Megan's Hero (The Callahans of Texas Book #3): A Novel

by Gillenwater, Sharon

  Zipping up the suitcase, she carefully slid it off the bed so it didn’t make a loud clunk when it hit the floor. She took the plastic bag containing her clothes and shoes from the previous day out of the closet and set it on the bed.

  Opening the door, she stepped out into the hall. The Callahans were in the room across from hers, visiting with an elderly lady. The nurse spotted her and came around the desk with a clipboard in her hand.

  “You can’t escape yet,” she said with a smile. “I need to go over your dismissal paperwork.”

  Megan remembered that procedure from when her mom had been in the hospital for a few days. She walked back into the room.

  “There’s not a lot. Just remember to pick up your iron pills and to consult the sheet the doctor gave you on what foods to eat to increase your iron intake. Get plenty of rest for the next few days and keep an eye on those cuts. If any of them start looking inflamed, Dr. Cindy wants to see you right away. She also wants to see you in two weeks for a follow-up. Of course if you have any problems or anything about the pregnancy that is bothering you, she wants you to make an appointment right away at the clinic.

  “Mrs. Callahan gave us her phone number.” The nurse checked the sheet. “Will’s is on here too. So the doctor’s office will be calling the ranch to set up your appointment.”

  “I’m not sure how long I’ll be there.” A chill ran down Megan’s back. She didn’t like other people controlling her life, and it appeared they had it all mapped out for her.

  “If you leave, just let Dr. Cindy’s office know.” She flipped over the sheet and quickly read through the one underneath it. “That’s basically it. I need you to sign here and here.”

  Megan signed the papers, and the nurse gave her copies.

  “All done. I have a volunteer bringing over a wheelchair to take you out.”

  “I can walk.”

  “Sorry. Hospital rules. We’ll wheel you out to the sidewalk. Then you’re on your own.”

  Hardly. For the first time in years, she was dependent on someone else for food and shelter. It didn’t sit well, but she had to accept the reality of her situation. For now. She was grateful for the Callahans’ help, but that gave them power over her. If they tried to abuse it . . . Stop it. They’re good people. Everybody says so. God didn’t save you from the tornado to plunk you down in a bad situation. Trust him. She hoped God understood how hard it was for her to trust anyone, even him. I’m working on it, God.

  When the volunteer came in with the wheelchair, the Callahan ladies said good-bye to their friend and stepped out into the hall. Jenna hurried into Megan’s room. “I’ll pull your suitcase.”

  Emily was right behind her. “I’ll get the plastic bag.”

  Sue gave her a big smile after she sat down in the wheelchair. “That’s a definite improvement over the gown.” Her smile faded as she inspected the bruises on Megan’s arms and legs. “Are those big ones from the hailstones?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I can’t imagine what it would have been like if I’d been out in the open. At least I had some shelter, but what about the cattle or other animals?”

  The aide pushed the wheelchair out into the hallway. Sue walked on one side of her and Emily on the other. Jenna trailed along behind with the suitcase. Will’s mom said hello to someone they met but kept walking. “Buster and Ollie—they’re the ranch hands—found five cows and five calves that had been injured. Thankfully, none of them were badly hurt. They’d gathered in a grove of oak trees, which blocked some of the hail. I think the cows instinctively protected the calves as much as they could.”

  “Should Chance and Nate have been out looking for injured animals instead of gathering up my stuff?” Megan had worried about that half the night.

  “We had only a small herd in the section that was hit with hail, so Buster and Ollie could handle it. Most of the livestock are in other areas of the ranch. I don’t know how the wild animals fared, but I expect most of them did all right. Animals have a sixth sense about storms and often take shelter before humans realize what’s coming. More than once Dub has hightailed it home before a storm hits because of how the birds or cattle are acting. They know the difference between a little rain and something bad.”

  “Was this area under a tornado watch yesterday? The radio in the van went out yesterday morning, so I never heard a forecast.”

  “It was a severe thunderstorm watch until about an hour before the storm actually hit. Then they changed it to a tornado watch. They issued a tornado warning about two seconds before Dub spotted it. I had just enough time to unplug the television before he ordered us to go to the storm cellar.”

  Emily shuddered lightly. “I still think we should wait until we know the tornado is headed right for us before going down there.” She gave Sue a sheepish smile, then met Megan’s curious gaze. “I love my father-in-law dearly, but he has as big a phobia about tornados as I do being in cellars.”

  “I’m not particularly fond of cellars,” Megan said. “But after my close encounter yesterday, I’ll gladly go underground the next time a tornado is anywhere in the area.”

  The automatic doors opened as they moved toward the entrance. “You and Dub both,” Sue said. “He’s mellowed some over the years. When the kids were little, any night there was a tornado watch posted, we slept in the cellar.”

  “Correction, tried to sleep.” Jenna pulled the suitcase to the back of the Lincoln, and Sue unlocked the trunk. “Will and Chance always thought it was a big adventure. If they didn’t come up with some game or weren’t playing with toys all night, they’d make up stories.”

  “Ghost stories, no doubt.” Emily opened the front door for Megan then walked around to the back of the car.

  “Usually.” Jenna hoisted the heavy suitcase into the trunk without any problem. She might be petite, as Will said, but Megan suspected she did her fair share of work around the ranch. Emily laid the plastic bag in the trunk and returned to the side of the car.

  Megan stood up from the wheelchair and thanked the woman who’d pushed it outside.

  “You’re welcome, dear. I hope I’m here the day you have that baby.” With a smile, she turned and pushed the wheelchair back inside, leaving it near the entrance.

  Megan got in the car, smiling to herself when Emily waited and shut the door. People around here sure believed in taking care of pregnant women. Or at least one who’d spent the night in the hospital. She fastened her seat belt and looked up to find Sue watching her. “Will told me to let the folks in the hospital pamper me, which they did. But I think his expectations were influenced by the way his family treats people.”

  Sue laughed and started the car as Emily and Jenna slid into the backseat. “Just passing on God’s blessings.”

  “That’s what he said.”

  His mother’s smile widened. “Good. I must have raised that boy right after all.”

  “Well, other than being a little bossy, he seems like a very nice man.”

  “Boy, do you have him pegged,” Jenna said with a chuckle. “He even volunteered to be the director at our fledgling community theater just because he’s good at ordering people around.”

  “We nixed the idea at the first meeting,” Emily added. “Actually, to be fair, he un-volunteered, admitting he didn’t know the first thing about drama. So we put him to work as the head stagehand and helping Chance build the sets for the play we did on Valentine’s Day.”

  “It’s probably a good thing we won’t be doing another one until Christmas. Taking orders from his little brother drives him crazy.” Jenna grinned at Megan when she glanced back at her.

  “Now, girls, it’s not as bad as that,” Sue gently chided. “His grumbling is all in fun.”

  “Most of the time,” murmured Jenna. “The old sibling rivalry rears up on occasion. If you have any brothers, Megan, you probably know what I mean.”

  “No experience there. I’m an only child.” Which she’d always considered a blessing. She’d taken care
of herself, and often her mother, for as long as she could remember. It would have been much harder—and impossible to leave—if there had been another kid involved.

  Pushing those thoughts aside, she took a moment to admire Sue’s car. It must have every bell, whistle, and luxurious extra available. If their home was anything comparable, she was going to be a fish out of water.

  She shifted her attention to the town as they drove down the street. Yesterday, she’d dozed on the way to the hospital and hadn’t noticed any of the scenery. Interspersed between mostly wooden homes thirty to fifty years old were newer brick ones. Most were nice but not fancy, mainly one story. All were well cared for.

  Several had lush green lawns, but in just as many yards, there was more red dirt than sparse, struggling grass. Almost all of them had a shade tree or two, a few shrubs, and a handful of flower-filled pots to brighten up the landscape. Rain was normally scarce in West Texas, and summers were hot. Plenty of people couldn’t afford to buy the water needed for a nice green lawn.

  If you don’t water, you don’t have to mow. As a kid, Megan had gladly accepted her mother’s philosophy.

  Sue turned a corner, and Megan spotted a beautiful old three-story Victorian on the next block. “Oh, my goodness, what a beautiful house.”

  “That’s the Bradley-Tucker House, home of one of our pioneer ranching families.” There was a note of pride in Sue’s voice. “It belongs to the Historical Society and is an annex of our local museum. Emily is the curator of both sites.”

  “That’s how we lured her to Callahan Crossing,” said Jenna. “She came to set up the museum, and Chance convinced her to stay.”

  “And I’m very glad I did. I don’t miss the city one bit.”

  Sue drove slowly past the lovely old home. “I’m so thankful this part of town wasn’t hit by the fire.”

  “I saw that on the news,” said Megan. “It looked terrible.”

  “It was. But we’re coming back. Sixty homes have been rebuilt, and more are under construction. Chance’s company has done about half of them. Out-of-town companies have built some, and church groups from all over Texas have provided material and labor for others. If you aren’t too tired after we stop at the grocery store, we’ll make a loop through the part of town that was hit.” She made another turn and immediately pulled into the Miller’s Grocery parking lot. “Do you feel like going in? Or do you want us to just pick up your iron pills?”

  “I’d like to go in. It will be nice to move around. I got a little bored walking up and down the hall.” Megan wasn’t about to let them buy the pills. Unless they cost more than she had.

  8

  Inside the store, Jenna grabbed a cart and went with Megan to the pharmacy section. Sue and Emily also took carts and split up to do their shopping. Megan found that comforting. Will had mentioned a housekeeper, so she’d expected his mother to leave that chore to the hired help.

  “Is there anything else you need?” asked Jenna. “Maybe something that was blown away? I’d be glad to pick it up for you.”

  “No, thanks. I’m good. I just need the iron pills and a hair pick. Mine was sucked out of my purse.”

  “I have one at home you can have. I tried a curly perm last summer, but I didn’t like it all that well. Nate didn’t either, though he was kind enough not to tell me until after it had grown out.” Jenna made a face. “But Zach thought it looked funny, like a clown’s hair, and he let me know right away.”

  “Who’s Zach?” Megan put the bottle of supplements the doctor had recommended in the small top basket of the cart.

  “Our little boy. He’s three and a half, but even last year he talked a lot and didn’t hold back his opinions.”

  “I don’t know any toddlers who do.” Not that she was well acquainted with many little kids. There had been a couple in her apartment building and one of her clients had a two-year-old. “I don’t think tact is an inborn trait.”

  “There are a few in my three- and four-year-old Sunday school class that make me wonder on occasion, but I think mostly they’re just shy. They don’t blurt out what they’re thinking like some of the other children, but if it’s one-on-one, they say whatever comes to mind.”

  They moved around to the next aisle past the shampoo and stopped in front of the display of brushes, combs, and other hair accessories. There were two styles of hair picks. Either would cost almost four dollars with tax, making it a luxury she really couldn’t afford.

  I hate this! Megan glanced at Jenna’s smooth, layered hairstyle. “If you’re sure you don’t need the one you have at home, I’ll go with it.”

  “It’s yours. I need to get some Goldfish for Zach and taco chips and salsa for Nate.” Jenna nodded to her left. “They’re over a few aisles. I have to get a big box of crackers and a couple of bags of chips because they’ll wind up sharing both. I’ve never seen two guys have as much fun eating a snack together.”

  There were several people in the snack aisle, including one of Jenna’s friends, a young woman about the same age. “Lindsey, this is our friend Megan Smith from Austin.”

  Lindsey glanced at the bruises on Megan’s arms, shifted slightly, putting her back to the others in the aisle, and mouthed “tornado?”

  Jenna nodded. “Megan, this is Lindsey Moore, one of my best friends. You’ll see a lot of her. Her fiancé, Dalton Renfro, has been living on the ranch while he rebuilt the home he lost in the fire.”

  Megan and Lindsey exchanged greetings, even as Megan considered the way Jenna had introduced her. She hadn’t missed the fact that a couple of other women had moved nearer as soon as Lindsey stopped to talk to Jenna. Under the guise of deciding between potato chips and cheese puffs, they were obviously eavesdropping. She wondered if, like Lindsey, they’d heard about what had happened to her. Or maybe people in this small town wanted to know everything about the Callahans.

  Megan appreciated Jenna’s discretion in simply calling her a friend, though she used it in the loosest sense of the word. Mentioning Austin gave the busybodies a snippet of info so they would conclude that she was visiting the Callahans without really saying so.

  “Is Dalton still moving tomorrow?” asked Jenna.

  “Yes. He and Chance are doing the final walk-through this afternoon, but Dalton has already checked everything.” Lindsey smiled proudly. “Since he basically built the first house himself, he knows what problems to look for.”

  “Chance and his crew don’t make many mistakes.”

  “The only things he’s found were a few nicks in the paint and one missing outlet cover.”

  “I know he’ll be glad to get back to his own place, but we’ve enjoyed having him at the ranch.” Jenna looked at Megan. “He was in the same class as Chance and Nate. They’ve been good friends forever.”

  Megan wondered if he was Peg Renfro’s son but decided to wait and ask Jenna later. No sense bringing up the hospital in front of the other women. One of them was already leaning around Lindsey, trying to get a better look at her. “When is your wedding?”

  “June eighteenth. Less than a month away.”

  Jenna laughed. “Barely.”

  “Okay, only two days less, but now I can start saying weeks instead of months. So far everything has fallen into place, except Dalton won’t tell me where we’re going on the honeymoon. He wants it to be a surprise.” She giggled and leaned a little closer to Jenna and Megan, lowering her voice. “He just said to bring my swimsuit, suntan lotion, and a light jacket.”

  “Maybe a cruise?”

  “I hope not. He knows that doesn’t appeal to me. Every week he drops another hint, mainly what I should take. I might have it figured out by the wedding. I’d better run so I can take my groceries home and get back to the bank. It’s nice to meet you, Megan.”

  “You too.” Megan scooted the cart over so another lady could move past. There really was enough room, but the woman was looking for something on the shelves and not paying a lot of attention to where she was going.
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  They picked up the chips and salsa then went down the cracker aisle for the biggest box of Goldfish in the store. “Is Dalton Peg Renfro’s son?”

  “Yes. Was she your nurse?”

  “In the ER. I really like her.”

  “We do too. I don’t have any experience with her as a nurse, but I hear she’s good.”

  “She was with me. Kind but no nonsense. I like that.”

  Next came a bag of Dove chocolates, a package of oatmeal cookies, and one of chocolate chip cookies from the bakery. “I’d better pick up some healthy food too, or this will be totally classified as a junk food run. Nate and I both have a sweet tooth. I do a lot of my own baking, so I can cut down on the fat and sugar a bit, but I don’t always have the time.”

  “I’m guessing you both work hard enough that you burn up the calories.”

  “We do. I may have to be more careful when Zach gets bigger, but he keeps me hopping now. Is there anything special you want while we’re here in the bakery? I’m being sorely tempted by one of those doughnuts with chocolate icing.”

  Megan’s mouth watered as she surveyed the display case. “They do look good.”

  “Then let’s indulge. I’ll get some for Mom and Emily too.”

  Megan nodded. She really should offer to buy them or at least her own, but that would be foolishness. She figured Jenna knew it. Besides, the doctor said she needed to gain some weight.

  Jenna bagged up the treats and grinned at Megan when she set them in the cart. “We’ll pick up some of those little cartons of milk to go with them.”

  They found Sue and Emily in line at the checkout. When Jenna told them about the doughnuts, Emily ran back to the bakery for an assortment so they could take them to Chance and his construction crew.