by Nya Rawlyns
“H-he yelled at me for being a stupid cow, that I was always screwing things up, and he said he’d... he’d...”
Josh drew her into his arms and held her close. She snuffled into his chest, the words and sobs jumbled, but they managed to stitch together the rest. Feeling threatened and with nowhere to go, Petilune had sought shelter in the closest vehicle which was open and, thank heavens, it had been the reverend’s SUV. The two hoodlums Petilune didn’t know had taken on Will while Dee went after the brother. Joey apparently decided enough was enough and took off, leaving Will still trying to protect Petilune but outnumbered.
Marcus gave Josh a questioning look. He nodded he understood. Petilune had had enough for one night. If they pressed her, the kid risked a complete shutdown. It was late, and they were going to have to get her back home to change for school if that’s what she wanted. Otherwise, they still needed to see to her comfort with fresh clothes and maybe a woman’s touch. There was Polly at the restaurant, though if given his druthers, Marcus thought Josh’s sister a better bet. Both women were tough as nails, but Polly had a sharp edge that Becca didn’t.
What the child needed was a little coddling he and Josh didn’t have time for. Mondays were usually busy what with folks coming in for grain and restocking supplies after tending to their weekend chores. Though he had part time help, it still required at least two people—someone to man checkout and someone else to see to the customers on the floor or on the loading dock.
Marcus said, “Come on, kiddo, let’s get you to bed. We got us a busy day tomorrow, ain’t that right?” He pried her loose from Josh and carried her to the bed.
Unlike the rest of his stuff which was helter-skelter, half-put together, he’d screwed the head- and footboards on and made it up with sheets and a blanket. He’d even gone so far as to fold a quilt at the foot of the bed. Somehow it reminded him of Tommy and how persnickety he’d been about stuff, always fussing over having the corners tucked just so and the foolish decorator pillows stacked exactly how he liked them to be.
Petilune looked lost on the king-sized mattress. As Marcus cocooned the girl in the bedding, she murmured, “It’s Wally’s day tomorrow, but he don’t come in until lunchtime, so don’t be mad at him.” He smoothed the fine blonde hair behind her ears and brushed her forehead with his lips.
“I’ll remember. And I won’t be mad.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.” God, could anything be more precious than that child? “Goodnight, Pet. Sleep tight. You’re safe.”
Marcus found Josh starting a pot of coffee. “Better make enough for two.”
“Shouldn’t you be getting some sleep? Like you said, you’ve got the store to open in the morning.”
“I’m fine. Won’t be the first time I managed without sleep.” Especially those months right after Tommy had passed. If he’d slept, it’d been nothing more than a quick catnap in his office. The nights had been hell with him pacing or drinking himself into a near coma.
“Suit yourself.”
Marcus knew Josh disapproved, but he wasn’t going to say it. Besides, it looked like he was preparing to circle the wagons or do a patrol around the store or whatever the hell military men did when they took it into their thick skulls that the wimmen ’n children needed defending.
Feeling vaguely annoyed at the man’s over-protectiveness, Marcus shuffled quietly toward a locked cabinet at the front of the loft. When he returned, he scooped the cigarettes and lighter off the counter, slung the twelve-gauge shotgun over his shoulder, and hissed at Josh, “The go cups are in the cardboard box under the table. Fill them and bring ’em down. I’ll be on the dock.”
****
Smirking, Josh set the coffee go cups next to Marcus, then eased down onto the lip of the dock, his legs almost long enough to touch the hard-packed dirt below. He flicked a finger at the Winchester shotgun resting across Marcus’ lap. “Didn’t expect you hunted.”
Marcus dug in his pocket, extracted a couple shells and held them out for the man’s inspection. The light from the open door was just enough to illuminate the PDX-1 ammo.
Josh nodded his approval. “Good choice. Gives you stopping power without having to worry overly much about aim.”
Marcus took a drag on his cigarette and exhaled the smoke before muttering, “Oh, don’t worry about my aim, cowboy.”
“Really. Maybe sometime you’ll show me how good your aim is.” He slid off the dock and reached for the handgun. With a tap of his fingers to his forehead, he slipped into the surrounding darkness, leaving Marcus flustered and confused.
What the royal hell had that been about? There’d been subtext there, Marcus would swear to it. Innuendo he never expected. A suggestion that added fuel to the mix of emotions that had been simmering deep inside for months.
Or was he imaging things, putting a spin on a reply meant in jest. Except...
Except, Marcus had gotten a glimpse of Josh’s face. There’d been more than teasing there. He’d caught interest and maybe even a hint of lust.
Damn, was it possible...?
He shoved the shells back in his jeans pocket and prepared himself for a long night.
Chapter Eight
On the Hunt
Josh plastered his most winning grin on his face as he approached his sister. Becca had Maudie balanced on one hip and a small sack of grain on the other. She gave him the stink eye as he sauntered into the paddock and reached for the grain, thinking if he relieved that burden she might forget to inquire why Petilune was playing peekaboo behind him.
Unfortunately, Becca was quick about recognizing that her brother was angling for a favor, even without him having to say a word. She shifted Maudie to the other hip and nodded at Petilune. “Hey, sweetie. You get detention at school or something? Principal making you tag around after the horse whisperer?”
Petilune giggled. Josh suspected she was blushing beet red too. They’d had quite the go round over breakfast about her needing to go home to change clothes. Big no on that. Then she took one look at Marcus’ shower and decided, with good reason, not to avail herself of those particular amenities. Marcus’ suggestion she could clean up at school and then wear her gym clothes had met with even less enthusiasm.
So that left out school for the time being. Josh called the school and talked briefly with the principal, apprising her of the events over the weekend. The woman was as advertised—concerned for the girl and willing to do whatever she could to help. The school was too small to merit carrying special education classes, but Petilune was one of the students who had been assigned tutors to help her with difficult subjects. Josh promised to stop later and pick up homework and books. And he assured Mrs. Fields that his sister was fully qualified in home schooling and would be delighted...
Asking Becca to babysit Petilune for a day wouldn’t cost him too many karma points, but adding in the additional burden of overseeing the girl’s homework wasn’t going to be an easy sell. His sister had more on her plate than most, not the least of which was helping out around the ranch as well as tending to her own place.
Fortunately it was Monday, their day off, so he figured he’d ease into it in one day at a time. He plucked Maudie off Becca’s hip and set her on the ground next to the grain. Crouching down to her level, he said, “Pumpkin, did you know that Petilune here has never brushed a pony before?”
Maudie chirped, “No way!” She turned a wide-eyed stare to Petilune. “Do you wanna? Her name’s Spot ’cause she’s got all these spots on her and she’s real hairy still.”
Petilune mimicked Josh and knelt down while Maudie extolled the virtues of curry combs versus face brushes. Both girls seemed to be on the same page, Maudie waving her arms enthusiastically while Petilune clapped and nodded. Becca organized boots and a pair of sweats for Petilune, and then the girls were off to the barn, skipping and holding hands.
Josh eased into a kitchen chair and watched while his sister prepared coffee. With steaming mugs on the table and Becca’s
full attention, and in answer to her, “What’s going on, Josh?” he explained from the beginning what had happened on Sunday. He left nothing out, including his confrontation with Kit Giniw.
Cutting to the chase, Becca asked, “So you think Petilune might be in danger? Is that why she’s here?”
“Honestly, Sis, I don’t know. But my gut’s telling me if that boy feels like he’s got to ask somebody like me to look after her, and then he says he’s working on fixing shit? I mean, other than what happened in the parking lot, and then Petilune not willing to talk about her new boyfriend, I’ve really got nothing to go on.”
“But you think somebody’s watching the store?”
“I’d bet the ranch on it. Could be Kit keeping an eye out, but I don’t think so. Something’s going on with those four hoodlums that showed up after the service, the ones beating the crap out of the Barnes kid.” He swallowed the rest of the coffee and stood. “I need to talk to Will and find out what he walked into. It sounds to me like he maybe saw or heard something before that, something he wants to keep quiet.”
“You plan on interrogating him at home?”
Josh shook his head. “Wouldn’t do me any good, he’d just clam up with John around. Besides, John’s likely to strap the kid just for the hell of it if I make it sound like Will’s involved. Even if he isn’t.”
Becca pursed her lips. “You need to talk with him alone. Why not call the school counselor and have her arrange a conference?”
“Not a good idea. I need to keep this on the down low. You know how they are around here. Folks jumping to conclusions at the drop of a hat. Besides, it’d get back to his buddies, and then to his dad.” He tapped his fingernails on the table. “I need to make it real private so Will has a chance to open up.”
“If he wants to.”
Josh grunted, “Yeah, that’s the problem. He needs convinced it’s in his best interests. Not sure I’m gonna be able to offer him the right incentives.”
“You said he seemed to be protecting Petilune?”
“Yeah, but what’s that got to—” He stopped short, then walked around the table and gave his sister a quick hug. “You’re a genius, lady. That’s exactly how to play this. When I was that age, I’d have given my right arm to get to be the knight in shining armor who protects the princess.”
Becca chuckled. “Except, for you, it would have been Cade Thompson.”
Josh blushed. “You’re never gonna let me forget that, are you?”
“Or forgive.” She frowned, then stuck out her tongue. “It’s not often a gal’s older brother hits on his baby sister’s secret boyfriend. You ruined my life, you know that, don’t you?”
Josh tapped her nose and smirked. “Randy did that, remember?” She swatted at him and sneered, but he danced away and reminded her, “Cade still asked you to the prom, so no harm done.”
“Fuck, bro! He asked you, too!”
“But I didn’t go.”
Becca stood and moved in to give Josh a hug. She murmured into his chest, “You wanted to. Real bad.” Pulling away to look up into his face, she asked, “Why didn’t you? I wouldn’t have minded, not really.”
“Couldn’t, kiddo. It would have meant finally coming out. To mom and dad, to everyone at school. I wasn’t ready for that.”
Taking Josh’s hand, she led him onto the back porch where they could watch the two girls being dragged around the round pen by a very determined pony.
Josh said, “I know it’s an imposition, but...”
Becca held up a hand, objecting, “It’s not. Pet’s a good kid, sweet as they come. Just the thought of something bad happening to her gets my back up, make no mistake. I want you to do what you need to make sure she’s safe.”
Quietly Josh explained, “The school says she’s developmentally challenged and needs a lot of help doing sums and stuff.”
“Jesus, Josiah. ‘Doing sums?’ What century are you living in?” She poked him in the ribs.
“Ow. All right. Math. Is that better? Anyways, she’ll need help. More than either me or Marcus can provide.”
He noticed Becca wasn’t suggesting that Petilune’s family might be better suited to see to the girl’s needs. His sister was too smart and too damned compassionate to force the girl back into a toxic situation. So far there’d been no evidence of physical abuse, but that didn’t mean the kid wasn’t still at risk. Abuse came in all flavors, and now that the girl was on his radar Josh had every intention of making sure nothing bad happened, from inside or outside her family.
Becca asked, “How is Marcus, by the way?”
Josh squirmed and muttered, “Fine.” Marcus was very fine, hot fine, jump his fucking bones fine. And completely off limits.
“You been spending a lot of time with him.” Becca stared into the distance, her face casually blank.
“Well, you know, with this thing with Petilune...” He let the excuse trail off.
“He seems like a nice man.” She paused and examined her fingernails. “A little lonely, maybe.”
“He’s got the store.”
“And you have the ranch.” She was staring at him pointedly. Before he could figure out what the hell she was talking about, she followed up with, “Why not ask him out for dinner next Sunday? Maudie’s been going on about taking Mr. Colton out on a trail ride ever since you introduced those two.”
Josh stared at his sister, his mouth open. She looked about as innocent as a black widow spider. The heat blowing off his ears was a good indication he was blushing. He gasped, “You mean a date, ask Marcus out on a date?”
“No, I mean invite him here for Sunday dinner. You know I always make enough extra for company whether we have any or not. Besides, Maudie would adore having Uncle Josh’s new friend visit.” Grinning broadly, she said, “So would I.”
The thought had crossed his mind more than once that he’d really like to get to know the shopkeeper better. Was Becca suggesting that maybe... Was it possible he’d crossed his signals, made an assumption, that maybe instead of Marcus being...
He blurted, “He’s straight.”
“What? You have something against having a straight friend, Josiah Foxglove?” Uh-oh. He gulped back a snotty retort and wondered if his ears had combusted yet. She muttered, “Besides, that’s not what I hear.”
Snapping his head to look at his sister, he was tempted to probe for details. Yes, he’d heard the rumors, but not recently. To his knowledge, any chatter about Marcus and his distant cousin was old news, not even worth an extra round when the biddies ran out of gossip fodder. Had he been wrong about Marcus? Had the looks and the teasing, the way the man seemed to like being around him, the way he looked at him, like he was trying not to...
Christ, it was like being back in high school. Worse. Now he was an adult, and out at least in his own mind and certainly to his sister, but as for the rest of the town and the folks in the valley, all they knew was he’d come back wounded and was now a rancher. Like the rest of them, just finding his way and making do. Mercifully, no one was trotting out the blooming virgins for his inspection. He wasn’t thick in the wallet, nor was he good looking enough to overcome the obvious disadvantage of being a damn cripple. And he was old. He was flirting on the edge of forty. Less than two years to go.
For all he knew the locals had him pegged as a bachelor farmer, stuck in his ways and relying on his sister’s good will until she found herself a decent husband and then dropped him like a hot potato.
He muttered, “Fuck.”
Becca pounced. “So you do like him.”
She was like a dog with a bone. If he said yes, she’d be all over it. If he said no, she’d know he was lying. He was screwed six ways from Sunday. And that brought him back to the idea of inviting Marcus over. Mounting up. Showing him his little patch of heaven, maybe take him and the girls up the mountain to that flat spot that overlooked the ranch and the vista that was the Snowys in the near distance.
It was something they’d all
grown up with, the land stretching forever, the air thin and clear, the mountains saw-toothed against a skyline impossibly blue. On the other side of Sheep Mountain, Centurion snuggled in close to the lumpy ridges. Eventually it leveled out flat and featureless unless you knew how to see. Wagon tracks gouging out the soft rock like a rail line. Patches of bitter root interspersed with sagebrush and native grasses. Quick movements and the endless rustle of wind stirring like a living thing.
It was from that sweeping vantage point that Josh had figured out who and what he’d wanted to be. He’d learned from the limitless vastness spread out before him that maybe his life could be like that too. Big. Important. Without boundaries. He’d seen with young eyes and a young heart. When he’d come back, he’d brought with him a new perspective—that it was in the small particulars of living day to day that you found what mattered most... His sister. Brave Maudie. Elfin Filly. Sweet, naïve Petilune.
And Marcus.
Maybe one of those particulars could be the man with sad brown eyes and a kindness in his soul that shone like a beacon.
Josh swallowed and conceded, knowing if he didn’t ask Marcus, she would. “Okay, I’ll see if he’s busy. Just...”
“Just what?”
“Don’t fuss. Promise me you won’t make a big deal out of it. He’s just a friend. Nothing more.” Begging rarely worked with Becca, but it never hurt to try.
She mumbled, “Uh huh,” and checked her watch. “When you planning on talking to that Barnes’ kid?” She peered around the corner of the porch, checking on the girls. Apparently they were still occupied with the pony.
“I’m heading over to the state cops barracks to talk with Ted Sorenson for a bit. I need to see if they’ve got anything on those four assholes. And the boyfriend. After that I’ll head over to the fairgrounds. The rodeo team’s got team penning practice on Mondays. Might get lucky and find a way to corral Will and have a conversation.”
“That’s a good idea. They always get a lot of looky-loos. Nobody will think twice on you being there.” She pulled on her lower lip for a minute, then asked, “You think that young man’s really her boyfriend, Josh?”
