Home
Artwork
Audio Files
Creative Videos
Danielle Gallery
Fiction Main
Image Gallery
Links
Screen Captures
Updates
Wallpapers

Copyright 2004

Rob watched out the living room window while the boys ate lunch. He wasn’t hungry. Paula had never left without telling him where she was going and what she was doing. She had looked so determined as she drove off in the Jeep. Of course, he trusted her. He knew she had good judgment. But he was worried about her. He had a feeling she had gone to confront Rita Wilson. He was afraid it might turn into a cat fight and he wouldn’t be there to protect Paula.

“Dad?” Jason broke into his thoughts, “Are you OK?”

“I’m fine,” Rob tried to smile, “Are your brothers still in the kitchen?”

“Yes,” Jason nodded, “Did you and Mom have a fight? She’s coming back, isn’t she, Dad?”

“Oh,” Rob reached a hand out for Jason’s shoulder, “Of course, she’s coming back. No, we didn’t fight.”

“Why are you so worried about her then?” Jason had always been perceptive. “You look like you’re afraid you’ll never see her again.”

“Jason,” Rob told him, “I made a big mistake. I shouldn’t have kept my suspicions about Emily from your mom. I should’ve talked to her about it as soon as I had those thoughts. I kept it between you and me because it was the easy thing to do at the time. It was the wrong thing to do, Jason. It’s always better to do the right thing, than the easy thing. Let that be a lesson to you, Son.”

“You told her?” Jason asked. “And now she’s mad at you?”

“No,” Rob shook his head, “I told her, and now she’s hurt. That’s not why she left, though. She left because every bad thing I ever did is catching up with me now and she’s trying to fix it. I don’t know exactly where she went or what she plans to do, but I do know she’s doing it for me. I’m just praying she doesn’t put herself at risk on my account. I’m not worth it.”

“She thinks you are, Dad,” Jason smiled, “or she wouldn’t be doing it.”

“Dad?” Keith came in, Kevin close behind, “Are we doing school now?”

Rob shook his head, “Let’s go for a ride instead. How does that sound? It’s been ages since we’ve all made the rounds and checked fences. It’s a nice day. Let’s go saddle up the horses.”

Rob and the boys spent the afternoon on horseback, checking fences. They started back toward the house when it was nearing time for Trevor to arrive. As they crested the last hill before they reached the barn, Rob saw the Jeep coming down the lane. He felt relief sweep over him.

“Jason,” Rob instructed, “Your mother is home. I’m riding on to meet her at the house. You boys take care of your horses, then come and get Dakota. I’ll tie him at the porch. When Trevor gets here, you work with him, Jase.”

“Yes, Sir,” Jason nodded.

Rob kicked his horse and galloped to meet his wife. Paula stopped at the edge of the steps when she saw him riding up. She was smiling. He dismounted and dropped the reins, sweeping Paula into his arms.

“You’re home,” he lifted her off the ground.

“You say that like you thought I wouldn’t be back,” she chuckled, “Honey, I didn’t storm out of here mad or anything.”

“I was worried about you, Baby,” he sat her down and tied Dakota to the rail, “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

“Yes,” she took his hand and he followed her into the house, “Everything is going to be fine, Rob. We should have temporary custody of Emily within a week. Then it’s just a matter of six months before it can be made final.”

“Did you go find Rita?” He asked.

“No,” Paula went to the kitchen and started working on dinner, “I went to DFS in Springfield. I found Lois. I told her everything. I told her how Rita has acted through this whole process and I told her what she did to you today. Then I told her why you didn’t think anyone would take your word over hers.”

“What did she say?” Rob was shocked at what Paula had done.

“Rita has a reputation, it seems,” Paula shared, “Lois knows which judge is assigned to the case. She says he doesn’t like Rita. It’ll be fine. He’ll take Lois’ recommendation. For added insurance, I stopped by Tom’s office, at Lois’ suggestion, and told him the whole story too. Tom’s going to handle it from here.”

Rob rubbed his face, “I thought you went off to get into a cat fight with Rita.”

“There’s more than one way to skin a cat,” Paula walked over to him and reached up to kiss him, “And I prefer not to get blood on my hands.”

“So you’re sure the judge won’t listen to her?” Rob asked, shaking his head at Paula’s cat skinning comment. He always wanted Paula on his side.

“Positive,” Paula assured, “Because I have another ace in the hole.”

“What’s that?”

“When I found out who the judge was,” Paula reported, “I quit worrying. Before he was a judge, he was an attorney. Doc’s attorney. He knew me from the clinic. I used to go house sit and take care of his animals for him when he went out of town. Tom’s going to make sure he knows I’m the Paula Curtis he knew back then.”

“You know everybody, don’t you?” Rob chuckled.

“I know a lot of people,” she winked, “Now, do you want to hear what else I found out?”

“There’s more?”

“Yes,” Paula reported, “I did some fishing when I was at DFS. Emily’s not your granddaughter.”

“How do you know?” He asked.

“Because David’s parents didn’t live in Rolla when he was born,” Paula shared, “They moved there when he was in high school. His father taught at UMR after that. He was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. His father was teaching at the University of Tennessee at the time.”

Rob’s jaw dropped, “How did you find that out?”

“I know people, remember?” Paula laughed, “Sorry, Honey. I don’t mean to make light of it. I have a cousin who has a son who works at DFS. I just asked him and he looked it up for me.”

“All this time,” Rob reflected, “I’ve been searching all kinds archives, looking for a needle in a haystack…”

“Next time,” she wagged her finger at him, “you’ll talk to me, instead of your 12 year old son. Who do you think taught him how to find things out?”

Rob hung his head and shook it. He knew he deserved that blow. He had no defense, so he kept quiet.

Paula came back over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, “No more secrets, right?”

“No more secrets,” he put his arms around her, “Thank you, Paula. You’re my hero.”

“Oh, stop it!” She poked him in the chest, “I’m completely content with being your wife. Now, go wash up and you can help me with dinner.”

~*~

Rob carried Emily into the house and up the stairs. He took her into her new room and she looked at the pretty pink walls and the big bed with a frilly bedspread on it. There were matching curtains on the windows and a matching tablecloth on the little table in the corner that had two tiny chairs sitting with it. Next to the table was a little play kitchen set with little dishes and pretend food.

Emily’s eyes grew wide when she saw all these things and Rob walked over and sat on the bed, holding her on his lap. Paula and the boys hovered in the doorway and watched. There were a couple of dolls on the bed that Paula had picked out and several stuffed toys the boys had bought.

“Do you like this room, Sweetpea?” Rob asked her softly, “This is going to be your room now. This is your bed and these are all your toys. And we can pick out pictures you like to hang on the walls and you can draw your own pictures to hang up too.”

She looked at him in silence, then looked around the room again. Emily had never been so quiet in Rob’s arms. He was starting to worry that she was retreating into her shell again. Then he had an idea.

“You get to live here now, Emily,” he explained, “Just like Bear. Remember, Bear got to come and live with me? You get to come and live with me now, too.”

“With Bear?” She smiled, “With Daddy?”

“Yes,” he kissed her cheek, “And with Paula and Jason and Kevin and Keith. And Sam lives here and all those horses! You get to stay here now, Sweetpea. Do you want to see my room?”

She nodded, so he got up and carried her out and down the hall. The upstairs had once consisted of four rooms and a bathroom. When he and Paula bought it, they combined two of the rooms to make one large master bedroom, with a walk-in closet and bath of its own. Then after the boys were born, they combined the other two rooms to make one big bedroom large enough to accommodate all three of them. There was also a half bath across from that room now.

“This is Daddy’s room,” Rob walked into the master bedroom, “Paula and I sleep in here. We’ll be right down the hall from you if you need us.”

“Me sleep here,” she pointed at Rob’s bed.

“No,” he shook his head, “You’ll sleep in your bed in your room. You’ll be OK, Sweetpea. Bear sleeps on the porch next to the front door and he guards us to keep us all safe. And now that it’s cold at night, Sam sleeps in the living room and he guards us too.”

“Emily,” Jason reached for her, “Do you want to come and see my room?”

She nodded and went into his arms.

“You know,” Jason told her as he carried her down the stairs, “When I was a little boy, I slept in the same room you have now. It’s a good room…”

“You know,” Paula came up next to Rob and he put his arm around her, “Emily does have legs of her own. If you and the boys carry her all the time, her muscles will atrophy.”

“She’s still too little to go up and down the stairs by herself,” he rationalized.

“The boys did it,” Paula reminded, “And you carry her all the time, Rob, not just on the stairs.”

“Paula,” he looked down at her, “Are you jealous?”

“No,” she denied, “But I don’t want you turning her into a spoiled brat, Rob. When she was here visiting, that was one thing, but she’s ours now. For all practical purposes, even though it’s not final, you are her father and I am her mother. If we spoil her now, she’ll be impossible later on.”

“It’s her first day here,” he reasoned, “I don’t want her to be afraid or confused about what’s going on. I want her to be happy and understand that this is a good thing.”

“I can see right now, I don’t stand a chance,” Paula muttered, walking out and going downstairs.

Rob sighed. He knew she was right. With the boys all so young at once, there had been no opportunity to spoil them. Boys were different too. It was easier to spoil little girls. Almost natural. Paula would keep her from turning into a spoiled brat.

He took his sports jacket off and loosened his tie. They had all dressed up to go get Emily. It had been so long since he had worn a tie he’d forgotten what it was like. He could hear Jason downstairs talking to Emily, with Keith and Kevin adding commentary. Whatever they were saying was making Emily giggle.

Rob closed the door and went to find some comfortable clothes. He wasn’t worried about Emily now. If she was giggling, she was OK. Now, he had to think of other things. Things like getting a new vehicle. They had taken both the Jeep and the truck to get Emily. There wasn’t room in either one for everybody. Paula was very attached to her Jeep, but they needed a larger vehicle. She hated vans. They needed something with four-wheel drive anyway. That narrowed down the choices considerably.

The bedroom door opened and Paula came in, “I thought you were probably shedding those clothes.”

“Was I supposed to stay dressed up?” He asked, pulling on a pair of jeans.

“No,” she went to the closet, “I’m changing too. Emily is perfectly happy with the boys right now.”

Rob could almost feel the chill in Paula’s tone. Whether she admitted it or not, she was a bit jealous of the attention her boys and husband were showing Emily. Paula was used to being the center of their world. It probably was not the best time to tell her she would have to part with her beloved Jeep. He put a flannel shirt on and followed her into the closet.

“Paula,” he asked, “What’s wrong, Honey?”

“Nothing,” she brushed by him and went back out into the bedroom. She began changing into jeans and a flannel shirt of her own.

“I know you’re right,” he tried to appease her, “I know I’ll have to be careful not to spoil her. Is that what’s bothering you?”

“No,” she shook her head, “Rob, there’s something very strange about Emily. Have you noticed she has never once even mentioned her mother? She talks about Bear, about her brother, about her father, but never her mother. Rob something’s not right.”

“Yes,” he confessed, “I have noticed that. I thought maybe when we found out what the state had on her family, we might know why, but…”

“But they didn’t have much more than we already knew,” she walked over to him, “And we’ll probably never know now. Those answers died with the people who knew them.”

“Paula,” he put his arms around her, “I know you did this for me. I know that raising a little girl wasn’t on your agenda at this time in our lives…”

“That’s not it, Rob,” Paula stopped him, “She’s adorable and she needs us. I already love her too. But this is going to be very different than the boys. When they were little, you were gone all day and I had them all to take care of by myself. I did all the nurturing and you handled the discipline and comic relief.

“Emily is different,” Paula told him, “She wants you to do the nurturing. That’s OK with me. You’re here now and you’re more than capable of that role. But it means that I will have to be the disciplinarian. Can you deal with that?”

He knew what she was saying. It was the good cop/bad cop scenario. He had always played the bad cop. The hard part wasn’t being the good cop. The hard part was standing by silently and letting the bad cop fulfill his role.

“I’ll try,” he nodded, “I don’t want her to be a spoiled brat either. Maybe things will balance out a bit after she’s been here for a while. Maybe she just had a lousy mother and her father had to take care of her. He was older and he was a teacher. That’s possible.”

“I wondered that myself,” Paula was standing in his arms, “I also wondered if she worked and left Emily in daycare and that’s why she doesn’t talk very well. At two our boys never shut up.”

“Our boys had you,” Rob kissed her forehead, “And now Emily has you. If she just had a lousy mother, then maybe having you will wipe that away after some time. I’m sure spending time with us and the boys will improve her speech quickly. They won’t baby talk to her.”

“I asked the boys to go through all their old books and pick out good ones to read to her,” Paula informed, “I’m making them each read one book to her everyday for school. I figured you can read to her at bedtime.”

“You need to spend some time doing something with her that she likes,” Rob suggested, “So she’ll start bonding to you like she already has with me and the boys.”

“I thought,” Paula nodded, “that maybe I’d start taking her for horseback rides with me.”

“That’s a good idea,” he kissed her, “I know we’ll all have to work together to get her where she should be, but it’ll be OK. We’ll drag out some of those brain-building games the boys used to play and they can play them with her. She’s smart as a whip. I just think no one has spent any time teaching her and talking to her and telling her about the world around her.”

“I think you’re right,” Paula agreed, “We’re going to have to spend some money on her too. The clothes Kathy sent are all hand-me-downs that must have gone through all six of her girls. They’re barely more than rags. We’re going to have to go to town tomorrow and do some shopping.”

“We?” Rob decided to seize the opportunity, “In what? We could strap the twins on top of the Jeep, or throw all the boys in the bed of the truck. Or shall we just hitch a trailer up and pull everyone in it?”

“Well,” she didn’t miss a beat, “We could each take a horse, but we’ll have to leave pretty early.”

He couldn’t keep from laughing. He let go of her and sat on the bed, “Paula, we’re going to have to buy a bigger vehicle. It was already tight with the boys. Now it’s impossible.”

“I know, Rob,” she sat next to him, “But please don’t trade my Jeep off.”

“Paula,” he reasoned, “We have to keep a truck for the farm. I can’t trade it off.”

“Do we have to trade anything?” She asked, “Jason will be driving before you know it. Can’t we just keep the Jeep as an extra vehicle?”
He thought for a moment, “I guess it depends on what kind of deal I can get. Tell you what, tomorrow you and Jason can take Emily shopping and the twins and I will go look for new wheels. Is that OK?”

“You want me to take the truck?” She offered, “So you can see what kind of trade in you can get out of the Jeep?”

“Can you handle the truck in town?” He wondered.

“Sure,” she laughed, “I’ll just go over anything that gets in my way.”

Mitch and Jenny joined them for dinner and stayed for a good portion of the evening. Emily seemed as comfortable with Mitch as she was with Rob, and he spent much of the evening on his hands and knees pretending to be her horse, while the boys scurried around pretending to be cattle she was herding. Rob couldn’t resist getting out the camcorder and taping the whole production. Paula and Jenny both laughed so hard they had tears running down their cheeks. When Mitch finally gave out, insisting it was time for the horse to go home, Emily cried and begged him to stay.

“I’ll be back, Precious,” Mitch comforted her, “But I don’t live here. I just visit a lot. Maybe sometime you can come and spend the night at my house. Would you like that?”

Emily nodded and Mitch gave her a kiss on the cheek, “Now, go back to Dad, OK? You know what? He’s my daddy too. That makes you my little sister.”

She cocked her head at him like he was teasing her and Rob took her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around Rob’s neck and clung to him like she was afraid he might leave too.

“It’s OK, Sweetpea,” Rob assured, “I’m staying right here with you and so are all the other boys. They’re your brothers now too. Just Mitch and Jenny have to leave. That’s because they’re all grown up and live in a house of their own.”

“See ya later guys!” Mitch called as he and Jenny went out.

“It’s time to get you ready for bed, Emily,” Paula reached for her, “Come on. Let’s go get you in the tub.”

“No!” Emily snapped and held tighter to Rob.

“Hey,” Rob scolded, “Now, you don’t tell Paula no. She’s your mommy now and you do whatever she tells you to do. Do you understand me?”

Emily burst into tears. She had never heard Rob use a harsh tone on anyone around her, least of all her. Rob had to swallow hard and force himself to remain stern. He handed her to Paula, who took her down the hall to give her a bath.

“Should one of us go help her, Dad?” Keith offered.

“No,” Rob shook his head, “She has to learn that your mom is boss too. Let them work it out together. Why don’t you and Kevin go pick out something good to read for bedtime tonight.”

“You OK, Dad?” Jason asked, sitting on the couch.

“Yes,” Rob sighed and sat next to him, “It’s just hard to be gruff with her. Listen, Jason, you’re going to have to watch it too. You’re as bad as I am about catering to her. Your mom’s right. We can’t spoil her too much or she’ll be a holy terror in a few months.”

“She’s just so little and cute,” Jason observed.

“I know,” Rob chuckled, “And when she grows up, we want her to be sweet and pretty like Chelsea, not the Wicked Witch of the West like Karen.”

“Mom says we’re going shopping tomorrow,” Jason told him, “She says you want me to go with her.”

“Yes,” Rob nodded, “Emily takes to you best, so I think you should go along to help your mom. I’m taking the twins with me. We’ve got to come up with a bigger vehicle for us.”

“School bus, maybe?” Jason laughed.

“I don’t think your mom would drive a school bus,” Rob smiled, “Not if she won’t drive a van.”

Suddenly, Emily ran into the living room, not a stitch of clothes on, giggling as hard as she could. Jason and Rob both started laughing as she ran behind the recliner to hide.

“Emily!” Paula called, coming in after her, “You come back here! Get your jammies on!”

Emily jumped out from behind the chair and ran back down the hall, still giggling.

“You’re encouraging her,” Paula scolded Rob and Jason.

“Sorry,” Rob laughed.

“No, you’re not,” Paula winked.

“Look what I caught!” Kevin walked in, carrying Emily.

“Thank you, Kevin,” Paula took her from him and hauled her off to put pajamas on her.

“What did you come up with?” Rob asked, taking the books from Keith.

“We thought some of these would be good,” Keith handed him some old favorites, all stories with animals. “Who’s reading?”

“I think I should read at night,” Rob told him, “I always read to you boys at night. You and Mom can handle it in the daytime, but I get the bedtime stories. Let’s see…I like this one.”

Rob picked out MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS. He could almost do it from memory, he had read it to the boys so many times.

“Daddy!” Emily ran back in, this time in old tattered pajamas. Paula was right. She needed clothes.

“That’s better,” he took her onto his lap, “Shall we go have a story before you go to sleep? Keith picked out a story for you and I’ll read it.”

Emily nodded and they all went upstairs to her room. She had brought no toys with her, so Rob picked up a Teddy Bear and handed it to her. She gave him a funny look.

“You can sleep with him,” Rob suggested. He put her into the bed and tucked her in with the Teddy Bear and all the boys and Paula sat on the bed. Rob took the book and started to read.

Emily was asleep before he got to the last page, so they all snuck out quietly and turned off the light. The boys said goodnight and went to get ready for bed themselves. Paula locked the house up and Rob turned the lights out.

As his own head hit the pillow, Rob realized how tired he was. It had been a long day, but it had gone well. Emily had not even hesitated in coming with them. She seemed almost glad to leave Kathy and all the girls. He smiled. Emily was definitely more at home with a house full of boys than girls. Paula was right. Something was very odd about her never mentioning her mommy…

~*~

Rob woke to Paula punching him in the ribs and the sound of Emily screaming. He jumped up and followed Paula to Emily’s room. She was crying and calling out for daddy. He heard the boys all thundering up the stairs and noticed that Sam was already beside her bed trying to comfort her.

“It’s OK, Sweetpea,” Rob gathered her up in his arms, “Daddy’s right here. Shhh…It’s OK.”

“It’s all right, Boys,” Paula told them, “Go back to bed. She’ll be OK.”

“You want me to stay in here with her, Mom?” Jason offered, “I bet she’s not used to sleeping alone. With six other girls, you know they had to share rooms.”

“Thank you, Honey,” Paula smiled, “But we’ll take care of her. Take Sam downstairs with you. You’d better check on Bear, too. I’m sure he heard her. He’s probably fretting out there on the porch, trying to get in here to check on his girl.”

“OK, Mom,” Jason went out, “Come on, Sam.”

“Paula,” Rob stood up, still holding Emily, “I’ll stay in here with her until she goes back to sleep. You go on back to bed.”

“Are you sure?”

“That’s why we left the big bed in here,” he reminded, “I’ll lay down here with her and get her back to sleep.”

It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep. He crawled into bed with her and she tucked in close, her head using his shoulder as a pillow and she was fast asleep within minutes. Every time he tried to get back up, though, she stirred and he was afraid he’d wake her. Finally, he gave up and drifted off to sleep himself.

~*~

The sun was peeking in the window when Rob opened his eyes. For a minute, he didn’t know where he was. Then the events of the previous day came rushing back to him and he remembered he was in Emily’s bed. His arm was numb from the way she was laying across it and he winced as he tried to extricate himself without waking her.

He managed to slide out of the bed and tiptoed back to his own room. The bed was already made and he could smell bacon frying downstairs. Rob felt a sudden stab in his heart. It was the first time since they’d been married that he had spent the night away from Paula. He went to the bathroom, pulled on his jeans and a shirt and went down to the kitchen.

The boys were dressed and helping set the table for breakfast. Paula was working at the stove. Rob walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back into him. At least she wasn’t cold and angry.

“Good morning, Sweetheart,” he rested his chin on her shoulder, “I’m sorry I never made it back to bed last night. Every time I tried, she started waking up.”

“I know,” Paula kept cooking, “I came to check on you a couple of times. I could tell you got trapped under her. You were both sound asleep.”

He kissed her neck, “Did you get back to sleep?”

“Not really,” she confessed, pulling bacon from the skillet and putting more in.

He stepped back as the grease popped, “Are you OK today?”

“I’ll live,” she kept working, “I take it she’s still sleeping?”

“She was completely out of it when I left her,” he went to put bread in the toaster for her, “Do you need to take a nap today?”

“I’ll be OK,” Paula assured, “But we need to do something different tonight. If you sleep in there again, we’ll never get her to sleep alone.”

“We could take turns,” Jason offered, “Each of us could take a night and then no one would have to do it all the time.”

“Thanks, Jase,” Rob looked over at his son, “But your mom is right. If we get it started, we’ll never get it stopped. I probably shouldn’t have stayed in there last night. I’m sure she’s having bad dreams still from the wreck. Kathy said she was at her house too.”

“I think I hear her,” Keith ran to the stairs.

“Jason,” Rob asked, “Would you go up and get her, please?”

“Sure, Dad,” Jason ran out.

“Baby,” Rob reached over and pulled Paula into his arms, “Forgive me?”

“Honey, I’m not mad at you,” she looked tired.

He reached down and kissed her, “I broke my promise to you, Paula. After all these years, I broke my promise.”

“No,” she kissed his chest, “You were here, just down the hall. We were still together, Rob. I just couldn’t sleep in that big empty bed. Believe me, I understand better than anyone why Emily wants to sleep in your arms. It’s the safest place in all the world.”

“Daddy!” Emily came running in, clutching the Teddy Bear.

“Hi, Sweetpea!” Rob picked her up and kissed her cheek, “How’s my little darlin’ this morning?”

“Hungry,” she told him.

“Well,” he laughed and carried her to the table, “We can fix that.”

“You want me to pour her some milk, Mom?” Jason went to the refrigerator.

“Please, Honey,” Paula was making the eggs now, “Use one of those sippy cups I set out.”

They had dug out one of the old high chairs and taken the tray off for her. She was still too short to sit in a big chair and reach the table. Rob put her in the chair and pulled her over next to him so he could help her with breakfast. She did pretty well with the toast and bacon, but the eggs were more than she could handle by herself. He could tell Paula was very tired, but she started reviving with food and coffee.

“When do you want to leave?” Rob asked her.

“Earlier the better,” she informed, “Probably as soon as Jenny gets here.”

“I’ll need to talk to Bruce before I go,” Rob told her, “Think the two of them can hold down the fort without us?”

“They were OK yesterday,” Paula reminded, “I don’t intend to be gone all day, anyway.”

“Sweetpea,” Rob told Emily, “You’re going shopping today with Paula and Jason. I want you to be a good girl for them, OK?”

“Daddy go?”

“No,” he shook his head, “I have to go somewhere else. Kevin and Keith are going with me. You’ll be OK.”

“I’ll be with you, Little Bit,” Jason came over and leaned down next to her, “I’ll help you pick out some pretty new clothes and maybe some more toys.”

She smiled at Jason and he winked. She giggled and tried to wink. Rob was relieved that she seemed all right with the idea. He had worried she would throw a fit if he didn’t go along. So far, she seemed satisfied as long as she had at least one of his sons with her. It made him wonder again about this tiny little girl’s mother.

Rob and the twins waved from the steps as they watched his truck drive off. Emily was waving the whole time, giggling. Jason’s lips were moving, so Rob knew he was saying something silly to keep Emily happy.

“Well, Boys,” he sighed, “Are you two ready to go look for wheels?”

“Where are we going first, Dad?” Keith asked.

“Marshfield,” Rob told him, “Where I got the truck. We’ll look at the Ford Expeditions and see what we think.”

What the boys thought was that they were cool and had lots of neat gadgets. What Rob thought was that they were about $10,000 more than he wanted to spend. So, they looked at the used lot, but there was nothing there that would hold four children and two adults. Nothing except vans and Paula would refuse to drive a van. He knew that. He had to find something she would like.

They climbed back into the Jeep and drove to Springfield. They went to the Dodge dealership to try a Durango. The boys thought it was OK, but not as cool as the Expedition. Rob like the older style better, thought the seats were uncomfortable, and it was still more than he wanted to spend.  It wasn’t as nice as their Jeep, so he didn’t think Paula would be impressed. Again, there was nothing suitable on the used lot.

He decided to take a long shot and went to the Lincoln-Mercury-Jeep dealership. He knew he was running out of options. They looked at the Lincoln Navigators and the boys drooled. Rob looked at the sticker in the window and almost had a coronary. He could build two more arenas for that kind of money.

A salesman approached, “Want to take one for a spin?”

“Afraid if I drive it,” Rob chuckled, “I’ll want it.”

“We can fix you up with one,” the salesman put his hand out, “I’m Dave.”

“Rob,” he shook his hand, “Don’t suppose you’re having a half price sale today?”

“We’d have people beating down the doors for that kind of deal,” Dave laughed, “Out of your price range, huh? Did you get that Jeep from us?”

“Yes, I did,” Rob nodded.

“How many miles you got on it?” Dave asked.

“Over 120,000,” Rob answered, “And it still runs like new.”

“Those things last forever,” Dave nodded, “How about a Grand? They’re a lot more affordable.”

“Not big enough,” Rob sighed, “We have four kids now, that’s why we’re looking. Believe me, if Jeep made a six passenger vehicle, that’s what I’d be getting, no matter what the price.”

“Oh,” Dave smiled, “Well, I’ll tell you what. We just had something pretty sweet come in on our used lot…I took it in as a trade on a new Navigator. Let me grab one of the guys over here to show it to you…Be right back.”

He returned with a silver-haired gentleman, “Rob, this is Jim. He’ll show you what he’s got over here.”

“Hello,” Jim shook Rob’s hand, “I hear you need something big.”

“Yes,” Rob smiled, “but no vans.”

“I’ve got just the thing,” Jim led him toward a bronze colored Navigator, “Dave took this in as a trade on a new one and it’s really sweet. Has every toy you can think of on it, even a DVD player. It’s four years old, has just under 50,000 miles on it and it’s in great shape.”

“How much?” Rob looked into it. It looked very clean.

“Under $25,000,” Jim said the magic words, “Want to take it for a spin?”

“Yes,” Rob put his hand out to take the keys.

“Here you go,” Jim put a dealer’s plate on the dash, “Let me slap this tag up here…There you go, see what you think.”

Rob thought he’d finally found the perfect deal. The boys thought it was the coolest vehicle they’d ever ridden in. They all thought Paula would love it.

Rob pulled out his cell phone and dialed Paula’s, “Hi, Baby, how’s it going?”

“It’s going,” Paula answered, fatigue in her voice, “Are you guys having any luck?”

“Maybe,” he teased, “Where are you now?”

“We just finished lunch,” Paula reported. “We’re going to make one more stop before we go home.”

Rob looked at his watch. The morning had flown by, “I guess I need to feed these guys too. They’ve been so patient, they haven’t complained once. Is Emily behaving for you?”

“She’s behaving for Jason,” Paula remarked, “She’s about to fall asleep now.”

“Listen,” he inquired, “do you want to see what we’ve found before you leave town? We could meet somewhere and you could look it over.”

“Are you trading my Jeep off?” She asked tentatively.

“No,” he assured, “We can’t get enough trade in on it to make it worth it to us. Honey, I’d really like your opinion. We’re driving on 65 right now, heading south. Can I meet you somewhere?”

“We’re on our way to Target,” she informed, “Meet us in the lot.”

“See you in a few minutes.”

Rob pulled in the lot and spotted his blue truck. Paula had already gotten there and Jason was standing in an empty space, holding it open for him. Paula was still sitting in the truck, but he couldn’t see Emily. When Jason saw his dad driving the Navigator, his face brightened and he gave Rob a thumbs up. The twins started laughing. Rob parked and jumped out, looking for Paula’s reaction. She was out of the truck now and her mouth was hanging open. Rob walked around and peeked in to see Emily sound asleep in her car seat.

“So?” Rob grinned, putting an arm around Paula’s shoulders, “What do you think?”

“A Navigator?” She gaped, “Rob, we can’t afford this!”

“Honey,” he squeezed, “It’s not new and this is the best deal I’ve found so far. This is considerably cheaper than the barest new Durango available.”

She looked at him, a bit doubtful, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Baby,” he told her, “I’m sure. Besides, the money is my department, remember? Just tell me if you like it.”

“Can I drive it?” She asked.

“Sure,” he looked at Jason, “You stay here with Sweetpea, OK?”

“OK,” Jason got in the truck, a bit disappointed.

“If your mom likes it,” Rob went to the window and talked to him, “then you’ll get to ride in it a lot.”

“I know, Dad,” he smiled, “I just wish I could have helped pick it out.”

“I’m sorry, Son,” Rob consoled, “The price of being the big brother.”

Paula got in on the driver’s side and Rob climbed into the passenger seat. He watched her get everything adjusted and then she looked over all the gadgets.

“I feel like I need to be talking to an air traffic controller,” she remarked, “asking for clearance to taxi down the runway.”

“More like NASA,” he laughed, “Ready?”

“I guess,” she backed it out and took it around the lot to get the feel before pulling out onto the street. “Wow. Can we really afford this, Rob? You’d better not just be teasing me with this.”

“I’m not teasing you,” he defended, “I wouldn’t do that. Does that mean you like it?”

“I like it,” she smiled, “I want it. But I’m still driving my Jeep when I can.”

 Go To Chapter Ten
Reaping What's Been Sewn