A Willing Wife

by Jackie Merritt

  “He’s just playing with you, Trav. Come on. I’ll give you a ride home, and you just wait and see. Baron will realize the game is over and follow us.”

  Travis looked worried. “What if he doesn’t? What if he keeps on going and I never get him back?”

  Dallas looked at the puppy, who was lying down about ten feet away with his nose on his front paws. “If he doesn’t follow, then I’ll catch him and bring him back to you. Come on, Trav, if your mother has noticed your absence, you’re going to be in big trouble. Let’s get you home before she does notice.”

  Travis visibly gulped. “Gosh, I didn’t think of that.”

  “You should have, son,” Dallas said gently. “An honorable man keeps his promises.”

  “Yeah, but—but Baron ran away and…and I had to catch him.”

  Dallas lifted the boy to Vic’s back, then climbed up behind Travis. “If you hadn’t chased Baron, he probably wouldn’t have gone far. He’s a playful little guy, Trav, and you can’t let having fun interfere with a promise.” Dallas urged Vic into a fast walk.

  “Mama’s gonna be mad at me, ain’t she?”

  “If she discovered your absence, I wouldn’t doubt it.” Dallas looked behind them. “Take a look for yourself, Trav. Baron’s following us.”

  Travis peered around Dallas and said dispiritedly, “Yeah, he is. How’d you know he would?”

  “Because he doesn’t want to be way out here by himself, Trav. He’s your puppy and you’re his boy.”

  Travis cheered up and giggled. “I’m his boy?”

  “Yes, but before you’re Baron’s boy, you are your mother’s boy. That’s what you have to remember the next time Baron tries to lure you out of the yard. Your mother loves you very much, and she worries about you.”

  “I love her too, Dallas.”

  “I know you do, son. I know you do,” Dallas said quietly.

  Maggie was getting frantic. Travis was not playing in one of the haystacks, and she didn’t know where to look for him next. The ranch was so big. The buildings were big, and there were so many of them. And what if he’d wandered far enough away that he had ended up in the bulls’ pasture? In two hours he could have covered a lot of ground. How could she have let herself get so involved in her plans that she’d forgotten to check on him? He was only five years old, and if anything happened to him it would be her fault.

  Maggie shuddered. She couldn’t start thinking that way. She had to believe that Travis was all right or she would collapse on the spot. She began running again, this way and that, and shouting his name.

  Then she heard someone shouting her name. Wild-eyed she stopped running and looked around. Relief weakened her knees. Coming toward her were Dallas and Travis, both riding Vic.

  “Here I am, Mama!” Travis yelled.

  Maggie had no strength to answer. Apparently Dallas had once again been in the right place at the right time. Why did this keep happening? It was as though he’d been appointed her and her son’s keeper. Any time either of them was in some kind of trouble, Dallas was always there.

  As grateful as she was that Travis was safe and sound, Maggie wasn’t happy about being forced into talking to Dallas. She vowed to keep any conversation between them strictly impersonal.

  “Where was he?” she asked dully, as Dallas dismounted and then lifted Travis to the ground. The second Travis was down, he ran back to Baron to hug and pet his puppy.

  “About a quarter-mile from here,” Dallas said quietly. “He was chasing Baron. Apparently the puppy ran away and Travis kept trying to catch him. No harm was done, Maggie, and I hope you’re not too angry with the boy.”

  She turned hard eyes on Dallas. “Who should I be angry with, in that case? Should it be you for giving the puppy to Travis in the first place?”

  Dallas’s own eyes became steely. “I never do anything right, do I, Maggie? Well, the anger I see in your eyes right now is no more than what I’ve come to expect from you.” He climbed back on his horse. “See you later, Trav,” he called. “Remember what I told you about keeping promises.”

  “I will, Dallas,” Travis called back. “See ya.”

  Too late, Maggie realized that she hadn’t even tried to thank Dallas. His coolness had matched her own, and, in fact, he had gotten the last word.

  Disheartened by circumstances that she honestly believed were beyond her control, she said listlessly, “Come on, Travis, let’s go home.”

  The boy got to his feet. “Are you mad at me, Mama?”

  Maggie sighed. “You left the yard again, son.”

  “But I couldn’t help it, Mama. I was afraid that Baron was running away.” Travis frowned then. “Dallas said that ‘hobornal’ men keep their promises. What does hobornal mean, Mama?”

  “The word is honorable, son. An honorable person has a strong sense of right and wrong, and he’s honest and trustworthy.”

  They held hands for a quite solemn walk to the Perez house. Baron followed with his little tail between his hind legs and his head down, acting as chagrined as his pint-size master.

  All through dinner that evening Maggie was on pins and needles. Both her parents were present; it was an opportune time to talk to them. Besides, putting off the necessary discussion about her job interview was childish. She should just introduce the topic, say her piece and get it over with.

  But Travis was also present, and her father—appearing to be more tired than usual after a day’s work—ate without saying much. So Maggie decided to wait until Travis was in bed. That didn’t work out, because Ruben went to bed while Maggie was tucking in her son for the night. Rosita stayed up for another hour or so, but by nine-thirty everyone had gone to bed. Maggie lay in hers and worried until she fell asleep.

  When Maggie got up the next morning, Rosita was in the kitchen. It was early, and Travis, Maggie knew, would sleep for at least another hour. “Good morning, Mama. Where’s Papa?”

  “He left about an hour ago,” Rosita said. “He and Cruz are going to a horse auction. I don’t think Cruz is ready to start buying stock yet, but he wants to keep up on the price of good horseflesh.”

  “Makes sense,” Maggie murmured as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She joined her mother at the table. “Will Papa be gone all day?”

  “Most of it. Why, Maggie?”

  “Just curious,” she replied vaguely. Then she really looked at her mother. “You look tired, Mama. Didn’t you sleep well?”

  “I had one of those nights with too many dreams,” Rosita replied. “The one that is still bothering me was about Logan Fortune. You remember Logan, don’t you?”

  “I haven’t seen him for years, but yes, I remember him. His father is Cameron Fortune, Ryan’s brother, am I right?”

  “Yes, and Cameron was killed in a terrible collision with a truck about five years ago. A young woman was in the car with him, and she died, too.”

  “Oh, yes, I remember that now. If I recall correctly, Cameron was quite a lady’s man.”

  “Judging from some of the things I’ve heard about Logan, he is a lot like his father where women are concerned,” Rosita said with a sigh. “Not that flitting from woman to woman is a crime. He is a single man, after all, and he’s also very dedicated to the company. He’s the CEO of Fortune TX in San Antonio and a hard worker, or so I’ve heard. But…”

  “But what, Mama?” Maggie asked. She really wasn’t interested in Logan Fortune’s history or present life-style, but she could tell that Rosita wanted to talk about her dream. “Why did dreaming about Logan trouble you?”

  “Because it was more like a premonition than a dream,” Rosita said.

  Maggie had grown up with her mother’s premonitions, visions and dreams, and knew that many times Rosita’s predictions had been amazingly accurate and had actually taken place, in one form or another.

  “Tell me about it,” Maggie urged.

  “Well, it was a very strange dream. Logan was sitting on a chair under a spotlight. The rest of the room was
dark, and there were voices coming out of the dark, as though Logan was being questioned. I couldn’t make out what the voices were saying, but there was a very eerie quality about the whole thing.” Rosita paused a moment, then said quietly, “I believe it means that there’s trouble on the horizon for Logan.”

  “Maybe he’s going to be arrested for some reason. If he was being questioned—”

  “No,” Rosita said with a shake of her head. “My feeling is that he’s going to be forced into facing something.”

  “Yes, well, that can certainly be troubling,” Maggie said, thinking of herself in that context. Maybe this was the moment to speak, she thought. Maybe it was best if she talked to her mother first, who would be the most vocal of her parents during a discussion, anyway.

  “Mama, there’s something I have to tell you,” Maggie said. She lifted her eyes from her cup of coffee to look across the table at Rosita. “I have a job interview with a bank in Houston on Monday morning.”

  Rosita frowned and fidgeted for a few moments, then asked, “Why, Maggie? Why aren’t you content to be living at home?”

  “I have to pay my own way,” Maggie said softly. “Please try to understand.”

  “What I understand is that you’ll be raising Travis in a big city, and he’s so happy here.”

  “I know he is, but he was also happy in Phoenix, Mama. Young children are very adaptable, and as long as I provide a secure environment for him, and I’m there for him when he needs me, he will adjust to city life again.”

  “Maggie, how can you be there for him when you’re working?”

  “The same way you were here for us when you were working. Mama, you always worked, and did it hurt any of us kids? Not a bit, and it was because we always knew we could come to you with anything, good or bad. We always knew you loved us, Mama. Well, I’ve nourished the same kind of relationship with Travis. He knows I love him.”

  “Yes, I’m sure he does, but you still can’t compare my life to yours. My work was always right here on the ranch, and I remember many occasions when one of you kids came running to the big house to talk to me about something. That’s a far cry from your working in a bank and Travis being cared for by strangers.”

  “Today’s world is a far cry from what it was during those years, Mama.”

  “My point exactly,” Rosita said. “Don’t go, Maggie. Stay here where you’re loved and wanted, and where Travis will never have to go without.” Rosita’s eyes suddenly narrowed. “What does that job pay?”

  Maggie could only be honest on that point. “I don’t know. I won’t know until the interview. Mama, I understand why you feel the way you do. You haven’t lived anywhere else since you were fourteen years old. I’m sure that for you the world beyond this ranch looks very big and frightening.”

  “I watch the news. I know what’s going on out there, Maggie. I want no part of it, and I wish you felt the same.”

  “I’m sorry, Mama,” Maggie said gently. “But I have to do this.”

  “Your papa is not going to like it.”

  “I know that.”

  “What about Dallas?”

  Maggie’s heart lurched. “Dallas has his life, I have mine. It’s as simple as that, Mama.”

  “You never gave him a chance.”

  Maggie became thoughtful, then said quietly, “Maybe he never deserved a chance.”

  “Maggie!” Rosita gasped. “How can you say such a thing? Dallas is a wonderful man. Why wouldn’t he deserve a chance?”

  Maggie could not take this conversation any further. Not without explaining her and Dallas’s perfectly awful relationship.

  Pushing back her chair, she got up. “I don’t want to talk about Dallas, Mama. I’m going to go and see if Travis is awake.”

  Fourteen

  Maggie fidgeted nervously when she realized that her parents were discussing her plans in their bedroom shortly after her father got home from the horse auction. But after about an hour they came out all smiles, and their change of attitude was surprising. Maggie had expected, at the very least, to hear a lecture from her father.

  “I’ll watch Travis for you on Monday,” Rosita told her.

  Startled by such a complete turnabout, Maggie objected. “Mama, I appreciate your offer, but the hotel I’ll be staying at is arranging a baby-sitter for me.”

  “I know, but I would really like to do this.”

  “Well, if you’re sure.” Maggie was so relieved that her parents were now on her team that her heart swelled with love for them. They had always been kind, generous people, and she should have known they would eventually grasp her need for independence, and maybe even admire her spunk.

  Her father offered to drive her to town to catch the bus to Houston on Sunday, and she threw her arms around him and hugged him. “Thank you, Papa.”

  The evening passed normally—they talked quite a lot about Christmas—and no one mentioned her interview again. In bed that night, again thinking how lucky she was to have two such great parents, Maggie suddenly felt the strangest sense of something awry. The sensation hit her from out of the blue and bothered her unmercifully. Something was wrong. Rather, something wasn’t quite right, but what on earth could it be?

  And then she realized that along with not mentioning her interview again, her mother had also not mentioned Dallas. Not even after her father and Travis had gone to bed and Maggie and her mother had been alone. In fact, her mother had projected unusually high spirits while they chatted about Christmas and other things. And, thinking about it now, Maggie found it hard to believe that her mother had so easily given up on bringing her and Dallas together.

  “That is strange,” Maggie whispered to herself uneasily. Rosita Perez did not give up on anything she’d set her mind to. At least she didn’t until she had tried every possible way to make things work out as she believed they should.

  Unless her father had told her to lay off, Maggie mused. The only times in her memory that her mother had backed away from something were if her husband had put his foot down and demanded that she mind her own business. Her mother made most of the decisions in the family, but she never argued with her husband if he made a decision.

  “Hmm,” Maggie murmured, wondering if Dallas had been a part of her parents’ private discussion in their bedroom. It was entirely possible that her father had told his wife to leave Dallas be. In fact, it seemed to be the most likely reason why her mother hadn’t brought up his name this evening when she and Maggie were alone.

  That line of thought led Maggie to Dallas himself. With his image clearly defined in her mind’s eye, she sighed ponderously. If he had fallen in love with her, as she had with him, they would now be in the process of planning their wedding. How sad it was that he couldn’t forget Sara and let himself love another woman.

  It even seemed petty to her now that she had once found his name and position to be such a deterrent to a lasting relationship. She loved Dallas Fortune and probably always would. She felt that she might as well forgo her hope of marrying again, because her feelings for Dallas were going to make it nearly impossible for her to love some other man.

  Unshed tears began stinging her eyes, and she stopped herself from breaking down completely by thinking of her Monday morning interview. If she got that job she would concentrate on her career. There were other roads to happiness besides love and marriage, and she would find them. She and Travis were going to be happy. She swore it.

  Maggie was packed and ready to leave when her father said, “Something’s come up that I have to take care of, Maggie. Cruz is going to drive you to Red Rock.”

  Realizing that her father was not looking her in the eye, Maggie again felt that nagging suspicion that all was not as it seemed on the surface. But she merely said, “That’s fine, Papa.”

  When Cruz arrived without his wife, Maggie said, “I thought that Savannah would be going with us.”

  “She’s in the middle of something,” Cruz said. “She told me to wish you luck
with your interview. Are you ready to go?”

  “All set.” Maggie knelt by her son and gave him a big hug. “Now, you be a good boy for Grandma. I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon.” She kissed his soft cheek and hugged him again. Her father had disappeared, but her mother was waiting to see her off, and Maggie hugged her also. “I’ll get back as quickly as I can,” she said. “You have the name and phone number of the hotel I’ll be staying at tonight. Don’t hesitate to call me if…something happens.” Maggie glanced at her son, making it clear where her concern lay.

  Rosita smiled broadly. “Nothing is going to happen, Maggie, and I know in my heart that everything is going to turn out real well for you. See you tomorrow. And don’t worry about Travis.”

  “Thank you, Mama.” Cruz carried her small suitcase, and together they walked to his pickup. Maggie settled herself in the passenger seat and fastened her seat belt. She waved at her son and mother as Cruz drove away from the house.

  On the highway, she said to her brother, “This is really nice of you, Cruz.”

  He sent her a grin. “Just remember you owe me a favor.”

  Maggie grinned too. “I’m sure you won’t let me forget it.” Her demeanor sobered. “Even if nothing comes of this interview, I will eventually find a job and move to Houston. When I’m finally settled, I would love it if you and Savannah came for a visit.”

  Cruz cleared his throat. “I think that’s a safe enough bet. I know what good friends you and Savannah have become, and if you’re ever really living in Houston, I’m sure she would insist that we go there to see you and Travis.”

  “Not ‘if,’ Cruz, when,” Maggie reminded. “I really like Savannah. You’re a lucky man, Cruz.”

  “I know I am,” Cruz said quietly. He was looking straight ahead, watching the road as he drove. “Maggie, Papa asked me to take you to Red Rock so you and I could talk.”

  “He did? But he told me—” Cruz’s words sank in “—What does he want us to talk about, Cruz?” After a second she added, “I already know, don’t I? Mama and Papa want you to talk me out of taking this step.” She sighed heavily. “They only pretended to agree with me, didn’t they?”