by Debra Kayn
“Throughout the day, huh?” He combed his fingers through his goatee.
“Yep.” She undid the plastic around one of the candies, bit it in half, and pinched the other half of the treat between her fingers. “Open up.”
Roy Lee caught her wrist. “I haven’t bought you any caramel. Ever.”
She swallowed, choked and hurried over to the garbage can to spit. “W-what are you talking about? Of course, you’ve been hiding candy. I find it everywhere, in my desk, my bag, even in the filing cabinet.”
He stood up.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Who would—” She slapped her forehead. Ryan.
The only person who had permission to enter her office, besides Roy Lee and her sisters, was Ryan. There was ample time for Ryan to plant candy around for her to find. Her stomach rolled. How could she not see what was happening?
Roy Lee had warned her, but deep down she didn’t want to believe it. She wanted things to work out and all because she wanted to spend more time with Roy Lee and her sisters. It was her fault for letting things get out of control.
“I’m going to have to talk with him.” She bit her lip.
“I’ll do it.” Roy Lee tilted her chin and forced her to look at him. “I’m sorry. I wish I was wrong.”
She heaved a sigh. “It’s not your fault. I should have listened. I wanted things to work out so bad…”
“I’ll take the morning off, and—”
“No.” She patted his chest. “I need to do this myself. I hired him.”
“Then you need to confront him when Louann is there. I don’t trust the guy, and I don’t want you alone with him. Besides his infatuation with you, there’s something ’bout him that seems off. He’s hiding something. Nobody his age goes through life without a paper trail following him.” He swept her bangs to the side and hooked them behind her ear.
She scoffed. “You did a background check on him?”
“Yeah.”
“I had already checked him out. He was an excellent student, an upstanding citizen… Heck, he even volunteered for the big brother program back in Portland.” She stepped away from Roy Lee. “You can’t go all paranoid with everyone I might hire. Do you know what that makes me feel like? Incompetent, that’s what.”
“Oh bullshit.” He sat back down. “You know better than that. I trust your judgment, but I also know when someone is being less than honest. What’s it hurt if I watch your back?”
“Listen. I’m not going to fight. I feel terrible as it is, and don’t have the energy to debate about boundaries in our relationship that should never be crossed.” She picked up the candy, her lunch bag and shoved them in her case. “I’m going to go back to the clinic.”
“Stay here tonight. I’ll run you back in the morning.”
She leaned down, kissed him lightly on the lips and shook her head. “I need to think, and I can’t do it here with you distracting me. I need to make sense of this mess, and figure out what I’m supposed to do now. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
He studied her. “You’ll be okay?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Don’t forget your folks are coming home tomorrow, and want us to come over for dinner.”
Roy Lee sat at the table long after Margot left. The heavy weight of doubting his place in Margot’s life settled around him, gluing him to the chair. He’d known her his whole life, but she’d gone away to college, then vet school, and thrived all by herself.
With her daddy dying, and her making the decision to come back to Pike, maybe she missed the rich culture, the friends she’d made and the life found in the city. He closed his eyes. Could she have jumped into a relationship with him because he was safe and familiar at a time when her life was falling apart?
He pushed himself away from the table and walked through the house in the dark. For the first time in his life, he wished he had more to offer Margot than his love.
Chapter Ten
Margot sequestered herself behind the closed door in her office. She leaned back in her chair and tried to calm herself. Any minute, Ryan would knock and want to know why she wanted to see him.
No matter how many times she rehearsed her planned speech, it still didn’t come out sounding professional. How was she going to throw the idea of her partner having a crush on her up in the air, and not offend or embarrass Ryan?
She stared at the phone, groaned and pitched her body forward until her feet hit the floor. Last night she’d promised Roy Lee she’d call, and she’d forgotten. She lifted the receiver when the knock came.
Replacing the phone, she smoothed her hair back and planted her elbows on the top of her desk. “Come in.”
The door opened and Ryan stepped inside. He removed the laughable hat and clutched it in front of him. “You wanted to see me, Margot?”
“Yes, I need to talk with you for a few minutes. You can shut the door behind you.” She placed her hands under the desk.
Waiting until he sat down, she straightened her shoulders. There was no easy way to talk about personal business in a professional relationship.
“Is everything okay with the bay that came in yesterday? Last night her leg seemed a little too inflamed for my comfort.”
She nodded. “She’s doing fine this morning. The owners will pick her up in a few days after she’s rested.”
“Good.” He frowned and waited for her to explain the meeting.
She lifted her brow. “Ryan, I’d like to talk to you about our partnership. You’ve known from the beginning how much I respect the quality of care and expertise you’ve shown the animals. The way you handle both the patients and their owners, and the way you conduct yourself within the clinic is well received by everyone.”
Ryan dipped his chin. “That’s important to me too, Margot.”
“But—” She leaned forward. “I’m a little concerned about our relationship.”
Ryan rubbed his hand over his jaw. Margot cleared her throat. The truth filled the room making them both uncomfortable.
“Ryan, I would love to have you continue working here…but, you have to realize I love Roy Lee Hanson. Your admiration is flattering, but as your employer, I can’t have you leaving me candy, asking me out to dinner alone, or—”
“Margot, please.” He thrust his hands in his hair. “Let me explain.”
She nodded, a lump forming in her throat. His discomfort became almost unbearable to witness.
“It isn’t what you think.”
“Then tell me, Ryan.”
He perched on the edge of the chair and leaned his elbows against his knees. “I don’t have any fantasies about you and me. The caramels…yeah, that was a bad idea.”
“Why did you hide them? You could have shared with me openly.” She stood up, moved over to the coffee maker along the back wall and poured them each a cup.
“Can I talk with you confidentially?”
She handed him a steaming cup of coffee. “Of course.”
“I’m serious, Margot. I don’t want Roy Lee to know.” He ignored the mug. “If keeping the information to yourself makes you uncomfortable…”
“No, go ahead. What I deal with here at the clinic has nothing to do with Roy Lee and me.” She sat back down, sipped, and let the warmth relax her. “I’ll keep it to myself.”
“There were other reasons for me taking this job.” He stood up and scratched his head. “I had my eye on Pike for a while, never gathering up enough nerve to come out here. That is, until I found your advertisement in the school’s newspaper.”
“I don’t understand. Why would you want to come clear out here to Pike? You could get a job anywhere, closer to the cities where you’d feel more comfortable, more at home.” She leaned back in her chair and tilted her head.
“My father is here.”
She set her drink down. “You’re kidding me? That’s great. See…you do have family close by that can make you feel more like you belong in this little community.”
He shook his hea
d. “He doesn’t know about me.”
“Oh.” She pursed her lips. “That does make things a little difficult, but maybe you should tell him. I can help. I know everyone here.”
“You already know him.” He crossed the room and leaned forward against the desk, bracing his hands on the edge. “Promise me you won’t get involved, Margot. I didn’t come here to meet him, or to involve myself in his life despite how it appears.”
“Then why did you want to come?” She pointed to the chair. “Sit back down. Let’s talk this out.”
He fell back in the chair and shrugged. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here. I thought…I thought seeing the man, finding out what kind of person he was would be enough to satisfy me. My mom tried her best, bless her soul, but she had her own problems and passed away my second year in college. Since then, I feel like I’ve been wandering around with no purpose in life. Then it hit me. I got this wild idea, I should find out more about who I am. What kind of people I come from…”
“Okay. Wow.” Margot chewed on the inside of her lip. “This is certainly different than what I imagined. My head’s spinning.”
“I didn’t mean to bring you into my problems, Margot.”
“Can I ask you about the caramels, asking me to dinner and popping up at Valenciennes’ Place? It seems too coincidental lately when you add them all together.” Margot studied him.
A blush colored his neck and the muscle beside his eye twitched. “I wasn’t trying to grow close to you, Margot. You have to believe me. I respect you, and admire what you’ve done with your life. You’re an amazing woman, but I mean that on a professional level.”
“Ryan, I’m trying to help you, and I want you to continue working for me—”
“Oh God.” Ryan dragged his hands over his face. “I did those things hoping you would involve me in your life outside of the clinic, so I could get to know Roy Lee better.”
Bending down to kiss his mother, Roy Lee swept off his hat. “How you doing, Momma?”
“Right as rain.” She pushed him into the living room. “Sit down and fill us in on what’s been happening around here, son. I swear, three weeks away and your dad was itching to come back home. I think he’s afraid the country store will stop selling jelly donuts while we’re gone.”
Roy Lee clapped his dad’s shoulder. “Hey, Pop.”
“Have you got that stubborn gal to agree to marry you yet?” Tom removed his glasses and set them on the end table.
“Oh, she’ll marry me, on her own time.” He chuckled. “In the meantime, I’ve been working on getting plans set to do some fixing around the ranch. I figure that’ll light a fire under her.”
“Margot’s a smart woman. Stuart McDougal raised those girls right, even if they went a little wild there for a few years.” Tom whistled. “Couldn’t ask for a prettier girl.”
Jane cleared her throat and glared at her husband.
“Except you, dear. You’ll always be the most beautiful girl I know.” Tom smiled.
“Don’t you forget, Tom Hanson. I still make all your dinners, you better pay attention to me.” She laughed, but winked at her son. “I’m glad you came by early. Can you bring down the wooden chair out of your old bedroom upstairs?”
“Sure, Momma.” Roy Lee took the steps two at a time out of habit, and opened the door to the first bedroom on the left at the top of the stairs.
The doorbell rang, and he lost the smile he had over his parents’ friendly banter. Margot left him last night, hurt over the truth of Ryan’s attention, and he hoped she settled the matter and didn’t hold any bad feelings against him for broaching the subject with her. He picked up the pile of afghans off the chair and set them on the bed. All day he’d thought about calling her, but decided it was better to give her space. If she wanted him to support her way of doing things, he could do that.
After closing the door, he headed downstairs. He stopped at the landing and frowned. What the…?
A familiar masculine voice came from the kitchen. He carried the chair into the dining room at the same time Margot and Ryan came in followed by his mother.
Margot hurried over and took the chair out of his hands, placed it beside the table and then slid her arms around his waist. “I called your office, but Sally let me know you were already headed over here. I was going to swing by and pick you up.”
He kissed the top of her head without taking his gaze off Ryan. “Yeah, it was slow around town this afternoon. I took off work early to spend some extra time with my folks.”
“Roy Lee, do you know Dr. Ryan Martin? I’ve invited him to have dinner with us.” Jane carried in a tray of drinks to sit on the table. “Oh! Silly question. Of course you do. I guess I don’t have to pretend you and Margot aren’t seeing each other anymore. When we got back from Helena yesterday, the news of you two going out was the talk of the town.”
“Nice to see you again, Sheriff Hanson.” Ryan held out his hand.
Roy Lee narrowed his eyes and tightened his arm around Margot. She nudged him with her elbow, and he reluctantly stuck out his hand and gripped Ryan’s. “Ryan.”
Chapter Eleven
Hearing the highlights of Jane and Tom’s vacation lasted through dinnertime, leaving Margot to keep an eye on Roy Lee intimidating Ryan from across the table. At last, she picked up the remaining dishes and carried them into the kitchen.
“Oh honey, you go out and visit with the men, I can put the plates in the dishwasher.” Jane shut off the faucet.
“I’ll do no such thing, Mrs. Hanson.” Margot scraped the leftover food into the garbage. “I’ve pitched in doing dishes since I was a little girl, it would feel unnatural letting someone else do it all alone.”
“How are you and your sisters doing?” Jane took the dishes from her and rinsed them off. “I saw Chantilly coming out of the feed store this morning wearing a smile big enough to compete with the sun.”
“We’re all doing well. It was hard on all of us with Daddy passing, but I think we’re all learning how to go on…the way Daddy would have wanted us to do.” She dropped a detergent tablet in the washer and closed the door.
“That’s what every parent wants for their kids.” Jane squeezed her hand. “Come on. Let’s go get off our feet.”
The three men sat in the living room listening to the end of a baseball game on television. Margot squeezed onto the arm of the recliner and hung her legs over Roy Lee’s lap. “I need to go back and make sure the animals are settled for the night. Will you stop by before you head home?”
“Yeah. We got a few things to talk ’bout.” He lifted her up, set her on her feet and reached for his hat on the end table.
Margot crossed the room and gave Jane and Tom a hug. “Thank you for dinner. I hate to run, but I need to check on a couple patients. I want to buy you both dinner at Val’s Place soon. I’ll be calling you.”
“Deal.” Tom patted her cheek. “Val’s got the best steak around.”
She laughed and turned to Ryan. “And I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”
“Bright and early.” He stood up and nodded at Roy Lee. “Nice to see you again.”
Roy Lee grunted. Margot hurried over and stood beside him. “Okay, I’ll see you all later.”
“Bye, dear. Drive safely.” Jane sat back down on the couch.
Outside, Margot stopped Roy Lee. “I’m sorry I couldn’t prepare you for Ryan. I didn’t know your parents invited him until this afternoon, and I was trying to finish up my appointments to make it over here in time.”
“Why the hell would they invite him? They don’t even know him.” Roy Lee swept off his hat and ran his hand through his hair.
“He’s new in town. You know how your parents are always sticking a hand out to others. They’re trying to make him feel welcome.” She glanced at her watch. “I gotta get going, but I do want to see you later. Please.”
“Yeah. I’ll be there. I’m gonna hang out with my folks for a few more minutes. I’ll come by befo
re I go home.” He gave Margot a kiss and stepped back from her truck.
He stood out in the yard and waited until Margot drove out of sight. The meal he’d consumed sat in a hard ball in his stomach. What were his parents thinking?
It threw him for a loop having Ryan show up at his parents’ place after thinking Margot was going to kick Cityboy’s ass to the curb. He ran his hands along the sides of his jaw and down his goatee. He might not have much to say about how Margot ran her business, but he’d damn sure not let Ryan worm his way into his parents’ life.
He marched over to the squad car and leaned against the fender. He’d wait fifteen minutes, and if Ryan hadn’t come outside to go home, he’d go in and drag him out.
It didn’t sit well with him that Margot acted as if everything was hunky-dory either. She’d carried the conversation all evening, not letting the silence grow whenever someone asked him a direct question. Why was she covering for Ryan?
He’d made his opinion blatantly clear. Ryan didn’t belong here. It went deeper than not fitting in with the locals. Roy Lee dealt with people who lied, hid and swindled their way out of trouble every day. He could spot a lowlife anywhere. Ryan’s kind always crawled out from under a rock, and someone needed to stomp his ass into the dirt and send him scuttling back to where he came from before he hurt those Roy Lee loved.
The screen door slammed closed. Roy Lee remained relaxed against the car, his hat pulled down and his ankles crossed. He folded his arms across his chest to keep from balling his hands into fists showing any anger.
Ryan’s steps faltered the moment he caught sight of him. He harrumphed. That’s right, Cityboy, time to pay your dues.
“Good night, Sheriff.” Ryan slapped the brand-new oversized cowboy hat on his head.
“How ’bout you and me going over to the clinic and having a little chat before we call it a day?” Roy Lee pushed off from the car and motioned for Ryan to get in his car. “I’ll follow you over.”
