Chapter Two #2
She figured he wanted peace and quiet, like anyone with a splitting headache, so she gave it to him. She checked the dogs to ensure their paws and coats were clear of glass. She hoped Daisy hadn’t ingested any shards when she’d slurped up the peaches.
The basement wasn’t a comfortable place, but it had some hidden treasures. There was a stack of Mexican blankets next to a collection of sports trophies. She glanced at one of the trophies, noting the name on the brass plate: Billy.
She took the blankets from the shelf and placed them on the floor.
Then she stretched out with the dogs as if they were having a summer picnic.
Daisy napped as the storm raged on, unconcerned, while King stayed in his sentry position.
Chico was trembling with fear, so she soothed him with gentle strokes until he calmed.
The action calmed Meredith, as well. She adored her dogs like they were her own children.
She’d left her husband and her home. Her dogs were the only family she had left.
After about an hour, Wade’s fogginess cleared. He sat upright and removed the ice pack. “Do you have any snacks?”
She had a package of saltine crackers. She gave him a handful and munched on a few herself.
Daisy returned to Wade’s side to make a nuisance of herself by begging for a cracker.
He ignored her. Now that they were safe, and relatively comfortable, awkwardness settled in.
Meredith paged through one of the paperbacks without reading it.
Wade withdrew his phone from his pocket to check the weather alerts.
“Any news?” she asked.
“There’s some damage downtown. The warning is still in effect.” He drank more water. “I should be there.”
“Now?”
“I’m a first responder.”
“Wait a while,” she said. “You can’t drive into a tornado.”
She didn’t point out that he also might have a concussion.
In her experience, men didn’t like to be reminded of their weaknesses.
And, once again, she felt responsible for the accident.
She hadn’t warned him about the loose step soon enough.
He’d been in the process of rescuing her dog, his arms full.
“Thank you for saving Daisy,” she said.
“Daisy?”
Meredith gestured to the Australian shepherd. Then she introduced King and Chico. King’s ears twitched at the sound of his name, but he refused to look Wade’s direction. He didn’t warm up to strangers easily.
“And you?” Wade asked.
“Me?”
“You never said your name.”
“Mary.”
“Mary what?”
“Meadows.”
His gaze searched hers, as if he could read the lie. “Spelled the usual way?”
Meredith felt a moment of panic, because she wasn’t sure. She was terrible at spelling. Letters got mixed up in her mind, like puzzle pieces that refused to fit. She’d never practiced writing the name on paper.
“Yes,” she said anyway.
“Where are you from?”
“Here and there,” she hedged.
“Not here,” he said with confidence.
“How do you know?”
“Your accent gives you away.”
She considered telling him he was wrong. It was really none of his business.
“Oklahoma?”
“You have a good ear,” she said coolly. She was actually from Kansas, but so close to the Oklahoma border it made no difference.
“What brings you to Texas?”
“The weather,” she quipped, and set Chico aside. She’d come to Lost Lake because of its proximity to Mexico. “I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have fired a gun in the house. Even in Oklahoma, it’s bad manners.”
He nodded easily. “I could have avoided it. I’m trained to identify myself and show my credentials in situations like that.”
She was surprised by his admission. In her experience, men rarely made concessions. “Well, I don’t usually carry a shotgun into the kitchen. I heard a male voice, and the gun rack was right there.”
He raked a hand through his dusty hair. “Who did you think I was?”
She didn’t answer.
“Has someone been coming around here, bothering you?”
“No. Nothing like that.”
“Watch out for my mother’s friends. She hangs out with a lot of lowlifes.”
Meredith wondered if he considered her a lowlife by association. There was a harsh edge to his tone and a dismissive attitude behind it. She also got the impression that he was intelligent enough to hide his disdain when it benefited him to do so.
Chico seemed unaware of the danger Wade presented. Forgetting their earlier tiff, he curled up next to Wade as if he’d found his new favorite heat source. Wade frowned at the dog but didn’t try to dislodge him.
Meredith nibbled at the edge of her fingernail.
She wished she wasn’t stuck in a basement with a handsome, intimidating stranger.
Wade Hendricks was the kind of man she’d cross the street to avoid.
She wouldn’t have even made eye contact with him on a normal day.
His size alone would have sent her scurrying in the opposite direction.
But here they were, sitting directly across from one another.
The glow from the lantern illuminated the space between them.
She could either stare into the dark or stare at him.
She’d noticed his good looks before she’d fired a round through the screen door.
He was over six feet tall, and built like a quarterback, with powerful shoulders and big hands.
He had an all-American, golden-boy vibe.
She imagined he was a natural athlete. When he wasn’t falling down a set of stairs, he had a graceful way of moving, despite his size.
He reminded her of the college kids in Austin, though he was older and more weathered.
They weren’t from the same side of the tracks.
He might look like a rugged, hard-working cowboy, but he wasn’t a cowboy. He was a cop.
“You don’t resemble your mother,” she said.
Wynona Hendricks was a petite woman with vibrant blue eyes and dark hair.
“I know.”
“I can’t believe she has a son your age.”
“She’s forty-eight.”
“How old are you?”
“Thirty.”
Meredith was surprised by the numbers. Wynona’s youthful attitude and trim figure belied her age. Wade, on the other hand, had a weariness about him, as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. “I haven’t seen photos of you around the house.”
He reapplied the melting ice pack to his temple without comment.
“I didn’t know your mom had a family.”
“She likes to pretend she doesn’t.”
“You two don’t get along?”
“We’ve hit a rough patch,” he admitted. “I’m not fond of her life choices.”
“Which ones?”
Wade tossed aside the ice pack again. Daisy started licking the condensation off it. “She collects useless things. Junk, pets, people.”
“Pets aren’t useless.”
He glanced at Daisy, his brow arched in silent disagreement. “She also drinks too much and doesn’t take care of herself.”
Meredith couldn’t dispute these hard truths, so she remained quiet.
“Every time I visit, she has a new entourage of animals and enablers.”
“How often do you visit?”
“Not often enough to make a difference, but now I’m here to stay.”
She drew in a shaky breath. Wade didn’t approve of anyone his mother associated with, including her. She couldn’t blame him. Even so, Meredith didn’t need his stamp of approval. Wynona was her own woman. She wouldn’t ask Meredith to leave.
“Your mother hired me to help her,” Meredith said.
“She pays you?”
“Yes. Since she lost her license, she can’t drive—”
“She lost her license?” He muttered a curse, shifting his weight. Chico didn’t budge from his cuddle spot.
“I run errands for her and do the work she can’t handle.”
“She can’t handle any work.”
Meredith shrugged, because Wynona was a free spirit and a dreamer. She did creative projects, socialized, and collected garage sale items. Meredith handled all of the housework and ranch labor, but who was she to criticize? Nolan Ranch was a perfect sanctuary for her.
Wade’s phone buzzed with a new notification. He glanced at the screen again. “The warning’s been lifted. The tornado cut a swath through Hill County. It caused significant destruction in the Rocksprings and Lakeside areas.”
Meredith had become familiar with the surrounding area in the months she’d lived here. Rocksprings was a tiny town at the edge of the county, sparsely populated with small and midsize ranches. Lakeside was about five miles away, with clusters of neighborhoods that included a trailer park.
Tornadoes were a part of life in the Midwest, where she’d grown up, so she knew that twisters and trailer parks were a bad mix. Depending on the strength of the storm, there could be fatalities.
“They’re creating an evacuation center at Lost Lake High,” Wade continued. “Emergency services personnel and able-bodied volunteers are asked to report there.”
When Wade stood, wincing a little, Meredith rose with him.
She ordered the dogs to stay and followed him upstairs.
King parked himself on the blanket. Chico didn’t normally obey, but he was too small to climb stairs.
Daisy barked a protest as Meredith shut the door.
Wade grabbed his Stetson and went outside, where he began to unload the back of his pickup truck.
The power was still out, so Meredith moved some perishables from the fridge to the freezer.
Then she decided she might as well use the lunch meat to make sandwiches.
She emerged from the kitchen with two sack lunches.
Wade had stacked his belongings on the front porch. He had luggage, about a dozen cardboard boxes, a set of weights, some fishing gear, and an expensive-looking mountain bike, all piled haphazardly.
She handed him a lunch.
“Thank you,” he said, sounding genuine.
“Why don’t you let me drive you to town? Even a minor bump on the head can cause vision problems.”
He squinted into the distance. “I can drive myself.”
“Okay. I’ll follow you in Wynona’s car.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“I’m not doing it for you. I want to volunteer.”
“You want to volunteer?”
“Why not? I’m able-bodied.”
Wade scanned her figure. He seemed to find it lacking, which annoyed her.
“Have you ever been to the high school?”
“No,” he admitted.
“Then you should follow me.”
“All right,” he said, and set the lunch on the front seat of his pickup. “Is there a chainsaw around here?”
“It doesn’t work.”
“What about a tow chain or rope?”
“In the toolshed.”
“Can you get the axe from the woodpile?”
“Sure.”
She grabbed the car keys, along with a rain jacket, before she collected the axe.
It wasn’t raining now, but the weather could turn on a dime.
He tossed the tools in the back of the pickup before climbing behind the wheel.
She was impressed by his swift actions, and by his willingness to accept her help.
He was quick on his feet despite his earlier stumble, and more open-minded than most men of her acquaintance.
Meredith, unaccustomed to being treated like an equal, was momentarily dazzled.
Wade gestured to Wynona’s Subaru. “Lead the way.”