Cowboy Boots for Christmas (15 page)

“For real?” Martin asked.

“For real, son.” Finn laid a hand on Martin’s shoulder and one on Callie’s. “Arguments don’t mean that you have to pack up and run away. It takes a strong person to work it out, but your aunt has that kind of strength.”

Martin pushed away and dried his tears. “Callie is strong, ain’t she, Finn?”

“Yes, she is. I’m sure hungry. Did you leave me any cookies?”

Martin nodded and pointed toward his toes. “And look.”

Verdie pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. “They was Patrick’s old work boots. ’Bout worn out, but I reckon they’ll do for a couple of weeks for him to do chores in. Could use a coat of polish later tonight, and he had to put two pair of socks on to fill up the toes. Patrick was a little man, only about five feet four inches, and he wore a small shoe. Bein’ little didn’t mean he wasn’t a fighter.”

“Thank you.” Callie swallowed hard against the lump in her throat.

“Now, Martin, you go on to the kitchen and finish up your last cookie while I talk to Finn and Callie.”

“Joe needs a cookie. Dog! Joe needs a cookie,” the bird fussed as he sharpened his beak on the wood rod under his feet.

Martin’s new boots sounded like size tens rather than the sixes they probably were as they clomped down the hallway.

Finn looped an arm around Callie’s waist and waited. “Are we in big trouble?”

Verdie nodded seriously. “Yes, you are. First thing is, this ain’t my place no more and it ain’t my business to fuss at y’all, but I love that kid and I can’t stand to see him cry. My dad gave me a bit of advice when our boys were little that I’m about to give y’all. You’re going to argue, but it’s your argument, not his. Don’t let him see it, and don’t go to bed angry with each other. We got enough of a feud goin’ on all around us. We don’t need one inside the walls of the house. Now let’s go have some cookies.”

Finn gave Callie a gentle squeeze. “Sounds like good advice to me.”

***

Martin was standing right under the phone when it rang, and it startled him so badly that he knocked over the chair below it. It hit the floor with a thud, and he grabbed the receiver before Verdie came out of the hallway to answer it. If anyone could talk sense to Callie and Finn, it was Verdie, and he sure didn’t want her to answer a telephone right then.

“Hello,” he said cautiously.

“Could I please talk to Martin Brewster?”

“Who is this?” he whispered.

“It’s me, Olivia. I have to talk low or Miz Beth will wake up. They’re sending us away on Sunday, Martin, and they’re going to split us up. We go to three different places, and that means we’ll never see each other again. The last place we was at, there was a boy there and they did this to him and his sister. He didn’t even know where she was anymore.”

“Oh no!” Martin gasped.

“We’re going to run away tonight.”

“Do you know where Salt Draw is?”

“It’s where the school bus gets you every morning. Down the road from us and then down a lane.”

“It’s all lit up for Christmas. You can see it from the road. I know you can. I’ll leave my light on so you can come around behind the house and knock on my window. Y’all can stay out in the tack room. You won’t freeze until we figure this out, Olivia. I’ll help you,” Martin said.

“I trust you, Martin. Will you watch for us?”

“I’ll leave my curtains open. Tap on my window when you get here. Here comes Granny Verdie. I got to go.”

Callie kicked as much snow from her shoes as possible before she went inside the general store, then she stomped a few more times on the big rug in front of the door. “Glad I caught you before you closed up, Gladys. Verdie says we need flour, sugar, and cooking oil.”

“She called me and said to tell you to add baking soda to that.” Gladys tipped her head toward the back of the store.

Callie looked that way, and there was Betsy Gallagher. Their cold gazes locked as Betsy made her way right up into Callie’s space, not stopping until they were practically nose to nose.

“You are like a bitch in heat. You can’t be satisfied with one man hanging on you. Now you’ve got to go and mess up my cousin’s relationship with Orville. Ilene has been in love with Orville since they were in school. Do you want an ass whipping, woman?” Betsy’s tone got colder with each word.

“How in the hell did I do that? It was your damn feud that brought him to my door to begin with.”

“He brought you doughnuts. He’s never brought Ilene doughnuts,” Betsy said.

“That doesn’t mean a damn thing, so get out of my face, and, darlin’, you don’t want to call me a bitch again,” Callie said.

Betsy leaned in until they were nose to nose. “I call it like I see it.”

Callie smiled.

“What’s so funny…bitch?” Betsy drew out the last word.

“I think it’s funny that the Gallaghers want the sheriff in their back pocket so bad that they send one of their own out to seduce the poor old guy. I’m not stupid,” Callie whispered and rubbed her nose against Betsy’s.

Betsy jumped back and swiped a hand across her nose. “Don’t touch me.”

“Oh, darlin’, this relationship has gone too far for you to close me out now. Remember, I’m a bitch, and bitches rub noses with other bitches,” Callie said.

Betsy’s hand came up in a flash, but Callie was faster. She caught it midair and held it in a vise grip. When her left hand shot up, Callie caught it, too.

The woman shivered from head to toe and kicked Callie in the shin. “Are you a freakin’ crazy bitch?” she yelled.

Callie kept a grip on her hands and nipped her on the arm, leaving faint teeth marks but no blood. “Bitches are lady dogs. They bite. You had enough, or you want to call me that again? Next time, I promise there will be blood and you will need rabies shots.”

She shoved, and Betsy had to do a lot of fancy scrambling to keep from knocking down a display of canned peaches. When she finally got her balance, she stormed out of the store without looking back.

Gladys slapped the checkout counter and laughed so hard that she had to sit down. “I swear to God that was the funniest damn thing I’ve ever seen. If Honey wasn’t so hell-bent on having Finn, the Brennans would invite you into their fold with open arms.”

“I don’t want to be a part of none of their shit. I just want to live my life and be left alone,” Callie said.

“Then you come to the wrong part of Texas,” Gladys said.

Callie steamed all the way home and didn’t even feel the cold from truck to kitchen. She carried in the groceries and set them on the cabinet before she even noticed the doughnuts on the table.

“Shit!” she mumbled. “That’s all I need today.”

“That you, Callie?” Verdie yelled from her room.

“Yes, it is.”

“I made part of the yeast dough into doughnuts. Just finished fryin’ and glazin’ them. They’re on the table if you want one to warm up. Coffee is fresh.” Verdie’s voice got closer with each word.

“Well, hot damn!” Callie said.

“Heard you had a little dustup with Betsy down at the store.” Verdie pulled out a chair and sat down at the end of the table. “Looks like they may make it a three-way feud.”

Callie hung her coat over the back of a chair, picked up a doughnut, and bit into it. “Holy smoke, Verdie. These are to die for. Has Orville ever had one?”

“Hell, no! I didn’t want him hangin’ around my back door whinin’ like a half-starved hound dog,” Verdie answered.

“You hear that Ilene Gallagher is out after Orville?”

“Of course. There ain’t much goes on in Burnt Boot that I don’t know. Crazy thing is that she really likes him, but he’s afraid to get tangled up in the feud. Did Gladys exaggerate, or did you really bite Betsy?”

“She did not exaggerate.” Callie pulled out a chair and sat down.

“Why didn’t you just knock the shit out of her?”

“Gladys wouldn’t like us fightin’ in her store.”

“And this makes Betsy look like a fool, right?”

Callie reached for another doughnut. “Yes, ma’am.”

***

Verdie had just finished reading a chapter to Martin that evening when Callie peeked into the room.

“Come right in and join us. Martin is a good kid. He lets me read to him when he’s plenty old enough to read it for himself, but he knows it brings me pleasure.” Verdie smiled.

Martin had been antsy all afternoon and evening, as if waiting for something. Callie couldn’t put her finger on it, but something just flat-out wasn’t right. His eyes darted from the window to the bunk beds, back to the window, and then to the closet, as if he was casing his own bedroom to rob it.

“Did I tell you that my feet didn’t get all wet in them boots that Granny Verdie let me borrow? They’re a little big, but, boy, they sure beat wadin’ through snow in my shoes.” Martin changed the subject quickly.

A hard pang of guilt slapped Callie in the ribs as she sat down on the bottom bunk of the extra set of beds. Cowboy boots wouldn’t make him a bad person, and it was downright crazy to let him continue to work without something warm on his feet.

“I been thinkin’ that with my first paycheck I’d buy me some of them rubber boots. Santa Claus knows I want cowboy boots for Christmas, and I won’t have the money to buy them for a long time, but rubber boots don’t cost so much and…” He paused for breath.

“Next time we get into Gainesville, I’ll get you some rubber boots,” Callie promised.

Finn stuck his head inside the door. “You want the plain old black ones or some with pink hearts on them?”

Martin did a fake gag. “Come on, Finn. You know boys don’t wear pink ones with hearts on them. I want some black ones or red ones like firemen wear.”

“So you might be a fireman?” Finn sat down on the bed next to Callie, legs touching from hips to knees, causing her thoughts to drift away from boots of any kind or fashion.

“Maybe a volunteer fireman right here in Burnt Boot, but my real job will be ranchin’,” Martin said. “Finn, did you ever know of coyotes, the ones like are howling out there tonight, to attack people?”

“Never heard of it. Besides, you’re in the house, and coyotes never break through windows to get into a house. They run from people,” Finn said.

“I like it when we’re all together in my room for just a little while,” he said.

“Well, young man, it’s time for us all to get into our own rooms so you can go to sleep. Good night, all y’all,” Verdie said. “It’s so good to be back home.”

She headed off to her room, and Callie started toward the living room with Finn right behind her. She sat down on the end of the sofa and pulled her legs up under her, tucking a fluffy red throw tightly around them.

“He’s up to something,” she said.

“Yep.” Finn sat down beside her and shifted her feet into his lap. Starting at her toes, he massaged one at a time. “Don’t know if it’s a ploy for cowboy boots, or if he’s going to sneak out the window and go coyote hunting, but he’s definitely up to something. Did you notice the way his eyes kept going to the window?”

“I did,” she said. But thoughts of her young nephew were fading fast as Finn worked on her feet. “You could go into business. We could make more on foot massages than we can raisin’ cattle. Big old steamin’-hot cowboy like you with those hands, wow, just wow.”

One dark eyebrow jacked up toward the ceiling.

“Stop it. I wouldn’t really want you to be touching another woman,” she said.

“Jealous?”

“No, just protecting my interests. There’s a major difference between jealousy and protecting one’s property.” She smiled.

The eyebrow went up another notch. “And I’m your property?”

“Shhh! Did you hear that?” Callie whispered.

Shotgun raised his head and growled.

Pistol cocked his ear to one side and waited.

Angel didn’t even open her eyes.

Finn shook his head. “Old houses groan with the cold. The dogs are going back to sleep, and the cat didn’t even wake up. Now where were we?”

She threw a leg over his lap, and his arms went around her as she rested her cheek on his chest. Hard muscles barely muffled the steady beat of his heart. She liked that about Finn O’Donnell. He was steady and true, kind and honest, and he took in strays, which testified to his kindness.

***

The window creaked when Martin raised it all the way to the top, letting in a blast of arctic air. “Y’all okay? I know it’s cold, but we’re lucky it ain’t rainin’ or sleetin’.”

“It was scary and we heard coyotes and we’re cold,” Adam said.

“But we kept going until we saw your light.” Olivia shivered.

“We done talked about y’all hidin’ in the barn, but it’s too cold. Give me your hand, Ricky, and I’ll help you inside. There’s plenty of beds in here and it’s warm,” Martin said.

“But what if your aunt finds us?”

“I’ve got an idea that will keep her out of my room,” he said.

“Okay, anything to get warm. My feet are so cold, I can’t feel them,” Olivia said.

All three kids scrambled over the windowsill. Martin put a finger to his lips and tiptoed to the door, peeked out, and shook his head. “Granny Verdie’s light is out, and if Callie had heard anything, she’d already be on the way, so she must be asleep, too. Take off your coats. What did you bring with you?”

“Nothing,” Ricky said.

“Okay, then you guys can use some of my pajamas. Olivia, you got a problem sleeping in one of my shirts and my loungin’ britches?”

She shook her head.

Martin opened up a drawer and handed out sleep clothing and then opened his closet door. “You can change in here, Olivia. And we’ll hang up y’all’s jeans so they’ll be dry tomorrow mornin’. Anybody hungry?”

All three heads bobbed up and down.

“I snuck some peanut butter, bread, and jelly in here while nobody was lookin’. And I got some milk and some plastic cups.”

“I hope they don’t take you to jail for helpin’ us,” Olivia said.

“We can’t let y’all get split up.” Martin pulled the wooden thread spool at the end of a long cord, and the light came on in the closet. “I cleared out the whole floor, so anyone knocks on the door and I’m not here, you get in here and shut the door. It’ll be your hiding place until we can figure out our next step.”

It was well after midnight when all four bunks were filled.

“Martin?” Olivia whispered from the bunk above his.

“Yes?”

“Thank you. I get mad at my brothers, but I don’t want to never see them again,” she said.

He remembered how terrified he was when he was in foster care. “I’d just die if they took me away from Callie, so I know how you feel.”

“They’re already asleep. They were brave little guys, even when the coyotes howled.” She yawned.

“Good night, Olivia,” Martin said.

“This bed is so warm. I could just stay here forever.”

***

Callie awoke early and made her way to the kitchen, where Verdie was already sitting at the table with a mug of coffee in front of her.

“Good mornin’. Coffee is made and oven is heating up for biscuits. Thought we’d start off the day with sausage and eggs. Snow hasn’t melted much, but the sun will take it down some today. Then it’ll be muddy tomorrow, and on Monday we’ll get a fresh layer on top of frozen mud. You and Finn still plannin’ on runnin’ in this shit?”

Callie poured a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. “This is Saturday. We take the weekends off, but I have to admit, it just makes Monday rougher. Did you sleep well?”

“Thought I heard a window squeak and then voices, but convinced myself I was dreaming. Pistol would have told us all about it if anyone came around the house,” Verdie answered. “But for the most part I slept much better than I did down there at the funny farm. Home is where your heart is.”

“Home is where your boots are, according to Finn.” Callie smiled. “Thank you for letting Martin borrow Patrick’s boots.”

Verdie grinned. “He would have liked the idea of a kid wearing them.”

“Verdie, I love your cooking and I love having you here at the ranch, but you don’t have to make three meals a day around here. You can be our guest,” Callie said.

“Got to stay busy at something, or my bones will think I’ve quit. If that happens, the damned old things will stop working altogether, and I’m not ready for that. If it makes you feel better, we’ll work together. You get out the eggs, and I’ll start making sausage patties.”

“Good mornin’, ladies.” Finn’s voice still had the morning gruff in it. He sported bedroom hair, and his blue eyes had that early-morning look in them that was so damn hot it took Callie’s breath away. She stepped back and her shoulder touched his hard chest. She poured a cup of coffee with trembling hands and carefully handed it to him.

“Martin must be worn out. He’s sleeping later than usual,” Verdie said.

“Good mornin’.” Martin yawned from the doorway. “Is that sausage I smell? And waffles? I could eat a horse. Y’all better make a lot.”

“Not waffles. Just eggs and sausage and hot biscuits,” Callie said.

“Did you hear from Polly yet?” Martin asked.

“She might call today,” Verdie said. “How many biscuits does a boy who’s hungry enough to eat a horse need?”

“A lot.” Martin poured himself a glass of orange juice and plopped down in a kitchen chair. “I’m worried about my friends, Callie. Why can’t they come here? If we can’t afford it, I don’t need nothing for Christmas now that Granny Verdie gave me some boots. I’ll even wear them butt-ugly shoes to school when my black ones wear out.”

“It’s complicated,” Finn said. “There are laws and things that have to be done for kids to be placed in foster care.”

“‘Complicated’ is just a word big people made up to say no.” He pouted.