The Widows of Wichita County (16 page)

Farmers and ranchers supplied the need for oil field workers in the early days. They were used to hard, backbreaking work in all kinds of weather.

December 2
Montano Ranch

A
nna waited for Bella to take a drink of tea before she continued painting. The old housekeeper loved to talk while Anna worked.

“So,” she started once more. “I was doing Zack Larson's laundry. It is never much, he takes his shirts and good jeans to the cleaners in town. He kids that he doesn't trust me with white shirts after seeing what I do to white socks.”

Anna smiled, enjoying the music of the woman's words even though she talked of nothing important.

“I don't mind the laundry, which probably makes me a candidate to be committed in most women's minds. But for me, it means an order to the day. I always washed the sheets first, so I could make the bed. Then the towels. By the time they are done, I'm cleaning the bathroom and kitchen. The laundry is a timetable, a clock that ticks away the hours to the beat of Zack's country-and-western music.”

Bella popped a cookie into her mouth and continued while she chewed. “Only today, hidden among the dirty
clothes was a real puzzle. One old blanket he always keeps by the porch swing and the only two good guest towels the man owns were stuffed in the bottom of the hamper. All three were spotted with blood and Zack standing there, not a Band-Aid on him. If he had cut himself, he would have had to search past two stacks of ordinary towels to find the two fancy ones. Why would a man use his favorite blanket and two good towels to clean up blood?”

Anna had stopped listening. She was remembering.

“I would have asked, but I'm not one to pry. He's a man who guards his solitude. In his teens, when he was wild and out of control, he gave up trusting people.” Bella shook her head, forgetting she was the model. “I'll never forget the day, fifteen years ago, when his mother was not long dead. I spent half the morning sobering up Zack's dad enough to drive him down to bail out his son. No one in town would give the boy the time of day after that, not even when he buckled down and worked the ranch after his father died.”

Bella sipped her tea and ate another cookie. “I do love these things. I told Zack I was going to get some for his place.”

Anna did not miss Bella's gaze resting suddenly on her bandaged hands.

“Did you take a tumble riding?” Bella asked.

“Oh, no.” Anna tried to not meet Bella's stare. “I fell against the fireplace trying to cross the great room in the dark.”

Bella smiled and Anna knew the old housekeeper had figured out her puzzle. Neither said a word.

Anna worked the rest of the day on Bella's painting, but when darkness fell, she watched for the light from the north. Carefully, she waited. It would not do to go to
Zack's too early. She did not even want to think of how Carlo might react if he saw her crossing the land.

The night was still and cold when she finally climbed the walkover and headed toward the porch light. Zack sat on the swing. He stood when he saw her walking toward him.

He offered her his hot cup of tea when she reached the porch. Anna cradled the mug in both hands and curled into the blanket he offered.

“T-tea?” she asked after taking a sip.

“My housekeeper seems to think I need to drink the stuff, but can't say I care for it much. I'm sure glad you showed up to take it off my hands.”

She smiled and took another drink.

“I don't know how long you can stay tonight, but it wouldn't be long enough.”

They talked of the tea, and Bella, and the construction of a new rig on Anna's land. Her words were hesitant and shy. He wanted to tell her to slow down, relax. He would wait. He liked hearing her voice as she told him the fire had finally been ruled an accident and how Carlo was taking care of all the details.

It was too cold to be outside, but he did not invite her inside. Maybe he thought he might frighten her. So he brought out another blanket when he went to turn up the music and the lights.

They finished the pot of tea and opened the English cookie tin while looking at a travel book of places she knew well. She laughed at him when he popped one of the cookies in his mouth whole. Bella forgot to tell him they were for nibbling on.

Anna could not help but wonder how long Bella had known about the two of them meeting.

As they talked of her home, her words finally began
to flow. Zack was careful not to ask any questions but to let her lead with anything she wanted to tell him. She liked that about him, more than he would probably ever realize.

When she told him, she added, “Now tell me something you like about me.”

“I like watching you move. There is a grace about you that fascinates me. It almost makes me forget how much I hate the taste of tea.”

They laughed; the night aged. She snuggled close against him and leaned her head on his shoulder. As they rocked, she slept.

He held her for a long while, then drifted to sleep.

They awoke in the stillness just before dawn.

“Anna?” he whispered as she tried to move closer and go back to sleep.

She turned her ear away, not wanting to wake.

Zack laughed and tried again. “Anna, it's almost dawn.”

She finally looked up at him thinking he was handsome with a day's worth of beard along his jaw.

“You'd better go.” He moved his hand over her hair. “I hate to say it, but in a short time you won't have the aid of darkness to cover your journey.”

She stretched and nodded.

He kissed her forehead. “Funny thing, I slept better on this swing last night than I have in weeks on my bed.”

“I also.” She pushed on his shoulder. “Only my pillow is not very fluffy.”

“I'll start gaining weight.”

“If you do, you will break the swing.” Pushing herself away from him, she stood and looked down for her boots.

He let the swing drift away with her shove and then
back again to catch her on the back of her knees. She tumbled atop the blankets and back into his arms.

They both laughed, then he helped her put on her boots. He reached inside his house, grabbed his coat and, as always, strolled with her to the walkover.

The sky was just starting to gray as she stepped on the first step and turned. “Good night.”

“Good morning,” he corrected.

She leaned as before to kiss his cheek. On impulse, her lips shifted at the last moment and pressed against his mouth.

Zack took the kiss like a blow.

He stepped back, almost stumbling. With her at eye level, he stared for a moment, then closed the distance between them and returned the kiss.

He slid his hand around to the small of her back, pulled her against him as if starved. They had been touching for hours, but this was different. Before this kiss they could have written off everything between them as friendship. This kiss changed everything.

Finally, he broke the kiss and forced himself to move away. “There is no time,” he said out of breath.

She touched his jaw with the tips of her fingers wishing they had another hour of darkness.

Zack closed his eyes. “It's so real with you, Anna. So real it scares the hell out of me.”

She laughed, knowing what he meant. She sensed it, too. A part of life that had never been there before. A hope of a future. They had both been walking through the world in a dream state and now, with one another close, every cell was fully awake.

Before he could say anything more, she was gone, running to beat daybreak. Running before her heart exploded
with the pure joy of knowing he was in the same world as she.

When she was almost home, she turned to see him still standing beside the walkover. There might never be more than the one moment they just shared, but somehow it was enough. For the first time in her life, Anna was alive.

Mesquite seeds traveled from South Texas in the bellies of cattle during the cattle drives of the 1880s. They were planted along the trails, stomped into the ground, and today mesquite trees clutter the plains of the state.

December 3
Pigeon Run

H
elena Whitworth sat in her favorite chair by the windows, drinking her third glass of wine. She had had a busy day and now wanted to enjoy every moment of the evening with J.D. “You wouldn't believe the way Randi looked when Crystal handed her the keys to her BMW. Oh, J.D., I wish you'd been there.”

He smiled at Helena, seeming to enjoy the hearing of her story as much as she enjoyed the telling.

“Everyone did their job. Meredith somehow persuaded old Frankie to agree to drop the charges. Anna said she got catalogs for the lamps and color samples for the paint. She even checked the city codes on outside lighting.” Helena laughed. “As if we had any. I talked until I was blue convincing Judge Lewis that Randi was no threat to anyone. Only Crystal faltered.”

J.D. told her a story of his army days when one of his young lieutenants hadn't carried through with a field maneuver and almost got them all killed.

Helena had never loved the war stories, but she did love listening to his voice. Sometimes she would beg to
hear a tale again just to enjoy the rhythm of his words. Some men have a knack for telling stories. Her J.D. was a master.

“Crystal did try,” Helena added when J.D. finished. “She had the mechanic lined up and even a body man on standby to fix that tank Randi drives. But Trent Howard got wind of it, and all of a sudden he needed every hand out on the Montano place. Like they were going to rebuild that rig in a day. That young Howard is nothing but a bother. He's doing all he can to keep Crystal from making everything run at Howard Drilling. Thank goodness Elliot is keeping an eye on everything. Trent may think he can get away with something, but my guess is Elliot will stop him every time.”

She took a drink, feeling warm despite the cold outside. She had taken to perspiring lately, even on the coldest days, just like she had done when she went through “the change.” Maybe she should take J.D.'s advice and slow down a little.

“Is it warm in here?”

J.D. did not answer.

Wiping sweat from her upper lip, she continued, “Crystal didn't have a choice. She knew how badly Randi wanted to get out of town. The poor girl can't even stay with Crystal and Shelby. It's like every time she sees Shelby, she thinks of her Jimmy, all burned. Randi may have talked about leaving Jimmy because he bored her, but if truth be known he was good to her. That's how it is with some women…no man's ever good until he's gone.”

Helena shook her head. Hard times all around. “Crystal's changing. I'm not sure a few months ago she would have turned loose that toy she calls a car. But this morn
ing she handed over the keys, and told Randi to keep it until she came back at Christmas.”

Helena poured herself another drink. “Oh, I know you think she was trying to guarantee Randi comes back at Christmas. It must get lonely in that big house with all those people around and no one to cuddle with or talk to. Randi needs to keep in touch, as well. She and Crystal were friends long before they were both married to Howards. Now they seem even closer.”

Helena leaned back and relaxed as J.D. talked of doing something for Randi. The cowgirl was not getting any younger, maybe they could jump-start her career. He had a few old army buddies around Nashville, and Helena knew most of the independent store owners. Randi said she had lost yet another job in Memphis. There was nothing keeping her there.

It was after midnight when Helena crawled in bed. They had discussed every option. Finally, they arrived at a plan to help Randi.

Helena lay her head next to J.D.'s arm and fell asleep knowing she had something important to do tomorrow. Her store would have to wait another day. For the first time in forty years, she had not been there to open the Christmas season, thanks to Randi's problems. But she left it in Mary's capable hands. It would be all right for one day more.

At ten o'clock the next morning, Paula called to see if Helena was all right.

“Of course, dear.” Helena tried to sound as if she had been awake when the phone rang. “I'm just a little tired. I thought I'd take it easy today. J.D. is always telling me to take a day off now and then.”

“That's good, Momma. You rest. I'll watch after the store. Pat and I have been helping out where we can.”

“That's nice.” Helena could think of little else except hanging up and going back to sleep. The wine must have made her drowsy, and she did not dare tell Paula that she had felt dizzy when she sat up to answer the phone. Her daughter would insist on making an unnecessary doctor's appointment.

“You are taking your medicine, Momma?” Paula asked. “You've been a little absent-minded since—”

“Of course,” Helena lied before Paula could finish her sentence. “I always take my medicine right after I brush my teeth. I never forget.”

“I'm just worried about you. How about I bring you a plate over for your supper? I'll let myself in and leave it in the fridge.”

“That would be nice.” Helena had given up on trying to talk her daughters out of feeding her. If they had their way, she'd be fat as a bear. She had not been eating a great deal lately, but her appetite would come back. “Thank you, Paula,” she said, making a mental note to throw away their previous offering before Paula made another delivery.

“I love you, Momma.”

Helena rarely said those three words to her children. Somewhere over the years, she had stopped and just did not know how to get started again.

“I love you, too,” she finally said, hearing J.D. in the background telling her there was no time like the present to get started on a habit.

Helena hung up the phone and relaxed onto her pillow. She would dream a few more hours, then she would set Randi's surprise in motion.