Rugged and Restless

by Saylor Bliss

  I snorted. “You think I took a leak in our grain then came here to use my knife on Christine’s truck?”

  Before DC could answer, Christine spoke up in a soft voice. “Travis spent the night here, DC. Since I have a perfectly usable bathroom upstairs, I doubt he felt the need to relieve himself on my truck and slash the tire as he was leaving.”

  It took me a second for her words to set in, and when they did, I stared in horror. What was she doing? Didn’t she realize the picture she was painting of herself? Not to mention placing me at the scene.

  I shifted, but froze when she touched my arm and shook her head. Then, rolling her eyes, she faced DC and gestured to the truck’s hood. “And given what we were doing most of the night, I also doubt he felt the need to whack any monkeys on my truck —or whatever you guys call it these days.”

  Oh, crap. My jaw dropped as the horror of her words caught up with me. Say something! But my brain was fried. No words presented themselves.

  DC focused a narrow-eyed gaze on Christine, assessing her silently for a moment before he answered. “Christine, you just admitted Trav was here, and it’s his knife we found.”

  Twin spots of pink decorated her cheeks, turning cherry red when she tossed her hair and the sun fell upon her face. “I just told you we had crazy monkey sex, too, so he didn’t have anything left for—”

  “Yeah, I got your meaning!” DC held up a hand as though to ward Christine off. His face was even redder than hers.

  “Geez!” I finally sputtered. “Christine—”

  With a single defiant glare, she forced me to swallow back my words.

  Breathing a little heavily, DC took a step back and continued in a tight voice. “Even if you want to file a complaint about Bull’s visit here Sunday night, suspicion’s gonna bounce off him and back onto Travis because of the crap between the two of them.” He shrugged and some of the tension drained from his stance. “At least that’s how a lawyer’ll spin it. So until we’ve got something, we’ve got nothing. I don’t like it either, but—”

  “How did you know about Sunday, DC?” Without waiting for an answer, Christine whirled and flashed a glare at me, temper flaring anew in her narrowed gaze. “You went to the sheriff?” The heat chilled and her eyes never left me. “I told you… he never touched me. You can’t arrest someone because I thought he wanted to —touch me. I didn’t want him to know I was afraid of him. I didn’t want to give him any power, so I didn’t report it.” She shivered in the eighty-degree heat and from several feet away, I felt it.

  I understood her anger. By going to DC, I’d stolen her sense of control over her encounter with Bull. Understood it and didn’t care. Just as her tenuous control of her horse was often an illusion, so was her control over any situation with Bull. I tightened my jaw, prepared for the fight.

  “Can I change my tire now, DC?” Her tone was calm, flat actually. But I could still see anger in her rigid stance, the impatient way her fingers twitched against her leg. Her eyes still shooting sparks in my direction.

  An itch developed between my shoulder blades then ran the length of my spine. Probably wants to do more than call me a jackass this time.

  DC sighed and shook his head. “Ah… Christine, I’m going to have to impound your vehicle as evidence. I’ll try and get it back as quick as possible but the state police need to process the… ah…” DC cleared his throat and stared at the ground as he finished speaking in a hushed voice. “The, uh, DNA evidence.”

  Christine’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, that’s rich. Someone attacks my truck, leaves it covered in nasty filth, and now I can’t even drive it? How am I supposed to get my errands done now?” She kicked at the gravel, sending a few stones flying through the air to land about ten feet away.

  A strangled sound garbled past my lips, despite my best effort to hold it in, and I swiftly looked away, pulling my hand down my face, trying to wipe away the smile I couldn’t contain. I wasn’t nearly fast enough.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Christine fixed me with a glare. “You think it’s funny? I’ve got a ton of errands to run and no way to get them done.”

  “No,” I said a little too quickly.

  Christine straightened, settling her hands on her hips. “Then why are you laughing like a jackass?”

  DC’s eyes slid between Christine and me. “Plead the Fifth. Seriously.”

  “Yeah, pretty sure it’s too late for that,” I murmured. “DC, go Mirandize yourself.” Christine’s blue eyes leveled on me. “I’m waiting.”

  I could think of no way to make it sound good. “When you kicked the gravel, you reminded me of the way your horse kicks when he’s pissed off. Only his kicks are generally followed by snapping teeth.”

  DC sighed and eased back —out of range, the jerk.

  Angling her head, Christine raked me from head to toe with a harsh stare. My skin stung as though I’d been dragged through a field of nettles. Then a slow smile began to light her face, and her eyes slid to the Corvette.

  I followed her gaze. “Oh, hell, no! You’re not driving my baby while you’re in this mood.”

  “Fine. I get it. You don’t want to share your toys.”

  Oh, well, that just made me feel selfish. I didn't want to lose the argument, but she sure as heck didn't fight fair. “You can borrow Dad’s truck. He doesn’t drive any longer.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled sweetly and I knew I was in trouble. “But since Justin’s truck isn’t here, are you going to drive me out there to get it so I can come all the way back to town to run my errands?”

  DC cleared his throat and handed them each a sheet of paper. “Receipts for your property. So are you two okay? Getting things worked out? Anyone gonna die in the next few minutes?” He held up a hand when Christine drew a deep breath. “Just checking.”

  “Yeah,” I said slowly. “I guess I’ll be driving Christine on some… errands.”

  DC snickered and clapped me on the shoulder, looking me in the eye. “Friend, you should have pled the Fifth about the horse.” To us both, he said, “Do the best you can to keep this from interrupting your life. It could be just something random. I can’t think of a reason in the world why old Allan got dragged into it, if it’s not.”

  I leveled a stare at DC. “He sold me a tire last week.” The sheriff gave me a hard, unreadable stare in return. Finally he nodded and looked away, and I knew I’d at least given DC something to consider.

  I held out my hand to Christine. After a hesitation so brief I might have imagined it, she slipped her hand into my and we walked to my car.

  “Use the crosswalk!” called the sheriff.

  Lifting my hand without looking back, I refrained —just —from making it a one-finger wave, as we stayed carefully between the lines.

  “Where to?” I asked, after Christine secured her seatbelt.

  She slid her sunglasses back on her face and rattled off her list of errands with a sigh. “Thanks for the lift,” she muttered, apparently still miffed.

  I slid an appreciative glance over her body. “I can think of a lot worse things I could be doing right now.” Like dealing with her cantankerous horse.

  “Still, I know you’re busy and I really do appreciate the help,” she said a little stiffly.

  Her formal tone was already grating on my last nerve. I started the car and peeled out in a spray of gravel. As we blew past the bar’s parking lot, DC tapped his badge and shook his citation pad in the air.

  Christine

  “I just sent out a substantial order to the Hawk MC last week.” Adam Reed scratched his head. “I can fill a partial for you, let you have about a quarter of this here order, but if I wipe myself out, I’m not going to be able to take care of other customers. I’m liable to lose business.”

  I stared at Adam, wondering about the chill in his voice when he spoke. Travis’s deeply furrowed brow and grim mouth matched the storm brewing in his narrowed eyes. Arms appeared to be benignly at his sides, but his right hand was
alternately clenching and relaxing. Didn’t Adam realize he was about to lose the McGee’s business? Did he care?

  “How fast can you get an extra order from the supplier?” He was either oblivious or ignoring the message behind the cold attitude. Given the set to his jaw, my money was on ignoring it. Adam shrugged. “I don’t usually special order as a rule, so I don’t know how fast they can deliver.” He looked into his storeroom, avoiding Travis’s eyes. “I’m expecting a delivery end of next week.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Most of your regular customers must already have made their monthly purchases.”

  “Look, McGee, I don’t want any trouble here.” Adam shifted his stance backward and cast a look in my direction. “What about Cloud’s blend? I have plenty of that in stock. Maybe you’ll want to upgrade.”

  Trav stared at the older man, one eyebrow raised. “Change their diet without a transition period? Sounds like I’d be asking for a stable full of sick horses.”

  I couldn’t stand it any longer. For whatever reason, both Adam and Allan had apparently decided Travis was trouble walking, and they weren’t going to make things easier for him. Where was that famous small town, close-knit fellowship?

  “Travis, Max Freeman sometimes uses a feed and tack in Oslow. Why don’t we take a run up there?”

  Adam stood up straight. “Well, you know, I don’t want to put you out, either.” He rubbed his jaw. “I can put up about half this order and I’ll call over to Oslow myself, see if Ned can spare the rest, and have it to you by tomorrow or day next.”

  Travis glanced at me, then back to Adam. He nodded, reaching into his back pocket and sliding out his wallet.

  Pickens eyed the gold credit card in my hand. “So you won’t be needing store credit?”

  His eyes glinted and he smirked, sliding the card across the counter. “Nope. But thanks for the offer.”

  Travis

  “I usually take the feed out myself when I pick up Cloud’s blend to save Grant the delivery fees,” Christine said as we crossed the parking lot.

  She was almost running to keep up, so I slowed my steps to accommodate her shorter legs, though all I really wanted to do was put immediate distance between myself and Adam Reed, before I plowed a fist into the old geezer’s sorry mouth. I’d known it wouldn’t be easy, coming home. I’d known my welcome wouldn’t be warm. Apparently gossip and propaganda were still running Pine Haven. Grant had described things as having been worse for a while. It must have been damned near intolerable right after I’d left. A twinge of guilt stabbed at my heart. If I could go back… But I couldn’t.

  “Well, since it won’t fit in my car, today it’s all going to be delivered instead.” I winced. She didn’t deserve my temper. I shot her a weak smile as I opened the car door for her.

  “Trav…” She rested one hand on the roof of the ‘Vette. She obviously had something to say but she remained silent, just looked at me with those incredible blue eyes.

  The breeze toyed with her hair, mesmerizing me when one strand wouldn’t stop teasing her face. The third time it tickled her nose, my hand got there before hers and I tucked it behind her ear.

  The tip of her tongue touched her upper lip. “Do you really think all this —the stuff here, the things that happened at the bar —is about your history with Bull?”

  If anything, I was less surprised that she’d asked, than by how long it had taken her to pose the question. I tapped my fingers against the top of the car door as I looked across the parking lot to the veterinarian’s office. Recalling my chilly reception there and Grant’s explanation for it, I nodded once. “Yeah, I’m afraid it might.”

  She stared at me for a long moment with pleading in her eyes. I should tell her about the grudge now, give her a chance to make her own decision about whether she wanted to stick it out with me. No words formed. Darts of cramping pain shot up my arm. I released my white-knuckled grip on the door and stepped back.

  She dropped into the seat and I shut the door, then rounded the car and settled behind the wheel.

  “One more stop?” Christine pointed to the drug store, her expression carefully benign.

  With a shrug of agreement, I put the car in gear and changed parking lots. When I turned off the engine and opened my door, she shot me a pleading look. “Let me go in alone. I’ll only take a minute.”

  “I was thinking of picking up some, um, protection. In case, ah…” Heat rose at the back of my neck. Now why was trying to do the responsible thing, making me feel like I was sixteen again? Christine regarded me with an arched eyebrow. “Travis, this drug store has the biggest gossip chain outside of Sundays in front of Brother Bobby’s church. I’m aware the town knows we’re seeing each other by now, but given what I told DC, do you really want to go in and pick up condoms while I’m refilling my monthly birth control? Can you imagine the talk?” Stepping back, she folded her arms across her chest, which had the effect of directing my attention there.

  My mouth went dry. How did I answer that? Why was she on birth control? And why did I even think that was anyone’s business but my own?

  Christine leaned over and forced me to meet her eyes. She chuckled. “When you think, sometimes I can literally see your mind working. At the risk of over-sharing here, the pill is for medical purposes. I’m not —and haven’t been —seeing anyone in a way that requires it for actual birth control.”

  I slowly nodded my head. “Okay.” Stupid! As if she needs your approval. Still unable to find my voice for a more profound statement, though, I did the next best thing. I winked, tipped my hat, and leaned against the fender of my car to wait for her. Just as she reached the door to the drug store, she tossed a frustrated look over her shoulder. My body reacted instantly.

  So did my heart.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Christine

  He didn’t have to stand out there looking all sexy and self-satisfied. I fumed, reaching for one of the double doors of the old drug store. I threw one last glance over my shoulder as I yanked on the handle. Phyllis MacKay fell through the door into my arms, her shopping bag flying through the air and spilling the contents on the ground between them.

  “Goodness, I’m sorry, Christine.” Phyllis stooped and began picking her purchases off the ground.

  “No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

  Phyllis glanced up at Travis, still lounging against his car. Her lips formed a cool smile. “I guess I can see why.”

  No mention of the previous evening —as though it had never happened. Well, that wasn’t so surprising. I was never quite certain if Phyllis played down her husband’s behavior because she didn’t want the attention, or because she saw nothing wrong in his frequent drunken outbursts.

  Saying nothing, I bent to grab a carton of Reds then stood and held it out.

  “Thanks.” Phyllis tucked the carton of cigarettes into her bag. She chuckled, her glance darting around the parking lot, never really settling in one direction. “Disgusting habit, smoking. I keep trying to get Wanda to quit but she’s a nervous thing without ‘em. That grandson of mine ‘bout makes her crazy.” Her smile didn’t quite reach her green eyes. “You have yourself a pleasant day now.”

  I entered the store with an edgy sense of disquiet. Phyllis MacKay had never been particularly chatty with me. Generally a nod was all she doled out, unless witnesses were present. The sudden U-turn didn’t ring true.

  As we started out of town, I laid my head back on the seat and let my eyes drift shut. The growl of the engine and the whine of the tires on the highway became white noise, comforting as a lullaby.

  The timbre of the engine changed and the road vibration dulled then stopped. Drawing in a deep breath, I opened my eyes and sat up. I must have fallen asleep.

  Travis had parked in the shade of a cottonwood tree at the baseball field just on the edge of town.

  “Why are we here?” As I had done most of the morning, I was careful to keep my voice neutral.

&nbs
p; “We need to talk.” Travis sank back into his seat and twisted slightly toward me.

  Interest stirred. I pushed myself up straight. So he was going to open up finally. Strange place for it, but long past time. “Okay.”

  “You were mad earlier.”

  Me? Is he seriously going to make this about me?

  I frowned. Best to negotiate around icebergs with care. “Of course I was mad. Someone’s messing with us. I was happy when I left my apartment this morning. Dealing with someone’s damn tantrum didn’t figure into my plans.”

  “At me,” said Travis. “You were pissed at me because I told DC about Bull coming by your place.”

  So he wasn’t going to let me in after all. I opened my mouth, ready to deny his claim, changed my mind, and huffed out a breath. “Maybe. A little.” I leveled my gaze at him. “Some.”

  “Progress.” His mouth curled into a crooked smile. “Which is it, Bluebell?”

  “I’m getting over that.” I steepled my fingers together and brought my hands up to rest my chin on my fingertips, while I considered my reactions to Travis. My body wanted to move full speed ahead. My heart seemed to want to follow. But he was so closed off even when he didn’t seem like it; what did that say about our future?

  I drew a few deep breaths to steady myself then faced him. “I know you meant well when you went to DC. But I should have been the one to go to him.”

  Irritation sparked in Travis’s eyes. “We’re in agreement there. You should have told DC. Hell, he was in your place having lunch with us and you didn’t say a word.”

  “I would have. Eventually.” I shrugged. “Probably.”

  Staring out at the bleachers lining the ball field, he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

  “Travis, I don’t need someone to take care of me. I don’t want you riding up on your white horse —or in your blue car.” I blinked back tears. “Especially if you’re still—” I whipped me head around to stare out the window.