Page 72 of Bailey

He noticed the way Hilde, Ev, and Leigh clustered together, while Abby, Georgia, Codi, and Belle sat in a row behind them. Sterling stuck with Sunny, Faith, and Dani, and they sat closest to the blankets at the front, where all the little kids gathered. Mav always ended up there too, and today would be no different.

Leigh or Faith always brought an activity for the kids, and today was no different as Faith knelt down on the corner of the blanket and started passing out what looked like a craft to Tex. He finally sank into a chair next to Abby and leaned across her toward Georgia. “Where’s Otis?” he asked. “I haven’t seen him yet.”

Georgia eyed him with a hint of hardness in her expression. “He’s talking to OJ.”

Tex blinked his eyes, his blood turning to ice right there in his veins. “What’s wrong with OJ?”

Georgia sighed. “Nothing. OJ is just being OJ.”

Abby grinned. “Well, we wouldn’t want him to be anyone else.”

“He invited Bailey and her new boyfriend to sit with us,” Georgia said. “He wants to go to the vet clinic every single day, and then Bailey’s house to work on something, or see the ducks, or just to hang out.” She leaned back in her chair and settled her arms across her chest. “It’s fine, honestly. It’s just a lot.”

Tex swallowed and looked at his wife, not quite sure what to say.

“I’m sure it’s just a phase,” Abby said. “Like when he wanted to go up to the lodge all the time.”

Georgia closed her eyes and nodded, making a noncommittal humming sound as she did.

“I know Bailey talked to him,” Tex said. “At least according to Bryce. Maybe I’ll mention it to her again.”

“We can handle OJ,” Georgia said.

“Well, is Bailey going to be sitting with us?” Abby asked.

“I’m not sure,” Georgia said. “Otis was talking to Bryce about it, but I was trying to get all the animals fed and ready for us to be gone for several hours, and by the time I got in the truck with Ana, Otis and OJ were already into it.”

Tex looked out at the park, at the people gathering there, and at the stage in the distance. They came early enough to eat from all the food trucks and walk around the fair. He and Country Quad had had signings here in the past, and they’d played on that stage. They’d been retired for a couple of years now, at least before this Christmas album, and they were still taking it easy, working on songs here and there around their families and summer activities.

Tex watched children run and play, laugh and call to one another. He watched a man throw a Frisbee for his dog, and everything seemed right in the world.

If only he could get his heart and mind to match it. As it was, they bobbed around like a small boat in the big ocean during a violent storm. Tex hated feeling like this—so helpless, so out of his league. He’d been through so many things and experienced so much, and he felt as if he should know how to handle situations that caused this seething restlessness and hopelessness to move through him.

In that moment, a slice of guilt cut through him. He didn’t have to know how to handle everything. He couldn’t even do that. Only God could, and Tex simply needed to put more trust in the Lord.

He reached over and took his wife’s hand in his. “I don’t know how to help you, Georgia,” he said. “But if there’s something you need me or Abby to do, or something you need us to say to Bryce or Bailey or OJ, we will.” He met his wife’s eyes, and everything in the world slowed. She’d always anchored him, and suddenly he wasn’t alone on the stormy seas of life.

“I don’t know what we need either,” Georgia said, and she sounded so tired.

Abby’s phone chimed, and she said, “Wade’s here. Baby, can you go help him?”

“Yep.” Tex pushed to his feet again, and as he approached the food table, he caught the eye of his brother, Trace. He had no idea what Trace saw on his face, but Trace quickly handed the apple in his hands to his son and said, “Tex, where are you going?”

“To help Wade and Cheryl with the kids and all their stuff,” he said.

“I’ll come.” Trace turned around and whistled. Ev looked over to him, and Trace gestured to Tex, then turned and fell into stride beside him.

“You got something eating at you?” Trace said once they’d put a few paces between them and the red Young umbrella.

“Yeah, it’s OJ,” Tex said. “I guess he’s been wanting to spend a lot of time with Bailey, and it’s causing some problems for Georgia and Otis.”

Trace frowned, and the air leaked out of his mouth in a steady stream. “I thought her moving here was supposed to make things easier on him,” he said. “So that seeing her wouldn’t be such a big deal.”

“I think that was the goal.” Tex glanced over to his brother. “You know how OJ is. He’s fine during the school year, because he’s so busy, but summertime….” He grinned and shook his head. “It’s a miracle this is their first fight.”

Trace chuckled with Tex, and the two of them found Wade and Cheryl herding their kids toward a pile of stuff at the end of the sidewalk. “Hey, fellas,” Tex called, and Bennett and Wyatt ran at him. Tex opened his arms to receive his nephews, while their younger sister, Coral, kept her hand in her momma’s. Wade wore shorts, which showed off his prosthetics—something Tex had never seen him do before.

“All this?” he asked as his sister-in-law arrived. Tex hugged her too, glad when she laughed, as she and Wade had come to the Fourth of July picnic in the past with tears in both of their eyes.