Tackling Summer (3 page)

“I’ll figure something out,” Maddox muttered.

“You can share a can of chili with me tonight,” Jerry said before stepping around Maddox again. “Store has short hours tomorrow. Eleven to five.” His cowboy boots thunked heavily against the plank floors with every step. The man settled into the brown chair on the right and flicked on the television. A NASCAR race at top volume practically shook the house and answered his question about satellite television. Maddox followed suit and sat in the gray recliner wondering if he could coax his car back through that rut to get to the store.

***

“It’s good to have you home,” Mitch said as he twirled spaghetti noodles around his fork.

Chanel grinned at her father. They were settled at the breakfast bar enjoying dinner. It was a rare occasion when they sat at the dining table. “I’m glad to be back. I didn’t get a chance to see Christine today. How’s she doing?”

Mitch swallowed his bite and said, “Good, I think. I haven’t seen her as much lately. Last night was the first I’ve seen her in a week. She’s been busy and distracted.”

Chanel pondered this for a moment. Her aunt wasn’t easily rattled.
 

“That’s weird,” Chanel said. “What do you think is going on?”

Mitch’s face clouded, and he took a sip of his beer. “Don’t know. Maybe it’s hitting her that her house is about to be empty. I’ve run into Fritz over there a couple times lately, so maybe something is going on with David.” Christine’s oldest son had moved to the bunkhouses the day after he graduated from high school, and despite only being a couple of miles away, rarely visited his mother or paid her much mind. Mitch and Christine made sure he roomed with Fritz Harbor, who’d lived and worked on the ranch since the kids were little. Mitch had tried to be there for Christine’s children, but David never bonded with him. He’d always turned to Fritz, so the living arrangement suited everyone.
 

“I can tell it’s bugging you.” Chanel placed her hand on Mitch’s arm remembering his expression when he’d talked about Christine earlier that afternoon.

He just shrugged. “I guess things change sometimes.”
 

“True, but I’m glad she has you to keep an eye on her. I think she’ll be lonely with Jessi gone.”

Mitch nodded and took another bite of spaghetti. Chanel decided it was time to talk about Maddox. “What’s the deal with Maddox? He’s not our usual breed of summer help.”

Mitch gave a little laugh. “We have a breed of help?”

“Dad, you know what I’m talking about. We usually get some kid from a neighboring place, someone who knows their way around ranch work. And why didn’t you tell me about Maddox before I got here?”

“Because I was putting off this discussion. He’ll be fine, Chel. He’s going to have you to show him the ropes.”

Chanel scooted her spaghetti around her plate with her fork. “That’s what I was afraid of. You still didn’t answer my question.”

“Remember Paul Shirley? We were buddies at Doumit. He works in the athletic department now as a fundraiser. When Coach Talbot started squealing about cutting Maddox after his lazy season last fall, Paul panicked. The donors would have a fit, and Talbot might get the boot. Not wanting to see the whole program go down the toilet, he called me. Paul made a deal with Talbot guaranteeing a more cooperative Maddox by the time fall practice starts.”
 

“Getting cut would teach him more,” Chanel grumbled.

“C’mon, give the guy a chance. He’s plenty strong, so he’ll be able to keep up.”

“We don’t have time to teach him everything. You haven’t seen him around campus. He struts around like rooster thinking he’s better than everyone else.”

“You know as well as anyone living out here will humble the cockiest man. He’s staying unless he decides to leave. That’s final. Cowgirl up because you’re going to coach him this summer.” Mitch stood and took his plate to the sink and rinsed it before sticking it in the dishwasher.

Chanel sulked at the bar, still pushing around her food. They didn’t disagree often, and she hated it when they did. She also hated when he was right.

“Cheer up,” Mitch said with a grin, “We’re getting season tickets out of the deal.”

“Oh joy. Like you’re going to drive five hours for a football game more than once a year.”

“You never know,” Mitch said and left the kitchen.

CHAPTER THREE
 

Late afternoon sunlight warmed the forest as Chanel and Soda hiked the shortcut to her Aunt Christine’s house. It was two miles by road from the A-frame she shared with her father, but the distance was almost shortened by half if a person cut through the trees. A trail had been worn into the forest floor from years of foot traffic between the old farmhouse Mitch and Gerald Eber’s grandfather had built and the main ranch compound.
 

Chanel inhaled the smell of pines and damp earth. In just a few weeks, this place could be crackling dry. She hoped this summer would be moist enough to keep the fire danger down. A grin found its way to her lips as she recalled playing hide and seek in these trees with David and Seth. There had also been tea parties with Jessi using pine needles and moss for treats. She looked over at the old pile of debris the guys had left behind after thinning out the brush one year. It was much smaller and strung out now. The first summer it was there, she and her cousins had raided it to build an epic fort in a nearby gully. It had been washed away with the spring runoff the following year.
 

Chanel graded her way around the slope, and as she entered the small clearing, she could hear Fawn Creek babbling away. It ran through Christine’s backyard. Most parents would have feared for their small children with water that close, but the adults around the Double O taught Chanel and her cousins to love and respect that creek and every other hazard that came with growing up in the country. Chanel was thankful for that healthy common sense and independence. She didn’t realize how lacking her generation was until she arrived on the Doumit University campus.

Christine’s yard was ringed with a low log fence. A large garden surrounded with a tall chicken wire fence to keep out the deer and other critters was freshly tilled on the far side of the house. Chanel paused and looked down at the scene below. Peace flowed through her like it did every time she came here. This was where Chanel went when being the only girl in a man’s world became too much. This was the place where she found the love and support only a woman could give her after her mother died.
 

Two Border Collies and an Australian Shepherd came running and barking up the hill, stopping to smell Chanel’s feet. Their tails wagged as they moved on to greet Soda.
 

“Hey, guys, good to see you too,” Chanel said scrubbing behind the black and white dog’s ears. She turned her attention to the red Aussie. “What’re you doing here, Rufus?” He wagged his stubby tail and gave her a lip curling doggie smile. Chanel laughed. Rufus was the only dog she’d ever met who could do this. She gave him a good rub down before starting down the hill, scanning the place for sign of Fritz Harbor’s truck. A sharp whistle came from woods behind the house, and Rufus darted away. Chanel watched the dog race across the yard toward the trees from which the whistle had come. She caught a glimpse of Fritz’s cowboy hat through the shadows. He must be out for a Sunday hike, and Rufus got distracted by Christine’s dogs.

Chanel opened the front door without knocking. “Hello?” she called.

“Hello!” Christine’s voice drifted down the stairs. “Be right down!”

Chanel looked around the familiar room. Always clean, but somewhat out of order, the living room was comfortable. A large comfy couch and a couple of easy chairs were grouped around the open fireplace. Her Grandma Eber’s dining room table was in the alcove near the kitchen door. Quilts were draped over every surface. Grandma Eber had taught Christine to quilt shortly after she started dating her Uncle Gerald. The two women had clicked right away, and Grandma had told Gerald if he didn’t marry Christine, she was going to adopt her as a daughter, so either way he was stuck with her. Chanel gently fingered the blue and white quilt on the back of Gerald’s old recliner. The room was homey and represented a lot of history. The large flat screen TV above the fireplace seemed out of place. She remembered when the boys conned their mother into getting a satellite dish.

Footsteps on the stairs drew Chanel’s attention. Her aunt stood there flushed and smiling. Her normally long brown hair was now short, blonde, and playfully tousled. There was a different vibe about the older woman.
 

“I love your hair!” Chanel squealed and ran across the room for a hug.

Christine’s cheeks were even rosier when Chanel stepped back, and she fingered her new ‘do. “Thanks, I just had it done this morning. I’m still getting used to it.”

“Well, I think it’s fun, and you look beautiful.”

“Jessi likes it too. Hey,” Christine smacked Chanel’s shoulder with a grin. The woman was gentle and nurturing most of the time, but she was still the mother of two boys and had spent the better part of the last thirty years in a man’s world. “I can’t believe it took you until today to get over here! What’ve you been doing?”

“Sorry, time kind of got away from me. I ended up having to tow Dad’s new summer guy out of a ditch right when I got here.” Not wanting to think about Maddox, Chanel changed the subject. “Where’s Jessi?”

“She’s with your dad and the new guy. They went into town to get him set up with some supplies,” Christine said leading Chanel into the kitchen.

Chanel stopped short. “He took him into town?”

“Yes, is that a crime?” Christine gave Chanel a questioning look.

Chanel rolled her eyes to the ceiling. Her father wouldn’t have done that for any other hand. He wasn’t a jerk, but he figured his men should be able to figure out how to take care of themselves on their own. What was Maddox going to learn from this? Come unprepared and get coddled, just like at school.

“No, I’m just surprised. Most guys have to fend for themselves.” Her mind flitted back to Jessi. Chanel pictured her boy crazy, seventeen-year-old cousin panting over the big football player. Maddox wasn’t only hot, he was in college, which would make him irresistible to her teenage hormones. And knowing Maddox, he wasn’t smart enough to care about the girl being jailbait. “You let Jessi go with them?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Christine opened the refrigerator and pulled out a jug of sun tea.

“Do you know who the new guy is?” Chanel was incredulous.

“One of the Doumit football players. Your dad was pretty excited when the coach called. I’m no fool, Chanel. I know why my daughter asked to go along, and it wasn’t because she’s been missing her Uncle Mitch’s company.”

“I don’t think Dad realizes what he’s gotten into. Maddox Warren will be useless out here.”

Christine raised an eyebrow as she handed Chanel a mason jar filled with tea. “You know him?”

“Not personally,” Chanel said staring into her tea, “But, I’ve seen him around campus acting like a jerk with his teammates, and I’ve read about him in the student paper. Football is about all they bother with most of the year. He plays well but has a bad attitude, thinks he’s too good to work hard. We don’t have any use for that, there’s too much to do.” Chanel’s heart was hammering, and she felt agitated. She took a long drink from the jar and noticed her aunt staring at her with soft brown eyes and a smirk. “What?”

“That’s an awful lot of assuming for someone you don’t know.”

It was all Chanel could do not to stomp her foot. She could tell her aunt was reading more into the situation than was there. Why couldn’t anyone hear and comprehend what she was saying? They’d all see in time. That’s all it would take for Maddox’s novelty to wear off. She searched for something to say, but she had nothing.

“Let’s get a salad put together to go with the steaks. We’ll throw those on the barbecue when everyone gets back from town.” Christine placed a couple of cucumbers in Chanel’s hands and ducked back into the refrigerator. Despite her need to force someone to listen to her, she was grateful for the subject change and something to occupy her hands. Christine had always known when to bail on a conversation. There’d been moments when she was a teenager when she wished Christine would fight with her, just so she could get her frustration out, but the older woman had wisely stepped away from the conflict, somehow still with the upper hand.
 

Chanel fished a vegetable peeler from a drawer and set to work. Green strips of cucumber peel snaked into the sink. She was done thinking about Maddox and wanted to catch up with her aunt. “Rufus met me with Gus and Mae at the top of the hill. I heard Fritz whistle to him from behind your house. Did I just miss him?”
 

In an uncharacteristic clumsy moment, Christine bumped her head on ceiling of the refrigerator.
 

“You okay?” Chanel asked.

Christine’s cheeks were flushed again. “I’m fine. Just stood up too fast.”

“Okay,” Chanel said slowly. She eyed her aunt and repeated the question. “So, did I miss Fritz?”

Christine’s brown eyes flicked to the window over the sink looking out on the backyard, directly toward the trees where Chanel had watched dog and cowboy disappear. She shook her head. “No, he must’ve been taking Rufus for a walk, and he got mixed up with my dogs.”

Chanel squinted at Christine for a moment and then turned back to the cucumber, not convinced she was being truthful. There was something about Christine’s face. It was more relaxed than usual. Life had been rough for her since her husband rolled a tractor over himself. Most women would have packed it up and moved to town, rather than raise their family on their own an hour away from town, but Christine loved the ranch and wanted her kids to grow up there. Though her actions never showed it, her face often looked worn out.
 

“Have you heard from Seth lately?” Chanel asked.

Christine brightened at the mention of her middle son. He and Chanel were the same age and had been inseparable until they’d gone off to different universities hundreds of miles apart. “He called last night. He has finals next week.”