Another Solution (Crowley County Series Book 4)

by T. E. Killian

  “Mom, Larry and I have been over for four years. He wasted his time by doing all that.”

  “But Karen, Honey. You know that you and Larry were meant for each other.”

  “No Mom we were not meant for each other.”

  “But Karen, he went to so much trouble for you.”

  Karen chose to ignore that one knowing that it would only pop up again soon.

  “Mom will you just listen to what I have to say?”

  Karen took the silence on the line as agreement. “The reason I called is to invite you to my wedding. It’s going to be here in Crowleyville on Saturday, June 1.”

  She let the effects of that little bomb settle before trying to go on but her mom jumped in.

  “But I thought you just said that you weren’t back with Larry.”

  “That’s right Mom. Don’t you remember me telling you about Jason Walker? I’ve known him for a year now and we just tonight set the date for our wedding.”

  The silence lasted so long this time that she was afraid her mom had hung up on her. Finally, a soft voice came over the line. “Are you sure?”

  She grinned knowing that she may just have won this particular battle with her mom. “Yes mom. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I love Jason like I never loved Larry.”

  Another pause and Karen asked, “Will you be here Mom?”

  Another soft answer. “Yes.”

  They didn’t say much more and disconnected shortly afterward.

  Karen sat there feeling like she’d just run a race. Her breath was quick and shallow and her head was almost spinning.

  She’d just begun to recover from that call when the phone rang. She knew before she even answered that it would be Bonnie.

  It took her much longer to convince her sister if she ever did. But Bonnie finally agreed to come to the wedding before they disconnected.

  Now, she was really ready for bed. She rose to head toward the bedroom when the phone rang again. She sure hoped it wouldn’t be either her mom or her sister again with more reasons for why she should not marry Jason.

  She answered the phone but heard nothing on the other end. She spoke several times before hanging up and going to bed wondering about that call. Hopefully it was just a wrong number.

  Chapter Eleven

  At five-thirty on Friday morning, Jason began loading all of his fishing gear into his pickup. He was taking extra gear for Billy Joe. He was sure the guy wouldn’t have any.

  Then a sudden thought hit him. The guy probably didn’t have a fishing license either. Great! That would be his way out. He wouldn’t be able to take the guy if he didn’t have a license. That lifted his spirits as he jumped in the truck and headed toward the farm.

  When Jason drove up to the house, not only was Billy Joe sitting on the steps waiting for him surrounded by new looking fishing gear, but Granny was sitting in her rocker with a big grin on her face.

  Now what? Did he miss something? He knew that grin. Either Granny was up to something or she knew something he didn’t. And he didn’t like the prospects of either one.

  Well, at least the guy had thought of fishing gear. Then Jason had a bad thought, which was proven right when Billy Joe stood as Jason approached and held up a fishing license.

  So Jason gritted his teeth and said, “You ready?”

  “Sure am. Let’s go.”

  “Good morning Granny.”

  She just kept grinning at him and waved them off. He still didn’t like the way things seemed to be going. He had a feeling he’d been set up for something. But he wasn’t sure what it was yet.

  Once they were out on the highway, Billy Joe said, “Where we going Jason?”

  “Pigeon Creek where it forms a big pool about ten miles north of here.”

  “Yeah, I used to go there all the time when I was a kid. It was always a good place to pull in those big mouth and crappie.”

  They didn’t say anything else until Jason parked the truck and they began gathering their gear for their half-mile walk through the woods to the pool.

  It was obvious to Jason right away that Billy Joe was no stranger to a fly rod. They set up on opposite sides of the pool and Jason had a good view of the guy as he casted.

  The fishing was so good that both of them had their limits by eleven-thirty.

  And as they were loading their gear in the truck, Billy Joe looked at Jason and said, “Thanks for bringing me today Jason. It means a lot to me, this time together.”

  He took his cap off and wiped his forehead. “I’ll buy you lunch. How about that place we passed a couple of miles back?”

  Jason shook his head. “Nah, I don’t think so. That’s a bar and grill. I don’t drink and I won’t sit with you if you do.”

  Billy Joe just grinned back at him and said, “That’s not a problem Jason. I quit drinking a long time ago.”

  At Jason’s doubting gaze, Billy Joe said, “Not long after I joined the navy, a bunch of us guys got together and had a whisky drinking contest.”

  He shook his head with a frown on his face. “That was about as stupid as we could get. I won all right. But I wound up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. The doctor said it was a wonder it didn’t kill me.”

  He hit his thigh with his cap. “Well, I’ll tell you what. I quit drinking right then and I ain’t had a drop since.”

  So Jason stopped at the bar and grill and they both relaxed somewhat as they sipped their iced tea and ate a couple of greasy hamburgers.

  When he finished the last bite of his hamburger, Billy Joe looked up at Jason and said, “Man that was good. It’s hard to find a real hamburger like that out in California. Everything out there is greaseless and therefore tasteless too. It’s like eating cardboard.”

  Jason couldn’t help himself. He laughed at that and suddenly realized he was having a good time with this stranger who was his father. In fact, he’d had a good time all day. That hit him hard.

  When they drove up to the farmhouse, as usual Granny was sitting in her rocker. But this time, there were three glasses of iced tea on the table next to her.

  When Billy Joe gave him a questioning look, Jason just shook his head and said, “I don’t know how she does it but she’s always got a drink for me sitting there no matter what time of the day or night I show up.”

  They climbed the porch steps laughing and Granny gave them both a fond smile.

  Jason leaned over the table, grabbed two glasses, and handed one to Billy Joe.

  They had barely sat down when Granny cleared her throat and Jason cringed. That had always been a sign that she was about to attack something or someone. He just hoped it wasn’t going to be him this time.

  She glared at Billy Joe and said, “Billy Joe Layton you were a good boy once. I always liked you. But I guess when you got to messing around with those drugs it changed you and I can now see why things happened the way they did back then.”

  No one said anything for a moment and Jason was glad to see that Billy Joe seemed to know to wait for Granny to finish.

  “And now that I’ve gotten to know you again, I think you finally turned out good.”

  Again silence as Granny continued to stare out toward the woods.

  “But right now, I got to tell you that you ain’t welcome here any longer.” She paused and Jason knew that was definitely for effect. “Unless you start going to church with me and finish turning your life around.”

  With that, she picked up her empty tea glass and went inside the house letting the screen door bang shut rather loudly behind her.

  Jason had to struggle to keep from laughing. She was using her old Gramps tactics on Billy Joe.

  He was watching Billy Joe out of the corner of his eye as both of them continued to stare out at the woods the same way Granny had been doing.

  Finally, Billy Jo slapped both palms down on his thighs, stood up, and said, “Well I guess I better go find that Bible I have packed in my bags.”

  Then he too went
inside but he didn’t bang the screen door.

  Jason sat there for quite a while trying to make sense of all that had just happened as well as the rest of the day he’d spent with his father. Did he actually think of Billy Joe as his father now? Whoa, he’d better be doing some more thinking about that prospect.

  * * *

  Karen was having a difficult time concentrating on her patients today. She was still high from her evening with Jason and the plans they’d made for their wedding. She’d called Gil and he had assured her that both he and the church would be available for their wedding on June first.

  She was still smiling to herself about that when she came out of ladies’ restroom into the narrow hallway that fronted both restrooms. She was looking down and almost ran into someone.

  She looked up to see Ben standing there blocking her path.

  “Excuse me Ben.”

  Ben just grinned at her and said, “Hey Karen. Now that Larry’s given up on you, don’t you think it’s about time you gave me a chance?”

  She couldn’t believe her ears. She knew Ben had been in the break room that morning when she’d announced to several of the therapists that she and Jason were getting married. Where was this guy coming from?

  She tried to move past him without commenting but he just sidestepped so he could continue blocking her way.

  “Ben, please let me by.”

  “Not until you say you’ll go out with me.”

  “First of all, Ben, I told you several times before that I did not want to go out with you. And now that I’m engaged, I certainly won’t be going out with you or anybody else other than Jason. Now please let me past before I scream.”

  He kept grinning but stepped aside just enough for her to get past but her shoulder brushed against his on the way.

  She rushed back to her workstation and sat down to calm her shaking body and slow her rapid breathing.

  Then she thought back to the phone calls she’d received when no one said anything but just hung up. She’d had a second one last night and another one this morning before she left for work.

  She had wondered if she shouldn’t tell Jason about the calls but had quickly dismissed them as coincidences. But now that Ben had accosted her, should she tell Jason about that?

  She decided to think about it later and went back to work.

  Karen had a lite lunch in the break room and thankfully, Ben left her alone. He sat in a corner with two other male therapists. But he had kept staring at her though. She had finally turned her chair so she had her back to his table.

  Just as she was getting ready for her one o’clock, her cell phone chirped. It was Brandi and she smiled. She’d just given Brandi her cell phone number yesterday.

  Brandi was bubbly and wanted to tell Karen all about her first date with Larry. So Karen invited her over to her house after work.

  When Karen approached her car in the parking lot after work, she noticed a piece of paper stuck under the windshield wiper on the driver’s side.

  She didn’t think anything of it since various businesses around town would often place some sort of flyer on windshields to advertise something they were doing.

  She pulled the paper off and tossed it into her tote without looking at it. Then she sat the tote on the kitchen table as soon as she got home.

  She quickly pulled some vegetables out of the refrigerator that she kept in sticks and bite sizes for snacks. She thought about how excited Brandi seemed to be as she sat the snack tray on the table. She sure hoped Larry would treat her right.

  The doorbell rang just as Karen filled two glasses with ice and sat them and a picture of tea on the table.

  Brandi breezed into the living room with a grin on her face. “Oh Karen you wouldn’t believe how perfect things worked out last night.”

  She touched Karen on the arm and said, “But it wouldn’t have it I hadn’t talked to you . . . and especially Miss Hattie.”

  Karen guided Brandi into the kitchen so they could sit with tea and snacks.

  Once they were settled, Brandi clasped her hands together with her elbows on the table. “Oh Karen, I just knew things weren’t going to work out when Larry ordered a beer with the pizza last night.”

  She looked down at her hands as if in deep thought. Then she looked back up at Karen with a big grin on her face.

  “So I told him exactly what Miss Hattie told me to say. I looked at him and said, ‘Larry, this is our one and only date if you don’t quit drinking and start going to church with me.’”

  Brandi just sat there grinning until Karen said, “Then what did he do?”

  “Do? Oh yes. What did he do?” She shook her head. “Well, at first, he just sat there staring at me like he thought I was crazy.”

  She took a sip of tea and nibbled on a carrot stick. “Then he just threw back his head and laughed so loud that everyone in the whole restaurant was staring at him.”

  She took another bite of carrot. “Oh Karen, I just knew that he was going to get up and leave then or that maybe I should.” She shook her head so hard that she had to gather her long hair back over her shoulders.

  “But no, when he stopped laughing, he looked at me and said, ‘Little girl, I knew you had some spunk in you but I never dreamed you had that much.’ Then you won’t believe what he did next.”

  Karen waited, hoping she wouldn’t have to prompt Brandi again. She didn’t.

  “Well, he called the waitress over and asked her to take his beer away and bring him an iced tea instead.”

  Karen had mixed emotions all of a sudden. Larry had never made any concessions like that for her. But then, as she thought about it, she had to be honest. She’d never given him an ultimatum the way Brandi had.

  She almost wished she’d known Granny sooner. But then as soon as that thought came, she got rid of it. She had Jason now. And what she had with Jason was so much better than anything she could ever have had with Larry.

  Yes, she was happy and she was trying to be happy for Brandi too. She just hoped Larry wouldn’t hurt Brandi the way he had her.

  They talked for a few more minutes then Brandi rushed off to get ready for another date with Larry.

  When Karen picked up her tote, which had been pushed aside into one of the empty kitchen chairs, she started to take it to her bedroom when she remembered the paper that had been on her windshield.

  She searched inside her bag until she found it and pulled it out. Then she turned it over and read it. It was a computer printout, “You’ll be sorry!”

  She started to shake and almost fell into a chair placing her arms on the table and her head on them. Her first thought was Larry, but no, he seemed to be concentrating on Brandi now and leaving her alone. Ben!

  She didn’t have the energy to get up to use the wall phone so she pulled her cell phone out of her bag and called Jason quickly.

  * * *

  After Jason and Billy Joe finished their iced tea, Jason headed for the barn to begin some of his weekly work around the farm. He was surprised when Billy Joe was in step by his side.

  “I’m going to have to start doing my share around here, don’t you think Jason?”

  Jason nodded and fought to keep a grin off his face.

  They worked companionably for several hours and when they quit and headed for the house, Granny was sitting there on the porch with three iced teas again.

  As Jason was sitting there with Granny and Billy Joe, he was thinking about how much his life had changed in the past few weeks. He looked at Billy Joe who was looking out across the woods, which gave him a chance to study the man who was his father.

  Sure, Billy Joe Layton had lived a hard life but Jason was beginning to agree with Granny that the guy was a good, decent sort of man now. And he suddenly had the thought that he was glad Billy Joe had come back.

  Just then, he heard his cell phone ring. But where was it?

  He hurried toward the sound and found it in the front bathroom where he’d just washed his
hands.

  As he picked it up, he realized this was the first time it had rung all day. That just didn’t happen much anymore, especially since he’d made sergeant.

  It was Karen, but as soon as he answered it, he grew alarmed. All he heard was a sniffling sound.

  “Karen. Are you all right?”

  More sniffling then, “Jason come quick. I need you.”

  “Are you at home?”

  “Yes, hurry.”

  Jason was shook now. He called out to Granny as he raced across the porch and down the steps. “Karen’s in trouble. I’ll call you later.”

  With that, he was in his truck and driving down the lane to the county road in no time at all. He was afraid to think about what could have made Karen sound the way she had on the phone just now.

  He was debating calling dispatch to get someone else there faster when he saw Floyd pull out behind him. He quickly called Floyd on his cell.

  When he told the sheriff what he knew, Floyd said, “I’m going to run code. You follow close behind me.”

  With that, Floyd flew past him with his lights and siren on and Jason followed him in his pickup. They both screeched to a stop in Karen’s driveway a short time later. Jason flew out of his truck and through the door that Karen was holding open for him.

  She leaped into his arms and he wrapped them around her and hugged her to him so tight that he lifted her up off the floor. He just held her that way for a minute then leaned back to look her over.

  “Are you okay, Karen? What happened?”

  She looked past him and he heard Floyd say, “Karen.”

  Then she said, “Come on in, both of you and I’ll tell you everything.”

  Once Jason and Karen were on the couch with Floyd sitting in an armchair nearby, Karen looked from one to the other and began to cry softly again. Jason pulled her to him and let her cry for a moment.

  She reached out to grab some tissue and looked up at him. “Oh, I left it on the table.”

  She looked lost for a moment. “There’s a note on the table.”

  Floyd jumped up and rushed into the kitchen. He came back holding the note by his thumb and index finger on one corner of the paper.