Another Solution (Crowley County Series Book 4)

by T. E. Killian

  Jason was surprised when Palmer didn’t take issue with what he’d just said. The man just held up both hands in between them. “I don’t know what you’re talking about man. I just want to get to know her. That’s all.”

  Jason leaned closer. “You do know what I’m talking about and you’d better treat her right or the same thing will happen to you that would have happened if you’d continued to mess with Karen any longer. You hear?”

  “Yeah, I hear you. Now will you introduce me to her?”

  Jason didn’t want to, but he had a feeling that if he didn’t Palmer would seek her out some other way. So he turned and led the way back to where Brandi was standing with a puzzled look on her face.

  “Brandi, this is Larry Palmer one of our deputies. Larry, this is Brandi Leonard.”

  Brandi reached out her hand, which Palmer quickly took, and she gave him a beautiful smile that he didn’t deserve. Jason said a quick prayer in his mind for Brandi.

  While Palmer talked to Brandi, Jason opened the passenger side door and looked in at the high school kids sitting in there. He was a little surprised to see two of the boys who’d been harassing Bert the other day.

  He leaned in and looked straight at them and said, “You two behaving?”

  They both assured him they were but he didn’t believe a word.

  By the time a regular school bus arrived fifteen minutes later, Palmer and Brandi had exchanged phone numbers and arranged to meet at the pizza place that evening.

  Boy! Jason sure hoped Brandi knew what she was getting into.

  When Palmer walked off toward his car, Jason was able to say to Brandi, “I know it’s none of my business and I won’t say anything else, but I think it would be a good idea if you talked to Karen about that guy.”

  She had a frown on her face at first but when he mentioned Karen’s name, she brightened up and said, “Thanks Jason. I think I will.”

  The whole situation left Jason with a jumbled up mess of thoughts going around in his mind. Now what? Just when things looked like they were finally going to start straightening out a little, he had to start worrying about Brandi now.

  As he climbed into his vehicle after the tow truck left with the van, he smiled. But there was nothing standing between him and Karen now though. Great! He couldn’t wait to see her again.

  * * *

  Karen was just finishing up with her three o’clock appointment when one of the other therapists called out that she had a phone call. She was surprised when she found out that it was Brandi Leonard. That was interesting.

  She knew Brandi a little from church since they were in the same Sunday School class. She knew that Brandi was a new science teacher at the high school this year. Although Karen hadn’t talked with her much, she seemed to be a very nice person. She was always smiling and cheerful.

  But why would she be calling Karen at work?

  “Karen, I’m so sorry to bother you at work, but I have some questions that I just have to ask you. Can you meet me somewhere after you get off?”

  Karen was still puzzled, but she liked Brandi so she said, “Jason was going to pick me up and take me out to his grandmother’s farm. Why don’t you pick me up at about five-fifteen and you can drive me out there. If that’s okay, then we can talk there.”

  “Oh that will be just marvelous Karen. Thank you so much. I’ll see you at five-fifteen then.”

  When Karen disconnected that call, she called Jason quickly and they decided that he would meet her out at the farm later.

  She was still wondering what was going on at five-fifteen when she slid into Brandi’s car and they headed out to the farm.

  Karen expected Brandi to start telling her what she wanted but was surprised when Brandi said, “If you don’t mind, can we wait until we get to where we’re going before we talk.”

  Before Karen could answer, Brandi giggled. “My dad makes me promise every time I talk to him not to talk and drive at the same time.”

  She threw her head back and laughed this time. “He’s right you know. I can’t do both at the same time.”

  Karen just returned Brandi’s smile and said, “That’s fine.”

  Fifteen minutes later, they were settled in Granny’s living room with her saying that she’d just stay out of their way in the kitchen.

  Karen knew by now that meant that Granny would be listening in the kitchen. But she didn’t mind. She was really growing to love the dear sweet lady.

  Brandi sat on one end of the sofa and Karen on the other. Brandi was fidgeting so much that Karen was afraid the girl might fall off the sofa. That was when Karen realized that she and Brandi could have been sisters they looked so much alike. They were even about the same age too.

  Brandi finally looked straight at Karen, blew out a sigh, and said, “I met someone today . . . a man.”

  That was the farthest thing from anything Karen had been guessing at. But why would Brandi need to talk to her about that?

  Brandi blew out another breath and when she spoke again, it all came out in one breath. “His name is Larry Palmer. He’s a new deputy and he seems like such a nice man. But Jason said that I needed to talk to you about him first. So that’s what I’m doing right now. Will you tell me all about Larry? Please?”

  Karen was overwhelmed by Brandi’s cheerful outburst. But she was in a quandary. Larry had obviously impressed Brandi and she in turn seemed to be interested in him. But what could she say about Larry? She finally decided just to go back five years and tell Brandi all that had happened from then until now.

  When she made it to the wedding that never happened, Brandi burst in with, “You mean he didn’t even call or anything? And he didn’t even explain why?”

  Karen shook her head and said, “No, nothing . . . ever.”

  “Oh my!”

  “But wait, Brandi there’s more. He came here, even got on with the sheriff’s department here just so he could try to get me back.” She paused to let that sink in. “After four years, he decided that he wanted me back.”

  Just as Brandi leaned back against the sofa, Granny came storming into the room and plopped into an armchair directly across from Brandi.

  “You listen here girl. I feel it’s my duty to warn you off that man. Unless he changes, he can’t possibly be the right one for you.”

  She leaned back in her chair after saying her piece. No one spoke for a few minutes. Karen wanted Brandi to analyze all that she’d just told her and surprisingly it looked like Granny was going to allow that too.

  Finally, Brandi pulled a tissue from a box next to her and dabbed at her eyes. “But he seemed so nice this afternoon. And it sounds like we have so much in common too.”

  Karen didn’t know what to do or say. She couldn’t tell Brandi what to do. And also in the back of her mind, it had seemed like Larry was a different person when he left there the night before. Maybe he could change but it would have to be for someone else, not her.

  Granny leaned toward Brandi again and said, “Let me tell you about my Hank.”

  When Karen and Brandi both gave her questioning looks, she continued, “My husband, Hank, was one of the wildest, meanest yahoos that this county had ever seen when we were growing up.”

  She let that settle in for a moment then said, “Well, I’ll tell you what. Everyone, especially my parents warned me to stay clear of him for he’d never change and certainly never be worth a hoot.”

  She grinned and said, “Well, I guess you could say that I’ve always been someone that won’t let anyone tell her what to do. You know what I did?” She cackled and said, “I got right in his face and I actually poked him on the tip of his nose with my finger.”

  She held up her right index finger.

  “And I said to him, ‘If you want to be seen with me you will change. You will stop drinking and you’ll go to church with me and you’ll do it right now.’ Well, I’ll tell you, he didn’t like that one little bit but it wasn’t long before he came crawling up to me saying he
’d do anything for a chance with me.”

  She clapped her hands together and said, “And he changed too. We were married for forty-five wonderful years.”

  Karen didn’t know about Brandi but she was overwhelmed by Granny’s story. Could Larry really change? Better yet, could Brandi be the one to get him to change?

  * * *

  Jason had been disappointed when Karen had asked that Brandi be able to take her out to the farm so they could talk. He was beginning to regret telling Brandi to talk to Karen about Palmer.

  Well, she hadn’t told him to stay away for any amount of time though or even at all for that matter. So he wasn’t sure when to go out there.

  Anymore, all he wanted to do was to spend time with Karen and anything that got in the way of that frustrated him. So he went home and changed. Then he held off as long as he could and headed out to the farm in his pickup.

  A strange car was in the front so he figured that Brandi was still there. Well, he couldn’t wait any longer. He was going in anyway.

  When he walked into Granny’s living room, he was surprised to see Granny sitting in a chair across from Karen and Brandi who were both on the couch. He laughed to himself. He should have known that Granny couldn’t stay out of it.

  It almost knocked Jason over when Karen stood and very deliberately walked over to him then wrapped her arms around his neck. He was even more surprised when she kissed him on the lips in front of the other two women. Wow!

  He barely heard Granny’s cackle. He just wanted to be alone with Karen . . . right then.

  She placed her hand in his and led him to the sofa where she pulled him down beside her.

  It didn’t take much for him to figure out that he had probably walked in right in the middle of the most important part of their little get together. Oh well.

  Granny ignored him and looked straight at Brandi. “Well, girl what you gonna do?”

  Jason was surprised. His only experience with Brandi had been in Sunday School. And there she came across as a shy, soft-spoken person who wouldn’t stick out in a crowd.

  But she sat up straight, set her jaw, and said, “I think I can be just like you were Miss Hattie.” She thought for a second and grinned. “And I think Larry can be just like your Hank was.”

  Jason had to chuckle. Granny must have told the old story about how she’d single-handedly tamed Gramps. That was very interesting.

  He could see that Karen was about to protest but Granny cut her off.

  She clapped her hands loudly and said, “I think you just might be able to do it Dearie. I surely do think you just might. I’d say there’s more gumption in you than even you realize. You can do it.”

  Brandi stood and hugged first Granny then Karen. Then she looked at Jason and said, “Jason I’m so glad you told me to talk to Karen.”

  She stepped toward the door and turned back to Granny and Karen. “I can’t thank you both enough. But now I’ve got a date to get home and get ready for.” She grinned then added, “In more ways than one now.”

  She giggled as she went out the door leaving the two women smiling at each other and Jason still frowning.

  Karen turned to Granny and said, “Do you really think she can do it. Look what Larry did to me.”

  Granny placed a hand on Karen’s arm and said, “Honey, that girl has more strength in her than she’s ever realized and all we did was to help her find a heaping lot of it just now.”

  She cackled and headed for the kitchen throwing over her shoulder as she went, “You’ll both be staying for supper with us before you go moving back to your house, Karen.”

  Karen looked at Jason and giggled. “I guess we don’t have a choice do we?”

  He laughed and said, “Welcome to my world Karen.”

  All through supper, Billy Joe kept trying to get Jason to talk about the fishing trip they had planned for tomorrow. But he just didn’t feel like talking about it.

  To be honest, he was having second thoughts about spending the day with the man. What would they talk about anyway?

  As soon as he and Karen helped Granny with the cleanup, Jason grabbed Karen by the hand, led her into the living room, and sat her down on the couch then sat next to her.

  He placed his arm around her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Do you really think it’s safe for you to go home now?”

  “Yes Jason. I do.” She smiled at him. “If you’d seen Larry here last night you’d know.”

  Granny called out from the kitchen doorway. “That boy left here broken last night.” She snorted. “And I think that little Brandi girl is just the one who’s going to put him back together.”

  She disappeared into the kitchen again but they heard her laughter.

  Jason knew when he was beat. He pointed toward the bedroom she’d been staying in and gave her a gentle push.

  Karen jumped up right away and went to get her things together.

  On the way to her townhouse, Karen sighed and said, “Jason, do you realize that we can concentrate on each other now that we don’t have to worry about Larry anymore?”

  He grinned but kept his eyes on the road. “I sure do and I don’t know about you but I’m more than ready to talk about a wedding. How about you?”

  She giggled and said, “Oh yes Jason, let’s do.”

  The remaining few minutes of the ride, they discussed the date and came up with one.

  Karen clapped her hands together softly and said, “Oh Jason, that would be lovely. I’ve always wanted a June wedding and since June first is a Saturday, that will be perfect.”

  “Don’t you want to see if your mother and sister can make it on that day?”

  “No, that’s okay. With six weeks’ notice, they can make it if they want to. That won’t be a problem. And believe me they’ll want to be here if nothing else but to find out what kind of man won out over their favorite Larry.”

  He laughed with her as he pulled into her driveway.

  * * *

  All through supper, Karen had been hoping that she might be able to get Jason on the subject of their wedding sometime that evening. She had been elated when he brought it up on the way back to her townhouse.

  She was so excited at the prospect of marrying Jason in just six weeks. She knew she needed to call her mother and sister as soon as she got back to her house, but she didn’t want to spoil her super good mood yet.

  Once in her house, Jason carried her luggage into her bedroom and then they sat together on the sofa with glasses of lemonade.

  “Jason, what about Billy Joe?”

  “What about him?”

  “Will you invite him to our wedding?”

  He looked like she’d surprised him. It was obvious that he hadn’t been prepared for that particular question.

  Finally, he said, “Why don’t we wait until after I go fishing with him tomorrow?”

  He chuckled and added, “After the two of us spend the day together, he may be on his way back to California by this time tomorrow night.”

  She didn’t laugh. Instead, she looked into his eyes and said, “Are you going to give him a chance Jason?”

  She placed a soft finger on his lips. “No, don’t say anything yet. I want to say something first.”

  When he nodded with her finger still on his lips, she said, “I am going to do my best to get along with my mother and my sister so that our wedding will be a family affair. And I don’t think it will be unless all of your family is there too.”

  She removed her finger and he said, “Granny is my whole family. Both she and Gramps were only children and they only had my mom. So that’s it.”

  She was shaking her head even before he finished speaking and his face showed that he knew exactly what she was going to say.

  “Jason.” She placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned in closer. “Whether I like it or not my mother and my sister are my family. And whether you like it or not Billy Joe Layton is your family too.”

  When she removed her
hands from his shoulders, he fell sideways with his shoulder against the sofa still facing her.

  He closed his eyes and sat that way for a minute. She didn’t say anything, just waited him out. She was so tempted to push him a little, but it had to be his decision. She could be patient especially if the results were worth the wait.

  He held his hands up over his head in surrender. “Okay, Karen. You win. I will include Billy Joe. There, does that make you happy?”

  She shook her head. “Only if it makes you happy Jason. That’s all I want, for you to be as happy as I am right now.”

  He looked deep into her eyes and she could feel herself blushing. He leaned in and kissed her. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

  Moments later, Jason pulled back and said, “I think I’d better leave now.”

  She laughed as they stood. “Jason, you know I trust you completely.”

  He snorted and said, “You may trust me, but I’m not so sure I trust me when it comes to you.”

  She smiled up at him, pecked him on the cheek, and said, “Thank you Jason. Good night.”

  As Jason was going out the door and down the drive to his pickup, Karen smiled to herself. She wondered if things could get any better.

  She went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Then she sat at the table with her water and stared at the phone. She should call her mother.

  She sat there another five minutes staring at the phone before she finally went over to the counter and grabbed it off the wall. When she realized she was gripping it so tightly that her knuckles were turning white, she shifted it to her other hand and dialed her mother’s number.

  As soon as her mother answered, Karen bemoaned caller ID.

  “Hi Karen. How are you and Larry doing? I think it’s just so sweet and so romantic that he went to so much trouble to be over there with you. Just imagine, moving to Crowleyville and transferring over to that dinky little sheriff’s department. And he did all that just for you.”

  Karen wasn’t sure she was ever going to get a chance to say anything but when her mom paused for breath, she jumped in.