Wandering Heart (7 page)

"I could, yes.
But that isn't the purpose, and you know it. We've been over this
many times, Josh. I want you and Greg to get to know one another.
You know he and I are going to be married in a few months. We'll be
a real family then. We'll probably go to Washington to live. It'll
be exciting for you."

Josh
frowned.

"You promised
you'd make an effort, Josh. And how can you if you don't go?
Besides, you might discover that you and Greg have a few things in
common, too. Have you seen his magnificent train set? It's huge. He
built it on a big billiard table that was too scarred to play on.
Besides, you can always play tennis if you get bored. Give him a
chance, Josh, for my sake. He's trying," she pleaded, but, seeing
his frustration growing, she stopped.

Josh shrugged.
"He won't let anyone touch that train, Mom. That's the way
everything is in his house. You can look but don't touch. What kind
of house is that?" He must have seen the look of disdain on his
mother's face. He nodded. "Okay. Just don't expect me to play
tennis. That game is for sissies."

She couldn't
stop the laugh. "All right, that's fair enough." She indulged her
son momentarily, only managing to embarrass him further. "You
really like Coop don't you?"

Josh eyed her a
moment, as though studying the question with mild curiosity. "Sure,
he's a regular guy. Who wouldn't? I mean he knows so much about
stuff. Did you know he could sew?"

"Sew?" She
shook her head. "No, I didn't."

"He was in the
Air Force. That's where he learned how."

"And you think
learning the piano is bad?"

"Yeah, but he
says people have to learn to do a lot of things too. Besides, I
like him 'cause we spend a lot of time together. He teaches me
stuff. Don't you like him?"

She hesitated,
and then nodded. "Well, yes, of course I like him."

"And can he
ever play ball."

"Oh and when
does he have time to play ball?"

"Late in the
afternoons, sometimes, when we're through with chores. We go out in
the yard and have a fast game of pitch, like you and I used to do.
He makes sure I get my lessons first and wash my hands before I
eat, too. Boy, you ought to see his backhanded loop. He's teaching
me how. Wait until Tim and Pete get a load of it. Did you see the
way he patched Partner the other day?"

"Patched
Partner?" she cried. "Partner was hurt?"

She hadn't
noticed! Dear God, how could she not notice something like that?
She had noticed he was lying down a lot lately, but had no idea
why. Even though Partner was an outside dog and he didn't hang
around the house much, she until should have noticed. Josh had been
feeding him lately, too, which surprised her since she usually had
to remind him. Until, she loved that dog. She was definitely
neglecting a few important things.

Perhaps she was
putting in too much time at the office. After all, she wasn't
Greg's executive secretary; that was Maxine Taylor's job. She
didn't have to work overtime she reasoned. Perhaps a little quality
time at home might do some good.

Josh rolled his
eyes. "Yeah. He got caught in the barbed wire out back. Cut up
pretty bad. He was chasing something out of the hen-house but we
never found out what. Coop doctored him like a real vet and he let
me help. You should have been there, Mom."

Angela was so
busy reprimanding herself she barely heard Josh's next words.

"He knows so
much about everything. Not just the land, but how to take care of
things. He knows how to make things work. He says maintenance is
more important than anything on a farm. But you know it's kinda
weird though. I mean the other day and all. He knew Partner was in
trouble almost before it happened. Yeah, I saw him look up, while
we were mending the fence and all of a sudden he was running. I
didn't know what was wrong, so I took off after him."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, and he
knows when you're on your way home, too. It's like he's psychic or
something."

"Really? He's
probably just more conscious of the time than you are, honey."

"Yeah, maybe,
but he never checks his watch." He paused. "I think he sort of
likes you."

"We're friends,
Josh, I told you that."

"No, I mean I
think he really likes you."

"Why do you say
that?"

"I don't know.
It's just a feeling. And the way he looks at you. But you know why
I like him the most?"

"Why?"

"Because he's
the one person who talks to me about Dad. I mean, besides you. I
can ask him anything, and if he doesn't know the answer, he'll
think about it and let me know later. And he don't mind answering
questions. He don't treat me like a kid."

"Doesn't."

"Right,
doesn't."

Angela smiled
sadly, realizing how much Josh needed a father figure in his life,
and wishing it was Greg he was bragging about.

"You know,
Josh, sometimes parents have to be the bad guys. Like now. I'm
sorry, but you're until going to have to march on over to Mrs.
York's and take your lessons this afternoon, understand?"

Josh frowned
and nodded grudgingly. "Okay. Oh, wait, there's Pete and Tim. I
gotta go, Mom. See you."

He was out of
the truck almost before she pulled to the curb. She watched him
greet his friends and give her a backward wave before she pulled
away from the curb. She knew he was upset about the piano lessons
and that he hated it, but he did need to learn something besides
farming.

Heading for the
office she felt down. If only Josh would try a little harder to get
along with Greg. And if only Greg would make a special effort
toward Josh and effort like Cooper made. The men in her life
weren't co operating.

*****

That evening,
before sundown, as she drove down the long drive to the circular
driveway in front of the hundred-year-old farmhouse, she noticed
Cooper and Josh playing ball by the side of the house. She stood by
the truck watching them for a few minutes. Josh was right. Cooper
did have a terrific backhand.

Wanting to
spend a little more time with Josh, she sauntered around the house
toward them.

"Hey, guys,
what are you doing?"

"Just messing
around, want to join us?" Cooper invited.

"Sure, why not?
Let me change my clothes and I'll be right out." She dashed inside,
threw on her grubby pair of jeans and a worn-out sweatshirt that
had an Aggie phrase on the front of it, and ran out of the house,
breathless.

"You didn't
have to rush, we aren't going anywhere," Cooper teased.

"Let's bat a
few," Josh suggested. He grabbed his bat from the side of the house
and found a good position.

"You want to
umpire, or pitch?" Cooper asked her.

"I'll be the
bad guy."

"Call 'em like
you see 'em," Cooper laughed.

They were two
strikes, one ball and three out of bounds. Josh flexed his arms,
and took position. Angela hunched down, giving the signal for one
more pitch.

Then without
warning, everything went black. All she remembered was Cooper
pitching a slightly curved ball, and Josh swinging. The ball went
up, and when it came down, she was out cold on the ground.

At least that
was what Cooper and Josh said happened, as she struggled for
consciousness.

She reached for
her eye, and flinched. "Oh, I must have forgotten to duck."

"Hey, she's got
a real shiner there. I think we better get her in the house and
take care of that right away." Cooper picked Angela up off the
ground and carried her into the house.

"I can walk,
really I can," she protested, then touched her head with a slight
groan.

"No problem.
You're light as a feather," he said smiling down at her.

CHAPTER
SIX

An hour later
she basked in a warm tub of fragrant bath oils, squinting to see,
and trying to ignore the headache that seemed to make her whole
face and head throb.

The day had
worried her. She fussed with Greg more than she cared to admit. And
worse until, she no longer responded to him the way she used to.
There was no fire in their relationship. Lately, he had been too
busy to give her much attention, and their relationship seemed on
hold due to his campaign. Until, a woman without a man in her life
for ten years needed fire. Perhaps working with him had taken
something away from the intimacy. That made sense.

Her eyes closed
and before she realized it, fell fast asleep.

It was a
restless sleep where dreams become reality. The same dream that had
haunted her for months came alive. And for once, she relaxed and
let it take over. She wasn't up to fighting it after being hit with
a baseball.

He was with
her; her dream lover. This man filled her with his love, not quite
physically, yet spiritually. It felt so complete, so right. Just
being near him seemed to fill her with a calm she rarely felt. A
love so pure, so very right. If only she could see the man's face,
put a name to him. Why did this lovely dream haunt her so? He was
her knight in shining armour, always saving her from near
disaster.

She could have
lost herself even deeper but the back door slamming had her head
coming off the back of the claw foot tub and reaching for a towel.
She dried quickly and slipped into the comfort of her soft, blue
terry robe, so she could go to her room and dress. She silently
scolded herself for taking a bath in the guest room, but she loved
the old tub.

As she pattered
quickly, and quietly, toward her bedroom, a soft sultry voice
startled her into awareness. She whirled about to see Cooper
standing in the hallway staring after her, a crooked smile playing
on his rugged face. She suddenly noticed he had cut his hair. Dear
God, could it be that he was even more handsome now?

"Hard day,
huh?"

"Y…yes, as a
matter of fact it was."

"Thought so.
You don't usually take a bath in the guest room. How's the
eye?"

"Better. When
did you cut your hair?" she blurted out without thinking.

"Yesterday
afternoon. I'm getting too old for that long hair stuff,
anyway."

"It looks
nice," she barely uttered. "It's the first time you've had short
hair since I've known you."

"Well, it looks
like my rowdy days are over. I guess I've quit bucking the
system."

"Ah, what a
shame, I kinda liked the rebel in you," she said with a chuckle as
she continued to her bedroom.

He laughed too.
"Want lemonade?" he called after her.

"Sounds great.
Did you make it?"

"No, actually
Josh made it."

"Oh, where is
Josh?"

"Over at Tim's
right now. Remember it's another one of those teacher days. We
finally broke that baler down and put it back together again. The
boys had a blast. They looked like two greased pigs before we were
through. Tim went home an hour or so before you got home. Josh said
Tim had a lot of chores to do this evening and Josh felt he should
help him since he helped us. So anyway, I let him go. He promised
to be home around seven thirty.

"Did he ride
his bike over?"

"As a matter of
fact they both did."

"Good. I don't
like him walking after dark."

"I can go get
him if it gets too dark."

"That's okay.
I'm sure he'll be home on time. He's very reliable."

"He's a good
kid."

As Angela slid
into a pair of soft worn jeans and a favorite T-shirt she smiled,
enjoying the extreme change of clothes. "Hey, I've got a stew in
the crock-pot. How 'bout I make a pan of corn bread to go with
it?"

"Sounds great
to me. I've gotten a whiff of it several times today, and I've got
to tell you it made my mouth water. You're a very good cook. Did
your mother teach you?"

Her bra had
rubbed her raw all day, and she tossed it on the bed, deciding not
to wear it. She was at home, and she was so small up top, no one
bothered to notice if she wore a bra or not.

No one but
Cooper, she suddenly realized as she came out of her room. His eyes
seem drawn like a target to her as she passed him in the hallway.
She certainly didn't like the way her body was responding to that
look either.

"As a matter of
fact, she taught me quite a lot. And what she didn't, I improvised.
And I got a few unusual tips from my uncle."

She headed
straight for the kitchen to turn on the oven. Cooper followed and
handed her a glass of lemonade when he caught up with her.

"What happened
between you and your folks, if you don't mind me asking?" He
changed the subject.

Angela stopped
what she was doing and turned to look at him. "It's a long story
but, when Raif died and left me pregnant, they were horrified. They
couldn't believe it had happened so fast. They had such plans for
my life. They just knew Raif and I wouldn't last. Especially Daddy.
I was going to amount to something, he had preached. But being
pregnant threw a loophole in his plans for me. How could I continue
my education and succeed in life with a child? How could I find and
marry a rich doctor with someone else's child on my hands?
Everything seemed to revolve around the fact that I was pregnant.
They," she paused, closing her eyes for a long moment, and then
resumed, "they wanted me to have an abortion."

Cooper's mouth
fell open in surprise. "I don't believe it."

"Neither did I.
But they refused to think I could make anything of myself if I had
the responsibility of a child. Looking at it from their point of
view, and the fact that I was their only child, maybe I could
understand some of it. They wanted the good life for me. Daddy had
preached it from the time I was little. 'You must always aim high,'
he would say. But, it just so happened I didn't believe in
abortion. I until don't."