Chapter Seventeen
Mae covered a yawn with the back of her hand and headed out of the kitchen. “Okay, kids, it’s time for my Sunday nap, so no loud music or stomping around upstairs.”
“Put your earplugs in, woman,” Cleo told her.
“Don’t you talk to me in that tone,” Mae snapped.
“Meet me under the tree,” Walker whispered.
“Are you sure you still want to talk to me in the mood I’m in?” Tina asked.
“We might as well figure out what’s going on,” he answered. “Does it have to do with your mother? I thought we were finished with that.”
Tina picked up her shoes at the door, went outside without answering him, and sat down on the porch step to put them on.
Why were men so dense? Didn’t he realize that she had looked forward to spending the morning with him and finding closure when the tree branch was gone?
And why didn’t he bring home a bigger piece of the wood?
She needed something a helluva lot bigger than one little stick to make a picture frame.
She really wanted a new one for the photo of her, Walker, and Gracie on the night they graduated from high school.
They were standing under the Tomorrow Tree, and she had always kept the picture on a nightstand or dresser wherever she lived.
“I would have picked out a piece of wood big enough to make a special frame for it,” she muttered as she tied her shoes and walked across the street.
She sat down under the tree and picked up a few shavings left behind from the chain saw.
She splayed her fingers, let it all filter through like sand, and then looked up at the scar on the tree again.
“If I’d known when I sat on that limb a few weeks ago it would be my last time, I would have stayed longer. ”
Walker seemed to amble across the street, as if he had no place to go and all day to get there.
Had she not been in an emotional state, she would have enjoyed watching him for a few extra minutes, but not that moment.
One part of her wanted to haul him right back upstairs and straight into her bedroom, but the other side wanted to yell at him.
He finally sat down beside her. “You seem to have more on your mind than I do, so you go first.”
“I wanted to help with the tree. No, that’s not right—I needed to do it so I would have closure,” she said.
“I’m sorry,” Walker said. “Since seeing it looking so pitiful made you so sad, I thought I was helping you get closure by not having to cut into it.”
“Guess I should have spoken up,” she whispered.
“You’ve never had a problem speaking your mind before. I liked you the way you were, but some of that sassiness you used to have has seemed to disappear. I was glad that you didn’t let Sabrina use you for a doormat today.”
“Maybe the old me is surfacing.” She could hear a little edge in her voice.
“I hope so. I really liked that Tina,” Walker said.
“Oh, really? How much did you like her?” Tina pushed the issue to see if he would admit to what Yolanda had told her.
“About as much as she liked me, I suppose,” he answered.
Evidently, he wasn’t ready to own up to the fact that he had a crush on her, and the anger started to trickle away. “How long will it take for that ugly scar to heal?”
“More than a year.”
“If it was my past, I guess I shouldn’t expect it to fade overnight, should I?”
“No, ma’am,” he answered. “And now it’s my turn to talk. Lyle and I had quite a conversation this morning. Maybe all he needed was for someone to listen, but what I advised him helped me.”
“Oh, yeah, and what was that?”
“I told him to be honest with himself about his future and to stand by whatever decision he made. He needs to realize that it’s his life, to follow his own dreams, and not let a girlfriend or even his folks keep him from doing so.”
Tina wasn’t sure what he was getting at, but she nodded. “I agree, and wish someone had pounded that into my head when I was his age.”
“So do I,” Walker said. “What would you have done different?”
“If I knew then what I know now, I’m not sure I would have gone to college.
I was too young to know what I wanted to do, so I would have liked a gap year to figure out things,” she answered.
“But I could tell my folks wanted me out of their hair, and it seemed like the best option at the time. What about you?”
“I would have probably done the same. Do you wonder what our future might have been if we had?” he asked.
“Sometimes, but we won’t ever really know the answer, will we?” She picked up another fistful of sawdust mingled with wood shavings. “This is all that’s left of the bad past. The scar is the reminder to never let it happen again and to be happy.”
Walker finally grinned. “Even when Sabrina makes you want to bite her head off?”
She scooted over closer to him. “I refuse to let her take my happiness or my peace. She’s not worth it. However, on occasion I might turn the old Tina O’Grady loose on her.”
He slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to his side. “That’s my girl.”
Gracie was so excited when she and Dakota were back inside the camper and headed home that she could hardly wait for Tina to answer her phone. When it went to voicemail, she seriously thought about throwing the blasted thing out the window.
“Are you having second thoughts?” Dakota asked.
“Not at all. Why would you say that?”
“Your expression went from the top of a mountain down to the bottom of the ocean in a split second. Were you calling Tina?” he answered.
“Yes, and—” Her phone rang before she could say another word. She touched the screen and Tina’s face appeared.
“Where are you?” Gracie asked.
“At work, and I had to finish with a customer. Are you all right? Did you get the job, or do you have to wait to find out?” Tina asked.
“We have both been hired, and I got to see my classroom and the house, and it’s so cute, two bedrooms, and I can’t wait to get moved up here, and .
. .” She stopped to catch her breath. “Dakota looked at the classroom he’ll use, and his office as principal, and I’m in love with the place as well as with this man who is sitting beside me.
You have to come visit me when we get settled. Maybe at Christmas.”
“Not on Christmas Day,” Tina laughed. “Mae and Cleo would murder me if I missed the holidays with them. Besides, you are coming home for Christmas, remember?”
“Be happy for me, then,” Gracie said. “And yes, we’ll have two weeks’ break for the holidays, so we’ll come home for a few of those days.”
“I am so happy for you,” Tina insisted.
“Your face doesn’t show it.”
Tina put on a cheesy smile. “Is that better?”
“Not really, but it’s better than the other one. I hate leaving you when you just got home, but I’m so happy, and I couldn’t bear it if you aren’t,” Gracie said.
“I will do my best,” Tina said, “and we’ll FaceTime and message back and forth every day. I’ve got some good gossip to tell you already.”
Gracie stared at the screen for a good ten seconds before she spoke. “I’ve only been gone for a day. What could happen in that length of time?”
Tina told her about Sabrina’s hopes being dashed because Brother James was about to leave town and a married couple might be moving into the parsonage.
“Good enough for her. I can’t believe that you went to the same church as she and Iris do when they’ve both been so hateful,” Gracie said.
“Oh, there’s more to the story, and Cleo and Mae might need me to help if things go from bad to worse.” Tina went on to tell her what had happened in church yesterday morning. “How many more hours until you get home?”
“We haven’t left the reservation, but we are on the road. We’ll be at the family gathering in another hour,” Gracie answered.
“One more thing. Walker and Lyle trimmed up our Tomorrow Tree. The scar where the limb was isn’t pretty, and I was angry when I decided to go to church,” she admitted.
“I figured you would help with that,” Gracie said.
“I intended to . . . ,” she said, and told her the rest of that story.
“I think Walker might . . .” Tina’s picture disappeared and was gone for a couple of seconds, then popped back up. “Bad reception out here. We’ll have to talk when we get back.” Gracie ended the call.
“Feel better?” Dakota asked.
“Yes, I do, and I’ll be even better when we move into our own house up here,” she said.
He stopped the truck on the side of the road, got out, and rounded the front end.
The only thing that came to Gracie’s mind was that they had a flat tire, which would most likely mean unhooking the trailer and spending a lot of time fixing it.
He opened her door and reached across her body to unfasten her seat belt.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I hope nothing,” Dakota replied, and kissed her on the cheek as he took her hand in his and helped her get out of the truck. “We are about to leave the reservation, and I want to do this while we are here.”
He kept her hand in his while he dropped down on one knee. “Grace Ruiz, I love you with my whole heart, mind, and soul. We’ve talked about marriage, but it’s time for me to ask you properly. Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” she squealed without a moment’s hesitation. “A thousand times, yes.”
He slipped a ring with a turquoise set in silver filigree work onto her finger. “My great-grandfather gave this to my great-grandmother when he proposed to her. My grandfather used it to propose to my grandmother, and then my father gave it to my mother. My mama gave it to me to give to you.”
“I will cherish this forever, but shouldn’t it belong to your oldest brother?” she asked.
“No, the youngest son in our family gets the ring. That’s their inheritance,” he explained as he stood up and tipped her chin up with his fist. He looked deeply into her eyes and then lowered his lips to hers for a kiss that sealed their engagement.
Walker could tell that Tina knew something was lying heavy on his heart. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but that didn’t come easy. Not when he’d kept his feelings locked up for so long.