19. Beast
BEAST
Ishould have known better.
The moment Mrs. Jenkins smiled at me.
I should have run.
Fast.
Possibly to another state.
Instead, I was sitting on a stool outside Hank's barn drinking iced sweet tea.
Trying to enjoy ten minutes of peace.
The boys were repairing fence posts.
Or pretending to.
Hank was inside, resting his gouty foot.
Sadie had gone into town with Sheriff Cooper to make a statement.
For the first time all week, things were quiet.
Then Mrs. Jenkins arrived.
Followed by Doris.
Followed by Betty.
I immediately considered my escape options.
There weren't any.
The women sat down around me.
Like vultures.
Friendly vultures.
But vultures nonetheless.
I took another drink of tea.
Carefully.
"Morning."
Three identical smiles.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
"Morning, dear," Mrs. Jenkins said.
I narrowed my eyes.
Nobody called me dear unless they wanted something.
"What?"
Betty gasped.
"Doris, did you hear that?"
Doris nodded.
"Such hostility."
"I haven't even done anything yet."
"That's exactly what worries me."
The three women exchanged looks.
I suddenly missed combat zones.
At least there you knew who the enemy was.
Mrs. Jenkins folded her hands.
"So."
"No."
"I haven't asked anything."
"Whatever it is."
Betty grinned.
"Oh, he's learning."
Years of military experience.
Adapt and survive.
That was the goal.
Mrs. Jenkins pointed toward the ranch house.
"You love that girl."
I nearly inhaled my tea.
Violently.
The women looked entirely too pleased.
"No."
"Mmm-hmm."
"No."
"Absolutely."
"No."
Mrs. Jenkins smiled.
The smile of someone who knew she was winning.
"Then why have you slept on her porch for three nights?"
Silence.
Doris jumped in.
"Why did you chase off the UPS driver?"
"He was acting suspicious."
"He handed her a package."
"Exactly."
Betty nodded.
"Then there was the FedEx driver."
"He was suspicious too."
"He asked where the bathroom was."
Could have been a distraction.
You never knew.
The women stared.
I stared back.
A standoff.
Unfortunately, they had more ammunition.
Mrs. Jenkins leaned forward.
"Why do you know what color shirt Sadie wore yesterday?"
I opened my mouth.
Then closed it.
Because that was a trap.
A terrible trap.
And somehow I knew the correct answer wasn't:
Blue.
With little white flowers.
The shirt she'd worn while feeding horses.
The shirt I'd noticed immediately.
Because apparently my brain had become defective.
The women cackled.
Actually cackled.
Traitors.
Every one of them.
"I hate all of you."
"We know, dear."
The worst part?
They looked happy about it.
A hammer clanged against metal.
All of us turned.
Kyle was standing on top of a fence post.
Staring.
The idiot nearly fell off.
"You love Miss Sadie, too?"
I pointed toward the manure pile.
"Go shovel something."
The teenager wisely retreated.
Fast.
The women laughed harder.
I rubbed my face.
This was a nightmare.
A tiny silver sedan rolled into the ranch yard.
My attention locked on it instantly.
The joking vanished.
The laughter stopped.
Every protective instinct I possessed came alive.
The car slowed.
Parked.
And Sadie stepped out.
The tension disappeared immediately.
Relief hit me so hard it was almost embarrassing.
Unfortunately.
The Magnolia Ladies noticed.
Of course, they noticed.
Mrs. Jenkins patted my arm.
"There it is."
"What?"
"That look."
I frowned.
"What look?"
"The one a man gets when the woman he loves comes home safely."
I stood.
Finished with this conversation.
Finished with all of them.
Finished forever.
"I'm leaving."
"You can't."
"Watch me."
"Sadie's walking this way."
I stopped.
Immediately.
Behind me, three elderly women burst into laughter.
The sound followed me all the way across the yard.
Toward Sadie.
Toward trouble.
Toward the woman who was becoming far too important.
And for the first time...
I was starting to realize the Magnolia Ladies might be right.
Which was a truly horrifying thought.