Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
K athy Prentiss pulled up in front of her small home on the very southern edge of Hollister. She grabbed her grade book and the stack of tests she had to transcribe into the school's computer program and got out of her old truck. It wasn’t anything flashy, but her dad had made sure it was well-maintained, and after she’d totaled her car this past winter, she was happy to have the truck. She opened the door to her house, and Mitzi, her Sheltie, sprang out the door and barked happily. “Hello to you, too.” She laughed, and Mitzi sprinted to the backyard to do her business.
She left the door open so the dog could come back inside, then dropped her paperwork onto the table. Mitzi came back in and danced around her as she poured herself a glass of iced tea. After giving her dog a treat, they both headed for the bedroom. Kathy changed into worn jeans, an old t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers that had seen many better days. The soles of the shoes were actually duct taped to the top. They both headed outside. She grabbed a tennis ball and a launcher on the way out the door. Mitzi bounced a foot off the grass as she waited for the ball to be tossed. Kathy whipped the launcher through the air and watched the yellow ball fly into the land bordering her property. Mitzi retrieved the ball at least ten times before a car she knew well pulled up in the drive. The ball was instantly forgotten as Mitzi went to greet her grandma.
“Oh, there’s my baby puppy.” Kathy’s mom, Lorna, grabbed the dog and lifted her up into her arms. “How is my grand puppy today?”
“Hey, Mom.” Kathy bent down and grabbed the tennis ball, putting it back into the launcher. “What are you doing out this way?”
“I just got back from Rapid. The material and thread you wanted are in the back seat. You’ll have to get it. Mitzi and I are having a moment.”
“You should have taken one of her pups.” She didn’t know the dog was pregnant when she’d bought her from a breeder in Rapid.
“Oh, you know I’m happy to have a grand puppy, but your dad and I are always on the go. I’ll pup sit when you need me to, though. Won’t I, beautiful girl?” Her mom kissed Mitzi’s nose, and the dog sneezed. “Oh, I didn’t need that.” Her mom mopped at her face. “Now, I need to wash.”
Kathy retrieved the material and smiled at the assortment her mom had bought for her. Perfect. Five different shades of blue would make a beautiful quilt. Mitzi was trotting off with a chew stick as she entered the house. “You’re spoiling her.”
“I know,” her mom said as she dried her face with a paper towel. “So, who are you making that quilt for?”
“As if you don’t know.” Kathy could feel her face burn and knew she was as red as a radish.
“How’s Barry doing?”
“He’s been really busy at the ranch. We talk every night, and he comes in on Fridays to see Doc Wheeler and then stops by.” Kathy set the large shopping bag down and poured her mom a glass of tea. “He’s really worried about the gossip about all the crimes that have been happening.”
Her mom groaned and shook her head. “Ugh. Don’t get me started on those people.” “Sooner or later, the sheriff will have to say something. His standard line of he doesn’t discuss ongoing investigations is not helping, and I actually think it’s fanning the flames. For the first time, Edna Michaelson isn’t leading the charge on this rumor mill. From what your dad says, Chester and Delbert, those two old reprobates, are the main talkers. He put those old farts right the other day, but the good Lord knows how long they’ll keep their horrid rumors to themselves. ”
“I know, and it doesn’t help that Barry isn’t much of a people person. If everyone knew him as I do, they’d see how wrong they are.”
“I’m glad you gave him a chance, and we got to know him. He’s a great guy. Unfortunately, his anger issues got spread around before people could come to judge him for himself. Corrie and Andrew tried to keep it under wraps, which, in hindsight, might not have been the best thing. But everyone knows about it now. It’s a shame the hands at the Flying H were the ones talking about it.” Her mom sighed and sat down at the table.
“They didn’t know it was supposed to be close to the chest, Mom. Dusty has apologized, and so have a couple of the other guys. Barry gets along just fine with all of them.” Kathy sighed. “I can’t figure out who would be doing things to point the finger at him. It is just so surreal.”
“It sure is, and whoever it is better hope I don’t catch them first. I’ll take a chunk of their hide, that’s for sure. Messing with that poor man. Ken Zorn better find out who’s doing this, quick.”
“I’m sure he’s getting help now that there’s been a murder.” Kathy shook her head. “A murder in Hollister. I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Crime doesn’t discriminate. Whoever killed that poor, drugged-out soul needs to be caught, and he needs to pay for his crimes. Barry needs to catch a break. Hopefully, his appointments with Dr. Wheeler are working. How’s he doing with those? ”
“Really good, Mom. He uses the techniques Dr. Wheeler has been teaching him.” Kathy sat down, too. “He’s so much better.” She’d seen a marked improvement since they’d started talking after her accident. “That car crash was probably the best thing that has happened to me.” She didn’t remember anything after swerving to miss something crossing the road, except for his eyes and the way he held her.
“Well, I agree meeting Barry was a good thing, but don’t you suggest good from any bad thing. That’s just courting dark karma.” Her mom took a sip of her iced tea. “Needs more sugar.” She got up and went to the drawer, where she pulled out a spoon and added several heaping measures to her tea. She sat back down and took a sip. “That’s better.”
“You need to watch your sugar.” Kathy gave her mom a serious look. “Zeke said you were prediabetic.”
“I have maybe one glass of iced tea a week. I’m being good.” Her mom waved her off as she took another drink of her tea. Her mom put the glass down and slid a nervous glance her way. “How serious is it between the two of you? And I’m not asking that as a parent being concerned about who her daughter is dating. I’m asking as an old woman who wants grandchildren.”
Kathy blinked at her mom. “Mom!”
“What? I have grand pups, but I want grandchildren. Don’t look at me like that. He’s a good man, and you two seem to get along just fine. ”
Kathy shook her head. Nope. “I’m not having this conversation.”
“Why not? Oh, don’t tell me things have gone south.”
“No, Mom, they haven’t. We’re fine, but I’m not going to rush him or tell you how this relationship is developing. If I have news for you, I’ll tell you, but as of today, we’re dating, and we’re not dating anyone else.”
“Well, that’s a relief.” Her mom leaned back in her chair. “I just want the best for you, and no matter what the others say about Barry, he’s a ten in my book.”
She cocked her head. “A ten?”
“Yep, ten out of ten. Looks, check, he’s got them in spades. Employment? Yep, working for one of the most prosperous ranchers in the state. Is he good to my girl? Yep. Is he good to animals? Yep, look at the way he is with Honey. Does he work hard? According to Andrew, the man has zero quit in him. All in all, a ten.”
Kathy chuckled and took a drink of her tea. She’d rate him higher than a ten if she could. The initial calls that originated from that car accident had turned into visits, and the visits turned into dates. She knew Barry had a long way to go with his therapy, and when he was ready, she’d let him know how much she cared for him. She was pretty darn sure she was in love with him, and her mom was right. He had everything going for him … well, except for some mysterious a-hole trying to blame him for horrendous criminal acts .
“Tests, so late?” her mom asked, nodding to the papers stacked on the table.
Kathy jolted out of her thoughts. “What? Oh, yep. Last week’s end-of-term tests. Everyone passed. I just have to enter the scores into the computer system. I was going to do it during my ‘free hours’ this week, but the end of school is insane, and today, I got pulled into the annual volleyball game. The teachers won, by the way. The kids were hooting like crazy when the buses pulled away.” Kathy laughed.
“It was the last school day of the year.” Her mom chuckled. “I remember how it was.” Her mom had taught school for twenty-five years and was the reason Kathy had wanted to be a teacher. Watching the care and empathy her mom was able to provide to some of the students who had neither at home had made a huge impact on her.
“Do you miss it?” Kathy asked.
“Not for a second.” Her mom made a shocked face and then laughed. “I miss the kids. That’s why I teach Sunday School. I get them for an hour a week, and that allows me to remember why I retired. Everyone wins.”
Kathy laughed and looked out the window as Barry’s truck pulled into the driveway. “Huh?” She frowned and glanced at her watch to notice the time. “I wonder why he’s in town?”
“Who?” Her mom turned around to look out the window.
“Barry,” Kathy said as she stood and went to the door to open it. Mitzi ran out of the house and barked at the truck as it stopped. Honey leaped from the driver’s side door as it opened, and the two dogs took off playing.
Barry walked up to her and put his hands on her hips. “Hey, sorry for not calling first.”
She put her arms around his neck. “You never have to call first,” she said, toeing up and kissing him.
“I guess that’s my cue to leave,” her mom said from behind her.
Barry lifted away and then smiled at her mom. “Lorna, you don’t need to go.”
“Oh, heavens, I really do. I have to get home and start dinner. Melvin is over at the Flying H. Senior told him he could buy one of his older tractors to replace the one of ours that died last month. It's better than buying new, that’s for sure, and we’re too old to be cleaning that barn by hand. That front-end loader is a back-saver. But if I know my husband, he and Senior are going to dicker over the price for a couple of hours before they both agree. Those two men haggle like they were at a flea market, and they love every minute of it.”
“You may have to drive out to get him, Mom. Last time he and Senior haggled, he had one too many drinks.” Kathy laughed, remembering the incident.
“Lord, no. I told him he could have two drinks during the entire negotiation. He promised.” Kathy looked at her mom, and they both laughed. Her mom shook her head. “I’m making a venison roast, so I’ll put it on low and slow so I can go get him.” She tapped Barry on the arm. “You’re coming for Sunday dinner, right?”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Barry said.
“Good. I’ll see you then.” Lorna toed up and kissed him on the cheek. “Tell your mom I said hello, and make sure she knows she’s invited.”
“I will.” Barry moved out of the way, and her mom left, only to be stopped by two dogs. She picked them up one at a time and gave them kisses and hugs before getting into her car and leaving.
“I didn’t mean to run her off,” Barry said as they entered the house.
“You didn’t. She was just dropping off some material I asked her to pick up for me in Rapid.” Kathy motioned to the bag at the table.
“How was the last day of school?” he asked.
“It was insane, as always. The teachers won the annual teacher versus student volleyball game,” she shared with a laugh. “I think several of the seniors threw the game.”
“A pity win?” Barry smiled as they moved through the kitchen to the living room.
“Probably,” Kathy admitted. “So, what brings you into town on a Wednesday?”
“I made an appointment with Doc Wheeler.” Barry sat down on the couch.
Sitting beside him, she took his hand in hers. “Is everything okay? ”
He sighed when she leaned into him, dropping his arm over her shoulders. “It is now.”
She chuckled and got comfortable in his hold. “Why wasn’t it?”
He sighed, and she let him gather his thoughts, not pushing for an answer. Barry wasn’t keen on being pushed for an answer, and she respected his boundaries. Finally, he spoke. “Everything got too big for my mind. I know that sounds stupid, but all the things kept chasing each other, and I needed to make sense of what was going on. Talking to him helps.”
“Then I’m glad you made the appointment. Did you make sense of things?”
“No, but it was comforting to know Doc agreed with a lot of my concerns and said they were valid.” He shook his head. “No one believes me about Fish, though.”
Kathy put her hand over his on his thigh. “I believe you.” Barry was certain the man was alive and responsible for the events in and around Hollister.
He looked down at her and smiled. “You might be a bit biased.”
She smiled at him and admitted, “I’d say I’m definitely biased. Don’t let anyone stop you from telling your truth.”
“You’re amazing, you know that? Even Doc Wheeler believes Fish is dead.”
“But you said his body wasn’t recovered.”
“It wasn’t, at least according to Andrew's documents.”
Kathy turned to look at him. “How old are they? The documents? I mean, we could request information via the Freedom of Information Act. It could take a while to get, but everything is online these days, so it would be quicker.”
Barry frowned. “I never thought to look for updated information.”
“You didn’t have to until now. We can request it. I’m assuming Fish had a real name? We’ll need it.”
Barry nodded. “I have it. Benjamin Gill.”
Kathy chuckled. “Gill as in …”
“Fish.” Barry nodded.
“What did they call you?”
“FNG. I wasn’t there long enough for them to stick a nickname on me.”
“What is FNG?”
He looked at her and whispered, “Fucking new guy.”
“What? How awful! How dare they call someone that?”
Barry smiled weakly, a shadow of sadness in his eyes, and shook his head. “It was a rite of passage. All newbs on the team are FNGs until they prove their worth and do something to get a nickname. Unfortunately, I was never able to do that.”
“Because of the explosions,” Kathy reminded him gently, her voice hardly above a whisper. “You couldn’t move because of your injuries, Barry. You told me they took off part of your skull because of the swelling. Your inaction wasn’t an elective action.”
“I know, still …” he murmured, his voice thick with em otion. He closed his eyes and dropped his head to the back of the couch. “I know.”
She wanted desperately to take the demons that screamed through his mind, lock them away forever, and erase the pain etched into his soul. Hopefully, Dr. Wheeler would be able to give him that peace. What she could do was change the subject, so she did.
“How are things at the ranch?” She leaned into his hard chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart, and drew a deep breath of his scent, which wonderfully warmed her insides.
“Busy, but I guess they always are this time of year. Dusty got bucked off that roan maverick the Hollisters bought from the Montana wild horse rescue. He was limping a bit, but he got back on.” Barry laughed, and she felt the rumble of his deep voice under her. “And he got bucked right back off. Both the animal and the man are stubborn as hell.”
“How are you doing with yours?” He’d been given a lineback Dun horse to break and train. He’d shown her pictures, and the horse was absolutely beautiful.
“Senior told me to listen to Ryan, and Ryan told me to listen to the horse. Pay attention to his ears. Talk to him. Get him to trust me. So, Honey and I have been sitting with him before and after I talk to you at night. I give him carrots and slices of apple. He’s coming around. I’m not a lifetime cowboy, so I’m not going to get on that horse without a lot of prep work. I value my neck, and I’m pretty sure I’d break it if I flew off a horse like Dusty does. ”
“He rodeoed for a while, didn’t he?”
He made a noise of agreement, and his body relaxed under her. “Think so. Think he was a clown, too. I was watching the National Rodeo Finals the other weekend with him, and I have a new respect for what those men do. I couldn’t imagine running at a bull to get it to chase you. Insanity.”
She chuckled. “Like a cop running toward a shooting, a fireman running into a fire, or a soldier storming a hill, I expect.”
He opened one eye and looked down at her. “Odd comparison, but probably accurate. They’re trying to keep two thousand pounds of snot and muscle from stamping the hell out of someone.” He closed his eyes again and drew a deep breath. “I better get back to the ranch. Can I bring dinner on Friday?”
Kathy sat up and turned to look at him. “You can, but you don’t need to do that.”
“Yeah, I do. I wish there were someplace I could take you for dinner.”
She whispered, “Hey.” He opened his eyes. “You know I just want to spend time with you, right? I don’t need any fancy dinners.”
He lifted his hand and cupped her neck. The scars from the explosion and hard work on the ranch were rough against her skin, and she craved the sensation as she felt his past with every touch.
“And I want to treat you like a princess. ”
She smiled, praying her eyes showed her love for him, and leaned closer to him. “You do. You always have. You’re my knight in shining armor.” She moved closer, and he closed the gap. His kisses melted her. Muscle, bone, and any will she may have had prior to their lips meeting faded away, dissolving into the perfection of the moment. She was his without reservation.
When he finally pulled away, their eyes met and held in a silent exchange of emotion she was afraid to label but needed desperately. He rasped, his voice raw and deep, “God, please say you’ll wait until I get this mess in my head sorted.”
The vulnerability of his words laid her soul bare. She was his forever. “There’s nothing that would keep me away from you. I’m in for the long haul.”
His thumb rubbed the side of her neck in a possessive and soothing motion. “I don’t deserve you.”
She smiled and leaned in, whispering against his lips, her breath mingling with his. “That’s where you’re wrong. You deserve the best life has to offer.” She closed the distance, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her onto his chest. The feel of his shaft under her pushed a moan from her throat, igniting that banked fire deep within her. He broke the kiss, and they both panted for air, their breath mixing in the charged distance between them. “I want to do things with you. Things I have no right imagining.”
She lifted her finger and traced his lips with her fingernail, the touch sending shivers of desire through her. “You have every right.” She lifted her eyes from his lips to meet his gaze. “Every right.”
They held that connection for a long moment before he nodded once and said the word that sent a shiver of lust through her, “Soon.”
She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, relishing the promise before leaning against him and letting her head drop to his chest. “Whenever you’re ready.”