Cowgirl Come Home (31 page)

“I took the blame. I told him I did what I was thought was right for Bailey
and
his brother.”

“What did he say?”

“Not much. He’s a lawyer. But, at least, the truth is out there.”

The truth.

What was the truth? Had she failed her daughter by giving into Oscar’s my-way-or-the-highway tough love tactic? The doubt ate her up inside for weeks after Bailey left. She’d nearly suffered a breakdown.

Oddly enough, Marla had been the one to reach out and pull Louise back to the world of the living. Marla had called Louise’s blues “empty nest syndrome,” and she’d cheerfully coerced Louise into going to Helena for a weekend of shopping, movies, spa treatments and one impulse buy.

Louise touched the tiny butterfly tattoo above her left breast. Her private memorial. “I want to call Marla. You can talk to people in prison, can’t you?”

Oscar turned in his seat to look at her. “Why, for God’s sake?”

“To tell her I don’t hate her. Maybe if I’d been a better friend—if I’d paid more attention—things wouldn’t have gotten so crazy.”

He shrugged. “When are we going to take care of Jack’s ashes? I want to get that done before you and Bailey start planning a wedding.”

Louise’s heart skipped a beat. “Do you think she’ll say yes?”

Oscar reached over his shoulder and patted her hand. “Our daughter may be just as stubborn and pig-headed as her old man, but she’s got her mother’s brains. She’ll say yes. I’d put money on it.”

Louise pictured the cash box she’d tucked in her purse. “Speaking of money…I think our daughter is going to be very successful in her new career.”

“Was there any doubt? Bailey Jenkins never does anything halfway. She’s going to help put Marietta on the map.”

They’d reached the car. The parking lot was three-quarters empty, but a continual stream of people hauling things to trucks made the area seem busy and alive.

Louise suddenly felt excited to be alive and facing a future primed with possibilities. Bailey was back to stay. Oscar’s rebound was nothing short of miraculous.

Impulsively, she blocked the door when he reached for it.

“What? Did you forget something?”

She reached down and locked the brake then carefully sat on his lap. “Yes. I believe I did. I forgot to tell you how much I love you, Oscar Jenkins. And how proud I am of your recovery.”

It was too dark to tell for certain if he blushed, but his smile looked embarrassed. He’d never handled praise well—maybe because he experienced so little of it growing up.

“I’m not done, yet, you know. I plan to walk again.”

“I know. And I think we should wait to spread Jack’s ashes until you can walk to Spring Creek…even with a cane.” Their foreheads touched, and she said softly, “I think he’d like to know you’re back on your feet.”

She felt his nod. “You’ve got a deal. Maybe I’ll be able to walk Bailey down the aisle, too.”

Louise had to blink away tears when they kissed. “You will, my love. I know you will.”

Moments later, with the kind of impossible synchronicity that only happens in the movies, a loud boom, followed by a burst of fireworks that lit up the sky, marked the close of the Big Marietta Fair.

“This fair is one we’ll never forget, huh?” Oscar asked, wrapping his arms around her as she settled against his chest to watch the show.

Louise nodded, too overwhelmed with emotion to speak. The best in fifteen long years. But, with luck and love, this fair would be one of many they’d enjoy with Bailey, Paul and the children. For the first time in too long to remember, Louise—book lover that she was—could see a storybook ending in her family’s future. One she couldn’t wait to watch unfold.

O
ctober in Montana
was glory personified, Bailey thought, closing the gap of sweater at her throat. But nearly as chilly as a foggy winter morning in California’s Central Valley.

The cold she could handle as long as it came with brilliant sunlight and a sky so big and blue it almost made a person weep.

Of course, she’d been an emotional mess ever since the plastic indicator showed a plus sign. Pregnant! The doctor confirmed: Reno. A shower neither she nor Paul would ever forget.

“How you doing, sweetheart? Too cold for you?”

Paul took his right hand off the steering wheel of the ATV to pat her knee. He’d traded in the tandem model for one that seated four, but since the children were with Jen this weekend, the backseat held her parents.

At long last, they were completing OC’s promise to his best friend.

“I’m fine. Perfect. I only wish we were on horseback. Being outside like this makes me realize how much I miss riding.” To be safe, she’d opted not to get back on a horse until after the baby was born.

Not that she’d had time to ride. The wedding was scheduled for the following Saturday. And even though they’d planned a simple, mostly family affair at the Graff Hotel, weddings were a lot of work, she’d discovered.

She was both excited and terrified. Between Paul’s mother and hers, their low-key event was turning into something considerably more elegant—storybook, even. Far different from anything they could have pulled off fifteen years ago. And way more expensive. But with Paul’s parents’ support and the proceeds from the sale of Marla’s junk, Bailey was fairly certain they weren’t going into debt.

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at her mother. Mom and Marla spoke once a week. Marla deeply regretted her actions. She’d gotten some help in prison and was taking some kind of medication to stabilize her mood swings. She’d insisted every penny Bailey made from the online sales of her
stuff
go into the wedding kitty, and to Bailey’s surprise, she’d made enough to book to the Graff’s luxurious honeymoon suite, too.

OC reached out and tapped Paul on the shoulder. “Just ahead on your left.”

Paul shot Bailey an amused look.

Ever since Paul offered OC the job of Big Z’s Community Relations Supervisor, her father had changed.

He taught himself how to use the computer and spent countless hours on the Internet, watching YouTube videos about fly-fishing, basically teaching himself how to teach.

To everyone’s surprise, he’d turned into a single-minded, highly focused professional. Decisive, goal-oriented, driven.

Today’s task had been on his To-Do list for months, but he’d waited for his doctor’s okay before asking Bailey and Paul for their help.

Paul slowed and made a gradual turn, allowing for rocks and ruts. Although the picnic area at Spring Creek was accessible by four-wheel drive vehicles, the place OC had picked out could only be reached on foot, by horseback or with all-terrain vehicles.

Paul had volunteered to drive them when he heard about the purpose of OC’s mission.

“I want to get Jack off the shelf and out in the world again before winter sets in,” OC said a few weeks earlier.

Paul had looked at Bailey and known intuitively she was thinking the same thing: they could use the opportunity for a little private good-bye of their own.

Thanks to working at her new shop every day, her ankle was nearly a hundred percent. She’d wrapped it that morning and put on a pair of hiking boots for extra support, but she’d promised Paul she could manage a short hike up river to the spot he’d visited so many years earlier.

“How’s this, OC?” Paul asked, pulling as close to the embankment as he dared.

The water was much lower than it would be in spring, but thanks to recent rains the deep eddies looked bottomless and a few inches of water danced across the shallows.

“Just fine, Paul. Thank you.”

Paul jumped out and waited while OC swung his legs over the side, his artificial prosthesis hidden by the heavy duck canvas of his Carhartts, his right boot the same as his left. Paul had seen OC’s artificial limb when the man came into the store to formally apply for the job Paul was offering. “You need full disclosure,” OC said and pulled up his pant leg.

OC would always walk with a limp—and probably use a cane, but he’d come a long way since Bailey had returned. Most impressive of all, he hadn’t had a drink in nine months.

“Do you plan to say a few words, Dad?” Bailey asked walking up to them.

OC looked at Louise, who remained on the bench seat. Paul saw the look of panic in his future father-in-law’s eyes, which was surprising given how flawlessly OC handled the crowds at Big Z Hardware. Even in front of a crowd of a dozen or so who showed up for his first workshop, OC had been glib, ever the showman. Now, he swallowed hard and looked ready to bolt, which everyone knew was not possible.

Louise eased off the seat with her daughter’s help then stuck her arm through her husband’s and said, “I don’t think Jack would expect anything formal. Why don’t you two go for your hike and when you come back I’ll have the picnic set out. We’ll remember some of the good times and say our goodbyes privately.”

Bailey looked hesitant. Paul noticed how she sometimes played mother hen to her parents. But now that both Louise and OC were back on their feet financially and health-wise, Paul planned to keep her too busy to worry.

He took Bailey’s hand. “Good idea. We won’t be long. I want to show Bailey a special spot I found.”

The autumn sun cast a golden hue through the dying leaves. The path underfoot was slick in places so they took it slow. The nip in the air made his nostrils quiver. Winter would be here before they knew it and in late March they’d welcome a new child to the family.

“Are you okay?” he asked when her hand tightened on his.

“Fine. Just being careful.”

Ironic,
he thought, given the way they’d dashed carelessly through life in their youth. Reckless. Like typical teen-agers. “I remember stumbling here. Scraped the heck out of my hands.”

She lifted their hands and kissed his palm. The gesture made him smile.

“You’re going to be a great mother.”

“Do you think so? Really?”

“Absolutely. Chloe and Mark are crazy about you.”

She shrugged. “Seeing someone every other weekend isn’t the same as living together, day in and day out. I know our relationship will have some ups and downs after the first of the year when Jen and Edward move and the kids are with us full time, but as long as they know I love their dad and won’t do anything to come between you and them, I think we’ll be okay.”

He believed that with all his heart. Life had come full circle, and he’d never felt more hopeful.

He pushed aside some low branches and motioned her to go ahead into the small clearing. The conformation of rocks and trees created a private niche where he’d wailed over his loss and the vagaries of fate that ruined his dreams.

If we’d married and had our child, I wouldn’t have Chloe and Mark
.

The revelation was so obvious he’d probably said the words out loud a dozen times or more, but until that moment he hadn’t felt the truth at his core.

Everything happens for a reason, Paul,
he heard his grandmother say.

Impossible, given the fact he’d never met her. But the surety of the words made him stagger and reach out for a sapling.

Bailey stood without moving for several minutes, soaking in the beauty and peacefulness of the little glen. “I bet Grandma Hilda brought you here, Paul.”

“I never thought of that. I suppose it’s possible. She’d been on my mind ever since I called on her to curse you.”

Bailey walked to a large boulder and sat. The sun had warmed the rock, as if preparing for her visit. “There’s a peace here that feels very spiritual and connected. It’s the right place to say goodbye.”

He squatted beside her. “How do you say goodbye to someone who never was?”

She reached in her pocket and pulled out the beaded heart she’d finished last night. At the center was a small, perfect Montana sapphire.

She held it to the sun to watch it sparkle then kissed it and tossed it into the deepest part of the water. It made a tiny splash, but she swore the sound carried the hint of a child’s laugh.

A warm rush of love and emotion swept through her from head to toe.

Sadness? Yes, but a beautiful peace she wanted to believe was forgiveness.

The last vestiges of guilt melted away. She’d made a choice she would always regret but she no longer hated herself for being young and pliable. She couldn’t hate her father for doing what he thought was in her best interest. She didn’t blame Paul for cursing her.

She turned to the man she loved and wept in his arms. He stroked her back and murmured soft words of comfort against her hair.

“It’s okay. Everything’s going to be fine. We’re good, my love. It’s all good.” His comfort was a healing balm, too.

“That was beautiful, Bailey. I wish I’d put as much thought into this as you did, but I’ve been so busy.”

She pulled back and put her finger to his lips. “I made that heart for me, Paul. A symbol of the gift I couldn’t give before. Besides, you’re not a look-back kind of guy. You’re too busy looking forward. And I love that about you.”

“You’re right. I’m looking forward to all the possibilities a life with my soul mate has to offer. But I knew this closure was important to you. And I’m partly to blame for that. I’m the jerk who cursed you, remember?”

Before she could answer, he did something amazing.

He stepped back and looked at the sky and shouted, “Grandma Hilda, if you can hear me, I call on you to lift the curse. I want it to end. Now.”

He looked around, head tilted as if listening for a voice, a sign. When nothing happened, he made an “I tried” gesture. “I guess it was worth a shot, huh?”

Bailey threw back her head and laughed, releasing an inexplicable rush of joy that bubbled up inside her. Happiness as rich and glorious as she’d ever known vibrated in every fiber of her being.

“The curse is gone, Paul. It worked.”

He looked skeptical, as if she were humoring him.

“No, really. It’s gone.” She pressed his hand to her heart. “Wiped clean. I swear my heart isn’t as heavy as it was.”

“Wow. Who knew?”

He looked toward the sky again. “Thanks, Grandma.”