Chapter Seven
Retta leaned back against the counter in the kitchen and smiled at Kolby. “Thank you so much for this, sweetie.”
He chuckled. “I’m still not sure that it was the right move.”
“Don’t you worry, sunshine. If Callie tries to give you a hard time, I’ll set her straight.”
She’d managed to persuade him to let her cook. She’d had more than enough of sitting in the damn wheelchair, and since Callie was busy in her studio writing, she’d set to work on persuading Kolby to let her make dinner.
“I think we’ll both be in trouble, but I get it – I know you’ve had enough of being stuck in your chair.” He sniffed the air. “And from the way it smells in here, I reckon it’ll be worth a night in the doghouse.”
“Aw. I promise you you’ll love my chicken and dumplings, but no way will I let that girl blame you. This is all on me.”
“What is?” Callie asked from the kitchen doorway.
Retta winked at Kolby. “Everything! Your hubby was only doing as he was told. You can’t get mad at the man for doing his mother-in-law’s bidding.”
Callie laughed as she came to Kolby and kissed his cheek. “You’re safe; I know you can’t turn Mama down.”
Her smile faded when she turned back to Retta. “Why are you on your feet?”
Retta grinned. “Sniff the air, baby girl, then you tell me.”
“Oh my lord! You’ve been cooking? Chicken and dumplings?”
Retta nodded happily. “And if you make a fuss, there’ll be none for you, young lady.”
Callie laughed. “Okay. I’ll keep it zipped. But are you done? Can you sit back down now?”
“I suppose so. But can we find a way to prop me up at the table to eat? I don’t want to go back in that damn chair tonight.”
“Chicken and dumplings is like Southern comfort food, right?” Kolby asked.
Callie exchanged a smile with Retta as she said, “It sure is! And you are in for a treat. My mama makes the best chicken and dumplings you’ve ever tasted.”
“I can tell that I’m going to love it just by the smell, but my point was that if it’s comfort food, maybe we should get comfortable to eat it.” He cocked an eyebrow at Retta. “Should we get you set up on the sofa and we can eat in front of the TV?”
“I wouldn’t have a problem with that.” She looked at Callie, who laughed.
“You both know that I don’t have a problem with it. The only reason I’ve had us all eating in the dining room is because of the chair.”
“Then I vote that we move dinner to the living room from now on,” said Kolby. “That way you can sit comfortably.”
“Thank you, sweetie.”
“Why don’t you go and sit now, Mama? I can dish it up.”
“And I can bring everything in,” added Kolby.
“Okay.”
Kolby hovered next to her while she made her way to the living room and took the crutches while she got herself comfortable on the sofa.
“You good?”
“I am, thanks. Other than feeling guilty that I’m leaving the two of you to wait on me again.”
Kolby grinned. “There’s nothing to feel guilty about – it’s fairer this way. You cooked, Callie’s going to plate it up, and I’ll do the dishes.”
“You’re a good man, Kolby.”
He shrugged and went back to the kitchen to help Callie.
By the time they’d finished eating, Retta’s stomach and her heart were full. She loved seeing how much they enjoyed their dinner. Chicken and dumplings had been Callie’s favorite when she was a little kid, and it seemed that she still loved it just as much now. Kolby made appreciative noises, and when he went back for seconds and then thirds, she knew that he wasn’t just being polite.
Callie got up and came to take her plate. “Thank you, Mama.”
“That was amazing, thank you,” said Kolby. “Do you want anything else to drink?”
“I’m good, thanks, sweetie.”
She made herself comfortable on the sofa while they cleaned up the kitchen. The sound of their voices and laughter made her smile. She was happy and grateful that her daughter had created such a successful career for herself. Not only did she love her work, but she also made more money than she’d ever be able to spend. But Retta was even more thankful that she’d found Kolby. He was truly a good man. There was no mistaking that he loved Callie with all his heart, and not only did he want to look after her, but he’d also proven that he could do so. She shuddered at the memory of how that crazy man had taken Callie – and Kolby had put his life on the line to save her.
“Are you cold, Mama? Do you want me to fetch you a blanket?”
“I’m fine, baby girl.” She brought her hand up to cover a yawn. “I think I might take myself to bed early.”
Callie met her gaze. “Did you wear yourself out making dinner?”
She chuckled. “Maybe, but it was worth it – unless you’re going to tell me that it wasn’t.”
Callie came and perched on the edge of the sofa next to her. “You know I’m not going to say that. I can see that you’re doing better, getting stronger. I just don’t want you to overdo it.” She laughed. “And even if you did – the dinner was well worth it. You know how much I love it.”
Retta took hold of her hand. “You know, it’s been so long since we’ve been around each other like this that I wasn’t even sure if you’d still enjoy it.”
“Pft! You never need to doubt that. I might have learned to eat some fancy stuff over the years, but nothing can touch your cooking.” She squeezed Retta’s hand. “Are you really going to stick around? I’d love to think that we might get to cook together. You can teach me some of your recipes, and we can hang out in the kitchen just … doing, you know?”
Tears pricked behind her eyes as she nodded. “If I had any doubts left, you just cleared them up. I’d love that, Callie. I’d love for us to hang out and cook and just spend some time together, you know. I just … I need to … I’m going to have to go back. I’ll need to sell my house before I can …”
Callie held her hand tighter. “Don’t get mad at me, but I’m going to say it.”
“No, Callie. I …”
“Yes, Mama. Please! You have no idea how much it hurts my heart that you won’t let me help you. You know that I have more money than any one person could ever need. Why won’t you let me …”
“You have no idea how much it hurts my heart that I couldn’t give you what you needed. I still feel so guilty, Callie. I couldn’t give you enough when you were a girl, I’m not going to take from you now that you’re a woman.”
Callie blew out a sigh. “Will you stay here then? Stay with us until you sell your place in Georgia and find something here?” She shook her head. “I don’t even know what kind of place you’d be able to buy yourself here. I …”
They both looked up when Kolby cleared his throat.
Retta gave him an apologetic smile. “It’s okay, Kolby. I’m not going to take her up on that offer. It’s bad enough that you’ve been landed with your mother-in-law for this long. I won’t drag it out any longer than I need to. I’ll go home and sell my place, and then come back when I’m in a position to look for something here.”
“I enjoy having you here,” said Kolby. He gave her a rueful smile. “I’m not saying that I’d want to move you in on a permanent basis, but I don’t want you to go back to Georgia. You don’t know how long it might take to sell your house, and don’t forget that we’re expecting the baby to be here soon.”
Her heart felt like it filled up and overflowed at the mention of the baby. Her heart had broken for her daughter when it seemed like she wouldn’t be able to have children. But as with everything in life, Callie had found a way. She’d never be able to carry a child, but she wasn’t worried about that. It made sense to Retta that she and Kolby had chosen to adopt a baby from a young girl. By the sound of it that girl, who lived at the shelter in Nashville where Callie used to help out, was a lot like Retta had been – too young to become a mother.
Callie gave her a sly smile. “You really want to miss out on getting to know your grandbaby from the get-go?”
“No. I don’t – you both know that. But can you honestly tell me that you want me here in the house with you when the little one arrives?”
Kolby met her gaze and shook his head slowly. “You know I love you, but …”
She chuckled. “You wouldn’t if I were still here in the early days of bringing your little one home.”
Callie blew out a sigh. “So, will you let me …”
“I’ll figure something out.” No way did she want her daughter buying her a house. She might be able to afford it without blinking, but that wasn’t the point.
She gave Kolby a wary look when he started smirking to himself. “What?” she asked. “You look like you’re scheming, young man, and I don’t think I like it.”
He laughed. “Now, I feel like we’re really starting to become family.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“You didn’t even notice that you called me young man , in the same way that you call Callie young lady .”
She had to laugh. “Think of it as my version of the gloves coming off – and tell me what you’re smirking about.”
Callie grinned at him. “Yeah, go on – tell us. I love it when you smirk like that; it means that you’ve had one of your supersmart ideas.”
He pushed away from his spot in the doorway where he’d been leaning and came to sit on the coffee table in front of them.
“Didn’t you already tell Travis that you’re going to stay for a while and help him with the cabins?”
She frowned. “I did. Why? What’s Travis got to do with it?”
Kolby laughed. “Well, that’ll be up to you. I was thinking more about the cabins. You’re going to help him redecorate them, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And there are twelve of them?”
“There are.”
“So, are you telling me that you couldn’t stay in one of them?”
She sat back in her seat, her heart pounding. “I wouldn’t … I couldn’t … I’d never ask him to do that. The cabins are for vets … I …”
“I was only thinking until they’re all set up and ready for guests. I mean, he’s not going to start bringing people in until at least a few of them are ready. So, once you get the first one done, you could stay in it while you work on the others. And in the meantime, we can see about getting your place in Georgia sold …”
“Or just letting me buy you a place,” Callie added.
Retta inhaled sharply. “I don’t think that’s a great idea.”
Kolby met her gaze and held it. “I think it’s your best option. I mean, he could say no …”
Why did her heart sink at the prospect of Travis saying that he wouldn’t rent her one of his cabins?
“… You should take some time and think about it. But when you do, remember that if you go back to Georgia, we’re all going to miss you, and you’ll miss out on becoming a part of your grandchild’s life from the very beginning. If you stay here with us, there’s the chance that we’ll all get on each other’s nerves, and spoil things. And if you take one of Trav’s cabins …”
She shook her head at him. “And I thought you were such a sweetie.”
He laughed. “I am! I’m sweet enough to try and talk you into doing what you already know is best.”
She pursed her lips. It did make sense. If she were going to be working for someone else, if someone other than Travis owned the cabins, she’d propose that she should stay there in a heartbeat.
Callie squeezed her hand. “If you’re not comfortable with it – with asking Travis. Or with going to stay there, we can come up with something else. I don’t want you to leave here yet anyway – you’re not ready to be on your own. You need …”
Retta laughed. “And there’s the final push – if I go over there, I’ll be in charge of my own fate again.”
Callie rolled her eyes, and Kolby laughed. “You’ll have a bit more freedom, but we’ll both still be hovering – I told you, we don’t want to get rid of you.”
“I know.” She covered her mouth when another big yawn came out of nowhere. “I really am pooped, kids. I’m going to take myself to bed.”
Callie got up and offered her hand, but Retta ignored it and managed to get to her feet by herself. “If I’m going to be out on my own soon, I need to start being more independent.”
“Aww, don’t say it like that, Mama!”
Kolby laughed and passed Retta her crutches. “Fly, little bird, fly!”
Retta laughed with him. “See, I knew you couldn’t wait to get rid of your mother-in-law!”
“You know I love you, really.”
“Aww, I do sweetie. I love you both. Goodnight.”
~ ~ ~
Travis whistled happily to himself as he drove up Trip’s long driveway on Sunday morning. The gravel road ran alongside the creek for a quarter of a mile. The cottonwood trees that lined the creek seemed to wave to him in greeting. Maybe that was a fanciful idea, but it didn’t feel that way to him. Those trees were like old friends – lifelong friends. He and Trip had played in the creek in their shade, climbed them – and fallen out of them – since they were little kids.
Trip’s family had been good to him. Trip’s dad was a big-time movie star back in the day. He was one of a few celebrities who’d bought up some of the ranches in the valley. And one of only a handful who’d stayed and made their lives here.
Travis still remembered the first time his own dad had brought him over to see his new buddy. His dad had muttered to himself all the way up the driveway. He’d stopped the truck, convinced that they were in the wrong place when they rounded the bend and saw the ranch house for the first time. His dad was a good man, and a hard worker. Travis had always thought that his dad provided them with a very nice home on the edge of town. That home was a single-wide in a trailer park, and it’d taken a few more years of growing up and being around kids whose families had more money before Travis had understood how other people saw it.
The funny thing was, Trip’s family probably had more money than the rest of the families in town put together, but they’d always made him feel welcome here. And more than that, both of Trip’s parents would hang out in the trailer with his own folks when they came to pick Trip up.
He smiled to himself when the truck emerged from the trees, rounding the bend so that the house came into sight. He understood how people tended to see things now – that his family had been poor, and so most looked down on them, while Trip’s family was rich. He was grateful that what seemed like a difference between them had never made any difference between the two of them, or to their friendship.
Trip came outside to greet him when he stopped the truck.
“Hey, bud. I hope you’re hungry. Maisy’s been cooking up a storm. I told her we could invite the whole valley over for a brunch buffet with the amount of food she’s prepared.”
Travis grinned. “You know me – always hungry. And I’ll eat as much as I can, just to show my appreciation.”
“Come on in.”
Travis followed him inside, and Trip led him to the kitchen. He went straight to Maisy and wrapped her in a hug before stepping back.
“How you doing, Miss Maisy?”
The older woman reached up and pinched his cheek as if he were still a small boy.
“All the better for seeing you, my little duke.”
He laughed. She used to call Trip her little prince when they were kids, and he didn’t think she’d ever called him Travis since she found out that his last name was Duke.
“It makes my heart happy to know that you’re finally home to stay. I’ve been hoping and praying that you’d retire from that dangerous business and come back here where you belong.”
“It was time,” he told her. “What about you? When are you going to retire and make this guy learn to fend for himself?”
She chuckled. “I am retired. I just get bored. Sometimes, I come on over and cook – and he doesn’t seem to mind.”
“I don’t mind you coming over; you know I enjoy your company, but you don’t need to cook for me.”
Maisy arched an eyebrow. “Are you turning down my breakfast? Because if you are, I can pack it all up and give it to Dukie here, to take with him.”
“No way! You know I’m going to enjoy every last scrap.”
“And so you should. I enjoy your company too but not so much that I could just sit around on my ass and talk to you.” She smiled at Travis. “If I sit for too long these days, I struggle to get going again. I’m better to keep moving – and what better way than to be cooking?”
“I can’t think of a better way. You were born to cook – it’s your gift to the world.”
Maisy beamed at him before turning back to Trip. “You hear that? You should take lessons from him. He always was the charmer.” She checked her watch. “You boys grab yourselves a plate. I need to be on my way, or I’ll be late for church.”
They walked her out the back to her car, a little Chevy SUV that Travis didn’t remember seeing before. She kissed each of them on the cheek before she climbed in and drove away with a cheery wave.
“I didn’t think she still worked for you.”
Trip laughed. “She doesn’t – she hasn’t for a while now, but she misses it. She wasn’t joking that she just comes over to visit and the next thing I know she’s busy in the kitchen.”
Travis cocked an eyebrow. “Does that mean you really are fending for yourself?”
“No. Between the clinic and the hospital, I don’t have the time to cook and clean. Maisy’s niece took over from her. She comes three days a week and leaves me food prepped for the days she isn’t here.”
Travis shook his head. “It’s weird; I feel like I should know details like that about your life.”
Trip grasped his shoulder. “And now that you’re home again, you will. Want to load yourself a plate and we can eat out back?”
Once they were seated on the back deck, Travis tucked in to the wonderful breakfast. “I don’t know about the niece leaving you prepped meals, I bet you could live on leftovers from this breakfast for the rest of the week.”
Trip laughed. “I might have to load you up with the leftovers and send them home with you. Anita gets mad when she knows that Maisy’s been over here cooking for me.”
“So, you have women fighting over you, wanting to take care of you?”
“In a way.”
“But not the way you’d like?”
Trip shrugged. “I don’t like women fighting in any way – you know that.”
“Yeah. Sorry.” Travis knew he should have phrased it differently. Trip’s ex-wife had caused all kinds of fights over the years. It was still a sore subject.
“No need. If we’re going to talk about women, I’d rather hear what’s going on with you. What’s happening with Retta?”
He grinned. “Nothing much – not yet, but I’m hopeful.”
“She’s convinced about staying then?”
“Yep. Kolby called me this morning. Apparently, she was thinking that she’d need to go back to Georgia to put her house on the market. They’ve managed to convince her that she can take care of that in slower time. But she still doesn’t want to stay with them – the baby’s going to be here soon.”
“So, what does she plan to do?”
“Get this – Kolby told me he’s convinced her that she should ask me if she can rent one of the cabins from me, since she’s going to be helping me with getting them ready.”
“And you’re going to rent one to her?”
He grinned. “Nope.”
Trip laughed. “What then?”
“I’m going to wait until she asks, and then I’m going to suggest that she should stay in the house with me instead.”
“You think she’ll go for that? And more importantly, are you sure that you’re ready for that kind of commitment?”
“It’s not the kind of commitment you think it is. She shouldn’t be on her own just yet – not with the cast on her leg still. She needs someone around, just in case – and who better than me? I figure this way we can share space with each other while we see if we want to make the kind of commitment you’re talking about.”
“I like it,” said Trip. “It makes sense from a practical point of view, and it’ll give you both the chance to scope things out before you lock yourselves in.”
“Yep. To be fair, if it were up to me, I think I’m ready to jump in with both feet and see how it pans out. But there’s no way she’d go for that yet.”
“I can see that.” Trip shook his head with a smile.
“What?”
“Just … you. You haven’t been home for five minutes and look at you. You’ve found yourself a home. You’ve set Ty and his girl, Shay, up with jobs. You’re giving Libb a chance to leave Mav’s place and still keep doing what she loves. You’re creating a kind of sanctuary place for vets to come and decompress and now, it looks like you’ve found yourself a woman as well.”
He set his fork down and met his friend’s gaze. “Yeah. I’ve been ready to come home for a long time. I guess I waited too long, and now that I’m here I want to do it all at once.”
Trip smiled at him. “I couldn’t be happier for you Trav – and I’ve got your back. If you need anything, you let me know, okay?”
“You’ve already done enough. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it, if it weren’t for you.”
It was true. Travis had saved every penny he could while he was in the Navy. After he retired, he’d had a nice little nest egg, and Trip had helped him to grow it. He didn’t know the first thing about investing, but Trip did. Travis had trusted him with everything he had, and by investing it alongside his own money, Trip had made Travis a richer man than he’d ever hoped he might be.
“I wouldn’t be alive still if it weren’t for you. And I wasn’t just talking about money, anyway. Anything you need – whatever you need, I’ve got you.”
“Thanks, bud. Same goes.”