Jake are still asleep. Do you mind fixing breakfast?”
“No. Can I tell Rosie? I wouldn’t want her to hear it from someone else.”
“Sure.” He walked out the door and Maribel trailed down the hall to the master bedroom. Rosie, with her red hair everywhere, was propped up against the headboard. When she was small, Maribel had called her “Little Red Hen” because of her hair. They’d had an old hen that had had feathers the same color.
“You’re awake.”
“I always wake up when Phoenix kisses me goodbye.”
Maribel sat at the foot of the bed. “You’re absolutely glowing.”
Placing her hand on her protruding stomach, Rosie said, “I can’t lose this baby.”
“You’re won’t because we’re not going to let you. You have about three months to wait and even if the baby comes early, she’ll still be okay.”
“Phoenix and I are happy it’s a girl. We’re going to call her Grace. Gracie for short.”
“And she’ll be beautiful just like her mother.”
Rosie frowned. “Are you just getting home? You had those clothes on yesterday.”
She told her sister about the events of the night and ended by saying, “I had to ask his father for help.”
Rosie leaned forward. “His father!”
She met her sister’s startled eyes. “You’ve never asked me about him.”
“I didn’t want to pry and I knew you would tell me when you were ready.” She paused for a second. “So...who is Chase’s father?”
“Elias.”
“Elias who?”
“Rosie...”
“Oh...you mean...Elias Rebel?”
“Yes.”
Rosie shook her head. “I don’t see how that could have happened. You never went out at night or dated.”
Maribel told her the whole story and Rosie crawled to the foot of the bed and sat by Maribel. “I was so scared and I didn’t know what to do when Miss Kate wouldn’t believe me.”
Rosie hugged her sister. “With everything that was going on at that time I guess it’s understandable that she wouldn’t. But still...it makes me sad.”
“I hope Elias doesn’t get into a big argument with his mom about it.”
“Elias can handle his mother. I don’t think I know anyone stronger than Elias. He’s rough around the edges and as tough as they come.”
“And handsome,” slipped out before Maribel could stop herself.
Rosie picked up on it immediately. “Oh, do you still have feelings for him?”
“Of course not.” The words sounded hollow to her own ears and she decided to be honest with her sister. “I thought I was in love with him. Being a silly teenager, it was clear to me that after we had sex, we’d run away and live happily ever after. That naive teenager woke up quickly. It was just wrong and we both knew it, except for one little thing. I was pregnant.”
Rosie hugged her again. “Oh, Mari, I’m sorry for all that you had to go through.”
Another person called her Mari, but he pronounced it Merry. Sometimes late at night she’d hear his voice in her head and she hated that she couldn’t forget it. That she couldn’t forget him.
Maribel hugged her back. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help you when you needed someone.” She brushed Rosie’s hair from her face. “Do you sometimes resent our mother for not helping us?”
“I did for a while, but I know she did the best she could.”
“Every day our mother would say, ‘I love you,’ over and over, but it had no meaning when it counted. When Dad would hit us, she would just cry and wring her hands. Not once did she try to stop him and not once did she take up for us. The day he found out I was pregnant he hit me so hard I fell against the wall. I was afraid I was going to lose the baby. I grabbed my stomach, trying to protect it, and I knew in that moment that I wanted the baby. I guess I’ll always remember Mom standing there with tears in her eyes, wringing her hands and not lifting a finger to help me. I stopped believing in love that day. As I drove away, something inside me died. Later, I knew what it was—my ability to love.”
“Oh, Mari.”
“I would protect Chase with my dying breath if someone was trying to hurt him.”
“Mom gave you money, as she did me. Doesn’t that count for something? She tried to help in her own way. She was just weak and didn’t know what else to do.”
“No, it doesn’t mean a thing. Shoving me off on Mrs. Peabody was not a motherly thing to do, even though it probably saved my life.”
“You can’t say that you don’t feel love. You love Chase. You love me.”
“Yeah, but I’ll never say those words to anyone again. They’re meaningless. That’s the way I feel now and I can’t change it.”
“That’s not healthy.”
“Mama. Mama. Mama,” Jake called as he ran into the room in his pajamas. “I’m hungry.”
Rosie kissed her son. “Aunt Maribel will fix you something.”
“’Kay.”
Maribel took the boy’s hand. “Come on, hotshot. Let’s see what we can find for breakfast.” Jake was almost four and he would be going to school in the fall. Rosie would have her hands full with a child in school and one in her arms. That was Rosie’s life—the one she wanted, filled with all the happiness she deserved. It wasn’t for Maribel. Maybe she was jaded. Or just smart. She would never get hurt again, though.
As she poured milk into a glass, she wondered what was happening at Rebel Ranch.
* * *
ELIAS SAT IN his truck outside his mom’s house, trying to come to grips with everything that had happened during the night. He had a son. He and Maribel had a son. Fast on that thought came one that he had to deal with: Did his mother know? There was just no way she would deny a Rebel grandchild. The only way to find out the truth was to walk into the house and ask her, which would probably be the hardest thing he’d ever had to do besides burying his dad.
Phoenix drove up and ran into the house, not even noticing Elias in his truck.
Showtime, he thought, as he got out and made his way into the house. A ball of dread wedged in his throat. Most people thought that was an alien emotion to him. He felt fear just like everyone else, even though everyone called him tough as leather. Today, he would find out how tough he really was.
Everyone, even Grandpa,
