Crossroads (Chance City Series Book Three)

by Robin Deeter

  Reese frowned. “Why didn’t you stop it? You’re a lawman.”

  “It’s hard trying to control two guys who were hell-bent on killing each other. Aaron jumped in to help, but the rest of the crowd started taking bets, so no one else would try to stop the fight. Wheels is strong as an ox when he gets riled up and—”

  Walt cut in. “We’re not at a trial. Ye’ve heard what happened, Reese. Wheels has never been in trouble before and ya know how important Ollie is to him. It’s only reasonable that he’d protect him. How about lettin’ Wheels out? I doubt Luther will follow through on pursuin’ litigation.”

  Reese said, “Wheels can’t get off scott-free.”

  Susan stepped closer. “Mr. Burton, you can’t keep him in jail. He can’t be taken care of properly there and those cells are so small. It’s hard for him to turn his chair around in such tight quarters.”

  Vern chimed in and Reese held up a hand to quiet them. “Ok, ok. I agree that being in jail would be too much of a hardship for Wheels, but he did injure Luther quite badly. I’ll recommend to Judge Fairbanks that Wheels be given a three hundred dollar fine, thirty days of house arrest, and that he can’t go to the Chowhound for two months.”

  Walt said, “Three hundred dollars when it wasn’t his fault the fight started in the first place? And the rest of it, too? That’s unacceptable.”

  Reese’s bushy gray eyebrows drew together. “Don’t push me, Walt. You got me right after church and I haven’t eaten dinner yet.” He patted his sizable girth. “I get cranky when I’m hungry. I don’t have to make any recommendations at all and if you argue with me, I won’t.”

  The look in Reese’s dark eyes told Walt that he meant it. “Fine. Can he go home today?”

  Brock said, “We’re not really set up at the jail for someone like Wheels.”

  Reese sighed. “Ok, but if Fairbanks doesn’t go for the deal, he’ll have to go back to jail. So make sure Wheels understands that he can’t leave home.”

  Susan said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Burton, I’ll make sure he understands.”

  Reese nodded. “Very good. I’ll let you know what Fairbanks says tomorrow. Good day to you all.”

  Susan drew herself up and marched off with angry strides.

  “Susan! Where are you going? The buggy is this way!” Vern hollered after her.

  “I’m going to give my son a piece of my mind!”

  *****

  Wheels had never been so glad to get home and away from his mother. He loved her dearly, but when she got on a tear, it was hell being around her. She’d given him a blistering lecture about fighting at the bar and then had cried and hugged him. Then she’d scolded him again.

  Letting out a sigh, he rolled his shoulders, trying to loosen the kinks in his tense muscles. He could use a massage and something else that would loosen him up, too. Smiling, he rolled over to the stand on which his phone sat. Picking up the handset, he called over to the Chowhound.

  “Chowhound, what do you want?” Sandy asked.

  Wheels laughed. “Hi, Sandy. You know, it’s a good thing you’re not a doctor. Your bedside manner stinks.”

  “My bedside manner is just fine. Ask Jim. He’ll tell you. What can I do you out of, Wheels? They let you out of the clink, huh?”

  “Boy, word travels fast,” Wheels said. “Can you get Wendy for me, please?”

  “Sure thing, honey. Hold on.”

  Wheels played with Ollie while he waited, but it wasn’t long before Wendy Baker came on the line.

  “Well, hello, handsome,” she said.

  “Hello, sweetheart. How about making a house call tonight? I’m not allowed to come to the Chowhound for two months for my bad behavior last night.”

  “That’s terrible! Of course, I’ll come see you,” she said. “Is eleven all right?”

  “Absolutely,” Wheels said. “See you then.”

  “Bye, honey.”

  Wheels hung up, smiling with anticipation. Wendy was the only one of Sandy’s girls whom he ever slept with. This was because she was experienced in dealing with a man like him and she never got upset if things didn’t go right. His sensation wasn’t quite the same as it had been before his accident which made his sexual abilities unpredictable.

  Sometimes he had to work harder than others to make something happen and other times nothing happened at all. The first time things had fizzled after he’d attempted intimacy, he’d been devastated. Wendy had been the woman he’d been with and she’d comforted him when he hadn’t been able to control his emotions.

  He’d seen her exclusively ever since then because she had incredible patience and she made it fun no matter what happened. She knew what excited him and what was most likely to work for him. He’d never dared to see one of the other girls for fear of embarrassment.

  Looking over in the corner of the parlor by the fireplace, Wheels contemplated donning the special contraption that he and Vern had created that supported him well enough so that he could stand and shuffle along a little. However, after Ollie’s bad night, he was loath to frighten him again. Ollie hated the braces and always hid whenever Wheels had them on.

  Standing was good exercise and since Wheels had been using the cage-like support system, he’d noticed that his legs muscles were coming back a little. He might not be able to feel his legs, but his leg muscles were responding to the increased activity and they weren’t quite as atrophied.

  When he and his father had devised the braces, they’d only been concerned with Wheels being able to stand a little. However, it had worked so well that they’d gone the next step and had kept making improvements. After a few weeks, they’d had to enlarge the device because Wheels’ legs had increased in size slightly. They would never be as muscular as they’d been before his injury, but any improvement was appreciated.

  Looking around his place, he wondered how he was going to pass the time. He had to stay in his carriage house, not even allowed to go over to his family’s house or to their machine shop. He didn’t have any design projects on the go, either.

  At loose ends, Wheels decided to go through his daily exercise routine. It was a modified version of the regimen he’d used in the army. He was determined to build and keep as much strength as possible.

  He went into his room, transferred to his bed, and took off his shirt because it would bunch up, impeding his movements. About halfway through his sit-ups, his doorbell rang. Reaching above his headboard, he pulled the cord that was connected to the little bell outside of his door. It let people know that they should come on in because he wasn’t in his chair at the moment and couldn’t get to the door.

  The front door opened and shut and Ollie raced out to the kitchen to greet their visitor.

  “Wheels?”

  He smiled as he recognized Nora Guthrie’s voice. Brock and Aaron’s little sister was a sweet girl and a good friend.

  “I’m in my room, Nora. Just doing my exercises.”

  Nora sat the plate of cookies she’d made for him that morning on the kitchen table. Ollie climbed up her, giving her a hug and kiss.

  She returned his embrace and looked into his lively amber eyes. “How’s the most handsome monkey in the world? Are you all right? I heard all about that nasty Luther. But you’re tough, aren’t you?”

  Ollie made bird-like noises as she carried him into Wheels’ room. The sight of his bare, powerful upper body hit her as though someone had punched her in the stomach. All of the physical exercises he did and constant wheeling around had created large, well-define muscles that rippled when he moved.

  Her gaze roamed over his sculpted arms and torso and the urge to touch him almost overwhelmed her. She couldn’t speak for a few moments.

  “Hi,” Wheels said, sitting up. “How are you?”

  His greeting broke the spell, but she still couldn’t take her eyes off him. “I’m fine. Better than you, I guess. At least I can leave my house.”

  Wheels smiled and Nora’s pulse skittered into a faster rhyth
m. His dark hair, deep brown eyes, and ruggedly handsome features were a combination that drew women’s gazes, including hers.

  “So you heard, huh?”

  Nora nodded. “Yeah. Brock telephoned to tell us that he had to arrest you.”

  Guilt hit Wheels, darkening his expression. “I got carried away last night. I didn’t mean to hurt Luther that badly. I kinda went crazy when he attacked Ollie like that.”

  Nora sat down in his wheelchair. “He had it coming. I don’t blame you.”

  Wheels shook his head. “Maybe so, but he has a family and they depend on his paycheck. Now he’s out of work without any money coming in.”

  Nora wasn’t surprised that Wheels would now feel sorry for a man who’d wronged him. He had a big heart and Nora wished that she could refute his statement and bring him some comfort.

  “I know.”

  Wheels sighed. “I think I’m going to talk to Walt about offering Luther some money to get them through until he can go back to work.”

  Nora said, “Your heart is in the right place, Wheels, but I think talking to Walt first is a good idea.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I brought you something that’ll cheer you up.”

  He smiled. “What’s that?”

  “Raisin-filled cookies and snickerdoodles.”

  His smile grew into a grin. “Outside of getting out of jail, you bringing cookies is the best thing to happen to me today.”

  Nora said, “Let’s go. I’ll put on some coffee.”

  Wheels waited for her to move, but when she didn’t, he said, “Nora, I sort of need my chair.”

  “Oh! Of course!” She jumped up and moved it a little closer to the bed. “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s ok.” He grabbed his shirt and shrugged into it.

  She watched him button the garment, wishing she could rip it off him again. He glanced up and caught her scrutinizing him.

  “What?”

  “I thought there was a stain on your shirt, but it was a shadow,” she lied, blushing. “I’ll go put the coffee on.”

  Wheels frowned as she left his room, trying to figure out why she was acting so funny. If it had been any other woman outside of a family member, he would’ve thought that she was uncomfortable with being in his room. However, Nora had been in it plenty of times when she came over to clean, so that wasn’t it. Giving a mental shrug, he finished with his shirt and rolled after her.

  Nora had regained her composure by the time he came into the kitchen. “I think it’s terrible that you can’t even go over to the machine shop. You have work to do. You should have Walt tell Judge Fairbanks that you’re losing income by not working.”

  “Get away from those,” Wheels said to Ollie.

  The monkey sat on one of the kitchen chairs, reaching towards the plate of cookies. He grunted, clearly put out. Wheels shook his finger at him. Nora smiled when Ollie squealed a little. She lifted the lid on the cookie jar where Wheels kept the special wasna that Cotton Lone Wolf made for Ollie.

  Ollie knew the sound of that cookie jar and hopped over onto the counter. Nora gave him a strip, which he took into the parlor, and jumped up on his favorite hassock to eat it.

  Wheels said, “Good idea. Daddy and Carl have their own work to do and don’t need to be bogged down any more with mine. If I had a place in here, I could at least do the smaller stuff, but I don’t, so I won’t.”

  Nora smiled at his funny remark. “They can’t deny you the right to work. I mean, that would be just as bad as Luther being out of work.”

  Wheels watched her put cookies on a saucer for him and his mouth watered at the sight of the plump, raisin-filled cookies. “They look incredible. How’d you know I was hungry for them?”

  “When aren’t you? I swear you’d eat them every day if I let you.”

  Wheels grunted. “It’s a good thing you don’t. I’d have to do more exercises so I didn’t get fat and not be able to get around.”

  “I don’t think there’s any danger of that. You, Mr. Ellis, are a very fine male specimen.” Nora’s eyes widened over her blurted statement and she was glad that she had her back to him so he couldn’t see the heat in her cheeks.

  Wheels grinned. “Thanks. I’ve been told that I have a nice smile.”

  “Yes, you do.” Nora took a deep breath and turned back to face him. “How are the cookies?”

  “I didn’t eat any yet. I was waiting for the coffee and for you to sit down with me,” he said.

  “Oh. Ok. How’s Skeeter?”

  Wheels wondered at her abrupt change of topic. “Skeeter is Skeeter. No change there,” he said of his unconventional younger sister.

  Nora poured their coffee and poured cream in both cups. “She sure loves that junkyard, doesn’t she?”

  “Yeah. I’m not surprised since we were always so close with Granddaddy. We loved his junkyard and we were heartbroken when he passed. Skeeter even more so than me and Carl. She was the apple of his eye.

  “Then we moved up here from Mississippi and she scrimped and scraped to get the money for the land to put one on. Of course, Mama and Daddy insisted on helping her with the start-up costs. She’s happy as a clam out there.”

  Wheels bit into a cookie, chewed, and swallowed. “I think those are the best ones you’ve made yet, sugar.”

  She gave him a coy little smile even as she broke out in goosebumps over his use of the term of endearment. It was completely innocent on his part, but she couldn’t control the way it made her feel.

  “You say that every time I make a batch.”

  “Do I?” His naughty grin revealed the dimple in his left cheek.

  Narrowing her eyes at him, she said, “You just want me to try to make them better and better so that you can keep eating them.”

  “No. I wouldn’t do that. I’m not that clever.”

  “Oh, yes, you are. You’re handsome, smart, charming, and you have a monkey. Not many men can say all that about themselves,” Nora said.

  “Very true, but I’m also in a wheelchair, so that sort of negates some of that other stuff,” Wheels said.

  Nora put the cookie she’d been about to take a bite of down on her plate. “Is that what you think? How you truly feel?”

  “Um, I …” Oh, hell. “I guess so. I mean, what woman in her right mind would wanna be saddled with—”

  Anger surged through Nora, something she was unaccustomed to feeling. She snatched away the cookie he was eating, put all of the cookies back on the plate she’d brought, and got up.

  “What are you doing?”

  Nora took their coffee cups, put them in the sink, and put her coat on.

  Wheels forehead furrowed. “What’s the matter? Why’d you do that?”

  She fastened her coat buttons, glaring at him with stormy, blue eyes. “No more cookies for you until you change your outlook.”

  Wheels felt like a child being scolded. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, Carter, you may be in a wheelchair, but you’ve never let that stop you from doing very much. No woman would be saddled with you. Shame on you for thinking about yourself that way,” she said.

  His eyes widened further. She’d never called him by his given name before. Between that and the angry sparkle in her eyes, he knew that she was seriously miffed. She turned on her heel, marched out his door, and closed it firmly behind her, leaving him to stare after her in disbelief.

  Chapter Three

  “Well, hello there, Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary.”

  A zing of awareness shot up Mary Wilmington’s spine as she recognized Ray Stratton’s voice. Turning around, she looked up into his gray eyes, which were as gorgeous as the rest of him. She should know since she was one of his best customers.

  “Hello, Mr. Stratton.”

  He smiled at her formal greeting, but understood since they stood in one of the aisles of Silver’s Mercantile.

  “How are you?” he asked in a low voice. “I haven’t seen you in a while. You didn’
t show up the last couple of weeks.”

  Her cheeks turned pink. “I heard that you were under the weather.”

  He arched an eyebrow. “Under the weather? I’m fit as a fiddle.”

  Mary glanced at his lower half. “So everything cleared up … down there?”

  His eyebrows shot up as her meaning got through to him. “There’s never been anything wrong down there. Ever. Performance or otherwise. Who told you that?”

  Mary turned a deeper shade of pink. “Miss Branson said she’d heard it from Victoria Lambert.”

  Fury took hold of Ray, but he hid it. “Well, both of those nice ladies are misinformed. I’m raring to go and clean as a whistle, so come see me this afternoon. You know where to find me.”

  Hunger lit Mary’s eyes. “One o’clock?”

  He gave her a lazy smile as he ran his gaze over her. “One o’clock it is. Rest up until then.”

  Ray winked at her and walked away, his anger growing hotter with every step.

  *****

  Mayor Carly Branson jumped when her office door banged open. Ray Stratton closed it in her secretary’s face and turned the lock.

  “I never figured you for the kind of woman who spreads baseless rumors.”

  Carly’s heart beat erratically as he strode over to stand in front of her desk.

  “Please leave, Mr. Stratton. I have no wish to speak to you.”

  Her cold attitude turned his anger to rage. “Well, I want to talk to you. How dare you interfere in my business? Meddle with my livelihood?”

  A small smile crossed her face. “So you aren’t as untouchable as you told me you were.”

  He brought his fist down hard on her desk, startling her. “I knew it! I haven’t had hardly any customers for two weeks! Do you know how much money I’ve lost?”

  She sat back in her chair. “That’s a shame.”

  He leaned over the desk and she pressed herself back further into the chair. She was surprised to see him tear up suddenly.

  “Has it ever occurred to you that someone else depends on my income? That the money I earn supports someone else? Because of you, this person’s life may be ruined.”