Nothing but Trouble

by Beverly Barton

  He kissed her then, and it was all that Tallie had longed for—hot, wet, deep and filled with passion.

  Thirty minutes later, when Spence and Pattie walked into Peyton’s room, they found Tallie sitting in a chair beside Peyt’s bed, their hands still entwined while Peyton slept peacefully.

  “Breakfast has arrived,” Spence whispered as he and Pattie made their way into the room as quietly as possible.

  “And the morning paper,” Pattie added, laying the Marshallton News on the bedside table.

  Peyton opened his eyes, a drug-induced grogginess in his expression. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “About twenty minutes,” Tallie told him.

  He squeezed her hand. “How about a cup of coffee and a quick look at the paper?”

  Pattie pushed the button that raised the head of Peyt’s bed while Spence handed him a cup of coffee from the fast-food restaurant. Tallie gave him the morning paper.

  Spence spread the contents of the two paper sacks containing various biscuits and coffee cups atop the portable meal tray at the foot of Peyton’s bed.

  “Eat it while it’s hot,” he said.

  “I’ll be damned!” Peyton bellowed, crushing the newspaper in his fist.

  “What’s wrong?” Tallie reached for the paper, but Peyton refused to release it.

  “Some of your stocks go down?” Spence asked.

  “Call Harrison Black at the Marshallton News and tell him that he’s looking at a lawsuit.” Peyton flung the newspaper on the floor. “He’d better get control of his reporters if he wants to keep that rag in business.”

  “What the hell did they print that’s got you so riled?” Spence asked.

  Tallie walked around to where Peyt had thrown the paper, bent over, picked it up and smoothed out the wrinkled pages. She scanned the headlines. Then she saw it. A picture of her, crying hysterically, clinging to Peyton’s hand when the paramedics rushed him into the emergency room. Beside that photograph was one of Peyton leading Tallie out of the courtroom, his arm around her waist. The caption read: “Peyton Rand, shot under mysterious circumstances, is comforted by his client, lovely tow-truck driver Tallie Bishop. What’s the real scoop on these two? Is Ms. Bishop a candidate for first lady of the state?”

  Tallie pressed the newspaper to her breast. No wonder Peyton was outraged. What if the Memphis or Nashville papers picked up the story? This type of publicity would be detrimental to Peyt’s political career.

  “Tallie, sugar, don’t get upset,” Peyton said.

  “Here, let me see that paper.” Spence pulled the newspaper away from Tallie, took a look and then grunted. “So big deal. Maybe we should read the article before we jump to any conclusions and threaten Harrison with a lawsuit.”

  “You’re right,” Peyton said. “I just don’t like the idea of the press implying things about Tallie. Take a look at the picture from the trial.”

  Spence unfolded the paper and looked at the photo at the bottom of the page. “You look very protective, big brother, with your arm around Tallie and such a fierce expression on your face.”

  “This is wrong.” Tallie glanced around the room from Peyton to Spence to Pattie and back to Peyton again. “I can’t let our involvement hurt your chances of running for governor.”

  “Don’t get so upset about this, sugar.” Peyton motioned for her to come to him. “Hey, I haven’t decided if I want to get into politics.”

  Tallie stood her ground, refusing to go to Peyton. “Who are you kidding? All of us know that you’ve been building toward a political career for years now. Dammit, Peyt, the whole state of Tennessee is expecting you to announce your candidacy.”

  “Maybe I’ve changed my mind, but even if I haven’t, that doesn’t mean you and I—”

  “There is no you and me!” Tallie ran from the room.

  “Hell!” Peyton grumbled. “Spence, go get her. Bring her back in here. I’ll be damned if I’ll let her walk out on me now.”

  “Now?” Spence asked. “What’s different about now?”

  “Now that I’ve been shot. Now that I realize I’d die to protect Tallie Bishop. Now that I’ve admitted to myself that I’m more like the Senator than I ever wanted to be, but I’m not going to let my aspirations get in the way of my happiness.”

  Grinning, Spence rushed out into the hallway. Tallie stood with her back resting against the wall. She stared at him through tear-filled eyes. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

  “Peyt wants you to come back inside. He wants to talk.”

  “I can’t go back in there.”

  “You should. What he said to me made more sense than anything he’s ever said.” Spence nodded at his brother’s closed hospital door. “He needs you, Tallie.”

  “How can you say that? I’m the last woman on earth he needs. People are already saying that we’re having an affair. How do you think that looks?”

  “You’re both single. I don’t see the harm in people speculating about your love life.”

  “Please go back in there and tell Peyt that I’m going to do him a big favor and get out of his life once and for all.” Tallie shrugged off Spence’s comforting hold. “Tell him he’s been right all along. We’re nothing but trouble for each other, and the best thing we can do to protect ourselves is to stay as far away from each other as we possibly can.”

  “Tallie, you don’t mean what you’re saying,” Spence said. “You’re overreacting to those pictures in the paper. Don’t throw away any chance for happiness you and Peyt might have out of some noble sense of—”

  “No!” Tallie covered her ears with her open palms. “I’m not listening.”

  Before Spence had a chance to reply, Tallie ran down the hall, wanting desperately to escape before she started listening to Peyt’s brother, before she weakened and gave in to what her heart was telling her.

  Peyton sat upright in the bed watching the door for Tallie’s return. Instead, Spence walked in alone.

  “Where is she?” Peyt asked.

  “Gone,” Spence said.

  “Why did you let her leave? I told you to stop her.”

  “What did you want me to do, knock her out and drag her back in here?”

  “Damn!” Peyt slammed his fists together, jerking out the IV tube attached to his left hand.

  “I’ll get the nurse,” Pattie said. “See if you can calm him down.”

  “I don’t want to be calmed down. I want Tallulah Bishop, and I want her now. She can’t be allowed out there alone. Someone tried to kill her last night.”

  “I’ll talk to Lowell.” Spence nodded for his wife to leave; then he sat down in the chair beside his brother’s bed. “Maybe Lowell can arrange some sort of protection for Tallie. But the best thing you can do for Tallie and yourself is take it easy, rest and recuperate. A couple of days in here and you can go to Tallie, tell her how you feel and take care of her.”

  “All right. All right.” Peyton leaned back against the raised bed. “I want you to promise me that you’ll talk to Tallie and get her to come to Marshallton and stay with you and Pattie until I get out of the hospital.”

  “I’ll talk to her, but I don’t think she’ll change her mind. She told me to tell you that she’s going to do you a big favor and get out of your life once and for all.”

  “Damn!”

  “I thought that was what you wanted,” Spence said. “Ever since I came home to Marshallton, all I’ve heard out of you about Tallie is how you wished you’d never gotten stuck baby-sitting her, how you wished—”

  “Just shut up, will you? A man can change his mind, can’t he?”

  * * *

  Tallie wiped her hands off on the orange grease rag, stuck it in her back pocket and leaned over the open hood of the ‘69 Pontiac Firebird she and Mike were restoring for a client.

  During the four days since she’d run out of the hospital, leaving Peyton Rand and his political career behind her, she had thrown herself into her work. Spence and Pattie had st
opped by three days ago and tried to persuade her to come home with them and stay until the authorities had found the man who’d shot Peyt. She had refused their offer.

  Tallie wasn’t foolish enough to be fearless. She was afraid. She knew full well that out there somewhere was a man who hated her so much, he wanted to see her dead. She kept Solomon with her all the time, and her shotgun was no longer filled with birdshot. She’d spent the last few nights with Sheila, with Mike staying over, too, sleeping on the sofa. She’d taken Richie Nolan’s Whitey and her own Sheba along with her. Whitey and Sheila’s son, Danny, had taken an instant liking to each other, so Tallie knew that when she went home, she’d be leaving Whitey behind.

  Tallie didn’t need help from the Rands. She had other friends.

  An old rock tune played on the radio. A warm breeze wafted through the open garage door, picking up the strong scents of grease and gasoline that permeated the air inside the block structure.

  “That looks like Sheriff Redman’s car.” Mike held a box-end wrench in his hand as he bent over the hood to tighten the bolts in the power-steering pump.

  Tallie glanced out into the parking area where a late-model Chevrolet had stopped. Lowell Redman emerged from the vehicle, took off his hat and tossed it on the seat before closing the door.

  “Afternoon, Tallie, Mike.” Lowell patted Solomon on the head as he passed the Great Dane standing guard in front of a huge oscillating fan just inside the garage.

  “Any word on the man who shot Rand?” Mike asked.

  “Well, we’ve questioned Lobo Smothers. He has an alibi. His girlfriend swears he was with her all night. But we haven’t found Cliff Nolan, yet. His friends tell us he’s out hunting for Loretta and the kids.”

  “I hope he never finds them,” Tallie said. “Come on back, Lowell. Would you care for a cola?”

  “No, thanks.” Lowell lifted his leg, bracing his foot on a discarded tire lying beside the Firebird. “We found the truck deserted on a back road about fifteen miles from your house.”

  “And?” Tallie wanted this nightmare to end, for her life to return to normal, for her to be able to stop feeling guilty about Peyton Rand’s gunshot wounds.

  “The truck was stolen. It belonged to some old pig farmer down in Mississippi.” Lowell placed his hands on his hips, one hand lightly resting atop his holster. “The gun was in the truck, just lying there on the seat. We’re running a check on it, but I figure it was stolen, too. Might even belong to the pig farmer.”

  “So you aren’t any closer to finding the man who shot Peyton than you were four days ago.” Tallie wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

  “There’s always the possibility that whoever shot Peyton didn’t mean to kill anyone,” Lowell said. “He might have intended scaring you, warning you to stay out of his life.”

  “Even if your theory is right, that doesn’t change the fact that this man committed a crime. Even if I don’t have anything to fear from him, he’s still got to be captured and punished for what he did to Peyton.” Tallie turned to Mike. “I’ll walk Lowell out. I need to talk to him privately.”

  Mike nodded. Rounding the hood of the Pontiac, Tallie motioned for Lowell to follow her.

  “What is it, Tallie?”

  “I was just wondering if you’d heard anything from Peyt today.”

  Lowell stared at her when they walked out into the sunshine, his eyes narrowing to slits. “He’s well enough to issue me orders left and right.”

  “That’s good.” Tallie tried to smile.

  “He’s getting out of the hospital today. Probably already out by now. I wouldn’t doubt that Donna Fields drove him home.” Lowell looked upward, scratched his throat and said, “Yeah, she was over there visiting when I stopped by this morning.”

  Tallie told herself that the fact that Donna Fields was playing nursemaid to Peyton shouldn’t bother her. But it did. It bothered her a hell of a lot.

  “Well, good,” Tallie said. “She’s just the thing he needs.”

  “Yeah, I suppose you’re right about that.” Lowell opened his car door. “You take care of yourself, Tallie. Stay out of trouble, but call me if you need me.”

  “Thanks.”

  Tallie watched the sheriff leave, all the while willing herself not to think about Peyton and how very close they’d come to being lovers the night he’d been shot. If only... No, she wasn’t going to keep on daydreaming about something that wasn’t meant to be.

  She had made her decision four days ago when she’d left the hospital. She was not going to put Peyton’s life or his future in jeopardy, and if she didn’t end their relationship before it really began, then she was bound to wind up causing them both nothing but heartache. She figured they were better off apart, especially Peyton. He’d said himself that he wasn’t in love with her, that he was only attracted to her—sexually.

  Stop it! her mind screamed. For the past few nights, she hadn’t been able to sleep for thinking about Peyton, remembering the feel of his lips on hers, his thrusting tongue mating with hers, his hands caressing her, his husky voice calling her sugar.

  Just as Tallie turned to go back inside the garage, she heard another car pull into the parking lot and Mike call out to her.

  “Looks like this is our day for visitors, but no customers.”

  Tallie glanced around just in time to see Peyton Rand easing himself out of his Jag. Knotting her hands into fists, she approached him, telling herself she was strong enough to face him, brave enough to do the right thing.

  “Glad to see you’re out of the hospital,” she said.

  “Are you? You have a strange way of showing concern, Tallie. No visits, not even a phone call.”

  “Spence and Pattie gave me an update on your condition when they stopped by to ask me to come stay a while with them. And Lowell told me only a few minutes ago that you were well enough to be released today.”

  “Why didn’t you go stay with Spence and Pattie?”

  “I don’t need help from the Rands. Not anymore.” Tallie stared down at the pavement beneath her feet.

  “You need protection until the gunman is found,” Peyton said. “You shouldn’t be alone.”

  “I’m not alone. I’ve been staying with Sheila, and Mike’s been sleeping over.”

  “Mike, huh? Is he in the bodyguard business now?”

  “Yeah, I suppose he is. I understand Donna Fields has gone into nursing.” Oh, hell’s toenails, she hadn’t meant to say that. How could she have just blurted out her jealousy that way? “I think Donna’s just the right person to be in your life. You two really are perfect for each other, you know.”

  Peyton took a step forward; still looking downward, Tallie stepped back. Peyton reached out, grabbing her by the shoulders.

  “Look at me, Tallie, and tell me what the hell’s going on.”

  “Nothing’s going on. Absolutely nothing.” She didn’t know if she could look directly at him and continue lying to him.

  He tilted her chin. She shut her eyes. He pulled her closer.

  “If you won’t move into Marshallton with Pattie and Spence until the gunman is captured, then I’ll just have to move out here to Crooked Oak with you.”

  “No, you can’t do that!”

  “Why not?”

  “Are you out of your mind? Think about the publicity.”

  “To hell with the publicity.”

  Tallie jerked away from him, backing up as she stared at his sultry, sexy smile. What was the matter with him? He wasn’t acting like the Peyton Rand she’d known most of her life.

  “I think when they removed those bullets from your arm and side, they made a detour and operated on your brain.” Tallie held up both hands in front of her to warn him off when he reached out for her again. “Get this straight, Peyt. I have set you free. I’m out of your life for good. No more calls for help. No more pleas to get me out of trouble. I’m a big girl now and I can take care of myself.”

  “Is tha
t right?” Peyton backed her up against the outside garage wall. “Well, the way I see it, I saved your life the other night, and that gives me certain privileges.”

  “Just what privileges do you think it gives you, Rand?” Mike Hanley asked as he placed the wrench in a toolbox and wiped off his hands on his coveralls.

  “Stay out of this, Hanley. This is between Tallie and me,” Peyton said.

  “Is that the way you want it, Tallie?” Mike walked outside, stopping a couple of feet away from Tallie and Peyton.

  “Mike, why don’t you go get us all a cold drink out of the machine? By the time you do that, Peyt and I should be finished with our conversation and he can take his cola with him when he leaves.”

  Frowning, Mike nodded agreement and went inside the office where the cola machine was located.

  “If you won’t stay with Pattie and Spence, and you don’t want me moving in with you, then I see only one other alternative,” Peyton said.

  “Just what is that, pray tell?”

  “I’ll put in calls to Caleb and Hank and Jake, and tell them what’s happened. I think your three brothers would be the best bodyguards anyone could ask for, don’t you?”

  “Don’t you dare threaten me.” Tallie shoved her index finger into Peyton’s chest. “You will not call my brothers and interfere in their lives. Do you hear me?”

  “Sugar, your life is in danger, and I’m not about to let anything happen to you.” He covered her hand with his, trapping it against his chest.

  “All of this concern is over sex, isn’t it?” She knew what she said wasn’t true, but she had to get Peyton out of her life, she had to convince him that if he was smart, he’d get away from her while he could.

  “What are you talking about?” Peyton pulled her into his arms. “If you’re asking whether or not I want to make love to you, then the answer is yes. But you already knew that. You found out just how much I want you the other night.”

  “Well, I suppose I’ve wanted you for a long time. I’ve always been curious what it would be like with you. Men are all different, you know, and I guess I just wondered if you’d be as good in bed as Mike—”