AlmostHome (9 page)

Maria nodded. “It’s okay but we’re not going to make a habit
of spending Saturday mornings on Haley’s couch. Once a month is all, and only
if your grade cards are good.”

“Sounds like a deal to me,” Haley said. “I’ll see you
Saturday morning at eight o’clock sharp. I’ll teach you how to make cinnamon
rolls and we’ll veg out for an hour or so.”

“Whoo-hoo!” Carlita and Ezzie whooped. Which was followed by
the inevitable, “Can we come too?” from the older children.

Before Wyatt knew it, everyone was invited for Saturday
morning cartoons. Including him. Maybe, if he was lucky, he’d be invited to
stay over Friday night.

While Haley and Maria cleared the table and loaded the
dishwasher, Wyatt and Dooley sat down with the operating manuals for the TV and
home theater components and began the process of hooking things up. Every now
and again, Haley and Maria would giggle and Wyatt knew they were laughing at
him and Dooley as they sweated and swore over the manuals.

“Dang it all, Dooley. You’re looking at the Spanish
instructions. You don’t read Spanish do you?”

“No, but they got pictures of how to hook it up.”

“Gimme that.” He tried to snatch the manual away from
Dooley, who held it out of his reach. Which only made Wyatt try harder to grab
the thing from him. It didn’t take long for the good-natured argument to evolve
into a wrestling match.

Haley and Maria waded into the fray. “Boys, boys. Stop that
right this minute,” Maria scolded. Quick as a snake, Dooley snatched Maria off
her feet. Seeing their parents play fighting, the children shrieked and piled
on until they were a writhing mass of tickling and laughter that had Haley
laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes. Wyatt scooted back to avoid the
thrashing feet and pulled Haley down between his legs so he could wrap his arms
around her.

“It’s like a game of Twister gone horribly wrong,” he
commented. When she threw him a questioning look, he shook his head. “Don’t
tell me you’ve never played Twister.”

Haley shook her head. “Nope, never have.”

“It’s fun watching kids play but when grownups play? Baby
girl, you don’t know what you’re missing.”

* * * * *

Conner Kilpatrick stood as his father strutted into the
visiting area. Prison hadn’t seemed to hurt Kent Kilpatrick near as Conner
could tell. Fact was, the old man looked better than he had before he’d been
locked up. Of course, it’d been nine years since the old man had been out
drinking and whoring. Three meals a day hadn’t hurt him none either.

“Howdy son,” Kent said, enfolding Conner in a quick embrace.
“You’re looking good.”

That was a bald-faced lie if Conner ever heard one. He
couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten a home-cooked meal, and he’d spent
the bulk of the money Haley had thrown at him on booze.

“How you doing, Pa?”

Kent sat down. “Doing good, son. Made parole. Won’t be long
before they spring me from this joint.” He looked around. “Where’s your sister?
You were supposed to bring her.”

Conner cleared his throat. “She left. Picked up her mail
from Austin and took off. Came back for her stock a while back, tossed a wad of
money in my face and said she was done with us.”

Kent Kilpatrick’s eyes narrowed. “Did she now? And you
didn’t ask where she’d been, where she was going?”

“Sure I asked, but she wouldn’t say. Had some cowboy with a
fancy rig drive her out to the house. They loaded up the horses and took off.”

Kent tapped the tabletop. “Is that right? Anybody you knew?”

Conner shook his head. “Never seen him before. License plate
bracket said Kimble County.”

Kent smiled, something moving behind his eyes that Conner
couldn’t quite put a finger on, but his voice remained deceptively casual.

“Guess the old bitch died and left her place to Haley.”

“What old bitch?”

“Y’all’s Aunt Jack. Your momma’s sister. Had herself a
good-sized spread outside Junction. Few thousand acres. Some oil. Couple gas
wells. Prime hill country land.”

The grin his father sent his way sent a chill down Conner’s
spine. Whatever it was that made his pa smile like that didn’t bode well for
Haley. ‘Course, the way she’d treated her only brother, Conner figured whatever
their daddy had planned, she had it coming. Still, he couldn’t help feeling a
little unnerved.

“I expect you’d best mosey on over to Junction and tell your
sister to be expecting us when they cut me loose from here.”

Conner barely contained a grimace. Considering what had
passed between him and his sister, it didn’t seem likely he’d be greeted with
open arms.

“She ain’t gonna like that, Pa. Made herself pretty clear.
She don’t want nothing to do with either one of us.”

His pa’s mouth tightened as his jaw clenched, giving his
face the look of a hardened criminal off a wanted poster. “Well, it don’t much
matter what she wants. I’m her pa and she’ll do what I say. Just like always.”

Conner wasn’t so sure about that. “She’s changed, Pa.”

Kent barked a harsh laugh. “That may be, boy, but she’ll
just have to change back. I’m her daddy and I want what’s coming to me. I been
waiting half my life for that old bitch to die and leave us the ranch. Your
sister might not like it but she knows better than to buck me. Now you do as I
say, boy, and go see your sister. I’ll call you soon to see what she had to
say.”

Conner nodded. “Yes sir.”

An inmate sauntered over to their table and Kent introduced
them. “This here’s Rafe Winslow. He’s in for a parole violation but he’s
getting out next week. I told him he could stay at that sorry excuse for a
ranch your sister rented. You need some help with her, he’s your man.” Kent
reached over and plucked a pack of smokes from Conner’s pocket. Lighting one
up, he inhaled deeply, then sat back in his chair, smiling. When he exhaled the
smoke through his nostrils, Conner could have sworn he smelled sulfur.

Chapter Six

Haley yawned as she forked another pile of manure into a
wheelbarrow. Man she was tired. She and Wyatt had stayed up late setting up her
office equipment. It had been past two in the morning before he’d finally left
for home. Six o’clock came extra early on less than four hours sleep and she’d
been working side by side with Dooley all morning. She straightened and
stretched, groaning when her back cracked in protest. Lifting the handles on
the wheelbarrow, she muscled the last of the manure out to the pile, rinsed the
barrow and fork and stowed them.

“I don’t know about you, Dooley, but I could go for a cup of
coffee right about now.”

Dooley leaned his pitchfork against the side of the stall.
“Reckon I could too.”

The two walked side by side to the house, going around back
to scrape their boots and enter the kitchen. Haley flipped the switch on the
coffee pot, grinning at Dooley’s raised eyebrow.

“Figured you didn’t get much more sleep than I did last
night, so had a pot ready to go.”

Dooley took off his hat and scratched his head. “Wyatt
stayed late, did he?”

Haley pulled a couple of clean mugs from the cabinet. “Yeah,
but we got the office equipment set up and he emailed his friend about setting
up a web page for me. I sure hope I don’t screw anything up. I ain’t so good
with computers.”

Dooley chuckled. “Aw hell, Wyatt can teach ya.”

Haley poured them each a cup of coffee and sat down across
from him. “So he claims but I ain’t all that confident in my abilities.”

Dooley blew across the top of his cup. “You got to stop
selling yourself short, gal. Way I figure it, ain’t nothing you can’t do if you
got a mind to. You got yourself out from under that brother of yours. Got
yourself a good start on building a business. Hell, I ain’t never seen nobody
that’s got a way with horses like you. I reckon you’ll learn what you need to
and do just fine.”

Haley grinned and raised her cup in a toast. “From your
mouth to God’s ears.” She took a sip of the strong brew and sighed. “The mares
feet look to be coming along fine. Lolly seems to have gotten used to the
pads.”

“Yup. She’s a good horse.” He drank more coffee. “Noticed
Molly’s a little restless this morning. May be she’s ready to drop soon.”

Haley nodded. “Probably ought to have Ben check her.”

Dooley nodded. “Figured I’d see if you wanted me to call
him. I’ll check her off and on through the night too. The foal’s gonna be
pretty big. We may need him or we may not. Best to keep him on speed dial.”

“Go on and give him a call. I gotta get cleaned up before
that woman shows up to start building my website.” She lifted the collar of her
t-shirt to her nose and sniffed. “I smell like a goat.”

“Mucking out six stalls will do that. I ain’t so sweet
smelling myself.” He drained the last of his coffee and rinsed his cup. He
turned and smiled. “Well, back to it. I’ll call Doc and see if he can get out
here today.”

* * * * *

After a long shower, Haley made a salad for lunch and
settled down on the porch to eat, Snoop by her side. In the sunroom on the back
of the house, Scuzz squawked out the lyrics to
It’s A Small World
,
courtesy of the Dooley’s youngest children, liberally punctuated by the foulest
curse words known to man.

Haley smiled happily as she munched on crispy butter lettuce
and succulent tomatoes. She still didn’t quite trust that her life had changed
so much for the better. For more years than she could remember, her happiness
had never been a priority to the people in her life. Now she had this ranch,
more money in the bank than she’d ever dreamed possible, and she was on the way
to seeing her dream of breeding and training barrel horses come true. On top of
that, she had her first real girlfriends in Maria Dooley and Traci Owens.

Then there was Wyatt. He’d come to mean more to her than
she’d ever imagined he could the first time she’d laid eyes on him. She’d taken
him for a cowboy Casanova but it seemed like she’d been wrong. She didn’t quite
trust her judgment on that either, though. She was honest enough with herself
to admit she didn’t know jack shit about men. Had never had a boyfriend. Had
barely ever been kissed before. And while she knew the mechanics of sex, she’d
never actually had sex. How pathetic was that? Thinking about what had passed
between them in the truck yesterday, she fanned herself with her hand. He’d had
her shirt up and her bra pulled down, his mouth on her breasts. And she’d liked
it. Had wanted it. More’s the pity. Just went to prove even the most cautious
woman could act the fool.

Haley was just finishing her salad and tea when a plume of
dust rose in the distance. Before long, a battered red truck bounced into the
yard and stopped next to the barn. Haley stood, setting her dishes on the bench
and went to greet her guest.

The woman emerging from the truck was definitely not what
she expected. Well into her forties, she was short with wild gray-streaked hair
that spread around her face and shoulders like a halo. Dressed in a gauzy
yellow skirt that touched the tips of her boots, she wore a wife-beater under a
tan leather vest. This was the Webmaster Wyatt had recommended? The woman
looked like Kathy Bates on crack.

“You must be Haley.”

The woman’s voice had a deep, velvety quality that probably
drove men to distraction. Haley was immediately mesmerized.

“Uh…yes ma’am.”

The woman snorted. “Save your ma’ams for the preacher’s
wife, honey. My name’s Merinda Hale but most folks call me Meri. Not after that
hobbit fellow, though I am short. Feet ain’t hairy though. Wyatt says you need
a web page built for your business?”

Haley blinked and gave her head a shake. Goodness, the woman
spoke fast. Hobbit fellow? Hairy feet? What the hell? Then she remembered a
trailer for a movie about wizards and short people that lived in some far-off
country. “I…yes ma— Uh, Merinda.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Haley
Kilpatrick.”

The woman grasped her hand, placing another on top of it.
“Damned if you aren’t the spitting image of your momma.”

Haley’s jaw dropped. “You knew my momma?”

“I did.” The woman hooked her arm around Haley’s and guided
her toward the house. “We were best friends in high school. I was with her the
day she met your daddy at the rodeo in Austin. What a sorry day that was.” She
cut a wary glance toward Haley.

“No denying that, I reckon,” Haley agreed. “My daddy’s a
trial on his best days and he don’t have many of them. I…what was she like? I
don’t remember much about her. I remember the way she smelled and this song she
used to hum real soft and pretty.” Climbing the steps to the porch, Haley
opened the screen door. “After you. Can I get you anything? I made a fresh pitcher
of sweet tea this morning.”

“
All the Pretty Horses
.” Merinda settled herself on a
stool at the kitchen island. “That was probably the song. It was her favorite.
Tea would be nice, honey.” She waited until Haley joined her then said, “Your
momma was a ray of sunshine, child. As pretty on the inside as she was on the
outside. It grieved me that your pa took her away from everything she knew and
loved. Once she found out who he really was, it was too late. She was pregnant
with you and bound and determined to make it work. Broke your auntie’s heart
when he took her away. Never even got a look at you.”

Haley nodded. What could she say? She didn’t need to confirm
to this woman that her daddy was an asshole. He’d worked hard all his life to
prove it all by himself.

“So.” Merinda patted her hand. “Wyatt filled me in on the
type of business you’re starting up. We should probably start out by taking
some pictures of you and the stock.”

“Okay. Should I change clothes?”

The Webmaster studied her for a moment. “Maybe a more
prosperous pair of jeans, but not too new. How do you normally dress when
you’re working with the horses?”

“Jeans, maybe a tank top. My old Resistol. Barn boots.”

“Perfect. Go on and change into that. And braid your hair.
We don’t want somebody’s wife thinking you’re too sexy to let her husband work
with you.”

Haley snorted. “Not much chance of that happening.”

Merinda snorted right back. “Looked in the mirror lately,
honey? You are a good-looking woman. If you weren’t straight, I’d take a run at
you myself.”

“Oh lord,” Haley muttered and trotted off to change her
clothes. She was back in a just a few minutes and feeling curious. “What’s it
like being gay in Texas?”

Merinda laughed merrily. “It’s interesting, honey.” She
stood and gestured to the door. “Let’s get us some pictures of those horses.
Wyatt tells me you’ve got some prime stock. Champions. That right?”

Haley fell into step beside her as they crossed the yard.
“Yes. My stud, Geronimo, is a five-time Pegasus Stakes winner. And my pregnant
mare, Austin’s Texas Tornado, is a three-year-old champion. She’s due to foal
any time. Plus, I have eight other mares, four from championship lines.”

Merinda took a deep breath when they entered the barn. “I
love that barn smell, don’t you?”

Haley chuckled. “I do, though there’s plenty who’d think we
were crazy for it. There’s just something about the smell of horse, hay and
manure.”

As they walked down the wide aisle of the barn, horses’
heads appeared over the stall doors. Whinnies and nickers greeted them. Haley
acknowledged each animal with a thorough ear scratching. One by one, she led
them out for pictures, posed and candid shots. Merinda took a series of photos
of Haley working with Geronimo, then several of Haley and numerous shots of the
ranch proper.

“All righty,” Merinda said at last. “I think I’ve got what I
need for photographs. Now, if we can go in and scan the paperwork on the
animals into your system, I can put that information on my thumb drive and
upload it to your web page.” Heading toward the house, she smiled over her
shoulder. “This is also where we get to the money part.”

Before the visit was over, Haley had learned how to scan
documents into her computer, how to create folders to store information
efficiently, and how to upload photos. She couldn’t help feeling a little bit
proud of herself. As someone who had been raised with few luxuries and even
fewer opportunities to learn new skills, she was satisfied with what she’d
accomplished in a short period of time.

Walking Merinda to her truck, Haley felt none of the
discomfort she had earlier.

“Your mamma would have been real proud of you, honey. You
grew up to be one hell of a woman, despite your daddy.”

Tears welled in Haley’s eyes and she gave Merinda an
impulsive hug.

“Thank you, Meri. For everything.”

Merinda took Haley’s face in her hands. “Oh, honey child,
you don’t know what it means to me to finally see you and know you have your
momma’s strength of character. I know your life hasn’t been easy but you rose
above it and I just know you’re gonna be successful no matter what you do.” A
horn sounded and Merinda stood on the running board of her truck to see who it
was. “Here comes that fellow of yours.” She gave Haley a lascivious wink. “I
swear, if any man could ever tempt me over to the dark side, it would be that
one.” She slid behind the wheel and keyed the ignition. “I’ll be in touch.”
With a toot of her horn and a wave to Wyatt, she bounced down the driveway in a
haze of dust.

Haley was genuinely pleased to see Wyatt. No one in her whole
life had ever done the things for her this man had done and he’d asked for
nothing in return. With each day that passed, she found it more and more
difficult to keep him at arm’s length and now she realized she no longer wanted
to. Wyatt Brody was the real thing. An honest to goodness decent man. When
Wyatt stepped out of his truck, Haley launched herself at him.

“Thank you. Thank you so much for sending her to me. She
knew my momma.”

Wyatt laughed as his arms closed around her. “You’re
welcome, sweet pea. I figured she probably did.” He set her on her feet and
leaned into the truck. “Hey, I brought you something.” When he turned back to
her, he had a rectangular box in his hand.

Haley uttered a delighted laugh. “Twister!”

Wyatt was man enough to admit to a little disappointment
when the Dooley kids came swarming around the side of the house, spotting the
game in Haley’s hands.

“Twister!” Ezzie and Carlita shrieked. “Can we play too?”

Spying the grin on Haley’s face, he couldn’t say no, that he
really wanted to play naked Twister with their pa’s boss lady. She’d had few
enough reasons to smile over the years and he couldn’t deny he liked seeing her
happy.

“Why sure. Run and get your brothers and see if they wanna
play too. Haley and I will take the game inside and get set up.” The kids took
off at a dead run shouting for their brothers. He chuckled and shook his head.
“Hope you don’t mind having a houseful of youngsters again.”

“I don’t mind. I like seeing happy kids.”

“Well, they are that.” He slung an arm around her neck and
dragged her close for lingering kiss. He broke it with a wry smile. “Reckon
we’d better get in there and clear some floor space.”

It only took a few minutes to move the coffee table out of
the way and shove the couch and chairs to the edges of the room. Wyatt watched
as Haley carefully took the wrapping off the box and opened it. She lifted the
mat out and raised it to her nose, sniffing the newness of the plastic. That
simple gesture made his throat clog painfully. Jumpin’ up Jesus. Had she never
had a new toy as a child? She smiled and spread the mat on the floor, then read
the directions. By that time, the pounding of small feet echoed off the back
deck.

“Here comes the thundering herd.” Wyatt gave her a smile and
a wink, charmed beyond belief when she giggled. Not that he hadn’t heard it
before, it was just that it was becoming more and more common and he loved the
idea he might play a part in her happiness. He’d bet any amount of money it
wasn’t a sound she’d made often in her life. It warmed his heart that he could
bring that small miracle about.