by Dean, Taylor
“Okay, I deserved that,” she said, feeling lighthearted and comfortable with Josh.
“Sure. Anything,” he clarified in all seriousness.
“Does Bethany’s mother ever try to see her?”
“Elizabeth? Nope, I haven’t heard from her since the day she left. I don’t even know where she is. She gave me sole custody of Bethany.”
“Do you want Bethany to have contact with her?”
“Not really. I married her just after college graduation, a little impetuously, mind you. It was a reckless thing to do. We hadn’t even known each other for that long. After being home-schooled, I went to college at seventeen. By the time I graduated from college I was still pretty young and felt as though I could conquer the world. I brought Elizabeth home to the ranch naively assuming she’d love it just as much as me. Of course, that never happened. It didn’t help any that I was completely obsessed with my plans for the ranch and she was bored out of her mind. Frankly, she hated it here. Having a child didn’t improve the situation. She took off when Bethany was only six weeks old.”
“I’m sorry.” Sensing his discomfort over the matter, Marisa decided to change the subject. “Do you realize that Bethany is an excellent reader? I would estimate that she’s at least at the second grade level.”
“I knew she read well, but, no, I didn’t know that.”
“The books we read together today, she practically knows them by heart and I was wondering if…” she hesitated, a little unsure how this would go over. Here she was, brand new to his home and already making requests.
“If Bethany needs anything, then yes, you have my permission to purchase it for her,” he said, anticipating her question.
“I’d like to buy her some new books. Some that will challenge her a bit. Is that okay? I can order them over the internet. We don’t need to make a trip into town.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea. I didn’t realize…thank you.”
“There’s just one more little thing.”
“What?” he stopped and faced her.
“Can I order her some new clothes?”
“What’s wrong with what she has?”
“Nothing. But she only has about six outfits. She’s a girl and that’s simply not enough,” Marisa informed him in all seriousness.
He studied her with a befuddled expression for several seconds. Then he started to laugh, he tried to hold it back, but couldn’t help himself.
Marisa understood his mirth. It was a ‘girl thing.’
“Yeah, you can order her more clothes. Constance usually takes care of that. I realize she’s very economical and I don’t think fashion is something she thinks about much.”
“Thanks. Just you wait, she’s going to look soooo cute.” Bethany was about to become her very own live dress-up doll.
Josh said nothing for a few moments. His hand cupped her cheek lightly. “Thank you, Marisa. She’ll love that. It’s exactly what Bethany needs in her life—a woman to teach her how to be a young lady.” The lights in the Folly cast about a magical glow, making the night seem dreamlike. The wind rustled in the trees behind Josh as if an air of excitement, an air of anticipation, had rushed through them.
“I wasn’t sure how you would react to my requests. I was a little nervous, I admit.” She couldn’t look away from him. His eyes were mesmerizing. The real reason I’m nervous is because you’re touching me and I’m not sure what’s happening. But she wasn’t about to admit that as his hand softly caressed her cheek.
“Whatever you need, it’s yours,” he said as he reluctantly lowered his hand. “How about that movie?”
Once inside, Marisa settled herself on the large couch and, to her surprise and pleasure, Josh sat right next to her, thighs touching, shoulders pressing together. And as the movie began he put his arm around her casually and she rested her head on his shoulder. His hand caressed her shoulder softly, up and down, to the point of extreme distraction.
This felt good. She hadn’t expected this to happen and as she stared blankly at the screen, her thoughts wandered. Josh had always been her childhood crush, but it was a fantasy and she knew it. In her heart, she came here wanting this to happen, wanting to fall in love with him and wishing that he would take one look at her and fall in love too. But she knew enough to know, deep in her soul, that these thoughts were fantasies. But now, sitting here like this with him, it dawned on her, just as it had yesterday, that this could be real. She could fall in love with the real man, not just her imagination of the man. He made her weak at the knees, one smile from him and her heart raced. She figured he couldn’t possibly be all that she had imagined. But he was and so much more.
She knew she shouldn’t be snuggled up to him like this, not after knowing him for such a short time. But he was so warm and when he’d draped his arm over her, she couldn’t help but cuddle up to him like a small puppy. She felt herself melt into him and she liked it, she liked it a lot. If he was uncomfortable, he gave no sign of it, quite the opposite in fact. After all, he was the one who’d initiated the contact. And there was lots of room on the couch for him to scoot over if he so desired. This was unexpected, hoped for, but unexpected nonetheless. She wondered just where this was going to lead.
She couldn’t wait to find out.
–4–
The next day, Marisa went about Bethany’s morning routine with her as planned. Constance normally brushed her hair and there it stayed all day long. It was clean and brushed, but it was just kind of…there. Marisa spent time talking with Bethany about different hairstyle ideas and Bethany decided on one excitedly. When it was finished, Bethany looked in the mirror and then hugged Marisa tightly. Marisa knew she and Bethany had already bonded in a way that even surprised her. Marisa’s heart swelled as she hugged her, knowing she loved this little girl much more than she’d ever thought possible.
It was when they entered the dining room for breakfast and Bethany gave her dad his morning hug that she realized what an effect the new hairstyle would have on Josh. He seemed a little dumbfounded. He had her turn around as he examined it closely. Two tightly woven french braids graced Bethany’s head and back with two pink bows on each end. Her bangs were curled under and she looked adorable.
“How’d you do this?” he asked as he looked at Marisa with new eyes.
“It’s called a french braid. It’s not hard. I can teach you how to do it.”
Josh scoffed, undoubtedly thinking he could never pull it off. He told Bethany she looked beautiful and she beamed.
Was it her imagination or did Bethany sit just a little taller at the table that morning? Marisa found herself realizing that she would never underestimate the power and influence of a mother. She had been with Bethany for a short time and could already see the effect she alone had made in her young life. It felt good. She looked up to find Josh smiling at her and she smiled back.
Oh yeah, he felt good too.
Marisa proceeded to lather her bagel with butter, cream cheese, and raspberry jam. Then she grabbed a healthy serving of scrambled eggs and several pieces of bacon. She crumbled her bacon and mixed it with her scrambled eggs along with a nice generous dollop of raspberry jam. Perfect. As she took her first bite, she looked up to find that Josh’s eyebrows were raised as he watched her apprehensively. So what if she veered towards…interesting eating habits? Once again, he didn’t comment. He didn’t have to; the look on his face said it all. Marisa liked to pretend her eating habits weren’t weird at all. She’d found that if she didn’t try to make excuses for them, no one made comments. Josh was no exception.
Of course, Mary would’ve said, “Ah, the little chemist at work.”
“So, what’s the debate this morning? You need to redeem yourself, Josh.” There. Maybe that would get his mind off her strange consumption practices.
He guffawed. “You think so?”
“I know so.”
Josh scanned the newspaper. “I’m a little scared to ask this one, but here it
goes: What is the best pizza topping?”
“That’s simple, I always have an opinion about food. That’s more of a personal preference than a debate, though.”
“All debates are personal preference.”
“You boggle my mind.”
“Does this mean you have nothing more to say on the subject?”
“Oh, I have plenty to say. The logical answer is, of course, cheese. It’s common to all pizza. It can’t even be a pizza without cheese, therefore that’s the obvious best topping.”
“Cheese is a given. Let’s take it out of the equation. Now what is the best pizza topping?”
“Oh, that’s easy. Barbeque sauce, chicken, and broccoli. It’s different, it’s healthy, and it’s good.”
Josh cringed. “Are you messin’ with me?”
“Nope. I’m entirely serious.” It really was her favorite pizza. “Haven’t you ever tried it?”
“No, and I don’t want to. That’s disgusting. Pepperoni is the best pizza topping. It’s the most commonly ordered topping and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like it.”
Marisa smiled under her breath. There were no pauses between their comments, they seemed to roll out of them uninhibitedly. Josh was fun to debate with, and she liked getting a rise out of him. He became quite animated as he spoke, his eyes bright with humor. He knew very well they were playing with each other instead of being totally serious.
“Time for a tiebreaker,” Marisa suggested. “Bethany?”
“Cheese,” she said as if it was a no-brainer.
“Constance!” Josh yelled. And then to Marisa he mouthed, “Tiebreaker.”
Constance rushed in. “Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing’s wrong, we just have a question for you. What is the best pizza topping?”
“Pepperoni,” she answered immediately, without hesitation.
Josh chuckled. “I win.”
“We’re one for one, on an even playing field. Agreed?”
“Absolutely. But tomorrow will be telling. Are you sure you want to do this, Marisa? Losing can sometimes be hard.”
“I know, especially when a man loses to a woman. Can you handle it, Josh?”
“I can handle anything, Marisa.”
Constance laughed as she said, “You two!” and left the room.
Marisa shared a slow smile with Josh, again pleased with the connection between them. She knew he was enjoying this as much as she was.
As he left, wearing chaps and looking ruggedly handsome, he gave her an envelope filled with the information she needed to be able to order over the internet. “You can use my computer in the office. I’ll be out riding the ranch all morning.”
A vision of him wafted through her mind, galloping over a prairie astride Carson, the wind in his hair, the sun on his skin, a cloud of dust in his wake as he wields a…whip? A lasso? No, a lariat—it sounded cooler—while capturing and directing cattle across the great expanse of Kensington Ranch. During her brief fantasy, cliché western music played in the depths of her psyche—background music to daydream by…
“Marisa?”
“Huh?” Back to reality. “Thanks, Josh. Do I have a budget?”
“Use your best judgment.”
“That’s really dangerous, you do know that, don’t you?”
“I trust you, Marisa,” he said as he left with an amused smile.
He sure did. He’d left her with usernames, passwords and credit card information. Marisa and Bethany spent the next two hours online, poring over a variety of children’s books. Bethany could hardly contain her excitement over the idea of new books with different plots.
When Marisa suggested they look at new clothing, Bethany jumped up and down elatedly. It wasn’t the same as going to a store and trying things on, but it was the next best thing. Picking new clothes took another hour and a half. Marisa found that Bethany had definite feelings about color. For example, things were never just green to her. They were hunter green, pine green, olive green, apple green, forest green, jungle green, sea green or yellow-green. She was very opinionated and it surprised Marisa. They all just looked green to her. Choosing blues was even harder. There was navy blue, sky blue, cornflower blue, turquoise blue, periwinkle blue, midnight blue, cobalt blue, denim, and cerulean. It frustrated Bethany when the clothing item was offered as simply blue and then after viewing it, you found that it was light blue or dark blue. She couldn’t understand why they didn’t differentiate between the colors. Marisa found her knowledge of colors impressive and amusing all at once.
By the time they were done and the colors were to Bethany’s liking, they had chosen four pairs of shorts, three pairs of capris, two pairs of jeans, four pairs of leggings, ten very feminine shirts, and three sundresses.
“That’s quite a wardrobe,” Josh’s deep voice said from right behind them, startling them. They’d been so engrossed in their clothes project, they hadn’t even noticed him enter the room. “I like the pink dress.”
“It’s fuchsia, Dad.”
Josh laughed and then by way of explanation added for Marisa’s benefit, “Bethany is a fine connoisseur of color. We have Crayola to thank for it. Her favorite pastime is coloring.”
“I found that out,” Marisa commented, equally amused.
During lunch Josh asked, “How would my two young ladies like to go out on a date tonight?”
Bethany clapped her hands and Marisa smiled. “Where to?” she asked as she drowned her salad in grated cheese and ranch dressing, just the way she liked it.
“I thought…” Josh paused for a moment, watching her take a bite, perhaps wondering if she would actually like it.
She did.
He visibly swallowed. Hard. “I thought we would go to Palo Duro Canyon to see the play they perform out there. It’s fantastic, Marisa, you’ll love it. It’s a musical drama. They serve a real Texas barbeque beforehand.”
Marisa’s interest was piqued at the mention of food. “Sounds great,” she said, ignoring the impulse to jump up and down and clap her hands like Bethany.
Late that afternoon, they headed into Amarillo in Josh’s truck with a king cab. He said it would be more comfortable than the jeep as the drive home would be late at night. Josh told Bethany she looked adorable in her orange shorts outfit and Bethany immediately corrected him.
“Thanks, Dad. It’s coral.”
Josh just shook his head. Bethany was truly obsessed with colors.
After they’d been driving for quite some time, Marisa accused Josh of lying to her. There was obviously nothing out here but flat land and yellow weeds, when to Marisa’s great surprise, suddenly, just to the right of them, the land dropped off into a huge canyon. It was so sudden. You would never even know it was there until you came upon it. They took the sometimes steep and windy road down into the canyon and it was amazing to Marisa that this existed at all. You’d think there was nothing for miles, as far as the eye could see, and then, boom, a whole new world. It was amazing. The land truly deceived the eye. It made her wonder how the early settlers and the Indians must have felt when they stumbled upon this huge canyon. After a sea of flat land in every direction, it must’ve seemed like an absolute oasis.
They parked and got in line for the Texas barbeque as live country music played in the courtyard. Marisa ate heartily and consumed two servings of everything. She could easily eat Josh under the table, yet he didn’t seem bothered by it, or at least if he was, he didn’t remark upon her healthy appetite. When she dipped each bite of her peach cobbler in ranch dressing, he couldn’t hide a cringe. Marisa asked if he’d like to try a bite, but he courteously refused. Go figure.
Soon it was time for the show to begin. It was appropriately titled, “Texas!” They took their seats with Bethany sitting between them. The show was an outdoor musical with the walls of the canyon as the walls of the theater. As if that wasn’t amazing enough, the show started as the sun set with the sound of a trumpet solo and the sight of a lone horseman on the
cliffs above riding his horse across the expanse while holding the Texas flag. It was a sight that gave you goose bumps. Bethany ended up moving to her dad’s lap and Josh motioned for her to scoot next to him. Josh looped his arm around her, and kept it there throughout the entire play—making the night even more perfect. The play itself was fabulous with singing, dancing, fantastic scenery, and special effects. It was the story of the early settlers in Texas and some of the plights they faced. It was also the story of a budding romance. The play was patriotic and ended with fireworks that took your breath away. Bethany was wide awake for the entire play and loved it.
“Did ya’ll enjoy it?” Josh asked.
“Yes! It was great!” Bethany chimed.
“Thank you, Josh. It was wonderful,” Marisa answered. Almost as wonderful as him, and that was saying a lot.
It was almost midnight before they were on their way back home with Bethany sound asleep in the backseat, snuggled comfortably with several blankets and a pillow. It was as if it was just the two of them for the next two hours in the close confines of the car. The dark interior and the low hum of the engine made the situation suddenly feel intimate in nature.
He patted the middle seat next to him. “Why don’t you move over here? Then we won’t wake Bethany with our voices.”
Say no more, you don’t have to convince me. She scooted over and fastened her seatbelt. Once they left Amarillo proper, the highway to the ranch was dark and deserted. Josh’s hand left the steering wheel and rested lightly on her knee.
“Marisa, I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done with Bethany. It’s only been a short time and I can already see a difference in her.”
“You’re a good father, Josh. She adores you.” And so do I. She rested her hand on his knee as she said it and let her head rest on his shoulder. It didn’t take thought on her part, it just felt natural. His legs were long, so in a relaxed position her hand didn’t quite reach his knee—instead it ended up resting on his thigh, about halfway past his knee. He didn’t object, so she left it there. She liked sitting this way with him, holding each other. It was as if one of her childhood dreams had come true.
