Montana Morning (8 page)

“A while ago,” she
offered.  “I couldn’t find your recipe for finishing the pancakes though.”

“Now looky here,
Gal,” Will said sternly.  “No one expects you to do all the cooking and
cleaning around here.”  He took over at the stove and handed her a cup of
coffee, motioning for her to sit down at the table.  “You’ll have your
hands full taking care of Scotty, at least for a while.”  He joined her at
the table.

“I’m sorry,
Will.  I didn’t mean to step on any toes,” she apologized.

Will was clearly
frustrated. “First of all, Adrianna, you didn’t step on my toes; I just don’t
want you working so hard.”  He paused to make sure she was
listening.  “Next, but most importantly, you need to understand that if
you’re going to be a part of this family you will need to ‘COWBOY UP’!
 Don’t you let me or anyone else around here give you a hard time, ever.”

She grinned across
the kitchen at him.  “Cowboy up . . . is that anything like pack a big
stick?”

“And don’t walk
too darned soft; we’ll think you’re sneaking up on us.” He laughed and headed
for the stove.  “You cook the eggs and I’ll cook the cakes; if those lazy
bones sleep in, we’ll eat it all ourselves.”

“Not a chance,
Pops.”  Jack walked through the kitchen, turned and pounded on Andy’s
door. “Soup’s on.”

Andy opened the
door, tucking in his shirt and grinning shyly.  “Soup?  Man, I must
have REALLY slept in!”

“Adrianna,” Jack
said, taking his third egg, “Pops and Andy need some help with one of the
feeders.  Do you think it would hurt to wait until after lunch to head
back to town?”

Will watched Andy
and Jack and shook his head.  “It seems to me the eggs are a bit better
than usual.  Must be the new way I cooked them.”

“Yeah, handed the
pan to Adrianna,” Andy said under his breath, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Adrianna told them
to go ahead and fix the feeder, and she would do some more ‘arranging’ before
lunch.  After they left, she started a large batch of bread then dashed
upstairs to her room.

She brought the
box down to the kitchen, sat it on the table, and went down the hall to Will’s
room. After giving the room a thorough cleaning, she brought the box in from
the kitchen. 
‘Emily’s memory needs to be with Will, not in some box,’
she hoped and prayed he would agree.

***

“My word, I’ve
died and gone to heaven.  I smell homemade bread,” Will exclaimed, as he
came in the back door with an armful of wood.  “Did you get your room like
you want it?”

“Actually,” she
hesitated.  “Will, I . . .” she wasn’t sure now she’d done the right
thing.

“Spit it out,
Adrianna.”  Will stooped to put the wood down.

“I hope you’re not
going to be angry with me.” She led him down the hall and opened the door to
his room.

He gave her a
questioning look and stepped through the door.  Will wandered around the
small room, looking at the paintings on the wall, the dresser sitting under the
window with Emily’s picture in the antique frame.  He sat on the bed, now
covered with the spread from the bed upstairs.   The rug Emily had
made now lay on the floor where he stepped out of bed every morning.  The
room smelled clean and fresh, just like their room had always smelled when Em .
. . Adrianna came to stand before him.  She saw the tears washing down his
face, and tears came to her eyes too.

“Oh, Will, I’m so
sorry.  I shouldn’t have!”

“You just gave me
the nicest gift anyone’s given me in years,” he choked on emotion.  “I
never set foot in our room since she died, unless I had to, like yesterday.”

She nodded, “But
if you shut out the pain, you can’t feel the joy . . . I’ve been there, done
that.”

They heard Jack
and Andy in the kitchen.  “You go on out, Gal. I’ll be there in a minute,
okay?” He looked into her eyes, to be sure she understood.

Adrianna took time
to wash her face before going to the kitchen, but Jack knew with one glance
something was wrong.  “Have you been crying?  What did Pops do?” he
was furious. 

She smiled at him
softly. “Will didn’t do anything, I did but it’s okay now.”  She took the
bread from the oven thanking God it looked good.  She had never baked
bread in a wood cook-stove before.  Jack still hadn’t moved.  “I’m
fine, really,” she added.  “Go get washed up for lunch before I throw it
out.”

Will joined them
at the table after all the food was dished up, and gave Adrianna’s shoulder a
loving hug before he sat down.  Jack wondered what had happened in the
short time he and Andy had been checking horses, but he doubted either one of
the people sitting across the table would ever tell him.   After
lunch Adrianna and Jack packed up the pickup and prepared to leave for town.

Will held Chester
and offered, “Gal, why don’t you leave him here with us?  It will save you
messing with him while you’re packing and stuff.” 

“And this way he
can be sure you’ll be back,” Jack laughed.

Will smiled up at
her as Jack started the engine.  “Hurry back, Gal, you hear?”

The light snow was
falling once again.  Jack pointed out the nearest neighbors as they
approached the valley floor. The Baker place, on the right just at the edge of
the timber, extended half way up the mountainside and Thompson’s was the first
place in the valley.  The mail truck came up as far as Baker’s.  The
four-wheel drive pickup plowed through the small drifts easily, and Jack slowed
down only long enough to point out the grange hall.  It was nestled in a
groove of trees next to the creek that wound its way across the hayfields
between the mountains and the highway. They arrived home in time for Adrianna
to pick up a book and fix a quick sandwich before they left to visit Scotty.

***

Scotty had been
listening for their voices down the hall all afternoon, but now turned his head
in disinterest as they arrived.  Jack and Adrianna were not fooled by his
act.  They could see the dimples in his pale thin cheeks.  The red
freckles Scotty hated surrounded the dimples.

“Howdy, Stranger,”
Jack grinned down at the boy, plopping his large western hat on the small red
head.

Adrianna wondered
if he had a temper to match the fiery hair; no doubt they would find out soon
enough.

“What took you so
long?”  Scotty suddenly looked as if he would cry.  If the truth were
known, he’d cried himself to sleep the last two nights.

 Jack had
noticed the boy’s mood.   “Why don’t I go down the hall and get us
all sodas?”  Jack volunteered, “Unless you’d rather have Adrianna to
yourself?”

“Do you like to be
read to too?”    Scotty sounded absolutely shocked.

“You bet.” 
Jack winked at Adrianna as he walked towards the hallway.  “A fellow is
never too old to enjoy a good story.”

Adrianna sat down
in the chair she had pulled up to the bed.  “Did it seem like we were gone
long?”

Scotty nodded and
shut his eyes tight in an attempt to hold back the tears.  “I thought
maybe Grandpa changed his mind.”

Adrianna couldn’t
believe what she was hearing.  She glanced up and saw Jack standing in the
doorway.  “Changed his mind about what, honey?”  She asked
cautiously.

“About wanting
me,” he mumbled.  “I thought he might not come back.”

She looked over
Scotty’s head at Jack with a questioning look.  He shrugged his shoulders
and shook his head.

Adrianna took
Scotty’s small hands in hers and asked, “Whatever made you think he would
change his mind?”   She looked back to Jack.  “Did your grandpa
or anyone else say something to make you think that?”

The boy shook his
head and started to sob.  “He thinks I hate him.”

 As Jack
crossed the room to Scotty’s bedside, Adrianna mouthed to him, “I’ll be right
outside.”

Jack sat down on
the bed with his head bowed,   “Scotty, we need to talk.”  He
pulled the hanky out of his back pocket and handed it to the boy.  After
Scotty blew his nose, he started to hiccup.

Jack laughed
softly, “I used to do that when I was a boy.”

Scotty looked up
from under his wet lashes.  “Do what?” he asked, studying the man sitting on
his hospital bed.

“I hiccupped after
I cried.”  Jack smiled shyly.

“YOU cried?” His
grandpa didn’t look like the kind of man who would cry.  Scotty had never
seen any man cry.

“Sure I did,” Jack
confessed and with a small grin added, “I even did once or twice after I grew
up.  Scotty, there’s nothing wrong with shedding a few tears, when you’re
hurt or scared.”  Scotty sat up and stared down at his blanket.

“Now fellow, you
and I need to get something clear between us, okay?”  Jack put his hand on
Scotty’s cast.   Scotty nodded approval, but didn’t look up.

“First of all, I’m
guessing you really don’t hate me all that much.”  He sighed and went
on.  “But even if you do, there’s something you have to know . . . Scotty
look at me,” Jack ordered gently.  He waited and slowly the boy’s eyes met
his.

 “That’s
better.  Now, you listen to me and you understand this, if you never
understand anything else I say to you,” he paused, choosing his words
carefully.  “Even if you decide you want to hate me until the day you die,
remember this . . . I’ll love you ‘till the day I die.” His rough fingers
traced Scotty’s damp cheek.

“What that means
is I’ll always be there for you. I’ll always come and get you.  I’ll never
change my mind, no matter what.”  He sat quietly and finally asked, “Now
are we straight on this?”   
      

“Yes Sir,” Scotty
answered very quietly, but Jack knew he’d understood.

“And Scotty,” he
said as he retrieved his hat from the small head, placing it on the bed, “My
name’s Grandpa, not Sir.”  He opened his arms to hug his grandson.

 Scotty had
not experienced a ‘bear hug’ before, but it didn’t take long to decide he liked
it. 

Adrianna cleared
her throat and opened the book.  The story of a boy lost in the wilderness
of Alaska was a big hit, but after reading two extra chapters she
rebelled.  “If I read any more tonight, I’ll lose my voice.”

Jack elbowed
Scotty with a big grin.  “Now there is something every man dreams of . . .
a woman who can’t talk back.”  Scotty grinned and then joined his grandpa’s
laughter; he obviously shared the family sense of humor.

Adrianna pretended
to be very offended.  “I’ll get even with you two.” 

***

The next ten days
were a whirl of activity.   Adrianna packed and went shopping; she
and Maggie shopped some more and she repacked.   Regardless of
Maggie’s earlier assurances, she did need help moving some of her larger
items.  Red and Jack hauled them over to the house for her.  Jack
liked Red immediately and hoped he and Maggie would be able to resolve their
differences.

By the time Friday
rolled around, Adrianna was fairly certain she had everything in order. 
All her boxes were in the middle of the living room floor when Jack arrived to
take her to the hospital.

“Good grief! 
Is all this yours?” Jack shook his head in disbelief.  “You realize we
have to take two huge propane tanks for the gas lights and supplies too, don’t
you?” He could feel Maggie and Adrianna grinning at him.  When he looked
up, he saw the ‘dreaded list’ in her hand.  “There’s more?”  

She nodded and
watched him squirm; his eyebrows had risen almost to his hairline. 
“Relax, Cowboy,” she said and headed for the kitchen.  “Do we have time
for a cup of coffee and a talk before we leave?” 

He watched Maggie
disappear down the hall, and knew this was serious.

“We’ll make
time.”  He sipped the coffee and waited.  “What’s up?”

This was touchy,
and Adrianna searched for the right approach.  “What did you do with all
of Mary’s things?”  Seeing the cloud of sorrow cross his face, she wished
there had been another way.

He didn’t look up
at her.  “I had one of Jeff and Mary’s friends box everything up and ship
it to me.   It’s in a storage warehouse here in town.”   He
bit his lip, “Why?”

“Today, while I was
waiting for the therapist with Scotty, he mentioned things he missed, and I was
wondering if we could get them for him.”  She knew it would be difficult
for Jack to go through Mary’s things.  “I can help you look, if you want,”
she offered.

Jack seemed to be
lost in thought.  He was searching for the strength to face the task of
sifting through Mary’s life.  “Do we have to do it now?”

“It can wait.”

“But it would it
make it easier for Scotty to adjust?” He was still looking into his cup.

“I think so,” she
said softly, watching his face.

Jack got up from
the table and stood staring out the window, “Sunday morning, after
church.” 

***

Adrianna finished
the story, assuring Scotty it was part of a series and she would take the other
volumes to the ranch.   She sensed his apprehension about the move to
his new home and suggested Jack visit him alone tomorrow.   She had
to call her children again, to let them know she was ready to leave.  Her
son had been anything but pleased, when she had told him about the job she had
taken. Amy, on the other hand, had been excited about the whole idea.  ‘A
new beginning, a new adventure!’ she had exclaimed. 

***

She knew she was
stalling.  She should have called Chad hours ago, but she really didn’t
want to hear his disapproval again.  Chad, as always, had been polite and
respectful, but his tone had said it all.  He had finished with, “You
know, Dad would never have approved of you doing this.”  She was checking
her list of calls to be made once more, when the phone rang.  It was long
distance from Germany.

“Chad?”  She
tried not to sound as timid as she felt.