A Randall Thanksgiving

by Judy Christenberry

  Meanwhile no one else needed to know her decision. Especially not Harry Gowan. She was enjoying his goodbye kisses too much to take away his reason for them. A wicked smile crossed her lips at the thought.

  “What are you thinking about, young lady?” he mother asked softly.

  “Mom, when did you wake up?”

  “Just in time to see that interesting smile. You haven’t answered my question.”

  “Oh, I’ve been sketching designs I might want to make. What do you think of this one?” Melissa asked, hoping to distract her. She showed her a necklace.

  “I like it. What’s the center stone?”

  “Mmm, I was thinking an opal, but a citrine might look good, too. I could make it with both stones.”

  “I might be interested in buying one of those.”

  “Mom, you don’t have to buy anything I make. I think an opal would look best on you. I’ll make it for you for Christmas.”

  “I think your father should buy it for me. It might make up for his trying to force you to stay.”

  Melissa leaned over to kiss her mother’s cheek. “He’s already apologized, Mom. I knew it was because you talked to him, but I still appreciated it.”

  “Good for him.”

  “Have they gotten you out of bed yet? Caro said they would.”

  “No, but I went to sleep after lunch. Probably—”

  Camille stopped speaking as the door to her room opened and a nurse came in.

  “Right on cue,” she muttered.

  “You were expecting me?” the nurse called cheerfully.

  “My daughter was asking if you’d gotten me out of bed yet. I said you hadn’t had time because I went to sleep after lunch.”

  “Then I am right on cue. Dr. Randall said we should get you up before you went to bed tonight. It’s going to be hard for you, but it’ll make it easier in the morning. Okay?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Melissa, do you want to stay? If you have trouble watching your mom struggle—”

  “No, I won’t. I need to be here so I’ll know how to help her when she gets home.”

  “Good for you. Okay, Camille, let’s give it a try. Sit up and slide your legs over the side of the bed.”

  Camille, grimacing, did as she was told.

  “Okay. Now I’m going to help you stand. Let me do the work. Then we’ll walk.”

  Melissa stood back and watched as the nurse helped her mother take about six steps. Then they turned and walked back to the bed.

  “Good job, Camille.”

  “Th-thank you,” she muttered.

  “I’m going to give you another pain pill now,” the nurse said. “You’ve earned it.”

  Melissa moved closer and held her mother’s hand after she took the medication. Slowly, Camille relaxed, and soon fell asleep.

  After a moment, when she was sure her mother was sound asleep, Melissa stepped out to the nurse’s desk. “My mom went to sleep after she took her pain pill.” She nodded over her shoulder toward the room. “If she wakes up before I get back, can you tell her I stepped out for just a minute?”

  “Will do,” the nurse replied.

  Melissa pulled on her coat and went out into the brisk air and sunshine. She walked quickly down the sidewalk until she reached the Sheriff’s Office.

  Inside, she found Harry alone. “Hi, Harry,” she said softly.

  He jumped up before she finished speaking. “Melissa! Is everything all right? Your mother—”

  “She’s fine. She’s sleeping now. I just wanted to be sure— That is, my dad said he was coming to see you, and asked if he could deliver a message from me. I said no, but I wasn’t sure I could trust him.”

  Harry looked puzzled. “No, he didn’t say anything about a message. What was it?”

  “There wasn’t any message. I was just afraid he might make up something. You know, in a matchmaking effort.”

  “No, I think he’s given up on that idea.”

  She walked over and sat on the edge of his desk. “Really?”

  “Yeah. He thanked me for interrupting your argument and getting you out of there. He said he’d been wrong to start it. He even said he realized you had to make your own decisions.”

  “Don’t give him too much credit. Mom read him the riot act after John mentioned that we almost had a fight.”

  “I see. Well, it must make you feel good to know he’ll accept your decision if you decide to go back to France.”

  “If?”

  “I thought maybe you’d reconsidered.”

  “I have to go back to France.” To pack up her belongings, but she wasn’t revealing that decision to Harry. Especially since she wasn’t returning to Rawhide to live.

  “Damn, lady, you’ve got to stop telling me that.”

  Since he didn’t immediately take her in his arms, she decided he needed a little more persuasion. “Why? Are you going to kiss me goodbye again?”

  “I guess I might as well, since you’re going.” He stood and tugged her into his arms for another gut-wrenching kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and didn’t let him pull away. He deepened the kiss and she felt the magic all the way to her toes. No one man could kiss the way Harry Gowan could. In fact, she felt as if she’d never been kissed before. Until now.

  They were so caught up in the moment, neither of them heard the door open.

  “Harry, I— Harry?”

  Harry almost dropped Melissa as he realized his partner had walked in on them, but caught her as she started to stumble. Then, with great decorum, he set her away from him.

  “Uh, Steve, is there anything to report?”

  “No, nothing at all,” Steve said, his eyes wide as he stared at them.

  “Melissa just…uh, stopped off to tell me her mother is doing well.”

  “Good to hear.”

  They all stood there, unease and embarrassment filling the space between them. Finally, Melissa moved toward the door. “I’d better get back to the hospital,” she said, smiling over her shoulder at Harry.

  He immediately moved after her, catching up with her at the door. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “You will?” She couldn’t help the jump her heart made.

  “Yeah. I’ll come take you to breakfast.”

  “Okay.”

  A smile played about her lips as she walked out. She’d hoped Harry would extend an invitation if she came to see him.

  Mission accomplished.

  “HARRY, I’M SORRY I interrupted you, but—I didn’t know you and Melissa were— I mean, you didn’t seem very friendly the other day when she came into the workout facility.”

  “She didn’t actually come in, Steve. She just opened the door.”

  “Well, yeah, you seemed just as upset as me when she did that.”

  “It doesn’t matter. She’s going back to France after the holidays.”

  “But, Harry—”

  “Let it go, Steve!”

  “Okay.” He walked to his desk, his head bent. “Did you hear about Wayne?”

  “Yeah, he told me when I came in.” Harry sat back down and started working on the weekly schedule again.

  Steve was silent for several minutes, and Harry thought he’d discouraged any further conversation. He was wrong.

  “Would you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “Give up your job just because your wife said to.”

  “Like Wayne said, his first allegiance is to his wife.”

  “So you’d do the same thing?”

  “I’m not married, Steve. You know that.”

  “I know, but if you got married.”

  Harry shook his head. “I’m not, so I’m not going to speculate on it. But if you are, your prime allegiance should go to your wife.”

  More silence.

  Harry again drew a deep breath, glad he’d ended that conversation. But he was wrong again.

  “My wife wants us to move back to Denver to be with her par
ents.”

  Harry looked up. “Are they in poor health?”

  “No. Her father goes out and plays golf every day, and her mother volunteers all over town. They’re perfectly happy.”

  “Then why does she want to go back?”

  “She’s spoiled. She thinks she can always get her way.”

  “Well, if you’re going to give in to her, Steve, talk her into waiting until we find someone to take Wayne’s place.”

  Steve shook his head. “Heck, I’m not giving in. She agreed to move here with me when I got the job. She can’t change her mind now.”

  “Your decision, Steve, but remember what I said.”

  “I know.”

  “I need to finish the schedule now. We’re all going to have to take up the slack until we find someone new.”

  “Does the sheriff have a waiting list?”

  “I haven’t talked to him about it.”

  “Okay. I’ll let you work now. Maybe I’d better take another walk around town.”

  “Good idea,” Harry agreed, keeping his head down. But when the door closed behind Steve, he slumped back in his chair. He’d tried to keep Melissa out of his mind while he was talking to his partner, but she was still firmly planted there. How could he focus on anything else when he’d just held her in his arms?

  He thought he had better self-discipline than he’d demonstrated so far. If he wasn’t careful, people were going to start talking about him and Melissa. After she went back to France, he’d have to deal with sympathetic smiles and pats on his back, people trying to let him know that they all felt for him.

  It might be more than he could bear.

  But Melissa leaving was definitely more than he could bear if he didn’t keep his distance from her from now on.

  And, damn it, he’d promised to take her to breakfast in the morning!

  What was wrong with him?

  Harry rubbed his face. It was too late to think about canceling his breakfast date. He wouldn’t do that to Melissa. Tomorrow, he’d have to tell her he’d be avoiding her from then on.

  He could do that, right? He could look into those big blue eyes, study those pouty lips and tell her he wouldn’t be kissing her goodbye anymore, couldn’t he?

  He shook his head, unconsciously giving himself his answer. Lord have mercy, he didn’t know.

  Chapter Seven

  Harry was finally hard at work—after an hour of alternately castigating himself and searching his soul—when the door opened again.

  He was afraid to look up this time.

  “Harry, you’re just the man I wanted to see.”

  The words were ones he longed to hear, but the speaker was Mike Davis.

  “Hey, Sheriff, working double time?” he asked, finally letting himself glance up.

  “I wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. Get your opinion on something.”

  “I was just making out the schedule now.” Harry held out the piece of paper he’d been working on.

  Mike pulled out a chair beside Harry’s desk. “Good. But actually, I wanted to talk to you about a couple of men I think might take Wayne’s place.”

  “You got someone in mind?”

  “Yeah. One of them is Trevor Kenyon. He’s a deputy in Buffalo. He’s mentioned to me several times that he’d like to move back to Rawhide. His folks are from here.”

  “Right, I remember him. Good looking guy.” Harry stopped himself. Rawhide didn’t need a handsome deputy. Unless… “He’s married, right?”

  “Yeah. Why would that matter?”

  Damn it, was he losing his mind? “Uh, it doesn’t, really. I’ve just heard that married men were more settled.”

  Mike rolled his eyes. “You’re not married, Harry, and you’re my best deputy.”

  “Thanks, Mike. But, as a rule, I mean—”

  Mike looked at him through narrowed eyes. “Are you trying to tell me you’ve got your eye on a young lady and you don’t want any competition?”

  “No! No, that’s not what I meant at all.”

  “Good, ’cause I’ve been wondering. I’ve heard rumors, you know.”

  “What kind of rumors?” Harry asked sharply.

  Mike smiled. “I heard you’re interested in a Randall lady.”

  “She’s leaving. She’s going back to France.” He regretted his response at once because it only confirmed the rumors.

  “Are you sure? You’re usually pretty persuasive.”

  “I’m not trying to be. She has to want to stay here on her own. It won’t work any other way.”

  Mike gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Harry. I’d hoped for better for you. These Randall women are hard to forget.”

  “Yeah, even if they live in France.”

  “Well, Trev definitely wouldn’t be a threat. The other man I was thinking about is Dale Henry. He’s on the Cody staff. We could make a simple switch and ensure Wayne a job there.”

  “Is Dale married?”

  “No, he’s not.” Mike waited for Harry’s response.

  With a sigh, he said, “I’d have to vote for the switch with the Cody sheriff, to give Wayne a job there. He’s been really good for us. He deserves the job.”

  Mike smiled. “I appreciate the sacrifice, Harry. I know Wayne will, too.”

  “It’s not really a sacrifice. Like I said, she’s going back to France anyway.”

  “Even if she were to stay here, I don’t think anyone could knock you out of the running, Harry. The whole town is behind you.”

  “No one knows, Mike!”

  “Aw, come on, Harry, you know this community better than that. You kissed the woman on a downtown street!”

  “There wasn’t anyone around, I swear!”

  “Not when you started kissing, Harry, but by the time you finished, Wayne wasn’t the only one who saw you.”

  “Damn!”

  Mike laughed. “You’ve got to look for ’em around every corner, boy. Folks love to talk about our love lives. When Caro and I were dating, they knew our every move.”

  “I remember. But I thought I’d been discreet.”

  “Yeah, I thought so, too. And I wasn’t just kissing her. It’s a wonder Jake didn’t throw a punch my way.”

  “Melissa swears her dad is trying to play matchmaker for the two of us.”

  Mike rubbed the back of his neck. “Could be. The Randalls seem to think they can maneuver their daughters that way.”

  “Was Jake trying to match up the two of you?”

  “Yeah, I guess so. But I didn’t put any stock in it.”

  “Yeah, me neither,” Harry said glumly.

  Mike stood and slapped his friend on his shoulder. “Maybe things will work out, Harry. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you. And thanks for making the right decision about Wayne.”

  “Sure, boss. No problem.”

  No. No problem. Because he figured Melissa would be back in France before Dale could move to Rawhide.

  MIKE ENTERED the small house on one of the few back streets of Rawhide. The place still looked the same as it had the first time he’d entered it, to arrest the woman inside for breaking and entering.

  Then he’d married her.

  “Honey, is that you?” Caroline called.

  Before he could answer, she came into the room, carrying their baby. Their oldest son came running after his mother.

  “Well, this is a fine welcome.” He bent over to kiss his wife, then his baby, Jake. Then he opened his arms to his four-year-old son, Samuel. “How is everyone?” he asked.

  “We’re fine. Did you visit with Harry?”

  “Yeah, he voted for the switch so Wayne could have a job. I figured he would, but he had to make a hard choice.”

  “He doesn’t like the new man?”

  “He’s never met him. But he asked if he was married.”

  “Is he?”

  “No.”

  Caroline eyed her husband. “You’re trying to tell me something, but you’re just going to h
ave to come out with it. I’m not catching on.”

  Mike settled on the sofa and set his son on his feet. “Go play, Sam. I need to talk to Mama.”

  Caroline joined him on the sofa. “Okay, what?”

  “Harry’s falling for someone.”

  “Really? That’s great!” Caroline said with a big smile. Harry was a favorite of hers.

  “No, not so great. He’s falling for a Randall.”

  “A Randall? But there aren’t any— Melissa! That’s why he was in the waiting room this morning.”

  “Probably. It’s all over town that someone saw him kissing her on the street this morning.”

  “That wasn’t too discreet.”

  “That’s the funny part. He thought he was being discreet!”

  Caroline laughed. “In Rawhide?”

  “Honey, can’t you talk to her?”

  Caroline stopped laughing. “About what?”

  “Staying here.”

  “No, I can’t, and I can’t believe Harry would want me to.”

  Mike sighed. “All right, you’re on the same page with Harry.”

  “You mean he doesn’t want me to talk to Melissa?”

  “I never said he did. You just assumed—”

  She punched him in his gut. “Mike Davis, you tried to sucker me!”

  “Hey, that’s not fair. I was just trying to get some help for Harry. I want him to be happy.”

  Caroline moved closer, leaning into her husband’s arms. “I want that for him, too. But Melissa lives in France. She’s only here for a visit.”

  “He knows.”

  “If she ever asks my opinion, I’ll encourage her, but it has to be her decision.”

  “That’s what Harry said, too.”

  “Now that we’ve had our little chat, go change your son’s diaper while I start fixing dinner.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Come on, shorty.”

  MELISSA AND HER MOTHER spent the evening chatting about their lives and their loved ones. It was a time Melissa cherished. She even considered telling her Mom about her decision. But she didn’t. Not because she couldn’t trust her; she knew she could. But she feared her mother would think her illness had forced the decision.