The Turbulence of Butterflies (Max Howard Series Book 6) Page 5

  The next morning, I went into town and rented a car to pick up Bryan and his family. The car rental agency gave me a brand-new Pacifica. It barely had a thousand miles on it. On the drive to the San Antonio airport I decided to buy one for Sunny. I knew she’d love the roominess of the interior and sliding side-door. Thankfully, by the time I had parked in the Short Term Parking Lot, I realized my desire to buy Sunny a new car was based on my own insecurities and not her need for a new one. Her Honda Civic was just fine and would outlast me.

  My grandson, Bryan Vogel, was a bit sheepish when he walked off the plane with Noah, who was almost four. And well, he should be, I thought to myself, but I let it go. Although we’d had a falling out about his moving to Montana, I would be the adult here and act as if nothing had ever happened between us. Sophia was about Katie’s age and she was tugging at her mother’s hand to hurry and stay up with her father. Ava looked as if she had swallowed a watermelon for breakfast and it was sitting there horizontally to the ground. She saw me eyeing her as she walked toward me and challenged me with her eyes to say a word about her physical appearance. I didn’t, but I sent her lots of love to go with all the new weight she was carrying.

  As soon as they arrived at the area of the concourse where I was allowed without a ticket, I bent over young Sophia, picked her up, and gave her a big kiss and a hug. She didn’t like that one bit. She was too old, evidently, for such a display of affection in public from a stranger. I ignored her and while holding her in one arm I embraced Ava and gave her a good hug, too. “You look beautiful, Sweetheart,” I said to her. “How did my grandson ever get to be such a lucky man?”

  “The same way you did. He’s very, very, lucky,” Ava said and gave me a squeeze back.

  “Graced is more like it. How was the trip?” I said and set Sophia down.

  “I’m so glad to get on the ground. Where’s the bathroom?”

  I pointed to the closest sign in the area and offered my hand to Bryan.

  “Hey, Grandpa,” he said and shook my hand, then turned his attention to Ava for a moment before she got away. “Did Mom call you?” he asked me off-hand a few seconds later.

  “No.”

  His mother, Barbin, must have given poor Emily an earful instead. I’d hoped that Barbin’s omnipresence in Bryan’s life would serve as a mirror for Sunny and help her deal with letting go of Kevin, but it had so far gone right over my dear wife’s head. The road to manhood was difficult enough for most boys and especially so for sensitive boys like Kevin; he didn’t need a hovering mother pointing out all the potholes along the way. A boy tended to turn out to be a better and wiser man if he stumbled over a few of those potholes along the way to wherever the road led.

  While Ava headed for the ladies’ room, I took young Noah from his father’s grasp. We had not met before and he was a little nervous at first. He kept his eye on his dad. “What’s your name, young man?” I asked to play with him.

  “Noah,” he said.

  “Well, that’s a fine name, yes sir it is. I like the name Noah. Do you know who I am?”

  He shook his head slowly, yes, but I could tell he wasn’t sure.

  “Well, I’m your daddy’s grandfather and that makes me your great-grandfather.”

  “What should we call you?” Sophia wanted to know.

  “You can call me Grandpa, everyone else does.”

  That bothered Sophia and she gave her father a look of concern. “We have a Grandpa,” she said.

  “How about Grandpa Max.”

  She shook her head, no. She didn’t like that.

  “How about, Opa, then? It means grandfather in German.” She liked Opa. “Okay, then, its Opa,” I said.

  “I’d better go check on Mommy,” Bryan said to his kids. “Stay here with Opa, I’ll be right back.” A look of panic set in on their young faces.

  Bryan’s concern for Ava was evident. I wondered if there was something wrong. I took the kids hands and we walked over to the window and watched the planes taking off and landing until Ava and Bryan rejoined us. The few moments alone with their kids gave my suspicious mind time to work itself up into a lather of discontent. I had a strange feeling about their sudden appearance in Texas and what it might mean. But then when I saw Ava’s face again, I dismissed my concerns as I often did and was happy that she and Bryan were home finally.

  Twenty minutes later we were loaded in the car and headed north for New Haven. After I explained they were staying with me and Kevin in our new house, Ava had to know all the details of what had taken place on the family ranch since the last time they had been there for the Rancher of the Year ceremony. That was when the Vice President of the United States had paid an unexpected visit to Texas and had come along with Governor to our ranch. Unfortunately, Rebecca Haas had showed up with a loaded gun lying on the front seat of her car in plain sight. The Secret Service Agents checking guest invitations were new to Texas and freaked out.

  “Daddy must have told that story a hundred times,” Ava said, referring to the award ceremonies.

  “Yeah and each time it gets worse than the gunfight at the OK Corral,” Bryan added.

  “So how are your parents?” I said to change the subject. That incident at the ranch had almost cost me my marriage. The shooting at the front gate to the ranch had confirmed Sunny’s worst fears about Texas being full of trigger-happy gun slinging cowboys. Never mind that all the shooting was by the Federal Secret Service.

  Ava ignored my attempt at distraction right away and wanted to know when she could see the cistern.

  “We can ride out there this afternoon if you like. Why don’t you get settled in and rest up for a couple of hours?”

  “Max, I didn’t come down here to rest. We have to leave the day after tomorrow. Take us to the site now.”

  “Opa, I’m hungry,” Noah said.

  Ava was riding in back away from the front seat airbag. I was watching her in the rear-view mirror, next to Noah. Bryan was in the third seat with Sophia and my grandson was outdone with me that I didn’t have car seats for his children. He had grown up without car seats and survived childhood so I refused to feel guilty, even if I hadn’t thought about it. I should have. Katie had spent her life in a car seat and then a booster seat.

  “How about McDonalds? They have a play area,” I offered after I spotted one north of the San Antonio city limits.

  “I like McDonalds,” Noah said appreciatively and we immediately bonded as males do over a good meal. I knew I’d have to treat him to a Sonic chili cheese dog with tots to round out his taste for fast-food while in Texas.

  After the kids hit the restrooms and playground, Bryan and I brought the food trays outside. I had called Shane Wagnor and told him the inspection of the cistern was on again, but Hannah wasn’t available.

  “There’s something you should know, Ava. There’s a young graduate student at Texas A&M that wants to help with the site. Her boyfriend, works for me, and his crew found the cistern.”

  “How many people know about the site?”

  “There’s the four-man crew that’s actually seen it. I don’t know how many people they’ve told. Then, there’s Shane, Sunny, and me. The girl’s name is Hannah McCoy. She thought it might be part of the monumentation system for one of the Spanish trails out of Mexico City. She suggested that we scout for another trail marker within a three thousand foot radius.”

  “Based on the pictures you sent me, it’s not part of a monumentation system. Do you know who the Jesuits are?” she said.

  “Honey, slow down. Look at the site, first,” Bryan cautioned.

  “The Society of Jesus. They’re teachers; the intellectuals of the Catholic Church,” I said with some knowledge. I had once attended Catholic school when I was youngster. “Why? Do you think it’s a shrine or something?”

  “Bryan’s right. Let me see the cistern site first. Just so you know, that isn’t what the Jesuits started out as; their reputation for intellectualism came later.”


  “We spotted some old coins at the bottom. Shane is going to get a harness so we can lower him down.”

  “No way,” she said with some authority.

  I remembered Ava could be a little headstrong sometimes, but I took it to mean she was on board now. “Look, there’s a reason why I wanted you involved. I don’t want this to turn into a turf war over these artifacts. I have a legal obligation to notify the State of Texas of anything I find on the ranch, which I will do as soon as I know what we have. And, the Attorney General has a particular interest in this ranch and me, for reasons I don’t need to go into detail about. I thought if the site showed any historical significance you could manage the exploration of the site on behalf of the University of Texas and Texas A&M University.”

  “What artifacts? You didn’t tell you had found artifacts.”

  “Well, some old Spanish items have been found by previous owners of the ranch and there is rumored to be a conquistador’s burial site on the property.”

  Ava grinned. “Max, I swear. I told you, Bryan. What kind of artifacts?”

  “A gold crucifix. A cheek guard off a helmet.”

  “I’ll call the University after I see the site,” Ava said and devoured the rest of Noah’s French fries. Noah was shocked that his mother ate all of his fries and Bryan had to go back inside to get another order before he would settle down. When he came out he had an order for Ava, too.

  After we were finished lunch, Bryan made a quick pit stop to clean up the kids, and then we headed out. When I turned onto the County Road to the Pape Ranch, I called Shane to let him know we were almost there. I told him to send the crew home with pay and meet us up at the ranch house.

  Shane was waiting for us when we drove up fifteen minutes later. After the introductions, I couldn’t convince Bryan to stay with his children at the ranch house, while we drove out to the site. He insisted on coming with Ava and decided he would ride in the bed of the truck with Noah and Sophia.

  I hadn’t told Shane about my plan to get Bryan and Ava to move to the Pape Ranch. He sort of put two and two together, though, after the introductions and the conversation as Bryan and his family stretched their legs at the ranch house. He took me aside when Ava went inside to change and whispered, “What about Hannah?”

  “You’re going to have to trust me on this, Shane. I’m trying to kill two birds with one stone, here. I’m an Aggie and I’ll do my best to see that A&M shares in this find, whatever it is, but family comes first. And I want Bryan and Ava to be part of what we do here. Will that be a problem for Hannah?”

  “No, sir,” he said somewhat downcast at the news.

  I suspected he had built up her potential role in the discovery of the site a bit more than he should have. Hell, I was young once. A man tended to say things that he shouldn’t around a woman he had the hots for. Shane didn’t let the news get him down for long, though. He picked right back up.

  “Hannah can be a real help to Ava. She knows her way around archeological digs and grant writing. She told me to be sure and tell you that.”

  “Duly noted, Shane.” The boy obviously had a stronger interest in Hannah than I suspected.

  Ava climbed into the truck in jeans, a t-shirt, boots, and a floppy hat. She had an old canvass shoulder bag with her that looked like it had been around a few dig sites.

  “Max, said you had some new pictures of inside the cistern,” she said to Shane. “Can I see them?”

  “Sure. Max, look in the seat pocket behind Ava. My tablet’s in there.”

  We rode in silence to the hillside while Ava studied the images. I knew the slope up the hill wasn’t difficult, but the trip down on the other side to the floor of the arroyo was much steeper and I was concerned for Ava in her condition. “Is there an easier way than we usually take to get down to the site, Shane?”

  “You read my mind, Max. About half a mile further down, there’s a place we can get down the hillside safely in the truck. You just need to be real careful in the arroyo, Mrs. Vogel,” he cautioned.

  I could see that didn’t sit well with Ava. She was probably the same age as Shane or maybe a year or two older. “You worry about your own self, Mr. Wagnor. I’m pregnant, not lame,” Ava said.

  “No ma’am, I just meant you should be careful with those cowgirl boots you’re wearing.”

  Shane raised an eyebrow at me. I grinned.

  “Don’t call me ma’am. Ever. What’s wrong with my boots? I’ll bet your hiking boots barely top your ankle. Not smart in snake country.”

  Once we were down in the creek bed, Ava took her time inspecting the arroyo. It was steep in places and no more than ten yards wide at the narrowest. When we were about twenty feet from the cistern, Ava stopped us.

  “Max, would you go stand over by the cistern. I want to get a picture of you next to it for reference and have the ridge line in the picture. You’re what, six-five?”

  “More like two or three. I’m not even sure of that anymore; it seems like I’m shrinking in old age. Let Shane do it.”

  “Oh, stop your whining and go stand over there,” she said like she was already in charge of the site.

  Shane grinned at me. After she took the pictures, she and Shane walked over to the cistern. She took a small brush out of her bag and cleaned the letters chiseled out of the limestone slab. I heard her grunt as she sat down next to the cistern. The strain on her knees must have been getting to her, I thought. She suddenly looked tired to me.

  “Did you find any other monumentation?” she asked Shane.

  “I haven’t looked real hard. I didn’t do a systematic search of the area, if that’s what you mean. Why?”

  “If this is what I think it is, you probably won’t find anything. I need to get down inside the cistern.”

  I cleared my throat and shook my head, no. “You can forget that, Ava,” I said.

  “I thought you wanted my help,” Ava said.

  “I do, but not at the risk of injury to you or the baby.”

  “Hannah can go down,” Shane said.

  “Does your friend have any experience at an archeological site?”

  “Oh, yeah! She’s a caver too.”

  “Okay, help me up, please,” she said and extended her hand. Shane pulled her up. “I’ve seen enough. Ask her if she can meet us here tomorrow morning. If she’s a caver she should have the equipment she needs to repel down to the bottom of the cistern.”

  “I’ll call her as soon as we get back to the ranch house. Reception down here is non-existent.”

  “Max, I think you have something significant here. But I’m due any day now.”

  I was shocked. I’d thought she had weeks before the baby was due.

  “If tomorrow confirms what I’m thinking, I can use the down time to work up the protocols between the two universities for when we apply for grant money,” she continued.

  I couldn’t have been happier. She and Bryan were coming home to Texas.

  “What do you think this is?” Shane said to her.

  “Let’s talk about it tomorrow when Hannah is here,” she said.

  . . .

  The next morning there was one of those Texas Hill Country sunrises that could take your breath away if you let it and I did. On my more pragmatic side, it told me there was a high ridge of pressure upon us and as beautiful as the sky was that morning, the day would be a scorcher. I was standing at the kitchen window having a cup of coffee still in awe of all that had happened during the night. I was in a reflective and emotional mood and I took the change in weather with the wisdom of a man who had lived in Texas all his life and knew the heat was part of the price for living in Texas. Ava had her baby around three in the morning and I was still lost in the wonder of it all.

  After I finished my cup of coffee, I drove into town while everyone was still down and napping while they could. An hour later I pulled back up in front of our house with a sack full of kolaches, bear claws, and pigs in a blanket from Eslick Bakery. I figured nobody w
as going to want to eat a full breakfast that morning. A car was parked in front of the house I didn’t recognize, even though I suspected who it was. My daughter’s motherly instinct to hover near her brood was enough to make Barbin drive down from Dallas right after Bryan called her to let her know Ava had gone into labor.

  Barbin must have heard me drive up as she opened the front door before I could. We stood there looking at one another and not saying a word. Her presence said it all, at least in her mind. I had caused the early birth of her grandchild and endangered the health of her daughter-in-law and grandchild and she was here now to take charge. I leaned forward to kiss her hello, but she offered her cheek and no embrace. I was surprised that I felt some resentment at her being there and intruding on Ava and her family, but I didn’t say anything.

  “Hi, Sweetheart. You got here fast.”

  “It’s a girl,” she said very pleased and like I didn’t know, then she stepped aside.

  “And a fine one it is,” I offered.

  “What were you thinking letting her trudge all over that ranch? You knew she was close.”

  Ah, there was the daughter I knew. “I didn’t know she was that close.” I wasn’t in the mood to argue with her. “Is she awake?”

  “Opa, come see my new baby sister,” Sophia said and ran over to us. She took me by my hand and pulled me into Katie’s bedroom.

  “Opa?” Barbin said.

  I handed the bakery goodies to her.

  Ava was breastfeeding the baby with Bryan sitting on the bed holding Noah. “Mommy, show Opa.” Emily was at the foot of the bed. She had come out to the ranch in the middle of the night to help.