City Lights... Country Nights

The next week I called Kelly to go dancing again, "If I'm there with you, you won't have to fight off Lowell."

She laughed at that but agreed to go with me. We both had a lot of fun and laughed frequently. A couple of times I noticed she seemed a bit wistful, like she felt guilty for enjoying herself. I understood and didn't say anything.

The evening was marred only by an ugly incident. I'd gone back to the restroom and when I got back, a drunken Lowell was there, jerking on Kelly's arm insisting she dance with him. He was a mean drunk. I felt like beating the crap out of him but I had been around the block enough times to know that wasn't the best way. I twisted his arm up around his back and called over to Mary behind the bar to get the bouncer.

Lowell was taken away screaming, "I'll get you, goddamn stuck up bitch."

After that, Kelly wanted to be taken home right away. I could tell it really upset her. When we got to her house I offered to come in for a while, but she said, "No, I just want to be with my kids for now. Could you take Katie home for me?"

I had her wait for a minute while I wrote my home and cell numbers for her. "Please call me immediately if you have any problems with that asshole again."

Sunday morning she called and invited me over for dinner. "It's just fried chicken and mashed potatoes. That what the kids like."

The dinner was quite good. Annie was very shy but Timmy was just the opposite. He was very mature for his age and had a self-confidence that belied his age. Both were very polite and as nice kids as you could find.

After they went to bed, Kelly put on some soft music and we danced for a few songs. We wound up on the sofa and I found myself kissing a very different Kelly than the skinny girl of twenty years ago. I was sensitive to her body language and stopped at the right time while she was still feeling good about what we were doing but not getting nervous about it.

We stood by the door chatting and I asked her if she had any plans for the next Sunday.

"Nothing special – I'll probably just fry more chicken," she laughed.

"I have two Rio Grande turkeys I shot when I was at the King Ranch. My mom is going to fix one of them. She asked me to invite you over. Do your kids ride horses?"

"Yeah, they do. But I just have mine in the barn and she's too big for them."

"Well, come on over then. I can pick you up and we have horses that would be fine for the kids. We can all go for a ride before dinner."

"Okay, my arm is getting sore … you can stop twisting it now," she smiled.

The next Saturday night we drove into San Antonio for dinner at Boudro's on the Riverwalk for some blackened prime rib. Kelly had never been there before and really enjoyed it. A mariachi band strolling along the Riverwalk came by and I gave them some money to play, "Yo Soy El Aventurero" which had always been one of my favorites. She enjoyed that a lot since she had never heard it.

We had a nice drive back, not much conversation but a companionable silence. About halfway home, she impulsively leaned over and kissed my cheek and took my hand. I looked over at her and saw she was looking forward with a small smile on her lips. I was never that great at women's body language so I wasn't able to figure out what her enigmatic smile might mean. Oh, well. At least it wasn't a frown.

I didn't go in when we got back; she just sent the babysitter out. The next morning, I picked up Kelly and her kids and took them to the church she went to and then on to my folks. When we got there, dad was just setting up the grill for one of the turkeys I'd shot down at the King Ranch. From experience, I knew it would take a while, so after introducing Kelly and her kids, I took her over to see the vet building and my apartment while mom gave the kids some cookies she had baked.

Kelly was fascinated by the large animal clinic since it was set up with hoists and a large table so that surgery could be performed on even the largest animal. When I showed her the apartment I sensed it wasn't the right time to try anything with her but as I showed her the view of the ranch out of my second floor apartment she leaned back into me when I put my arms on her shoulders. I nuzzled the back of her neck and she seemed to like that.

We went back and got the kids, and took them to the barn and adjoining corral. Dad had brought several horses in from the pasture for us to take the kids for a ride. Kelly had assured me she was a competent rider so I put her up on a spirited mare. The kids were both on docile ponies and I had my favorite, a lineback dun that handled my large frame with ease.

Kelly turned out to be quietly competent. Annie did okay but she didn't seem at ease. Timmy surprised me though; he had a natural seat and rode like he was part of the pony. I thought about working with him on his horsemanship but I'd have to talk to Kelly about that.

The turkey turned out perfect and mom had fixed all the trimmings. I knew my mom had never really liked Holly although she tried to get along with her. She did seem taken with Kelly. After dinner, Kelly helped mom clean up and dad and I took the kids over to the veterinary office and showed them around. Dad explained to them the problems of doing surgery on a large horse and showed them how the hoists worked.

I took Kelly and the kids home, and we all watched a Disney movie that Kelly had rented. Kelly didn't show any hesitation in holding my hand in front of the kids. I knew I was falling for her and it scared me to death. I had totally lost confidence in myself when Holly dumped me. I also sensed that Kelly was skittish as a colt about entering into a serious relationship. Some of that was a lingering grief for her husband but I thought most of it was concern for her kids. It was clear that they were the most important part of her life.

And that was fine with me. It was clear that Holly and I had rushed into marriage too soon and, in retrospect, the surprise wasn't that it hadn't worked out but that it had lasted as long as it did.

Dad seemed reluctant in totally letting go of the business part of the ranch but that was okay with me. We had a nice easy-going relationship and I didn't have any problem working it any way he wanted.

I was spending more and more time with Kelly and her kids and I was enjoying their company. I took them on several picnics and was pleased when I took them fishing at Medina Lake and Annie was the one that caught several bass to provide a great dinner for us. It was funny to watch her boss Kelly around in the kitchen while her mom was cooking her fish. Timmy didn't have the patience for fishing – he was more of the bull in the china shop, take no prisoners, full-speed ahead type. I got worn out just watching him.

Kelly and I continued going dancing at least one night a week, usually at the Silver Dollar. We didn't see any more of Lowell Brown and that was fine with us. We didn't really drink very much, maybe a couple of beers a night. I was pleased that she seemed to want to dance mostly with me. She never danced with a stranger – just with old friends.

It was about four months after I met Kelly when all of our lives were changed by a traumatic incident. I got a frantic call from her about two in the morning. Lowell had come to her front door drunk and angry. She looked through the window and was scared when she saw a gun in his hand, so she grabbed the kids and snuck them out the back door with them. She quietly had walked around the house and when Lowell broke in the front door, she ran for her car.

Lowell heard her car start and came running out firing his pistol at her car. At the time of her call he was chasing her down the highway shooting at her car … one of the bullets had broken her rear window. I told her to drive to the vet building, around back where the door to my apartment was.

I called 911 and grabbed a shotgun off the rack and a couple shells from the shelf by the door. I loaded the twelve-gauge, ran down the stairs and stood in the shadows by my truck. A couple of minutes later Kelly came screeching in and I could hear Lowell's car turning off the highway. I pulled Kelly and her kids behind the truck and waited.

Lowell pulled in on the other side of Kelly's car and looked in it. I hoped I could reason with him, so I stepped out but still stood behind the hood of my truck.

I yelled, "Brown, put the gun down! The police are on their way."

I could, in fact, hear the sirens of the Texas State Police cars wailing not too far away. I fired one barrel of the Remington up in the air to get his attention.

Lowell dropped his pistol to his side then before I could react, he whipped it up and shot at me. I felt a hard blow hit my left shoulder and instinctively leveled the shotgun and gave him the other barrel. I had been hunting for too many years to miss at the short distance between us. The double aught pellets pretty much tore his head off.

Dad got there just as the two patrol cars turned in. He hadn't been able to sleep and had been sitting on the front porch of the ranch house enjoying the night and when Kelly had driven in so fast, he started running towards us.

It was chaos for a while but they called a helicopter for me – there was clearly no hurry for one for Lowell - and with dad's quiet voice explaining what had happened it settled down fast. I was out of there within ten minutes and shortly afterwards was at University Hospital in San Antonio.

There were no long-term consequences from the awful episode. My shoulder was torn up pretty good and even with a couple of operations, I never regained full range of movement. It also complained a lot on those cold, dark days of winter. I felt bad for taking a life but I knew I had no choice and would do it again with no hesitation to protect what I hoped would be my family. I wound up giving the shotgun to a buddy of mine.

The kids had bad dreams for a while and Kelly backed off from the closeness we had gained for several months but we all weathered the storm. Kelly was upset enough that she closed the feed store for a couple of weeks. She took her kids and stayed with her mom in San Antone. She turned quiet and reserved and not as affectionate. Annie had nightmares for a while but Timmy didn't seem bothered at all.

A month after the shooting incident I got the final divorce papers from Holly. The receiving of them was painful, like an injury that takes a long time to heal, but I didn't feel as bad as I thought I might. I guess time and distance could heal a lot of things. What had bothered me the most was that I'd no clue that it was going to happen. I knew I had been traveling too much but Holly had never complained.

I guess we were just too young when we married and got those two four letter words mixed up: lust and love.

The day I got the papers from Holly, I got a call from Kelly inviting me over for dinner. I told her about the divorce papers but her reaction wasn't what I'd figured it would be.

She looked serious and asked, "How do you feel about it, Jim?"

"I don't know. I guess like making a little doll of her and throwing it in the fireplace."

"Jim! That's not like you. I don't like hearing you talk like that even in jest."

"I'm sorry; I guess I'm a bit bitter. Come here and you can forgive me."

The kids were outside playing so I pulled her down to my lap. We kissed for a while but she started getting antsy so I knew she was expecting the kids to come in. She didn't feel comfortable yet showing affection to me in front of Annie and Timmy.

Kelly and her family came over to my folks for both Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Both were a lot of fun and I could see mom and dad both were becoming attached to Kelly and her two kids. Christmas morning she bundled her family up and drove to Fredericksburg where her mom had moved after leaving Corpus Christi. It's about an hour drive and she was going to stay up there for a week or so. After the 'incident' she had given more responsibility to the man working for her, so she didn't have to be there every day.

That Saturday night I decided to go on to the Silver Dollar. Not for the dancing but to nurse a couple of beers and listen to the music. I'd been there a little under an hour when I felt someone's hands on my shoulder.

"Hey, cowboy, wanna dance?"

I jumped up and there was Kelly, all tricked out in her dancing clothes and shiny Justins.

I took her up on her offer and pulled her out to the dance floor. I put my arms around her, holding her tight. It just felt so right. I knew then that I loved her … loved her in a deeper, more mature love than I'd ever had for Holly.

I whispered in her ear, "I love you, Kelly." It must have been the right thing to say because she liked to have burst my ribs she squeezed so tight.

She pulled my head down and kissed me with more that a little bit of fire. "Jim, the kids are still with my mom. Please take me home now."

She sat next to me in the truck, her hand on my leg, leaning against my side. When we got to her place, I kissed her with all the softness and caring that was in my heart. I pulled back enough to look into her eyes, hooded in the darkness.

"Kelly, is this what you want?"

"Yes, Jim. With all my heart."

I helped her out of the truck and we went into her house, going right to the bedroom. The only light was a nightlight in her bathroom and in the dimness of her room I slowly undressed her, gently kissing her body, as it was uncovered.

I remembered at the last minute that I hadn't planned this and I had no protection with me. Damn, I hadn't been with a woman since Holly left.

"It's okay, Jim. I know it's okay."

"Kelly, are you on the pill, or …"

"Jim, Jim! Just love me. I love you and want you with me forever." She looked at me shyly in the dim light, "Jim … I … I want to have your baby. I know it's the right thing."

I was somewhat stunned by what she said but after a quick reflection it sounded right to me too. She wasn't perfect, but hell, I wasn't either. I kissed her stretch marks, admired the full rounded hips, and made love to those breasts that showed the slight sag of motherhood. She was all a man could ask for and we shared our passion there on her bed.

She cried after the first time and I lay there with her in my arms, stroking her back and gentling her with soft words and loving touches. Later in the dark night a storm moved in and the noise of the sleet hitting the windows woke us to start a torrent of filling each other's wants and needs. The next morning we woke and looked askance of one another and saw the love we would share until the end.

The next morning I drove her to Fredericksburg to meet her mom. On the way, we made plans for getting married without either of us specifically asking about it. It was just the right thing to do and we knew it.

I got on well with her mom and saw the peace and happiness in Kelly's eyes as she saw how happy the kids were to see me and saw how much I loved them.

******

Now, in the autumn of our years we look back with thankfulness on the circumstances that brought us together. We moved to my folks' ranch after they died and Timmy took over his mom's place. After a couple of years on the rodeo circuit Tim – as he came to prefer – went to school to become a vet and took over the business at the front of the ranch.

Annie became a pediatrician and lived in San Antone and Angie, the daughter of our love, was a vet tech working for Tim and living in the apartment that I had when I met Kelly. I seemed to see a lot of pickup trucks stopping by Angie's door but she says she is in no hurry, that she only wants to pick a man once in her life.

As time went on I came to understand that I had needed the experience of Holly to really appreciate what I had in Kelly.

Life has been good to us.