Beneath the Tombstone (The Tombstone Series) (41 page)

Under
the watchful eye of his wife, Jason made his way to the truck. When he started
to get in the driver’s side, Misty spoke up firmly. “Hold it. Hold it,” she
ordered. “I’m driving this wagon. You’re
ridin
’
shotgun.”

Jason
held up his hands in surrender before making his way around to the passenger
side of the truck.

“Home?”
she asked after hopping in on the driver’s side.

“Nope,”
Jason replied flatly. “Take me to the doctor’s wife’s house.”

Misty
started the truck. “You sure you don’t want to wait a few days?” she asked.

“Yep,”
Jason replied. “I’m sure.” He paused for a few moments before he spoke. “You
got her number?” he asked.

“Yes,”
Misty replied. “Why?”

“Just
gonna
let her know we’re coming and why,” he replied.

A
short time later found Jason standing on the doorsteps of one of the many fancy
homes on the block. He knocked on the door. It opened slightly, and the tired
face of a woman bearing a heavy load peeked through. “Mrs. Throckmorton,” Jason
spoke kindly.

“The
dog’s around back,” she said quietly. “The kids are in the play room. I would
rather they didn’t have to see.”

“If
it is her, don’t they want to say goodbye?” Jason asked kindly.

“They’ve
said too many goodbyes lately,” the lady responded, shifting her sad eyes down
toward the porch.

With
that, she came out the front door, closing it quietly. Misty joined them, and
they walked around to the back yard where the doctor’s wife opened a gate,
motioning for Jason and Misty to go in… and there she was, chewing on a rubber
toy.

“Dixie!”
Jason called as he squatted down.

She
looked up, and joy came to her face as she leapt to her feet and raced towards
him. She plowed into his lap and began the task of showering him with happy,
slobbery kisses.

“Hey
girl, how you been?” he spoke to her quietly. She barked a happy response.

“Please
keep her quite,” the lady pleaded. “The kids will hear her.”

“Keep
it down, girl,” Jason spoke, giving her head a rub.

“Who’s
with Goldie?” a young voice spoke.

Jason
and the child’s mother spun around in surprise. A boy no older than five or six
was staring wide eyed. His oldest sister walked up to the boy’s side with
Rebecca close behind her.

“Goldie?”
Jason asked. “Her name’s Dixie.”

“Why’s
‘e
pettin
’ Goldie, momma?” the boy asked, the
instructions on the dog’s name seeming to have gone in one ear and out the
other.

“Can
you kids please go back inside?” the woman asked, fighting back tears. “Go
watch a movie or something.”

“Is ‘e
tryin
’ to take Goldie,” the boy demanded. “Don’t
worry, momma,” he spoke bravely. “I won’t let ‘
em
.”

“Honey,”
his mother spoke gently, “she belongs to this man.”

“No,
she don’t,” the boy argued. “Daddy gave ‘
er
to me!”

“Maybe
daddy didn’t know she belonged to somebody,” she responded, casting an uneasy
glance Jason’s way. He didn’t say a word. The children’s memory of their father
was all they would ever have of him. He wasn’t going to taint that.

Rebecca
walked towards Jason and Dixie. She buried her face in the dog’s fur. “You be a
good girl, Goldie,” she spoke, her voice betraying the tears that threatened to
fall. “I love you. You’re my best friend.” Dixie licked her gently on the
cheek. She rushed back over to her mother and hugged her waist. The boy’s
bottom lip was pouching out, and he looked like he didn’t know whether to fight
or cry. Jason took a deep breath. He couldn’t believe what he was about to say.

“Me
and Misty are thinking about having a baby.” Yeah, that didn’t come out right.
The kids’ mother stared at him in disbelief. Did she need to cover her
children’s ears?

“Um,
I’m sorry,” Jason said with an embarrassed laugh. “I uh…”

“How
do you think about having a baby?” the now bewildered little boy asked, cutting
him off short.

Jason
turned around and looked at Misty from his squatted position. No help there.
Judging by the gleam in her eyes, she was finding the awkward position, which
he’d placed himself into, a bit humorous.

“You
can ask your momma about that later,” Jason chuckled, risking a look at the
doctor’s wife, who now wore a confused look on her face. “The important thing
is, you know, with a baby crawling around – eating and pooping, getting its
diaper changed, waking us up at night,” he paused for a moment and sighed, “I’m
just afraid poor old Dixie would get plum neglected.”

Jason
let out another big sigh. “I tell you what,” he said, signaling the boy closer.
Placing him on one knee, Jason continued, “I’m
gonna
let you keep her if you promise to take good care of her, give her a whole
bunch of
lovin
’… and,” he spoke in a pretend stern
voice, “call her Dixie.”

“Yes
sir,” the boy grinned happily. “I’ll do it. I’ll give Gold… I mean Dixie – I’ll
give Dixie all the
lovin
’ I can find!”

“Alright,”
Jason chuckled, giving the boy’s head a rub. “She’s yours.” With that, he shook
the boy’s hand. Looking up into the grateful eyes of the boy’s mother and
seeing the sisters overjoyed, Jason knew he’d made the right decision.

“I’ll
come see you every once in a while, girl,” Jason said, giving Dixie’s head a
rub. “Take good care of these kids, you hear?” She barked a happy, loud
response. “Atta girl,” Jason praised before taking his wife’s hand and heading
back to their truck.

“So,”
Misty spoke with a flirty smile, “we’re thinking about having a baby?”

“Wasn’t
going to let that one slip by, huh?” Jason asked, smiling back… but then his
happy expression faded. “That’s not the only reason it’s better to leave Dixie
here,” he spoke as he reached out and laid a light hand on Misty’s shoulder,
stepping around in front of and stopping her right before they reached the
truck.

“What
is it, Jason?” she asked, concern filling her voice.

“I
would’ve figured out what to do with Dixie but,” he paused and sighed before
adding flatly, “we’re losing the house.” He felt defeated. “We’re going to be
forced to sale it or pay it up to what’s due or the bank will foreclose. I’m
sorry babe,” he said, a look of genuine remorse in his eyes. “After not showing
up for a month, I lost my job. Big surprise there. We’re drowning in debt,
thanks to me. Tyler said I’ve still got a job at the ranch, if I want it.
There’s a one room shack we can stay in for a while. It’s where I lived while
training. It
ain’t
much. We can run some water and
utilities out to it. I’m sorry but it’s all…”

His
flow of words were cut off short as Misty placed a finger on his lips. “You
think this is bad news to me?” she asked with a chuckle. “You know I never
liked our house… right?”

“I
wasn’t that bad,” Jason argued.

“I’ll
take a barn in the country over a mansion in the city,” Misty said with a
smile, “hands down, every time.”

“Well,
you’re in luck then,” Jason said, his smile returning, “cause that’s pretty
much what it is… a barn. It’s just temporary though,” he assured her.

For some
reason that didn’t seem to brighten her day. “The country or the barn?” she
demanded.

“The
barn,” he assured her as he stepped over to the passenger side door and opened
it, climbing in.

Misty
got in on the driver’s side. “Oh, and hey,” she added as she slid the key in
the ignition, “don’t forget about the twenty thousand dollars we have.”

“But
that’s your baby fund,” he replied.

“That’s
our
baby fund,” she corrected. “And I think it’s a little steep
considering we’re not even pregnant yet.”

“That’s
true,” Jason admitted. “Any ideas on which way we should put it?”

“No,
not really,” she admitted with a shake of her head.

Jason
sighed thoughtfully then a light bulb clicked on in his mind. “You know, I
think Irwin said something about having a brother who is a financial advisor.”
He turned to Misty. “How would you feel about us maybe setting an appointment
with him – see if he can give us some direction?”

“Sounds
good to me,” she agreed, the sparkle in her eye saying that she deemed this new
version of Jason, who thought of seeking financial advice rather than blowing
money, as pretty hot.

A
content smile spread across Jason’s lips as they headed off to their new home
and new life. The setting sun lit up the thin clouds on the western horizon into
a beautiful display of color. There were new challenges ahead, new mountains to
climb – hopefully not literally – but there was one thing that Jason knew for
sure; he and Misty, with the help of God, would face those challenges together.