Missy's Gentle Giant (6 page)

“Thanks for helping with the
dishes, Ben.”  Missy smiled.

He turned toward her and
bowed.  “It was my pleasure, Melissa.”

Her cheeks turned crimson
again.  “Goodnight.”

“Yes, goodnight.”  Ben watched
her go upstairs, turned and gave Eduardo a scathing glance, then turned to
Gonzalo.  “Guess I’d better get going too.”

“Yeah, I’ll take you.  Maybe
we’ll stop and have a beer or two.”

“Sure.  I want to thank you
again for the dinner.  It was certainly nice meeting you.”  Ben shook
hands with Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez and then stopped in front of Eduardo. 
“Are you sure Melissa’s yours?”

Gonzalo could hardly get Ben in the
car fast enough.  “Man, Charger what got into you?  My father nearly
had a heart attack when you asked to take Melissa out of the house.”

“Girls aren’t allowed out?” 
Ben glanced at Gonzalo.

“Parents have to be prepared
first.  You know, flowers and gifts, so the family is impressed.”

“For the parents?”

“No, for the girl.”

“Why all the stuff?”

“So they know the guy can afford
taking care of her and he’s not just on the make.”

“Oh.”  Ben frowned.  “So
when do the girls get to go out?”

“Not until they’ve been promised to
each other and only then chaperoned.”

“By promised you mean—”

“Practically engaged.” 
Gonzalo groaned.

“My mistake.”  Ben
laughed.  “Let’s just get some beer and go to my room.  I’ve got an
idea.”

Chapter Four

“So, what’s going on in your
head?”  Gonzalo settled in a chair in Ben’s motel room and opened a beer.

“First thing in the morning you
need to point out all the tampering to your brothers and have them take
inventory for repairs.”

“It takes money to make repairs,
man.”

“Yeah well, I think you’re going to
come into some.  I have a weird itch in my bones—”

“Something illegal?”

“Who me?”  Ben feigned shocked
surprise.  “Do you forget who I work for?  However, someone who planted the
stuff before, might see a sudden extra amount of money as someone cutting into
his territory.”

“Oh, you’re going to find a way to
put in DEA money, and we’ll have to pay it back when this is over?  Man I
won’t ever get out of debt.”

“No, I’ve got something better
figured out.”  Ben swished open a can of beer and took a good
swallow.  “Anyhow, first thing we’ve got to do is get you back into
action.  I need to know some things.”

He sat in a chair and sprawled out
with a groan.  He nodded toward the bed.

“Do you have any idea what it’s
like to always sleep in beds that are too damn short?”

Gonzalo nearly choked. 
“What’s it got to do with—”

“The sleeper of a damn truck is
worse.  For too long I’ve been sleeping in beds that were too short.”

“Traveling huh?”

“Yeah, and I’m tired of it. 
What I need is—oh, forget it.”  He gulped more beer.  “Does Missy own
part of the company?”

“Missy?  Sure.  Everyone
owns an equal share.”

“What happens say if someone in the
family met with an accident or died?”

“Charger—”

“No, I need to know how you’d
handle it—uh divide things.”

“It would be split between us, I
suppose.  Actually, I think everything’s in my father’s name.  Which
means if he died, half would legally go to Mother and the rest divided ten
ways.”

“But the family agrees it’s owned
by all and split by all?”

“Yeah, but we don’t really split
ownership of it.”

“But you do split profits?”

“Of course.”

“Sure.  And if someone wanted to
sell his share?”

“We’d all buy it, but no one will.” 
Gonzalo frowned.  “No outsider will ever own it.”

“I already figured as much.”  Ben
bit the inside of his cheek.  “Your married brother, what happens to his share
if something happened to him?”

“His wife and any kids would get
it.”

“But you do their work—like Missy
and your Mom don’t work for the company.”

“We just figure they do their share
at home and everything.  Besides, Tony’s wife and Missy help in the office
sometimes.”

“What if Tony’s wife remarried?”

“Then it would belong to Tony’s
kids.”  Gonzalo was showing frustration.  “Look, it’s not a company where
outsiders are allowed.”

“Yeah, I get the message.”  Ben
grinned.  “Okay, so if someone in the family came into some money, logically it
would be divided too?”

“I suppose.”

“Is Missy sweet on the guy
Eduardo?”

“Man, I don’t know—he just hangs
around—”

“Then she doesn’t date him?”

“No, Missy does—”

“Does she date others?”

“No.”

“How much does he hang around?”

“Huh?”

“Does he always eat there?”

“No, but Mom tolerates him a lot
because she and his mother were friends and his mother died a year ago”

“Not because she wants to marry
Missy off to him?”

“Nobody’s anxious to marry Missy
off.  Charger if you think because Missy’s deaf—”

“No, I just wondered if he was your
mother’s choice.”

“My mother doesn’t have a
choice.  And my father’s told him no once already.”

“Persistent isn’t he?”

It goes with the customs.” 
Gonzalo took a swallow.

“Explain.”

“Couples don’t date the same way
here.”

“No?”

“Man, you have to have a chaperone
and everything when you date a nice girl.”

“Really?  How do they ever—”

“Usually they meet places, with
someone little in tow, and then when they get serious, they become engaged, and
they can date some.”

“So she hasn’t dated this guy
Eduardo?”

“No, he just started coming over
all the time.”

“And he asked if he could marry her?”

“Yeah, it’s done all the time this
way, and they’re just considered a couple.  It’s expected the guy will be
told no twice to make sure he’s serious.  Parents don’t want to appear
anxious to let their daughters go.  In the meantime, she can let her feelings
be known, and the third time’s always the final answer.”

“There’s no way around asking three
times?”

“Eloping if you can get the girl
away from everyone long enough.”

“No other way?”

Gonzalo shifted
uncomfortably.  “Getting her in a family way which would be the worst
thing to happen.  Man, the last two options are both unacceptable,
especially at our house.  Why are you asking this?”

“Just curious.”  Ben
shrugged.  “What I really want to know—is Eduardo around enough to know
when you’ve got loads lined up, what’s wrong with your trucks and so on.”

“I suppose.  I mean we don’t
think about whether he’s there or not when we talk about things.  Yeah, I
guess he probably does know what goes on pretty much.  You suspect him?”

“Why not?  I have to suspect your
brothers.  His dad owns a rival company.”  Ben made a steeple of his
fingers and rubbed it against his forehead.  “What are the names of the
companies you were running for when you got hit?”

“Bowling and TexIt.”

Ben stood and stretched. 
“I’ve got to disappear for a few days.  Got some things to do.”  He
turned to face Gonzalo.  “Here’s what you do.  Have your brothers
make an inventory for repairs to get you back in running order with all six
trucks, and you hunt for a place where you can lock the trucks away.  As
soon as the money comes in, rent the place, move the trucks inside, start on
repairs, and get the trucks running.  Make sure they do it right but do it
as fast as they can.  You’re going to have some orders lined up before you
know it.”  Ben stretched again and opened another beer.

“And it’s all you’re going to tell
me?”

“Yeah, but I want to be able to
call you each day while I’m gone, and it has to be a phone where we can
talk.  I don’t want to use cell phones.  Where and when?”

“I don’t know.

Ben rubbed his neck.  “Look,
I’ll keep the room.  How does this sound?  You come here every day and
I’ll call you here while I’m gone. ”

“Yeah sure.  What time?”

“Five thirty or six.  Which is
best?”

“Probably six.”

“Okay, and if for some reason I
can’t call, I’ll leave a message on the phone.”  He picked up his key
cards and tossed one to Gonzalo.  “You might tell anyone who asks, you
have to check on some things I left.

Gonzalo took the key. 
“Sure.  Is there any more?”

“I don’t like the way Eduardo hangs
around.  Missy doesn’t need his kind.”

Gonzalo glanced at Ben with a
smile.  “Look, you don’t have to worry about Eduardo.  Pop doesn’t
like him either, and Pop isn’t anxious to let Missy go.  He doesn’t think
she’s ready for marriage.”  Gonzalo bit his lip.  “In fact, he was
telling me he thought maybe in another four or five years she could—”

“Four or five years?”  Ben
shook his head.  No way were they going to keep her single so long. 
“You’ve got to be kidding.”

At eight the next morning a florist
pulled up to the Sanchez house while they were having breakfast.  When
Mrs. Sanchez came back with a mile wide grin carrying a long flower box and
handed it to Missy; Gonzalo put his head in his hands.  Charger, damn him!

Missy opened the box and stared at
a dozen red roses.  The card said, “
Had to go out of town.
 
Will
miss you.  Ben
.”  Missy and Mrs. Sanchez cried.

The Sanchez men rolled their eyes
toward the ceiling, got up and left for work.  As instructed, Gonzalo told
his brothers to look for any signs of foul play and needed repairs on the
trucks and to make a list.  He called places until he found a warehouse
where they could secure the trucks.  When the guys went home for lunch,
they were surprised to find a sleek Cadillac sitting in front of the house. 
Inside, Missy and Mrs. Sanchez were still crying, and a man in a suit sat
across from them with a lap full of papers.

Half an hour later Gonzalo dropped
on the sofa and closed his eyes.  Missy’s tenth grade math teacher, Mr. Ozuna,
right year even, was so saddened she dropped out of school he willed everything
to her?  Moreover the man was a nut about counting—loved to count his
money rather than use it, so after his bills were paid he left $100,000. 
No teacher ever made so much money!  And since he’d moved away when he
retired, it took the attorney a year to find her.  Gonzalo knew Ben was
behind it, but how the hell did he come up with a dead math teacher, attorney
and even the money in such a short time?  Gonzalo looked up and saw
Eduardo’s pale face.  He glanced at the mantle which now had red, yellow and
pink roses!  When the attorney finally smiled and stood, Gonzalo led him
to the door in a daze.  He turned back to face two women’s tearing faces.

“Guess we’re back in
business.”  Missy smiled through tears and shoved the check at him. 
“Gosh I’ve never cried so much in my life.”  She raced upstairs to her
room.

Gonzalo fought emotions of his
own.  Where the hell had the money come from?  DEA?  And why all
the flowers?  If Ben ever hurt Missy, he’d kill him!

In the afternoon Gonzalo took his
father and Missy to the bank, learned the check was genuine and opened an
account.  Gonzalo sent Missy home with his dad, went back to the office,
rented the storage warehouse for the trucks and ordered supplies for
repairs.  Half of his brothers started moving trucks to the warehouse
while the others went to pick up parts and supplies.  By the time they
closed shop, the trucks were secured and everything was ready for the trucks to
be repaired.  Gonzalo stopped in the motel room and dropped in a
chair.  He grabbed the phone on the first ring.

“How’s it going?”  Ben sounded
as cool as a cucumber.

“Where did you get the money,
man?  Do we have to pay it back?”

“What money?”

“Charger—”

“I take it everything’s going as
scheduled?  How soon can you start some runs?”

“We can get one or two trucks
tip-top by tomorrow.”

“Good, stand by your office phone
for orders.  How’s Missy?”

“Crying you—”

“Good, she needs a good cry. 
Guess I can’t expect you to understand.”

“Charger, if you hurt her I’ll—”

“Yeah, I know.  You’ll kick my
ass from here to China.”  Ben laughed.

“Charger, I swear—”

Ben just laughed.  “Has the
idiot Eduardo come to ask a second time?”

“No.”

“Was he there when the attorney
was?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.  He’ll be there later
I’m sure.  Run the damn guy off.”

“What the hell—”

“Talk to you tomorrow, same time.”

“Gonzalo yelled at the receiver but
heard only a dial tone.  Angrily he dropped it.  What the hell was
Ben up to?  He went to the closet and spotted the briefcase on a
shelf.  He opened it and saw all the money still there.  He hadn’t
used DEA money?  Damn Charger!  When he saw him, he was going to
strangle him!  Putting the briefcase back on the shelf in the closet,
Gonzalo locked the door as he left.

When he arrived home, Gonzalo
glanced at the mantle when he walked in.  He could swear the number of
roses had doubled.  Yeah, TWO dozen red, yellow and pink.  What was
Ben doing?  He dropped on the sofa and looked across to see Eduardo
sitting stiffly beside an uncle.  “Man are you always here?”

“I come to ask for Melissa’s hand.”

“Why?  Because she came into
some money?”  Where the hell was Missy?

“Gonzalo—”  Mrs. Sanchez
blinked.

“No Mom, he’s got a home. 
Can’t we have some privacy around here once in a while?”

“Enough!”  Mrs. Sanchez jumped
up.  “We will be polite.”

“Oh hell!”  Where the hell was
Missy?  Gonzalo jumped up and raced upstairs.  He opened Missy’s door
and saw her sitting on the side of her bed holding a dozen white roses. 
She glanced at him with tears streaming down her cheeks.  “I talked to Charg—” 
He willed his mouth to stop but it refused.  “He asked how you’re
doing.”  Damn!  His damn big mouth!  Missy sobbed louder. 
He sat on the bed beside her.  “Melissa, what’s wrong?”