Everyone Deserves a Second Chance (5 page)

"Momma?"

"I'm here baby." Lindsey called from in the kitchen as
she wiped at her eyes.

"I'm hungry." Garrett said coming into the kitchen and
grabbing hold of one of her legs.

"I bet you are. You never got dinner last night." Lindsey
reached for a box of cereal and pulled the milk out of the
refrigerator. When she set the bowl down on the kitchen table
Garrett finally let go of her leg and clBrendaed up onto a chair to
eat.

The ring of the phone startled Lindsey, and she nearly spilled the
milk all over the floor. She laughed in embarrassment and picked it
up off the hook.

"Hello?"

"Is Mrs. Norman available?"

"Yes, this is she."

"Good morning Mrs. Norman. This is Pete Clark from Bank of
America. I'm calling about your job application. I'd like you to
come in and talk to me about a potential job."

"Yes, yes of course. I'll be there as soon as possible."

"Good, I look forwards to speaking with you."

"Bye." Lindsey hung up the phone with a sigh of relief. A
job would mean one less obstacle to tackle today. She still had to
get Garrett into a school and find a place for them to live.

"Garrett, I'm going to go take a shower then go into town. You
stay here and be a good boy for Marcus. Okay?"

Garrett nodded as he put another spoonful of cereal into his mouth.
Lindsey smiled then hurried upstairs to take a shower.

Marcus found Garrett slurping at the milk in his cereal bowl when
he took a seat next to the little boy.

"Can I have some more?" He asked as he put his spoon in
his mouth and licked it clean.

"A little bit more, that's it." Marcus refilled his bowel
before he poured some cereal for himself.

"Is Lauren coming back over today?" Garrett asked between
mouthfuls of cereal.

Marcus chuckled. "Yeah she is. She'll be here this afternoon
after she gets home from school. I bet you'll want to help her get
Tonka ready for the parade."

"Yeah!" The little boy's smile turned to a frown as he
remembered, "But momma won't let me ride in the parade with
her."

"Well I think I can fix that. You won't get to ride, but what
about driving a wagon?"

"A wagon? Like an old cowboy?"

"Yep, that's right. Then you'll still be in the parade with
the horses. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah! Momma can't say no to that also, can she?"

"I doubt she will." Marcus ruffled the little boy's hair
and then took their plates to the sink.

"Momma says I'm supposed to stay with you while she goes into
town."

"She's leaving me to baby sit again huh?"

"I'm not a baby!" He put his hands on his hips and lifted
his chin a notch.

"Of course not." Marcus chuckled. "Come on kiddo,
you can ride with me to the feed store."

"Can I drive?"

"Not until you're older." Marcus said as he held the
front door open and ushered the boy down the steps.

Garrett jumped up and down in excitement as Marcus led him over to
his old pickup truck. As they started down the gravel road Garrett
grabbed the hat off of Marcus's head and put it on his own.

"I want a cowboy hat. I wanna be a real cowboy just like you!"

"Then I guess you better take this one." Marcus pulled
the hat down over the boy's eyes. "Although it is a little
big."

Garrett laughed and pulled the hat back up. He looked up at
Marcus's hair and giggled. "Your hair is all messy."

"That's because someone took my hat." Marcus gave a mock
growl and tried to snatch the hat away.

"Can I turn the radio on?" Garrett clamped his hand down
on the top of the hat and fiddled with the radio.

"Sure." Marcus regretted the decision the rest of the
drive. Garrett flipped from station to station until he found a
country one. Then he turned the volume up as loud as he could stand
and tried to sing along.

"Momma never lets me listen to the radio!" He screamed
over the blare of the county singer's twanging voice.

"I wonder why?" Marcus said but Garrett didn't hear him.
He was too busy trying to sing along again.

At the feed store the man at the counter, Rick grinned at Marcus as
Garrett followed in behind him trying to copy the cowboy swagger of
Marcus's stride. When Garrett realized his imitation was going to
leave him straggling behind he ran a few steps to catch up and then
tried to swagger after Marcus again.

"Well now, I thought the only one who could get you to take
that hat off was Lauren. I guess I was wrong." Rick watched
the boy stop beside Marcus and try to copy his relaxed pose as he
stood before the counter.

"This is Garrett. Garrett, this is my friend Greg."

The little boy looked up at Rick and smiled revealing the hole from
his missing front tooth. "Marcus says I can be in the parade.
Are you going to the parade Mr. Greg?"

"Well I can't say I was going to, but if you're going to be in
it then I just might have to make an exception." Rick winked
at Marcus before he opened a jar on the counter and pulled a piece
of licorice out. He handed the candy down to the boy who thanked
him in delight.

"What happened to your face?" Rick asked, motioning to
bruising on Marcus's face.

"I ran into a fist. Its really not that bad."

"Well it sure looks it." He chuckled. "What can I
get you today?"

"Same as usual."

Rick nodded as he started to ring up the order on the cash
register. "Where'd you come by this little tyke?"

"He's the son of…a friend." Marcus finished
quickly trying to cover his uncertainty.

"For a second I thought he was yours and that you've been
hiding him away all these years. He sure does look like you."

"Naw, not mine. Although Brenda keeps telling me she'd like to
give me one of my own." Marcus grinned as he handed over his
credit card.

"You ever gonna make an honest woman out of that lady? You two
sure do well together." Rick gave Marcus his card back and
then came around the counter to help him gather the bags of feed
they would load into the back of his truck.

"I was thinking about this winter… but you know the
timing is never right. Last winter Lauren broke her arm and it just
didn't seem right with her so worried, and the winter before that I
still couldn't make up my mind. You know how it is."

"Well I doubt that little lady will wait for you forever.
Better do something right quick this winter. I know if I weren't
married I'd have snatched her up in a second. That little girl of
hers is the cutest little thing in three counties. All my boys love
her to pieces and invite her over every chance they get. You should
have seen, last week she came to the fall barbeque—which you
should have come to," he glared at Marcus for a second before
continuing. "And Brian called her chubby. You should have seen
the way she decked him one. Gave him a bloody nose and a renewed
sense of respect for a girl's feelings."

"What can I say, she takes after her mom." Marcus grinned
as he picked up two more bags of grain and followed Rick out to his
truck. Garrett was sitting on the front steps of the store chewing
on his licorice and he jumped up when they came out. He offered to
help but this time Marcus turned him down.

"Not this time bud. Next time."

"Aw."

"Yeah yeah, I know. You can help me with the horses when we
get back to the ranch."

"Okay." The little boy replied with a sullen expression.

"Oh Rick I forgot to ask." Marcus tossed the feed into
the back of his truck and turned to his friend. "Are you gonna
have Connie and your boys driving the wagon again in the parade
tomorrow?"

"Sure will."

"You wouldn't mind if Garrett rode along, would you?"

"Course not! My boys would be delighted to have him. That
gives them one more excuse to hitch up both horses. They've been
begging me to let them drive both horses this year. I was already
going to say yes, but it's nice to hold it over their heads."
He chuckled and turned back to his store. "I'll see you boys
tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow." Marcus said with a smile and a wave as he
ushered Garrett back into the truck. To Marcus's great misfortune,
the first thing Garrett did was turn the radio back on.