They sang “Precious Memories” and “When We All Get to Heaven.” And then the preacher opened the service to anyone who wanted to step up and talk for a few minutes.
Hope was the first one on her feet and she took a moment to look out over the congregation before she started. “Rosalie Varner was the most aggravating woman I ever knew and one of the most generous. She was my mother’s best friend and they organized lots of church socials and funeral dinners. She loved our little town and she’s probably throwing a fit in heaven right now because we’re doing this. Well, Rosalie, this is for us. I’m going to miss you and for the first time in my life, I get to tell you to sit down and hush.”
Henry passed her as she went to sit down. Carlene noticed that for a brief second he locked little fingers with her. He adjusted the microphone. “When my mother was ailing and couldn’t get to church, Rosalie would come to the house every Sunday afternoon. She’d bring a plate of oatmeal cookies or a blackberry cobbler, which were my mother’s favorite desserts, and she’d sit with her for at least an hour and tell her everything the preacher said, what songs they’d sung that morning and who was at church. I appreciated that and I’ll never forget her for it.”
Carlene stood and made her way to the podium. “I loved my aunt Rosalie. She gave me the desire for roots and the love for this town. I hope that part of her will live on in me. Although her boots are way too big for me to fill, I’ll do my best. Thank you all for being her family when we weren’t here. Oh, and she made the best snickerdoodles in the whole world.”
One by one, the folks came forward until the hour was nearly up and then the preacher took his place again. “Thank you all and, Carlene, Hope, and all Rosalie’s close friends, I hope this has brought you a little bit of closure. Now we’ll close with another hymn. If you’ll all stand, we’ll sing ‘Just Over in the Gloryland’ and then we’ll go straight to the fellowship hall for a potluck dinner.”
When they first walked inside, Tilly hung back but Jace held out his hand. “I’ll be right here with you and your mama. And Maribel is right over there.”
She put her hand in his and smiled up at him. “Do they all know that you are my…you know?”
“They do and it’s okay,” Jace said. “You ready or do you need a little more time? We can all three go back into the church and wait until you are comfortable.”
“Tilly!” Maribel yelled, and waved. “Come on over here with us. We’re all going to sit together.”
It was the same group of little girls and boys she’d sat with at the rodeo. She let go of Jace’s hand and looked up at her mother. “Will you be okay if I go with them?”
“I think so,” Carlene said.
“Here.” She picked up Jace’s hand and put her mother’s in it. “It’ll help.”
“It helps me for sure.” Jace smiled.
Maribel crossed the floor and together they went to the other side of the room to the group of kids.
Carlene tried to pull her hand free but he held on to it.
“I need the support whether you do or not. This is a big day for me, Carlene. My first public appearance as a daddy,” he said.
She craned her neck upward until she was sinking into his gorgeous eyes. He wasn’t joking. He was truly nervous. She hadn’t thought about someone as tough as a Dawson ever being insecure in any role, but Jace was. She squeezed his hand and took the first step toward the tables of food where the people were lining up.
Carlene took a few extra minutes after the church potluck and drove down south of town to take a peek at the house Regina had told her about. She almost missed the faded sign on the fence and had to brake hard to make the turn into the lane leading to a small frame house. From the outside it didn’t look a bit better than Aunt Rosalie’s place and she’d have a really big yard to be kept mowed. But she held out hope until she and Tilly got out of the vehicle and a skunk ran out from under the front porch with three babies behind it.
Tilly grabbed her nose. “They’re cute, but this place stinks and look at all them spiders on the front door.” She got back into the van and slammed the door.
There was no use in even looking at the place now. Tilly would never set foot inside the house. Carlene got into the driver’s seat and really looked at the house. “Too much yard and I’m not sure we’d like living with skunks under the house.”
Tilly exhaled with a dramatic whoosh. “Thank you, Mama. I’d have nightmares in that place.”
She turned the van around and drove back to Hope Springs and parked beside Jace’s truck.
“Thank goodness for rain boots,” Carlene muttered as she stomped snow from her rubber boots at the door of the ranch house on Hope Springs. She’d forgotten about snow and cold weather and she missed Florida where anything white was warm sand, not freezing-cold snow finding its way down her back and freezing her cheeks. A shiver chased down her spine as she knocked on the door.
Tilly bent over and brushed the snow from her feet. “I need some cowboy boots. All of Kasey’s kids have them. I saw them when everyone was huggin’ us after our dinner at the church. I was the only one there in fancy shoes.”
Valerie threw open the door and stood to one side. “Come right in. You can put your boots over there on the rug with everyone else’s. I hear the kids are building a snowman this afternoon.”
“Rubber boots beside all them cowboy boots,” Tilly grumbled.
Valerie said. “So you want boots, do you? I hear your birthday is sometime in February, so maybe you could ask for them then.”
Tilly slipped her hand into Carlene’s like she always did when she was nervous. “Yes, I do and I told Aunt Bee. My birthday is February the twenty-fourth.”
Jace stepped out of the living room. “Hey, I thought I heard your voices out here. Emma’s been askin’ where you were and when you’d get here. She’s in the living room with a whole suitcase full of dolls.”
“Will you come with me, Mama?” Tilly asked.
“Sure she will,” Valerie said. “It’s been a long time since she’s been here, but it hasn’t changed much.”
“Thanks, Valerie,” Carlene said. Ten years hadn’t changed the house at Hope Springs any more than it had the one at Prairie Rose. There were just as many memories lurking around in the shadows at the sprawling house on Hope Springs. But there were more down at the actual springs where she and Jace had gone skinny-dipping more than once.
“So, how did the night go after y’all went up to bed? She didn’t mention anything about it all day when I was in your presence,” Jace whispered when Tilly let go of Carlene’s hand and started toward Emma.
Emma squealed and hugged Tilly. “Play Barbies with me.”
Tilly sat down where Emma had opened up a whole case full of dolls and clothing.
“I asked her about it at bedtime and she said she didn’t want to talk about it,” Carlene said. “I’m going to wait until she comes to me. Lord knows she’s been through enough for one week.”
“So have you,” he said softly.
“Hey, Carlene, you got moved in over at Prairie Rose all right?” Brody called out from the sofa.
“Just about. What’s goin’ on with Aunt Rosalie’s place now?” she asked.
“We’ve gotten all the utilities turned off and with that hole in the wall and this bad weather, I don’t imagine there’s much left worth saving. If there’s anything in there you want to salvage, you might want to do it this week.”
“I’ll go take a look.” She looked up into Jace’s face. “If she misses me, tell her I’m in the kitchen.”
“I will,” he drawled.
Two words only but the electricity between them was so hot that it made her wish for one of those cardboard church fans. She stepped to the left to go around him and he did the same thing. She went to the other side and so did he.
“Shall we dance?” He drew her into his arms for a two-step and even provided the music by singing Blake Shelton’s “Every Time I Hear That Song.�
� He moved her across the living room and into the kitchen without missing a beat or a dance step.
“Do you realize that the guys are watching you and, sweet Lord, look at your sister’s face,” she whispered.
“Thanks for the dance, ma’am.” He bent low and kissed the palm of her hand.
“Well, now, what’s that all about?” Lila asked.
“I was trying to get around him and…” Carlene shrugged.
“Okay, okay. We’ll discuss you and Jace another time. We’re dyin’ to know what Tilly said after I left,” Hope said.
“She didn’t want to talk about it, not all day or last night or this morning,” Carlene said. “I’m sorry to spring all this on the family. We’ll find a place as soon as possible. I intend to make a home here, but I want all of you to know that it’s your choice whether you want to get involved with Tilly and that there’s no hard feelings if you want to step away from it.”
There.
She’d said her piece and now the ball was in their court.
Kasey threw an arm around Carlene’s shoulders. “Me and my family sure want her in our lives. She’s all Emma talks about. It’s good to have another granddaughter in the family. And, Carlene, we want you in our lives, too, not just Tilly.”
“And that goes for the rest of us,” Hope said.
“Thank you,” Carlene said. “But…”
“There are no buts in good relationships,” Valerie said. “Now, Lila, Kasey, and Carlene, y’all start carrying bowls to the table.”
“I figured they’d be furious,” Carlene whispered to Lila as they took food from the kitchen to the dining room.
“When you guys were eighteen they probably would have been. But you’re welcome.” Lila smiled and gave her a wink.
“Welcome for what?”
Kasey leaned over and said, “Lila and I already paved the path for you, darlin’. We’ve done the heavy liftin’. Now you and Jace have a clear path if you want to take it.”
Carlene patted them both on their shoulders. “Thank you, but what’s in the past stays there. It’ll be nice if Jace and I can be friends for Tilly’s sake but I don’t expect any more than that.”
Who are you kiddin’?
Since he was a kid, Jace had loved the snow. His granny had passed down a rule to his mama that said that a kid could go out and play as long as they wanted but when they came in the house, they had to stay. There would be no running in and out to get warm and then going back out in the cold.
So after lunch while he was helping the two younger ones get bundled up in their coats, he wasn’t surprised to hear those same words from Kasey and then for Carlene to echo them concerning Tilly. It didn’t even shock him too much when Valerie pointed her finger and said the same thing to him.
“And Brody and Nash?” he asked.
“If they get sick, I don’t have to listen to them whinin’. That’s Lila’s and Kasey’s job. But it’s still my job to help take care of you, so I get to boss you until you fix that little issue,” Valerie said.
“Then I guess you’ll be bossin’ me for a long time,” Jace teased, but he searched the room for Carlene until she was in his sight and hoped that he would be proven wrong.
“Karma can and will kick you in the butt,” Brody said as he picked up Emma and carried her outside. Nash scooped up Silas. “Don’t look at me. Kasey gave me my snow orders already.”
“You aren’t comin’ out with us?” Tilly asked her mother as she zipped up her coat.
“No, I’m going to be in the house taking pictures through the window to send to Nanny and Aunt Bee.” Carlene pulled out her phone. “First picture is of you and the kids, okay? Can you gather them up on the porch before you go out in the snow? And then I want one with all the guys and you kids.”
“Thank you,” Jace mouthed as he got into his place behind Tilly for the picture.
The excitement reminded him of the days when dozens of his Dawson cousins would come from all over Texas to Prairie Rose for Easter. They’d have a huge egg hunt in the pasture behind the house, and Valerie’s rule for that was that any cowboy older than twelve had to help hide the eggs. The kids would line up across the fence line and wait for Valerie to drop a bandana and then they’d rush out in a dead run, most of the time leaving eggs behind them in their wake.
It might be a long time before Tilly called him Daddy, if she ever did, but today at least he got to help her build her very first snowman. And that was every bit as exciting as the egg hunts when he was a kid.
“Look, Tilly, it’s almost over my snow boots,” Emma said when Brody set her down.
“So how are we going to do this?” Jace asked.
“I vote that you and Tilly make the bottom since she’s the oldest and it has to be the biggest,” Nash said. “Silas and I will make the head and Brody and Rustin can make the middle section.”
“I’m with Tilly,” Emma said.
“Of course she is. Girl cousins have to work together,” Jace agreed.
“I’m putting the arms and other stuff here on the porch,” Hope called out.
“Thanks, Granny.” Jace waved.
“Okay, ladies, let’s get to work. We’ve got the biggest job there is.” Jace patted snow into a round shape in his big hands and set it on the ground. “Now it’s time to roll it into something big.”
“Like this, Uncle Jace?” Emma pushed it across the yard a few feet.
“Just like that. When you get to the pecan tree, let Tilly turn it around and bring it back this way.”
Emma struggled the last two feet but she made the distance and then handed the job off to Tilly. “Hard work. I’m goin’ to make a snow angel while you get it all bigger.”
“Flip it over so that it stays round,” Jace said.
“What do we do when it’s too big to turn over?” Tilly started to roll it toward the house.
“That’s what I’m for.” Jace followed behind her.
“What’s a snow angel?” Tilly whispered.
“Turn around and look at Emma,” he said.
“Oh!” Her eyes widened. “Can I make one of those so Mama can send a picture to Aunt Bee?”
“Sure you can. I’ll roll this for a bit while you go make one right beside Emma’s. That way there’s a little one and a big one.”
When he reached the porch, he turned it around and hiked a hip onto the porch. Not minding the cold that shot through his jeans, he watched the two girls as they made perfect snow angels. Their giggles were like the sweet sound of wind chimes as they echoed out over the ranch.
If he’d married Carlene back out of high school, they could easily have four kids by now. But would you be the same person you are today? At that age you weren’t ready to start a family.
“I am now,” he muttered under his breath.
“What was that?” Brody asked as he and Rustin pushed their snowball toward him. “You’d better be doin’ your job or our big old middle won’t have a bottom to sit on.”
“I was just mumblin’,” Jace said. “And don’t you worry about this part of the snowman. All I got to do is get it to size and place it in the middle of the yard. You have to set your part up on it.”
“Which you and Nash will help me with, I’m sure.” Brody flashed a grin as he and Rustin headed off in a different direction, leaving clear paths zigzagged out across the yard. “And aren’t we glad that this held off until after the bronc ridin’?”
“Amen, brother.” Jace suddenly had two little girls beside him ready to finish making their part of the snowman.
Months went by in Happy, Texas, with nothing but routine ranch work. Plow, plant, work cattle, make hay, fix machinery, rebuild fences. And then boom! Just like that, all kinds of fireworks could begin.
It was hard to believe that only a little more than a week ago Carlene had come back to town—even more difficult to think that the fire had happened only night before last. He was replaying every scene with Carlene as he rolled the big snowball
across the yard. He didn’t even realize how close he was to Tilly until she yelled at him.
“Don’t mess up our angels,” she scolded. “We want Mama to take pictures of them. This is so much fun. I built a little snowman at the beach with sand one time but this is the real thing. Will we get more snow?”
“Never know in January or February but by March it’s usually gettin’ pretty warm,” Jace said. “Aren’t you girls about to freeze?”
“Yep, but I’m not going inside until we get him all finished,” Tilly declared.
“Hey.” Jace waved at the window where Kasey and Carlene were both taking pictures. “Kasey, bring one of Granny’s old coats. Tilly’s isn’t keepin’ her warm.”
Kasey brought out a coat, handed it to Jace and said, “Roll up the sleeves and just put it on over what she’s already wearing.”
“Gotcha.” Jace agreed.
“Better?” he asked when he’d put it on Tilly and buttoned up the front.
“I’m fat as the snowman now,” she giggled.
“Not quite, and that poor old feller won’t ever have pretty red hair,” Jace told her.
“Like me.” Emma said seriously.
“Like both you girls,” Jace said.
“We’ve got our part as big as I figure we can lift him without gettin’ out the tractor,” Brody said.
“One more roll and we’ll be ready for you,” Jace called out from across the yard.
“We got the head all done, right, Silas?” Nash asked the toddler.
“Yep, Nashie and me all done.” Silas said seriously.
Jace groaned when they lifted the midsection. “We should’ve gotten the tractor.”
“I can help.” Rustin joined the three guys and slipped his hands under a section.
“Me too.” Silas put his little hands on the big round ball.
“Me too,” Tilly declared as she joined in the effort with Emma right beside her.
“Okay, kids, one two three,” Jace said as the middle came up from the ground and set down perfectly on the bottom. “Couldn’t have done it without y’all helping.”
Luckiest Cowboy of All--Two full books for the price of one Page 13
