Montana Morning (5 page)

Maggie stepped
back, sweeping her arm towards the open room.  “Come in, Sir. 
Adrianna is expecting you.”  She closed the door and took his heavy
coat. 

Jack turned to her
and began to make the apology he knew she had coming.  “I’m sorry I had to
go against . . .”

Maggie stopped him
in mid-sentence with a raised hand.  “Don’t you dare give me that line,
Mister.  You might be sorry you couldn’t hire Adrianna with my blessings,
but don’t expect me to believe for one minute you are sorry you hired
her.”  If this was the rage he’d been warned about, he was sure he would
survive; she had a smile on her face.

“Not one bit
sorry, actually.   My only regret is I would have liked to have
counted you as a friend, and now . . .”

“And now you can,”
she nodded softly in the direction of the kitchen. Maggie looked him in the eye
and gave him the only warning she intended to give him.  “But if you ever
cause that woman in there to shed as much as one tear, I’ll make you wish you’d
never been born.”

There was the
‘mother bear protecting her cub’ attitude again.  “I’ll bet you could do
it,” he laughed.

Adrianna heard the
voices in the living room and shutting the kitchen door behind her, she shook
off her boots.  Chester was romping in the back yard and the birds had
been fed.  “Good morning,” she yelled cheerfully, all the while wondering
how the two people in her living room were behaving.

Maggie had a
question she wanted to ask before Adrianna joined them.  “I got the
definite impression when I talked to Adrianna last night you hadn’t ask her to
sign a contract.  Why not?”

 Jack looked
over Maggie’s head at the woman standing in the doorway watching him.  She
had heard the question, and she too was waiting for an answer.

Jack smiled
tenderly.  “I didn’t ask her because it wasn’t necessary.  I had her
word and it was sufficient.”   He inhaled deeply, changing the
subject. “What on earth is that wonderful smell?”

Adrianna grinned
at him. “Sticky buns, hash browns, bacon and eggs.”  She handed him a cup
of hot coffee.  “I figured I’d better get used to cooking for cowboys, not
fancy ladies.”

“Haven’t changed
your mind?”  Jack smiled up as she handed him his plate.

“We’ll see if the
job offer still stands after you eat my cooking.”

Maggie, taking all
this in, suspected he wouldn’t change his mind, even if the eggs tasted like
cardboard.

It was a pleasant
meal, with most of the time spent going over what needed to be done in the next
two weeks.  Jack offered to help Maggie move into Adrianna’s house, but
she assured him anything she needed to move was small enough for her to handle alone. 
Maggie volunteered to contact the local Superintendent of Schools concerning
rules and regulations for home schooling.  Jack would write to Scotty’s
school in California and ask them to send his records.  Adrianna asked him
to tell the teacher she would be calling her to discuss what kind of a student
Scotty was, what his interests were and what they had been studying. 

Maggie glanced at
her watch and realized she was going to be late for work.   Jack
asked for her keys, and went outside to warm up her car. He took the shovel to
the berm the snowplow had left at the edge of the driveway.

Maggie pulled on
the boots Adrianna had loaned her and looked out at the man in the
driveway.   “That’s one very nice man.  I’m glad he found you,
Sis.”  She gave Adrianna’s shoulders a hug.  “He’s got a lot of pain
bottled up inside, behind that big smile, doesn’t he?”

“Yes, he
does.  So does Scotty,” she said, watching Jack walk back to the house.

“Oh honey, what
have you got yourself into?”  Maggie sighed, turning to Adrianna.

“Only God knows
for sure,” she winked, handed Maggie her purse and opened the door, “but don’t
worry about it.  He’s always been on my side, remember?”

***

The hospital
corridor was busy this time of morning, and they sat in the waiting room while
the nurses finished Scotty’s morning care.  Dr. Rodgers spotted Jack and
came over to him.  

“Glad to see you
this morning, Jack.  I’ve been meaning to talk to you. Would you like to
come into my office?”  He noticed Adrianna sitting next to Jack. 
“Good morning, Mrs. Banks.  Do you two know each other?”

Jack smiled and
stood up.  “As a matter of fact, we do.  Adrianna has agreed to help
us take care of Scotty when we take him home.”

“Really?  I
knew Mrs. Banks volunteered at the hospital, but I wasn’t aware she was
available for private care.” He reached out to shake her hand.

“Neither was I,
until yesterday,” Adrianna laughed softly.

“Well, its
fortunate that you are,” Dr. Rodgers said, as he led them into his
office.  “Scott’s going to need a lot of care . . . and not just physical.
You know that don’t you, Jack?”  He studied Scott’s grandpa as they sat
down.  He didn’t want to frighten him, but the man was entitled to know
what he was up against.  “Do you mind if I speak freely in front of Mrs.
Banks?”

“Doc, she’s got a
right to know anything you want to tell her,” Jack paused and looked her in the
eye.  “There’s nothing you have to say to me she can’t hear.”

“Fair enough,” Dr.
Rodgers said, trying to decide how to approach this.  “Mrs. Banks, how
much do you know about the crash and Scotty’s injuries?”

“Only what Jack
has told me.  Both of Scotty’s parents were killed.  Scott had some
internal injuries, which have healed, and a badly crushed leg, which isn’t
healing well.”  She glanced at Jack and he nodded agreement.

“True, as far as
it goes.”  Dr. Rodgers looked over at Jack Kilbourne.  He hated what
he had to say but she needed to know everything if she was going to help
Scotty.  He looked down at the floor and leaned forward in his chair,
crossing his arms on the desk.

“Are you aware
Scott believes he will remain a cripple?” he watched Jack’s face tighten.

Will he be
permanently crippled?”  She looked at Jack and then the doctor for an
answer.

“Only if he
decides to be . . . in order to punish Jack.”

Jack stood and
walked to the window, turning his back on them, hiding his pain.  Adrianna
couldn’t bear to watch him and closed her eyes, biting her lip to keep it from
trembling.

After several
minutes, Jack turned to face the doctor and Adrianna.  He walked to the
chair, turned it to face her and sat down.  He glanced over at the doctor
and then looked straight into Adrianna’s eyes.  “Scotty blames me for the
death of his mom and dad,” he looked down at the floor, “and he’s right.”

Adrianna looked at
the doctor, sitting there stoically and back to Jack, shaking her head.

“He’s right. 
If I hadn’t kept looking for her, if I hadn’t found her, they would still be
alive and Scotty wouldn’t be down the hall laying in pieces.”

“But, Jack,” she
began.

“No excuses. 
The boy hates me and he has a right to.”  He jumped up again and walked
back to the window.  The doctor and Adrianna sat very still, looking at
one another, neither knowing quite what to say.

Jack swung back to
Adrianna.  “Still want the job?” he asked bitterly.

Adrianna looked at
the doctor sitting looking at his desk in silence, and back up at Jack. She
smiled softly as she walked over and touched his sleeve.  “You didn’t pick
their time, only God does that.  As for Scotty . . . let’s go see the young
man and find out if I meet with his approval.”

As they headed for
the door, Jack turned back to Dr. Rodgers, “What was it you wanted to talk to
me about?”

“I wanted to be
sure you had someone qualified to help you.”  He walked them to the door,
put his hand on Jack’s shoulder and said, “You do.  Tell Scott he can go
home a week from Monday.”

As they walked
down the hall towards Scotty’s room, Adrianna sensed a movement beside
her.  Glancing down she saw his fist, clenching and unclenching as he
hesitated outside the door of Scotty’s room.  Adrianna took his hand and
led him down the hall to the chapel. Shutting the door behind him, she faced
the cross at the front of the room, closed her eyes and prayed for wisdom.

“Jack,” she
whispered softly, “Scotty will never be able to forgive you until you forgive
yourself.  You’re letting the guilt eat you alive, and this tragedy wasn’t
your fault.”  She watched as he stood silently, staring at the pew in
front of him.

“Oh really! 
Then who the hell’s fault was it?”  He growled at her.

Adrianna stepped
in front of him and commanded.  “Sit down!”  Jack was so shocked he
sat down without question.

“Now you listen to
me, Mister.  You’re a big boy.  You’re also old enough to know that
sometimes things happen and we never know why or how.”  She took a breath
and continued, “Then we pick up the pieces, and go on as best we can. 
Burying yourself in guilt and remorse is NOT going to bring back your daughter
or heal your grandson.  Do you follow me?”  She put her finger under
his chin, and lifted his face so she could look him right in the eye.  He
tried to look down and she lifted his head back up.

Jack grinned in
spite of himself. ‘
This lady is what Mom used to
call a spitfire,’
he thought to himself and wondered, ‘W
hat have I got myself into?’
 

“Do I have your
attention?” She asked seriously, studying his face.

“Yes, ma’am,” he
smiled.

“Good, because you
hired me to help your family and we’re starting here,” she said looking around
the chapel.  She picked up the Bible from the slot in the back of the pew
and shook it under his nose.  “Ever read one of these?”

“I did when I was
a kid.  Mom read it to us all the time in the evenings,” he remembered.

“Great, then you
know about grace and forgiveness . . . that’s a start.”  She gently tapped
his chin with the book. “You can’t help Scott until you help yourself.” 
She knew she was treading in dangerous waters.  “Have you cried for Mary
yet?”

Jack looked at the
floor and shook his head.  “I’m not the crying type.”

Adrianna was quiet
for a long time, finally Jack asked, “What are you thinking?”

“The truth?” She
wasn’t sure he was ready for it.

“Never tell me
anything but the truth. I’m a big boy, remember?” he said with a crooked grin.

“Okay.  The
truth is,I was thinking the day you and Scott find the strength to cry
together, you’ll both start to heal.”

“You’re probably
right,” he sighed.   “We can go see Scotty now.  I think I’m
ready to face him.”

***

Scotty heard his
grandpa’s voice in the hall and turned his head toward the window once
more.  The door opened and he closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.

Jack walked over
to the bed, gently shaking him.  “Scotty, I brought you a visitor.”

At first Scotty
ignored them, but eventually his curiosity got the best of him and he opened
his eyes, turning to face them. His smile lit up the room.  “Adrianna!”

Jack grinned from
ear to ear.  “I told you you’d like her.”

“Honest?  Are
you coming to live with us at the ranch?”  He was actually beaming.

“Kind of looks
that way, if you’ll have me.” She smiled back, wondering how long it had been
since Scotty had laughed.

“Gee, I didn’t
know you and Grandpa knew each other.” Scotty looked first at his Grandpa and
then at Adrianna.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You didn’t
ask.”  Jack winked at Adrianna, who was giving him a questioning look.

“Scotty, how would
you like to go home a week from Monday?”

“To the ranch?” he
looked first at her and then at his grandpa.

“Yeah, Doc says
you are about ready to leave this joint,” Jack said, grinning from ear to ear.

“Thank God.”
Scotty was sick of this place and bored to tears.

Jack roughed up
Scotty’s hair.  “I’ll second that.”

***

The aroma of fresh
coffee hung in the air as Adrianna looked out into the sunlit street. 
They had chosen this small cafe close to the hospital to grab a bite of
lunch.  She and Jack had gone to therapy with Scotty, and the therapist
would train Adrianna several mornings next week. This would enable her to take
over the treatments once Scotty left the hospital, and she was thankful the
therapy was not complicated or painful.  Jack returned from making his
calls and the waitress refilled his cup.

“Did you get in
touch with your attorney?” She had to admit she was a little nervous about the
court approving her to care for Scotty; after all, she had no formal training.

“Would you please
wipe that frown off your face,” Jack said, looking at her over the brim of his
coffee cup.  “Howard said to meet him at the courthouse at
one-fifteen.  I’ll see the judge then,” he smiled trying to reassure her,
“That gives me just enough time to take you home first.”

“Jack, I still
think I should sign the contract.  You don’t want to give the court any
reason to reject your petition for custody.”  She knew how important it
was to him and, in the long run, how important it might be to Scotty’s future.

Jack was very
quiet.  He stared out the window and back down at her hands. They were
wrapped around her cup as if she was trying to capture the warmth of the
liquid.         

“Are you still
cold?” concern filled his voice.  She shook her head and murmured she was
fine.  He studied her face, looking for the words to explain how he was
feeling. He cleared his throat, and she looked up at him.

“Adrianna, I don’t
know exactly how to say this, but I’ll try,” he paused, searching for just the
right words.  “When I first started this, going to Maggie, trying to
please the courts and all . . . the idea of a contract seemed like a good
deal.”  He clenched and unclenched his fist on the tabletop, and she knew
he was nervously choosing his words.  “That was before I met you.” 
He looked at her in utter frustration.  “Damn it, Woman. I don’t want you
with us because you gave your word or signed a contract.  I want you with
us because you want to be there and for no other reason.” He looked to the
window and back again, raising his eyebrows.  “Is that clear?”