Jo paused so long this time that Karen was about to ask her what happened next when Jo began again.
“Well, I sat there in that church and watched Gil during that first service, and I think I fell in love with him right then.”
Karen was puzzled now. “But how did you two ever get together?”
“Okay. Shortly after that the twins came to visit.” She motioned toward the front of the restaurant. “My bar burned down. A man who was making moonshine torched it. Anyway, since our home was in the apartment above the bar, we lost it too. With the twins at his house, they all insisted that Carla and I move in with them temporarily. And as they say, the rest is history.”
Karen clapped her hands then looked over at Luke quickly. But he still slept peacefully.
Jo giggled and said, “My big boy is a heavy sleeper.”
Karen laughed with her and said, “Wow, you and Gill sure did have a lot of things between you. I just hope that things will work out for Jason and me half as well as they did for you two.”
Jo grabbed both of Karen’s hands. “Oh, I just know it will. You’ve got a lot of people praying for you.”
Karen left there with her hopes much higher than they had been when she’d arrived.
* * *
As usual, and even more so lately, Jason couldn’t stay in his office especially after his altercation with Palmer and Floyd’s resulting reprimand.
He was out on the north side of town on the county road when he decided to pull off into one of the farm lanes and position his Tahoe to run radar on the road.
He’d been sitting there for thirty minutes or so without any activity when a late model blue sedan came by doing eight over the speed limit. Jason decided to pull the guy over and give him a warning since he was tired of sitting.
When he pulled up behind the car, he noticed that it had California plates and he had a premonition, which proved to be correct when he stepped up to the passenger side window and looked in.
It was Billy Joe Layton all right. Boy, could his day possibly get any worse?
Then Jason decided that he needed to tell the man who was supposedly his father a few things that he couldn’t possibly say when Granny was around or even Karen for that matter.
He stuck his head in the window when it opened. “Morning, Billy Joe. Why don’t you come back to my vehicle? I’d like to talk to you for a little while.”
When Billy Joe hesitated, Jason added, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to give you a ticket, just a warning. You were going eight over the limit by the way.”
Jason walked back to his vehicle and got in while he watched Billy Joe follow him and open the passenger door.
When he hesitated to get in, Jason said, “Come on. It’s all right. We can sit here and talk and we won’t have Granny hanging over us the whole time.
Billy Joe climbed in and closed the door. He still hadn’t said anything until he turned to look at Jason.
“I know I’ve done some stupid things in my life and I also know that I can’t really give you one single decent reason why you should allow me into your life.”
He blew out a huge sigh and turned his gaze through the windshield toward his car and beyond.
“But as I said before, it’s been working on me for a number of years. I just had to see you Jason. If you don’t allow anything else, I guess I can go back to California with at least that much.”
Jadon didn’t respond and Billy Joe didn’t seem to be comfortable with the silence. “I really would like to have so much more though.”
Jason started to get angry until he remembered something Karen had told him last night on the phone after he’d gone home. She said that if he really wanted to be fair to Billy Joe he had to try to put himself in the man’s place not only now but thirty-three years ago too.
Well, he’d thought about that quite a bit after they hung up last night and again this morning. But he hadn’t really gotten anywhere with it until just now when Billy Joe looked at him with nothing in his eyes but eagerness and yes, fear.
Jason broke then. He looked away through the window in his door, anywhere but at the man who was his father.
After a few minutes, Jason turned back around to face Billy Joe. He was surprised to see the man didn’t look like he’d moved a muscle all that time.
Jason blew out a huge sigh and said, “Okay. But where do we start? I don’t have a clue.”
Billy Joe seemed to be ready for that concession to come. “You like to fish, don’t you?”
“Sure.”
“And you’re off Friday, right?” When Jason only nodded, Billy Joe said, “Why don’t we go fishing together? That will give us some time to relax and just be with each other without either of us thinking we have to do so much talking.”
Jason didn’t want to admit it but that sounded like a good idea. He didn’t want to come across as too eager though. So he nodded and said, “I think I can manage to do that.”
Billy Joe smiled and said, “Oh, by the way, you don’t have to call me Billy Joe all the time. I usually just go by BJ.”
“Okay.”
Billy Joe seemed to be struggling not to get frustrated with Jason’s short curt answers. “Do you have any questions about me or what I’ve done over the last thirty-three years?”
Jason was surprised at that question. He forced himself to think about what he could ask. It was, after all, a good way for him to get to know this stranger.
“Okay, here goes. What did you do in the navy?”
Billy Joe smiled and said, “That’s a good question. I was a jet engine mechanic mostly on aircraft carriers. That was why I was at sea so much.”
In spite of himself, Jason found that intriguing. “Are you going to continue doing that sort of thing now that you’re out of the navy?”
Billy Joe snorted. “You know, I hadn’t really thought about that, but if I go back to San Diego, there should be plenty of jobs for me there.”
“There’s a national airport in Springfield and it has nine or ten airlines flying in there.”
Jason regretted saying that as soon as he said it. He didn’t want the guy to stay around . . . did he?
Billy Joe smiled and said, “That’s right. I guess if I stay around here I could probably get a job with one of those airlines couldn’t I.”
Neither man spoke for at least five minutes as they both looked everywhere except at each other.
Finally, Jason said, “I guess you ought to go now. We probably shouldn’t sit here like this much longer.”
Billy Joe smiled and said, “Okay. But do you want to go fishing Friday?”
Jason thought about that again and decided that he’d try it once. “Okay, I’ll come by the farm and pick you up about six Friday morning.”
Jason sat in his vehicle watching as Billy Joe drove off heading toward the farm. He still had so many thoughts and emotions going around in his mind right then that he finally decided that he’d just have to wait and deal with them later.
* * *
Karen was disappointed that Jason hadn’t been able to stay for supper after taking her home that afternoon. He said he had to get to a pile of paperwork that he’d been putting off for over a week.
She felt a momentary stab of guilt that she was probably the reason Jason hadn’t been spending as much time in his office as he needed to. But, she couldn’t really feel guilty for it very long though. After all that extra time they’d been able to spend together had brought them to where they were right now much quicker than they probably would have otherwise.
So, it had just been her and Granny for almost an hour while she helped the older woman finish supper. Billy Joe had been gone when she came home.
Just as they finished supper, Karen heard Billy Joe’s car drive up out front. Granny snorted. “Those two sure enough have to be related. That man seems to know exactly when food’s about to be put on the table. Jason’s always been that way too.”
They were both laughing when
Billy Joe stuck his head into the kitchen. Karen could see that he had a fishing pole and other fishing gear in his hands.
He grinned at the looks both women gave him. “I’m going fishing with my son Friday morning and I had to get my own gear and a license.”
Granny was smiling big. “I’m sure Jason has enough gear for the both of you.”
“I’m sure he probably does, but I don’t want to be leaning on him in any way. I’ve got to show him that I don’t want anything from him but just for us to get to know each other.”
Granny nodded with a smile on her face. “Well, then, put that stuff away and get back in here. Supper’s gonna get cold.”
Karen and Granny had just finished cleaning up the kitchen and all three of them were in the living room watching TV when they heard a car pull up outside.
Karen immediately hoped that Jason had finished his paperwork and decided to come back out there but she was soon disappointed.
Granny got up and went to the window to look out. It was just light enough for her to see who it was.
“I don’t know who that man is but I got a feeling from your description that you might know him Karen.”
With that, Karen shot up off the sofa and went to stand beside Granny. “Yes, that’s Larry all right.”
Granny stepped over to the door and grabbed her shotgun off the rack then opened the door to stand behind the screen door until Larry made it to the porch.
“That’s far enough Sonny. Would your name be Larry Palmer?”
“I’m looking for Karen Bierstadt. I understand she’s staying here right now.”
Granny snorted. “You didn’t answer my question Boy.”
Karen was standing out of sight to the side of the door but she could still hear everything Larry said.
“Yeah, that’s my name and I want to talk to Karen.”
Until then, Granny had kept the gun with the butt on the floor next to her right leg. She raised it and crossed her chest with it.
“I don’t think she wants to talk to you Boy.”
Karen could tell when Larry saw the gun. He made a strange sound and said, “Now put that gun down old lady. I’m a deputy and I can arrest you if you don’t.”
Granny threw her head back and cackled loudly. “I don’t think so Sonny. Number one, you’re not on duty. And number two, you don’t have any official business here and therefore you are trespassing. I could blow a great big hole in you and Judge Hawkins wouldn’t do nothing but pat me on the back for defending my property.”
Karen decided to make her presence known before Granny fulfilled her threat. In spite of everything Larry had done to her, she still didn’t want to see him get hurt.
She stepped up beside Granny and said, “What do you want Larry? I’ve told you repeatedly that I don’t want to have anything to do with you ever again. Can’t you just accept that and leave me alone?”
Shock registered on Larry’s face and she wasn’t sure whether it was the fact that she was so bold or that he finally heard what she was saying.
He placed his hands on his hips and said, “Can we just sit down and talk for a minute?”
“Why Larry? What good will it do? I’m still not going to change my mind.”
“I just want to talk, okay?”
Granny held up her free hand in front of Karen and said, “We’ll all three just sit a spell on the porch.”
With that, Granny opened the screen door and stepped out still holding her shotgun. Larry backed up so quickly that he almost fell down the steps.
“Leave that thing inside.”
“Nope. I doubt if you’ll behave if I do.”
Karen almost smiled as Larry frowned and watched Granny walk past him and take a seat in a chair that had another chair on each side of it. She motioned for Karen to take the one on the other side of her. Then she waited for Larry to take the remaining one.
When everyone was sitting, Granny, who was still watching Larry closely, said, “All right Boy, out with it.”
Karen almost laughed at the whole scene. Here was her macho ex-fiancé who was used to telling others what to do being told what to do by a woman in her seventies. She might just enjoy this little scene after all.
Larry leaned forward to look around Granny at Karen. “Karen, I just want to know why you won’t give me a second chance. That’s all I want, you know.”
Karen thought about that question for a moment and realized that it was a valid question and that she didn’t mind answering it.
“Okay Larry. I think that’s a fair question but I don’t think you’re going to like the answer.”
He didn’t say anything so she proceeded, “After you didn’t show up at our wedding, I was hurt but I started doing a lot of thinking about our relationship.”
She paused to compose herself as her voice had steadily risen and she had to calm down and lower it.
“I began to realize that we never really had a relationship, at least not a healthy two-sided one. Everything was always about you. You always told me what to do and how to do it. I could never live that way Larry. I just couldn’t.”
Larry opened his mouth and Granny tightened her grip on the shotgun at her side. “You asked a question. Let her finish answering it.”
Karen tried to organize her thoughts again. “Okay, Larry, to be fair to you, I really thought that I loved you. But looking back, I realize that wasn’t love. Because I know what love is now. I’m in love with Jason Walker and I’m going to marry him.”
Karen waited almost trembling for the explosion that she knew had to be coming. She was unbelievably shocked when all Larry did was to put his elbows on his knees and place his head in his hands. He stayed that way for several minutes.
Finally, he raised his head, stood, and walked down the steps toward his car. She kept waiting for him to say something and when he did, she couldn’t believe it.
He turned his head to the side, continued walking, and only said, “Okay.”
That was it. He then got in his car and drove off leaving both Karen and Granny in complete shock.
For several minutes, they sat there looking down the lane where Larry’s car had disappeared. Finally, Granny looked at Karen and said, “Well I guess that’s that, girl. I think you and Jason can get on with your lives now.”
With that little announcement, she stood and took her shotgun back into the house leaving Karen sitting there with her mind in a complete whirl.
Chapter Ten
Thursday morning started out quite uneventful for Jason. He was enjoying the reprieve from having to ride around on patrol with Palmer. He was also glad that when the guy came back, Floyd was going to put someone else in the vehicle with him.
It was after lunch and he was out on patrol now. One of the things he liked about patrol was that it usually gave him plenty of time to think. And brother did he need to do plenty of thinking today.
He was sorry now that he hadn’t stayed for supper at Granny’s last night. After Karen had told him about Palmer’s visit last night, he wished he’d been there to protect her. But it sounded like Granny and her shotgun did a pretty good job of that.
Then again, Karen had been quite adamant that things had worked out perfectly. She said that if he’d been there it might have turned out much worse, especially if he and Palmer had gotten into it again.
He had to admit that she might be right about that. He just hoped that she was also right about Palmer not bothering her anymore.
He was out on the state road on the far western side of the county and was about to turn around to go back toward town when he saw a school van sitting on the side of the road facing him.
He went past the van and made a U-turn to come up behind it to stop. He flipped on his rear lights and got out.
He noticed right away that the van was a Crowleyville High School van and it was loaded with kids. As he approached the vehicle on the passenger side, a woman popped out of the driver’s side and came around the front of t
he vehicle to meet him.
Jason had to do a double take. Even though he knew Brandi Leonard from church, she looked enough like Karen to be her sister. Her long black hair was hanging down her back just the way Karen’s did when she wasn’t working.
“Hey Brandi, car trouble?”
The thin teacher smiled at him and said, “Oh, Hi Jason. Yes, I was just driving along and all of a sudden I heard a loud thunk then the motor died. I’ve already called the school and they’re sending someone out to get us and also a tow truck to get the van.”
Jason smiled and was about to speak when a car pulled in behind his Tahoe. It always made him mad when people did that. Didn’t they know that they could be blocking his emergency lights?
Then he really got upset when he saw that it was Palmer walking toward them wearing jeans and a t-shirt. What was that guy doing here? He was still on admin leave.
Jason hurried back to the rear of his vehicle to meet Palmer there. As he stepped in front of Palmer he said, “Let’s do our talking right here.” When the guy acted like he was going to go past Jason, he said, “That’s an order deputy.”
Before Jason knew what was going on, Palmer was grinning at him. Now what?
“Before you start, Walker, I just stopped to tell you that Karen convinced me that she’s in love with you. And I’m telling you that I’m going to leave her alone from now on.”
He looked past Jason at Brandi. “But then I saw this beautiful lady in distress. Wow! Did you notice how much she looks like Karen?”
Jason just nodded. He was still too shocked to reply.
Palmer looked him in the eye and said, “You’d better be telling me that she’s single and available.”
Jason wanted to laugh but he was too relieved that Palmer might actually be planning to leave Karen alone now. Then he thought about Brandi, sweet innocent Brandi, with this guy. That made him mad all over again.
He pointed a finger at Palmer just short of touching his chest. “Listen, Palmer, that is one very nice lady back there and you’d better either stay far away from her or treat her an awful lot better than you ever treated Karen.”
Another Solution (Crowley County Series Book 4) Page 14
