Montana Morning (9 page)

“Mom, I’m sorry,”
he shouted over the poor connection.

“Sorry for what?”

“Don’t play the
dumb blonde with me, Mom.  You know for what; I acted like a spoiled brat.
I called Maggie and she explained everything to me.”  He couldn’t hear her
on the other end.  “Mom, are you still there?”

“I’m here,” she
said as she felt the tears edging down her cheeks.

“Listen,
Mom.  I guess I just didn’t like the idea of sharing you with anyone
else,” he confessed.  “This kid sounds like he really needs you and you’ll
be great for him . . . Hey, Mom?”

“Yes, Chad?” she
asked, watching the snow falling from the trees as the wind picked up.

“Is this place
really as remote as Maggie says?”

“Remote and
beautiful!  A great place to ride, I’ll bet,” she added wistfully.

“I plan to see for
myself,” he told her, wishing he could see her face.  “I’ll be home in
July.”

“Oh, Chad!” she
cried. “You just made my whole day.”  They both sat silently for a minute,
knowing how important this call had been to both of them.  Adrianna
thanked God for the son she had raised; Chad thanked God for his mom.

“I love you, Mom,”
he signed off.

“I love you too,
Honey.  Thank you for calling; I needed to talk with you.”

***

She was sitting in
the living room watching the trees limbs dancing in the wind, when the doorbell
rang.

“Mark, what brings
you out in this weather?” she asked, as she helped remove his coat.

“If you think you’re
getting out of here without dealing with me, you’re crazy,” he scolded.

“Come in and get
warm, you tease.” She knew he was up to something.  “What really brings
you here?”

“Amy,” he answered
calmly.

“Amy?” she asked,
as she turned off the teapot.

“She called last
night,” he explained as Adrianna arched her eyebrow.  “She wanted me to
tell her what kind of family you were moving in with, and asked whether or not
you had my approval.” He laughed at the thought.

“I told her all
about them,” she assured him, as she handed him a cup of hot chocolate.

“I guess she just
wanted a second opinion.” He reached in the cookie jar for the chocolate chip
cookie he knew would be there.

“Like Chad.” She
told him about the phone call she had just received.

“Now, Adrianna,
don’t be too hard on them.” Sipping the hot cocoa, he read the concern for her
family written on her face.

“Okay, Lady, time
for you and I to get serious,” he chided.  “You’ve spent your lifetime,
from what I’ve seen and heard, doing what was best for everyone
else.   Have you ever been truly content with where you were, what
you were doing?”

“Mark, I love my
family and always have. You know that.”

“I didn’t ask you
if you loved them.  I asked if you were happy,” he said as he gave her a
questioning look.  “All I’m saying is, for once, do what makes you the
happiest.  Go where you think God wants you to be, and let the rest of us
take care of ourselves.”

They had sat
studying each other for a few minutes when Adrianna smiled across the
table.  “You’ve given me your lecture.  Now, why are you really here,
Mark?”

“That transparent,
huh?” he grinned sheepishly.  “I was going to talk to you about this
before summer, but you won’t be around, so . . .”

“So?”  She
could see him fidgeting.  All at once, he looked sixteen, and she
laughed.  “Am I out of my mind or are you about to ask for permission to
court my daughter?”  She could tell by the look on his face she had hit
the nail right on the head.

Mark was
blushing.  “Well, kind of, yeah.  I guess that’s what I’m
doing.”  He straightened in his chair.

“And of course,
Amy has no idea how you feel?”  She was remembering all the excuses Amy
had found in the past three years to call Mark from college.

“I think, she has
a fair idea,” he admitted.  “I’m pretty sure she’s kind of fond of me
too.”

“God Bless you,
Mark, you’ve always been a master of understatement.”

“You knew!” he
exclaimed.  “How long have you known?”

She got up and
gave him a big hug.  “A long time before you two figured it out!”

***

At last, she was
truly ready.  Tomorrow she and Jack would get the things they needed from
storage and pack the truck. Remembering the look on Jack’s face when he had
agreed to get the things for Scotty, she would try to make to job of sorting
through Mary’s boxes as painless as possible.  She would say an extra
prayer for him tonight, and would remember to thank God for her many blessings,
too many to count.

Scotty and
Adrianna were revising his list, when Jack came in with the maple bars. 
“One of the nicest things about being in town is the bakery is open seven days
a week,” he smiled, as he put the treats on the stand next to the bed.

“You’re going to
make us all fat.” Adrianna cautioned him.

“Not me, I never
gain weight,” Scotty assured them.  “Grandpa, I’m about done with my
list.  Do you want to look at it?” he asked, stretching across the bed to
hand it to him.

“Looks like a long
one,” Jack chuckled, “although, it’s small compared to the lady’s here.” He
patted his pocket, giving her a stern look.  He studied the list several
minutes, and Scotty noticed Jack raising his eyebrows quite a few times.

“You don’t have to
get it all, if there’s not room,” Scotty offered.

“It’s not so much
that there isn’t room, Son.” Jack sat down near him on the bed. “I guess I just
have a few questions.”  He looked at Adrianna.  She was making notes
of questions to ask the doctor before they left tomorrow, and she gave him an
encouraging wink.

“Like what,
Grandpa?” Scotty asked timidly.

“Well sir, like
what do you plan on doing with a skateboard?” Jack grinned and messed up the
boy’s hair.  “There isn’t a sidewalk within forty miles of our place.”

“I don’t really
need it,” Scotty paused and looked down, not wanting to meet Jack’s eyes. 
“It’s just, well . . .”              

“Spit it out,
Boy,” Jack growled.  “Why do you think you need a skateboard?”

“Because,” Scotty
yelled,  “ I wanted it to remind me of my dad! We used to skateboard
together before . . .”

“Calm down,
mister.” Jack said softly and waited for Scotty to do just that.  “I just
asked, I didn’t say you couldn’t take it, did I?”

Scotty spoke so
softly Jack almost didn’t hear him.  “No, Sir.”

“Don’t call me
sir!”  Jack was growling again and Adrianna decided the time had come to
step in.

“Are we going to eat
those maple bars, or are they just decoration?”

Jack and Scotty
looked at each other in surprise.  Both of them had forgotten she was even
there; they had been so busy biting at one another.

Jack looked first
at Adrianna and then back to his grandson.  “I think she’s trying to tell
us to shape up. What do you think?”

“Figure so,”
Scotty ventured.  He had a feeling arguing with his grandpa wasn’t going
to get him anywhere anyway.

While they
finished off the treats, they talked about the new cast the doctor would be
putting on Scotty’s leg in the morning.  Adrianna and Jack were leaving
and just at the doorway, when Scotty asked hesitantly, “Grandpa, can we take
Dad’s skateboard, please?”

Jack stood very
still.  Adrianna held her breath and so did Scotty.

Jack turned and
walked back to the bed, towering over it.  “Son, we’ll take everything you
want as long as it fits in the truck.  Okay?”

Scotty grabbed
Jack’s waist and hugged it tight.  “I’m sorry I yelled.”

“That’s okay,” he
paused and patted Scotty on the head, “this time.”   He tucked the
covers around Scotty’s neck and told him to get some rest.

As he headed for
the door, he heard Scotty’s small voice behind him.  “Thanks, Grandpa.”
When they turned to look back at him, his eyes were already closed.

***

Jack drove in
silence to the storage facility, and Adrianna left him alone with his
thoughts.   The sun was shining today, as it had all week.  It
was cold, but there had been no further snowstorms, and the trip over the
mountain tomorrow should go smoothly.

Thankfully, Jeff
and Mary’s friend had done an excellent job of packing the crates.  They
were all well marked and in a short time the things on Scotty’s list were found
and boxed up.  Adrianna also took all the pictures she could find of the family
and their home.  She would have Maggie put the loose photos in an album,
and would hang the others on the walls of Scotty’s bedroom and in the living
room.

***

Maggie had Sunday
dinner ready for them by the time they finished packing the truck.

“I have an idea,”
Maggie announced across the table, as they were eating their pie.  “Let’s
fix a bed clear across the back seat after supper, that way our young man won’t
bounce off onto the floor on the way home.”

“Excellent plan,”
Adrianna said, hopping up from the table, “and a great way to fit in a few more
boxes.”

Jack groaned and
rolled his eyes.  “Now I know why the Titanic sank . . . too much
luggage.”

When the project
was completed, however, even Jack had to admit Maggie’s idea had been a good one. 
With any luck, Scotty would sleep most of the way home.

***

Jack was awake at the crack of
dawn, and he could hear the wind picking up.  One look out the window
confirmed it; a storm was on the way.  The big question was could they get
home before it hit hard.

Adrianna had
tossed and turned most of the night, in anticipation of the coming day’s
events, and had also been awakened early by the wind.  She called Jack to
tell him she would have Maggie drop her at the hospital instead of having him
drive out to the house.  This would save valuable time.  Jack agreed
and said he would meet her at Dr. Rodgers’s office around nine, after he picked
up the groceries and other supplies.

***

“Have you seen
Scotty this morning?” Jack asked, as he entered the waiting room.

“Not yet.”
Adrianna, looking into his face, could tell he hadn’t slept well either. 
“They took him in earlier than planned.  Dr. Rodgers said he’d see us as
soon as you arrived.”

 “Good deal.
The sooner we get over the mountain the better I’ll like it,” Jack said, as
they walked into the office.

“Good
morning.”  Dr. Rodgers greeted them from his place in front of the
window.  “Storm’s closing in.”

“Thanks for
getting started on Scotty early.  That will help.” Jack pulled up a chair
for each of them in front of the desk, and Adrianna started to ask about
special instructions for Scotty’s
care.       

“I have written a
detailed list of instructions for you to follow.   There are certain
danger signs to watch for, the biggest being unexplained fever, which might
mean an infection starting up in that leg.”  He noticed the looks of
concern flashing between Jack and Adrianna.  “Relax, I don’t expect
trouble, it’s just wise to be prepared.”  He emptied a sack on his desk
onto the blotter.  “I took the liberty of having these filled at the
hospital pharmacy this morning; everything you should need for the next two
weeks, plus some,” he added.

“When do we bring
him back in?”  Jack asked, as Adrianna examined all the pills and
ointments on the desktop.

“Two weeks from
today,” Dr. Rodgers glanced out the window at the snow beginning to fall, “or
as close to two weeks as weather permits.”  He was writing on a pad and
handed the message to Jack.  “This is my cell phone number, if you can’t
reach me here.  Call me anytime you need me, I mean it, day or
night.”  He rose from his desk and extended his hand to Jack.  “Take
good care of that boy, he’s a good kid.”

“We know that, and
we’ll do our best,” Jack said, smiling down at Adrianna.   “How long
before he’ll be ready to go?”

“We’ll meet you in
his room in about forty-five minutes or so.”  Dr. Rodgers headed up the
hall to check on the casting.

“Just about gives
us time for a bite to eat.”  Jack looked Adrianna over.  “I’ll wager
you skipped breakfast.”

“I’ll bet you did
too,” she guessed, as she glanced anxiously toward the window.

“We’ll get home
just fine.  Don’t fret,” Jack told her, wishing he felt as confident as he
sounded.  He sure did wish this storm had held off just one more day.

***

It was ten o’clock
by the time they had loaded Scotty into the back seat of the pickup and headed
out of town.  It was snowing harder now, and the wind was blowing the snow
straight across the road.

Adrianna turned to
check on Scotty.  He looked scared as he stared out the windows.

“Are you
comfortable back there?” She hoped to give him something else to think about.

He grinned up at
her. “Man, I guess so.  This bed is so soft; it’s like lying on a cloud.”

“Sure should beat
the heck out of that hard old hospital bed,” Jack added.

“For your
information, the bed you’re on right now contains every blanket, comforter and
pillow I own, fella, so you’d better just appreciate it.”  Adrianna winked
at him.

“I do.” Scotty
snuggled down in the covers further yet. He was quiet for several minutes,
before he asked, “Grandpa, can we get to the ranch with it storming like this?”

“Scotty, have you
ever been in a snow storm before?” asked Adrianna, remembering he was born and
raised in southern California.

“No, I never even
saw snow ‘til I got here.”  He sounded as frightened as he looked.

“Well, we’re used
to this weather, and your Grandpa has driven this road so many times he could
do it blindfolded,” she reassured him, smiling across the cab at Jack.