For Better or Worse

She followed his gaze as he put her down to determine what had startled him. She caught her breath. His father stood quietly watching them

“I would speak to you before I go,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Alex handed her the basket of eggs and closed the coop door.

“Well, let’s go into the house.”

As she watched them walk toward the house, it occurred to her that the reason Alex didn’t like him was that they were too much alike. Both wanted to control, and both were confident in their own decisions. When their destination and ideas didn’t match, it was like lighting one.

At the back door, Alex paused to let his father in and then his attention shifted to Carmen. He motioned for her to hurry up, and when she walked by him he leaned over, speaking softly into her ear.

“Well, Mrs. Barnett, here’s your chance to talk to your father-in-law – if you can fit a word in edgewise.”

She looked up at him and grinned. If it was true, he was certainly different than Alex in that way. Alex might not respond, or he might abruptly end the conversation, but he never dominated it.

After getting them each a cup of coffee and a piece of the cherry pie she had made the day before, she sat down at the table with them. This was going to be interesting.

“Carmen,” Alex said, “This is my father, Señor Medena.” His attention shifted to his father. “This is my wife, Carmen.”

“Nice to meet you,” Carmen said. Thank goodness someone finally settled the name problem.

“Es agradable encontrarle también, señora Barnett,” Señor Medena said.

Alex leaned forward. “Carmen doesn’t speak Spanish. We speak English here.”

Señor Medena nodded. “It is nice to meet you too, Mrs. Barnett.” His dark eyes held a glint of humor. “My son, he likes to say how things will be, yes?”

She could feel Alex watching her. “My husband always looks out for my best interest.”

He chuckled softly. “He is the boss and you give him permission to be?”

She shrugged. “Something like that.”

He looked at Alex. “Your wife is a beautiful woman.”

Alex nodded. “Yes, very.”

Señor Medena pulled the pie closer and picked up the fork. “It is good to hear your voice again.” He took a bite and savored it for a moment. “This is very good.”

“Thank you,” Carmen said.

Was he ever going to come to the point? She glanced at Alex. A smile was playing at the corners of his mouth as he watched her, and his chocolate gaze was kissed with humor.

“I think,” said Señor Medena after swallowing the bite of pie, “that you would like it in Houston.”

Carmen glanced at Alex, unsure who he was talking to, or where the conversation might be going. Alex lifted a brow.

“Me?” she asked.

Señor Medena glanced at her. “Yes, you. Such a lady as you would enjoy the fine restaurants.”

Carmen shrugged. “Oh, do they have chitterlings and hog jowls there?”

He frowned, “Chitterlings?”

Carmen nodded soberly. “Pig intestines.”

He stared at her a moment and then his eyes twinkled with humor. “You joke with me. You have eaten this pig intestines?”

Carmen grinned. “Actually, no. It sounds disgusting, doesn’t it?” She sobered, “But I’m not much on fine dining, though. I’m kind of a plain Jane.”

“Carmen appreciates the simple things in life,” Alex explained.

Señor Medena put down his fork and leaned back. “I have watched you and you are not a simple woman,” he said, looking at Carmen. “I would give my son much land if he would come to live near me. He would not go without you. Would you go with him?”

Finally he was getting to the point. She glanced at Alex, who was scowling at his father. Returning her attention to Señor Medena, she smiled.

“If my husband moved to the Sahara desert, I would go with him.”

He arched a silver brow. “And you would be happy?”

She shrugged. “Being happy has nothing to do with where you are.”

He glanced at Alex. “And she is wise as well.”

Carmen glanced at Alex. “What’s this all about? Do you want to move back to Houston?”

He shook his head, his gaze wandering over her face. “I moved up here from Houston because what I wanted was here. Everything I wanted.”

“Anyway,” Carmen said, shifting her attention back to his father. “We have much land here – about a quarter-section.”

He snorted. “I would give you much more.”

Carmen made a face. “Yeah, but here you measure the land by cows per acre, not the other way around.”

Alex sprayed the mouth full of coffee he had just sipped. He jumped up, grabbing a paper towel to clean up the mess. His amused gaze rested on Carmen as he tried to keep from smiling.

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking up at him with a serious expression. “Was it too hot?”

He mopped coffee off the table. “It was getting that way.”

His father eyed him sympathetically. “She is like this all the time?”

Alex shook his head. “No, only often enough to keep things interesting.”

For a few minutes there was an uncomfortable silence at the table. Finally Señor Medena spoke to Carmen.

“I have invited my son to Houston, but he has declined. I think you will not encourage him.”

“You’re right,” Carmen said. “There is another way to be near him.”

He smiled, a twinkle coming into his eyes. “Yes, but he has not suggested it. Perhaps he would like me to stay in Houston.”

Carmen glanced up at Alex, who was giving her a poisonous look. She smiled at him.

“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask him.”

Alex kept his gaze on Carmen. “It’s nothing to me where you hang your hat.”

When the chuckle started, they both turned to look at Señor Medena. His eyes were twinkling with mirth and his lips were twisted into a sardonic smile.

“I think I might come to visit sometimes. Maybe you will come visit me?”

Alex glanced at Carmen, his gaze scouring her face. “Maybe we will.”

Señor Medena looked surprised. “This is true?”

Alex raised a brow at Carmen and she smiled.

“It sounds like a good idea. The kids would love it, don’t you think? We’ve never taken a vacation.”

“You would not be sorry. I promise,” Señor Medena said emphatically.

They talked for a long time and he agreed to stay for supper. Carmen picked the children up from Grandma Reynolds' place so he could visit with them. Jonathan and Señor Medena hit it off from the minute they met, and by the time he left, Jonathan was calling him grandpa. Señor Medena obviously delighted in that fact and even Alex didn’t appear to mind. For the first time, Destiny warmed quickly to someone. Whether it was the personality or the fact that she was entering another stage was hard to tell.

They talked about visiting him Thanksgiving or Christmas but made no concrete plans. Carmen invited him to stay the night, but he declined, saying he already had a hotel room in town.

Destiny hugged him and kissed him goodbye, and Jonathan shook his hand. Even Alex shook his hand, though he didn’t invite him to come back. Carmen took care of that and Alex made no comment. Maybe he would forgive his father eventually.

At last they had found a blood relative. With that thought came the realization that she had crossed another bridge in their marriage. Their relationship was now so close that she considered his father blood relation. It was strange and somehow exciting. Alex had family other than Katie. What other mysteries lay waiting discovery? They had been through better and worse and each time they had come out on the other side with a stronger relationship. Hopefully things would settle down for them now, but it was comforting knowing that their love was strong enough to survive the worst.

Later that summer Lori was put on probation. Alex and Carmen turned over the insurance money to her, with the blessing of the entire family. That brought tears of joy to Lori’s eyes. It was enough to get her out of debt and on her feet in California. She gave them her sister’s address and telephone number and promised to keep in touch.

Carmen and Alex knew they had the best deal of all. They had two children, a home and each other. And now they had another family member. The best things might not be free, but they didn’t always come in neat little packages, either. The future would undoubtedly throw more obstacles in their path, but they would tackle them as a family now. They had been tried and they had triumphed. Life was good.