Seasons (37 page)

The cousins excitedly hugged each other, crying and laughing at the same time. Anytime one of them was hurt, the others swiftly
rallied to their defense. Anyone outside of their circle soon learned that to tackle one cousin was to take on them all—as
Frank’s family was about to discover.

When Gina met them outside, she explained what was going on inside the house. “Guys, get ready! Frank’s family is in there
trying to take over. They’re running Nita to death fixing food and waiting on them hand and foot, just like they did when
Frank was here. Now that I have some backup, I’m ready to fight!”

Sure enough, Frank’s parents and siblings were ensconced in the house with much attitude on display, and it was apparent they
were staking out the house and its contents, ready to oust Nita and the children and claim as much as they could for themselves.

Not long after they arrived, C.J., the most outspoken of the group, began to set things straight. “We’re so glad you’re here
for Nita, but she really needs some time alone to deal with her loss. Would you all mind giving her the needed privacy to
get herself together, take care of her children, and start making arrangements? I’m sure you all understand.”

“We’re just as much family as you are!” Frank’s brother spoke with hostility. “And any arrangements to be made will be made
by us. Frank was my brother and this is his house. We’re not going anywhere.”

Jaci tried hard to control her anger. These people, who lived in a small town near Dallas, sat back in full knowledge of what
was going on and allowed Frank to abuse Anita for years and had not raised a hand to stop him. She couldn’t hold her tongue.

“Sir, I don’t mean to be insensitive, but this is not your brother’s house now.” She looked at him pointedly. “And until we
learn differently, we’ll have to assume that it’s Nita’s. Now you know her well enough to understand that you’re welcome here,
but right now she’s overwhelmed with the sudden and unexplained loss of her husband. She needs peace and comfort and shouldn’t
be expected to play hostess or fight off any conflicts of interest.”

Frank’s sister, who weighed at least four hundred pounds, stood with hands on her expansive hips. “Like my brother said, we
ain’t going nowhere. Where ya’ll get off coming in here trying to take over anyway? Ya’ll wasn’t nothing to my brother. He
didn’t even allow ya’ll to step foot in this house!”

C.J. and Gina came to stand beside Jaci, fierce looks on their faces. Nita was sitting with her head down, silently crying.

“Oooh!” Jaci said. “So you know about that, huh? Well, if you know that, you also know why he didn’t want us here. And for
anyone here who might not know, let me tell you. It was after Frank had beaten this woman so bad he’d almost killed her. We
came up here, gave him a taste of his own medicine, and told him he’d better not ever lay a hand on her again. And to answer
your question, we’re here at Nita’s request.”

Anita’s friend Lynn came to stand beside them. “That’s right! And if I had had some help, I woulda been over here whipping
his butt long before they got here. It didn’t make no kinda sense the way he treated this girl.”

Opposing sides took position, with the cousins and Lynn on one side of the room and Frank’s family on the other. There was
no telling what would have happened at that point if Frank Jr. hadn’t spoken.

“Grand Momma,” he said, appealing to his grandmother, whom he considered the most reasonable. “I’m sure you understand what
my aunts are saying. My mother has a lot facing her right now, and I’m asking ya’ll to leave so she can get herself together.”

Frank’s mother stood up and gathered her purse. “Come on ya’ll, let’s go.” She was ashamed. Ashamed of her son and herself.
She had known for years that Frank had abused Anita, but failed to speak up. Maybe if she had intervened and tried to help
her son deal with whatever demons were driving him, he might be alive today. She couldn’t let her family pick up where Frank
had left off in mistreating his wife. She had fought the same battle for years with her own husband, but the Lord had finally
answered her prayers when he repented and stopped beating her. She looked around, expecting her family to follow her to the
door. When they didn’t move, she yelled, “I said, let’s go! Frank was Nita’s husband. And they’re right. This is Nita’s and
them children’s house. They got a right to their privacy right now.” She walked determinedly through the door, then called
over her shoulder, “Nita, I’ll call you later so you can let me know how I can help you with the arrangements.” The others
reluctantly followed her out.

The cousins promptly went into action. They made lists of everyone they needed to call, and everything they needed to do to
make the funeral arrangements, split them up, and went to work. To make room for relatives who would insist on staying at
the house, they decided that Gina would stay at the house with Nita, but Jaci and C.J. would get rooms and spend their nights
at a nearby hotel.

I
t was Monday and Jason was having trouble keeping his mind on work matters. Jaci called to let him know where she was staying
and how everything was going. It sounded like things were under control, but he still had concerns about Jaci being in the
same city with Maxie, and without him. The men’s conference was set to take place from Thursday to Saturday. He was scheduled
to do several workshops Thursday and Friday. Jaci didn’t know yet when the services would be, but said the family was pushing
for Saturday. He hoped it would be Friday so Jaci could come home. But if it was Saturday, he planned to leave Friday evening
or early Saturday morning. In the meantime, he was worried about Maxie. Jason didn’t trust men like Maxie, who operated like
a dog and had a “dog with a bone” mentality. If the dog didn’t want the bone, he buried it just to keep another dog from enjoying
it, or on the off-chance that he might want to dig it up for himself at a later time. Maxie had been sniffing and digging
around Jaci like the dog he was, hoping to get lucky. This made Jason very nervous. His male instincts told him Maxie was
as low-down and conniving as ever, and he didn’t want him anywhere near Jaci.

M
axie hung up the phone, excitedly rubbing his hands together in satisfaction. He had managed to get the information he needed.
He knew from George the name of the funeral home handling the arrangements for the late Dr. Frank Stanhope, and it didn’t
take much effort for him to get the home address of the dead guy from a silly woman who worked at the funeral home. According
to George, Jacetta would be at that house with her cousin.

Maxie spent the remainder of the day preparing. He went to the barbershop for a fresh trim and even got his shoes shined and
bought a new shirt. He washed and cleaned his car, sure that before the day was over, Jacetta would be in it with him. Later,
he smiled confidently as he found his way to the fashionable neighborhood.

A
s soon as she knew, Jaci called Randi and Jason to let them know Frank’s funeral was set for Saturday morning at eleven. Randi
wouldn’t be able to attend the services, but Jason had already made tentative plans to leave late Friday or early Saturday.
Jaci decided she would drive back to Houston with Jason, while C.J. would stay on in Dallas with Nita for a few days.

Surprisingly, their cousins Buddy and Dusty showed up at Nita’s house Thursday evening. Big Ben, unable to leave his high
school coaching duties, called to express condolences. As the cousins sat around the kitchen table Thursday night, reminiscing
and laughing over their antics as children in Riverwood, the doorbell rang. One of Nita’s boys came to the kitchen door. “Aunt
Jaci, there’s some man here to see you.” Jaci frowned in annoyance. There was no one she wanted to see badly enough to interrupt
her time with her cousins.

“Did he say who he was, baby?” Jaci asked him.

“No. He just asked if you were here and when I told him yes, he asked to see you.”

Jaci left the kitchen with a questioning look. When she saw who it was, aggravation and anger consumed her. “Maxie! What in
the world are you doing here? You’re not welcome, so you need to leave right now.”

Maxie salivated as his gaze boldly traveled over the gorgeous woman who stood before him. Her beautiful eyes glinted angrily
as the kissable lips tightened in irritation.
It was going to be fun kissing those lips into submission,
he thought. Shoulder-length hair framed her heart-shaped face in loose waves, and the midthigh shorts she wore showed off
big shapely legs and voluptuous curves. He wondered again how he had let her get away from him. He was convinced his life
would have been different if he’d had sense enough to hold on to her. The woman had everything . . . looks, intelligence,
a good job, and a beautiful home. He could be enjoying all of that right now. When she told him she was pregnant, he should
have been the one insisting they get married as soon as he could dump his wife and find a preacher. Darnit! He had been foolish.

Maxie pushed past Jaci and arrogantly walked into the sitting room, where he took a seat. “Jacetta, uh, Jaci,” he said with
a smile. “I went through a lot of trouble to find out where you were staying.” He sounded as if he had actually done her a
favor. “The least you can do is speak to me. I came over here because I need to talk to you. You’ve made it impossible for
that to happen in Houston, so since you’re in my town, I’m making it my business to talk to you. Is your watchdog here?” He
chuckled as he looked around nervously.

Jaci looked at him contemptuously. “If you mean my fiancé, no. He’s not here right now. But don’t think you won’t still get
your butt tossed out of here. I suggest you leave now, while you still have a chance.”

Maxie grinned and looked at her searchingly. “I can’t get over what a beautiful and desirable woman the mother of my daughter
is. Just how serious are you about marrying that joker? I’m asking because I think you’re making a mistake. You should back
off and think about it. And I want you to consider giving us another chance. We’re older, more mature now. We already have
something between us to build on, meaning our daughter and grandchildren. And I think our daughter would love for us to get
back together.” He turned on his special smile—proven to melt even the hardest woman.

Jaci let out a loud laugh and sat down across from Maxie. “You must be out of your doggone mind! Just what gives you the idea
that I would do something that foolish? And you can leave my daughter out of this conversation, so that eliminates your ‘something
between us to build on.’ You effectively removed that possibility when you disappeared after I told you I was expecting your
child and begged for your help. As far as I’m concerned, you gave up all rights to my daughter and grandchildren.” She looked
at him like he was something nasty.

Maxie cringed at her words and the look she leveled on him. Then, he noticed that several people had entered the room and
were standing around them. They too looked at him like he was something they would wipe off the bottom of their shoes. A sense
of desperation suddenly filled him. He needed to get her away from these people so he could bring her around to his way of
thinking. “Jacetta, let’s go for a drive, maybe a drink or something, so we can talk privately. And my mother wants me to
bring you by to see her.”

Jaci looked at him for a long time before she finally spoke. “What gives you the idea that I would go anywhere with you?”
she asked coldly. “But you know what, Maxie, I’m glad I have this opportunity to say some things to you. For years I struggled
with how I let myself be taken in by you. It took a while, but I finally came up with the answer. It’s not a complicated answer
and now that I’ve talked to you and observed you over the last several months, I wonder why it took so long. It’s obvious.
I had to be either stupid or stone crazy.” She laughed and relaxed in her chair.

“Since you showed up again, I’ve searched for something . . . anything . . . in you, to justify my stupidity or at least explain
why I let you make a mess of my life, but all I’ve seen are signs of you growing physically older. There’s nothing to indicate
any mental, emotional, or spiritual growth. You’re still the same low-life jackass and the most pitiful excuse for a man it’s
been my displeasure to know.”

Jaci continued. “I feel sorry for you, Maxie. You’re so pathetic that you actually came over here tonight convinced you had
something to say that I’d want to hear. What’s wrong? Have you finally discovered, after a lifetime pursuing a good time,
that you’ve gone the wrong way and bypassed the meaningful and valuable things in life? Do you find yourself at a dead end
with nowhere else to go?”

Maxie reeled as though Jaci had delivered a physical punch. Her words echoed what had recently been drumming through his mind.
He fought the same urge he’d given in to years ago and refused to run as fast as he could. He realized she was still talking.

“A whole lot of people have failed you, Maxie. It’s a real shame that no one was able to instill some modicum of decency and
wisdom that would have helped you understand that one day, you would be at this point in your life. You could have had the
love of at least one good woman, but you didn’t have the sense to accept it. The only good thing you’ve accomplished in this
world was planting a seed that resulted in my beautiful daughter.”

Maxie felt anger growing at the way she was talking to him. “Now wait a minute! You don’t have any right to talk to me like
that. When I met you, you were nothing but a dumb little country hic—”

Maxie’s words were interrupted when Buddy, a much larger man, grabbed him by the collar of his new expensive shirt and pulled
him up from the chair he was sitting in. “I’d be real careful if I were you. I hear you’ve already gotten one good whipping
being disrespectful to this woman, and to tell you the truth, we’re all looking for an excuse to give you another one.” He
pushed Maxie back down in the chair roughly and stepped back, rubbing his hands against his stylish trousers as though to
wipe them clean.