Page 25 of Pregnant by the Texan
The next morning after breakfast with Stella, Aaron sent text messages to three more Texas Cattleman’s Club members in Dallas. Stella had given him permission to plan two meetings, so he wanted to get them arranged as soon as possible.
Next, he drove to the temporary office R&N Builders had set up in Royal. It was a flimsy, hastily built building on a back street. He saw Cole’s truck already there and was surprised his partner had returned a little earlier than he had planned.
Seated at one of the small tables that served as a desk, Cole was in his usual boots, jeans and R&N Builders T-shirt. His broad-brimmed black Resistol hung on the hat rack along with his jacket.
“How’s Henry?” Aaron asked in greeting.
“He’s getting along, but he needs help and he still has a lot of repairs to make. He had appointments with insurance people and an attorney about his brother’s estate, so I came back here.”
“I’m sorry to hear he still has a lot to do. That’s tough. In the best of times there’s no end to the work on a ranch.”
“You got that right. And he’s having a tough time about losing his brother. I figure I’m a good one to stay and give him a hand.”
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. I think a lot of people are glad to have you back in Royal. You didn’t go home much before the storm.”
“I’ve avoided being here with Craig and Paige since their marriage. I’ve gone home occasionally for holidays, but never was real comfortable about it since Craig and I both dated Paige in high school,” Cole said, gazing into space. Aaron wondered if Cole still had feelings for Paige or if he had been in love with her when she’d married Craig.
“When the folks died, I came even less often.” He turned to look at Aaron. “I’m ready to leave for the TCC. Want to ride with me?”
“I’ll drive one of the trucks because I’m going to see Stella for lunch. She raised $12,000 from people in Lubbock yesterday afternoon.”
“That’s good news. Royal needs whatever we can get. There’s still so much to be done.”
“Cole, she has an idea—she’s worried about Christmas and the people who lost everything, the people with little kids who are having a hard time. She wants to have a Christmas drive to get presents.”
“She’s right. Those people need help. Christmas is going to be tough.”
“She’s getting some women together to organize it. Meanwhile TCC has its Christmas festival coming up. Sure, you and I are members of the Dallas TCC, so I don’t want to come in and start asking for favors, but I’m going to this time. I thought about talking to Gil and Nathan and a few other members. It might be nice to tie this Christmas present drive to the festival and invite all those people and let them pick up their presents then. What do you think?”
“I think that’s a great idea. I’d say do it.”
“Also, I think we should ask the Dallas TCC to make a Christmas contribution to Royal. We could invite Dallas members to the Royal TCC Christmas Festival.”
“Another good idea. We know some guys who would be willing to help and are usually generous when it’s a good cause. I hope the whole town is invited this year. Everyone needs a party.”
“I agree. We can talk to Gil.”
“I’d be glad to,” Cole replied, standing to get his jacket and hat. “I’ll see you at the Cattleman’s Club.”
Aaron waved as he put his phone to his ear to make a call. When he was done, he stuffed some notes into his jacket pocket and locked up to go to the TCC.
When he arrived at the club, he glanced at the damage to the rambling stone and dark wood structure. Part of the slate roof of the main building had been torn off, but that had already been replaced. Trees had fallen on outbuildings, and many windows had to be replaced. A lot of the water damage had been taken care of early while the outbuildings were still in need of repair.
Aaron knew that repairs had started right away. The sound of hammers and chainsaws had become a fixture in Royal as much as the sight of wrecking trucks hauling away debris. As Aaron parked the R&N truck and climbed out, he saw Cole talking to Nathan Battle. Cole motioned to Aaron to join them.
The tall, brown-haired sheriff shook hands with Aaron. “Glad you’re here. Work keeps progressing. We have the windows replaced now and that’s a relief. You get tired of looking through plastic and hearing it flap in the wind.”
“I told Nathan about Stella’s idea for the Christmas drive and how it might be nice to combine it with the TCC Christmas festival,” Cole said.
“I think it would be great. It’ll add to the festivities. The holidays can be hard enough, as both of you know too well,” Nathan said. “This will be a nice way to cheer people up.”
“When will Gil be here?” Aaron asked.
“He’s inside now,” Nathan replied. “Let’s go find him. We need the president’s approval before you take it to a meeting.”
Aaron worked through the morning, sitting in one of the empty meeting rooms. He did take time to make some calls to set up more appointments for Stella. He grinned to himself. She might not like all the appointments he planned to get for her, but he was certain she would rise to the occasion and he would help her.
Hopefully, the makeover might help her self-confidence a little. He would talk to her about dealing with the press and interviews and then see what kind of meetings he could help her get with people who would be willing to contribute to rebuilding Royal.
