Montana Morning (23 page)

“Mostly about his
family,” she hedged.

“I really enjoyed
our last dance, and I was hoping . . . ” Mueller started up as he walked up
behind Jack.

“Sorry, pal. The
lady promised all the remaining dances to me.” Jack took her hand and swung her
into his arms. Addy was so surprised she didn’t say a word. She just danced
along.

“What’s the
matter, Woman?  Cat got your tongue?”  Jack finally whispered into
her hair.

“You said you
couldn’t dance.”

“No, I didn’t,” he
laughed softly.  “I said I didn’t dance, not that I couldn’t.” 
Pulling back, he smiled into her laughing eyes.  “You need to learn to
listen more carefully.”

“Talk about
splitting hairs,” she scolded.

“Speaking of hair
. . . I like yours down.”

“Seriously, why
didn’t you let me just dance with him again.  I lived through the first
time.”

“But I damn near
didn’t,” he admitted and pulled her just a little closer to him.  “Addy, I
couldn’t stand the thought of that weasel touching you, let alone holding you .
. . not again.  Besides,” he explained, giving her his lopsided grin, “I
kept remembering what Pops told Scotty about holding pretty young things . . .”

“You’re
incorrigible.”

“Is that a big
word for truthful?”

“Sometimes. 
When do the fireworks start?” She had noticed it was getting close to
midnight.  The ladies were clearing off the tables, and organizing food.
“I should be over there helping.”

“If you ask me,
you’re right where you belong.” Jack whispered softly.

“May I cut in?”
The young man tapping Jack’s shoulder was in uniform and, before he knew it,
Addy was flying into the fellow’s arms.

“Chad!”  Addy
threw her arms around her son and tears of joy spilled down her cheeks.

He swung her
around and around.  When he finally set her down, they were both dizzy.

“You said you
would be home in July, but when I didn’t hear more . . .”

“I wanted to
surprise you,” he explained, as he took in the man who had been dancing with
his mom. “You must be Jack.” He reached out to shake hands over his mom’s
shoulder.

“Chad, I’m glad to
meet you. We’re tickled you made it home.” Jack grinned and winked at the tall
blonde man holding Addy. “Of course, your mom could care less,” he
teased.  “The fellows sneaking up on you from the back are my dad, Will,
and my grandson, Scotty.”

“We’ve met.” Chad
smiled into his mom’s face. “It seems you two were too busying dancing to
notice much going on around you.”

“Never mind him,
Jack,” Amy said, as she gave her brother a mock kick in the shins.  “He’s
almost as big a tease as you are.”

“Chad, how long
can you be home?” Addy hoped it was going to be a long visit.

“I’m here for two
weeks and then back to California for the rest of my tour.  I finish up in
December.”

“I hope you plan
on staying with us at the ranch, Son.” Will had been watching Chad study Jack
since he arrived.  This was one very protective son, and Will wanted him
to find out for himself that she was all right.

“I’d like to,
Will, if you have a place for me,” Chad confessed, as he looked his mom over
from head to toe.

“You bet we do,
and if we didn’t, we’d make room.” Jack assured him, watching Chad study
Addy.  “Pretty as a picture, isn’t she?”

 Addy blushed
and tried to change the subject.  “Let’s go watch the fireworks. They
should be starting any time.” It didn’t work. 

“He’s right,
Mom.  I must have forgotten how beautiful you were.” Amy had been right;
she looked healthy and serene . . . at peace.  “I like your hair this way,
Mom,” he said squeezing her hand.

As they stood in
the yard watching the fireworks burst around them, Addy let out a huge sigh.

Jack leaned to
whisper in her ear.  “Something wrong?”

“Everything’s
right.  I think I’m happier at this moment than I’ve ever been in my
life.”

 Jack looked
at the family surrounding them.  “That makes at least two of us.”

 Chad had
heard what was said between them.  He couldn’t decide whether it made him
happy or sad.  Time would tell.

***

Chad spent the
first night on the couch, but the next morning Will and Andy moved a cot into
the classroom for him.  Addy had assured him it wouldn’t interfere with
Scotty’s studies.  Now that summer was here, most of what Scotty was
learning could be taught in a practical setting.  Chad pitched in with the
chores and, after getting Jack’s approval, started giving Scotty basic training
in firearm safety.  Soon he and Scotty were target practicing behind the
house.  He took every opportunity to spend as much time with Addy as he
could, trying to get to know the woman she had become.  After he had a
chance to settle in a bit, Will took him on a tour of the ranch.  Chad
hadn’t been on a horse in years and it felt wonderful.

“I could get used
to the peace and quiet, Will,” he said, as they sat on the ridge overlooking
the ranch house.   The mountains surrounding the basin known as
Kilbourne Cattle Company Ranch were covered with forests and the lush green
meadows were thick with grass and hay. “It’s a pretty place, Will.  You
have a right to be proud of it.”

“I’ve had a good
life here, Son.  Never been rich, never will be, but it’s been a good life
all the same.”  They stood for a while just watching the cattle and
listening to the creek babbling nearby.

“Mom’s happy here,
isn’t she?” Chad asked, as he pulled a piece of grass to chew on.

“What do you
think?”

“I think she’s one
happy camper.” Chad smiled to himself.

“Surprised?” Will
knew he was.

“Kind of, I
guess.  I mean, this place isn’t exactly what she’s been used to.” Chad
said, as he sat on the big rock next to Will. 

“I know what you
mean.  I’ve seen her house in town.  Pretty much the Ritz next to
this place.”

 Chad
realized Will had misunderstood.  “No, no.  I’m not talking about
houses.  Mom loves this place and especially the house. You can tell by
the way she fusses over it all the time.”  He paused not knowing how much
he wanted to share with the man sitting beside him.

“Spit it out, boy,
before you choke on it,” Will grunted.

“Does mom ever
talk about her life before she came here?”

“Nope, and we
don’t ask.  Figured with her losing your dad and all . . . well it was
probably pretty painful.” Will looked at the ground and back into the valley.

“Does she talk
about our family?”

“She’s told us all
about you kids and Maggie.  Did you know the cure you used for your 4-H
calf saved our calves from scours this spring?”

“Really?  She
remembered it?  Even the formula?” Chad laughed and shook his head. 
“I should have known she would . . . You see, Will, Mom always wanted to be a
stay at home, work in the yard, ride horses with the kids, kind of mom.”

“Not surprising me
any.”

“Don’t get me
wrong, Will, my dad was a fine man and we loved him dearly, but . . .” Chad was
going a lot further with this than he had intended to.  “But dad was a
businessman and he wanted a wife who showed off his success.”

“Like how?” Will
puzzled.

“Like belonging to
the country club, dressing to the T’s, wearing her hair ‘just right and being
the dignified lady at all times.”  Will could hear the resentment in
Chad’s voice.

“And she did all
that and more.”

“Yeah, she wanted
to please him.”

“Somehow, I have a
hard time picturing your mom living that kind of life.  That’s nothing
like the Addy I know,” Will admitted.

“The woman you
know isn’t the mother I grew up with,” Chad said sadly.  Will was feeling
too uncomfortable to sit there any longer. He got up, stretched and went back
to the horses.

“Sorry, son. 
This whole thing must be really tough on you.”

“You don’t
understand, Will. I’m not unhappy with my mom.  I’m sad for her, for all
those lost years. She’s the person now that she always was inside, but dad
would never let her be.”  As they rode back down the hillside Chad spotted
Addy outside in the garden.  She was wearing a pair of jeans and an old
shirt with the sleeves cut off.  Her hair hung over her shoulder in a long
braid.  He grinned at Will. “Dad would have had a stroke if he’d seen her
like this.”

“I happen to think
she’s great, just the way she is.”

“Me too.” Chad
chuckled, as he watched Jack walking towards the garden with glasses of lemonade. 
“I have a feeling Jack is kind of taken with her too.”

 Will laughed
and headed for the barn.  “If you’re about to ask if his intentions are
honorable well . . . you’d better ask him, not me.”

“I might just do
that.”

***

Everyone else had
been in bed for hours but Jack was still sitting at his desk. Rubbing the back
of his neck was not removing the huge knots in his tired muscles.  The
cattlemen were still hanging on, but barely.  Three more ranches had notes
due this month, and August was going to be a killer.  He had a little over
$4,000 left in the ranch account, and enough to pay Addy one more month, if she
ever cashed any of her checks, which she hadn’t. He was pouring over the books
one last time, trying to pull money out of thin air, when he felt someone
watching him.  An angel was standing in the doorway, in a soft green
bathrobe the color of her eyes.

“Woman, what are
you doing up at this hour?” he growled at her, but his voice was gentle. She
leaned against the door casing, studying the messy world around him.

 “Looks like
you could use some maid service in here.”

“I need a lot more
than a maid,” he confessed, as he sat rubbing his forehead.

“Tomorrow, if it’s
all right with you, I’ll venture into this mess and see if I can find the
bottom, meanwhile . . . how about joining me on the front steps for a cup of
hot chocolate?”

“That would make
me sleepy,” he protested.  “And you stay out of here.  You straighten
this place up and I’ll never be able to find anything.”

“First of all, the
whole idea is to make you sleepy, and as for this room . . . can you find
anything now?”

“Good grief.” He
ran his hands through his hair, stood up, and turned off the lamp.  “I’m
too tired to put up much of a fight.”

They settled down
on the front steps and watched the tree limbs dancing in the breeze.

“I’d forgotten how
pretty it was out here at night.” He sipped the hot liquid and tried to relax.
The warm moist air was blowing up off the meadows, the sky was clear, and the
moon was full.

“It’s almost like
daylight. You can see forever.”  Glancing over at him she noticed the
tight muscles in his neck.  “Have a headache?”

He shook his head
and rubbed his neck with his free hand.  “Not really.  I’m just
pooped, I guess.” It was more than a guess.  He hadn’t slept well in
months, or at least it seemed that way.

“Want to talk
about it?” she asked, looking up into the heavens, not wanting him to feel
trapped.

“Not much to tell,
working long days . . .”

“Worrying long
nights . . .”

“Something like
that.  The fact is, Western is showing no sign of giving in and now that I
know why Mike won’t let that weasel go . . .”

“Mike Simpson will
do the right thing, Jack, sooner or later.”

“What makes you
think so?”

“Faith.”

“I hope you’re
right, and it better be sooner,” he said, as he stood up and offered her his
hand.

“How is your visit
with Chad going?”

“We’re having a
nice time.  We’ve talked, walked, and shared. It’s been really special.”

“Sorry, I’ve been
so busy.  I wanted to spend more time with him.  Get to know what
makes him tick.” Jacks lopsided grin told her he wasn’t exactly leveling with
her.

“Really?  I
thought maybe you were trying to avoid him, just a bit.”

“Why would I do a
thing like that?”

“You tell me,” she
challenged. “Good night, Cowboy.”

 As he
watched her glide up the stairs, he smiled and turned out the lights. Maybe he
would sleep.

***

The day before
Chad was due to leave for California, he volunteered to help Jack stack hay in
the barn.  It was hot, dry work. They were stripped to the waists and
working up a huge thirst when they saw Scotty coming across the yard with a big
pitcher of lemonade.

“Time for a break.”
Jack wiped his brow and the back of his neck with his handkerchief and sat down
on a barrel near the open loft door, where it was cooler.  He looked out
over the yard and watched Addy weeding in the garden.

 Scotty
climbed the ladder and handed them the pitcher and glasses. “Can I help you,
Grandpa?” Scotty was beginning to feel left out around here. Since Chad had
arrived, Addy had spent all her free time with him, and now Grandpa . .
.   

“Maybe later,
Scotty.  Meanwhile, will you go down and get Addy out of the hot
sun?  Tell her we’ll all pitch in this evening and finish the
weeding.  Okay?”

Scotty shrugged
and climbed back down the ladder.

“Think I hurt his
feelings?” Jack was concerned about his grandson.  Scotty was feeling bent
out of shape, having to share Addy, and it was beginning to show.

“Maybe a little,
but he’ll get over it.” Chad had been looking for an opportunity to talk to
Jack alone and now might be his last chance.

“Enjoyed your
visit?” Jack sipped the cold drink and watched to be sure Addy left the garden.

“Yes, Sir. I
have.”  Chad had to admit he liked Jack, even admired him, but tomorrow he
would be gone and his mom would still be here.  He wanted answers. 
“Jack, can I ask you something?”

“Ask away.”

“I don’t exactly
know how to put it.” Chad was visibly uncomfortable.