Texas Rebels: Quincy

by Linda Warren

  As he walked toward the kitchen, he thought Paxton had traded something real for something fluff. But then Paxton always went for the looks. Beautiful women gravitated toward him and he took advantage of that. Jenny was beautiful in a natural, sweet way that would last a lifetime. It was a shame Paxton couldn’t see that.

  His mom made sandwiches for lunch and introduced Lisa to the family. Quincy went back to the house to check on Grandpa, needing to get away from the circus.

  “You have to wear your white shirt tonight, Grandpa.”

  “Fiddle-faddle. I can wear what I want.”

  “Mama wants everyone to look nice.”

  “Then, I really will wear whatever I please.”

  His mom and Grandpa didn’t get along, which was a source of tension for the whole family. Quincy hoped his grandpa would comply, but that was like whistling Dixie in Bangor, Maine. No one was listening or cared.

  The day passed quickly and Quincy made several trips to the house to help his mother, as did all his brothers. The food was ready and the tables were set. Now they waited for the guests to arrive. Quincy even managed to get Grandpa into his white shirt and nice boots. Quincy also wore his best duds.

  Eden and Phoenix were in charge of music and had the stereo blaring loudly in the den. Falcon’s wife, Leah, his daughter, Eden, and Egan’s wife, Rachel, had decorated the house, and everything looked festive with streamers, balloons and candles. Guests started to arrive and his mother, Paxton and Lisa went to the front door to greet them.

  Although Quincy was busy handing out drinks, he kept one eye on the door, hoping Jenny wouldn’t make an appearance. Phoenix was up to his usual tricks in the den. After supper, he rolled back the area rug and he and Eden started dancing. Paxton and Lisa joined them.

  Before the crowd got too noisy, his mother called everyone to attention and welcomed Lisa into the family again. They clapped and cheered and Phoenix turned up the music. The party was on.

  Quincy was serving beers to some rodeo guys when he noticed Jenny at the front door. His heart sank. This wasn’t good. Paxton and Lisa were dancing close together to a slow number and Phoenix, Eden and Zane were clapping and cheering. Jenny, in jeans and boots, a look on her face Quincy had never seen before, walked straight toward them.

  His mother motioned to Quincy and Quincy groaned inwardly. Why was this his battle? Being a dutiful son, he walked toward his mother.

  “Do something,” she whispered. “Jenny doesn’t need to be here. She’s going to get hurt.”

  “Mom, I don’t know what I can do.”

  She gave him one of those looks he knew well.

  “Okay.”

  The music stopped as Jenny walked up to the couple. Paxton and Lisa drew apart and came face-to-face with Jenny.

  Color drained from Paxton’s face and sweat popped out on his forehead.

  “I’m Jenny Walker. Congratulations.” She held out her hand.

  “Thank you,” Lisa replied, taking the outstretched hand. “Are you a friend of Paxton’s?”

  “I dated him for over fifteen years.”

  Not a sound was heard in the room as Jenny made the declaration. Even the half-drunk cowboys went quiet. Quincy paused behind Jenny. She had a right to say what she wanted and he wasn’t going to stop her.

  “Oh.” Lisa looked at Paxton.

  “Jenny...”

  “You remembered my name. How nice. It would have been nice if you’d had the guts to answer my calls and I wouldn’t have had to come here.”

  “Jenny, this isn’t the time—”

  “No, it isn’t. I would’ve had the decency to call you if I had fallen in love with someone else. It’s a shame you didn’t feel the same way. Fifteen years of my life I shared with you and it didn’t matter.” She glanced at Lisa. “You’re welcome to him and I wish you a happy life.”

  The last word was shaky and Quincy took Jenny’s elbow and led her from the room and out the front door. They stood in the sultry September heat staring at each other.

  She brushed back her hair and a telltale tear appeared on her cheek. “What is she? A model or something?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Dark eyes glistening with tears glared at him. “Oh, you know. You just won’t share with me anymore. And that’s okay. I understand.” She gulped a breath as if she’d run a mile and Quincy got a whiff of liquor.

  “Have you been drinking?”

  “Yeah. It took a couple of glasses of wine to get enough courage to come over here. Stupid, huh?”

  The hurt on her face and in her voice cramped his gut, and all he wanted to do was hold her and let her know someone cared about her, but he couldn’t do that. That line between family loyalty and his love for Jenny was getting thinner and thinner.

  She raked her hands through her hair. “Oh, crap, I don’t think I combed my hair.”

  “You look beautiful” slipped out before he thought about it.

  There was an awkward pause for a second. Then she said, “Since you’re usually nice to everyone, I won’t take that personally.”

  There was nothing he could add to that. He really shouldn’t have said it in the first place.

  “Now I’m going home to finish off that bottle of wine. Tomorrow is the start of the rest of my life. A life without Paxton and without the Rebel family. You don’t have to worry about me coming over here and causing trouble because this will be my last visit.”

  “Jenny...”

  “You were right. I spend too much time over here and, like I said, tomorrow I start over with a clean page and a bright smile for a new future. I’ll return White Dove first thing in the morning.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I can’t keep the horse.”

  “Why? I gave her to you! And she’s pregnant.”

  “I’m cutting all ties, Quincy.” A feather of a hiccup left her throat. “And that means I can’t accept the gift. I’ll just leave her in the pen at the barn.”

  She loved the horse, and he knew this was hurting her and he didn’t know how to make it better. Even though her mind was set, he couldn’t accept it.

  “The horse will always be yours.”

  “Goodbye, Quincy. I’ll miss our talks.”

  Me, too. More than you’ll ever know. More than I can ever tell you.

  He wanted to tell her there was no need for her to stay away. Lisa and Paxton wouldn’t always be here. That was only asking for more trouble, though. There had to be a clean break, and his feelings didn’t matter. He would get over it and move on, just like she would.

  As she walked into the darkness to her truck, Quincy, for the first time in his life, felt his heart break. When his dad had died, his heart had been shattered. This was a different kind of pain, something he could change, but he was bound by family loyalty and that was what was tearing him up. He was a Rebel, though, and he would survive.

  Without Jenny Rose in his life.

  Chapter Three

  Paxton met Quincy at the front door. “Did you talk to Jenny?”

  “What do you care?” Quincy walked toward the kitchen, but Paxton followed. Falcon and their mother were in the kitchen.

  “What did she say?” Paxton kept on.

  Quincy got a beer out of the refrigerator and twisted off the top with more force than necessary. “You have a phone, don’t you, Paxton? Why don’t you try using it to call her, the way you should have days ago.”

  “Come on, man, get off my back.”

  Kate Rebel turned from the sink. “Paxton, your father and I raised you better than this. Not calling Jenny was the coward’s way out, and I didn’t raise cowards. Tomorrow you will go over to the Walker place and you’ll apologize with your hat in your hand. Jenny has been around this ranch s
ince you were kids and I’m really upset at the way you’ve treated her.”

  “Mom, I couldn’t call her. She’d cry and I couldn’t handle that. Besides, I told her when we broke up we weren’t getting back together. I wasn’t ever going to change and she had to accept it. That was it for me. Jenny and I were over and I didn’t feel I had to call and explain when I fell in love with someone else.”

  Their mother wiped her hands on a dish towel. “That may be so, but you still owe her an apology.”

  “I’m not apologizing!” Paxton shouted. “You treat me as if I’m in grade school. I’m a grown man and Jenny and I had a relationship and we broke it off. Do you want me to call every girl I’ve ever dated to let them know I’m engaged?”

  Falcon was sitting at the kitchen table and he rose to his feet. Quincy was on alert because he knew Paxton wasn’t going to get away with talking to their mother like that. They respected their mother. Always.

  “I expect you to be a man and care about other people and their feelings, especially Jenny’s, since you’ve dated her since you were in high school. I know it’s been on and off, but that was because of you.” Kate shook her head. “I’m not going to talk about this anymore. You will apologize. That is my bottom line.”

  “I’m not apologizing,” Paxton said again with anger in his voice. “And another thing, why can’t I sleep in the house with Lisa? Your ideas are old-fashioned and outdated. You have to start living in the twenty-first century.”

  Their mother’s lips tightened into a thin line. “This is my house, and you will live by my rules. If you want to sleep with Lisa, you can sleep with her in the bunkhouse, but not under my nose, in my home. That was a rule your father and I made years ago, hoping you boys would grow up with morals and integrity. If you don’t respect that, you’re free to leave.”

  “Maybe I should. You care more about Jenny than you do about your own son.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’ve had enough of your attitude.” Falcon stepped closer to Paxton. “Apologize to Mom this instant or I’m going to lay a whole lot of hurt on you. We all worked our butts off today to give you a party and this is how you thank us, by disrespecting our mother? You know better than that.”

  “Shut up, Falcon. You’re not my father.”

  That was when Falcon’s fist connected with Paxton’s jaw. Paxton staggered backward, landed against the wall and slid to the floor. He was immediately on his feet, ready to take on his older brother, who was now head of the family.

  “Falcon!” their mother cried.

  Quincy got between his brothers. “Enough. Go home to Leah, Falcon. I got this.” Since they still couldn’t take their preemie son out around people other than family, Leah and Falcon had taken turns coming to the party. Falcon had only been here a few minutes.

  Falcon turned toward the back door at the same time that Eden danced into the kitchen. “Oh, there’s my daddy. Hey, Daddy, we’re having a party. Oooh.” Eden grabbed her head. “I’m floating.” She reached for the counter.

  Eden was drunk. Before Falcon could get to her, Jude came into the kitchen. “Grandpa’s passed out, Quincy. You better check on him.”

  “What’s going on in there?”

  “Phoenix spiked the punch. Zane’s throwing up in the bathroom and I’ve got to go.”

  Their mother threw up her hands. “Why can’t we have a party like normal people?” She went to the doorway and shouted, “Phoenix, get in here! And bring that punch bowl.”

  “I’m taking Eden home,” Falcon said, placing his arm around his daughter and leading her toward the back door. “Let’s go home to Mama, baby girl.”

  Eden leaned on her father. “I love Mama and Snickerdoodle. He’s so sweet. I... Daddy... Oh...” Eden ran into the utility bathroom and soon they heard her retching.

  Phoenix walked in with the punch bowl in his arms. Falcon pointed a finger at him. “Your ass is mine in the morning.”

  “What did I do?”

  “You spiked the punch,” his mother told him. “And now Eden, Zane and Grandpa are drunk.”

  “I told them not to drink it.”

  Kate placed her hands on her hips. “How many times have I told you not to spike the punch?”

  A silly grin split Phoenix’s face. “Well, Mom, I’ve lost track, but I haven’t done it for a while. Jenny put a damper on the party and I was just trying to liven things up a little bit, to get things going again. I didn’t mean to hurt anybody.”

  “Pour that punch down the drain. I’ll deal with you later.”

  “I’ll deal with you in the morning,” Falcon said.

  “You’ll have to find me first,” Phoenix muttered under his breath, and Quincy had to give his younger brother credit for still cracking jokes when doom was about to rain down on him. Falcon was mad and everybody knew when he was to stay clear.

  Rachel entered the room, followed by Egan. She looked at Paxton, who seemed to be holding up the wall. “Lisa’s looking for you.”

  Paxton pushed away from the wall and walked out without a word to anyone.

  “What’s going on?” Egan asked. “Why does Paxton have a bruise on his face?”

  “I’ll tell you later,” Quincy said, figuring there had been enough excitement for tonight. If Egan found out Paxton had bad-mouthed their mother, Paxton would suffer another bruise on his head. Quincy was hoping he’d come to his senses and apologize before the party was over. If not, he’d have more than words for his brother.

  Egan kissed his mother’s cheek. “We’re going home. I’ll be back in the morning to help with the cleanup.”

  “Don’t worry about that. There’s enough of us here to take care of it. Spend your Sunday morning with your wife.”

  “Ah, Miss Kate, that’s very thoughtful.” Rachel hugged her mother-in-law. “We’ll both be here because Egan wouldn’t be happy unless he was doing his part. And if he’s not happy, I’m not happy.”

  Gabe, their uncle and his wife, Lacey, were the next ones to leave. Little by little, the party broke up. Since things had settled down, Quincy went to check on Grandpa, who was snoring into the sofa. He’d wake him up later. At the front door, Paxton and Lisa were saying goodbye to friends. Elias and some rodeo guys and a girl were out on the deck and Quincy could see things were getting heated. Elias was waving his arms. Quincy groaned and made his way to the deck.

  “Party’s over, boys,” Quincy announced.

  The rodeo guy glanced at Elias and then put his arm around the girl and they walked into the den.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Quincy asked Elias. “You’re starting a fight in Mom’s house?”

  “I danced with his girl, so what? She didn’t seem to mind.”

  Quincy looked toward the sky. There had to be a full moon tonight because everyone was acting crazy. “Pick up some of these cans and let’s start cleaning up.”

  Elias downed the rest of his beer. “You’re such a downer, Quincy. Do you ever have fun?”

  That question was on his mind a lot lately. He was tired of being peacemaker in the family. Maybe it was time for him to let everyone handle their own problems.

  “Life isn’t always about fun.”

  Elias laughed. “After we get everything picked up, I’ll take you down to Rowdy’s for a beer and introduce you to someone who could change your mind in about fifteen minutes or less.”

  “I’m not interested in cheap sex.”

  “Who said it was cheap?”

  “You’re an idiot.” Quincy went back into the den, and Lisa and Paxton were huddled together at the bottom of the stairs. Quincy could hear them as he made his way to the kitchen.

  “Come on, Pax, your mom won’t know a thing. When she goes to sleep, just sneak into my room. I don’t understand why you didn’t come last night.
I don’t like sleeping by myself.”

  Quincy sincerely hoped Paxton wasn’t thinking of doing such a thing.

  “Quincy.” Paxton caught up to him before he reached the door. “Please talk to Mom. She listens to you.”

  “I can’t make her change her rules. There’s an easy solution to all this. Phoenix and Jericho can move into the house and you and Lisa can have the bunkhouse to yourselves. Everyone will be happy.”

  Paxton glanced down at his boots. “Lisa thinks I live in the house. I haven’t told her I live in the bunkhouse when I’m home.”

  “Have you told this girl anything about yourself?”

  “Come on, Quincy. You know how it is. I met her at a party after a rodeo in Los Angeles. She’s an actress and I was blown off my feet by her beauty and I couldn’t wait to talk to her. When I did, it was bam—” he slammed one fist into the other “—love as if I’ve never felt it before. I wanted to spend every second with her. After two days, I asked her to marry me.”

  “Where do you plan to live?”

  “Man, I don’t know. I haven’t thought it through.”

  “You better start thinking. She doesn’t seem like a girl who would enjoy following the rodeo circuit and sleeping in the back of a truck.”

  “Mom would probably let us live here in the house. Lisa seems to like the house.”

  “After what you pulled, you’ll be lucky if she still lets you live in the bunkhouse.”

  “I know. I lost it for a minute. I’m just nervous about everything. I’ve never been this nervous in my life.”

  Quincy felt a pang of sympathy for his brother. He’d gotten himself into a mess. “First, you need to tell Lisa about your living arrangements and talk about how she’s going to fit in with you riding the rodeo circuit. There’s very little work in Horseshoe for an actress. Second, you need to apologize to Mom profusely. And third, you need to apologize to Jenny.”

  Paxton nodded as he followed him into the kitchen and apologized to his mother. He then asked if he could sleep in the house while Lisa was here and his mother said it was okay. He would have to sleep in the bedroom downstairs next to hers. Paxton frowned, but he didn’t say anything.