"Who in the hell is Willa Mae? Oh, that's Chigger. Well, neither she nor Jim Bob have a shy bone. I'll never keep all the secrets and family ties straight."
"I still have a hard time of it too," Daisy said.
"But you've had seven years to get used to it. I wish I'd have come down here when you first went to work at the Honky Tonk. I thought you were crazy for working in a beer joint in some podunk place even smaller than Mena, Arkansas."
"I loved it from day one. What am I going to do about Jarod?"
"That's your decision. He's in love with you."
"Don't say that. I don't want to hear it right now."
"Not saying it doesn't make it go away. Enough talk. Time to get on with the packing. When we finish this horrible job we're driving to Abilene in my Caddy and I'm going shopping for new jeans. Chigger is going too, and she says she hopes maternity jeans don't make her look like a clown."
"Do you think Victoria's Secret makes sexy maternity clothes? I can't see Chigger in plain old plaid shirts and jeans. Keep that in mind while I go help Jarod take care of the cattle," Daisy said.
She found him at the corral where they had the rest of Emmett's herd penned up and waiting for her to pass judgment.
"Hey, sweetheart, I thought I was going to have to come back to the house and wrestle you away from Chigger and Cathy." Jarod met her halfway between the car and the corral and slung an arm around her shoulder.
"Those two broads couldn't keep me away from you," she teased.
A smile turned the corners of his mouth up. Life was good.
"Run the first one in the chute," she said.
"All business and no love," he asked.
She stopped dead in her tracks and wrapped her arms around his neck, grabbing a fist full of dark hair and dragging his mouth down to hers for a hard kiss right there in front of the hired hands, his nephew, and even God.
"You decide which one," she whispered seductively in his ear when the kiss ended and he still held on to her in a tight hug.
He laughed in amongst the whistles and shouts of all the men around them. "Guess it'd better be business with an audience like this."
His Daisy would show them that she was a smart vet as well as his woman. His heart swelled with pride as he carried her black bag to the corral. How on earth he could have ever thought it was a tackle box was a mystery.
"This heifer is good stock but God only knows what she's bred to. Emmett had everything from Limousin to Angus on the ranch. There at the end he wasn't culling anything. I'd sell her at the sale if you want to keep pure Angus on the Double M," she said.
"Put her in the trailer to take back to Oklahoma for the sale," Garrett told the men.
"That bull calf has a lot of potential, don't you think, Jarod?" she asked when they ran the next animal into the chute.
"I do. He's a big old boy for his age. I vote we keep him," Jarod answered.
The third one was a yearling, definitely mixed blood even if it was a healthy calf.
"To the sale barn," Jarod said.
"I agree," Daisy told him.
"Hey, you two, we got a problem down by those trees. There's a heifer down having a hell of a time delivering. She's one of the Angus that we brought down from Oklahoma. If we'd known she was this close to calvin' we'd have left her up there," Rudy said.
"Let's go," Daisy picked up her bag.
Jarod grabbed her hand and they jogged to the spot where the cow was lying on her side and heaving with every contraction. Daisy dropped to her knees, opened her bag, and pulled out a stethoscope. She laid it on the cow in several different places before she looked up at Jarod.
"Calf has a strong heartbeat so it's still alive. Let's see if it's too big or breach or what the problem is. Here, you keep a monitor on the heartbeat and I'll check out the calf. Tell me if the heartbeat gets faster or slows down." She moved to the back end of the heifer, rolled up her sleeves, and shoved her arm up into the cow's uterus halfway from elbow to armpit. Jarod listened to the calf and watched Daisy.
"Good lookin' stock Garrett has," she said. "This heifer is in great shape. This is just her first baby and she doesn't know what to do."
"I'd have thought nature would take care of that," he said.
"Not always. Sometimes they get scared. It's not breach but it's got one big head. Tell me when the next contraction is and I'll pull," she said.
"Right now," he said. He'd pulled dozens of calves himself but sitting there with Daisy helping him felt so right and so perfect.
She pulled hard and felt the calf move several inches.
"Again," she said.
He waited a minute and said, "Now."
She pulled again and two hooves popped out. She was able to get a better hold at that time and waited until the cow contracted again before she gave a hard tug. The black calf came out in a whoosh, spurting fluids all over Daisy. She jerked her overshirt off and wiped the calf's nose.
"Breathe, you lazy boy. Your momma didn't work all day for you to die now," Daisy said.
Jarod bit back a chuckle. She didn't care that she was covered in gunk—she didn't even know it. All she saw was a newborn calf. In that moment Jarod loved her more than ever before.
The calf sucked up air and let out a whimper.
She shouted, "Look, darlin', he's alive! He's a fine bull calf."
The heifer slowly got to her feet and began to lick the new baby while Jarod and Daisy stood to one side and watched. His arm was tightly around her shoulders. Her fingers were hooked in one of his back belt loops.
"We did good," she said.
"We sure did," he agreed.
***
It took every bit of ten days but on the Sunday of Chigger's family dinner and wedding reception combination the house was cleaned out. The old furniture took on a new look without all the stuff shoved in every spare square inch. The walls were a mess with all the nail holes. The carpet was a sight with dark places where the extra tables had kept the light from fading the color. But the next week a crew was scheduled to patch and paint one day. On the next day the carpet layers would arrive.
Jarod awoke on Sunday morning knowing that his job was finished. It was time to go home. An empty hole was in the middle of his heart and the only one who could fill it was Daisy. He had less than a week to convince her that her place was with him permanently.
He pulled a pair of creased jeans from the closet and laid them across the chair in his empty bedroom. Today he would be Daisy's husband. Their children, two little girls, had gone for a play day with their church Sunday school class or they would have brought them along. That was the story line or was it the story lie?
He grinned.
What would it be like to share two little girls with Daisy? Would they have his black hair and her dark blue eyes? Would they be as sassy as she was or as bullheaded as him? It didn't matter to Jarod as long as Daisy was their mother.
***
Daisy found Cathy already up and at the breakfast table with a cup of coffee in front of her. "Good morning, Joe Bob's girlfriend. What did you teach in Sunday school this morning?" She poured herself a cup and grabbed a package of toaster pastries out of the box.
"I taught your two little girls, Janene and Julianna, the story of Jonah and the whale. It's kind of like the story of you and Jarod. Jonah is symbolic of the love you share, only it's been swallowed up by this big whale called fear who refuses to spit it out until you own up to the fact that you really are in love."
"That's enough!" Daisy pointed at Cathy.
"Okay, okay. Then I'll tell you about your sweet little girls. It is so cute the way you gave them J names like their father," Cathy smarted off.
Daisy's eyes twinkled. "Janene and Julianna. I'll tell Jarod so we can pass it on to Momma Jones. But if you ever think I'll name my daughters such names you are crazy."
"You won't have girls. You'll have a whole yard full of mean boys. Chigger's going to have girls," Cathy said.
"That written in stone or is there some wiggle room?"
It was Cathy's turn to laugh. "I'm just jealous. You get to have a handsome hunk husband all day and all I get is a red-haired boyfriend."
"What's the matter with Joe Bob?"
"Two things. I've never been attracted to red-haired men. Not after Bubba McMann spit chocolate on my shirt and told me it was tobacco when I was in the first grade."
"What's the second thing?"
"I'm not so good at pool. He'd never stay with a woman who couldn't challenge him on the tables."
"Guess that's enough to keep a relationship from working. You'd best get to primping though. Oh, did I tell you that Chigger invited her brothers and their wives to the shindig too?"
Cathy groaned.
Chapter 18
Jarod arrived in his Saturday night Honky Tonk clothes: creased jeans, boots, and a plaid Western shirt. "Is my wife and Joe Bob's girlfriend ready for the party?" he asked when Cathy answered the door.
"Daisy, your husband is here," Cathy yelled over her shoulder.
Jarod met her in the middle of the living room floor, tipped her chin up with his fist, and kissed her hard.
"I missed you so much," he said.
"Me too," she whispered.
"Ahem!" Cathy cleared her throat.
"I wouldn't care if God was standing where you are, Cathy," Jarod said.
"But you have seen each other every day. Most of the time you've spent every minute together," Cathy said.
"We saw each other and we haven't had a spare minute to be alone." Jarod held the door for them and then helped them into the truck.
"Aha, not only a husband but a gentleman and no one is even looking," Cathy said.
"A man has to be good to his wife and cousin-in-law or they'll leave him high and dry. Old Joe Bob has to be good or else his girlfriend won't give him a good night kiss. Me, I've got to worry about alimony and child support." He shut the doors and whistled as he rounded the truck and strapped himself into the seat.
"Alimony and child support are the least of your worries," Cathy said as he started the engine. "Little Janene and Julianna would be so upset if you two divorced."
"Who?"
"The two little girls you have."
Daisy whipped around in the seat and pointed. "That's enough."
"Actually, I was thinking more of Brand and Creed and they're boys not girls. Of course, Momma would be tickled to death to have girls. We're a little heavy on the male side at family reunions. Seems the McElroys throw boys more than girls."
Daisy jerked her head back around and pointed at Jarod. "Don't be talking about children before the marriage."
"And when is that happening?"
"In ten years, maybe, if you are nice."
***
At noon, more than thirty people gathered round the buffet set up on the deck at Jim Bob and Chigger's place. Mixed aromas of fried catfish, roast beef, and ham had the cats rubbing against legs and meowing.
"Momma, would you say grace for us?" Chigger asked.
Heads bowed. Jarod reached for Daisy's hand. Jim Bob wrapped his arm around Chigger. Joe Bob shoved his thumbs in the hip pockets of his jeans. Cathy laced her fingers together behind her back.
"Dear Lord," Momma Jones began. "Accept our thanks for this bountiful dinner spread before us. Help us to keep your commandments even when it's not easy and to tell the truth even when it hurts. Amen."
It took a moment for everyone to realize the prayer was over so quickly and heads rose slowly making sure that Momma hadn't just paused for more air and had truly said, "Amen."
"To those who don't know me as Momma or Gran, I'm Aleda Jones, Willa Mae's momma, and while everything is still quiet in this room I have something to say. I'm glad to be here for a late wedding reception for these two. I'm glad my daughter slowed down enough that Jim Bob could catch her. I just now prayed that the Lord would help us follow his commandments even when it ain't easy. So I've got a confession to make."
"Momma, this is a Sunday dinner and there's not a priest in sight so you don't have to go to confession," Chigger giggled nervously.
Aleda patted her on the shoulder. "I confess to God, not a priest. But today it's laid upon my heart to put an end to the charades and clear the air before we eat this good food. So I'm going to do it or else I'm sure that fish will make me sick. Fish is my favorite food and I do not intend to be sick on it and never be able to enjoy it again."
"Well, then I expect you'd best 'fess up," Jim Bob said.
She nodded seriously. "Okay, here goes. Daisy, you and Jarod are not married and you own and run the Honky Tonk, a beer joint over south of Mingus. I hope someday you two get married because you belong together. Joe Bob and Cathy are not dating and they shouldn't. They don't fit together at all and I shall find both him and Billy Bob a good woman from my church."
She nodded her head seriously and scared the bejesus out of them.
"Now to you, Chigger," she said.
High color flushed Chigger's cheeks. Daisy thought even her blond hair would turn burgundy on the spot.
"Who?" she gasped.
"Don't play innocent with me. I know where you've been and what you've been up to all these years. Only thing I don't know is why you chose a name like Chigger for a nickname. You ain't little and you don't have red hair which is the only two reasons I'd think would be right, but that don't matter." She paused.