A Texas Bond

by Shannon Taylor Vannatter

  She stopped five feet away, propped her hands on her hips.

  “Spin it fast again, Uncle Ross,” Mason squealed.

  “You got it.” He jumped off, spun them faster and faster, but this time he didn’t get back on. Instead he turned to face Stacia. She had the evil eye down to a science.

  “Get on with us,” Madison said.

  “I think I need to talk to your aunt.”

  She turned and stalked toward where Maverick sat at a picnic table.

  With no choice, Ross followed like a whipped pup and she hadn’t even said anything yet. What had he done to rile her so?

  “What were you thinking, Daddy?”

  Maverick looked as if he were at a loss too. “About what?”

  “You’re way over here with Ross a mile away. He could have taken off with Mason and Madison and you couldn’t have stopped him.”

  “I can assure you the thought never crossed my mind.” Ross blew out an exasperated sigh.

  “You’re being ridiculous, hon.” Maverick shook his head. “Ross isn’t going to make off with the kids. And if he’d tried, I’m right here.”

  “Right here, a mile away with a bum knee.”

  “It’s more like a hundred yards.” Ross jabbed his thumb in his chest. “And I’m right here. Take this up with me. I offered to play with the kids and let your dad sit in the shade.”

  “Of course you did. You’re intent on stealing them from me. Emotionally to begin with and then physically.”

  “Where is this coming from? If I’d wanted to take them and run, I’d have done it by now.” His hands fisted at his sides. The chatter and chirp of birds, once peaceful, turned into a cacophony overhead as he worked at controlling his temper.

  “Just go back to the workshop. You can come for supper tomorrow night and have properly supervised time with them.”

  “You’re being ridiculous.”

  “I can be as ridiculous as I want. I have custody.” She jabbed a thumb in her chest, obviously mocking him. “I’m responsible.”

  “Fine.” He turned to check on the twins.

  The merry-go-round had stopped. All three kids stood still, watching.

  “Sorry guys.” He waved. “I have to go back to the workshop. But your aunt Stacia will spin you and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Aw, bummer,” the twins voices blended.

  He turned back to face Stacia. “Just so you know, you’re not hurting me. You’re hurting them.” He stalked to his truck.

  * * *

  “Spin us, Aunt Stacia,” Madison called.

  “I’ll be there in a minute.” Even with Ross long gone, Stacia was still steaming and needed to calm down before she could play.

  “If you treat him that way, he’s liable to take you to court.” Daddy stood, started toward the merry-go-round.

  A chill went down her spine. “I can’t play nice and twiddle my thumbs while he steals them right from under us.”

  “I can spin it.” Jayda hopped off, grabbed a rail and ran in circles.

  “Just be careful,” Stacia said.

  “I will.”

  Daddy reclaimed his seat. “Ross is a Christian, Stace. And even if he wasn’t, I was watching the whole time. He couldn’t have gotten far.”

  “I can just see you hobbling after him.”

  “I do not hobble, thank you very much.” Daddy’s tone turned highly insulted.

  “You do if you step in a hole and this place is full of them.”

  “Sweetheart, Ross is not your aunt Eleanor. He’s not scheming, manipulative and obsessed.”

  “How would you know? You’ve known him for like a whole five minutes.” She closed her eyes, trying hard to tamp down her frustration. “You always trust too fast.”

  “At least I trust. I knew what your aunt was up to. Within a week of her coming to live with us. I didn’t know how she’d go about it, but I knew she wanted my girls.”

  “How?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve always been good at reading people. Ross reads honest, caring and on the up-and-up.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “We can’t live constantly on guard. We can’t anticipate everything in this life. You need to stop thinking you’re in control. Trust God to keep the kids safe.”

  “I can’t.” She blinked tears away. She’d trusted God to keep Mama and Calli safe. She still trusted Him. With her life and eternity. Just not with the ones she loved most.

  “I hope you’ll pray about that. And in the meantime, if you’re hostile toward Ross, the kids may take his side. He’s the new exciting thing in their world and they knew you were mad at him just now. It’s amazing what they pick up on.”

  “I’m aware.” She bolted toward the merry-go-round, eager to escape the conversation.

  “Ready for a spin?” She grabbed the bar as the rotation slowed.

  “How come you made Uncle Ross leave?” Mason frowned.

  Her breath caught. “I didn’t.”

  “Yes you did.” Madison scrutinized her. “You were mad at him.”

  “Not really mad.” She tried to cover. “We just disagreed over a project in the workshop, so Ross left to fix it.”

  “Why don’t you like him?” Mason persisted.

  “I don’t really know him very well yet.”

  “We do and we love him. We want you to love him too.” Madison’s voice held a lilt of sadness, as if Stacia had let her down.

  Putting a hitch in her chest. “He’s not my uncle, so I’m not really supposed to love him like y’all do.” This conversation was worse than the one she’d fled from with Daddy.

  “But you said Jesus wants us to love everybody, right?”

  “You’re right, Mad. I’ll work on that.” And for their sakes, she would. But she’d still be like a guard dog on patrol whenever he was with the twins.

  “Spin us some more,” Mason pleaded.

  Stacia poured all her anger into the merry-go-round. She’d kill Ross with kindness. But no one would ever take them away from her, no matter what she had to do to stop them.

  * * *

  “That’s fifteen coffee bars and fourteen completed bathtubs almost ready to be shipped.” Stacia tucked a stray, russet tendril behind her ear.

  Matter-of-fact, as if nothing had transpired between them at the park.

  “I’m confused,” Ross admitted. “Weren’t we at each other’s throats just last night?”

  “About that. I thought about things, and we need to get along. For Mason’s and Madison’s sakes.”

  “Agreed.”

  “They knew we were arguing yesterday and that’s not good. My bad and it won’t happen again. At least not in front of the twins.” She turned a withering glare on him. “But rabid Stacia will show up again if you try anything funny with them.”

  “Trust me, I’m well aware, but I don’t have any devious plans.”

  “Good. We need to focus on production. If we stay on track with five of each per day, we’ll make the deadline with no problem. And we get ahead of our quota when Daddy’s here.”

  Working with her for the last few days, he’d solved the mystery of her now you see ’em, now you don’t smattering of coppery freckles across her fair nose and cheeks. As each day wore on, she wiped dust or sweat away, until they appeared. It always made him wonder why she tried to cover them up.

  His fingertips itched with the urge to count them. Stop staring. “How do you ship them?”

  “Sometimes the salvage guys from Daddy’s business make deliveries for us. But most of the time, we employ kids from the community college in Kerrville or the Bible college in Comfort to deliver for us on Saturdays. By the time they get their degree or find something else, word of mouth gets us a fresh crew.”

  “This place runs like a well-oiled mac
hine.”

  “We’ve spent years working out the kinks.”

  “Oh, I almost forgot. I gave your dad my job application.”

  “If you’ve got any skeletons, they’re about to come out.”

  “I’m not worried.”

  They’d fallen into a routine. In the mornings Ross tended the cattle and helped Maverick with the task in the evenings. During the day he worked in the workshop with Stacia. When the kids got home from school, Stacia or her dad watched them until the store closed. On slow days or when both clerks were there, Maverick helped in the workshop too.

  Once the store was closed and the cattle was tended, he got to spend time with the twins at the ranch with Stacia’s supervision while her dad went back to the workshop for a few more hours. Determined the B and B order wouldn’t cut into family time, Stacia was careful not to work late at the store.

  Ross’s favorite times were in the evenings with her and the twins. After she’d wigged out at the park yesterday, he’d worried that might change. Thankfully, it seemed that wouldn’t be the case.

  The door from the store opened and Maverick stepped through. “Did you check your email, Stacia?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Got a message from Bandera and Fredericksburg about the tubs and coffee bar parts you inquired about.”

  “Wonderful.” She sat down at the computer.

  “Tomorrow, you two make a bathtub, coffee bar run.”

  “What?” Stacia squeaked.

  “Angel and Veronica will both be here to run the store tomorrow. I’ll handle the workshop while y’all make the trip.”

  “I can stay here and work,” Ross offered, as uncomfortable with the road trip idea as Stacia obviously was.

  “Y’all tiptoe around each other like an earthworm circling a prickly pear cactus. Best icebreaker I know is a road trip. And besides, Stacia will need muscle to help load the bathtubs.”

  “Shouldn’t we work on what we have before we bring more in?” she reasoned.

  “We’ve got plenty of room in the warehouse and running out of material will slow us down more than y’all taking a day. Besides, the dealers might deal with somebody else if we don’t jump on it. And if you wait until the weekend, you won’t have the delivery truck at your disposal.”

  “I guess you’re right.” Her tone sounded as if she were facing the firing squad. “I’ll get the twins ready in the morning and get them off to school while you help Daddy feed. We’ll leave when I get back.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Ross tightened a screw. The road trip would shake things up a bit. But she looked like she might lose her lunch at the thought.

  “I’ll get the kids ready for church tonight.” Maverick looked past Ross to Stacia. “Supper before or after?”

  “After. I’ll give them a snack when they get home.”

  “Should be any minute.” Maverick checked his watch. “Coming to church with us tonight, Ross?”

  “I’d like to.”

  “Anytime. At least there, y’all are on the same wavelength.” The older man headed back to the store. “Better get back to work.”

  “Do you go on scavenging trips often?”

  “Most of our stuff comes from Daddy’s salvage business. But from time to time, I hit other stores.”

  “Sounds fun.”

  “It can be.”

  He could almost hear her unspoken thoughts, if you weren’t coming.

  * * *

  Ross followed Maverick to the livestock barn the next morning.

  He had gone to Wednesday night Bible study with them last night. They were good people, well respected in the community and they genuinely loved his niece and nephew. There was no easy fix here.

  How could he let his parents in on Mason and Madison’s existence while they continued to live here in Medina? His folks wouldn’t be content with long-distance grandparenting after missing out on the first five years of the twins’ lives. If only Houston was closer.

  Temperatures had dipped to the mid-sixties during the night. But the sun was already hard at work, burning off the dew.

  Ross knew the drill without thinking. He and Maverick tag teamed opening feed sacks, pouring grain into the long troughs.

  Finished with their task, Maverick took the head while Ross took the heel, walking the seemingly endless line of cattle, counting each as they went.

  At the end, they faced each other as a trickle of sweat tickled a trail between Ross’s shoulder blades.

  “One hundred twenty-three cows and eighteen calves.” Maverick adjusted his hat.

  “Same here.”

  “A mighty fine day for everyone to behave.”

  Ross was torn with dreading the road trip and being relieved all of the cattle were accounted for. If any of the livestock hadn’t shown up, he’d have spent the day riding out to find them and possibly repairing fences, which could turn into an all-day problem. Avoiding Stacia in the process.

  On the other hand, the cattle needed to continue behaving themselves until the B and B order was complete. When had he started caring about the ranch and the store? He was here for the twins and he’d met Maverick and Stacia only six days ago. But since then he’d been with one or both of them most of his waking hours, and their concerns had become his.

  “Let’s put out some fresh hay bales.”

  The two men hoisted rectangular blocks of hay out of the barn and Ross went to work cutting the twine. The first few days, he’d tried to do all the heavy lifting and let Maverick worry about strings. But the older man obviously liked carrying his own weight. Every once in a while at the end of the day, he had a slight limp—the knee trouble Stacia had mentioned—but overall Maverick was as strong and capable as a man half his age.

  “Stacia’s been through a lot.” Finished with the bales, Maverick leaned on the rail fence, facing Ross. Pain dwelled in the depths of his blue eyes.

  “I’m sorry for your loss. A wife and a daughter—you’re a strong man.”

  “She doesn’t need to lose anyone else. Neither do I.”

  “I’ll do my best to come up with a compromise where no one gets hurt. Especially the kids.”

  If Mom and Dad could visit back and forth often, everything would be so much easier. But they were four hours away with a thriving business that consumed their time. Once he told them about the twins, his parents would want to spend time with them.

  Maverick shook his head. “I don’t see how you can do that. But I’ll hold you to it.”

  “Fair enough.” Surely his parents wouldn’t want to uproot the twins. How had he become caught in the middle, between his family and people he barely knew? His brother’s hijinks had caused all his troubles, as usual. He should be used to it by now.

  “Y’all better git.” The older man checked his watch. “And I better git to the workshop.”

  “Are you sure I should go with her? I could stay here and work.”

  “Nah. She doesn’t want you to go. But she’d have a hissy fit if I let you stay here alone with the kids.”

  “Do you think she’ll ever trust me with them?”

  “Besides her mama and sister dying on her, she’s had other folks let her down. You’ll have to spend a lot of hours showing her you can be trusted.”

  Other folks, such as the creepy, selfish principal.

  “I trust you’ll be extra careful with her heart.” Maverick’s gaze narrowed. “It’s tender emotionally. And physically.”

  What was he getting at? “I’m not looking to date your daughter, if that’s what you mean. The twins are my reason for being here.”

  “I know that, but I also know my daughter is a lovely girl, just like her mother. Y’all are about the same age. Both unattached. And I’m not blind. I’ve seen you looking at her.”

  Ross’s face heated. What could
he say to that? Guilty as charged. He’d noticed her beauty. More than that, he’d seen her gentleness and obvious love for the twins. He had to tread carefully. Under different circumstances, she’d be exactly the type of woman he could fall for. But her heart had already been damaged by two painful losses.

  But wait, what had Maverick said? Her heart had been damaged emotionally and physically? Did she have the same condition as her mom and sister?

  “Does Stacia have a heart problem?”

  “I’ve already said too much.”

  If Stacia had a heart condition, could the stress of the situation with him and the twins cause her health issues? He didn’t have any experience with such things.

  She worked hard physically in the workshop. Most days, she broke a good sweat, sanding claw-foot tubs. And he’d seen her put her back into it to pry nails out of coffee bar parts. Surely if her health was so fragile, she’d let him do the hard stuff. And Maverick wouldn’t send her on a road trip with her biggest stressor if her heart was in danger. Would he?

  “Just tread carefully with her, will you?”

  “You have my word.” But there was the principal she might be still pining for. Didn’t Maverick know she was still hung up on him?

  “Good.” Maverick offered his hand.

  Ross clasped it, gave a firm shake.

  The older man ambled toward the workshop and Ross followed, deep in thought.

  His gut twisted. Just in case her heart was weak, he couldn’t afford to upset her.

  The way he saw it, he had two options. Figure out a compromise where the twins stayed put but his folks visited often, which would be difficult because of his parents’ business and the distance between them. Or find out if she still wanted the principal enough to share the kids with his folks.

  * * *

  The fifteen-minute trip to Bandera had passed in silence. They’d gotten enough pieces and parts for fifteen coffee bars, along with fifty claw-foot tubs, and gotten a good deal on all of them.

  But then she’d gotten stuck in Daddy’s truck with her worst nightmare for the hour drive to Fredericksburg. Yet in many ways, she liked Ross. He was great with the twins and he’d taken a large load off her shoulders with the B and B order. On top of being a hard worker, he was kind and genuinely wanted to attend church.