Chapter 110. Walking Around Town

Chapter 110. Walking Around Town
Samantha brings a small basket of fresh fruit for Caleb when she returns to the hospital, choosing things she knows he can eat easily while he's still recovering. There are seedless grapes, strawberries, sliced melon, and a few oranges packed neatly inside, and Caleb's expression brightens the moment he sees the basket. 

"Here you go, boy. I know you love these fruits, so you best eat 'em up and get healthy soon, ya hear? Your sister can't be stayin' here forever," Samantha says as she places the basket beside Caleb's bed.

Caleb looks at the fruit first before turning his attention toward Roxanne. He really wanted to spend more time with the sister he thought he lost four years ago. "Really? How many days you fixin' to stay?"

Roxanne glances toward Alexandra, who's already counting the days in her head. They have already spent three days aboard the cruise before leaving for Texas, and with Alexandra's fifteen-day, one-a-year holiday, their time in Texas is limited.

"Probably around ten or eleven days," Alexandra answers after doing the calculation.

Caleb's face immediately brightens. "Oh, that's plenty. I'll be right as rain 'fore you leave."

Robert, sitting beside him, smiles and gently pats the top of his son's head. "That's the spirit. Just mind them doctors and keep on eatin', ya hear?"

Caleb nods before his attention returns to Alexandra. He has been watching her for most of the afternoon, clearly curious about the woman who stays so close to Roxanne and seems completely comfortable around everyone. His question comes without any hidden meaning, simply the innocent curiosity of a sixteen-year-old trying to understand the complicated relationships suddenly surrounding his family.

"So you my sister's stepmomma? Aunt Alex, like Daddy says?"

Roxanne and Alexandra answer at almost exactly the same time. "She's not my mother."

"I'm not her mother." The words overlap so quickly that everyone in the room goes silent for a second. 

Robert's eyebrows draw together as he looks between them, clearly caught off guard by how quickly they both respond to Caleb's innocent question. Samantha suddenly becomes very interested in rearranging the fruit inside the basket, while Madelyn eagerly waits for more information.

Caleb simply blinks at them, seemingly satisfied with the answer even though he doesn't understand why they're so quick to make it clear, and decides not to pursue it further. "Oh."

He reaches for another grape. Robert, however, continues looking at the two women for another moment before finally letting the subject go, although the faint crease between his eyebrows suggests that he's still wondering about the relationship between Roxanne and Alexandra. And nobody dares to ask the question again.

The afternoon passes quickly, and eventually the nurses begin reminding visitors that the visiting hours are almost over. Robert stays beside Caleb after everyone else prepares to leave, insisting that he'll spend the evening with his son. 

He looks weary after everything that happens over the past two days, but there's a noticeable difference in him now. He no longer carries the distracted expression Roxanne remembers from childhood, when his attention is always divided between the ranch, Amelia, and whatever crisis happens to be waiting for him. His focus remains entirely on Caleb, and when Roxanne says she will come back the next morning, he gives her a grateful smile before telling her to get some rest.

Madelyn isn't going to stay at the hospital with him this time. Other than Samantha convincing her that she needs a proper shower, clean clothes, and a few hours away from the smell of disinfectant and hospital food. She also wanted to spend more time with her older sister, knowing that Roxanne would be staying at the ranch tonight, so she wanted to be there with her sister for the first evening of her return.

The four of them leave the hospital together, but Samantha's original plan changes almost immediately when the three friends who come with her earlier mention that they want to follow them to the ranch. They're still excited about seeing Roxanne again after all these years, and Ethan in particular seems reluctant to waste an opportunity after finally seeing his old crush in person. Alexandra, however, doesn't look remotely interested in having three additional people following them around.

She gives Samantha one calm look, and Samantha understands immediately. "Nope," Samantha tells the three of them as they reach the parking lot. "You guys are going home."

The protests begin almost immediately, but Samantha is already shaking her head. "You've had your reunion. You can have more time with her tomorrow. I'm not dragging three hungry idiots with us tonight, let Maddie have her time with her sister."

Ethan looks toward Roxanne as though hoping she will disagree, but Roxanne only laughs and tells him Samantha is probably right. That settles it. Samantha promises they can come by the next day, assuming Roxanne is free, and after a few more complaints, the three eventually accept defeat and head toward their own vehicles.

Once they are gone, Samantha turns toward her truck with a satisfied smile. "Now, before we go home, I'm taking you somewhere."

Roxanne looks suspicious immediately. "Where?"

"You'll see."

Samantha drives with Madelyn beside her in the front passenger seat in her truck, while Roxanne and Alexandra follow behind them in one of the three black SUVs Alexandra brings from the airport. The other two SUVs remain behind them as security, keeping a comfortable distance as they leave the hospital grounds and merge into the evening traffic. 

Madelyn occasionally glances through the side mirror at the convoy behind them, clearly still not used to seeing so many vehicles following her family, while Samantha seems completely unfazed by it. "Your sister's travelin' with a whole dang army these days," Samantha says with a grin.

Madelyn looks back again before laughing quietly. "I noticed."

The convoy follows Samantha through the busier part of town before gradually moving toward an older stretch of road that Roxanne vaguely remembers. She watches the scenery through the SUV window, recognizing certain buildings and intersections despite how much the area has changed since she leaves Texas. 

The evening traffic is beginning to build, and the warm air outside carries the mixed smells of dust, gasoline, fried food, and barbecue drifting from restaurants along the roadside. Samantha eventually turns off the main road and into a quieter street before pulling into a parking lot beside a low brick building with a wide covered porch. 

Wooden picnic tables sit beneath the roof, while strings of warm lights hang overhead and sway slightly in the evening breeze. The three black SUVs follow them into the lot, their headlights briefly illuminating the restaurant before the drivers shut off their engines. The smell reaches them before they even open the truck doors.

Smoke from burning oak hangs heavily in the warm air, mixed with the rich smell of slow-cooked beef, rendered fat, pepper, and barbecue sauce. Somewhere behind the building, several large smokers are working through another evening's worth of brisket, ribs, and sausage, and even from the parking lot, Roxanne can already tell why Samantha brings them here.

Samantha steps out of the truck and looks toward Roxanne's and Alexandra's SUVs with a satisfied smile. "Now," she says, waiting for them to come over, "I'm fixin' to show you what real Texas brisket tastes like, and once you try it, ain't nothin' else gonna measure up."

Not the sharp smell of a grill burning too hot, but the deep, rich scent of wood smoke that has settled into the walls and roof after years of cooking. Beneath it, the unmistakable smell of beef, rendered fat, pepper, salt, and the slightly sweet scent of barbecue sauce warms the air somewhere inside.

Roxanne's expression changes immediately, Samantha grins. "Welcome to the place my brother swears up and down makes the best dang brisket in all of Texas."

The restaurant belongs to an older man named Earl, a friend and business associate of Samantha's eldest brother. Her family has been buying meat from him for years, and eventually their relationship becomes close enough that Earl starts treating the entire ranch like an extension of his family. He knows exactly how much food Samantha's brothers can eat after working cattle all day, and he knows Samantha well enough to have her usual order ready before she finishes parking.

Inside, the restaurant is warm and crowded without being chaotic. The walls are covered with old photographs of cattle drives, rodeo events, local football teams, and customers standing beside enormous cuts of meat. A long counter runs along one side of the room, while the open kitchen behind it allows everyone to see the smokers lined up against the back wall.

Samantha leads them toward the counter. "Earl!"

An older man looks up from behind the register and immediately recognizes her. "Well, well, look who finally remembers where we keep the good meat 'round here."

Samantha laughs and introduces Roxanne and Alexandra. Earl's expression changes when he realizes who Roxanne is, and he gives her a warm smile. "So you're the famous sister, huh? Heard a whole lot about ya."

Roxanne laughs softly. "I hope for the good thing only."

Earl smiles at her and starts preparing their order. The brisket arrives first, sliced thick enough to show the distinct pink smoke ring beneath the dark bark. The outer crust is almost black from the long smoking process, covered in coarse pepper and seasoning, while the inside remains moist and tender enough that the slices bend slightly when lifted from the plate. Fat glistens along the edges, rendered down during hours of slow cooking until it becomes soft rather than greasy.

Samantha immediately tears off a piece with her fork. "See? This is what Texas tastes like." Roxanne laughs before trying it herself.

The brisket nearly falls apart beneath her fork. The bark gives a gentle resistance before the tender meat separates, and the flavor comes in layers: smoky wood first, then pepper and salt, followed by the richness of the beef and the sweetness that remains from the long cooking process. 

Alexandra watches Roxanne's expression carefully, and when the younger woman closes her eyes for a moment while chewing, she already knows the verdict. "Good?"

Roxanne nods. "Very."

Samantha looks pleased with herself. The table quickly fills with more food. There are ribs with dark caramelized edges, smoked sausage split open and browned over the fire, creamy coleslaw, baked beans thick with brisket drippings, buttery cornbread, pickles, and slices of white bread meant to soak up whatever sauce remains on the plate. A bowl of potato salad sits between them, along with a jar of spicy barbecue sauce for anyone who wants more heat.

The smell of smoke follows every plate to the table. After four long years, the food on the table finally makes Roxanne feel herself genuinely relax. She sits between Samantha and Alexandra, listening to Samantha tell stories about the ranch while Madelyn quietly eats beside them. Every so often Samantha brings up something embarrassing Roxanne did during high school, and Roxanne protests while Alexandra listens with obvious amusement.

By the time they finally leave, the sun has already begun disappearing beyond the horizon, leaving the Texas sky painted in warm shades of orange and pink. Their clothes carry a faint trace of wood smoke from the restaurant, and Roxanne realizes she doesn't mind it at all, neither does Alexandra.

For tonight, at least, she isn't thinking about her biological mother, the divorce, the hospital, or everything that still needs to be resolved. She's simply back in Texas, eating brisket with her sister and her best friend, while her lover, Alexandra, sits beside her as though she has always belonged there.