Thankful for Love (19 page)

“None taken. Let's go watch the game.”

• • •

Five hours later, Jack and Quanna stood with their arms around each other, waving goodbye to the Wilsons and Ibarras as they left the ranch. All the guests were fed, half were happy with the results of the football game, invitations to have dinner before the holiday season set in had been extended to the couple, and the menu for Thanksgiving dinner had been settled. It had been, at least in Jack's opinion, a successful day.

As the last vehicle made its way up the dirt road, he leaned over and kissed Quanna before asking her the question he'd been dying to ask. “A good day, don't you think? The only thing I can think of to make it better would be if you could stay overnight.”

“You know I can't. Besides, aren't you in mourning because OSU blew it in the last two minutes of the game? I don't think you'd be much fun tonight after the loss.”

“Baby, I guarantee if I could have you in my bed, I'd be one hell of a lot of fun.”

She made a cute, pouty face. “I'm sorry I won't get to find that out.”

“Not half as sorry as I am.” He took her hand, and they slowly walked back to the house. “But you didn't answer my question. Do you think it was a good day?”

“It was fun. Your friends were great.”

“I told you they'd like you. All your worrying was a waste of energy.” He stopped before they got to the front door. “So we have my family and friends out of the way. Now how about we tell your family? Should we have your mother and brothers here for dinner? Go to her house? What do you think?”

She groaned. “My family's complicated. Can we talk about it another time?”

“All right. As long as you promise we will talk about it.”

“I promise but not right now. I need to get back into the house. I left Barbara and Amanda doing dishes and cleaning up the kitchen. I should be in there putting things away.”

“Lane and Barb know where things go. And Sam's used to having Barb boss him around while Amanda laughs and enjoys the sight. It's part of the family ritual. You spent the week getting ready. Let them spend a couple hours cleaning up.”

“I can't do that, Jack.” She opened the front door and headed for the kitchen, which, to her surprise, was completely cleaned up. The only evidence of what had gone on was the sound of the dishwasher running and a stack of plastic containers on the counter: larger ones filled with chili, smaller ones full of cookies and brownies.

“I hope you don't mind,” Barbara said. “There was a lot of chili left over so I'd like to take some home. Lane says it's the best he's ever had. And the boys have raved about your brownies and cookies since this summer.”

“I'm taking some with me when we go home tomorrow, too, if you don't mind,” Amanda said. “All I heard about when Sammy and Jack came back to Portland after their stay here was how good your cooking is. If you want to start a long-distance catering service, I'll sign up.”

“I appreciate the compliments, but all it takes to please boys is to have a lot of whatever you're making. At least in my family. But take whatever you want. Jack and the boys will be living on the leftovers for a week if you don't.”

Amanda dried her hands on a cotton dishtowel then asked, “Where do you want these dirty towels to go? ”

 “Leave them on the counter,” Jack said. “I'll take them up to the laundry room when I take the boys up for bed.” He looked back into the living room. “Where are they, by the way? It's alarmingly quiet around here.”

Amanda said, “I sent them upstairs with ours already. They should be in pjs with their teeth brushed and reading. Or making a mess up there instead of down here. I'll go get them settled. You should take care of getting Quanna home.”

“I have my car. I don't need a lift,” Quanna said.

“But it's dark and looks like it's about to rain. You should have someone follow you home to make sure you don't have a problem on the road.”

Sam said, “That doesn't make sense. Why should both of them drive all the way into Pendleton?”

Amanda stared at her husband. “Hush, Sam. I imagine your brother agrees with me, don't you, Jack?”

He grinned. “Yup. I absolutely do.”

“Really, Jack, it's not necessary,” Quanna said. “You have your family here. You don't need to ...” Apparently the expression on Amanda's face and Jack's grin registered. “Oh, I see.”

“Good. Then get your things collected,” Jack said. “You must be tired after all your hard work. I bet you can hardly wait to get into bed.”

He may have been the only one who heard his brother say, “That makes two people in the room anxious for the pretty nanny to get into bed.”

Jack ignored the comment. He merely said, “I'll go tell the boys what I'm doing, and then we'll hit the road.”

• • •

“It's getting late. I don't want you to leave, but hadn't you better start back to the ranch?” Quanna had tried not to notice the clock, but the glowing numerals couldn't be avoided any longer.

“I don't want to leave, but I guess I have to.” He sat up on the edge of the futon. “Before I go, is this a better time to ask about meeting your family?”

She sat up beside him, twisting the edge of the sheet in her hands. “This is as good a time as any, I guess. It's kind of a problem, introducing you to my family. Do you remember my telling you about what happened to my brother?”

“You mean his wife leaving him and their kids.”

“Yes. She hated living on the reservation.” She finally looked at Jack. “She's white. She moved back to someplace in the Puget Sound where she had relatives.”

“You think it'll bother me in the same way? Is that what's worrying you?”

“No, I'm sure you'll be fine. It's my mom. She doesn't trust white people much because of what happened ... well, and a few other things over the years.”

“So, all this about how my family would feel about you is what ... a reflection of the problems your brother had?”

“No, this is in addition to his experience. But since we've outed ourselves to your family, I guess we should do the same with mine. I don't know how my mother will react. She might even refuse to meet you.”

Jack put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into an embrace. “But she married someone who wasn't Indian.”

“And it caused problems with her parents for years. Eventually, wanting to see the grandkids wore my grandmother down. But that doesn't mean my mother will just roll over about us. She accepted my brother's wife and got burned. I don't know if she'll be so accepting again.”

“Okay, then, how do we get around it?”

“If we talked with my brother first, he might have some ideas. Maybe he'd even help us.”

“Then let's set up something this coming week with him.” He stood up, and put on his boxer briefs and jeans. As he was buttoning his shirt, he said, “Your brother's an artist, right?”

She tied the sash on her robe. “Yes, a photographer. Why?”

“Just refreshing my memory about him.”

• • •

Like hell he was refreshing his memory, Jack thought as he drove home through the fall rain. If it took winning over Quanna's brother to get help with her mother, maybe he knew a way to do it. He hoped his sister-in-law was still awake when he got home so he could talk to her. Or he would hit her up in the morning. Either way, she could be the key to getting Quanna's family to accept him.

The following Wednesday, Jack and Quanna waited in the café at the Wildhorse Resort drinking coffee. At least, Jack was drinking coffee. Quanna was playing with her cup and looking around the room every few minutes wondering where her brother was.

He finally arrived, ten minutes late. Quanna was happy to see he was dressed in a neatly ironed shirt and a pair of new-looking jeans. Even though she knew he didn't dress in ratty clothes for work, still she'd worried about what he'd look like. She wanted him to make as good an impression on Jack as Jack's siblings had made on her.

“Sorry, Q. Got held up at the campgrounds with a customer. I tried calling you, but it went to voice mail.” He put his hand out to Jack. “Hi, I'm Frank Morales. And you are ...?”

Jack took his hand. “Jack Richardson.”

“Quanna's boss? Is there a problem?”

Jack glanced over at Quanna who shook her head before saying, “No, no problem. Not really. Why don't you order coffee before we get into what I want to talk about.”

Frank ordered coffee. Quanna asked after her niece and nephew while they waited for it to arrive. After he had a chance to drink some of it, Frank asked, “So, ready to talk about why you wanted to meet this morning, Quanna?”

“Well,” she began.

Jack interrupted. “Before we get to the reason we're here, I have something I want to give you.” He dug in the pocket of his shearling coat and pulled out a business card. “This has the e-mail address of my sister-in-law, Amanda St. Clair, on it. She's a pretty well-known glass artist. If you'll send her images of your photographs and she likes what she sees, she'll pass them along to a gallery owner she knows in Portland who's looking for undiscovered artists to represent.”

Frank looked down at the card then at his sister. “Did you put him up to this, Quanna?”

“This is the first I've heard about it. I'm as surprised as you are. When did this all happen, Jack?”

“We got talking last Sunday before she left to go back to Portland, and I mentioned Frank was a photographer with a good eye and she ...”

“How do you know I'm good?” Frank interrupted.

“I've seen your work in Quanna's apartment. Anyway, Amanda knows how hard it is to get started in the business and likes to help new artists. She also agrees with me that this side of the state should have more of a presence in the art galleries in Portland than it does. So, she wants to take a look at your work. You interested?”

“Interested? Of course I am. It could be a huge break.” He turned the card over and over in his fingers. “But why are you doing this?”

“I like your work. In fact, I'd like a piece of it myself one of these days.”

Frank looked back and forth from his sister to the man sitting next to her. Quanna could almost see the wheels turning in his head. “Is there a connection between what Quanna wants to talk about and this offer?” Quanna started to answer, but Frank waved her off. “No, wait. Let me see if I can connect the dots. You two are involved. Quanna's trying to figure out how to break it to our mom. She wants my help. Jack thought if he did me a favor, I'd be more likely to agree. Right?”

“Gee, I wonder why I even bothered to come along. I could have kept working while the two of you took care of everything.” Quanna wasn't nervous anymore. She was annoyed.

“I apologize, sweetheart,” Jack said as Frank said, “I'm sorry, Q.”

“I don't know who's more annoying—Jack because you went behind my back to Amanda or Frank for not giving me a chance to explain what's going on.”

“You're right. Let's start over,” Frank said. He stood up and put his hand out to Jack. “Hi, I'm Frank Morales. And you are ...?”

“Sit down. Don't be absurd,” Quanna said. She waited until he was settled back in his chair before continuing. “Okay. You're right. We're involved. And yes, I want to introduce Jack to Mom. And, yes, I'm looking for some advice on how to approach her.”

Frank looked directly at Jack. “Was I also right about the reason you offered to help me get into a gallery in Portland?”

“I didn't think it would hurt.” He reached for Quanna's hand, but she pulled it away. When Frank raised an eyebrow, Jack looked embarrassed. “I didn't tell Quanna so you wouldn't get mad at her if you were offended at what might be considered a bribe.”

“Looks like you made the wrong Morales mad,” Frank said. “I'll let you work it out with Quanna, but I'm not mad. I'd never turn down an offer of help. Your sister-in-law's right. Art is a hard business. But just so you know, I'd have been willing to help my sister even without the favor.” He leaned across the table and swatted Quanna on the arm. “So if you can get over your snit about not knowing what Jack was up to, let's figure out how you approach Mom.”

“If some of the conversation can include me from now on, I'm fine,” Quanna said, not sure she felt fine at all.

“Okay, baby sister. I'll take your word for it. As for Mom, I guess the good news is she hasn't ranted about my ex-wife, the white devil, in at least a month. Maybe she's mellowing.”

Jack shuddered. “It's that bad?”

“Yeah, but I'll talk to her. See if I can find out what her current mood is.”

“Do you think we should invite her to Jack's for dinner or go to the house to see her?” Quanna asked.

“You definitely need to go to her. Making her come to you would be a bad move. And don't try to bribe her with flowers or candy, Jack. She hates that sort of thing, although if you brought a video for Miguel, it would be okay. Quanna's told you about our brother, hasn't she?” Jack nodded and he went on. “She'll expect you to answer a bunch of questions about your relationship. Be prepared for anything. Even with people she likes, she's blunt. Oh, and she has her heart set on Quanna graduating from college. You better be ready to tell her what you think about that.”

“Not a problem. I completely agree.”

“Good. She'll approve, at least of that response.” Frank looked at his watch and finished his coffee. “Sorry to advise and run, but I gotta get back to work. We're unusually busy for this time of the year, and I'm short staffed. I'll talk to Mom and call you, Quanna. And, Jack, thanks for the contact with your sister-in-law. I'll follow up on it tonight.”