Chapter 7
C helsea’s mind raced with all the possible ways to get some of that mobility back for Brutus. When she heard a chuckle, she looked up to see Walton staring at her, a big affectionate smile on his face. “What?” she asked, frowning at him.
“ You . You’re already figuring out how to fix him.”
She flushed. “I’m not trying to fix him. I’m trying to improve his mobility.”
“Right,” he said, with a nod. “Seems to be the same thing to me. What about you? How does it appear to you?” he asked Rick.
“Looks like the same damn thing to me.” Rick nodded. “Sure as hell does.”
She groaned. “It’s not the same damn thing,” she muttered, “and, besides, it’s a good thing.”
“Oh, it’s absolutely a good thing, no doubt,” Walton agreed. “You figure out what exercises he needs, and I’ll figure out a way for him to get it done in training.”
“Perfect,” she said, now looking at Brutus with a big smile. “Sounds as if you’ve got the best of both worlds there, sweetie.” And she patted him on the head, then hugged him close. She turned, looked back at Rick, and asked, “Now, how about some coffee or tea?”
“Hey, I’ve been standing here waiting for you to get your shit together,” he muttered. As she walked closer, he added in a low tone, “Seems as if you’re getting pretty involved.”
“Always was pretty involved,” she admitted. “You just don’t realize how much.” He frowned, then glanced over at Walton. She shrugged and added, “I’ve been working with Walton for quite a few months now, until he decided not to come back.”
Walton snorted. “It’s not that I decided to not come back,” he argued, “but I had to get a few more surgeries done. Doctor’s orders. And Kat needed it done before trying out some improved prosthetics.”
Her gaze widened. “Why didn’t you tell me about the plural surgeries?”
He gave her a smile. “Not anything major.”
“We’ll have to talk about that,” she said, shooting him a look. “I know I graduated you out of all the major work we were doing, but you were still supposed to come back for tune-ups.”
“I promise that I’ll be back for tune-ups.”
She snorted. “I think I’ve heard that a time or two.” They all stepped inside the lodge.
“I’ll go get changed and meet you back here for that coffee.” With that, Walton climbed the stairs to his room.
“At one point in time they do graduate out of your care though, don’t they?” Rick asked, as he and his sister wandered toward the kitchen.
“Sure.” Chelsea scrunched up her nose, lowering her voice. “At some point in time they’ve done physio, but it takes an amazing amount of time to get to that level of discharge, and Walton has worked incredibly hard, so he did make it,” she explained. “Yet he was supposed to still come back for periodic checks.”
“You think he had those additional surgeries?” Rick asked, stopping in the hallway to face Chelsea.
“I assume so. He just told us that he did.”
“You trust him?” Rick asked. “Stan knows him, but being in the service, his injury… could have changed him.”
She sensed something deeper in his question. She looked at him carefully and then nodded. “Yes,” she replied in a low voice, “I trust him completely.”
“Good,” Rick stated, “because he’s taken on some ugly turf here.”
“I know,” she murmured, “but these guys weren’t very nice to me… or to Julie.”
At that, Rick frowned. “Have they been mean to her? Did they say something to her?” he asked, the outrage building in his tone.
Chelsea snorted. “You knew they were hassling me, so why didn’t you think they would do the same to Julie?” When he spun and glared at her, she sighed, lifted her hand in peace and added, “I get it. I get it. As far as I know, Julie’s okay, but these guys aren’t exactly the kind of men I would want around her or me.”
“I know,” Rick grumbled, “and it is one of the things we’ve been talking about. Seriously .”
“But you love this business.”
“I do,” he agreed, hanging his head, “but it’s very erratic, not something we can count on all year long.” He hesitated and then added, “We have to look to the future.”
“Don’t we all,” Chelsea muttered. She looked around to see Julie coming toward them. “There she is,” Chelsea noted, with a smile. Catching the look on her brother’s face as he glanced over at his wife, Chelsea’s heart squeezed with hope. If only somebody looked at her that way. The thought came and went in a second, and it left her longing.
Julie smiled up at him. Rick pulled her close and then turned to Chelsea. “Besides, we haven’t had a chance to tell you something.”
“Oh, yeah?” Chelsea teased, as they all moved closer. “What’s that?”
“Not now,” Julie said hurriedly. Rick frowned at her, and Julie shrugged. “I’m sure there’s a better time for telling them.” Rick wanted to argue with her, but she shook her head with a firm shrug.
Curious, Chelsea looked from one to the other, not sure what was going on. Then Walton rejoined them, bringing up the rear with Brutus. “Anything that you guys want to tell me, I’m okay to hear it,” Chelsea suggested.
“Later,” Julie repeated. “It’s fine, so let’s just talk later.” And, with that, she brushed it off and added, “Come on. Let’s get you some hot tea.”
As if realizing something had changed Julie’s attitude, Rick quickly slipped ahead of her and walked into the kitchen.
Following behind him, Chelsea noted that the group of men were all standing around in the kitchen, not arguing, but not comfortable either. As soon as Walton walked in with Brutus at his side, one of the other men questioned him.
“What the hell are you doing stealing that dog off Chad? I’m not sure I believe he did it, regardless it’s not of your damn business,” Darren was mad as hell. “I’ve got a mind to punch the shit out of you for that.”
“Go ahead,” Walton replied in a lazy tone of voice. “I’ve got no problem punching you back.”
Darren stared at him. “I’m totally okay for a dust-up,” he said, a growl forming in the back of his throat. “And I know perfectly well that my buddies are too.”
Walton laughed. “So you threaten me with a dustup, but want these other guys to back you up because of what? You can’t handle me on your own?” Walton asked in a taunting tone.
Darren glared at him. “No, but they’re my friends.”
“Yeah, friends who may have killed one of your other friends?” Walton asked incredulously. “Is that what it takes to be a friend of yours? Is it some rite of passage for you? Go beat up an old man, steal his dog, then go kill a friend of yours who doesn’t follow along with your little game or some bullshit like that? What the hell is wrong with you guys?”
The men stiffened at Walton’s words, and utter silence fell, as they all ingested what Walton just said.
Darren added, “And what the fuck do you know about our friend?”
“It’s not as if we don’t hear you guys all spouting out that shit when you’re sitting here,” Walton pointed out, glaring at Darren. “You’ve been talking about it nonstop, how you didn’t kill Rudy, but one of these other guys did.”
“You think I’m thrilled about that?” Darren asked.
“The way you guys treat the dog, the way you talk about killing animals, the way you treat women? Hell, for all I know, you’ll all end up killing somebody in some initiation practice, you sick motherfuckers.”
The men just stared at Walton in shock.
Chad straightened up slowly. “Look. I don’t want any of you talking to this asshole,” he said to his friends. “He’ll get his.”
At that, Walton turned that lazy gaze on him. “Another threat?” he asked, as he pulled out his phone.
“What now? Will you call your Badger friend again?”
“Nope, I’ll go directly to the cops, since they’re keeping an eye on you guys already. They might want to know your current whereabouts.” When Walton got a voicemail prompt, all he said was, “Call me. Got info for you on the location of four suspects.” Then he pocketed his phone.
“What the hell do you know about it?” Chad snapped.
“When I realized you’d stolen the dog, I did a background check on you,” Walton explained, without taking his gaze off Chad, “and believe me that I learned more than I wanted to.”
Chad straightened slowly. “Then you also know I’m not one to fuck around.”
“Yeah, I can see that. That’s how you got the dog, right? You beat up some old guy, a retired military veteran, in order to get an animal you wanted. Then you tell your friends you didn’t kill your other friend ,” he explained, with air quotes. “But why the hell would anybody believe you? Your whole life is one big criminal record, starting with your juvie records.”
“My juvie records are sealed.”
“They were unsealed when you were charged with that last burglary.”
“I’ve not been convicted of that.”
“No, but it’s pending. The cops just haven’t followed through yet.”
“They don’t have enough evidence,” he snapped.
Chelsea saw the fury burning up inside Chad. Chelsea walked up and slipped her hand into Walton’s. “Do you want a coffee, honey?” she asked.
He glanced down at her, smiled, then squeezed her fingers. “Thank you, that would be nice.”
She headed to the sideboard and poured him a cup, bringing it back to him.
“And how about dinner?” he asked, breathing on the hot brew. “Any idea when that is?”
“Coming up soon,” she replied, looking at him curiously. “Why?”
“Just hungry,” he said, with a smile.
“God, you guys make me sick,” Chad stated. “You’re acting as if you’re something special, and really all you are is a nosy jerk who thinks he can piss off everybody.”
“I don’t care about pissing off everybody, but, seeing as you’ve got your pants on fire, I did a pretty good job with you, wouldn’t you say?”
“You’re just asking for it, aren’t you?” Chad glared at him.
“I am prepared to defend myself and the people I love. Go do the math if you want,” Walton added. “I’ve fought plenty of men in my time.” He sipped his coffee, staring down Chad. “I know exactly what’s involved, and, if we want to take it down, we take it down. However, if you think I’ll stop pursuing justice when I know you’re the kind of scum who would beat up an old veteran to steal his dog, you’re wrong. And having mentioned that, it’s not that big of a leap to consider that you killed that friend of yours, Rudy. So, I’m not letting you off the hook on that one either. If the cops think you did it and want you back in for an interview, I’ll ensure you end up back in.”
“No fucking way, they told me that I was free and clear.”
“No, they didn’t.” Walton snorted. “You can let all your buddies think that’s true, but what you were told was that you could go on a hunting trip, not that you were off the hook for any investigations. Or off the hook for owning a firearm. So I presume your weapons ‘belong’ to someone else? The cops just weren’t doing anything about you yet, while they’re still gathering evidence,” Walton shared, with a hard tone. He glanced over at the others, who were all staring at their buddy. “ All of you are still under investigation for Rudy’s murder, and not a one of you is in the clear yet.”
“We should be,” Darren declared, staring at him. “I didn’t have anything to do with Rudy’s death or beating up some guy to get a dog.”
“Glad to hear that,” Walton replied, “because the cops don’t really believe you.”
“Why not?” Darren asked. “They already came and talked to me, but they didn’t arrest me or anything. I didn’t do anything, so I wasn’t worried about it. So what the hell do you mean?”
“It means that they’re still looking into it, and they’ll know soon enough that you’re all up here right now,” he shared, as he hugged the coffee cup, warming his hands.
Chelsea watched him and the casual manner he used to handle these men, while inside, she was just waiting for it all to blow up, unsure which way it would go. These four men had guns all around the place, and Rick did too, but that was a different story. She just wasn’t sure what the hell would happen, and she couldn’t quite relax as all this testosterone was barreling around the room in a very uncomfortable way. Yet Walton seemed to have no problem with it at all.
The men looked at each other, and finally Hawk muttered, “This is just fucked up. I didn’t have anything to do with it. Chad wanted to talk to us about it and seems to think that one of us had something to do with Rudy’s death.”
“Did you?” Walton asked.
“No, I just told you that I didn’t. I didn’t have anything to do with it, and I wouldn’t. Rudy was a friend of mine, a good friend,” he muttered. “It broke my damn heart to hear what happened to him. If I found out any one of you assholes hurt him… Jesus Christ. What’s the point of having friends if you hurt them?” he asked, staring at each of his buddies.
“I didn’t hurt him,” Darren replied defensively.
“Maybe not,” Hawk muttered, “but it sure seems somebody knows more than they’re saying. Hell, even this guy knows more.” He pointed to Walton. Hawk then turned to face Chad. “Did you beat up that old man for his dog?”
“No, I didn’t fucking beat him up for his dog.” But the way he spoke made the others turn and stare at him.
“So, you did beat him up, but not for his dog?” Hawk asked. “The dog was just there, so you took it?”
Chad flushed at that. “I ain’t saying nothing,” he snapped, glaring at them. “I didn’t fucking steal the dog.”
“Meaning that the old guy wasn’t capable of looking after the dog anymore, so you just figured the dog should be yours?” asked Hawk, staring at him. “Jesus Christ, Chad. It’s no wonder we’re always in so much trouble just because of you. That was a shit move.”
“Hey,… the old man pissed me off. He was a fucking nobody, and he was trying to rip me off. You know I won’t let that happen.”
“Rip you off how?”
“He was supposed to sell me some of that wood he had in the backyard. Remember all that cherry?”
“What happened then?”
“I was looking for some wood for some projects, and he had all that cherrywood. I told him that I wanted it, but he wouldn’t sell it to me.”
“Yeah, you probably didn’t offer him anything.”
“I didn’t want a whole lot, but I was willing to give him a fair price, but he wouldn’t sell it to me. So what? We might have gotten into a bit of an argument, and he fell backward, but that ain’t my fault.”
The others groaned. “Jesus Christ, why would you get into that kind of trouble right now? You know the cops are already looking at us.”
“They’re not looking at me,” Chad declared, with a sneer. “I told you that I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“That’s what we all said,” Hawk reminded him. “Every fucking one of us said the same thing, but you think the cops will believe any of us when you’re spouting all these lies?”
“I’m not lying though,” Chad declared, staring at Hawk. “I didn’t kill Rudy, so I’m not worried about it,” he snapped.
“Now they know that you beat up this old man.”
“I didn’t fucking beat him up, okay? And, besides, it’s not as if he would need the dog. He was just lying there.”
“And yet”—Walton studied him—“the guy wasn’t just lying there. He was really banged up.”
“Yeah, so what? I fucking told you that he fell,” Chad snapped, “so it’s not as if that’s my problem.”
“Meaning that he fell, and you didn’t do anything to make him fall or to split apart his face?”
“No, I didn’t,” Chad snapped, glaring at him. “It’s not my fault the old man tripped.”
“The old man tripped ?” Walton repeated, giving Chad a look. “The old man was in a wheelchair. Are you telling us that a man in wheelchair tripped and fell ?”
Again came dead silence. When all his friends turned and looked at him, Chad raised both hands. “But he didn’t have to be in that wheelchair. He got up to show me something, and he was livid, pissed, and tried to throw a punch. I pushed him back into his wheelchair, and the wheelchair toppled to the side, and he fell, okay? So it had nothing to do with me.”
The other men just stared at Chad in shock. “Jesus Christ,” Hawk muttered, running his fingers through his hair. “What the hell, man? You didn’t even… didn’t you try and get him back on his feet or help him?”
“No, he was fucking furious and trying to hit me.”
“So, of course, you called for help for him then, right?” Chelsea asked, staring at him in shock.
He glared at her. “It’s none of your fucking business what I did.”
She gulped and then nodded. “Which means you didn’t. You just left the old man, who was already in great physical distress, on the ground. You just left him there.” She hesitated, groaned, then shook her head. “Oh, God. Did you feel as if you needed to give him that one final kick to his face in a temper fit as you walked out?” He turned and looked at her in horror, and she nodded slowly. “I was afraid of that,” she muttered. “So, not only did you not get him any help when he was already down and helpless, but you kicked the shit out of his face too.”
“I did not, okay? I lost my temper, and I kicked him once. That was it.”
“Just once?” she asked, glaring at him. “What kind of lowlife are you?” She couldn’t stand around and stomach this asshole any longer. She spun on her heel and left the kitchen, where she didn’t have to see him.
She was sick and tired of listening to him. As she walked into the living room, she found Julie staring out the window, her hand on her belly. Chelsea stopped, stared at her. With an insight of knowing, she whispered, “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
Walton kept his eye on the group of men throughout dinner and the rest of the evening. They all seemed to be stiff, not even talking to each other, but, more than that, eyeing him warily. He’d become the enemy to all of them. He understood that and was happy to play the role, but he also knew he didn’t dare turn his back on any of them.
If the Mississippi detective Walton had talked to was correct, one of them was a killer, and the others might not even know. Walton got up to help clear the table, but Julie waved him back.
“It’s fine. I’ve got this.”
He looked over at her and replied, “You know it doesn’t hurt to let someone pitch in.” He carried the dishes into the other room. Ahead of him, he saw Chelsea talking to her brother, as they merrily loaded up the dishwasher. He quickly jumped in to lend a hand.
She smiled at him. “Thank you.”
“Don’t sound so surprised,” Walton replied. “I am housebroken.” She burst into peals of laughter, as he grinned at her. “You should do that more often.”
“What?” she asked, stopping suddenly, looking at him in confusion.
He rolled his eyes, fully aware that her brother was listening to their interactions. “Laugh—uncontrollably carefree and unrestrained.”
Her gaze turned inward, and she nodded. “I don’t do it all that often, do I?” she asked pensively. “You grow up, get disconnected, and forget about it.”
“Nothing to get disconnected about,” he said, looking at her. “You’re young, beautiful, talented, gifted. You really do have a lot of reasons to love life.”
“I do love life,” she agreed, flushing slightly, “and thank you for the compliment.”
“Wasn’t a compliment,” he said cheerfully. “It was the truth.” And, with that, he swung around and announced, “If you guys don’t mind, I’ll take Brutus outside for an evening walk and then hit the sack.” When Chelsea eyed him, he shrugged. “The leg has had better days.”
“Right. I’ll check on you before I go to bed.”
He snorted. “Why is that?”
“Because if it seizes up, you won’t get out of bed tomorrow.”
“I won’t argue that point,” he muttered. With a smile at Rick and Julie, Walton headed to the back door, opened it, and called for Brutus. Walton really hated that name, but it wasn’t the time to confuse the dog with another one. He was just avoiding most of it by using as many hand signals as he could.
Outside was a seriously beautiful evening. He stopped and took several deep breaths, absolutely loving the fresh scents. When he heard someone call out to him, he turned to see Rick walking toward him. “So where are the women?” Walton asked.
“I’ve got them together. And Julie knows where I keep the guns, and she’s a good shot.”
“Good to hear.… You’re really blessed to have this place.”
Rick sighed and nodded. “I’ve felt that way a few times myself.”
“So, you should,” Walton agreed. “Sometimes it’s worth everything, and then sometimes you have to assess what it’s really worth.”
Rick laughed. “God,… now you sound like my sister.”
“She’s good people,” Walton replied.
“Yeah, I was wondering about that.”
Walton looked over at him. “Wondering about what? Whether she’s good people?” he asked him in amusement.
Rick rolled his eyes. “No, I hate to be an overbearing big brother, but…”
“But What are my intentions? ”
“Yeah, something like that.” Rick shuffled uneasily on his feet. “I know that she’ll want to shoot me for this.”
“Yeah, she probably would,” Walton confirmed, “but I understand that you’re worried about her.”
“It’s not even so much that I’m worried about her. It’s just that this happened kind of fast, didn’t it?”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Walton countered, yet with a smile on his face. “We went to high school together. Then after I got back from the military, we had a hell of a rapport when she was my therapist. I just didn’t figure it was fair to combine business with pleasure.”
“That’s interesting. I’m not sure too many guys would have cared.” Rick studied Walton closely.
“Maybe not, but I was more concerned about making sure I didn’t end up as some… pity piece.”
“Ah.” Rick nodded. “That wouldn’t appeal to me either.”
“Exactly.” Walton smiled. “Still, Chelsea will be pissed hearing that.”
Rick burst out laughing. “Yeah, no doubt. She’s something though. She’s good people.”
“I mentioned that already,” Walton noted, with a nod, “and we’re just exploring things.”
“It seems to be more than that. Exploring things is… I don’t want to say serious , but definitely denotes a strong interest.”
“Sure, strong interest is a good phrase for it,” Walton agreed, still smiling. “She’s helping me out by bringing me up here. I’m feeling a bit on the shitty side because I know I’m screwing up all your plans.”
“No, you’re not screwing up the plans,” Rick replied. “I was hoping these guys would be a little easier to work with, but sometimes you get a group in and just nothing you can do about them.”
“And that’s true,” Walton murmured, “but they’re not all shit, and I’m not sure all of these guys are shit. It’s more a case of figuring out which ones are any good and which ones aren’t.”
“I never did have much of a bullshit meter,” Rick said, with a smile. “I would like to think I know decent from not, but it’s often very hard to read people, especially when they come up here looking to have fun and to let off a little steam.”
“Yeah, looking to have fun and letting off a little steam is one thing, but having killers in your backyard?… That’s a whole different deal.”
“Are you serious about that?” Rick asked.
Walton nodded. “I am unfortunately, and I would even say dead serious , but that sounds overly dramatic. Yet another guy in their group, Rudy, was murdered, and all of them are under suspicion. It’s likely that one of them is the killer.”
“Shit,” Rick muttered, “and, even if one of them did do it, no way to know which one?”
“Up here, you really don’t want to get into those kinds of accusations,” Walton pointed out, “since these guys tend to be a little quick to launch off the mark and a little bit trigger-happy. It’s also one of the reasons I wanted to ensure Chad didn’t have a War Dog at his disposal to go kill somebody with.”
At that, Rick stopped and looked at him. “Do you think that dog would kill?”
Walton faced him. “All dogs would kill under the right circumstances, doesn’t need to be a War Dog.” Then he sighed. He wasn’t sure if he should be so candid, but it was his place. “However, War Dogs are specifically taught self-defense and to be aggressive as needed from a very young age,” he murmured. “That doesn’t mean they’re killers though.”
Rick pondered that and nodded. “I guess that makes sense, though you had me scared there for a few minutes. I am nervous to have them around family.”
“Me too, and Brutus is also injured,” he pointed out.
“Right, and that should matter.”
“It does matter. It matters a lot because he was injured because of us,” Walton shared, “and that’s something that people don’t recognize either.”
“What do you mean, because of us ?” Rick asked in confusion.
“He was bred to go to war, and these War Dogs are the ones that generally end up saving us,” Walton explained, “and often they get caught in the backfire. As much as we might want to save them, we can’t save them all. Sometimes we can’t save any of them. Very few of the K9s make it back home.”
“Right. I don’t even want to think about that,” Rick noted.
Walton nodded. “We put all that time and effort into training an animal, and we’re not technically allowed to get attached to them, which is a sad state of affairs. We’re supposed to see them as weapons or tools,” he added, with a flat look toward the dog, “and it’s damn hard.”
“I can imagine. I’m not sure I get it like you do, but I do understand.”
“We spend time training to get an animal to do exactly what we need it to do, and then we’re supposed to send it out into a war, where it’s either likely to get killed or to be where something else could happen to it.” Walton shook his head. “It’s not for the faint of heart, and I did it for a long time, knowing that I was giving the dogs their best chance of survival, but that doesn’t mean it was easy.”
“No, hell no,” Rick agreed, with a headshake. “I don’t think I could do it.”
“I did it for a while, and then I just couldn’t do it anymore,” Walton shared. “And that’s just part of what goes wrong in our world so often.” He stared off into the distance. “I can’t explain it to somebody who hasn’t been there because it’s just hard to get anybody to understand how devastating that whole military life can be.”
“But you’re home now,” Rick noted, “and you’re recuperating.”
“Yeah, more or less.” Walton laughed. “Though your sister wants to see me back in for more physical therapy.”
“Yeah, she would,” Rick agreed, with a knowing smile, “but I’m pretty sure it’s because she wants to see you, more of you.”
“I hope so,” Walton replied. They walked around the property in the moonlight. When he was ready to head back to the house, he called Brutus over with a whistle. Brutus looped toward them, his tail wagging.
“He’s sure taken to you,” Rick said. “Was he one of the dogs that you worked with over there?”
“No, I don’t think so. You would think that maybe it would be easy to recognize him, but I worked with over one thousand K9s, so I can’t be sure. Some were in my care for a little bit. Sometimes I assigned them to other trainers. Sometimes I was off on missions myself, while other trainers worked with the K9s,” he added, with a smile, “but I certainly recognize his type.”
“It’s a good thing you did. He’ll have a hell of a lot better life with you.”
“That depends. I can’t request to keep the dog until I know what the deal is with his owner. He was adopted by someone, and, until that is sorted out, I have only temporary custody of Brutus.”
“Was the guy really beaten up?”
Walton nodded. “Yeah, and way more than just falling out of his wheelchair,” he noted in disgust.
“Shit,” Rick muttered, “that doesn’t make me feel any better. Not exactly the kind of guys we want to have around here with the women.”
“No, and that’s another reason I brought it up. You need to keep an eye on Julie.”
He spun and glared at him. “What do you mean by that?”
He hesitated, thinking about the wisdom of saying what he wanted to say. “I know she’s pregnant, and I know that she’s struggling emotionally with some of it. I’m not saying that’s the reason for it. All I’m saying is that the men are a little on the rough side, and I don’t want them thinking they can get away with manhandling anyone around the lodge.”
“I’ll kill them myself,” Rick declared.
Walton nodded. “I understand the sentiment, but I don’t want you going there either. I’m just saying this as a word of warning. Just keep an eye on her.”
“I always do, and we have a certain security mind-set, but now you are scaring the crap out of me.”
“I’m not trying to do that, but I felt I should give you a heads-up.”
“It feels like more than that.”
“Fine, so take it any way you want, but do keep an eye on them around the lodge.”
“You’re telling me that Julie’s in danger?”
“No, I’m not telling you that specifically,” he replied, turning to look at him. “I’m just saying that I don’t like the way these men treat animals, and, after having a chance to do some eavesdropping on them today, I suspect that at least some of them, maybe more than some of them, don’t treat women very well either.”
“Shit.” They walked back toward the house, and Rick glared at him as they walked closer to the back steps. “How the hell am I supposed to sleep now?”
Walton burst out laughing. “I’m not saying any imminent attack or anything is coming. I’m just saying, let’s not put Julie into any situation that could cause her to lose the baby.”
“That would be really bad,” he noted glumly.
“She has had a hard time in that department?”
“We’ve been trying for a long time, and this is the first pregnancy that’s made it this far. I wanted to tell Chelsea about it tonight, but Julie didn’t want me to,… just in case.”
Walton nodded. “I presume Chelsea knows?”
“I have no idea.” He turned and looked at Walton in confusion. “But if you know,… I thought Julie or Chelsea must have told you.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m just one of those guys who senses that sort of thing.”
“You can tell when somebody’s pregnant?” Rick asked, his eyes widening.
“Yeah, it’s something we used to do with the War Dogs all the time. I don’t want to say I had a perfect score, but I was about 99 percent right when it came to that.”
“Or is that just because they were no longer in heat,” Rick suggested, with a note of humor.
“It could be.” Walton smiled at Rick. “It was a bit of a joke among us. Yet I can see Julie and recognize it. Another word of advice, don’t say that to her.”
“No, I wouldn’t do that,” Rick muttered. “I’m not that stupid.”
The two of them were chuckling as they walked in the back door to find both Julie and Chelsea waiting for them.
“Now, wouldn’t it be nice if we knew exactly why you guys were laughing,” Chelsea said, looking at them suspiciously.
Walton frowned at her. “Good Lord, why would you want to know that?” She frowned back at him, and he nodded. “See? Absolutely nothing to worry about.”
“ Huh ,” Julie muttered, “I don’t agree with nothing to worry about , but you’re definitely on the scary side.”
“Not me.” Walton smiled at her and called out good night to the others. Then, with Chelsea beside him and Brutus bringing up the rear, they climbed the stairs to their rooms.
As they got into their rooms, Chelsea began, “I had a talk with my sister-in-law.”
“Yeah, did she tell you that she’s pregnant?” Chelsea raised both hands, frowning. He shrugged. “It’s pretty obvious.”
“Holy crap, don’t say that to any pregnant woman before she’s even told anybody,” she muttered.
“No, I won’t.” Walton held up his hand. “But she is, isn’t she?”
“Yes, and she’s both terrified and worried.”
“Of course. I was talking to Rick about it.”
“Wow, that’s very unusual for him too.”
“I did say that he needed to keep an eye on her, and not necessarily because she was pregnant. It’s been on my mind since I noticed her.”
Chelsea snorted. “I’m sure that went over like a ton of bricks.”
“Yeah, maybe not the best thing to have mentioned,” he noted, with a smile in her direction, “but I had good intentions.”
“ Sure .” She gave him an eye roll. “Everybody says shit like that, but…”
“Hey, said with the best of intentions,” he protested. “I’m not here to cause any trouble. Well, any more trouble.”
“Glad to hear it,” she muttered, waving her hands. She was irritated, and he could see it. “Yet it does seem as if you’re dishing out all kinds of trouble.”
“No, I’m not,” he argued, with a headshake. “Honestly, I’m not. I’m just trying to solve some problems.”
“How’s that working for you?” she asked, with a laugh.
“Oh, it’s been easier at other times in my life,” he conceded, with a smile, “but still, we’ll be doing just fine,” he shared, glancing at her. “How about you?”
“I’m wary, nervous, upset, and absolutely ecstatic about Brutus here,” she replied. At her mention of his name, Brutus came over for cuddles. “He’s one hell of a dog,” she murmured.
“He is,” Walton agreed. “He’s got an injury holding him back a bit, and I know how that feels, but he’s still valiant.” Walton grinned at her. “And Brutus’s heart’s in the right place too.”
“Absolutely.” She looked down at Walton’s leg and added, “You need to get that prosthetic off.”
“I do, and that’ll take a little more energy than I have, but I’ll get there.”
“No, sit down,” she ordered, and she gave him a light push. He let himself topple backward onto the bed, and, with her help, he got the prosthetic off. She frowned as she stared at the stump. “That doesn’t look very happy.”
“No, maybe not,” he noted, as he studied it himself, “but it doesn’t look that bad.”
“ That bad ?” she repeated, with a snort. “As if you can measure it that way.”
“Right, but you know sometimes it does seem like it.”
“ Not that bad isn’t quite good enough for me,” she stated, chewing on her words. “I do have some cream with me. I’ll be back in a sec.” She quickly disappeared into her side of the room, grabbed the cream, and came back, smiling up at him. “I did remember to bring it.”
“Why would you bring that on a trip?”
“Instincts. You never know when you’ll get a sprain or an injury,” she explained, again rolling her eyes. “This is both cooling and healing.” She quickly worked it into his stump, and he closed his eyes at the relief. “See? It feels better, doesn’t it?”
He nodded. “It absolutely does.”
“Good. Now get some sleep, and, if you need something, you’ll give me a shout, right?”
“I don’t need anything,” he replied in bemusement, as he looked at her.
“But even if you did,” she asked, with a sigh, “you wouldn’t call out, would you?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been in that position.”
She studied him for a long moment. “You’re not alone anymore, you know?” And, on that note, she turned and walked into her room.