Going Cowboy Crazy (28 page)

Her brow knotted, and Jenna Jay laughed as Dallas deposited her back on the couch. “Hell, she doesn’t even know what tp-ing is.”

“Watch that mouth, Jenna Jay.” Burl shot a stern look at his daughter.

“Of course, I know what tp-ing is,” Faith blurted out, even though she didn’t have a clue. All eyes turned to her, and she stuttered. “I-It’s when you make a—”

Slate started to speak, but Dallas beat him to it. “It’s when you make a mess out of somebody’s yard by throwing toilet paper all over.”

That wasn’t what she was going to say, and everyone in the room knew it.

“Exactly.” She sent him a weak smile.

“Is that fried chicken I smell, Jenna?” Slate asked.

“Oh, Lord, I forgot all about it.” Jenna hustled into the kitchen, calling over her shoulder. “Come on, everyone. If we don’t eat it fast, it’ll get cold.”

“I hate fried chicken,” Jenna Jay grumbled as she got up off the couch.

“Good. I’ll eat yours.” Dallas hooked his arm around her neck, giving her noogies until she elbowed him in the stomach and got away.

“I’d stay away from fried food if I were you, little brother,” she said. “From the looks of that belly, you’re one drumstick away from looking like Harley Sutter.”

“Real funny, Jay.” He gave her a shove that knocked her into a curio cabinet. The figurines rattled, and Jenna yelled from around the corner of the kitchen.

“I swear if you two don’t stop it…”

“Come on, Slate.” Tessa took Slate’s arm. “I’m dying to hear about the homecoming game.”

Slate would’ve pulled Faith along if Burl hadn’t stopped them. “Faith, I was wonderin’ if you might want to see my garden.”

Slate’s hand tightened on her waist as he looked down at her. She knew he would’ve stayed with her if she wanted. But Burl looked so pitiful standing there, she couldn’t refuse him.

“Go on with Tessa, Slate. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Once they were gone, Burl held the door open for her, and she stepped out on the porch. He followed, easing the screen door closed behind him. She waited for him to lead her down the steps and around to some vegetable garden she hadn’t seen the last time she’d been there. Instead, he moved to the railing and looked down at the profusion of brightly colored mums.

“They’re at their peak right now. In a few more weeks, they’ll be nothin’ but dried-up stems.” He reached over and snapped off the head of a withered flower. “Still, fall wouldn’t be fall without their color. They’re like summer’s last hurrah before the browns and blacks of winter set in.”

Surprised by the sensitivity of such a large, mean-looking man, Faith didn’t reply.

Burl turned back around, the head of the flower still held in his big hand. Like Jenna before him, his gaze took its time wandering over every feature until she blushed and looked away. The blush seemed to please him, and he smiled and held out his hand.

“Welcome to the family, Faith Anne.”

She didn’t hesitate to take it, which made the smile deepen on his sun-weathered face. “How did you know my middle name?”

“Because I picked it. Anne is my mama’s name.”

“You and Jenna named me?”

His blue eyes registered surprise. “I thought you knew. Hope. Faith.”

It made sense, but until this moment she hadn’t put the two together.

“It was part of the deal Jenna made with your mama,” he continued. “Of course, we had to start all over when we
found out there was two of you instead of just one. We had Anne Marie picked out for both our mamas. Then, when two of you came out, we decided to use those as middle names and choose new first ones. Poor Jenna stayed up most the night fretting over it. But by morning, she had it all figured out. The baby we kept would be Hope, because she hoped we could be good parents. And the baby we gave away would be Faith, because she had faith that God would bring you back to us.” He shook his head. “And darned if He didn’t.”

Faith tried to keep the tears from falling but it was a complete waste of effort. She bent her head to hide them, but the tears dropped down to the cracked cement between her feet, making tiny little dark dots that wavered before her eyes.

“Oh, honey, please don’t cry.” Burl stepped over and thumped her on the back. “Don’t you see, everything turned out just fine.”

“What did you do, Burl?” Slate pushed out the screen door.

“I’d watch my tone if I was you, Calhoun,” Burl said in a threatening whisper.

“I don’t care if you like my tone or not. If you’re responsible for those tears, I’m going to give you a lot more than just a bad tone.”

Burl bristled. “You think so, do you? Because for the last week, I’ve wanted to give you something, and after the way you’ve been pawing Faith since you got here, I’m more than ready to do it.”

“Then let’s go—”

“Stop!” Faith yelled and held up her hands. “Slate, you’re not going to beat up my father.” She wiped at her
eyes and looked up at Burl. “And you’re not going to beat up my boyfriend.”

“Father?” Burl’s eyes widened.

“Boyfriend?” Slate tipped his head.

“Good Lord,” she mimicked Jenna, and strode back through the door, leaving both of them standing there grinning like idiots.

Lunch, or dinner as everyone kept referring to it, was like no family gathering Faith had ever witnessed. Instead of the occasional soft conversation punctuated by the clink of silverware on plates, the long table was the center of nonstop chatter, loud laughter, and a staggering amount of food consumption.

Though Slate was right. Faith didn’t quite fit into the family picture.

Jenna and Burl were almost too polite when they spoke to her. Jenna Jay continued to act belligerent. And it was hard to tell if Dallas liked her or not because he was so quiet. Tessa was the most congenial. Although by dessert, her conversation became more of an interrogation.

“So do you have a boyfriend back in Chicago?”

Faith fidgeted under everyone’s stares. “No.”

“So you don’t date,” Jenna Jay jumped in.

“Of course I date. I just haven’t dated recently.” She slid a quick glance over at Slate, who was no longer slouched in his chair. He looked back at her, his eyes intent.

“Why not?” Jenna Jay asked.

Faith pulled her gaze away from Slate and looked over at her sister. “Because my mother was sick, and I was too busy taking care of her.”

Jenna Jay looked away. “Yeah, Mama told us about that. I’m sorry.”

“We all are, Faith,” Tessa chirped. “But when God closes a door, he always opens a window.” She grinned. “And I guess we’re your window. Although I wouldn’t look too closely, if I was you, because we’ve got more than a few cracks.”

Everyone laughed, which lightened the mood considerably. At least, it did until Jenna Jay put a damper on things.

“So are you living with Slate?”

“Jenna Jay!” Jenna yelled.

“It was just a question.”

“And one that’s not any of your business, smart britches.” Slate sat back.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Jenna Jay smirked.

“Not for long,” Burl stated as he threw Slate an angry look.

Slate ignored it and covered Faith’s hand with his. The outward sign of possession didn’t go over very well with Burl, and he pushed back his chair and stood.

Luckily, before the fists could fly, Dallas pointed at the clock on the wall behind Burl’s head. “Cowboys,” he simply stated. And the entire table cleared, leaving Faith sitting all alone with her biggest fan.

Jenna Jay.

“Cowboys?” Faith tried not to fidget under the young woman’s stare. “Is there a Western on?”

Jenna Jay rolled her eyes. “You’re clueless. Completely clueless. You probably don’t even watch football.”

“Yes, I do,” she defended herself. “I saw the homecoming game.”

“And who won?”

Faith cleared her throat. “The other team.”

“Which was?”

“Some kind of cat, I think.”

“Brother.” Jenna Jay picked at her thumbnail and seemed in no hurry to follow her family into the other room. “So you lived in Chicago?”

“Yes.”

“I guess you think we’re nothing but a bunch of stupid country hicks.” Her blue eyes flickered up. They were as cold as glaciers.

“No.” When Jenna Jay’s eyes narrowed, Faith decided to be honest. “All right, maybe I did to begin with. I took one look at Bubba’s truck and thought I’d driven into a town filled with a bunch of crazy rednecks.”

Jenna Jay continued to pick at her nail, but a slight smile tipped her full lips. “Bubba’s truck will do that. Although Bubba’s from East Texas.”

Faith laughed. “I thought Bubba’s truck was Slate’s.”

She stopped picking and sat up. “You’re kidding? And you still liked him?”

“Believe me, if you’d told me a week ago I’d be driving around with a cocky cowboy in a monster truck, I would’ve thought you were crazy. But if I’ve discovered anything in the last few days, it’s that Texan men can be extremely persuasive.”

Jenna Jay nodded. “Amen to that, sister. Amen to that.”

The Dallas Cowboys game lasted longer than the movie
Titanic,
but without one good love scene—unless you considered the occasional butt pats the football players gave one another. But even without the love scenes and with no knowledge of what a safety or illegal motion was, Faith liked being sandwiched on the couch between Slate and her brother while they jumped and hollered every
time their team did something they liked, and especially when they didn’t.

Jenna, Burl, and Tessa sat on the opposite couch and did their fair share of yelling, while Jenna Jay sat on the floor and painted her toenails, acting as if she wasn’t the least concerned about the game. But Faith realized it was all a pretense when the Cowboys’ quarterback threw the ball to the opposing team, and Jenna Jay knocked over the bottle of pink polish on the green carpet as she jumped in aggravation. To Faith’s mother, the mishap would’ve been a major catastrophe, but Jenna only helped her daughter clean it up—keeping an eye on the television the entire time—completely unconcerned that she now had a permanent pink spot on her floor.

When the game ended, so did the party. Dallas headed back to Austin, while Tessa headed back to Amarillo. Because she had Monday off from school, Jenna Jay wouldn’t go back to Lubbock until the following evening. Slate and Faith remained for a couple hours after the game, eating leftovers and waiting for Hope to call. Unfortunately, by nine o’clock they still hadn’t heard from her.

“She always calls on Sunday.” Jenna sent Burl a concerned look. “Even last week when we was gone, she still called and left a message.”

Burl didn’t look any less worried, but he tried to calm his wife. “Nothing to fret about, honey. She’ll probably call later on tonight.”

“He’s right, mama,” Jenna Jay said. “Besides, I don’t know what you’re so worried about. I don’t even call you every week.”

Jenna sent her an annoyed look. “Something I’ve been meaning to talk with you about, young lady.”

“Well, before you get started, Jenna”—Slate pushed his chair back from the table—“I think it’s about time Faith and I get going.”

“So soon?” Jenna looked at Faith. “There’s still some apple pie left.”

“No, thank you,” Faith said. “But I would really appreciate it if you’d let me know when Hope calls.”

“Of course we will.” Jenna reached over and patted her hand.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about that.” Burl pushed his empty plate away and switched the wooden toothpick to the other side of his mouth. “And I don’t see any need for Jenna to call you.” When Faith looked surprised, he added, “Because I don’t think you should be staying anywhere but right here with us.”

Faith glanced at Slate and couldn’t help the blush that spread over her cheeks, which made Jenna Jay laugh.

“Burl’s right; that’s a perfect idea,” Jenna gushed. “If you stayed here, it would be so much easier for you to talk with Hope. And it would sure put my mind at rest knowing if Hope called during the day, you would be here to answer it.”

Slate stood. “Well, that’s real nice of you, Jenna. But Shirlene has gotten real attached to Faith, and I’m sure she’d be devastated if we were to jerk her away like that. And you don’t want to upset the boss’s wife, do you, Burl?”

Burl got up from the table, his eyes pinned on Slate. “Why don’t we call Shirlene, Jenna, and see how she feels about things? Slate is right. I certainly wouldn’t want to upset the boss’s wife.”

“Now, you two quit mad-dogging each other and sit
down,” Jenna ordered. “Nobody is going to call anyone until Faith tells us what she wants to do. After all, she’s a guest here in Bramble.”

They both sat back down and turned to Faith.

With all eyes on her, it was hard to speak. Especially when she didn’t want to stay with Shirlene or Burl and Jenna. She wanted to stay with Slate in a tiny trailer with new sheets and a doped-up dog. But from the look on her father’s face, that wasn’t going to go over very well. And they did have a point. If she stayed there, she would have a better chance of talking to Hope. Besides, Jenna looked so excited at the prospect that she couldn’t tell her no.