No Place Like Home (15 page)

“Yep, yep,” Lacy laughed. “Come on, we'll talk more downstairs.”

Dottie realized as everyone filed downstairs that she hadn't been in control of her life for the last twenty-four hours—no, the last week. At least that was the way it felt. When everyone else went toward the food, she went the opposite direction. She needed space rather than food.

Space to think. And to pray.

T
he barn was quiet when Dottie entered. She'd had to purposefully skirt the pile of cars in the driveway in order not to run into anyone in her quest for some solitude. It helped that everyone had stampeded toward the back porch to eat. Spying a hay bale in the corner, she was about to take a seat, when she saw Cassie.

She was sitting on a mean-looking piece of machinery that Dottie felt pretty sure attached to a tractor in some fashion. What the dangerous-looking thing did on the tractor she didn't have a clue—but it made a great bench, sitting at the back opening of the barn, facing the pasture and the trees.

Dottie took a deep breath, time alone could wait. “Mind if I sit for a while?”

Cassie swung her head around, startled that she'd been found. But she shook her head and gazed back out across the pasture without saying anything.

A breeze was blowing. Dottie could smell the scent of dry hay as it drifted around the corner of the barn.

“Cassie, would you like to talk? I hope you know you can trust me.”

At first she made no move to show whether she'd even heard Dottie or not. Then at last she took a shuddery breath.

“I am nineteen, Dottie. I really am. I can show you my ID if you want.”

Dottie felt like a toad again. “That's okay. I believe you. I really do.” And she did. “Do you want to talk about this thing with Bob and Jake? Something else is going on, isn't it?”

Cassie gave her a sideways glare. “Why? What's it to you if there is?”

Dottie had never wanted to give anyone a hug as much as she wanted to hug Cassie. She wasn't certain she'd ever known anyone who might actually need a hug more than Cassie. Or, who might reject it as quickly. So she opted simply to smile and speak from her heart. “Cassie, I hope more than anything that you know I'm your friend.”

She met Dottie's gaze, bright and raw with fiercely restrained emotion. “Yeah. I know.” She blinked and looked away, relaxing faintly. “Hey, these women that are coming, their kids are gonna need a few things. I was wondering, could I borrow a few bucks? I'm going to ride to Ranger with Bob. He's going to take me by the store, but I don't have any money. I'll work and pay you
back. Sam said I could start working for him a few hours a day, so I'm gonna start tomorrow. That means I can pay you back at the end of the week.”

Dottie adjusted to the about-face. She'd hoped Cassie would open up, but ever since she'd realized that something from Cassie's past was forcing her actions, Dottie couldn't bring herself to rush the girl. “Sure, I'll give you the money. But you don't need to pay me back. You helped me with the candy for the Trade Days.”

“No, that was to pay you back for bringing me here. I'll pay you for the stuff at the end of the week.”

Dottie's admiration for the girl grew. “I brought you here because I wanted to. Let me go get my purse.” She got up to go. “You're sure you don't want to talk?” She had to try.

“Dottie, Bob will make the perfect husband. You'll see.”

“Does Bob know you're thinking of him like this?”

She shook her head. “No. I have to give him time to fall in love with me. And he will. I know it. He's just my friend right now. We discussed that the other day. He told me he liked me, that I was a good kid…of course, he has to get to know me and realize I can be more than that. I'm not a kid.”

“And Jake, I thought when you went mudding with him the other day, maybe you were switching—”

“I don't want to talk about Jake. I'm actually crazy about Jake. He's fun—” She looked away, blinking hard. “But it takes more than fun to make a husband.”

“Can't you just relax on the husband thing? You have your entire life ahead of you. God has a man out there for you, so you don't have to rush. His timing is perfect.”

“Don't.” She shot to her feet, her expression livid. Her eyes glittered with rage.

Dottie gasped. Why had she pushed? She'd known better. She'd known better.

“All my life, the only thing I wanted was a family of my own. And a place, a perfect place to live with that family and it's here. That's not too much to ask. If God loves me so much, like you and Miss Adela keep trying to tell me, then He'll give me what I want one day. His timing… So far, His timing stinks.”

Spinning away, she stormed toward the entrance of the barn, her thin shoulders shaking. Her pain sliced Dottie to the core.
Dear Lord, what had happened to Cassie?
Some deep pain drove everything that girl did, Dottie knew clearly now.

She had to talk to Brady.

Scrambling off her perch, she hurried from the barn, passing Jake on the way. He was standing near the house talking to Clint about building a sandbox for the toddlers. Though he was talking to Clint, she could see his gaze lingering on Cassie, who was now standing at the corner of the barn watching a cow in the pen swat flies with its tail. She made a heart-wrenching picture.

Dottie found her purse, pulled out fifty dollars, but before she headed back out to give it to Cassie, she sought out Bob. He was standing near his truck, taking
orders on the different things he needed to pick up at the lumberyard to build the playground. Dottie was glad because Brady's house needed a playground. It looked as if it were wishing for one ever since it had been built.

The fact that it should be Brady's children playing on the playground flitted through her mind, but instead she focused on the situation at hand.

Why was Bob asking Cassie to ride to town with him?

She'd thought they had an understanding, but it didn't include this closeness that appeared to be happening between the two of them. He needed to be warned that the situation was even more delicate than she'd realized.

However, before she had time to say anything, Cassie jogged up.

“Hey, Dottie, you got the cash?” All trace of her anger and tears was gone. One would never know she'd just been upset.

Dottie handed her the money and she took it, met her gaze and smiled.

“Thanks,” she said, stuffing the bills into her jeans while hurrying around to climb into the passenger seat of the truck. “Okay, Bob baby, let's hit the road.”

Bob glanced at Brady then at Dottie and lifted an eyebrow. “Cassie said you needed her to pick up a few things.”

Dottie heard the question in his voice. “Well, I—”

“Hop to, Bob, time's a-wastin'.” Cassie bounced in the seat and thumped the side of the door where she had an arm hung out the window.

Bob sighed. “We'll be back. On the quick side.”

“So, what was that all about?” Brady asked, coming up beside her and watching them pull out of the driveway.

“I'm not sure, she just asked if she could borrow some money. It seemed really important to her to buy something for the kids. The question is, what's up with Bob offering to take her—”

Brady dipped his chin and looked at her from beneath the shadow of his Stetson. It was a “just how slow are you?” kind of look.

Oh man! She should have known. “He didn't offer, did he? She told him I needed her to pick up something so she could go along with him to town!”

Brady laughed, nodding. “I think we've all been hoodwinked.”

B
rady watched the emotions play across Dottie's face as she watched Bob and Cassie pull out onto the paved road, headed toward Ranger. He had to concede that Cassie was tenacious and creative, but his heart felt heavy looking at Dottie. She wore her heart on her sleeve, and her concern for the girl was touching. But the kid would be okay, and Bob and Jake would live.

He wasn't so sure about himself.

How was he going to live in the same town with Dottie? See her walking down the street, sitting in the pew, standing on his porch, hear her laughter…

You just will.

That didn't mean it would be easy. Every second around her made it harder.

Watching her work so hard to make this ministry happen brought an even greater level of respect to the feelings he had for Dottie. She worked endlessly, she
was tired and even now she was hurting. He'd noticed her slight limp as she'd come up the path earlier. Most people wouldn't notice, because it was so faint. But he noticed everything about her. And he knew her hip had to be hurting pretty bad or she'd be able to hide the limp. The way she usually did.

That he could see even the slightest indication of one meant she was fighting hard to hide the pain or just too tired to fight it.

The woman never complained. Despite her injuries and the discomfort they still caused her, she gave her all to everything in her life.

That had been proven with the way she felt for Cassie. Her heart was expansive…he wondered if she'd always been this way or if this was a product of what she'd lived through. He couldn't imagine her any other way.

“Did you eat?” he asked. She turned toward him, glancing one last time toward the road where the truck had disappeared, then shook her head.

“Haven't made it over there yet. Listen, Cassie is telling the truth about being nineteen. I believe her completely. But her head is really mixed up when it comes to this thing she has about chasing Bob. There is something in her background fueling her every move. To her, Bob represents more stability, with his age and all.”

“You're probably right. Maybe her home life was less than desirable. It happens every day.”

Dottie looked thoughtful. “That's what I'm thinking.”

“Well, there's nothing you can do about it right now.
And you've been working like a team of ten men. So we're going to get you some food, then find a place for you to rest that hip.” Her expression of surprise was comical. “Don't look so surprised. I have eyes. Now, come on, you have to see the spread that Adela and Sam fixed.”

There wasn't anything he could do for Cassie at that moment, but he could take care of Dottie.

Still looking perplexed and worried, she fell into step beside him. “Adela and Sam have fixed a feast,” he said again.

After a moment of silence she cleared her throat. “I'm curious…are they…what would be the word? Are they courting? They never say anything, yet I can tell they're close.”

Brady nodded, more than glad that she'd changed the subject. “It's something that's been building for years, but as far as anyone can tell it'll continue to build and never materialize.”

“That's sad.”

He paused at the corner of the house. They could see Adela and Sam standing behind the table they'd set up on the back patio. Sam loved Adela. Everyone could see it. But he'd never stepped over the line that he'd drawn for himself. It was sad, but what a man did with his life was his business. “Sam must have his reasons.”

Dottie studied the two dishing up food. They worked well together and it was obvious the wiry man adored Adela. They were opposites of each other, Adela with her elegant genteel grace and Sam with his
brisk “take me or leave me” attitude. Brady wondered what Sam's story was.

What held him back from having what he wanted?

Dottie walked ahead of him toward the table, and he couldn't help wondering if his fears had merit after all. Every moment he was near her put another chink in his armor.

 

The moving truck and the van pulled onto Main Street about four o'clock on Friday afternoon. But the small crowd gathered outside Sam's went bonkers.

Esther Mae was so excited she could barely speak. Dottie thought that might be one for the
Guinness Book of World Records
it was so odd.

Then there was Norma Sue, who looked like a mother hen about to be reunited with her baby chicks. She'd about worn a hole in the plank walk outside Sam's. She'd been marching back and forth in front of the diner with one eye glued to the street, waiting for the van to appear. When it finally came around the corner, she hollered and actually jumped off the ground—not too high, but still, she did get a little air time and that counted for a woman built with the same aerodynamics as a bumblebee.

When the van came to a halt there was a mad rush toward it. Dottie was laughing when Todd hopped out and engulfed her in a bear hug.

“It's good to see you, little sister. Just seeing the town on the horizon made us all bust into smiles.”

Dottie hugged him hard, so glad to see him. “I did the same thing when I saw it. But just wait until you meet everyone. They're the people who make Mule Hollow special.” Todd released her and started shaking hands with the many being thrust his way.

“Stacy!” Dottie wrapped her arms around the thin blonde who ventured from the van first. The expression of awe on her face blessed Dottie. She prayed Stacy found peace in Mule Hollow. It was a prayer Dottie was praying for several, including herself.

“Come on, give us all a hug,” Norma Sue blurted out, her arms open wide. Stacy hesitated, then let Norma engulf her as Dottie turned back to the others, hugging each woman who stepped from the van. Chaotic introductions were made, hugs exchanged, and chatter ensued.

“Hey, baby,” Esther cooed to the little boy peeking from around the van's seat. His blue gaze blinked, lifted to the top of her head and rolled to her feet then back up. When he timidly lifted his arms out to Esther, the poor woman teared up, enveloped the curly-headed boy in an embrace and lifted him from the van. “Ohhhh, I could just eat you up, you little doll.”

“That's Gavin,” Lynn said, smiling broadly. “And this is Jack.”

Jack's hair was dark and straight, his eyes midnight blue. He followed his brother's lead and held his arms out. Norma Sue swept him up and dashed into Sam's before anyone else could steal him away from her. Adela, who'd been patiently waiting, stepped up and
took baby Bryce from Stacy as she eased him from his car seat. She spoke her welcome, patting Stacy's hand, then followed the others into the cool interior of the restaurant. Stacy was left standing alone beside the van.

Dottie watched as she soaked everything in. Dottie had expected to see more wariness from the young woman. But what she saw was curiosity and…wonder.

Carefully avoiding eye contact with the few cowboys whose schedules had allowed them to be there, Stacy scanned the streets with slow appreciation. Then she turned toward Sam's.

“Can…can I go in and look?” she asked.

In her letters, Stacy had asked many questions about the diner. “Sure you can.” Dottie waved toward the door. “They have a feast ready for all of you in there. Believe me, they want you to go in. Be sure to stick a nickel in the jukebox and see what it feels like playing today.”

She smiled then, it was a soft timid turn of the lips, hesitant, but struggling and brave. Dottie fought back tears. This girl had been through so much and here she was with eyes full of hope.

“Go on, I'll be there in just a moment.”

Stacy nodded, her gaze floating back to Sam's. “Okay. I'll see you in a minute.”

She'd started up the steps when a diaper slipped from the small bag slung over her shoulder. A group of cowboys had been standing respectfully to the side, hats in hands. Now, one of them broke from the pack like a knight in shining armor and scooped up the diaper.

“Miss, you dropped this,” he said kindly.

Stacy turned and looked from him to the diaper he held up to her where she was standing on the plank sidewalk. The man wasn't one of Mule Hollow's dashingly handsome cowboys. Instead, he was a lanky, too-thin, red-faced, bashful sort with a hesitant smile and kind, shy eyes. Dottie didn't know who looked most afraid. Stacy or the cowboy.

“Thank you,” Stacy said, barely above a whisper, reaching uneasily for the diaper, looking away at the same time.

“Welcome to Mule Hollow, Miss. I— We're glad you're here. I—” he swallowed hard “—I'm glad you're here.”

Stacy's skittish gaze move to the group of men and back to him and she nodded hesitantly. “Thank you.” Then accepting the diaper, she disappeared into the diner. The shy cowboy lingered, staring at the swinging door for a full minute before he walked away.

Wishing with all her heart that the scene could have been one of carefree ease and flickers of interest, Dottie turned back toward the others who were laughing at something Lacy was telling them, waving her hands in the air and talking faster than the speed of light.

It looked like things might work out fine.

A shaggy-headed youth was the last off the van, climbing from the back row looking as if he'd been sleeping. Rose introduced him as her son, Max. He took one hard look at everyone, spun on his heel and stalked away.

Dottie's heart went out to the kid, but she didn't know what to do for him. Brady was watching the boy, too. She caught his gaze and for a moment, understanding pulsed between them, and yet there was a steady unease growing between them. Dottie looked back toward Max, uncertain what to do for the thirteen-year-old.

It was Cassie who broke from the flock to follow Max. She jogged after him and said something that made him stop. After a few words they continued walking at a slower pace. Talking. The girl had been distant since she'd come back from Ranger with Bob. She'd not tried to talk again and Dottie didn't really know if she should push the kid or cut her some slack. In the end she'd cut her the slack. Call her a coward, but Dottie just didn't know the right approach to something like this.

“Dottie,” Rose said, stepping up beside her. “Max isn't too happy about the move. I'd guess because of the trouble he was having in school, he'd be happy to start fresh.”

“He'll be fine. Cassie knows how he feels, in a way.”

The unmistakable sound of Jake's big truck cranking up drew her attention. As he passed them, he smiled a small smile down at her from his high seat, tipped his hat then continued at a slow crawl. Dottie's heart gave a kick.

When he pulled up beside Cassie and Max, he spoke to them and slowed to a stop. Even from where she and Rose stood it was evident that whatever he'd said brought a huge smile to Max's face. The tires on the truck were almost as tall as Max and it was evident he was impressed with what he saw.

“I wonder what he said,” Rose gasped. “Max hasn't smiled like that in so long.”

Dawning hit Dottie when Cassie and Max climbed up into the huge truck.

“I believe it probably had something to do with mud.”

Rose clasped her hands together and her knuckles turned white. Suddenly feeling tremendously optimistic, Dottie hugged Rose. “Max is in good hands. Believe me, Mule Hollow may just be the place to make him start smiling all the time.”

The hope reflected in Rose's eyes was beautiful.

In that moment Dottie wanted to take the good-hearted young cowboy and hug him until she couldn't hug anymore. Jake was twenty and could have ignored Max. But, like Cassie, he'd seen a hurting kid and he'd zeroed in on making the boy's arrival special. He knew the way to a boy's heart.

All Dottie could think watching that truck disappear down the road was, if Cassie couldn't see Jake was a jewel worth grabbing, then the girl wasn't anywhere near as smart as Dottie believed her to be.