Wandering Heart (11 page)

Why did he have
to say something so—sweet?

Angela's heart
fluttered like a butterfly, and her stomach churned up and over
like a roller coaster. Every nerve in her body seemed to scream to
life. She throbbed with a current that threatened to explode if he
came an inch closer. Words, they were just words.

A long arm shot
out and over her head as he leaned into her a little. Not crowding
her, not smothering her. Just close. And for some silly reason she
wished he'd kiss her. Her knees felt like silly putty, and her
breathing became shallow and sporadic. She felt a cold sweat
breaking over her skin. She was clammy.

"Greg doesn't
like you calling me Angel," she barely got the words out. Her voice
had become unfamiliar.

The short
silence was unbearable.

Then suddenly
her senses took over. Her nostrils took in the sweet clean smell of
him. A smell she was quickly memorizing. Her skin prickled where
his warm breath fanned her. And his eyes were pinning her to the
spot through the thick darkness. It didn't seem to matter she
wasn't going anywhere. She couldn't move if she had to.

"Too bad," he
quipped lowly. Then ever so slowly, as though giving her time to
object, the back of his fingers stroked her cheek. Through the
darkness she saw his eyes glittering into hers like brilliant
diamonds. "You know," his voice seemed to have changed, too, "if he
really wants to keep you, he should do a better job of it. He
should put a ring on your finger. Otherwise a fella might think
you're fair game."

"A fella? What
fella?" How had she managed to get the words out?

"Let's don't
play games, Angel," he rasped, as he caressed her name. Another
finger gently lifted her chin to the dim moonlight. "I like the
dress. You look good in blue. But then," he paused, his smile
kissing her. "You look good in anything." Then after a long sigh he
added, "God, he's a fool."

He sighed
heavily and shook his head. "You better get in the house while you
until can."

"Coop , I . .
."

But he was
gone. And she was completely mesmerized.

CHAPTER
NINE

Normally Angela
would have followed Greg and Maxine to the office after Greg's
speech at the mall, but it was Saturday and there was a storm
brewing and Angela didn't like storms. She had been a willing
gopher all morning and Greg seemed thankful. She had told Greg she
was taking the rest of the day off.

When she got
home there was no sign of Josh or Cooper. She went inside and
grabbed the flashlight, her raincoat and boots. She struggled with
her boots as she walked toward the front door.

Until she
opened the front door and saw the screen door flung wide open, she
hadn't realized how bad the wind was gusting. Dark clouds hung like
a warning in the sky. She put on her raincoat, glancing about.

She headed for
the barn upon instinct, when she heard a conversation going on that
stopped her dead in her tracks. She shouldn't be eavesdropping, she
decided, but she couldn't stop herself.

*****

"Aren't they
beauties, Coop? Just look at them; nine piglets." Josh said with
pride.

Angela smiled
to herself and was about to open the barn door when she heard
Josh's voice break a little with emotion.

"I can't give
them up, I just can't."

"Hey," Cooper's
voice softened, "hold on there, pal, who's asking you to?"

"Mom will. You
know she will. When Mom marries Greg, she'll ask me to. And it's
all Greg's fault. He wouldn't have anything to do with Partner, let
alone nine piglets."

"Sounds to me
like you're jumping to a lot of conclusions, Josh," Cooper
admonished with an undertone of understanding.

"Yeah, maybe
so. But I've tried. Honest, I have. We just don't have anything to
talk about. He doesn't like kids. I heard him talking on the phone
to a friend and he said he humored me for Mom's sake." Josh must
have moved, for she could barely hear him now. "I've been thinking
about it a lot lately. I don't want to leave the farm, Coop. It's
the only home we've ever had…me and Mom. I don't want much. Honest,
I don't. But I love it here. Sometimes, I feel like running away. I
just don't see any other way out of this."

"Yeah, I can
relate to that. I've been there myself."

"You?"

"Yeah, me." He
agreed. "What? You think you invented the idea of running away? Not
likely. I guess I didn't think anyone cared about me at the time
either. Oh, I knew I was important on the farm, as far as work
went. But I don't think I was important to them as a person. My
family played favorites between my brother and me. I swore I'd
never do that to any kids of mine. At least, that's how I saw the
situation. I decided pretty early on that my dad didn't like me.
Mom was okay, but she did everything Dad said. So, I was on my own,
so to speak."

"Geez…"

"Yeah. I had it
all planned out, too. I was going to hop a freight train and leave
in the middle of the night."

"Yeah, that
sounds like a good plan."

"I thought so
too at first. But I didn't quite make it. Funny, I was sitting
there at the edge of the barn, with my bag packed, a peanut butter
sandwich tucked neatly in my pocket, and the next thing I knew, it
was morning. So much for well laid plans."

"So, what
happened? Did you ever run away?" Josh asked waiting for his
answer.

"Nope. I soon
realized that one day I would be as big as they were, and I could
do what I wanted. So, I waited."

"Gosh, that's
pretty cool to have a plan."

"Yeah, maybe,
but I until didn't go through with it. You see, I realized I'd have
to find my own food, make my own money, and support myself,
somehow. And I didn't have a clue how to start. I was a farm boy,
like you, Josh. In fact, the thought scared me to death. Now, you,
you've got folks that love you, Josh. That's different. You
wouldn't want to worry your mother, would you?"

"Heck, no. I
love Mom. It's just Greg. I don't like him. I've tried. I've tried
awful hard. But he's always talking politics, and how things are
gonna be when I get older. What about now? What about today and
tomorrow?"

She heard a
noise, but she couldn't see what was happening. "I can understand
your point, to a degree. But don't you think you should stick
around long enough to see if Greg treats her right? I mean, you
don't want to run out on her before you know if things are going to
work out. She's alone except for you, Josh. You're big enough to
know sometimes things don't work out the way you plan. What if he
hurt her? You know, you've gotta sort of take care of her."

"Gee, I…I
hadn't thought about that. I hadn't thought about that at all. I
guess I've been kinda selfish. Thinking how I felt, not her. I know
she's lonely. She hasn't had anybody but me and Uncle Henry."

"Yeah, women
get lonely after a while even though they love you. They until get
lonely."

"Man, I'm glad
we had this talk. I guess I wasn't looking at the whole thing. But,
what about you, Coop? Will you stay when they get married?"

There was a
long silence before Cooper finally answered.

"I don't know,
Josh. They might be thinking of selling this place and moving into
town. Doesn't he have a pretty nice place in town? There are all
sorts of possibilities, but what I do isn't important. You'll be a
family then."

There was a
silence, and then Cooper continued. "Look, Josh, you, your mom, and
Greg are going to be a real family. A real family. And even though
I'm sure Greg could never take the place of your dad..."

"No, he
couldn't. I mean I know I never knew my dad. And I'd like you to
know I appreciate you telling me about him. Sorta man to man." Josh
face twisted into a frown. "I never liked to ask Mom. She always
gets kinda misty about it. You know—sort of female like. I feel
like I kinda know him now. You know what I mean, putting everything
together. Man, it's too bad they don't let kids choose their
parents."

Cooper chuckled
softly. "Wouldn't that be something? Just promise me you'll try to
get along, Josh. For her sake."

"Okay, I'll
try. For her sake."

"Give Greg a
chance. I've met him, and he seems like a fairly nice guy, as far
as I could tell. He comes on a little stuffy, but I'll bet he's
pretty regular, once you get to know him. And consider this. After
they are married you will have the best of everything, pal. Have
you even given that a thought?"

When Josh
didn't answer, Cooper went on. "I'm sure your mom has."

"She doesn't
have to marry him on my account. I got the best of everything right
here. Don't you see? Can't she see that? I don't need anything
else. I got Tim and Pete, my two best friends nearby, and Partner,
and now the piglets and the best mom, and…and I even have you now.
When they get married all that might disappear."

"But I'll give
him a chance, for her sake. He doesn't know anything about
baseball, hunting, or fishing or stock car races. Can you see him
dissecting frogs? I don't even think we speak the same language.
All that stuff is the best of everything to me," Josh complained.
"Besides, he doesn't like Partner either. I guess that's what set
me off first about him. He called him a mongrel the last time he
was here. And I can't give him up. Greg has a registered pit bull,
and he's meaner than a junkyard dog. He says a good dog must be
trained. But Partner does everything he's told."

"Maybe you
won't have to give everything up," Cooper encouraged.

"Yeah, maybe."
But he didn't sound convinced.

"There might be
another solution, Josh."

"What?"

"I might be
interested in buying the farm, if your mother sells. Then you and
Partner could come out here and work for me. You could help me
raise the piglets."

"Really? Gee,
if you bought it I could come out whenever Mom let me." Josh
sounded excited.

"Maybe. I'm not
promising, but it's a possibility. Now, why don't you check on the
stock before the storm hits? Make sure they've taken cover," Cooper
instructed. "I've got to put stuff up in here, and store the gear
away, so we can make a temporary home for Elmerine and her piglets.
Then we'll check the house and see if everything is tied down
proper."

"Okay. Thanks
Coop."

There was
another silence then Josh added, "It'd be simpler if you'd marry
Mom. Don't you like her?"

Cooper
hesitated with his answer... "Of course I like her, Josh. Your mom
is a beautiful person, but I'm afraid she's already got things
planned a different way."

"But you do
like her, don't you?" Josh continued.

"Yes, Josh, I
like her. Now scoot."

He liked her
too much, that was the problem.

Josh bumped
into Angela on the way out and shouted as he ran, "I'll be right
back, Mom. I've got to make sure the hens are in the hen
house."

It sounded as
though Josh were making a quick getaway after that last
statement.

"Don't forget
to close the corral gate," she hollered back.

"I won't."

She went inside
the barn and spotted Cooper loosening a bale of hay and spreading
it into the stalls. Apparently, Josh and Cooper had everything
under control and there was little reason to worry about the storm.
She glanced over at the piglets and smiled. There were four blacks,
two spotted and three pinks

*****

"Hi, can I
help?"

Cooper whirled
around. He couldn't control the tightening in his gut every time he
saw her. He hated what she did to him, but he couldn't stop it any
more than he could stop breathing. 'What are you doing home so
early?"

"Well, I always
come home early when it storms. That is, when it's possible. I'm
not really afraid of them, but I realize they can do a lot of
damage. Besides, it's Saturday and I think I deserve a day off. I
see the two of you have been busy with Elmerine this
afternoon."

"Yeah, Josh is
so proud. I hesitated letting him watch, but he handled it real
well, without a minimum of questions." There was a long silence
then he shot her a glance. The hood of her raincoat fell back and
her red curls bounced against her neck and face. "Why don't you go
secure the windows in the house? I think this storm might get a
little rough."

He didn't like
what the sight of her did to him. His hands itched to touch her,
and he knew that would be a mistake.

"All right, but
first I'd like to talk to you."

She wanted to
talk and his insides were burning like an inferno. Talk wasn't on
his mind. He needed to be rid of her. Never had a woman gotten
under his skin so fast and so deep.

"It's not a
good time." Cooper hesitated not giving her the benefit of another
look.

"Maybe, but I
overheard your conversation with Josh. Actually, I was listening."
She turned back to Cooper.

"Well, you're
going to have a time getting him away from here, I guess you heard
that much. Especially now," he glanced at Elmerine and smiled.
"This is home to Josh. Said it's the only home you've had. I'm
afraid he's taken root."

Angela's gaze
fell to the piglets again.

"I guess that's
a pretty big problem for you," Cooper added as he glanced over at
her. He sensed the sadness in her, and for the first time he wished
he could make a difference. "I mean, Josh wanting to stay
here."

"Yeah," she
admitted. She moved closer to him. "I can't blame him, though." She
sighed heavily, bending down and petting the piglets for a second.
They were warm and wiggly and reaching for their mama. "I've grown
to love it here too. It's been a real home for us; a lot of hard
work, but a home. Neither of us ever minded the work. It was
ours."