Texas Heat — Chapter 9
A thin line runs between betrayal and sacrifice. Figuring out the difference could cost a man his heart.
Corey’s kitchen and living area shared one space with a worn leather couch, two chairs, and a table. The boy didn’t have much trouble finding his way around. He hung his hat on the back of one of the kitchen chairs and took a seat.
“You can have fried bologna or cold bologna,” Corey offered. “Which one you want?”
“You got any eggs?” The boy asked.
“Yeah, you want eggs instead?”
“I like fried egg and bologna sandwiches.”
An unnamed emotion squeezed Corey’s heart. Dang if the kid didn’t have the same liking for fried eggs and bologna sandwiches that he did. He’d eaten a mountain of them when he was his age.
“Sounds good to me. Why don’t you break out some ice and pour us both a glass of tea while I get these sandwiches made.”
Two sandwiches, three glasses of tea, and a hunk of chocolate cake later, the boy appeared to be slowing down. Good thing, Corey mused. He was now out of bread, cake, and tea.
“It’s sure hot in here,” the boy said as he pushed his plate back. “Don’t you have an air-conditioner?”
“It quit working last week. I haven’t had time to check it out yet. There’s some shade on the back porch, let’s move out there, maybe catch a breeze.”
The back porch was too small for chairs so Corey sat on the top step and motioned for the boy to do the same. It was a tight fit, their shoulders only six inches apart, but the boy didn’t seem to care.
He knew the kid had something on his mind. Why else would he hitch eight miles just to end up on the back porch steps of a man he didn’t like? Maybe he wanted some help with his bull-riding technique after all. It would be a lot easier if they could build some kind of relationship before he told the boy he was his father. Yeah, he could ease into this whole father thing, making it better for him and the boy. The whole afternoon was free; they might as well get started.
“You got something on your mind, something you want to ask me?”
The kid slid off the step and moved to stand in front of him, making the level of their eyes about the same. That was another thing he liked about this kid, he was not afraid to look a man in the eye.
“How come you made my mom pregnant? Don’t you know about safe sex? I’m only twelve, and I know about it.”
Corey felt the heat move up his neck and pool around his eyes. It was everything he could do not to lower them. A few times in his life he’d felt ashamed, but he’d never been shamed, not as those few words had done. His son had asked him a straight question; he was not going to give him anything but a straight answer.
“At eighteen, I wasn’t half as smart as you appear to be. I was arrogant and selfish. I wanted to have sex with your mother, so I used her feelings to convince her that, if she loved me, she would give in to me. It is not something I’m proud of. So let me give you a piece of advice. A real man doesn’t bargain with his lady’s heart. Does that answer your question?”
By the red flush moving up his son’s face, Corey knew that his honesty had been more than the boy had expected.
“My mom said that you loved each other. Is that true?”
“Yes, I loved your mother. Whether or not she loved me — you’ll have to take her word for that.’
“I already did. When she told me about you, I asked her then. She said you were the only man she ever loved. She also said that you were a scoundrel sometimes, too stubborn for your own good.”
Corey couldn’t miss the gleam of mischievous satisfaction in the boy’s eyes as he shared that last thought.
“How do you feel about what she told you?” Corey asked, trying to get a feel for how deep the water of this conversation was going to get.
“You mean about you being my father? I didn’t like it at first. But I’ve had a couple of weeks to get used to it. You aren’t anything like my dad…I mean Mr. Covington.”
The boy’s eyes drifted then as if he were temporarily somewhere else.
“It’s okay to call Les Covington dad. If he was good to you and your mom, he deserves to be remembered with respect.”
“He was a great guy, and he was always nice to Mom. Not like you, making her cry a lot.”
“Your mom and I have some problems that you wouldn’t understand. Sometimes that makes it hard to be nice to each other.”
“Mom said you didn’t understand and were too bullheaded to listen, so I’m going to tell you anyway. She’s going to be mad when she finds out, but you should know.”
“Know what?”
“She said her father found out about you sneaking up to her bedroom. He made her pack the next day and he sent her to live with my great-aunt Lisa in England. My grandfather didn’t let her come home for almost two years. By then, you were already in jail. She couldn’t help you with your trial because she wasn’t here. She didn’t know. When she did find out, her dad threatened to have something bad happen to you in jail if she tried to get you out.”
Corey rose to his feet and walked to the corner of the porch. His head spun and his stomach churned. He grasped the corner post just as his stomach decided to empty its contents.
“Gosh, man! Are you okay?” The boy’s voice rose with panic.
Corey grabbed the water hose attached to the faucet by the steps. He rinsed his mouth and splashed the cool liquid on his face. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said as he reached to turn off the water.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, you want to hear the rest then?”
Corey propped one foot on the bottom step. He crossed his arms and leaning forward, braced them across his legs. “You want to tell me?”
“Yeah, I think you should know.”
“I’m listening.”
“When mom got back she was twenty. She didn’t have a job or money, just me. Her dad said, if she wanted to live with him, she’d have to get me adopted. She didn’t tell me much about how she got married, just that she did. And that it was the only thing she could do to make sure she could take care of me.”
The boy stopped talking and Corey waited to make sure he was through before he replied. “It took a lot of guts to come over here and tell me this. And you were right, I needed to know. Your mother was right too, I am too bull-headed. I should have listened when she wanted to tell me herself.”
“You going to stop making her cry now?”
Corey put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and squeezed.
“Joey, I’m going to do a lot better than that, and you can help me if you want.”
“Sure. What you got in mind?”
To be continued…
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