Page 119 of My Cowboy Freedom
“Sky is the vulnerable one here. Couldn’t you have considered that before you went and tattled on me?”
She shot to her feet. “Now, you listen. There was no tattling. None.”
“Then why all of a sudden does my father want to talk to me? They calledtwice—”
The phone I’d been gesturing with rang again--my mother, this time.
I gripped it angrily, as if I hadn’t just been talking about that very thing.
Elena’s worried gaze remained steady.
Fixed on me.
If I asked Elena to be my champion, she’d fight my battles with everything she had. She’d done it before.
I gave a jerk of my chin toward the door.
She eyed me for several more seconds before turning to leave. When the door closed behind her, I picked up.
“Hello, Mother.”
“Hello, Rockne, darling.” The words dripped with maternal warmth. Who would my mother be tonight? The woman who taught me my first guitar chords or the one who threatened to have me declared mentally incompetent because I wouldn’t live the life she mapped out for me.
“You’re on speaker, dear,” she informed me. “Is there anyone in the room with you?”
“Just me.” My reflection in the window was utterly alone.
“All right, your father’s here, and we’re so sorry about Sterling. It’s just awful. We’ve called for a prayer vigil for the entire Chandler family, especially Andi, bless her heart. How is Elena holding up?”
“Okay, I guess.” The talk turned to everyone’s shock and how my family had taken the news of Sterling’s collapse. My mother knew more about Sterling’s condition, who his doctors were, and what his prognosis was than I did.
My father made absent, agreeable noises, as though he kept only one ear tuned to our conversation.
I actively hated the resignation on the face of my reflection.
Defeat, before the conversation even starts.
What is wrong with you?
“We’ve spoken with Elena.” Mom’s cultured voice was still musical. She could pass for sixteen on the phone. “And we’ve all agreed that it would be best for you to come home for a while, at least until we know more about Sterling’s condition.”
“No,” I argued. “I’ll be needed even more with the boss laid up. There’s still cutting hay, which is crucial to winter feeding, and maintaining the vegetable gardens. We still need to put up this year’s excess produce and I’m expected to plant for the spring. And then there’s the butchering. Smoking bacon and hams. Whether I’ll be there or not, they still have to eat.”
“Goodness dear, that does sound challenging. Still, I’m certain there are others with the skill to do those things.”
“But it’s my job,” I argued. “And I’m good at it. No one can just come along and step in, not while the boss is sick like this. They need me to help keep the Rocking C running smoothly, not abandon them in the boss’s hour of need.”
“We’ve already discussed the situation, dear. The Chandler family needs this time together to regroup. Andi and her father have their differences, but she has his best interests at heart. She’ll need to go home now, with Ryder, and work things out.”
“Andi doesn’t give a damn about the ranch.”And things between Andi and Ryder are fine, whether anybody believes it or not.“She’s a singer. She’s in a band now and everything.”
“The Lord has a purpose for each of us.” My dad’s sermoning voice kicked in like a reliable furnace. “No one promises we will like or understand His reasoning, yet we are expected to heed His call.”
“No matter what?” I asked. “No matter who it hurts?”
“Hm...” my mother mused. “Could any purpose the Lord has for us hurt someone who was also doing the Lord’s work?”
“Quite right, my dear.” My father praised her like a doting pet owner. “The Lord’s work harms no one but the unrighteous, who openly oppose Him.”
