Loving Cowboys

Chapter 2: Trouble

Chapter 2: Trouble“Did you hear back from Cody yet?” Macon said as he served breakfast to his sister and Jace.

“It is the end of the week and he should be on his way,” Elvira said.

“Not yet,” Jace said. “He mentioned not having a phone at present and being able to communicate by e-mail.”

“I’d feel a whole lot better if he’d e-mail us back before getting on the bus,” Elvira said.

“You’re not the only one,” Macon said as he grabbed coffee from the counter of the kitchen in the trailer he and Jace shared.

“Are you two ready for your guest?” Elvira said.

“The third bedroom is all ready for him,” Jace said. “I’m glad this place has two bathrooms now.”

Elvira finished eating the scrambled eggs in her mouth, then responded. “You know Cody is bound to be handsome like his daddy. I hope that won’t cause problems around here.”

“Thirty is too young for me,” Jace said, then took a bite of his bacon.

Elvira glanced at her brother.

“Thirty is way past the age of consent,” Macon said. “If he takes a liking to my glorious self, who am I to deny him?” He laughed.

“You’d better laugh so I don’t have to slap some sense into you,” Elvira said.

“You’re a dog, Macon,” Jace said, then chuckled.

“Hey,” Macon said. “I’m not so old yet that I don’t have needs.”

“Well,” Elvira said, “remember that your younger sister is in the room and don’t start discussing those needs. Jace, how long until that bus leaves?”

“Twenty-minutes,” Jace said.

“Try calling them again, sis,” Macon said. “Maybe one of the kids will answer the phone this time.”

* * * *

Cody stretched out his feet and looked at his long, tan legs while keeping an eye on the teenagers watching the little boy and girl. They’d begin loading the bus anytime, so the teenagers would be making their move soon. He slipped out of his flip-flops in case he’d have to rush forward to help the kids, then put his laptop case in his backpack and made sure the pack was securely on his back. The sound of a phone ringing made him jump. It was the boy’s phone and he took the phone out of his pocket. That was when the teenagers made their move. The two teenage boys rushed forward and grabbed the little girl’s purse and doll as well as the boy’s phone.

But they hadn’t counted on Cody.

He rushed the teens. In one move he’d kicked one teenager’s feet out from under him while grabbing the other by the collar. The bus driver, a well-built tan man with dark hair, rushed forward from the side.

“You boys causing trouble again?” The bus driver looked back and yelled, “Security!”

A guard came rushing forward.

“They took the kids’ phone, the little girl’s purse, and her doll,” Cody said.

The bus driver made sure the kids got back their things, while the security guard and another man took the teenagers toward the office in the terminal.

“Thanks for the help, sir,” the bus driver said to Cody.

The boy’s phone rang again and he quickly answered. The little girl was crying, so Cody picked her up and she put her head on his shoulder.

“I heard that some woman just dropped the kids off and left,” the bus driver said. “I’m thinking maybe I should call the authorities.”

“Mr. Bus Driver, sir,” the boy said, “my auntie said we should find a man named Cody Larke and stay with him and he’ll get us home safe.”

“My name’s Cody Larke.”

“Let me talk to your auntie, son,” the bus driver said, then took the phone from the boy. “What’s your name, kiddo?”

“I’m Gage Martin and my sister’s name is Deena,” the boy said.

The bus driver started talking on the phone, then turned to Cody. “Sir, do you know a woman named Elvira Ryder?”

“Yes.”

After a few seconds, the bus driver wiped the phone on his sleeve to clean it, then handed it to Cody.

“Hello, Miss Elvira,” Cody said as he walked toward his flip-flops and put them on. “Yes, ma’am, everything’s good here…yes. They’ve got their own personal security all the way to your place, you have my word as the son of a cowboy.”

When Cody was done on the phone, he handed it to Gage. After speaking with the bus driver, Cody trekked to the bus, still carrying Deena, who had her doll in hand and her purse. Gage was by his side.

“Was your daddy really a cowboy?” Gage said.

“Yup,” Cody said.

“My Uncle Macon was a cowboy, too,” Gage said. “His momma named him after the city in Georgia where he was born.”

“My pops was a cowboy with your uncle and their good buddy Jace.”

“Wow,” Gage said. “Will you tell us more about them on the ride?”

“I sure will.”

The bus driver led them to seats at the back of the bus where they could sit across the aisle from each other. Deena wouldn’t let go of Cody, so she sat with him while Gage was in the seat directly across from them. Cody turned so he could talk to Gage and tell him stories.

* * * *

“So what the heck did Cody say?” Macon said. “I could hear our little Deena crying from here.”

“Well,” Elvira said, “that so-called church woman who dropped off our niece and nephew couldn’t even be bothered to stay with them until they boarded the bus.”

“So what happened?” Jace said.

Elvira explained about how some teenagers had attacked the kids and Cody had come to their rescue.

“Cody’s definitely a cowboy’s son, coming to the aid of the kids like that,” Jace said. “And he didn’t even know who they were then.”

“He’s already earned major brownie points with me,” Macon said.

“I’m not sure I even understand exactly what happened with your sister Shauna,” Jace said. “I mean, everyone knows she’s always been accident prone—”

“That’s for sure the truth,” Macon said. “She accidentally killed her husband when she put the car in Reverse instead of Drive and ran him over trying to park.”

“If people in her neighborhood didn’t know she was so accident prone and testified in her favor, she would’ve been in jail—no doubt about it,” Elvira said.

“You mean instead of being dead,” Macon said. “That girl’s bad luck never did run out. Now how she died I still don’t fully comprehend.”

“All I know and understand is that she died at her husband’s cremation two days ago,” Jace said.

“It’s simple really,” Elvira said. “Shauna was saying her final goodbye to her husband when she dropped her purse. Her lipstick rolled out, she tripped over it, hit the back of her neck on something or another, and died.”

“Darn, Sis,” Macon said, “you don’t have to be so cold about it.”

“I shed my tears in private,” Elvira said, “as I’m sure you and Jace did, but we have to worry about those kids now. They lost both their parents only days apart. And it’s been a while since we’ve seen Gage and Deena, we’ll probably seem like strangers to them.”

“Jace,” Macon said, “you saw Cody a couple of times when he was a kid, didn’t you?”

“I did and he was nice enough. Now his mother didn’t care for us queers—as she called us—hanging around and gave Nicky a hard time about me being there, so I stopped visiting.”

“What?” Elvira said. “Nicky didn’t put his foot down with that woman?”

“He did. Ole Nicky never did his friends wrong. On my last visit, I wished Nicky a good life but said I’d stay away so as not to cause problems in his marriage.”

“I remember when you told me about that,” Macon said.

“Surely Nicky’s wife wasn’t worried about you and him doing anything,” Elvira said. “Macon’s always said that Nicky was as straight as they come.”

“And Macon’s right,” Jace said. “Nicky’s wife didn’t like him having friends or knowing any people besides her.”

“OK enough talking,” Elvira said. “My humble home is clean and ready for the kids, so let me check this place.”

“What’re you talking about?” Macon said. “Our home’s always been neat and clean—you know that, Elvira.”

“It won’t hurt for me to give it a second glance.”

While she looked around, Macon spoke with Jace. “I’ve been thinking about that e-mail Cody sent you, Jace. He kept referring to you as Cowboy Jace. You really made an impression on him when he was a boy.”

“Maybe.”

“Now I know you did by the way you’re downplaying it. You must’ve strutted your young cowboy stuff when you visited that household. That’s probably what got Nicky’s woman all mad. Nicky and you strutting around town, attracting all the women folk, showed her scrawny butt up.”

Jace chuckled, then grinned, and Macon laughed.

“Okay,” Jace said, “I give. Maybe Nicky and I strutted a little bit and the wife got mad by it all.”

“That doesn’t matter now anyhow, Jace. We’ve got more important things to see to before everyone gets here.”