Callie nodded and started to whisk the eggs. “Liz Anderson was an RCMP officer and posted to Surrey, British Columbia, my hometown. When I was twenty-one, I met her at a barbecue.” Callie shook her head. “She was trying to juggle a plate of food and hold a baby. Becky was eight months old, and I think she was trying to stick her foot in Liz’s salad. I offered to hold Becky so Liz could eat in peace. I fell for the woman and I fell for her cute baby.” Callie focused on her task while she struggled to maintain her composure. Her heart squeezed at the memories.
“How sweet.”
Callie fumbled with the breakfast dishes and dropped the eggs in a pan. “Liz was ten years older than me, but we fell in love. Two years after we met, we were married and I legally adopted Becky. Then two years later, Liz was murdered. She pulled over a speeder, and when she reached the driver’s door window, he shot her in the face.”
Lauren gasped. “Jesus.”
“Paramedics rushed Liz to the hospital. They stopped the bleeding, but there was too much damage and she died thirty minutes later.”
“Oh, Callie, I’m so sorry. How devastating.”
“I didn’t make it to the hospital in time.” Callie brushed a tear off her cheek. “The piece of shit who murdered her ditched their stolen car and escaped on foot. The police have never caught them and that was five years ago.” Callie shoved bread into the toaster, angry at the injustice.
“You were so young to go through something like that.”
“I was twenty-five.” Callie sniffled. “Liz and I only had four years together, but it was long enough to understand deep in our bones we belonged together.” Callie blew her nose and then washed her hands. “Becky and I lived with my parents for a while until Doug invited us to live with him. Before I lost Liz, we visited Doug twice a year. He was a sweet man and accepted me at once as part of the family. I wanted Becky to know him and he needed us in a way my own family didn’t and couldn’t understand. I mourned Liz, but I can’t imagine losing a child. Her death broke his heart.”
“It would destroy me,” Lauren said.
“Doug was strong, or at least I thought he was. One and a half years after we moved to Poplarcreek, he died of a massive stroke. I learned afterward he’d had many small heart attacks no one knew about.”
“How very sad.”
“Neither of Liz’s brothers wanted to live in Saskatchewan and didn’t challenge the will when Doug left Poplarcreek to Becky and me. I think he knew his health was failing when he invited us to live with him. I think he wanted to teach us what he could before he died.” Hindsight was always clear, and the pain it brought with it, sharp. “He taught me about crops and combines, but we didn’t get to the cattle.”
“I’m sorry about Liz and Doug.”
Callie rested her hip against the counter and regarded Lauren, whose expression was sympathetic. “It’s been five years, but sometimes it feels as if Liz died five seconds ago. We were only a family for such a short time.”
“Is Becky’s father around?”
“He was a donor and never in the picture. But Becky had two parents, although she’s nothing like me.”
“I wouldn’t say that. Becky’s a sweet kid. She’s dark where you’re fair, but there’s something in the polite, calm way she speaks and the confident way she carries herself that reminds me of you.”
“Thanks.” Callie stared at Lauren as she assimilated the insightful comment. Lauren thought Becky was sweet, and more importantly, she paid attention to her, understood her. “She’s quiet too. I’ve seen Gwen rattle off ten sentences to my kid’s one.”
Lauren laughed. “Gwen’s an awesome kid and a talker.”
“You like her.”
“I do. In an auntie kind of a way, or as an older friend. She’s talked me into letting Becky visit after school.”
“That okay? Will she be in the way?”
“It’s fine. I like kids, but she’ll get put to work walking dogs and cleaning kennels.”
“She can manage that.” Callie’s chest tightened. This was the attachment between Becky and Lauren she was afraid of. But she’d introduced them and there was no way to rewind without upsetting Becky. But Lauren was nice and could be trusted. “Tell me about your family.”
“Long, boring story.”
“We’ve got time and I’m interested.”
Lauren dug her phone out of her pocket. “Sorry, I should answer this email.” She typed away and then her phone rang. Lauren stepped away to answer the call and returned. “I should probably go. I have to check on a horse with a cough.”
“Where?”
“Starview Farm.”
“They’re only ten minutes away. Sit. You can stay for breakfast.” Callie set the food on the counter and waited.
Lauren sat like a child ordered back to the table to finish her vegetables.
Callie plated her food and winked at Lauren, hoping to lighten the moment and then changed the topic to their childhoods. They enjoyed a leisurely breakfast while they shared happier stories about British Columbia and Ontario. After their plates were empty, they swiveled in their seats until their knees touched.
Callie said, “Are there ethical rules that say you shouldn’t kiss a client?”
“No, but it’s unadvisable. It could lead to complications.” Lauren looked thoughtful, and there was only a hint of the earlier sadness in her eyes.
Callie traced the rim of her coffee cup with a finger. “So, it was a mistake and we shouldn’t do it again?”
“Probably not.”
Callie studied Lauren. “You’re serious.”
Lauren nodded. “I am.”
Just as they were leaning forward to do what they both seemed to know they shouldn’t, Callie’s door banged open and Kyle Kruger swaggered in as if he owned the place. They jumped apart and Callie stepped forward, placing herself between Kyle and Lauren. “What do you want? And how dare you barge in here uninvited?” She’d have to start locking her front door. Callie crossed her arms over her chest and her weight shifted to one hip. She glowered at him, willing him to burst into flames.
“Relax, girlie.” Kyle slunk to the breakfast bar and leaned over until he could see Lauren’s face. “Hello, Doc. Having breakfast?”
Callie’s hands balled into fists as Kyle sneered at Lauren and directed his comments to her chest. “Kyle, what do you want?”
Kyle shifted and slid his arm across Callie’s shoulders. “Any breakfast for me, girlie? On Wednesday you made me lunch. I know how well you like to feed me.” He smirked at Lauren.
Callie shrugged his arm off and walked toward the refrigerator. She hadn’t made him lunch. He’d stolen her sandwich and then slammed her hands on the table and threatened her. Now she knew what he wanted. Free run of her house for meals whenever he wanted.
She yanked the refrigerator door open and snatched the eggs. She hovered over the stove, dropped two eggs into the frying pan, and fetched the maggot a cup of coffee. His threat was clear, and she wasn’t about to have him drag Lauren into the illegal crap he’d mired her in. If she fed him, maybe he’d go away and leave them in peace. But every bone in her body ached with fury at being so unable to control the situation.
Kyle made an exaggerated scan of the kitchen, even standing to peer over the breakfast bar near Callie’s feet. “Are you done, Doc? No cattle in here. Are you often alone with your woman clients? What would people say?”
“Mind your own business, Kyle,” Lauren snapped.
Callie cringed inside. Lauren was worried about kissing a client, and Kyle was threatening to make her the topic of town gossip. She directed her next words to the frying pan. Lauren was safer away from Poplarcreek. “She’s going now. Thanks, Lauren.”
There was a moment of awkward silence. “Thanks for breakfast, Callie.”
Callie’s shoulders slumped as she heard the scrape of a chair and the click of her front door closing. She could only imagine how hurt Lauren would be. To be chucked out of the house
in favor of Kyle, but even as attracted as they were to one another, she and Lauren weren’t in a relationship and it was better that way. Lauren didn’t know that she was being sent away to protect her, to keep her out of Kyle’s way. The man was a buffoon, but still dangerous. Maybe she should have told Lauren the full story of the stolen cattle, but then she’d leave for good and never come back. Besides, the less Lauren knew, the safer she was. Callie had no idea how to crawl out from under Heinz Kruger’s thumb, and she wouldn’t risk taking Lauren down with her.
Once again, she was unquestionably alone.
Chapter Fifteen
Kyle shouted at her, his face red.
“What’s going on, Callie? What were you doing with the doc? I liked watching, it was hot, but we have a deal.”
Callie’s skin crawled as she pictured Kyle spying on them through the window before he came in. “What deal? There’s no deal.” She dropped the plate of overcooked eggs and burnt toast in front of him.
“The deal is that as long as we’re friends, I don’t go to the cops and tell them you stole cattle.”
Callie ground her teeth. “We’re not friends.”
“We’re not? I told my dad we were. Told him I’d been eating more meals at Poplarcreek with my girlfriend. He thinks you and Poplarcreek are in the family now. He said he was proud of me for the first time in my life.” Kyle moved in and stood toe to toe with Callie. “And you’re not going to fuck that up.”
Callie shrank back. She was alone in her house with him again and she’d promised Martha to be smarter in the future and not let Kyle inside the house. And now unbelievably, Kyle thought they were dating? A few meals she could handle, but what more did he want?
Callie fed Kyle breakfast and pushed him from her house with a minimum of pawing.
What must Lauren think of me? Callie moaned as she sat slumped at the table with her head in her hands. How did I let my fight with the Krugers get this bad? Now Kyle thinks he owns me because of six stupid stolen cows. She wiped tears from her eyes.
Martha wanted her to go to the RCMP and tell them how Heinz and Kyle were hassling her, and she was right. If she ever wanted to get a restraining order, she’d need to get everything on the record. She thought about just telling Mitch as a friend, but she’d want to help. She bet Mitch would be on Krugers’ doorstep ten minutes after she told her. But if she told on Heinz and Kyle would they just get worse? More violent?
It was a milder day, for winter, so Callie spent most of it cleaning the barn even though intense emotions overwhelmed her. She was drawn to Lauren but uncertain about Lauren’s feelings. Lauren was attractive, smart, and a wonderful kisser, but was clearly conflicted about getting close to her. Even while they were kissing the other day, she had felt Lauren pulling away. And today she’d made it clear she didn’t think they should go there. But the look in her eyes didn’t match her words.
And then there was the Kruger mess, and she wasn’t sure she could do anything to stop it. It was as if they had her in a vice and were slowly squeezing. Lauren told her she was learning fast about her cattle, but it wasn’t fast enough to avoid more vet bills, and she couldn’t turn back the clock and unbreed the juvenile heifers. She owed money and needed to get back to work at the RCMP detachment, but first she had to pry the time out of her day. Everything had seemed so much more manageable when Martha was there to help with Becky and the house.
Callie drilled her shovel at the wall, and it hit with a satisfying clang. What had she done? Was there no end to her stupidity? She was convinced she probably had no future with Lauren and now she’d tossed Becky into the mix. What hurt had she set her daughter up for?
Callie felt her stomach heave as she bent to grab the shovel. She scraped the calving pens and shoveled the manure and dirty straw into the bucket of her loader. She drove the loader to the manure pile, dumped it, and studied the steaming pile. This was her life. It began the day as fresh straw, but always ended as a pile of shit and there’d be more tomorrow. It was time to grow a backbone, focus, and try to come up with some kind of plan.
When the barn was clean and the animals fed, Callie trudged to the house. She rolled her shoulders and stretched her back. She had overexerted, but her path was clear. The Krugers must keep away from her and her house, and she needed to speak with Lauren and then Mitch. Keeping Kyle’s secret meant he had power over her, and she’d sworn that kind of thing would never happen again. Perhaps Lauren would help her deal with Kyle? After all, he was threatening to implicate her, too, and she should know that.
After a shower, fresh clothes, and lunch, Callie toiled away on the farm accounts for two hours and then returned to the barn to feed the calves. When she heard the school bus, she wiped her hands and headed out to greet Becky to learn how her day had gone. She saw Becky waving to her friends as the bus drove away. Becky had fit into Thresherton and made friends faster than Callie had. She was happy for Becky, and she’d made a few good friends herself. Not friends who would stand up to the Krugers, though. Callie laughed. Lauren had told Kyle to “Mind his own business.” He’d had no response. Probably not used to strong women. Callie sighed. Kyle hadn’t chased Lauren away, she had.
After the bus drove away, a black pickup truck stopped beside Becky. The window opened and Becky walked closer to speak with someone inside. A cold knot formed in Callie’s chest. “No!” she screamed and sprinted down the laneway toward her. Becky waved at her before climbing into the truck. “Wait, come back,” she yelled. When Callie arrived at the road, the truck was driving away and accelerating, but she read KRUGER2 on the license plate. “Kyle fucking Kruger. What the hell!” Every muscle in her body tensed and her hands balled into fists.
Callie raced to her house. She snatched her keys off the hook in the mudroom, unplugged her truck, and jumped into the cab. She roared from her laneway, skidded at the corner, and shot down the road after Kyle. On a hunch, she drove toward Kruger Farm. She didn’t have Kyle’s cell number, but she had Tommy’s.
Cellular service in the rural areas near Thresherton was spotty at best. She cheered when she found a strong enough cell signal to call Tommy. Their voices cutting in and out, she explained. “Is Kyle there? He took Becky. Snatched her when she got off the bus. Tell him to bring her home, now.” Callie was yelling at the wrong Kruger, but she couldn’t help it.
“Sorry, Callie. He’s not here, but I’ll find him. My brother genuinely likes Becky,” Tommy said.
“I don’t care. He needs to bring her home, now.” Callie jammed her phone in her pocket and turned south away from Kruger Farm. Kyle didn’t go home, so where did he go? She yanked the steering wheel to take the next turn and her tires skidded on the ice. She fishtailed around the corner and slid into the ditch. “Shit, shit, shit!” She crushed the pedal against the floor. Her tires spun, but the truck didn’t move. Too much of the truck was in the ditch and they were old tires with too little tread.
Callie snatched her cell phone off the floor where it had fallen. No signal. There had been one five minutes ago. She rested her forehead on the steering wheel and struggled not to cry. He’d taken her daughter, and here she was in a ditch. She barely kept from sobbing.
Callie jumped when someone tapped on the window and found Lauren peering in at her. She powered down her side window. “Lauren, thank God. Kyle—”
“I was helping Tommy at the farm. He told me. Kyle didn’t pass me.”
Wild with fear, Callie stared out her windows in all directions, hoping for a clue about where the man was who’d taken her daughter. “Where did he go?” Callie growled her words. “He’s a dead man.”
“We should call the RCMP, but I have no cell signal.”
She had no problem calling the police, but she wanted to see if she could get Becky back first. “Let’s go to Poplarcreek and call Tommy for Kyle’s phone number.”
“I have Kyle’s number. Want me to pull you out?”
“There’s no time.” Callie jumped from her truck, jogged ac
ross the road, and climbed behind the steering wheel of Lauren’s truck.
Lauren followed. “Hey, Callie, should I drive? It won’t help Becky if you drive into another ditch and injure yourself this time.”
Callie growled. “Get your ass in or stay behind.”
Lauren blinked, bolted around the truck to the passenger side door, and jumped inside. Callie spun Lauren’s truck in a circle, fishtailing on the snowy road as she drove away. When they neared Poplarcreek, Callie saw what she’d been hoping to see. “There’s Kyle’s truck!” She plowed into a pile of snow at the door of her house and leaped out.
Callie ran into her kitchen, Lauren not far behind, and skidded to a stop. Becky and Kyle were at the kitchen table playing cards. Callie breathed in loud, painful gasps and her heart thudded in her ears.
“Snap.” Becky slammed the six of spades on the pile of cards resting in the center of the table.
Kyle grinned at Callie and winked.
“Mommy, I’m winning.” Becky bounced in her chair.
Callie gathered Becky in her arms and collapsed into a chair with Becky in her lap. “Where did you go, Becky?” She rocked her while kissing the top of Becky’s head, her cheeks, and forehead.
Becky laid a hand on Callie’s wet cheek, her expression worried. “Uncle Kyle took me to see the new foal at Starview. The one Lauren helped birth.” Becky glanced at Kyle and whispered, “He promised I had permission.”
“Uncle Kyle.” He gloated as he looked at Lauren.
Lauren frowned at Kyle. “Callie, if you don’t need me anymore, I should probably go.”
“Please stay. Please, Lauren,” Callie said.
Lauren’s answer was brusque. “Sure.”
“Hey, Becky, let’s get you changed into play clothes.” Callie clutched her hand and led her upstairs.
“Bye, Uncle Kyle. Thank you.”
“Bye, girlie.”
Five minutes later, Callie returned to the kitchen, alone. She glanced at Lauren, who was still frowning at Kyle as if she were contemplating murder. “She’s all right.”
Veterinary Partner Page 12
