Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
K athy tried to hold still. Muscles she didn’t know she had ached, and the psychotic troll in her brain using a stone club to bash against her could stop at any time. The IV she was hooked up to was delivering pain medication, and both the troll and her aches were lessening. Dr. Montrose had given her a pair of scrubs, and with her help, she’d changed into clean clothes. A washcloth and a tub of warm water had made a world of difference.
Both Dr. Cassidy and Dr. Montrose were monitoring the discoloration spread from the bite at her hip. Both seemed sure the antivenom would do its job because she’d had no immediate acute reactions. But they did warn her the muscle aches, tiredness, and headache could continue for extended periods of time. She’d be going home with pain medication and was told repeatedly not to wait until she was in pain to take one. Apparently, getting in front and staying ahead of the discomfort from a rattlesnake bite was difficult. That was a bit of information she’d never wanted to know.
The door opened, and Barry came in. A second later, he was at her side. He bent down and kissed her gently. “I’m so sorry.” He rested his forehead against hers.
She lifted her arm and touched his face briefly. The medication made her limbs feel rubbery and weak. “This isn’t your fault. He was insane.”
Barry lifted and stared at her. “He was, but he wouldn’t have taken you if I?—”
“Shhh …” Kathy closed her eyes and shook her head. “I love you. I wouldn’t change one thing about us. Wishing it hadn’t happened is wishing we hadn’t happened.” She opened her eyes to see pain radiating from his expression.
“I don’t deserve you. Someday, I will.” He lightly touched a nasty bruise on her cheek. “Someday, I’ll be the man you deserve.”
“You’re that man now.” She shivered a bit.
“Are you cold?” He glanced around the room.
“A bit,” she admitted. He walked over to the cupboards and opened each one until he found a stash of blankets. He took two out and spread them over her before carefully sitting beside her again.
“Can you tell me what happened?” Barry held her hand and lifted it. He placed a kiss on the bandage covering the cuts on her wrist.
“I was getting ready. The dogs went crazy, so I walked out of the bedroom. He was there. He grabbed at me, but I was able to get back into the bedroom. I tried to shut the door, but he hit it and knocked me down. We fought, and then he hit me.” She lifted her hand to the bruise on her cheek. “I woke up, and he made me walk to where you found us. My truck is out there somewhere.”
“We’ll find it.” Barry swallowed hard. “Did he assault you sexually?”
She shook her head and watched as the world's weight seemed to slip off his shoulders. “He wanted to hurt you. Everything he did was to try to get you ostracized from the town, to get you alone so he could make you suffer.”
“So, when he couldn’t, he went after you.” Barry sighed. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t. Don’t take the blame for what that crazy man did.” She lifted her arm, which now weighed close to the weight of a tree trunk. Her eyes were hard to keep open. “I listened to what his brother recorded on his phone. Nothing he said blamed you. He said he thought you saw him and that he’d keep the faith, but … he died soon afterward. I don’t know if anyone could have saved him. He said he could see his intestines.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “The medicine is making me sleepy.”
She felt his lips on hers again. “Sleep. Your mom and dad are here, and I won’t leave. ”
She smiled or hoped she did. “Promise?”
“Promise. You’re stuck with me.”
She wanted to say, Good , but a warm darkness overtook her, and she let herself slip into sleep.
Barry reluctantly let Lorna sit with Kathy while she slept. Melvin directed him into another room where food had been delivered with a small bowl of saltwater taffy in the middle of the tray. Mr. Marshall’s doing, no doubt.
“We already ate. It’s good food.” Melvin sat down with him. “You eat while I talk.”
Barry did a double-take at Kathy’s dad. His defenses flew up, and he tensed. Was that when Melvin would tell him to leave his daughter alone? He put his fork down. “About?”
“Nothing bad.” Melvin nodded at the covered plate. “Eat.”
Barry narrowed his eyes for a moment and then did as instructed. The aroma of fried chicken made his stomach growl. He looked up at Melvin. “I’m eating. You should be talking.”
“Bossy, ain’t ya?” Melvin chuckled.
“Not usually, but you have me worried.” Barry stabbed the mashed potatoes with his fork and shoved the bite into his mouth. The flavor exploded, and his stomach, which assumed his throat had been slit, growled again .
Melvin leaned forward, placing his weight on his forearms, which were resting on the table. “Been talking with Lorna. What would you think about working at our place instead of the Hollisters?”
Barry stopped chewing and swallowed the bite. “Sir?”
“Here’s the thing, we figure you and Kathy are long-term. Are we right?”
“As far as I’m concerned, yes, sir. Forever.”
“Good. Well, I’m not getting any younger. Lorna has been extolling the virtues of being retired. She wants to enjoy her golden years, her words, not mine.”
“I’m not sure I’m following.” Barry wiped his fingers. “You want me to work your place so you can retire?”
“Hell, no. I don’t want to retire, but I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you it’s getting harder and harder to keep up with the work.” Melvin sighed and leaned back. “Look, we have a nice place. We pool work with the neighbors, round-up, branding, and such, but the day-to-day is slipping. I’m getting slower, and I’ll need to hire someone full-time. If you come on, at least you’d be working for Kathy’s inheritance.”
The conversation he and Kathy had a few weeks ago flickered and then flamed. Barry looked at Melvin. “Inheritance.”
“Yep, she gets the place. Here’s the offer. I’ll give you a third of the profits, but you’ll walk into a mess. I haven’t been able to do fencing. I have the money, just not the time, and the buildings are in dire need of maintenance. You’ll work your ass off, that’s a promise, but one day it will all be yours and Kathy’s. We have acreage about two miles from our house. Figured you and Kathy could build a house there.”
Barry leaned back in his chair and stared at Melvin. “Don’t you think Kathy should agree to this first?”
“Nope. Figured you ain’t ready to pop the question, and I ain’t asking you to do it except when you’re ready. Now, as I figure it, Hollister has been paying you pretty good. I can’t do that; as I said, you’ll some of the hay we bale, a share of the cattle we sell, and all the headaches that come with running a medium-sized ranch.”
Barry ran the offer through his brain and then shook his head. “I can’t do that, Melvin.”
The man deflated in front of him. “Yeah, knew it wasn’t an attractive offer.”
“No, you misunderstood me. I can’t take anything. The military is paying me a medical retirement every month. You put any money you can save into an account for Kathy or future grandkids or whatever. The deal will be room and board for my horse and me, and I’ll work for you and for Kathy and myself. When we decide to get married, you pay for the ceremony and the party for the town.”
“Was going to do that anyway.” Melvin frowned and then rubbed his face. “I can’t take advantage of you, son. That wouldn’t be right.”
Barry picked up a chicken leg and pointed it at Melvin. “Exactly, I’d be taking advantage of you, and that wouldn’t be right. I will marry your daughter, sir, if she’ll have me. Sooner rather than later. But first, we need to sort through what happened last night, get her healed, and then find a new normal.”
“I’ll agree, but only if you agree to the provision that if I see you struggling to make ends meet, I can help out or implement some type of pay system.” Melvin stared hard at him.
“Deal. I’ll need to give the Hollisters my notice.” Barry took a bite of the chicken.
“That’ll do.” Melvin smiled. “And whenever you get ready to pop the question, you have my permission to ask her to marry you, son.”
Barry laughed and wiped his fingers and mouth. “Sir, no offense, but I’d marry her with or without your permission.”
“None taken, and that’s good to know. Basically, what I told Lorna’s pa all those years ago, too. Now, stop talking and eat your food. Need you to be strong enough to work.”
Barry chuckled and picked up his piece of chicken again. “Bossy, ain’t ya?” He threw Melvin’s words back at him.
“Not usually, but you have me worried.” Melvin laughed, tossing Barry’s own comment at him before he stood up. “I’m going to go sit with the women. You finish your meal and take a break.”
Barry nodded. He’d eat, but he wasn’t taking a break. He’d be there for Kathy tonight and the rest of his life.