She picked up a wire brush and went to work, scraping away years of dirt and rust from one of the big tractor wheels. She went over the rough spots with sandpaper until they were smooth to the touch. Some of the damage was deep and took more time, but she loved this kind of work. The more tedious the task, the more lost she became in the detail. When she worked, the fear and hurt receded and she was able to feel like something she did made a difference.
Rhea focused on a particularly damaged area. She worked the edges of the wire brush along the curve of the wheel with more force than usual. Her grip slipped, and the brush crashed into her other hand and stabbed into her thumb.
“Ouch, dammit.” She popped the injured thumb into her mouth and let the brush fall to the floor. She grabbed a paper towel from a roll on the workbench and looked at her thumb to survey the damage. There was a thin gash in the side where the skin had been peeled away and blood welled up from it as fast as she could wipe it away. As she stared at her thumb, the image of her brushing it across Morgan’s lip flashed in her memory. Morgan’s skin had been cold, and Rhea was surprised by how soft and smooth it was. Her skin had tingled and heat spread through her hand and up her arm. Rhea rubbed her finger and thumb together but couldn’t replicate the sensation of touching Morgan’s skin. She lifted her hand and touched her own lips, but it wasn’t the same. Why had she felt the need to touch Morgan? It wasn’t like her to touch anyone, but she had reached for Morgan without thinking.
Rhea thought back on their morning. Morgan had been playful and thoughtful, and Rhea had had fun, but there was more to what she was feeling. At first she had been afraid of getting on the sled with Morgan. She’d decided that being in the back would help her feel in control of what was happening, but the moment Morgan had pulled her legs around her and Rhea had wrapped her arms around Morgan, she had felt far from safe. But she hadn’t been afraid of Morgan. She was afraid of how she felt about being so close to her. She was confused by how comfortably her body had fit against Morgan and intrigued by the contrast of strength and softness of Morgan’s body. Mostly she had been mesmerized by the feel of her own breasts pressed against Morgan’s back.
Rhea shook her head. Thank God, Morgan hadn’t noticed what a mess she’d been. She wasn’t herself when she was with Morgan. Rhea looked around the room for a first-aid kit as she wrapped her thumb in the paper towel. The best she could come up with was a roll of electrical tape, which she used to secure the paper towel in place. That would have to do for now.
She picked up the brush and tried to go back to work but her body was humming with energy, and she couldn’t think about anything but Morgan. What was happening to her? Was this normal? Did women always feel this drawn to each other? Maybe she was just learning to be close to someone. She knew Morgan was a lesbian, but Morgan hadn’t done anything to suggest any sexual interest. She had been relieved by that, but she’d also been a little disappointed. There had been a moment on the hill when she’d wanted Morgan to kiss her. Morgan wasn’t like anyone she’d ever known. Morgan didn’t treat her like she wanted something from her or she was trying to fill some agenda. Morgan was caring and honest and trusting and incredibly beautiful.
She thought of the sled again and how it felt to touch Morgan. Am I a lesbian? She’d known women who were with other women in prison, but she didn’t know if that was because they were locked up or because they were gay. She’d never had any interest in any of them, so what was it? She’d assumed she hadn’t been interested in the boys at school because of what her father did to her, but she’d never considered the girls either. She’d been content to stay hidden in her solitude, and her energy had been spent pretending her life was normal and protecting her secret. She’d never allowed herself to get close to anyone, for fear they would find out what she was hiding.
Rhea tossed the brush on the workbench in frustration. Whatever was happening, she had no idea what to do about it. Maybe she didn’t have to do anything about it, and it would just go away. She liked her life the way it was and there wasn’t anything else she needed. As long as she kept her feelings to herself, she didn’t have anything to worry about.
She just needed to stop thinking about Morgan.
Rhea turned off the heater and put away her tools. It was clear she wasn’t going to get much done tonight, so she might as well head home.
“Come on, Soldier.” Rhea tapped her hand against the side of her leg. Immediately Soldier came to her side, ready to go.
She stepped out into the chill night air and saw Morgan walking across the yard toward the barn and instantly felt a thrill of excitement.
Soldier ran to Morgan before Rhea could think. Morgan changed her direction and headed toward her. Rhea’s heartbeat sped up, and she was suddenly nervous. Rhea stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat and waited.
“Hey,” Morgan said.
“Hey,” Rhea replied.
“You’re up late.”
Rhea shrugged. “I lost track of time. I should have the tractor ready in a couple of weeks, I think.”
“Wow, that’s fast. I didn’t think it would be possible before summer.”
Rhea swayed from foot to foot, uncomfortable but happy Morgan was pleased. “Yeah, it was in better shape than we thought, and I’ve had a lot of time to put in on it.” She looked toward the house and back to Morgan. “You making a round?”
Morgan nodded. “Yeah, one last check on the animals for the night.”
“I get it. Do you need some help?” Despite her earlier desire to shut Morgan out of her thoughts, she was looking for any reason to be with her, now that she was so close.
“No. I’ll just give a quick look and head back in.”
Rhea shrugged, trying not to let her disappointment show. “Okay.” She took a step away and waved. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“Good night,” Morgan said, staring after her.
Rhea walked away even more confused than before. She was disappointed that Morgan hadn’t wanted her to stay or hadn’t wanted to talk more. But since when did she care about things like that? She kicked a rock with her boot and watched it skitter across the lawn. She wasn’t sure why she was in a bad mood all of a sudden, but seeing Morgan had stirred her up again, and she was more confused than ever. She stopped to wait for Soldier, who was unusually interested in an old oak tree that stood between her house and Morgan’s.
“What is it, Soldier?”
Soldier twitched his ears in her direction but kept his nose to the ground.
She was curious and followed him, trying to figure out what he was trying to tell her. He’d never shown any interest in the squirrels before—maybe it was an opossum or a raccoon.
Rhea circled the tree but didn’t see anything on the ground. It was a full moon, and she could see through the branches clearly, but she moved the beam of her flashlight through the branches just to be sure and didn’t see anything unusual.
Soldier put his nose to the ground and began tracking a scent. Rhea was curious, so she followed him. They made it to the edge of the yard that edged the woods when a loud crack shattered the silence. Rhea flinched and looked around, trying to figure out what had happened. Another crack, and this time dirt and rocks scattered across the ground in front of her.
“What the hell?”
A third crack, and Soldier yelped and fell to the ground. An instant latter he jumped up and was biting at his front leg as if something had a hold on him.
Rhea ran to Soldier and grabbed the scruff of his neck. He whined and fell onto his side. A line of blood trickled from his shoulder. Panic rose in Rhea’s chest making it hard to breathe. “No!” She grabbed Soldier up in her arms and ran. He was surprisingly heavy, and she stumbled more than once and almost fell.
“Morgan.” Rhea yelled into the night. She had to get help. Soldier needed help. Oh God, I can’t lose him.
“Morgan. Help.” Rhea’s lungs burned, and her arms were getting weak. She didn’t think she could go
much further.
*
Morgan burst out of the barn and looked around, trying to locate the sound of the cries. Rhea was running toward her with Soldier in her arms. Morgan broke into a run when Rhea stumbled. She grabbed Rhea and Soldier together, holding Rhea so that she didn’t drop him or fall to the ground. “What happened?”
“I think he’s been shot.”
Morgan stiffened with shock and looked around. “What? How?”
Tears streamed down Rhea’s cheeks, and her eyes were wide with fear. Morgan didn’t understand but there was no time to figure it out. “Sit down,” she said as she pulled Rhea and Soldier to the ground. “Let me look at him.”
Soldier’s shoulder and front leg were wet with blood. She prodded the area around the wound, and Soldier yelped and whined and licked her hand as if trying to tell her to be gentle.
“What do we do?” Rhea asked.
Morgan looked up and her heart broke at the sight of pain and fear and grief marring Rhea’s face. Morgan pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and hit speed dial. After the second ring a craggy voice came on the line. She spoke frankly and explained what had happened. “I’ll be at your clinic in fifteen minutes.” Morgan hung up and scooped Soldier into her arms. “Let’s go.”
Rhea didn’t hesitate. The calm command in Morgan’s voice demanded obedience and gave her an anchor to cling to. She jumped to her feet and ran to Morgan’s truck. She held Soldier in her lap as Morgan sped down the long gravel drive and onto the main road through town. Despite their speed it seemed like hours before they pulled in to the parking lot of the animal hospital. The lights were on inside, and a slight woman with gray hair pulled back in a ponytail and rimless glasses stood outside, waiting for them. She wore jeans and work boots and a faded and stained sweatshirt with the sleeves pushed up to the elbows. Morgan pulled the truck only feet from where she stood. The woman reached for the door before the truck stopped. Morgan jumped out and ran to Rhea’s side. She slid her arms around Soldier and carried him inside.
The woman opened the door and ushered them in.
“Thanks for meeting us,” Morgan said tightly.
“Give him to me now, Matt’s already in the back getting us ready. I’ll let you know something in a few minutes.”
“I want to go with him,” Rhea said, fear strangling her words.
“I’ll take good care of him. Now I need to you let go and trust me.”
Morgan put her arm around Rhea and walked her to a chair in the waiting room as the vet carried Soldier away. She knew how hard it was for Rhea to trust anyone, and Soldier was the one thing she cared for in the whole world. She couldn’t lose him now.
“Come on, let Dr. Stevens do her job. She’s good. You can trust her, Rhea.”
Rhea looked down at her hands and rubbed at the blood staining her skin.
Morgan wrapped her hands around Rhea’s and rubbed her thumbs across her wrists, wanting so much to absorb Rhea’s pain. She picked at the electrical tape wrapped around Rhea’s thumb. “What’s this?”
Rhea glanced at her hand, but her eyes were unfocused. “It’s nothing. I scraped it on a wire brush earlier and couldn’t find a Band-Aid.”
Morgan feathered her fingers across Rhea’s skin. She needed to know what happened but wasn’t sure Rhea was in any shape to talk about it. Morgan took a deep breath. “Can you tell me what happened?”
Rhea shook her head and closed her eyes against the images flashing behind her eyelids over and over again. “We were just walking home and he got distracted up by the old oak. I thought he was tracking an animal or something, so I followed him back to the tree line. I heard a noise like a pop, but I didn’t realize what it was. Then it came again, and this time rocks and dirt flew up from the ground between us. A second later it came again, and Soldier cried out and fell. I grabbed him and ran.”
“Three shots? That’s what you heard?”
Rhea closed her eyes tight, trying to remember. “Yeah. I’m sure it was three.” Rhea opened her eyes and looked at Morgan. “Why would anyone shoot him? He doesn’t bother anyone. He’s a good dog.”
Morgan wrapped her arms around Rhea and hugged her. “I don’t know.” Morgan rocked her in her arms and Rhea focused on Morgan’s touch and allowed the warmth to penetrate the cold fear around her heart. She couldn’t think about losing Soldier. He had to be okay. Morgan would make sure they were okay.
Morgan ran through Rhea’s description and was certain what Rhea described was gunfire. But what troubled her most was how deliberate it seemed. No one could accidentally shoot at Rhea three times, and no one would be out hunting at that time of night, that close to the farm.
“Did you see anyone, hear anything?”
Rhea pulled away and stood up. She paced back and forth across the room, wringing her hands together as if she could rub the fear and worry away. “Nothing. It was quiet. I didn’t see anything. It was so dark beyond the tree line, I couldn’t see anything.”
Tension rippled through Morgan until her muscles were so taut they felt like they would turn to stone. She didn’t know what to do, and her helplessness was making her crazy, but she couldn’t let Rhea see her fear. She had to keep it together and figure this out.
“How long do you think this will take? It’s already been too long. Something’s wrong.”
Morgan leaned back in her chair and tried to sound calm. “We’ve only been here a little over an hour. Dr. Stevens will tell us something as soon as she can.”
Rhea bit her lip and stared at the closed door dividing them from the treatment room as if trying to see through the walls. Her body was hard and unwavering, and a muscle jumped at the side of her jaw, but her eyes were soft and pleading.
Morgan stood and placed her hand on Rhea’s back. “Why don’t you come over here and sit down for a while?”
Rhea glanced at Morgan as if considering the invitation.
The door opened, and Dr. Stevens came out. Rhea jumped and Morgan gripped her shoulder.
Dr. Stevens smiled. “He’s going to be fine.” She held up her hand and showed a misshapen piece of metal. Morgan took it and rolled it in her palm. It was a small-caliber bullet that had been flattened on one side from impact with something hard.
“My guess is it ricocheted off something before hitting the dog. Good thing too, it took a lot of the punch out of the impact and the bullet didn’t shatter the bone. We sewed him up, and he should be good as new in a few weeks. But he’ll need to stay off the leg, of course.”
Rhea gasped and Morgan felt a tremor run through the muscles in Rhea’s shoulders. She was relieved to hear Soldier would be okay, but she was even more relieved that Rhea didn’t suffer the loss.
“That’s great news, Doc. Can we go back now?” Morgan asked.
Dr. Stevens smiled. “Of course.”
Morgan walked with Rhea to the recovery room. Soldier was lying on his side asleep, his big red tongue hanging out of his mouth. His shoulder had been shaved and bandaged and he still had an intravenous line in his leg. Morgan watched Rhea tentatively run her fingers over his thick fur and kiss his head. She was so used to Rhea being tough and stubborn and strong. It was hard seeing her so vulnerable and exposed. Morgan felt something inside her shift and had a sudden fierce desire to protect her.
“How did this happen, Morgan?” Dr. Stevens asked.
Morgan shook her head. “I don’t know. Rhea says the shots came out of the woods at the farm. She didn’t see who did it.”
“Hmm. That’s odd. I didn’t think you allowed hunting on your land.”
Morgan sighed. “I don’t. And I don’t think this was a hunter.” Morgan held up the bullet they’d pulled from Soldier’s shoulder. “This looks like a .22 slug to me. No one hunts anything at night with a gun that small. Rhea says she heard three shots.”
“Damn.”
Morgan nodded again. “Yeah, I think I need to give the sheriff a call.”
Dr. Stevens nodded. “Go on, I’l
l stay with her. It’ll be a while before he comes around enough to go home anyway.”
“Thanks,” Morgan said and stepped out of the room.
*
Two hours later Morgan walked outside with the young officer who had taken their statements. He had a light, easygoing turn to him and didn’t seem to think the incident was a big deal.
“I’m sure this was just one of the local kids out messing around looking for opossums and other varmints after getting his first gun for Christmas. I can come out and take a look around, but to be honest I don’t think I’ll find much in the dark, and whoever it was is surely long gone by now.”
The young officer looked like he was fresh out of high school, and Morgan got the feeling he had better things to do than tromp around her farm in the dark. “Just the same, I’d appreciate it if someone would come out and take a look anyway. I’m not ready to accept this as an accident. This is the second incident I’ve had in just a few days.”
The officer nodded and made a few notes on a small notebook and checked his watch. “All right, Ms. Scott, I’ll have someone check your place.” He paused as if he’d just thought of something. “I’m sorry about your dog. I hope he’s okay.”
Morgan smiled. “Thanks.” She watched him leave and went back to the treatment room where Rhea sat with Soldier.
Rhea looked up at Morgan and sighed. The look in her eyes hardened. “Do you think they’ll do anything?”
Morgan shrugged. “I don’t know that there’s much they can do. I have to agree that there won’t likely be anything for them to find.”
Rhea frowned. “We have the bullet.”
Without thinking Morgan slid her arm around Rhea’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “I’m afraid that won’t help us much. And I don’t like it either. First it was the thing with the horse feed and now this. I get the feeling somebody is trying to tell me something.”
Love’s Redemption Page 14
