Small-Town Moms (9 page)

“Oh,” she gasped and looked over at Clint. She knew Carina didn't know English, but it still seemed impolite to say aloud that she was surprised to see a wedding ring on the woman's finger.

“She must be his wife,” Clint guessed, his voice devoid of emotion. “I— Maybe that's good.” He looked over at Maegan. “For Lilly's sake.”

Maegan had to think about that for a minute or two. She supposed it was better for Lilly to have two parents, but Carina couldn't even speak English. How would the two communicate? And the way Joe had handled the introduction made Lilly resent the woman.

About then, she heard a strong set of footsteps coming down the stairs. It was Joe. Maegan looked behind him,
expecting to see Lilly any minute but only the man stood there.

“Could I talk with you a minute?” Joe said to Clint. “Out on the porch?”

Clint nodded as he stood up. “I've been expecting to talk.”

After the two men walked out the kitchen door, Maegan looked over at Carina. “Excuse me a minute.”

The other woman nodded as though she understood.

That was all the permission Maegan needed. She hurried to the stairs. She had a feeling something had gone wrong. She felt another wordless prayer beating through her as she took each step as fast as she could.

Lilly was sitting on her bed, her dolls spread around her. She looked up when Maegan stood in the doorway.

“May I come in?” Maegan asked.

The girl nodded. Her face was pale and her shoulders slumped.

The two sat in silence for a minute before Maegan asked, “Is something wrong?”

Lilly looked up at her and the bleakness on her face tore at Maegan's heart.

Eventually, the girl said, “He didn't know about the dolls.” She paused to swallow. “My mother told me he had sent the dolls to me for my birthdays. Every birthday I got one of these dolls in a beautiful box. It was supposed to show he loved me, that I was his little girl. My mom promised me he loved me.”

A single sob ripped through the girl and Maegan took her in her arms and held her.

“I'm so sorry. So very sorry,” Maegan murmured.

“I kept them in my suitcase and didn't show them to anyone,” Lilly continued, tears streaming freely down her face. “I was waiting to show them to him when we had a home—just the two of us.”

Maegan rocked the girl. “I know, sweetheart. I know.”

“My mother said he loved me more than anyone in the world,” Lilly said, her confusion plain as she looked up.

“He doesn't love you more than your Uncle Clint,” Maegan assured her.

Tears flowed from both of them at that.

It was a half hour before they walked back downstairs. The house felt empty and someone had put away the leftovers, stacking the dishes in the sink.

“My dad forgot his bridle,” Lilly said as she stepped farther into the kitchen.

Maegan saw that the box had been slid halfway under one of the chairs. The beads in the bridle shone as bright as they had earlier, but she could hardly look at them. “Maybe he's just outside. In the barn or somewhere.”

As soon as she said the words, Maegan knew they were not true. She couldn't imagine Carina looking at cattle. Besides, Clint would never take his brother there, not when Lilly had been so determined to spend every second she could with the man.

Just then Clint opened the door and came inside the kitchen from the porch. He looked at them both.

“My dad's gone, isn't he?” Lilly stated with more composure than Maegan felt.

“I'm afraid so,” Clint said, a note of helplessness in his voice.

They were all silent for a few minutes. Finally Clint
added in a flat voice, “He told me to tell you goodbye. I tried to get him to go upstairs and tell you himself, but he refused and—” Clint spread his hands. Maegan saw his knuckles were scraped so she knew the refusal had been contested. “Anyway, he's going back to Brazil. It seems his wife has some property down there and—well, he's going to live there now.” Sheer defeat sounded in Clint's voice. “I'm sorry.”

“That's okay,” Lilly said, her voice small. “He wasn't the father I thought he was anyway.”

And, with that, she walked slowly over to Clint and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Can I stay with you?” she asked.

Maegan saw him blink back a tear as he said, “Always.”

She wasn't sure if it was Clint or Lilly who opened the hug and gestured for her to join them. Either way, she went with hope in her heart. Clint had his arm around her and he turned slightly so they could kiss over Lilly's head.

The first kiss was tentative. But Maegan felt the warmth of the second kiss slide all the way down to her toes.

“I'm going to ask you to marry me, you know,” Clint whispered in her ear a little later. “I figure I need to wait a few more days so we will have known each other for two weeks. I don't want us to look impulsive.”

“That would never do,” Maegan agreed with a smile. She would enjoy saying yes to this man.

Lilly stepped away from them a bit. “Does this mean we're all going to live together?” she asked, a note of wonder in her words. “In the same house?”

Clint nodded. “If Maegan agrees.”

“Please,” Lilly said as she looked up at her.

Maegan nodded, her eyes on Clint. “I'd love to be part of this family.”

Clint's arm tightened around her and he kissed her again. They stood there together for a long time. This, Maegan thought with satisfaction as she looked at both Lilly and Clint, was finally the family she had been dreaming of for years.

“I love you,” Clint whispered to Maegan.

“I love you, too,” she answered him and then looked down to meet Lilly's eyes. “I'm so glad I've found my family at last.”

1. In
   A Dry Creek Family,
   Maegan Shay is working hard to find the last members of her family. She is unwilling to accept a substitute family if she can't have her biological family. Have you ever felt like she does? That, even though something is logical, it doesn't work for you because of your feelings? Tell us about it.
   
2. As a child, Maegan prayed for God to give her adoptive parents who were willing to take her and her sisters. When He didn't give her that, she gave up on Him. Many of us have given up on God at some point in our lives. Has that been your experience? What happened?
   
3. If you could have sat down with Maegan at that point (see question 2), what would you have told her about God? Are there any Bible verses you would have showed her?
   
4. Clint Parker accepts his niece at his ranch because he believes his brother will return the girl to social services if he doesn't. Clint is a reluctant parent, but he believes God wants him to do what he can for Lilly. Have you ever accepted a responsibility that belongs to someone else? How did it make you feel?
   
5. It was also difficult for Clint to stand in for his brother as Lilly's guardian because the girl clearly
   idolized her father and was cool toward Clint. It's easy for children to take their parents for granted, just like Lilly took her uncle for granted. Do you take people in your family for granted? Do you have any suggestions for how to change this?
   
6. Mrs. Hargrove is the one who helps Maegan see things clearly. Do you have someone like Mrs. Hargrove in your life? Are you a Mrs. Hargrove to someone else?
   

Debra Clopton

This book is dedicated to my wonderful church family at Faith Baptist Church in Madisonville, Texas.

Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

—1
Peter
5:7

“I
asked you not to come.”

Olivia Dancer wasn't exactly certain how to take Gabe McKennon's words. Or the staunch stance he'd taken the instant he'd opened the door to his home and found her standing on the porch. He'd planted his jean-clad legs wide, his scuffed boots anchoring him in the threshold like solid timber, as he crossed his arms and scowled down at her.

She didn't like the look at all. “Your mother invited me.” Her words were defensive, meeting his cerulean-blue eyes with a challenge of her own. The rugged cowboy's jaw stiffened beneath his dark five o'clock shadow and his eyes narrowed. The man had a problem but Olivia stood her ground, though she was confused by his attitude. He looked like he was about to explode beneath his Stetson.

“My mother
invited
you?”

“Yes. She called last week and invited us out here. She said you had come to your senses—her words not mine.”

His jaw jerked again. Temper, temper, Olivia wanted
to say but didn't. She had been perplexed by his attitude a few weeks earlier when she'd called him to meet her nephew and he'd refused. She was growing more and more concerned by the minute.

Why would he tell her he didn't want her to come to town to meet her nephew—whom she'd just learned existed a few weeks ago?

“My mother needs to learn her boundaries.”

The man was digging in deeper and deeper on the not-so-likeable scale. “All she did was tell me you'd thought about the situation and changed your mind. That you both would be happy for me and my daughter to come meet Wesley. Obviously something was lost over the phone line.”

“Obviously,” he grunted. “And his name is Wes.”

“Wes, I'm sorry. The birth papers said Wesley.”

“Mom,” Trudy, her ten-year-old daughter, called from the truck. “Can I pul-eeze get out of this truck?”

Olivia shot her a warning glance. “No, Trudy. Stay put.”

“But Mom—”

“Trudy!”

“Yes, ma'am,” Trudy huffed in exasperation at the tone of Olivia's voice. Flouncing back she hunkered down in the seat, the top of her head barely visible over the dashboard. Her attitude had not been good since Olivia had made the decision to drive from Houston to Mule Hollow. But then, Trudy had had trouble processing change ever since her daddy's death three years ago. Justin's death had been hard on everyone who'd loved him, but particularly his little girl.

“Look,” Olivia said, refocusing on Disgruntled Cowboy. “I don't know what your mother was thinking.
You're making it clear that you are not okay with us being here.”

One straight brown eyebrow quirked downward in a “ya-think?” attitude. “My mother and I disagree on the issue.”

“Again, that's pretty clear,” Olivia drawled, her thick Texas twang enhanced by her temper as it began to percolate at his entire stance. “Who do you think you are anyway? Your son is the son of my deceased sister. A sister that I've just realized I had.” The last few months had been surprising, shocking and wonderful in that she'd learned she had two sisters she'd been separated from when she was very young. Maegan, her older sister, was alive and well, and they were getting to know each other after all these years. But they'd searched for their younger sister and recently found that she'd died three years ago.

She'd been saddened by the news and hurt through and through thinking about how their lives had been ripped apart, and they'd never, ever get to meet—at least here on earth. Maegan and Olivia's only consolation was learning that Dawn, their deceased sister, had children.

Wes was her four-year-old son. She also had a daughter by another man. Olivia and Maegan had decided they should go and check on Dawn's children. Maegan had gone to Montana to see about Dawn's little girl who was living with a single uncle. To her total surprise Maegan and Clint Parker had fallen in love! Olivia was still in shock about that. It had happened so quickly. Why, it had happened before she'd even been able to get her life lined out in order to make the trip to Mule Hollow.

Gabe McKennon hadn't wanted her to come. “With
or without your mother's invitation I was coming out here. I have a right and a duty to meet my nephew and to make absolutely certain that he is being well cared for.” She didn't add that Gabe McKennon was not helping satisfy her mind.

“I'm Wes's dad, and he is being well cared for. I do what I believe is best for him.”

“And meeting his aunt is bad?” Why would he not want her around—what was bad about that? What was he hiding? “Look, I have a right to meet my nephew.” Staring at him she set her own stubborn jaw. “Is your mother here? Is Wes here?”

“No.”

That did it. “Look, Mr. McKennon. I am going to meet my nephew whether you want me to or not. It is my right. I'm going to see for myself that he is happy and doing well.”

The irritating man's brows flattened, and a crease formed between them. “I can assure you he is both.”

“Excuse me if I insist that I need my own assurances, thank you very much. Your attitude so far hasn't eased my mind.” There was no sense beating around the bush. She'd given him the courtesy of a phone call in the beginning and he'd given her nothing. “What kind of dad are you anyway?” One thing was certain—she wasn't leaving town until she found out.

“My attitude is concern for my son. I'm sorry if you feel put out, but I'm Wes's dad, and my job is to keep him healthy. And that means being cautious about the people I let into his life.”

Of all the insulting…
Olivia had just been told she wasn't good enough to be in her nephew's life! This would not do. Not do at all.

 

Gabe was going to have to have a serious talk with his mother. It wasn't like her to go against his wishes on something as serious as Wes's well-being. He'd been startled three weeks earlier when he'd been contacted by his ex-wife's sisters. He hadn't known Dawn had sisters or that she'd been adopted as a baby. There was a lot he hadn't known about Dawn. But the moment he'd opened the door and laid eyes on Olivia Dancer, there was absolutely no denying who she was. Olivia resembled Dawn, and there was no denying that they were sisters. They had the same heart-shaped face, with lively, amber eyes that were tilted up at the edges.

Behind him he heard the back door open and his stomach clenched. Whether he'd wanted this meeting or not, unless he did something quick, it was about to happen. His mother and Wes's happy chatter filled the rooms behind him as they came in from picking tomatoes in the garden. Wes loved to garden. Wes loved everything.

“He doesn't know about you,” Gabe snapped, feeling roped and tied. This was a nightmare. The mother of his son abandoned them the second the baby was born. She'd taken her small daughter he'd grown attached to and told him she wanted him to leave them alone. It had all been tough to deal with. Now her sister wanted to insinuate herself into the life of his son. And his own
mother
instigated the situation behind his back. What was she thinking? Gabe scowled. It was pretty obvious mothers stuck together…and tossed their sons under the bull. He didn't like it. Not one bit.

At the sound of Wes's voice Olivia's eyes brightened.

“Mom,” her daughter called from the truck. “Can I pul-leeze get out?”

“No, stay in the truck,” she called to her daughter and then turned back to him. “Is that Wes?”

Gabe heard his mother's approaching footsteps and felt himself sinking in quicksand. Wes was chattering away about a “whopper of a tomato.” As if he were in the middle of a collision course, Gabe could only stand there. He was a man who could make split decisions in a matter of seconds, but suddenly looking at the bright, expectant eyes of Olivia Dancer, he hesitated. That hesitation cost him—it gave his mother time to make it to him before he could shut the door. What had he planned to do anyway—pretend Olivia hadn't come by? Not a very diplomatic remedy to the problem. Then again, where Wes was concerned, he wasn't worried about diplomacy, he was worried about his son. Thankfully he heard his mother send Wes to wash his hands, which gave Gabe a few seconds to get this situation turned around.

“Gabe, who is at the door?”

Gabe glared at Olivia, wanting more than anything to close the door on her. He almost did, but even he thought that was too rude.

Holding his ground in front of the door, he glanced over his shoulder at his barely five-foot mother. “
Georgetta,
we need to talk.”