Come Hell or High Water

by Nancy M Bell

  Michelle laughed. “The same thing you did when you married him in such a hurry. Rob can be charming with that bad-boy-but-I’ll-be-good-for-you act. All little boy puppy dog eyes when he wants something or he’s in a good mood. Honestly, I never saw this other side of him until lately.”

  “I’m really beginning to think I made a huge mistake.” Her voice broke a bit.

  “He must have pretty strong feelings for you, Kayla. He married you, and he wants to have babies with you. Two things I couldn’t ever get him to really commit to. If you really love him, don’t give up on him, but read him the riot act and let him know this nonsense has to stop. That’s my advice, for what it’s worth. You coming to rescue him?”

  “Not hardly. Let the cops haul him in and he can cool his heels in jail for a bit. I’m not going to be running to his rescue every time he does some bonehead thing. High time that boy grew up. Thanks for calling, Michelle. I do appreciate it.”

  “Good luck to you with the growing up bit. You’re a better woman than me, Kayla. Bye.”

  She glanced out the kitchen window as red and blue flashing lights lit up the house across the coulee. At least Stacey had the sense to follow through and call them. There was still coffee in the pot so she poured a mug and sat at the table by the window. Thank God, Rob Chetwynd was no longer her problem. Although, he seemed to still be capable of causing trouble enough in her life. The diamond on her hand caught the light and she twisted the ring on her finger. When Cale got home tonight, she’d sit him down and make him listen. Make him understand he was the only one she wanted.

  In the meantime, she should call Mary. The woman had a nose for trouble and she’d know the instant she saw Cale something was wrong. The sun was well and truly up now, barn swallows swooped under the porch eaves, and across the hay field the meadow larks’ rippling song filled the morning. Damn, they hadn’t even set the wedding date yet and things were falling apart. Shaking her head, Michelle punched in Mary’s number and waited while it rang. She glanced at the clock, 8:30 am, the woman should be in the kitchen by now washing up the breakfast dishes.

  “Good morning, Longview Veterinary Clinic,” Mary’s voice was distracted and a bit breathless.

  Michelle checked the number she’d dialled. Nope, this should be the house line. “Mary? What’s up? It’s Michelle.”

  “Oh, Michelle. I’m sorry, I’m so frazzled this morning I don’t know if I’m coming or going. Luke had a bad night and I just packed him off to Doc Lewen’s. Oh, by the way, have you seen Rob? Carolyn is beside herself since Kayla called in tears, something about Rob and the police…”

  “Rob Chetwynd can go straight to hell. That’s what I’m calling about actually. He showed up here last night drunk as a skunk, full of himself and expecting me to ‘show him some loving’, to quote him directly.”

  “Oh dear, what did Cale say? Is that why that boy looks like a puppy who’s been kicked? Couldn’t get hardly a word out of him this morning.”

  “That’s the problem. Cale wasn’t home. He walked in on Rob and me wrestling on the floor—”

  “Why were you wrestling with him? You didn’t do something stupid did you, Munchkin?”

  “You too, Mary? Damn! That’s exactly what Cale thought, jumped to the conclusion that I encouraged Rob to tackle me and rip my clothes off.”

  “What?” Mary’s voice rose incredulously. “You were naked? Oh my Lord, no wonder that poor boy is so miserable.”

  “No, we weren’t naked, Mary. I told Rob to take off and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. I nailed him in the family jewels and he took exception to it and tackled me. I tried to get him off, but he’s bigger than me. He ripped my shirt open and shoved my bra up to my neck. He had his hands all over me and shoving his tongue down my throat when Cale pulled him off.”

  “Oh my, oh my. What happened? Did Cale beat the snot out of him?”

  “No, he threw him out and told him to git. Then he read me the riot act, basically walked out on me and said I needed to decide what it was I wanted. Then, we’ll talk about what he wants, apparently. I don’t need to think about what I want, I know what I want. Cale. But he doesn’t believe me, and he obviously doesn’t trust me. To top it off, that blonde bimbo George is shacked up with still has her sights set on Cale. She’s just using George as an excuse to stick around here.” Michelle finally ran out of breath.

  “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. Of course you didn’t encourage Rob. But I had to ask, you know. In the past you’ve forgiven him a lot of things, and you loved him for a very long time, those ties and habits are hard to break. I think that girl does love your brother, by the way.”

  “Whatever. I am so done with that idiot. I should have got Grampa’s gun and shot his ass full of buckshot. I’m gonna talk to Cale as soon as he comes home, get him to understand it’s him I want. All day yesterday I was thinking about a date for the wedding. Maybe right before Stampede when everyone’s in town?”

  “Maybe you should wait on that, Munchkin. Give things a chance to settle down. What about September when the poplars and cottonwoods are all gold?”

  “Depending on what Cale says, it might be a moot point anyway.” She hesitated. “I asked him if he wanted the ring back last night. He was furious with me.”

  Mary’s sharp intake of breath came clearly over the connection. “What did he say?”

  “Nothing really. That’s when he said I needed to figure out what it was I really wanted and then we’d talk about what he wanted. Damn it, Mary. Rob tried to rape me! He would have if Cale hadn’t come home. What’s gotten into him, he was never like that before? At least not that I saw, anyway.”

  “Did you call the police and make a report? Maybe you should.”

  “I didn’t even think about it last night I was so upset about Cale being mad at me. He made me sleep upstairs last night, like he couldn’t even look at me! I just want the whole thing to go away and forget about it. Nothing happened, really. Other than Cale misunderstanding.”

  “Why was Carolyn going on about the police then? She was some upset that Kayla decided to let him cool his heels in jail for a while. I think she’s going down to see if she can get him released.”

  “Kayla?”

  “No, Carolyn. She’s planning on giving Kayla a piece of her mind.”

  “Carolyn should leave him where he is. Her coddling him is part of the problem and the reason he acts like such an ass. I told Stacey to call the cops on him.”

  “Stacey, what’s Stacey got to do with it?”

  “After he left here, he went over to George’s and passed out on the porch. He must have woken up at some point, because Stacey called me in a panic about a drunk man pounding on the door and yelling for me. She wanted me to come over and take care of it. I told her it was Rob and to call the cops. I’m done with bailing him out of trouble. That’s how this whole shit show started.”

  “What do you mean, Michelle? It started before he showed up at Cale’s?” Mary sounded confused.

  “The idiot got picked up for a DUI and refused to call Kayla. He phoned me when I was on my way to High River to pick up feed, played on our long history and I was fool enough to fall for it. I went and picked him up at the cop shop in Okotoks. He wanted me to bring him here and I refused. I dropped him at the Twin Cities and told him to figure out how to get home from there. I have no idea how he got out here.”

  “Did you call Kayla? Didn’t she go and get him?”

  “I did call her. She was some pissed, seems he was driving her truck and got it impounded. She’s even angrier this morning. Carolyn might get an earful of her own if she decides to call her up on the carpet.”

  “Oh, dear. My stars, what nonsense that boy gets up to. You did the right thing, I think.”

  “Let’s hope Cale sees it that way.” Michelle sighed and leaned her head on her hand.

  “Do you want me to talk to him? Explain what happened?” Mary offered.

  “God, no! Let me handle this, ple
ase. The last thing I want him to think is that I was belly aching to you and getting you to intervene on my behalf. I’m a big girl now, stay out of it, Mary. You can’t fix everything. Now, tell me what happened with Doc? Is he okay?”

  “Lordy, I don’t know, Michelle. He had trouble breathing last night, coughing up a storm. But the stubborn old goat wouldn’t hear of me taking him into Oilfields General in Black Diamond or to High River either. I finally talked him into seeing Doc Lewen this morning.”

  “Shit, he must really be feeling bad if he’s gone on his own. Do you want me to come in to town and help with anything at the clinic?”

  “Would you? I’m so upset I can’t seem to get anything done. Can you look and see if Cale still has the number for the girl who came in to cover at Christmas. Carol? Carla? The pretty red head girl.”

  “Carrie. Her name is Carrie. Hang on and I’ll look on his desk.”

  “Just bring it with you if you can find it. I don’t want to bother Cale, the clinic is crazy today and there’s farm calls still to do. If you can man the reception desk so I can stay with Luke when he gets home, I’d really appreciate it.” Mary sounded relieved.

  “I’ll be right there. I have to bring Storm and Crazy Puppy. Can they stay in the kitchen with you? Puppy will wreak havoc in the clinic if he gets the chance.”

  “Of course, just get here soon, please. I gotta go, there’s the door again.”

  “I’m on the way, Mary,” she said to the dead line.

  Wasting no time, Michelle found the locum’s number and loaded the dogs into the truck. She spared Stacey a thought as she roared past the end of the Wilson lane. Had to give the girl credit for sticking it out. Either she really was crazy enough to have fallen for George, or she was pretty determined to hang around and get her claws into Cale. Dismissing that little problem for the moment, Michelle turned onto the blacktop and headed for town. Shortly, she parked behind the clinic and let the mutts out of the cab. Storm hopped up the path toward the kitchen door. Crazy Puppy bolted around like a wild thing smelling everything in sight and marking his territory. Two of his siblings were out next door in Harvey’s yard and the puppies had a noisy reunion through the fence. Michelle collected him, tucking the wriggling body under her arm and joining Storm who waited impatiently by the door.

  “Hey Mary, I’m here,” she called as she let herself in, shut the door and set Crazy Puppy on his feet. There was no answer and the bit of coffee in the pot was burning dry. Michelle flipped the maker off, removed the scorched pot, and went in search of the older woman. She must be out at the reception desk. Poking her head through to the clinic attached to the main house she found Mary dealing with an invoice, her hands shaking so bad she could hardly type. “Here, let me do that, Mary. What’s wrong? Is Doc okay?” She took Mary’s place when she stood up and finished the open billing. “Come sit down and tell me what’s wrong. You’re scaring me.” Michelle drew her over to the two chairs in the reception area and sat down beside her. “What is it?” She took Mary’s hand in hers.

  “It’s Luke.” Mary sniffed back a sob. “He went to Doc Lewen’s this morning ‘cause I nagged him and…”

  “What, Mary? Is he alright?” Fear pooled in Michelle’s stomach and her head spun. It had to be serious to get the older woman in such a state. “Where is Doc, Mary? I didn’t see him in the house? Is he with Cale?”

  Mary shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. “No, he’s not in the house,” she managed to choke out. “He’s on his way to Calgary.”

  “You didn’t let him drive all that way when he’s not feeling well, did you? I would have taken him—”

  “The ambulance took him…” Mary dissolved in tears. “Doc Lewen called just before you got here. He sent him up to Oilfields in Black Diamond and the ER doctor stabilized him and sent him up to Calgary.”

  “Stabilized? Stabilized what? How bad is it?” Michelle gripped her friend’s hand tighter.

  “It’s his heart, Michelle. I knew something was wrong, I should have made him go sooner…”

  “You know you couldn’t make him do anything he wasn’t ready to do. He must have been feeling really crappy to even go to Doc Lewen. Do you want me to take you up to Calgary right now? What hospital is he going to? Storm and Crazy Puppy can stay here, I’ll let Cale know they’re here and he’ll take them home when he goes. They can go on calls with him if need be. The important thing is to get you up to Calgary so you can be with Doc and talk to his doctors.”

  “But, who’s going to man the reception here if you come with me?” Mary wrung her hands, pulling free from Michelle’s grip. “Luke would never forgive me if we left the practice unmanned.”

  Michelle thought fast. “Harvey’s home, I saw the pups out in the yard. I’ll go ask him to come over and hold down the fort. Any billing can wait til we get back, but Harvey will answer the phone and take care of any walk ins.” She got up and checked the appointment calendar. “Looks like there’s no more appointments for today. Cale has surgery scheduled for another couple of hours and then some farm calls. Those can wait, it looks like, if need be. Does he know about Doc?”

  “I haven’t had a chance to tell him, he should be just about finished with the spay he’s got on the table. Will you tell him, please? I need to go and get some things together for Luke, his slippers and, oh I don’t know, other stuff.” She got to her feet and hurried through the adjoining door into the house.

  Michelle let herself into the back where the surgical suite, exam rooms, and kennels, were located. Cale was just coming out of surgery, leaving the tech to monitor the patient in recovery.

  “What are you doing here at this time of day?” He removed the surgical mask, peeled off his gloves and tossed them both in the garbage bin. Stripping off his scrubs he deposited them in the laundry bin. “I don’t have time to talk right now, can this wait til later.” Cale refused to look directly at her and busied himself with finding a pen to make notes on the animal’s chart.

  “Mary called. I have to take her up to Calgary.” She hesitated.

  “And you need me to know this because?” He glanced up at her.

  “Doc’s on his way to the hospital by ambulance…” Michelle fought back tears; her throat constricted so much she could hardly squeeze out the words. “He’s had a heart attack, I think.”

  His head shot up and he met her gaze. Disbelief and worry etched lines in his face. “Damn! I told the old buzzard he should go get himself looked at last week. How bad is it?” Cale rubbed the back of his neck.

  “I’m not sure. I don’t think Mary knows, or if she does, she’s not telling me.”

  “Are you okay to drive?” He frowned at her. “I can’t leave here, there’s surgeries scheduled…”

  “No, I know. Doc would never forgive us if we deserted the practice ‘cause he’s sick. I’m gonna run next door and ask Harvey to come fill in on reception in case someone comes in, and he’ll take care of the phones.” She turned to leave. “Oh, I almost forgot. Storm and Crazy Puppy are in the kitchen. Can you take them home when you’re done? Maybe take them with you on the farm calls? I don’t want that puppy to wreck Mary’s kitchen.”

  “Sure, I’ll take care of them. I’ll go over the farm calls, if there’s nothing that can’t wait till tomorrow, I’ll reschedule them. Call me when you know something.”

  “Once I know something, you’ll be the first one I call. See you later.” Part of her wished Cale would offer some comfort, a hug, even a smile, but he was already prepping for the next procedure. She didn’t have time to worry about that now, anyway. She beat it out the door and over to Harvey’s.

  Chapter Four

  The drive to Calgary took forever in Michelle’s estimation. She glanced over at Mary as they finally reached the southernmost end of the sprawling city. Thank God for the new extension that allowed her to bypass busy McLeod Trail and merge directly unto the Deerfoot higher up.

  “He’s gonna be fine, Mary. Doc’s too stu
bborn to let a little thing like his heart get the better of him.” She reached over and squeezed her friend’s hand without taking her attention from the steady stream of traffic.

  Tears glittered in the older woman’s eyes when she lifted her head. “You’re right, of course. He wouldn’t dare leave me without so much as a good bye.” A tremulous smile lifted the corners of her lips. “The old coot isn’t ready to pack it in yet. Told me this morning he wasn’t goin’ anywhere for a long time. He’s looking forward to bouncing your babies on his knee.”

  “Not sure when that’s gonna happen, so he best be stickin’ around for a long time.”

  “You’re gonna have to work that out with Cale soon, you know. No sense letting things fester and get larger than they really are. You set him down and hash it out tonight when you get home, you hear me?” Mary wagged a forefinger at her.

  She turned into the Foothills Medical Centre entrance. “We’re here. I’ll drop you at the emergency door and then I’ll go find a place to park.” Michelle stopped by the ER. Mary got out and hurried through the automatic sliding doors without a backward glance. Michelle edged back in the stream of vehicles and entered the lot in front of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. As usual, parking was at a minimum, but she finally found a place to wedge the truck into in the far northeast corner of the upper level lot. She tossed the ticket with the time of arrival stamped on it onto the dash of the pickup and jumped down, pausing to lock the doors as she hurried across the pavement.

  The waiting room was crowded but there was no sign of Mary. She must have talked her way to the front of the line and got taken in to see Doc already. Resigned to a long wait, Michelle found a place to sit and grabbed a tattered magazine. Fishing her phone out of her back pocket she sent Cale a text to let him know they were at the hospital. There was no return text, but he was probably still in surgery. At least, she hoped that was the reason.

  Three hours, and four unsuccessful trips to the Triage desk to ask for information, later, Michelle wandered back to the waiting area. It was still as crowded as ever but she found an unoccupied bit of floor in the corner. She slid down the wall and kicked her feet out in front of her. Leaning her head back against the wall she closed her eyes. The events of the previous day, the tension with Cale and worry for Doc, caught up with her. Against her will, her eyes kept closing and she couldn’t concentrate on the news cast on the TV mounted high in the opposite corner. Cale had to listen to her about Rob. Damn the jackass, he was the one who dumped her. So why now was he sniffing around again? He didn’t want her, but he was damned if anyone else was going to have her either, she guessed. Typical cowboy logic. She snorted through her nose. Like Grampa used to say, the man wants the milk without having to pay for the cow. Michelle stifled a giggle. It was somewhat insulting to be compared to a cow, but the analogy was pretty accurate. “I should have kneed him harder in nuts,” she muttered.