Chapter Three
Alma
Papa continued to glare at me as I finished my granola bar and coffee. I had to tell him where I was last night and who had hired me. Originally, I had wanted to stay in a hotel while on vacation down here, but Mama would have been offended had I turned down her direct order to come home to stay. Now, I realized it was because they… well, mainly Papa, are going to be having a revolving door of potential husbands coming in and out.
“I’m going to work.” I announced, becoming tired of the death stare I was receiving.
“At the Chambers.” He finished for me.
“Stop, Papa. Mr. Chambers has been good to you and to me. Why are you being like this? Especially since he needs help.”
His face doesn’t waver. “I know how good he’s been, but I’m speaking of Austin.”
Rolling my eyes right now would have been a huge mistake, and I refrained from it. “I’m not there for Austin. I probably won’t even see him. My job is with Mr. Chambers and getting him back onto his feet. Nothing else.”
He grunted. “I clearly remember what happened your last time on the ranch.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and hoped a headache wasn’t forming. “Papa, please. It was a long time ago and we’ve all moved on.”
“You’re not married.” He stated.
“I’m… I…” I sighed. “I’m going to work.” I kissed his cheek then Mama’s before grabbing my bag and keys and heading out to my car.
I tried not to dwell on his words, but I clearly remembered what happened my last night on the ranch. Austin and I had been in a deep love affair with each other for almost a year. He was older, smarter, and determined to make the ranch the best there was around. I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. We’d known each other all our lives since I spent almost every waking moment on the ranch when Papa was forcing me into some new school program or activity.
When Austin came home from graduating college, my heart would stop every time I saw his blue eyes. He was tall, muscular and nothing like the boys my parents were shoving my way. It all started out very innocent. He would talk about his college experiences, mostly when I helped to clean out the barn or weed the garden.
One day he asked me to ride out with him to check on the cattle. Papa and Mr. Chambers were away on business in the city, and I agreed. Deep down, I dreamt of Austin and me becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. I wanted him to be my first real kiss. Some of those boys Papa brought over would try to make a move, but I had always been able to dodge them. We had taken the horses all the way out to the furthest part of the field. The sun had been bright overhead, and the sounds of birds were like nature’s own music station. It was there we first kissed. I was sixteen and he was twenty-three.
I pulled onto the gravel driveway and into the same spot I’ve parked since I had been able to drive, my lips still stinging from our first kiss. The memory was as clear as glass. I blinked back the tears that were creeping up and took a deep breath. I wasn’t here to relive memories. I had a job to do, and I was going to complete it and then get out of here.
As I opened the car door, a familiar howl came from under the porch. My cheeks hurt from the smile that appeared on my face from seeing fat ol’ Hewitt coming out. I bent down as he waddled over to me. I loved this dog. Papa and Mama would never let me have pets because we all worked so much it would have been neglected. Hewitt had been my first real animal. I claimed him as mine when Mr. Chambers brought him as a puppy to the ranch.
He climbed right into my lap and I kissed the top of his head. He kept nudging me and licking me. It made me laugh.
“I’m glad I gave him a bath last night or you’d be a dirty mess.”
I looked behind and the silhouette of Austin was above me. “He’s fine.” I had to squint because the sun was bright.
He walked around to face me but didn’t kneel down. “How are you today?”
“I’m well. Thanks for asking.” I moved Hewitt off my lap and stood up, brushing the dust off me. “And you?”
“Fine.” His response was blunt.
“Great.” I turned away from him and used the key fob to open my trunk. I had two large bags I toted around with me when I visited patients.
“Do you need help?”
“No.” I tell him, shrugging the bag higher onto my shoulder. “I do it all the time.” I slammed down the trunk and made my way to the house. “Nice to see you, Austin.”
He was about to say something but stopped when Papa’s big truck came barreling down the drive. Together we watched him slow down, glaring at us both.
“Good morning, Mr. Villanueva.” Austin waved at him, but he continued his slow drive stare down before taking off toward the ranch hands building. “Your father still hates me. No matter what I’ve done for him. He barely speaks to me.”
“Don’t worry about it. Every time he talks to me is to see when I’m getting married or going to start having kids.”
“Oh.” Austin’s face was in shock. “You’re not married?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m…” I stopped before volunteering I was single. I didn’t want him to know the truth of how I think about him night after night. “I went out on a date last night.” I left out the part it was a disaster and I left the guy sitting at the kitchen table to rush over here.
“That’s… that’s nice.”
“I like to play the field.” What? Did I really just say that aloud?
“You?” He furrowed his brow. He knew of my dreams to be with only one guy. I didn’t necessarily have to be married, but I enjoyed serious relationships.
“Times change, right?” I played it off as no big deal. “What about you? Are you married?”
“No,” he said. “Just married to the ranch.”
He sounded like his dad. “Well, I better get going. Come on, Hewitt.” I called the hound dog in.
“He can’t really get up the stairs.” Austin went to reach for him, but the dog was already halfway up the stairs. “Really, Hewitt?”
I giggled. “You just have to be assertive with him.”
He stared at me for a beat. Austin didn’t like hiding our relationship. He wanted the world to know. On my last night on the ranch, it was his line he used on me when we talked about telling Papa. Austin’s dream was different than mine in one aspect.
“Yeah, I guess you know how to be assertive with men.” His face dropped as he walked away from me. He was thinking of the same memory as I had been.
I watched him for a moment and thought about the day I left him. Did he stare at me as I ran – literally ran – away from him? I shook my head free of the memories and focused on the job I have.
Mr. Chambers was sitting on the side of his bed, ready to go. I wished all my patients had his go get ’em attitude. Sadly, some have more severe results than his. I could see him back on his feet, walking the ranch. He probably wouldn’t be able to work like he had, but he’d be able to walk. His smile greeted me, and I gave him a hug.
I began, with Hewitt’s help, to unpack my items that I needed. I did a full evaluation on Mr. Chambers before going over the plan I had already set up for him. He seemed to be on board with everything I planned.
“Let’s get started.” He told me.
His right side was the worst. I had a two pound hand dumbbell for him, and I set it in his palm. He attempted to clasp his hand around it but was unable to.
“Go slow. This isn’t a race. Hay wasn’t made in a day.” I winked as he chuckled. He would always tell me that.
“You’re right.” He tried again and this time he could close his hand, but I could see the struggle.
But he did it.
“Great job. Let’s see if you can lift it, just a little.”
Going slowly, he was able to make a bit of progress.
For the next hour or so, we tried a couple of activities and he seemed to do well. I knew he would, but he was tiring himself out. I told him to lay down and rest, and I would come back and check on him in a little bit.
I strolled through the house and smiled at the same furniture and smells. I made my way out to the back porch and saw two buckets of slob for the pigs. Austin hadn’t fed them yet. I grabbed a pair of spare of gloves and took them out myself. The pig pen smelled horrible, but the pigs and hogs were incredible. Many people don’t even realize how intelligent they are.
I gasped when one of the hogs came out of the barn. He came right up to me. Hogs are stubborn at times but there was something about this one.
“Hearts.” I patted his head. He was mainly pink but on his right side there was a spot of black in the shape of a heart, so I named him Hearts.
“You don’t have chores here.”
I spun around and Austin had his arms crossed, glaring at me. I could tell he had been spending too much time with Papa because of his glare. “I’m letting your dad rest, and I thought I could help out for a moment.”
He doesn’t say anything.
“You never slaughtered him.” It wasn’t a question. Hearts was huge. He weighed at least six hundred pounds. I knew how much money he was worth.
Austin shrugged. “No, I didn’t.”
“Why?” My question came out faster than I could stop it.
He doesn’t say anything to me for several seconds. “I have work to do. Thanks for helping out but don’t worry about anything except for Dad.” He quickly turned and left me standing there wondering if there was a part of him that still cared for me.