Another Solution (Crowley County Series Book 4)

by T. E. Killian

  “Thank you . . . Granny.”

  * * *

  Karen felt as if her whole world had just turned upside down. No. That wasn’t quite right. That implied bad things. No. Her whole world was simply being rearranged but as far as she was concerned, everything that had just happened was good . . . very good.

  That was when she noticed Billy Joe Layton standing behind Granny. She didn’t know how to bring him into this little celebration, but somehow she felt that he should be included.

  When she looked back at Jason, he must have seen where she had been looking for his face was now set in a deep frown. Well, somehow she was going to have to change that frown into something a little more accepting. But how?

  As Karen was beginning to realize was normal, Hattie stepped in. She grabbed Billy Joe by the arm and pulled him into the living room. She glared at Jason as they passed him on the way to the sofa he and Karen had been sitting on earlier.

  “If I don’t set the two of you down and make you talk, ain’t never gonna happen.”

  She gave Billy Joe a slight shove and he sat on one end of the sofa. Then she turned back to Jason and pointed at the other end of the sofa. “Sit right there Jason.”

  “If the two of you don’t start talking pretty soon, I may have to get my broom after both of you.”

  With that said, she winked at Karen then grabbed her by the arm and led her toward the kitchen. “Come on Dearie, we need to leave these two hardheaded men alone long enough for them to get to know each other.”

  She raised her voice. “And I think it’s a shame if you two can’t come to some kind of an understanding so you can at least be civil to each other.”

  Once in the kitchen, Hattie pointed at the table so Karen pulled out a chair and sat down. Hattie then poured two glasses of lemonade and sat down after placing one in front of Karen.

  “Now, while those two are getting to know each other, I think it’s high time you and I did the same, don’t you?”

  Karen was trying hard not to laugh but it came bubbling out anyway. She was so afraid that she would offend Hattie, but the olded woman just cackled along with her.

  “Sometimes drastic situations just plain call for drastic measures.” She tilted her head toward the living room. “You wait and see. They’ll come together. Jason’s too good a person not to accept Billy Joe eventually.”

  Karen smiled back at her. “I’m sure you’re right . . . Granny.”

  Hattie cackled again and said, “You learn good girl. That’s one of the reasons I like you so much.”

  She looked Karen in the eye and said, “Now, Karen, tell me all about yourself. All I know is that you were getting married and the skunk never showed up at the church.”

  Karen smiled at Hattie’s description of what had been the worst day of her life. But now as she told this loving woman about it, it didn’t seem so bad anymore. In fact, as she thought about it though, it would have been much worse if she had actually married Larry Palmer.

  Hattie voiced Karen’s thoughts. “I’d say that right about now you should be thanking your lucky stars that yahoo never showed up.”

  “You know, I never thought about it that way, but I sure am. I shudder to think of what being married to him would have been like.”

  They both stilled when the sound of Billy Joe’s laughter came to them from the living room. Karen looked at Hattie who just winked at her and said, “Okay, what about your family?”

  Karen then told Hattie about her dad dying when she was ten.

  “That must have been tough on you girl.” She looked a little closer. “I can see that it still is.”

  “Yes ma’am, it was . . . and is. My dad was my best friend too. And after he died, I realized that he had always been there kind of like a buffer between my mother and me before. I found out rather quickly that my mother and my older sister are so much alike and that I’m so much different from either of them. Well, I just don’t think I felt like I ever fitted in after my dad died. I felt kind of like an outsider in my own family.”

  Hattie reached out and patted Karen’s arm. “You poor dear.”

  Hattie seemed to be listening for anything coming from the living room now. She turned to Karen and said, “I think we’ve left those two alone long enough. If they haven’t made any progress by now then they won’t be doing it anymore tonight.”

  Karen followed Hattie into the living room where both men were still sitting right where they’d left them fifteen minutes before. The only difference that Karen could detect was that they were facing each other now and Jason was almost smiling. At least he wasn’t scowling anymore.

  “You two want to tell us what you’ve come up with?”

  Karen was surprised at Hattie’s question. Did the sly woman know something she didn’t know?

  After a full minute of Hattie glaring at him, Jason finally said, “Well, I think we’ve come to the point that I still can’t forget what he did when he ran off the way he did.”

  He paused as if to organize his thoughts. “But being a cop, I know what drugs can make a person do.”

  No one spoke for several minutes. Finally, Jason looked at Billy Joe and said, “I will only give you one chance. You blow that and you’d better pack your bags. You won’t be welcome in this county any longer.”

  Billy Joe seemed to want to say something but clamped his jaw shut to keep from it.

  Then Karen saw that sheepish grin of Jason’s that she had grown to love. “But I’ll never call you Dad or Pa or anything else like that.”

  Everyone burst out laughing at that and Billy Joe said, “I think I can live with that.”

  Karen could feel the tears running down her cheeks again. She looked at Hattie and was surprised to see the old woman wiping at her eyes too.

  Chapter Nine

  Wednesday morning as Jason sat at his desk working until time to go get Karen to take her to work, he was thinking back over the events of the past few days, especially yesterday, and most especially last night at Granny’s.

  Wow! He and Karen were going to get married. He couldn’t believe it. It was too amazing to be true. There were still a couple of sour notes on things though. First, Billy Joe. What was he going to do about the man? Better yet, what was he going to do with the man?

  It was obvious that the man wanted to develop some kind of relationship with Jason. That thought made him grit his teeth. Only thoughts of Karen made him relax. But he had gotten vibes from her that made him think she wanted him to have a relationship with Billy Joe too. And of course, he knew without a doubt that Granny did. Otherwise, Billy Joe wouldn’t be staying out at the farm.

  But did he want to have any kind of relationship with the man who had fathered him and then stayed out of his life for thirty-three years? What kind of relationship could they have anyway? They could never be close like Floyd seemed to be with his dad.

  Then there was Palmer. He knew without a doubt that he and Karen were still going to have to deal with Palmer before they could be together peacefully. But how?

  As if his thoughts had conjured the man up, Jason looked up to see Palmer standing in his open doorway wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

  Jason didn’t like being trapped in his small office by the belligerent deputy so he stood and began to make his way toward the door hoping Palmer would move to allow him to pass.

  That didn’t happen though. Palmer stepped into Jason’s path and said, “I’m only going to tell you this one more time Walker. Stay away from Karen. She’s mine.”

  Jason knew even then that it was the worst thing he could have done but at the time, he just wanted to get Palmer off his back and thought this would do it.

  He laughed and said, “How many times do I have to tell you Palmer that she isn’t your girl anymore? In fact, she and I are planning to get married now.”

  Palmer turned a deep shade of red, reached out with both hands, and grabbed Jason’s collar. Jason immediately brought both of his arms up to knock Palmer�
��s arms away just as he saw Floyd standing in the hallway behind Palmer, glaring in at them.

  Floyd grabbed Palmer by the shoulders, pulled him out into the hallway, and said to both of them. “In my office. Right now!”

  Floyd stomped ahead of them through Crystal’s office and on into his own and was waiting for them when they entered.

  Floyd pointed at two chairs, which were situated in front of his desk facing it and about five feet apart.

  “Sit!”

  Floyd stepped out into the outer office and Jason could hear him telling Crystal not to disturb them unless it was an emergency.

  When he came back in, Floyd closed the door and stood behind both of them for a moment. Jason was reminded of how teachers used to do that to him when he was in high school. Well, he didn’t like it any better now than he had back then.

  He resisted the urge to turn around and face Floyd until the big sheriff finally went around them and sat at his desk, which was purposely high so he could peer down at anyone on the other side.

  Floyd ran his hand through his crew cut and said, “I don’t care who did what. And I don’t care who said what.”

  He paused and Jason knew that he was hoping one of them would say something that he could pounce on. He didn’t and was surprised when Palmer didn’t either.

  “All I’m going to say is this. It had better not happen again.”

  He paused again then he looked directly at Palmer and said, “I know what this was all about and I expect you to back off Palmer or you’ll be on your way back to Springfield so fast it’ll make your head spin.”

  Again, Palmer just sat there staring straight ahead without speaking. Jason had to grudgingly give the guy that much credit. He knew how to take what Floyd was dishing out without making things worse by making excuses or protesting in any way.

  Still glaring at Palmer, Floyd continued. “I never take sides when two of my people get into it. But I do get involved enough to make sure that it won’t happen again.”

  He cleared his throat loudly then pounded his desk with his fist. “Palmer, Karen Bierstadt has talked to me about you.”

  Finally, something Floyd said got a reaction out of the guy but he still kept his mouth shut and Jason could see that his jaw muscles were quivering with the effort.

  Jason could also tell that Floyd was now about to move in for the kill so to speak. He relaxed a little and turned his eyes on Palmer to watch the rest of the show.

  “Ms. Bierstadt has told me on two different occasions and in no uncertain terms that she does not want to have anything to do with you.”

  Palmer was about to speak but Floyd held up one large hand and said, “With that fact in mind, if you continue to harass her, I will personally take her to the judge to get an order of protection against you.”

  Floyd leaned back as if to let that sink in.

  “Now, you only have one choice the way I see it. You can continue your pursuit of Ms. Bierstadt and possibly lose your job or you can back off and show me that you’re as good a cop as Springfield PD told me that you are.”

  Without waiting for an answer, Floyd stood and leaned over his desk with both hands flat on the surface.

  “Now, because of the shooting, you are on admin leave until at least Monday when your squad comes back on the schedule. If I were you, I would make myself mighty scarce around here until then except when the investigators need to talk to you again.”

  Jason was already on his feet and moving toward the door but Palmer still sat.

  “Go!”

  With that, Floyd sat back down, picked up his phone, and dialed it.

  Palmer took the hint then and followed Jason out of the office. Jason stopped at Crystal’s desk to allow Palmer to leave on his own.

  She looked up at Jason with concern in her eyes. He shook his head and tried to smile at her.

  * * *

  Karen was standing at the foot of Granny’s porch steps when Jason drove up to take her to work. As soon as she stepped up to the door he was holding open for her, she knew something was bothering him. She was getting to know his facial expressions quite well and either he wasn’t really trying to hide it or whatever it was had to be very bad.

  She reached up, kissed him briefly on the lips, and climbed into the vehicle without speaking.

  She waited until he turned on the county highway heading toward Crowleyville before she turned to him and said, “All right, Jason. If we’re ever going to have a good relationship, we will have to share our feelings with each other.”

  He didn’t say anything so she said, “I know something is bothering you so please tell me.”

  He blew out his breath noisily and pulled the SUV off to the side of the road. She wasn’t sure what to expect when he turned in the seat to face her.

  “Palmer attacked me in my office this morning and Floyd pulled us both into his office.”

  “Oh my. Did he hurt you?”

  He snorted. “No, we didn’t either one throw any punches. But in the meeting, Floyd warned him off of you. So if he bothers you again tell Floyd and he said he’ll take you to the judge himself to get that order of protection. Okay?”

  She nodded her head but her mind was working quickly. “Will Larry get fired if that happens?”

  “Possibly.”

  She thought about that for a moment. “Well, hopefully it won’t come to that. I don’t want anything to do with him but I still don’t want him to get into trouble either.”

  After that, she tried to get him to talk about other things, but he was obviously not in the mood for small talk so she gave up.

  Later, as she was thinking about her planned lunch with Daisy and looking forward to it, Daisy called her and said she had a meeting that would last through most of her lunch hour.

  So, Karen thought about it for a moment and decided to go to Best Friends anyway by herself.

  When she walked in the door, she noticed the older twin sisters bustling about the dining room cheerfully waiting on tables. She then turned toward the counter and an another older lady she didn’t know but had seen at church was working the register.

  Just then, Jo Turner came out of the kitchen and waved at Karen. “Hi Karen, are you alone?”

  When Karen nodded her head, Jo said, “Come on back into the kitchen with me then.”

  As Karen approached the counter, the older woman smiled at her and stuck out her hand, “You must be Karen Bierstadt. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Sue Ann’s mother, Wanda Curtis. I’m here helping them out on my lunch hour. I work at the hardware store next door.”

  Karen couldn’t ever remember being in the hardware store but she had seen the woman at church. She shook the outstretched hand and followed Jo into the kitchen.

  Jo went over to the grill and began flipping meat. She threw over her shoulder at Karen, “I’ll just be a few more minutes. Once I get the initial rush, the other ladies can handle things. Then we can sit and talk.” She turned some meat over then said, “What can I fix you Karen?”

  “Oh, just a turkey sandwich will do, Jo, nothing elaborate for me.”

  Soon, Jo was sitting across from Karen with her nine-month-old son Luke on her lap. He was busy eating a cracker and eying Karen’s sandwich.

  “So, Sue Ann told me about the incident this morning between Jason and your ex-fiancé. Do you think he’ll back off like Floyd told him to do?”

  Karen had to think about that for a minute.

  “To be honest with you Jo, I really don’t know, because I don’t know Larry at all anymore. It has been four years after all.”

  Jo frowned and said, “Yeah, I know what you mean. When I look back over the last few years and realize how much I’ve changed, it kind of spooks me sometimes.”

  Karen joined Jo in her laughter. “When I talked to Larry once on the phone and once at the clinic, he didn’t seem like he’d changed at all from the domineering, self-centered jerk he was before.”

  Jo giggled. “Well, I do
n’t know why you’re so afraid to say what you think about the man.”

  They both laughed until they had tears streaming down their cheeks.

  Jo was the first to become serious. “Karen, I know that it seems like lots of things are happening to keep you and Jason apart, but if you just keep trusting in God, He’ll bring you through all of this.”

  “Thank you Jo, I needed that reminder.”

  Jo seemed thoughtful for a moment then she smiled at Karen and said, “Did anyone ever tell you about all the things that were keeping Gil and me apart when we first met?”

  Karen thought about that and had to shake her head. “No I guess I haven’t heard.”

  Jo giggled and said, “You wouldn’t believe all the things that kept us apart.”

  She paused as she wiped the remains of the cracker off Luke’s face and hands then laid him down in his playpen.

  “Well, probably the biggest obstacle we had between us was the fact that he was a Baptist preacher and I wasn’t even a Christian yet.” She paused seemingly for effect. “But the clincher was that I owned a bar.”

  Karen was shocked. “A bar! I didn’t know that. I just assumed you were a member of the church and you two just came together.”

  Jo giggled again and said, “No, nothing even close to that. In fact, the previous pastor had tried to close down all the bars in town and was more or less forced to leave. Then when Gil came to town, everyone thought he would probably try to continue the fight.”

  “Oh my. That must have been rather awkward when you two did meet.”

  “Yes, you might say it was. That was when Sue Ann still owned her beauty shop. Well, Gil and I both wound up there at the same time for a haircut.”

  She laughed. “You should have seen the way Sue Ann treated him. She thought she was protecting me and he thought she was going to scalp him.”

  Karen laughed hard at that. My, it sure did feel good to laugh like that. She was really beginning to treasure her two new friends here at the coffee shop.

  Jo seemed to think some more. “Well, Sue Ann came up with the bright idea that we should go to his first service to see if we could find out what he was going to do about the bars in town. Sue Ann was a member there but hadn’t been there in over a year since the other pastor began attacking me.”