Dr. Andrews reached into his bag. “Does she have any allergies? I can’t recall.”

  Nurse shook her head. “No, not that I am aware of.” She looked to the three employees huddled close by.

  “Don’t ask me.” Travis shrugged. Maria and Cook did the same.

  “Don’t see an alert bracelet or medallion, so…okay.” He jabbed a needle into Sarah’s arm. Within a minute, the wails became whimpers and her body relaxed. Sarah’s eyes clouded and closed.

  The nurse pulled the comforter over her. “What did you give her? A tranquilizer?”

  The doctor snapped the needle off the disposable syringe and sealed it in a red baggie. “Precisely.”

  The voices of the other medical personnel could be heard from the hall. One of the EMTs peeked in and informed the small crowd, “They are taking Mr. Mansfield to Mercy Hospital. Coming, Doc?”

  “Yes.” He snapped his bag closed. “One of you needs to stay here and monitor her.”

  The private caregiver spoke up. “Mr. Mansfield is my charge. I’ll ride with you.”

  Travis looked to Maria. He swallowed to keep his emotions from erupting. “I’ll sit with her in case she wakes up and needs restraining again.”

  “Good idea.” The physician placed his two fingers on the girl’s wrist and then lifted her eyelid. “Her pulse is slow but steady and she is in rapid eye movement. She should sleep for several hours, but…” He cocked his head and left.

  Travis shifted his focus to the two women. “Maria, you clean up Mr. Mansfield’s room. Cook, if you don’t mind, bring me a cup of coffee.”

  The housekeeper arched an eyebrow but left without comment.

  Cook harrumphed. “You shouldn’t be alone with her in her bedroom, Travis.”

  He huffed a scoff. “Cook, come on now.”

  “All
right. I know you are a God-fearing man.” She shook her head. “I’ll bring you some oatmeal, too.”

  After the entourage left, Travis scanned the darkened room. Sarah’s lifespan splayed before him in hues of soft pink and summer green. Her inner sanctuary since childhood. Dolls mingled with makeup. Her horsemanship ribbons still dangled from the edge of her bookcase next to a well-loved, tattered teddy bear. He wandered over, snatched the stuffed animal and laid it next to her.

  Cook brought him breakfast and left without a word. Rex padded in, whimpered, and plopped at the foot of the bed, his head on his paws. Travis pulled the chair over from Sarah’s dressing table and sat, one leg resting on the other knee. He blinked back the tears as he observed the disheveled sleeping beauty.

  A deep yearning stirred in his gut. At that moment, he knew his sole desire would always be to protect and care for Sarah. The idea, once abhorrent and foreign, had slowly changed into a sweet ache over the past weeks. Now, it had solidified into a new purpose in his life and the reason he wanted to finally settle down. He gazed at her bare ring finger. Would she ever accept one from him? He shook off the idea. Stupid talk. Don’t confuse loyalty to the family with love, right?

  An icy hand sensation clutched his chest. Love? At long last…but with her? His God was a miracle worker, but still— could this lapsed believer ever be suited for him? They were worlds apart in so many ways. Confusion flip-flopped across his mind like a tumbleweed in a rainstorm.

  He took a long slurp of the coffee and scratched the dog’s ear. “I need a praying partner, Rex. You game?”

  * * *

  When the sun hung over the apex of the roof, Sarah’s eyes flitted open. “Where…what?” She struggled to rise onto her elbow.

  Travis eased her down into the duvet. “Shhh. Rest. You have had a shock.”

  “I’m in my own bed?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re in my room?” She raised half-way again.

  “Sshh. Relax.” He evened his tone of voice to be as calm as possible, similar to the one he used to still a spooked colt. “The doc said someone needed to watch over you. Nurse felt it her duty to accompany your daddy in the ambulance. Cook and Maria appeared helpless, so that left me. No big deal.” He gave her a wink. “Do you want some water?”

  She moistened her lips with her tongue and nodded.

  He brought her a glass and guided it to her mouth, trying not to notice the plump, naturally ruby lips encircling the rim. Sarah took two sips and then lay back on the pillow. She frowned and held up her teddy bear. “What’s Max doing here?”

  Travis snickered. “Max? Is that its name? He looked like an old friend, so I thought…silly of me, I guess. You’re a grown woman now.”

  She stroked the matted fake fur of the stuffed animal. “Mom gave him to me the Christmas before she became ill. I hugged him as I cried myself to sleep every night once the cancer took over.” Her eyes suddenly expanded into saucers. “Daddy? Is he…dead?” Her lower lip jittered.

  Travis scooted his hip onto the mattress took her hands in his. “No. He is still alive, Sarah. He’s in the hospital.”

  She jerked out of his grip and swung her feet to the floor. “I must go see him.”

  As soon as she stood, her knees buckled. Travis rose to catch her. “You need to gain your strength first, okay? Later.”

  “Okay.” She pressed her head into his shoulder blade and allowed him to lift her onto the bed. As he removed his hands from her under her back, she grabbed his collar. “What would I do without you?”

  He gulped. “Ma’am?”

  “You have been my rock, Travis Wallace. And I haven’t had the courtesy to thank you.” She stretched to peck his cheek, sending a tiny lightening zap down his face, over his neck into his heart. She flopped her head back onto the pillow. “All through high school, I hated you, you know that? Thought you were a religious hick fanatic. And uncouth.”

  He chuckled. “I admit it. I can be.”

  “No, you’re not. I’m sorry. I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

  He swept the hair from her forehead with one finger. “Well, back at ya, lady. I thought you were a spoiled rotten, rich little daddy’s girl.”

  She wiggled her teddy bear at him, and then the smile disappeared. Her answer barely squeaked through her tonsils as her eyes shimmered. “I was. I am. Oh, Travis, if you only knew.” Tears dashed over her cheeks as she clutched Max. “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault.”

  Travis stood and shifted from foot to foot. Horses he could handle, but emotional women? His heart wanted him to draw her into an embrace, but his sensible side sounded the alarm. She’s vulnerable and so are you. He eased into the chair he’d pulled to her bedside, his hands clutching his knees. “You keep saying that. Why?”

  She focused beyond him to the wall. The light that usually danced in her eyes had been extinguished. A deep hollowness lay there instead, but he didn’t think it was from the anti-anxiety medication. No, bottomless sorrow reflected in her blank stare. Her lips quivered again as she rubbed the tears from her face.

  Travis pressed his lips together and waited. Outside, a squirrel chattered and a cardinal sang for its mate. The new colt whinnied at the breeze, and one of the mares, probably Lady Fair, answered back. Finally, Sarah let the air out of her lungs in one slow breath. “The morning Daddy had his first stroke?”

  “Yeah?”

  She spurted it out like venom. “We’d had a huge fight.”

  “On Christmas Day?”

  “Great timing, right?” She scooted further up in the bed to rest against the headboard, her knees drawn up to her chest. She stroked Max’s fluff and tilted her head. “He didn’t like Tucker and vice versa. I knew it as soon as I introduced them at the barbeque. But we made it through the presents unwrapping with formal smiles. He’d been looking puny all morning, but I figured he had a hangover. Then Daddy fell asleep in his recliner so we went for a joy ride in Tucker’s car. The weather warmed so we stopped and, well…”

  “Made out?”

  She shrugged. “We were engaged, you know.” She held out both hands, palms towards him. “But I didn’t let him go all the way.”

  Travis looked to the ceiling. “None of my business, Sarah.”

  She cast her eyes down. “When we got back, Daddy mentioned it was high-time I made an effort to spend more time at the ranch. Tucker responded in no uncertain terms that my place happened to be by his side in Dallas, helping him entertaining clients and their spouses.” She stopped and looked briefly at Travis before lowering her eyelashes again.

  Travis leaned forward. “Go on.”

  “Daddy nudged my independent nerve, I guess. I told him I’d never survive at this dusty old horse farm with the smell of manure in my hair. I wasn’t cut out for it like my mother. It was his own fault he’d raised me to be a high society city girl.”

  He leaned back and whistled a long note.

  “Tucker grabbed my elbow and told me we had to leave. Daddy told him to let go. They began to raise their voices and Daddy’s cheeks became redder. Tucker pulled me to him and told Daddy we were out of there.” She sniffled and wiped her eyes. “Daddy gave me an ultimatum. If I left with Tucker he’d cut me off. I said fine because Tucker already made twice as much as he did.”

  The ranch manager slammed his backbone into the chair spindles. “That must have gotten his goat.”

  She bit her lip. “Yeah, I kicked Daddy in his pride. As Tucker stomped out with me in tow, he screamed obscenities at the top of his lungs. I’ve never heard him use language like that. It shocked me.”

  “We got to the car. The way Tucker shoved me into the front seat and slammed the door, I knew he was steamed as well. He’d never treated me rough before and it frightened me.”

  Travis’ jaw tightened but he held his tongue.

  She sniffled. “Then I realized I’d left my purse on the table in the foyer. I dashed back to grab it in time to hear the den door slam shut. I
stood cold-still.

  “The whole house fell eerily quiet. A dark silence filled the foyer. I heard the mantle clock strike six. I pictured me as a little girl again and Daddy bouncing me in his arms up and down in sync with the hourly bongs so I could learn to count. I visualized him carrying me up the stairs on his shoulder when I felt too tired to climb them, and recalled the proud look in his eyes when I descended in my prom dress.”

  She blinked and turned her attention to the pink-laced curtains flanking her window. “Tucker kept honking his car horn, but my feet stayed glued to the floor. Finally, he burst in. I told him I couldn’t leave. Not like that with such harsh and cruel words between Daddy and me. He mumbled something like, ‘Fine, stay, then. But you’ll regret this.’”

  “Tucker left without you?”

  Her mouth made an effort to smirk. “So I thought. Evidently, he sat in the car fuming, but I didn’t know that at the time. I stood in that hallway, blubbering like a baby, as my heart shattered onto the floor. I’d lost them both. I’d lost everything. I think I called out his name. Daddy, Daddy.

  “Then the den door creaked. He tried to grab the door jamb, his face gray and pale. His hand shook, and drool dripped from his lips. I rushed toward him. He stumbled backward several steps and collapsed. That’s when I screamed and everyone came running.”

  “Including Tucker.”

  She fixated on his face. Her hand reached to stroke his cheekbone. “And you. Thanks be to God, you.”

  Travis felt as if someone had splashed ice water on his chest. His tongue froze in his mouth.

  She broke eye contact and buried her face in her teddy bear with a sob. “I almost killed my daddy, Travis.”

  He now knew how a fish flapping on a riverbank felt. He reached for her hand and squeezed it. She lifted his hand to her face and clutched it as the tears flowed. After a few moments, his shoulder blade ached from being stretched, but he dared not move. He let her cling on and cry it out. When her sobs had dwindled to sniffs, he released his grip and snatched three tissues from the box on her dressing table.