“I understand that you love what you’re doing, and I’ve got a good crew to run things after I’m gone,” Harry said as he unstrapped Zoe and took her out of the carrier. “But I do wish you would be at the company in Houston on a daily basis—you’d be the CEO at that point.”
“Grandpa, I love you, but my heart is in the nonprofit business I’m building,” Clinton said.
“If that’s what you want to do, then you can’t continue to run it out of your hip pocket. I’ve had the lawyers set up a corporation, and the papers are ready to sign. The way it’s growing even now, you will need help. A man can’t run a business like that on his own and take in babies at the same time, and you can’t run it out of an upstairs apartment much longer,” Harry told him. “We set up a budget, and you’ll have whatever funds you need for payroll or expenses.” Zoe reached up and patted his cheek with her chubby little hand. “Maybe the first thing you better do is hire a nanny.”
Clinton carried his plate to the table and sat down. “Maybe later on down the road, I will—or set up a day care center for the vets who need to work and have no place to leave their children. But you’ll remember Quincy, my military buddy that came home with me for Christmas a few years back. He’s thinking about joining me. We’re supposed to talk in a little bit.”
“I liked that guy when I met him,” Harry said. “Offer him a salary worth his while, and give yourself one also—and for God’s sake, buy a building for your office. Now, tell me about this baby. When is her mother coming back?”
“I honestly don’t know, Grandpa,” Clinton answered. “She’s got a really bad case of PTSD.” He went on to tell him the whole story of Larry and Rebecca. “I’m hoping that the therapy she gets over the next few weeks helps her get to the point that she can handle the responsibilities of being a mother. She’s served her country, but so many of the vets I work with have come home broken.”
“Reminds me of your dad,” Harry said. “He wasn’t in the service, but he had the same symptoms when your mother left. I made him go to therapy, and it helped him; hopefully, Rebecca will get the coping skills she needs for all the issues she’s having. Your dad finally accepted that he had married a woman who wanted his money, not his child. It took me a while to come to that conclusion with your grandmother way back when, and I raised your dad by myself. When you find a woman, make sure you can trust her, and break this terrible chain.”
“Yes, sir,” Clinton said, and a vision of Taryn holding Zoe flashed through his mind. She knew about his money and didn’t seem to be interested in it—not like those three women who were constantly badgering him.
He took a sip of his sweet tea, and then his cell phone pinged. He pulled his phone out of his shirt pocket and saw that the call was from Quincy. “Hello?” he answered.
“Did I get you at a good time? We have to hammer this out,” Quincy said.
“I’m putting you on speaker,” Clinton said. “My grandpa and I are setting things in motion now. It’s Quincy, Grandpa.”
“Hello, Mr.McEntire,” Quincy said.
“Nice to talk to you again, Quincy, even this long since Clinton got out of the air force,” Harry told him. “So, I hear you are interested in helping out with this venture my grandson has been trying to run out of a tiny apartment.”
“Yes, sir, I am. My enlistment is up, and I see a need,” Quincy answered.
“Well, how about ...” Harry quoted him a salary figure. “I think that’s probably at least twice as much as you made in the service, right?”
“Yes, sir, it is, and it’s very generous,” Quincy replied. “But I can work for less, and we can put the rest of the money back into helping other vets.”
“You’ll be working long hours most likely, so I insist that you’re paid right,” Harry informed him in a no-nonsense tone. “Your first job is to find a building—preferably with some good handicap parking—where you and my grandson can set up a proper office.”
Even though his grandfather had been disappointed in his choices, he had always supported him. But this kind of backing totally surprised Clinton.
“Yes, sir,” Quincy said. “I can be in Shamrock in a few days and get right on that.”
“That’s good. Now, you and Clinton can visit more while Zoe and I have a visit,” Harry told him.
Clinton took the phone off speaker and said, “So, you’re really going to do this?”
“I’d do it for room and board,” Quincy said. “You and I both know what these vets need, and I want to help them.”
“Me too,” Clinton told him. “Let me know when you are getting into town, and I’ll book you a hotel room until we can find something better for you to live in.”
“Will do,” Quincy said.
The sun had set and taken some of the heat of the day with it, leaving behind a muggy night. Taryn had tossed and turned for more than an hour that evening, but she couldn’t shut her thoughts down. She should be worried about Jorja’s problem, not thinking about Clinton and Zoe, but that’s where her mind got stuck. Finally, she gave up on sleep, tiptoed down the hallway, and went out onto the porch.
Nana Irene’s voice was clear in her head:Clinton is a grown man. He doesn’t have to call you and tell you where he’s going or give you a time frame about when he’s coming home.Did you girls call him and give him a play-by-play of what you were doing today?
“No,” she whispered, and then heard a vehicle turn into the parking lot.
Clinton’s truck came to a stop not far from the steps up to his apartment. He got out and slung the diaper bag over his shoulder. He opened the door to the back seat, hefted the baby carrier out, and limped up the stairs.
The light from the waning moon let Taryn see that Zoe was in the carrier and sleeping soundly. He had just gotten into his apartment when the trailer door eased open, and Anna Rose tiptoed out and satdown on the top porch step. Her nightshirt that had Betty Boop riding a horse on the front of it barely covered her underpants.
“Have trouble sleeping?” Taryn asked.
