Deep Dixie (37 page)

A family Bible.
That
she hugged to her chest.

“
Yes, I understand. I know.
”
Riley
’
s voice was stretched so taut he sounded hoarse.
“
You did the right thing, Carol. Thank you for calling.
”

Dixie wondered how long she should wait before she faced him. She did not want to trespass on a moment of intimate reflection or exposed emotion, but she also did not want to seem
insensitive to his pain, confusion, or even relief in finally hearing from his sister after so long.

“
Guess you figured out that Carol heard from Marcia.
”

At the soft words, she turned, the newly discovered Bible still pressed tightly over her heart.
“
I thought so. Do you want to talk about it?
”

“
I wish I knew what to say. Apparently, Marcia saw one of the ads we ran and called the sawmill. Red Braden had the foresight to refer her to Carol and not give out any of my personal information.
”

“
So your sister doesn
’
t know how to reach you?
”

“
That
’
s not because I don
’
t want Marcia to find me or Momma or even Wendy. You know that, don
’
t you?
”
He looked at her as if it mattered to him that she not think the worst of him.
“
I
’
m not hiding from her and I
’
m especially not hiding Wendy from her.
”

“
You
’
re
protecting
Wendy.
”
Dixie stepped forward.
“
I know I
’
m not a parent, I may never be a parent, but having spent so much time with Wendy I can certainly understand the inherent need to shelter and protect her from things that could hurt her. Her mother just showing up unannounced on the doorstep—or worse yet at her school, where none of us is there to intervene—is one of those potentially harmful things.
”

“
Marcia would never hurt Wendy
”
He put his hand in his head.
“
Of course, she
has
hurt Wendy by her absence, and my biggest worry is that she
’
d hurt Wendy by disappointing her, by coming into her life then running off again, that kind of thing. But Marcia would never try to kidnap her or turn her against Momma and me or do her physical harm.
”

“
You
’
re sure about that?
”

“
I
’
m sure. After all, what would be in that for Marcia? She doesn
’
t waste her time and energy on things that don
’
t produce direct and immediate gratification for her.
”
He gave her a dead-on glare, but his expression and tone carried pain and weariness.
“
Just the same, I am thankful she has to go through Fulton before she finds me. At least that gives me some control over where and when she sees Wendy again.
”

“
Fulton?
”
She stepped forward again, feeling a little like the participant in a grown-up game of
“
Mother May I?
”
She approached Riley with utmost caution, which she felt his mood and words warranted.

“
Carol explained to Marcia that Fulton was the one to contact to get to me.
”

“
Contact? By phone? Letter? In person?
”

“
I wish I knew.
”
He put his head in his hands.

This time Dixie did not hold back. She went to him, laid the Bible in the middle of her father
’
s old desk, then put one hand on Riley
’
s back and the other on his arm.

“
What am I going to do, Dixie?
”
He looked up at her.
“
We were so close to having everything arranged. If she
’
d showed up next month, after the court had straightened out the legalities of who really had the right to be Wendy
’
s parent, things would be so different.
”

“
I know,
”
she murmured.
“
Are you afraid that Marcia will try to take Wendy away from you?
”

“
Legally, we
’
ve never believed she
’
d be able to get anything more than visitation rights. Frankly, I don
’
t think she
’
d try for even those. If she hasn
’
t changed she wouldn
’
t want the burden of taking care of a child even for a few days at a time. If she has changed, well, then she
’
d do what
’
s best for Wendy, which is leave her with me, right?
”

Dixie pressed her lips together.

“
See, I wouldn
’
t even have to worry about that if she had popped up after the court date had severed her parental rights. I
’
d be Wendy
’
s father, and Marcia would be her aunt. Just that
simple.
”

“
It doesn
’
t seem all that simple to me, Riley
”

He exhaled hard, the sound something that hinted at but did not quite achieve a disheartened
ha
.
“
Maybe
simple
is the wrong word, but it gets pretty simple when you think that this is exactly how Wendy has seen things her whole life. She knows my sister gave birth to her, but she also knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that I am her daddy.
”

“
You are.
”

“
It means so much to me that you see it that way
”

“
I
’
ve seen you two together. I
’
ve heard how you talk about her and how you worry over her. Speaking as a former Daddy
’
s Little Girl and proud of it, you are her true father. No doubt about it.
”

“
Doubt?
”
He clenched his teeth and hissed an indistinguishable unintelligible word.
“
That
’
s the emotion of the hour, isn
’
t it? It
’
s all about doubt, Dixie. One phone call and I
’
m doubting everything from my legal position to what kind of lasting effect Marcia
’
s reappearance will have on Wendy.
”

She touched the soft leather grain of the old Bible.

He raised his head and put his hand on hers. He let out a long, slow sigh.

“
Riley, from what you
’
ve told me about Marcia, her greatest fault seems she
’
s shallow and selfish. Is there something more you
’
re worried about? Something she might involve Wendy in or—
”

“
Shallow and selfish is enough, Dixie, when you
’
re talking about the welfare of a trusting, innocent child.
My
child.
”
He tilted the office chair back slightly not seeming to notice that his knee rested against hers.
“
Marcia has lived a life of reckless self-indulgence. That
’
s the kindest way I can put it. There are a lot of behaviors that probably go along with that, too many men, drugs, drinking, never taking responsibility for herself or her actions.
”

Dixie wanted to stroke his hair, to lend some comfort but she held back.
“
How did she get to be that way?
”

“
For one thing, she was born stubborn.
”

“
Hey! Some of my best friends were born stubborn.
”
She nudged his leg with her knee trying her best to lighten things so that he didn
’
t suddenly decide he
’
d gone too far and withdraw into himself and not talk about what was obviously grieving him.

“
You saying you
’
re your own best friend?
”
He smiled, not a big smile, but enough to show his appreciation for her effort.

She pulled her shoulders up.
“
I
’
m saying stubbornness alone is not an excuse for—
”

“
Whoa! I
’
m not making any excuses for Marcia
’
s choices and actions.
”
He let the chair fall forward, breaking contact with Dixie.
“
Been there, done that, got the T-shirt—and she stole it right off my back.
”

She slipped her hand in his.

“
I
’
ve heard every excuse, made most of them myself at one time or another. She was too headstrong. She felt stifled by life in a mill town. She was rebellious. She fell in with the wrong crowd. Momma spoiled her.
”
He looked up abruptly, gave her hand a squeeze then winked.
“
Of course, we know that
’
s not an excuse, either. Some of
my
best friends are totally spoiled.
”

“
If I thought you really meant that...
”
she warned.

“
I do mean it, your family spoiled you—spoiled you with love, attention, kindness, a sense of history, home, and security... all the things I plan to
spoil
my own child with given the opportunity. God willing.
”

Dixie gripped his shoulder with her other hand, closing their connection in a way she would never have done casually.

He went on.
“
You said it best when you questioned my motivation for buying into the business. You told me I was trying to buy what I had failed to build, that I wanted the stability not found in my own home, a stability I feared I could not provide for Wendy.
”

“
I didn
’
t really know you then, Riley.
”

“
But you knew the truth about me right from the start, Dix.
”
He swiveled the chair slightly in her direction.
“
When I spoke with your father and decided to throw in with him, it wasn
’
t just for the business deal. I liked what I heard from him about fairness and honor, about a company
’
s social responsibility, and most of all about family.
”

A pang of sadness shot through Dixie. She missed her daddy so much. Riley
’
s dilemma and having just gone through the treasures in the wall safe only intensified her sense of loss.

His smile was tender.
“
Outlandish as your family can be, they are all there for each other. They will give of themselves for the sake of the people they love, even for people who aren
’
t related to them, like Wendy, Momma, and me.
”

“
And Miss Lettie. She
’
s not a blood relative but she
’
s a part of our family, for sure.
”

Through it all, her family, such as it was, had always had one another, each person always ready to pitch in for the greater good. Thinking about it now chased away some of her blue mood over missing Daddy She wasn
’
t alone. She had people who loved her...and knowing that made her feel safe and satisfied.

Funny, she hadn
’
t felt proud of the oddball collection of in-laws and borderline outlaws that made up her family in a long

time. She
’
d regarded them for the most part as a burden, first to her father then to her, an inherited problem that she had to tend to, supervise, suffer. Now, seeing them collectively through another person
’
s eyes made her feel blessed and grateful.