A Family Name (15 page)

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," Charlotte
said. She glanced around the wide expanse of land stretched out in
front of her. She thought she could see dust on the narrow strip of
road that led to the southern pastures. A moment later, Bill's
battered pickup truck swung to a stop in front of them. Lexi threw
open the passenger side door and climbed into the back seat, and
Charlotte climbed up front.

"Where are we going to eat, Grandpa?" Lexi
asked as she clicked her seatbelt into place. "I'm starving."

"You just had four cookies. How on earth can
you be hungry?" Charlotte gave Lexi a teasing smile.

Lexi's expression turned silly as she crossed
her eyes. "I'm a growing girl. And a growing girl needs food. I
repeat, I
needs
the food."

Lexi dissolved into giggles, and Charlotte
laughed along with her. Nothing was nicer than seeing the young
girl happy. It made Charlotte's heart sing. When she glanced at
Bill, she laughed even harder. He was staring at the two of them as
if they had gone and lost their minds.

"Sorry," Charlotte said, still giggling. Lexi
had started to hiccup in the back.

Bill shifted uncomfortably in the driver's
seat. He glanced back at Lexi again. "We're, uh, we're going to eat
at the Mountain View Café. They've got good enough food. I, erm,
thought I'd give you the tour of town first, if that's all
right."

"Sure," Lexi said. The enthusiasm in her
voice was hard to miss, and Charlotte hoped that Bill not only
heard it, but appreciated it for the sweetness contained therein.
Lexi wanted to belong to this family so desperately, and she tried
so hard.

They drove the fifteen minutes to town in a
heavy silence. Charlotte tried to think of things to say, small
talk to make, but nothing came out of her mouth. Finally, Bill
turned on a country station that played older music. A classic song
came on the radio, and Bill hummed along. Charlotte gazed out at
the gently sloped hills covered in pines. Some clumps of snow clung
to the branches, but in the ditches water rushed along from most of
the melt caused by a warm Chinook wind from the south.

When they arrived on the western edge of
Mountain View, Bill cleared his throat and turned off the music.
"So, this here's Mountain View, although you already knew that of
course," he said. "I'll show you the Presbyterian church first,
then St. Margaret's. That's where me and Karen go, of course."

As he eased the truck down a narrow street
riddled with pot holes, Charlotte realized that he was nervous.
Bill wanted her and Lexi to get to know this small town. This was
his way of including them in his small sphere of the world. The
realization jolted her as they made their way through a stilted
tour of the tiny village.

By the time they arrived at the Mountain View
Café, Charlotte had to agree with Lexi's assessment of hunger
pangs. Although she wouldn't go quite as far as her very
melodramatic preteen, who sat in the back seat moaning.

"You ladies grab a table. I need to go say
hello to the guys over there." Bill waved to a table full of older
men in the corner.

"Who do you think they are?" Lexi said in a
whisper as Charlotte guided her to a table near the expansive front
windows. "The Mountain View mafia?"

Charlotte glanced at the men, all of whom
sported boots and battered cowboy hats. They were clearly ranchers
or farmers. "Yes, I'm sure they are all part of the mob. Don't they
look Mafioso?" Charlotte replied drily.

Lexi snuck another glance over at the men,
her eyes had widened slightly. "Don't joke. I saw this special on
the morning show about how the mob has to go undercover now. You
know, like hang out in small towns, blend in with their
surroundings. Those guys could totally be playing the part to fool
everyone."

"Don't mention that to your grandfather. I
don't think he'd get the joke," Charlotte said, hoping that her
tone conveyed that this conversation was over. One thing she was
learning about thirteen-year-olds was that despite their inherent
need to feel grown up, they often acted like children. And Lexi had
a very active imagination.

When Bill joined them, he settled into his
chair with a sigh. Charlotte knew that was her cue, but her
reservations refused to go away. Still she had to make an effort.
She'd seen Bill make one in the truck, no matter how minor it
seemed. Swallowing hard against her doubts, Charlotte asked, "Not
good news?"

Bill seemed mildly surprised that she had
noticed. Charlotte could tell by the slight uplift of his eyebrows.
"Zeke was just telling us that his place got foreclosed on last
week. He's not sure what he'll do. It seems like everyone in this
town is slowly being forced out. The economy here is so depressed,
I'm afraid it will be a ghost town before too long."

Charlotte exhaled noisily. This was not the
information she had expected from Bill, not that she had known what
to expect. He seemed so torn, and looking around the small café for
the first time, Charlotte got a sense of what would make him feel
this way. Everyone seemed to know each other, and care. The whole
scene reminded Charlotte of a modern-day Mayberry, as clichéd as it
seemed.

The waitress approached their table before
Charlotte could reply. Lexi ordered with such gusto that Charlotte
let herself be distracted momentarily, and by the time she had
formulated a response to Bill, the moment had passed. Still, she
tucked the information away so that she could think about it
later.

****

Will shut the door behind him as he entered
the dark mudroom. The house seemed oddly quiet for mid-afternoon.
The cows he'd been chasing the majority of the day had remained
elusive. Walker had insisted in no uncertain terms that they had to
separate this set of mothers and calves today. Will had finally
begged off promising to rejoin his brothers later in the afternoon.
The siren call of home drew him with a magnetic pull. He had never
felt that way before. In his prior existence Will had been content
to stay long hours at the office, tutoring students who needed
extra help or doing research to further the mission of the school.
When he had been at home, Will had devoted his time to ranch chores
and avoiding his father.

He picked up the note on the dining room
table, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dim light. Even when
the words on the page became legible, he still stared at them with
a sense of disbelief. Charlotte and Lexi had gone to spend the
afternoon with his father. How could that be possible? With a scowl
and a few choice words, Will balled the note in his fist and threw
it across the room, missing the garbage can by several feet.

His dad had some nerve to take his daughter
out without consulting him. At least Charlotte was along. She'd
make sure that his dad didn't say anything too disparaging. Will
knew his dad meant well, and his mom continually tried to get the
two of them to reconnect. It just wasn't going to happen.

Shaking off his fatigue and general feeling
of annoyance, Will turned back toward the door. He should at least
relieve his mom of baby sitting duty until Charlotte returned.
Besides he was looking forward to seeing the little kids. Sierra
was sure to have plenty to tell him, and he wanted to make sure
that Shane was all right.

The wind had turned bitter since that
morning, and the sun had hidden behind the clouds. Will turned the
collar of his corduroy work jacket up to shield himself from the
wind. Halfway to the main house, Will saw his dad's truck pull up
the driveway. He stopped to wait for them. Irritation burned in his
chest. He knew that he was being irrational, but Lexi was his
daughter. His father should have asked.

The truck pulled to a stop, and the doors
opened. Will opened his hands, clenching and unclenching his fists.
The motion helped him focus and not to yell and rant the second his
father emerged from the truck. With a deep breath, Will strode
forward. As he opened his mouth to begin his tirade, the passenger
door opened. Charlotte hopped out, quickly followed by Lexi who
squealed with delight when she saw him.

Will halted. Everything stopped at the sight
of his daughter. Her pure excitement at seeing him changed his
whole perspective. Lexi ran to him and threw her arms around him in
a fierce hug. Will squeezed her back, and over her head he met
Charlotte's gaze. When Charlotte smiled at him, Will felt his heart
speed up. Just from a smile, he mused.

"We had so much fun, Dad. Grandpa took us to
the most charming café," Lexi said, grinning up at him.

"Charming, huh?" Will said. He still couldn't
get over the way his kid talked. She made him smile no matter what
else he was feeling. "I can't imagine the Mountain View Café has
changed since the last time I was in there. And charming is not an
adjective I would have thought to use for it."

"Oh, it was," Charlotte said with a smile.
She had come closer to them, and now lifted Lexi's hair off the
girl's shoulder. Lexi turned toward Charlotte and the look that
passed between them took Will's breath away.

"We even saw mob members," Lexi said,
dropping her voice to an excited whisper.

Will raised his eyebrows at Charlotte, who
laughed. "Our Lexi has a very active imagination."

"Indeed." Will held Charlotte's gaze a bit
longer, before turning his attention to his father. The older man
stood near the truck regarding the interaction between the three of
them. Will felt his irritation return. He glanced down at Lexi.
"Hey, why don't you run in and see how Grandma and the little kids
are doing. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay, Dad," Lexi said with reluctance in her
voice. She seemed to sense the sudden rise in tension and the
change in him.

Charlotte gave Will a look that he could only
describe as scolding, but she didn't say anything. For a minute he
thought she might follow Lexi into the house but instead she
stepped back by the truck, folded her arms across her chest, and
gave him a challenging look. This should be fun, Will thought
gloomily.

"Dad?" Will began. "I just have to say you
have a lot of nerve."

"Excuse me, son? I thought I misheard you. I
have a lot of nerve?" Bill took a step closer looking surprised but
angry all at the same time.

"Yes, a lot of nerve," Will repeated. "How
could you take my daughter out without even consulting me?"

Anger flashed across Bill's face, but instead
of yelling he seemed to deflate. "Your mother thought it would be a
good idea for me to get to know my granddaughter better."

"I was there," Charlotte said, interrupting
the disagreement.

Will and his dad looked at her. "Stay out of
this," Will snapped. He immediately regretted his harshness, but
this was between him and his father.

"No," Charlotte snapped back. The anger
sparking in her eyes made her look so lively and beautiful that
Will found himself momentarily distracted. "I was there, and it was
fine. Lexi had a wonderful time. You need to back off a little bit
here, Will."

Will opened his eyes a bit wider as he met
her challenge. "Lexi is my responsibility, and I should have some
say in the things that concern her."

"You're overreacting," Charlotte said.

"No, I'm not." Will could feel this reaction
spiraling out of control. He knew he was being spiteful, childish
even, but he had a point to prove and he was going to prove it.

"And currently she's our responsibility,"
Charlotte added a bit more softly.

"About that…" Will said, and then trailed
off. This whole thing had veered off course. What Will had intended
to be a trouncing of his father had turned into an argument with
Charlotte. There were things they needed to talk about, like the
things his lawyer had told him, but this was not the way he wanted
to tell her.

"I'm going to get the kids. We'll meet you at
home. Now, you two work out whatever crap you need to," Charlotte
said. She turned back to the main house without another word.

Will looked back at his dad. "Just don't do
it again."

"Go easy on her, son. She's a good one," Bill
said before walking toward the horse barn.

Will stared after his father, annoyed. Of
course he knew Charlotte was a good one. She could be
the
One
. Will froze. The brisk wind rushed around him. He hadn't
really just thought that about Charlotte had he? That seemed too
fast, too sudden. The abruptness of it all made his heart race.
True, the two of them had developed a rhythm for parenting, and
also true that they had an unspoken attraction. But… but… Will
faltered. He couldn't finish his thought because there was no
thought to complete. He only knew that the feeling that persisted
seemed frighteningly real.

With a groan Will kicked his scuffed boot
into the gravel of the driveway, sending a spray of rocks around
him. Complications abounded in his life already, adding romance
with an unavailable woman to the mix was not something he wanted to
do. The way his pulse raced, though it made him think that might
not be an option.

"Would you like to ride out with me?"

Charlotte turned toward Will in surprise. She
carefully finished folding Shane's pajamas and set them into his
drawer. Will hadn't spent much time with her or the kids since
she'd essentially told him to buck up and get over himself in terms
of his relationship with his dad. He had been spending a lot of
time at the Institute. Whenever she asked him about it, he gave
vague answers about extended office hours and prepping for a field
experience with one of his classes. Given all of this recent
behavior, she just assumed that he was still upset with her.

"My mom said she'd hang out with the kids
while we're gone. I need to check on the dig site. You haven't been
out there yet." Will shrugged, and shoved his hands into his jeans
pockets.