by Wesley Banks
He turned back to Katie long enough for her to mouth, “Merriman?” then darted through the back door with Katie following.
Pearl wasn’t in the backroom. In fact she wasn’t in the store at all. She was moving through a crowd of chickens with a broom in her hand, swatting at a quick-moving black figure.
Kyle stepped outside and put his fingers to his lips, letting out a quick and piercing whistle. King ran to his side, several chicken feathers caught in his coat.
Not far behind was Pearl, who—surprisingly enough—was still moving at a good pace.
“When I get my hands on that dog…!”
Kyle didn’t know whether to laugh or run. Earl made that decision for him. “You best be gettin’ that dog out of here now,” he said, handing Kyle several bags of goods and Katie another. “Go on now. I’ll see what I can do to fix this up.” Kyle looked at Katie, who was already on the move around the side of the house with King a few steps behind. “Thanks, Earl.”
A few minutes later, they were crossing the road and stepping back through the fence to Doc’s property.
Kyle looked down at King. “I hope you had fun back there, because that’s probably the last time you’ll be going back for a while.” King tilted his head, almost as if he was confused.
“He was just making some new friends,” Katie joked. Holding the bag in one arm, she reached down towards King and scratched the top of his head. “Right, boy?”
Kyle stood and watched as King pressed his ears flat against his neck in anticipation of Katie’s hand. She ran her fingers over the dog’s head and down to the soft fur of his neck and back, with no idea of the significance of the moment – no idea that she was the first person to touch King besides Kyle or Doc.
Chapter 21
Once they reached the sled, Kyle strapped down the three bags of groceries with a piece of rope. The basket was a little crammed, but Katie didn’t mind. Kyle went through the same series of commands as before and the dogs moved as smoothly as a set of cogs in a machine.
The wind was cool against Katie’s face as they rushed over the land. The dogs had been restless when she and Kyle got back, and now they used that energy to move at an even greater speed on their way home.
Katie looked back up at Kyle. His eyes were squinted against the setting sun and the rushing wind. His calloused hands wrapped around a steel rod covered in black tape. I’m glad I’m here, she thought.
“Gee,” Kyle called out. The dogs made a slight left turn around a row of slender pines and the brick-red barn came into view. On the back hung a faded yellow star with lines of rust seeping down the red wood. Star rust, Katie thought, mentally making a note to write that down later.
When they pulled into the barn Kyle walked over to help Katie out of the sled, but she hopped out on her own. Instead he walked towards the front of the dogs and began to unclip them one at a time, checking their paws before putting them back in their pens.
“I can take the groceries in while you do that,” Katie said.
Kyle looked up at Katie. “I can do it, just gotta finish with the dogs first.”
“First you don’t want me to do anything but chores, now I can’t even help?” Katie picked up the two bags of groceries, one in each arm and turned towards the house. “You need to make up your mind.”
Kyle watched her as she walked until Story jumped up and licked his face. He pushed her off playfully and laughed. “Do I lick you when you’re in the middle of something?” When he looked back up all he saw was the front door swinging shut behind her.
* * *
Kyle took his boots off and set them by the front door. Through the screen he could hear the simmer of the stove.
“Dinner will be ready in a minute,” Doc said as Kyle walked in.
Doc looked back at him as Kyle looked around the dining room and towards the wash room. “She’s not here.”
“Who?” Kyle said.
Doc shook his head at the sauté pan in front of him full of chili. “Who? We get so many cute, young brunettes around here that you have trouble remembering them.”
“Okay, fine. Where is Miss Price?”
Doc lifted the pan with a gloved hand and used a spatula to push the steaming chili into two bowls.
“First off, stop calling the girl ‘Miss Price.’ I call her that because I’m old and it’s respectful. Second off, she asked if she could take her dinner back to the cottage. Said she had some stuff to do, and I obliged.”
Kyle didn’t respond. He just sat down at the table as Doc placed a bowl of chili in front of him.
“Do me a favor, would you?” Doc said seriously. “Take both hands and grab your ears firmly.”
Kyle hesitated, sensing something was coming, but he moved his hands over his ears.
“Now pull. You might just be able to remove your head from your ass. I hardly know the girl and I can tell you she’s once in a lifetime.” Doc picked up his bowl of chili and walked out to the porch, leaving Kyle to eat in silence.
Chapter 22
The next morning, it was still dark when Katie opened her eyes. She closed the notebook that laid underneath her arm and set it on the nightstand. The curtains were drawn, but a faint glow of moonlight lingered around them. From across the room Katie heard the sound of her phone ring again.
She pulled the blanket over her head and let it go to voice mail.
The bedroom window was pulled open a few inches and a cool breeze fluttered through the room. The soft down comforter felt so good against her chilled skin, and the night air carried a certain peacefulness with it.
Until the phone rang again.
And again.
And again.
Finally, Katie groaned, pushed the comforter off her, and got out of bed. Across the room, the phone still vibrated on the chest of drawers.
It was her agent.
She glanced at the time before she answered.
5:17 a.m.
"There better be a good reason why you're waking me up for the second day in a row," Katie said as she smushed the phone against her face.
There was silence, then a deep breath.
"Absolutely amazing," Sam said.
"What is absolutely amazing?” Katie asked, still half asleep.
“This is going to be another bestseller."
"But I've hardly written a thing about the dogs yet, I finally just got to spend time with them yester—"
Sam interrupted her before she could finish. "The dogs? Forget about the dogs, this story is about the guy."
Katie was confused. "Doc? I hardly wrote about him, either."
"Oh, dear."
"What?"
"You've actually fallen for him."
"Fallen for who?"
"This just keeps getting better."
Katie heard her agent flipping through pages in the background.
"Page nineteen, ‘His body was motionless as his hand rested upon the dog's chest. He wasn't doing a thing that I could see. Yet I knew that he was speaking the silent language of souls. And whatever souls are made of, in that moment his seemed to be made of more.' That's who."
"Wait, Kyle? You think I've fallen for Kyle? He's the whole reason I’ve hardly even seen the dogs! He’s quiet and moody and completely impossible to read. Not to mention bossy. I spent almost my entire first week here doing his stupid chores. Then out of nowhere he’s nice to me for a couple of days. I mean, he must wake up at like four a.m. every day to write those stupid notes. Which makes no sense to me. And sure, it’s been like two days since I got one, but that’s only because of what happened with Belle. Besides, what could he possibly be doing that early?
Katie hadn’t realized she was rambling.
Sam laughed. “I rest my case. No woman gets that irritated by a guy unless she wants him.”
“Seriously. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Katie heard a resigned sigh on the other end of the line.
“Okay, fine. Play that way. The good news is, this
piece you sent me last night got you an extension. It still needs a bit of work with your editor, but the story is fantastic. The bad news is, I turned that extension down for a bonus to go to print before Christmas. So, whatever you're doing, keep doing it. And send me the finished draft within the month. Oh, and one more question. Is he a good kisser?"
Katie hung up the phone and went back to bed.
The only problem was, now she couldn't sleep. Her eyes moved to the curtain dancing with the wind. She wrapped herself up tightly in the comforter, hugging one of the large pillows. As she closed her eyes, her mind raced. She thought about the story…about her time spent here over the last week. Then, she thought about the words she’d just said to Sam.
What could he possibly be doing at five a.m.? Before she knew it, Katie was up, dressed, and on her way out the door to find out.
Chapter 23
When Kyle woke it was still dark out. In fact, it would be dark out for a couple more hours. He pressed the Indiglo button on his Timex and the screen lit up with a bluish-green hue. Doc had given him this watch a few years back, and it was one of the few pieces of technology that he enjoyed. It had a built-in compass, a stop watch that was perfect for training with the dogs, and a world clock that displayed something like sixty-two cities. Of those sixty-two cities, San Diego seemed to come up more and more in his mind.
5:24 a.m.
Kyle pulled on his jeans and slipped on his boots. Standing in front of a two-drawer table next to his nightstand, he reached for a shirt, but the drawer was empty. He had forgotten to bring up the load of wash he’d done last night and knew it was sitting on top of the dryer in Doc’s house, along with his hat.
He leaned over to the barn lamp sitting on his nightstand, pulled the glass globe off, and blew out the flame. The area around his bed dimmed and he placed the globe back down on the four brass prongs at the top of the lamp.
By the time he got to the bottom of the ladder, King was there waiting. Many of the other dogs were up and moving, but didn’t pay him much attention. They had come to know his habits—he’d be back in an hour or so.
* * *
When Katie arrived at the barn, it was only a few minutes ’till six.
The barn door was ajar, with a small gap about three feet wide—plenty of space for her to step through.
She assumed the dogs were asleep before she stepped inside, but as she looked around she saw nothing but perked ears and pairs of yellow eyes following each step. The barn would have been pitch black except for the starlight that poured through the skylights.
Katie made her way across the barn until she stopped in front of Belle's pen. Curled up next to Belle were her four puppies. Three were curled up near her tummy, their arms, legs, and ears a tangled mess of cuteness, while the fourth had buried itself into the silky soft fur around Belle’s neck. Belle lifted her head to acknowledge her and Katie smiled.
"Go back to sleep. You still need your rest," Katie whispered.
Belle obliged and laid her head back down atop a small fluff of hay.
A board creaked above Katie.
Was Kyle awake already? Was he in here with the dogs somewhere?
She had never thought to ask where Kyle stayed each night. Besides the bathroom and kitchen, she hadn't set foot any further into Doc's house—she’d just assumed both men had bedrooms in the trailer.
In the silence she heard the whispers of the night air rush past the barn door. Several purple petals from the tree just outside the barn swept past her. She watched as it dipped and fluttered upon the breeze until it landed softly on the rung of an old ladder. She kept walking until she reached the ladder, tucked away in the corner of an empty pen. It extended up towards a loft, a part of the barn that she had never even noticed in the daylight. Kyle had been very specific about her chores in the barn—not once had he mentioned anything about the loft.
She reached her hand out to a splintered rung about four feet off the ground. She must have walked past this ladder a hundred times in the past week, but never thought twice about it.
A cloud eased through the sky and the shadow of the moonlight on the wall darkened, but Katie didn't hear any sounds except the rustle of the dogs as they turned to watch her.
She placed another hand on the rung above and stepped onto the ladder. The rough wood felt surprisingly soft as her fingers pressed into each board. She couldn’t say why she felt compelled to go up there, but she did.
Katie reached the top of the ladder and grabbed the railing on either side, pulling herself into the loft. When she looked to her right she was pretty sure she had her answer about where Kyle slept.
Set on a square nightstand built from several fruit pallets was an old-fashioned kerosene lamp. It was in the shape of a teardrop, with a cylindrical chamber on the bottom that was half full, but no flame was lit. On one side of the nightstand was a small table, on the other side a bed. There was no box spring, just a built-up timber stand about six inches off the ground and a mattress. A blanket was folded neatly at the end of the mattress and two pillows were stacked next to the barn wall that served as a headboard.
This was Kyle’s room.
Katie knew she shouldn't be here. She knew Kyle wouldn't want her here. She should turn around and slowly ease herself back down the ladder, quietly stepping from one end of the barn to the other, out through the half-open barn door and back to the cottage. Instead, she started moving towards the lamp, towards the table, and towards a dark rectangular object that drew her attention.
She sat down on the edge of the bed and reached towards the small nob on the base of the lamp. It was the size of a penny, with rough edges like a cog wheel. She turned it clockwise slightly and the cotton wick extended, but no flame ignited.
Why can’t there just be a light switch or something in here?
Sitting next to the lantern was a brown book. It was old, but it was canvas, not leather. She couldn't make out any title on the binding. She shifted her weight on the bed as she lifted the book off the table and a board creaked below her.
Katie moved her hands across the cover and binding, feeling the granular canvas cover and depressions that had been created by folding the cover back on itself over time. Her fingers moved slowly, as if she were searching for a trap door or secret chamber that would unlock another world.
She opened the book hesitantly, bending the cover back and angling the pages towards the light that crept in through a crack in the roof.
As she started to read, she heard the barn door creak open.
Shit. Kyle is back.
She slammed the book shut and shoved it into the drawer without thinking, almost knocking the lamp over as she quickly stood. The boards creaked again as she moved across the loft and towards the ladder. Too late, she realized her error.
Was the book inside the drawer, or on the table when I found it? He’s going to kill me.
Katie took the steps two at a time as she nearly slid down the ladder and out of the loft. But when she reached the barn floor, she was alone. The barn door wasn’t open any more than when she’d first arrived, and neither Kyle nor Doc were anywhere in sight. The dogs weren’t stirring, but they were still alert, eyes fixed on her movement.
She brushed some timber debris off her hands and bent over halfway to sweep off her jeans. That’s when she saw him.
Standing just inside the door where his black fur blended in with the morning shadows, was King.
He knew. She could see it in his eyes. But maybe he didn’t care, because once he saw her he came trotting up to her. He opened his mouth and his tongue fell out to the side, panting as he rubbed his shoulder against her leg like a cat.
Katie held her finger up to her lips. “This will be our little secret.”
She turned sideways and slipped back through the barn door the same way she had come in. The rising sun had just peaked the horizon. At the same time that she looked to the east, Kyle came jogging around the corner. Shirtless.
&nb
sp; Sweat dripped down his chest and arms. His shoulders were wider than she had realized, accentuated by the v-shaped taper of his torso. His stomach was taut and her eyes followed it down to the line of his jeans, hanging just below his waist.
It occurred to Katie suddenly that maybe Sam wasn’t so far off base after all. Because…wow.
He wasn’t wearing a hat, either. It was the first time she’d seen him without one. His hair was dark brown, almost black. Short on the sides, and just enough to run her fingers through on the top. Katie moved to take a step towards him—except it wasn’t a step at all, because her foot caught on a small rock embedded in a patch of clay and she tripped. She tried to break the fall with her arms, but she had been too distracted to recover quickly enough. As she hit the ground she let out a soft whimper, her shoulder driving hard into the dirt.
Kyle paused and looked down at her, stopping several feet away.
"There's a storm coming in," he said, walking past her and towards Doc’s house.
"Don't worry, I'm fine," Katie remarked sarcastically as she stood up, brushing herself off for the second time that morning.
Or maybe Sam doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about.
Chapter 24
It took them several hours to clean and secure the barn. Kyle was very specific about how he wanted everything—hay bales were to be stacked in a certain order, the rigging needed to be taken off the wall and banded together on the ground, water bowls had to be put away, and so on.
It was almost noon when Kyle stood at the entrance of the barn, his left hand pressed high against the timber frame as he looked out at the dark skies. Meanwhile, Katie silently counted the dogs as she walked past each pen.
"Thirty-one," she said, barely audible. "One is missing."
She looked over at Kyle standing just below the timber lintel. King wasn't standing next to him.
"King is missing," she said as she jogged up next to Kyle.
