The Long Ride Home (Cowboys & Cowgirls) (2 page)

Chapter 2

“
C
an I get you something to eat, Sugar?” came the waitress’s voice to Holton. Holton smiled and the woman nearly swooned. Elena rolled her eyes and looked down at the menu, trying to figure out what it was she wanted.

“Yes, M
a’am, I’ll get the prime rib and mashed potatoes.”

“Salad with that, H
oney?” Elena asked, startling the waitress. She put her hand up on his and leaned forward, “You’re going to need that.” She looked at the waitress and winked, “Put a few extra eggs in there for protein.”

Holton’s eyes widened and the waitress backed away from him, getting the hint that he was taken. Elena looked at her and, with a straight face
, ordered extra eggs on her salad as well and the Chicken Parmesan. “Oh, and could we get a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and two glasses? Thank you so much.”

“No, problem, Ma’am, S
ir,” the woman said and then left the table.

“
What the hell was that about?” Holton asked, clearly miffed.

“I am hungry, and if you would quit flirting with anything with two legs we can get out of here and get to my dad faster. Besides, you are
way
too old for her. She has to be my age!” Elena said as she put her hand up to her chest, trying to look aghast.

“You are such a…”

“A what, Honey?” Elena asked, putting her hand up to his face and caressing it sweetly. She smiled into his eyes and she could see the little vein in his neck pulsate.

“Brat.”

“I love you, too, Baby,” Elena said, then pulled out her cell phone, laughing inside at the look on Holton’s face.

***

“So, how about some road trivia or something?” Elena asked as they pulled back onto the highway. Dinner was an interesting affair. She knew she got a rise out of Holton with the whole I love you stuff, and it was totally worth the looks on his face.

“What
, are we
friends
now?”

“Something like that,” Elena said, smirking at his reaction. His face turned red and he shook his head.

“Stop it! I can’t have you flirting with me the entire way home, Elena!”

“Flirting? Really, Holton…you are old if you thought that was flirting.”

“Quit it with the age remarks!”

“Oh,
did baby get his back all on edge?” Elena asked with a sexy pout on her face.

“Let’s get something straight, I’m only on edge because you are driving me nuts, and I’m not old!”

“You were the one that said you were too old for me.”

“Just because I’m not interested…”

Elena never thought about that. He wasn’t interested, and he just told her he was too old to let her down easily. “We—”

“Look,” Holton said
, frustrated, “we’ve known each other for so long. We’re neighbors for crying out loud!”

“I get it, Holton! Geesh, just let it go.”

Elena’s face was red. She was embarrassed and Holton felt horrible.

“No, it’s just…well…it would be too awkward.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Okay
then,” Holton remarked, feeling a little put off by her attitude. “What kind of trivia did you want to play?”

Elena could have kissed him for the change in subject. “How about movie trivia?”

“Okay, sounds good.” Holton tapped on the steering wheel for a few minutes and then looked over with a grin on his face. Elena’s heart jumped in her chest. “Okay, Angelina Jolie to Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

Elena took a deep breath and then started thinking about what movies they were in together. She and Holton had played this game once before when they were a lot younger—their families often vacationed together.

“Need some help?” Holton teased.

“No
I don’t, thank you very much.” Elena smiled and laughed. “Okay, Angelina Jolie is in Mr. and Mrs. Smith with her husband, Brad Pitt…”

“They’re not married,” Holton said, smiling.

“Who are you
People Magazine
? Yes, they are, I just saw it on the front cover of some tabloid.”

“Believe everything you read, Princess?”

“I hope not, or I’d believe that you were engaged to Beth Ann, and we all know what a mistake that would be.”

“Back to this whole thing, are we?” Holton fumed.

Ignoring him, Elena continued, “And Brad Pitt is in Ocean’s Eleven with Matt Damon, who is in Good Will Hunting with Robin Williams, Robin Williams is in …”

“You know, you are something, right? Talking about Beth
Ann when you haven’t said anything about that
yahoo
that you’re dating!”

Elena had to think about what he was talking about.
Dating?
She looked at him curiously and then he spewed out, “Brian Hadley.”

“Brian is wonderful.”

“Yeah, so I’ve gathered. What’s so great about him?”

“Well, he’s in school with
me; we get to see each other all of the time. He dresses very well.”

“What’s wrong with the way I dress?” Holton asked. His voice was raised and he looked like he was about ready to throw a fit. Elena could barely hold back her laughter.

“Nothing if you’re into that poor cowboy kind of thing.”

“Poor cowboy!”

“Well, you never wear new Levis and I almost never see you in black…definitely only the typical type of Holton clothes. It’s like you have stock in plaid.”

“So that’s what you…”

“It’s okay, it’s just not Brian,” Elena gushed. “He always matches and wears the latest things.”

“That’s important to you?” Holton asked, put off by her sudden change. “
This is how you turn up when you go to college?”

“It’s not that it’s important to me, but it’s nice to be out with Brian. Everyone can clearly see that he cares about his appearance that’s all.” Elena stopped then continued on with the movie trivia, only to be cut o
ff again.

“That’s just great, Elena. Just great.”

“It is, isn’t it? We should double date, you, me, Beth Ann, and Brian.”

Elena knew she was pushing it, but it was fun to see his reaction. Holton gripped the steering wheel tight and answered with a grunt. Just then, she received a text.

“What was that?” Holton asked, looking over at her face. She had a grin on and she was reading her phone.

“I just got a text. Oh My God,” Elena said, laughing, she pushed a few buttons and then started laughing again. One of her friends at school just got back from a blind date. Apparently the night was very interesting if the text was anything.

“Brian I assume?”

Elena looked up co
nfused and then smiled. “Yeah, he misses me. He was just telling me, well,” she said, hoping that her face turned the desired shade of red, “never mind.”

Holton shook his head once more and then turned on the radio. Lady in Red was on.

“Oh, I love this song.”

“I hate it,” he said, switching the station. That song only made him think of her, and he didn’t want to think of that brat while she was sitting right next to him. He turned two more stations, and she commented on how much she liked those
songs; he turned them as well, not wanting anything to do with what she liked. Finally, he stopped on a rap station, hating it more than anything. He moved his head as if he was enjoying the music and she laughed, and then joined in on the chorus.

“I didn’t know you liked this one, Holton.”

“Son of a …”

“You shouldn’t cuss in front of a lady,” Elena remarked. Holton took a deep breath and prayed silently that the last remaining three hours would go by quickly.

***

“How’s he doing?” Elena asked the nurse on the phone.

“He’s not doing any better or worse. He still hasn’t remembered anything. He’s been complaining about headaches, but the scans aren’t showing any problems, other than the swelling from the fall. Which we are monitoring close.”

“Can you tell him that I will be there soon, and that I love
him?”

“I’m not sure what good it will do, since he doesn’t know anyone, but I will tell him all the same.”

“Thank you,” Elena said, sobbing as she hung up.

“Hey, you okay?”
Holton asked; he reached his hand across the seat and gripped hers in his own. Elena squeezed it and looked away.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Listen,” Holton said, “I’m sorry about earlier. We’ll be at the hospital within an hour. We should probably talk about your dad now.”

Elena looked over at him with fear in her eyes. “What?”

“When he fell…his brain swelled. It’s not good, Elena.”

“
What!”

“They don’t think that…well they don’t think that he’ll make it. You asked me earlier why I came and didn’t just send for you. I didn’t want you to come home to what I saw.”

Elena covered her mouth with her hand and started crying hard now. “Oh my God!”

“Listen, he didn’t know who I was when I got to him in the barn, and I know it had to have only been twenty minutes at the most…I had just finished talking to him before I went on my way and started getting some of my stuff done.”

“He didn’t know you then?”

“No,” Holton said, shaking his head. “He was
unconscious, and when we were in the ambulance, he flat lined. They brought him back, honey. I thought everything was going to be okay when he woke up shortly after, but then he didn’t know who I was. The doctor told me to call his kin right away. I left, but I’ve been in contact with your father’s doctor ever since.”

“
And he just told you all this…”

“I told him that you were my wife.”

Elena’s eyes widened and she looked into Holton’s. “They wouldn’t tell me anything, not being related. I didn’t think you’d mind. I had to know, Elena. Your parents were my parents after mine died. And then your mother.”

“Momma,” Elena whispered, crying still. Her own mother died two short years ago of Breast Cancer.

“I’m so sorry, Elena.”

“What am I going to do, Holton?” Elena whispered.

“We’ll think of something, Elena. You know that we will always be family, right?”

Elena nodded, thinking that if she didn’t have Holton
, she would be all alone in this world. And now, more than ever, it was true.

Chapter 3

T
hey sat in the hospital room for three hours with no inclination of her father waking. Holton was by her side, getting up only to retrieve her some coffee or to use the restroom. He sat with her when her dad finally awoke, too, not recognizing his only daughter.

“Daddy, do you remember me?”

Her old man just looked at her with blank eyes. He then looked at the TV and switched it on, ignoring her all together. It took everything in her not to cry. Holton stood up and went behind her, taking her into his arms. She nearly fell apart, but kept strong for her father. She knew he had to have been scared.

“If I’m your father, who is this guy?” her father asked.

“I’m her husband,” Holton said, surprising Elena. “We’ve been neighbors for many years.”

“You’re her
husband? And we’re neighbors.”

“Yes, Sir. Adjoining land.”

“A good merger then,” her father said, understanding. Elena didn’t know what they were talking about.

“
A merger? A marriage is hardly a merger,” Elena said, wanting to know what her father was getting at.

“Adjoining land, young lady. Ranching is about land, and my land has been in my family for years.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Where’s your mother? Why isn’t she here?”

Elena’s eyes filled with tears now, and she looked at Holton for help. Holton grabbed the old man’s shoulder and smiled. “She just went out. She’s been here waiting for you to wake up. You know, ranching women. She had to make sure everything was running all right.”

Elena looked into Holton’s eyes and smiled.

“Sounds like my Claire. Now, you, you can get going,” he said, looking at Elena. Then he looked at Holton. “Take care of my daughter, young man,” he said.

“I will.”

And that was the last thing she heard from her father. He died that night in his sleep. The swelling didn’t stop and he bled out.

***

The whole next week was much of a blur with funeral preparations, announcements, and obituaries and will readings. Elena could hardly believe that it was just last week that she was worrying about her finals. She had one week of school left until Christmas break and then she was off for three more weeks. She had to go back to take her finals and then take the long way home once more. Several times that week she thought maybe she would just forget finals all together, but knew her father would not have liked that.

“Elena, are you in here?” Ho
lton asked as he came into the house. He walked into the living room and found her sitting alone on the couch. She was wearing a black dress and a string of pearls around her neck.

“Honey?”

Elena looked up with tears in her eyes. “I still can’t believe he’s gone. I…what’s going to happen? I have to go back to school and I don’t know how I’m going to do it.”

“We’ll
talk about that when we get back, sweetheart. Everything is going to be fine. You’ll see.”

Elena nodded
and stood up, holding on to Holton’s hand. He led her out to the car and helped her in. The drive to the cemetery only took a few minutes from the house.