* *
“CAN YOU STOP at the nursing home so I can pick up a job application?” Sabrina pointed the road out to her father.
Robert shot a look at her over Levi’s head. “Why do you want to do that?”
“I need a job, Dad. How else will I pay my half of the bills? And I want to try to get into the nursing program at Central Texas College. I need money for tuition.”
“Hmph. I managed to pay the bills before you got here. I reckon I can keep paying for them. All you need to do is worry about that boy of yours. Ain’t that the reason you moved here?”
“Yes, but I won’t let you pay for my school. If you don’t want to stop now, I’ll just come back and apply later.”
“Suit yourself.” He whipped into the turn lane. “You always do.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to remind her father where her stubbornness came from, but she clamped her mouth shut. She loved her father, but sometimes he was a hard man to get along with.
After her mother’s death, he’d retreated into a shell, cutting off everyone. Including his twelve-year-old daughter, who’d desperately needed to know someone still loved her.
Sabrina had tried to fill the void left in the house. She cooked, cleaned, shopped for groceries and paid the bills. Her father never seemed to notice. After a while, Sabrina had stopped caring if he appreciated her or not.
Instead, she’d found acceptance by excelling at school. She participated in every sport, organization and club her small high school offered. Most people saw her as an overachiever. Only Tony had understood.
Dad pulled up in front of the large brick building that housed the nursing home and parked without even glancing at her. She reached out to touch his arm. “I’m not trying to be stubborn, Dad. I want to contribute my fair share.”
She was proud of the fact that she’d been able to support herself ever since Aunt Patty moved to a retirement community in Florida. She refused to be a burden to her dad’s limited finances.
She returned just a few minutes later. Dad shifted into Drive and pulled out of the parking lot before saying, “They aren’t hiring right now.”
Sabrina stared at him. “How did you know that?”
He shrugged. “I called last week.”
He’d called on her behalf?
“Never could figure out why you always worked in nursing homes.”
“The only thing I have going for me is my CNA certificate. I don’t understand. Nursing homes are always hiring.” Now what was she going to do?
“They don’t pay much anymore, anyway. Ever since the high schools started letting kids earn college credits and certifications through them, the market is flooded. CNAs are a dime a dozen around here.” He turned onto the main road that would lead them back to Salt Creek.
“How do you know so much about it?”
His eyes never left the road. “I’ve been watching for CNA jobs ever since Patty moved to Florida.”
Sabrina’s hand came up to her throat. The same time he’d started rebuilding the addition to the house. She swallowed hard. “Thanks, Dad.”
“Something’ll come up. Don’t worry.”
The ride back to Salt Creek was made in relative silence. Only the drone of country music blaring from the radio filled the void. The highway ahead split and Dad took the left lane, bypassing the little town of Salt Creek. A few minutes later, he turned off onto a farm-to-market road before taking the long stretch of dirt laneway that led to the farm.
After crossing a cattle guard, the truck topped a hill and it felt as if Sabrina’s heart broke into song. Waving grassland stretched for miles. The red flagstone farmhouse stood out against the blue Texas sky, a testament to old-fashioned ingenuity. It was a sight she’d never get tired of. Funny how she didn’t know how much she missed it until she came back.
Taking refuge in Houston with her dad’s sister, she hadn’t planned to stay gone long. Just long enough to figure out how to juggle college and a newborn. Then her uncle Troy had suffered a stroke. Aunt Patty had had her hands full working enough hours to keep her insurance and find a home health aide to care for her beloved husband.
The Certified Nursing Assistant certificate Sabrina earned in high school had been intended to give her an advantage over other nursing program applicants. Luckily, it also gave her the qualifications required by Aunt Patty’s insurance company—and a convenient excuse to stay away from Salt Creek.
Aunt Patty was the only one who knew who Levi’s real father was. When Sabrina’s letters to Tony were returned unopened, it was Patty’s idea to create a fictional relationship with her GI friend to place the blame on. At the time, Sabrina had been too distraught and heartbroken to care. After a couple of years, the lie became easier and easier to live with.
Did anyone else suspect the truth? Her father had run Tony off the farm enough times to know there was more going on than homework. Certainly her friends and half the town knew about the secret relationship that wasn’t much of a secret. Would anyone even care enough ten years later to put the pieces together?
The truck jolted to a stop as her father pulled up in front of the house. Before Sabrina could unfasten her seat belt, Levi barreled out of the cab and grabbed two plastic grocery bags.
She smiled. “Wow. I didn’t even have to ask. You’re good for him.”
Dad reached over the bed of the truck and scooped up several bags himself. “I saw Antonio pulling out when I dropped you off. Did you run into Tony in H-E-B?”
“I did. He stopped and said hi.” She kept her voice light.
He looked her straight in the eye. “Stay away from him.”
TONY’S AFTERNOON HAD been filled with more doctor appointments and medical tests. All the way back to Salt Creek, his knuckles had been white from gripping the steering wheel. The tightness in his chest had nothing to do with his injury and everything to do with the woman who’d walked away from him in the grocery store that morning. He stretched his fingers, but it did little to relieve the tension, or the ache in his jaw from gritting his teeth.
Why was it that the pending investigation at his department didn’t bother him nearly as much as seeing Sabrina? As a police officer, he was accustomed to noticing details others missed. Sabrina’s appearance screamed at him. Her faded jeans, thin from so many washes. Shoes with soles worn down to nothing. She even carried herself differently. Shoulders slumped, as if she had given up on the world. He’d never wanted to see her like that. Dejected. Sad.
When Tony pulled up to his grandparents’ house, he saw Papa sitting in an old rocking chair on the porch, holding a chunk of wood.
Tony gingerly climbed the weather-beaten steps.
“Hello, mijo.”
