Читать книгу The Judge - Jan Hudson, Jan Hudson - Страница 11

J.J. walked ahead and carried Katy while Mary Beth and Carrie brought along the stadium seats. As they moved with the crowd to the bleachers, smells of popcorn, peanuts and fall in the air brought a wave of sweet nostalgia. The band was playing, and the team ran around the field warming up. Excitement was in the air, and it was catching. Carrie felt a zing run through her, and a grin spread over her face.

“This brings back a lot of memories,” Carrie said.

“Doesn’t it? Where did you go to high school?”

“Cypress-Fairbanks. It’s a suburb of Houston. Those were some of the happiest days of my life.”

But those days hadn’t started out happy, she recalled. Carrie had felt alone and abandoned when her mother had dumped her with Uncle Tuck when Carrie was barely fourteen. Amanda’s soon-to-be husband was a mining engineer.

“Darling,” Amanda had told her, “Richard and I will be traveling to all sorts of remote places, and I want you to have proper schooling. They have wonderful schools in Cy-Fair, and you’ll get a good background for college. It breaks my heart to leave you, but I’ll visit often.”

She hadn’t. Despite the teary-eyed hugs and kisses and promises, Amanda hadn’t shown up for two years. With Amanda, out of sight was out of mind. Carrie always suspected that one of the reasons her mother had ditched her was that Richard didn’t want a teenager around.

Tucker Campbell, her father’s older brother, was an independent oilman and a widower with a sixteen-year-old son, Sam. Uncle Tuck didn’t know what to do with a teenage girl, either, but he had a heart as big as Texas and was game to try. She adored Sam and Uncle Tuck and loved living on the ranch with a horse of her own and making new friends at the high school where Sam paved the way for her.

Her school’s stadium, the one where she’d cheered her football player cousin, was very much like this one, she thought as she followed J.J. and Mary Beth up the stairs.

When they reached a spot on the fifty-yard line about halfway up the bleachers, J.J. said, “Here we are, Katy-bug,” and put the child down. “You’re going to have to go on a diet. You’re getting heavy.”

Katy giggled. “You always say that.”

“I do? I’ll have to think up a new line.” He smiled and tapped her nose gently. “And you’re not fat. You’re just right.”

The little girl beamed. “I want a hot dog.”

“Already?” J.J. asked as he set up the stadium seats on the weathered wood bleachers.

Katy nodded and took a seat between Mary Beth and J.J. Carrie sat on the end next to Mary Beth.

“Let me catch my breath,” J.J. said, “and I’ll do a concession run. What do you ladies want?”

He took orders for hot dogs, drinks, popcorn and peanuts.

“How are you going to carry all that?” Carrie asked. “Want me to go and help?”

“Naw, I’m resourceful. I can handle it.”

“It’s a man thing,” Mary Beth said as his boots clattered down the wooden steps.

Carrie smiled. “I understand macho.” And she did. From the time she was fourteen, she’d learned how to navigate in a male world. That background had served her well in her studies and her work.

Mary Beth waved at someone and Carrie turned to look. Frank was making his way toward them with a pair of dark-haired children about Katy’s size. His twins, she surmised. This was the first time she’d seen him in anything other than business clothes. He had on well-worn jeans and a plaid western shirt under his jean jacket. He wore black boots and a black cowboy hat that looked to be the twin of the one J.J. always wore. And he looked darned good in his cowboy duds.

Darned good.

“Well, hello,” he said to her, smiling broadly. “I’m surprised to see you here.”

“And I’m surprised to see you, Judge.”

“Our family has season tickets for this whole row. Have had for years. We’re all big Mustang fans.” He took three stadium seats from a large canvas bag he carried and started setting them up. “Carrie, this is my daughter Janey and my son Jimmy. Kids, say hello to Miss Carrie.”

They both said a shy hello, then Janey tugged on Frank’s pant leg and whispered, “I want to sit by Katy.”

“Do you mind?” Frank asked Carrie.

“Not at all.” Carrie rose to change seats and by the time the kids had shuffled everybody around to accommodate them, Carrie ended up sitting between Janey and Frank.

“Thanks. They’re bosom buddies,” Frank said, nodding to the two whispering, giggling girls.

“Dad,” Jimmy said, “I’m hungry. Can I have a hot dog?”