Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
K athy sighed in complete contentment. The pain from the snake bite and aches were still there, but she was home. She was with the man she loved, and she was safe. She turned to her side and stared at the man she loved. She swore Barry hadn’t slept since the night she was taken. She stared at him. Long black lashes rested against his cheeks. Asleep and unguarded, he looked so much younger. He’d had a hard life, and she planned to make the rest of his days lighter. She smiled at him. His beard was impressive for two day’s growth. She resisted the urge to stroke his cheek so she wouldn’t wake him. He needed the sleep.
She lifted her head at the sound of a vehicle approaching her house. Barry jerked and sat up in one fluid motion. She reached out and touched his arm. He blinked and looked at her. Confusion was plastered across his sleepy face. She smiled at him. “It’s okay. Someone’s here.”
He nodded and whipped the blanket back. Unfortunately, he was in his jeans and walking out of the bedroom before she could enjoy the view of all his nakedness. She heard voices before Barry came back to the bedroom. “Do you feel like visitors?”
Kathy nodded. “Sure. I need to brush my teeth and get dressed first. Who’s here?”
“Kate and Edna.” He scratched his chest and yawned. “I’ll grab a shower while you visit. Your mom should be here soon.” He helped her get out of bed, holding her as she steadied herself on her feet.
“I can take care of myself. Mom doesn’t need to come over.” She made her way to the bathroom.
“Doctor’s orders. A reaction could happen up to ten days after you receive the antivenom.” Barry followed her and turned on the shower. She brushed her teeth and hair before putting on a floor-length robe. She pushed back the shower curtain. “I could ignore them and join you.”
Barry’s eyes popped open, and a smile spread across his face. “Not for the next five days.”
“Doctor’s orders?” She lifted an eyebrow.
“Yep.” Barry leaned over and kissed her. “He said a week. He didn’t say if that was a calendar week or a work week. I choose work week.”
Kathy laughed. “So do I. I love you. ”
“I love you. Now, go. They brought breakfast.” He winked at her.
She sighed and pulled the curtain closed, heading out to the kitchen. “Hi. Sorry, we slept in.”
“No, we’re sorry. We told Barry we’d come back,” Kate said from the counter where she was making coffee.
“We didn’t think the visit through,” Edna agreed. “But we did bring you a caramel roll.” She waved to the takeout container.
“Thank you.” She sat down, and Kate put a cup of coffee in front of her and Edna. She turned back to the counter to retrieve her cup while saying, “I’ll bring Mitzi and Honey over after I finish at work today. Mitzi is doing great with the cast, and the break was clean, so she should heal nicely.”
“Thank you for watching them while I was getting fixed up.” Kathy poured cream and some sugar into her cup and took a sip of the coffee.
“It was the least I could do,” Kate said and sat at the table.
Kathy looked at her. “Your friend who has the sight, have you talked to her lately?”
Kate nodded. “Blessing. Yes, we spoke this morning.”
Kathy put her cup down. A surge of fear hit her hard. “Did she see anything else? For us, I mean.” Kathy shivered. “Please tell me no.”
Kate reached over and placed her hand on Kathy’s. “She said the darkness was gone, and she feels nothing but peace. ”
“Thank God.” Her hands shook, so instead of picking up her cup, she wrapped them around it.
Edna put her roll on a plate. “You need to eat a bit of this roll. Oh, and I wanted to show you both something. Something my camera caught yesterday.” She reached down and picked up her purse, rummaging around inside its cavernous depths. “Here.” She pulled out her phone and started swiping the face. “Look.”
She turned the phone toward them. Kate took it and frowned at the picture. “What is that?”
“You tell me.” Edna crossed her arms and sat back in the chair with a smug look.
“I can’t.” Kate handed Kathy the phone. She took it and looked at the picture. The frame showed a large shadowy figure. “You said this was taken yesterday?”
“Yep, at six at night,” Edna confirmed. “Ken said the guy that took you was in custody early in the morning when he was at the diner yesterday.”
Kathy looked up at Edna and blinked. Did they not know Jackson was dead? She dropped her gaze and stared at the photo. “I don’t know what that is.”
“It’s a Bigfoot,” Edna said matter of factly.
Barry walked in and came up behind her. “What do you have there?”
Edna smirked. “A real picture of the Bigfoot I know is in the area.”
Barry leaned closer to examine the photo and dropped her medication on the table beside her. “When was that taken?”
“After the guy who kidnapped Kathy was taken into custody, so it isn’t him in a stupid suit.” Edna extended her hand for her phone, and Kathy gave it back. “Not easy to explain away this one, is it?”
Barry put his hands on Kathy’s shoulders as she took her pain pill. “I have to admit, Edna, I can’t explain what that is, and it doesn’t look like anyone in a suit to me. But it isn’t a very good picture.”
“I know, but I’m not giving up,” Edna said pointedly. “I know people don’t believe me, but I’ve seen it in that first picture that got lost. I know it’s out there, and I will prove it.”
Barry squeezed her shoulders gently. “I have no doubt you will. Will you both stay with Kathy until her mom arrives? I need to get to the Hollisters’.”
“We can do that,” Kate answered.
“Are the pups doing okay?” Barry asked as he filled a travel mug with coffee.
“They’re fine. Mitzi is a good patient, and Honey is a sweetheart. I’ll bring them by tonight.”
“No, I can stop on my way in from the ranch and pick them up and give you a check.” Barry added some sugar and cream to his coffee.
“No, there’s no charge,” Kate said. “It made me feel good that I could do something while everyone else was out looking for you. ”
Kathy blinked and looked between the three people in the room. “Everyone else?”
“Ken organized search parties. The fact that that madman took you ran through the party faster than a wildfire. So, at daybreak, we were all at the diner, and Ken broke everyone into search parties. We all met back at the diner when we got the call that you’d been found. Seems one of the Marshall groups found you. We didn’t search that area because they had it covered.” Edna took a bite of her cinnamon roll.
Barry narrowed his eyes. “How did the party find out?”
“Oh, that was me,” Edna said. “I saw that Kate and Tegan weren’t at the party. I walked over to her office at the stockyard. I heard them talking.” Edna shrugged. “It wasn’t right to not tell everyone. They all love Kathy. Even Chester and Delbert showed up to help.”
“I bet Ken loved that.” Barry rolled his shoulders.
“Didn’t seem to mind,” Edna said. “But it was hard to tell. His face was swollen. He broke his nose, and his eyes were all black and blue. He wouldn’t say how it happened. We figured he tangled with someone during a traffic stop. You know how he won’t talk about work.” Edna waved her hand. “Thinks we can’t keep a secret.”
Kathy felt herself smile, wincing when the bruising complained, but then she started to laugh. Kate and Barry joined in. Edna looked up, confused. Then a smile spread across her face, too. “Okay, okay, I see the humor.” She took a drink of her coffee before she pointed to Kathy’s plate. “You should eat.”
“You should,” Barry said and walked across the kitchen to kiss her. “I’ll see you tonight.”
She smiled up at him. “Bye. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” He kissed her like no one else was in the room, taking her breath away.
Edna sighed. “Young love. Nothing like it.”
Kate hummed in agreement. “Nothing.”
Barry walked out of the kitchen, and Edna leaned forward. “When are you two getting married? Please tell me it’ll be a church wedding. We haven’t had a big wedding at the church in a long time.”
Kathy chuckled. “He hasn’t asked me, and you’re not allowed to poke him about that. My parents are doing a great job at that.”
“How so?” Kate asked.
“Mom said Dad offered him a percentage of the profits to come work on their place.”
“He accepted, right?” Edna asked before she took a bite of her roll.
“No.” Kathy shook her head.
“What? Why not?” Kate asked.
“He’s getting a medical retirement from the military. He told Dad to take whatever he’d pay him and put it into an account for our kids or me.” She could feel her face heat.
“Aww.” Edna put her hand to her chest. “I knew he was the sweetest man. ”
Kate laughed. “When was that, Edna?”
Edna made a face at Kate. “Always. I can tell these things. And since our Kathy here was enamored with him, I knew he had a good heart. But enough about that. What happened to you? The bruises tell me he hurt you. Who was he? Why did he do it? Is it true a rattlesnake bit you?”
Kate leaned forward. “Edna! You promised.”
“Psssh, I promised I wouldn’t push her. I just asked questions!”
“I’ve been told not to talk about what happened until the investigation is done.” That was the truth. The doctors had stressed that before they’d released her. She owed it to the people who rescued her, and Barry was at the top of that list to keep her mouth shut. She wasn’t clear on what had happened, but she was positive Jackson was dead. Obviously, that fact had not been made public.
“See, I told you she couldn’t talk about it.” Kate shook her head. “Now, behave yourself, madam.”
Edna snorted. “I’m not a madam. Didn’t you know a madam was a harlot in charge of a house of ill repute?”
Both Kate and Kathy laughed. “I hadn’t heard that.” Kathy took another bite of the roll after the first stayed in place. The nausea and sweats from the snake bite had abated, thank goodness.
“Well, it’s true. I’m an old woman trying to live vicariously through the young women in this town. Besides, I have to get my information from the source; otherwise, I’d be accused of spreading rumors. I don’t. I spread the truth.” She preened a bit and then laughed.
Kate shook her head. “You’re a mess, Edna, but I love you anyway.”
“And I love you, kiddo,” Edna replied. She turned her attention back to Kathy. “So, when do you think Barry will ask you to marry him?”
“Edna.” Kate reprimanded her.
“What? She said I couldn’t push him about it. She didn’t say I couldn’t poke her and why doesn’t she ask him to marry her? That’s acceptable these days. Women don’t have to wait around for the man to get their selves together and gather the nerve anymore, do they?”
“Well, no, women don’t have to wait, but I will in this case. I’ve always taken my cues from him. His past still haunts him. I love him, and he loves me. We’ll move forward when we’re both ready.”
Edna stared at her and then smiled. “So, tell me what kind of wedding you want.”
Kathy took another bite of the roll and explained what she wanted. Edna sighed. “That would be beautiful.”
Kate nodded. “I can see it in my mind’s eye. Promise me you’ll go for it.”
Kathy took a sip of her coffee. “My mom and I have talked about it for as long as I can remember. It isn’t elaborate or fancy, but … It is perfect.” Kathy smiled. “Absolutely perfect.”