Bitter Rain (Kate Fox Book 3)

by Shannon Baker

  “How do I get in touch with the owners or board members or whatever?”

  She stomped back to her desk. “I don’t know. Call the Delaware Secretary of State, I guess.”

  “I sure appreciate your help,” I said, somehow keeping the sarcastic tone in my head.

  Brittany stopped me before I escaped into the hall, her face full of hope. “Um, Kate? Have you seen Jeremy around lately?”

  “He was at Dugans’ roping yesterday.”

  Her face fell. “Oh. I haven’t seen him for a while, and I thought maybe he’d been out of town.”

  Do I give her the sisterly advice to find someone more stable than my youngest brother? Jeremy loved everyone. All at the same time. Or consecutively. Brittany would do better to find a more consistent heart.

  With the mysterious caller and Carly already on my care-taking failure list, I didn’t need another girl to worry about. Saving Brittany wasn’t in my job description. And yet.

  I walked over to Brittany’s desk and set my cup down. “Jeremy is something of a free spirit.”

  She nodded, but her eyes started to glisten with tears. “I know.”

  “I love him to bits. Everyone does. But he’s not big on commitment.”

  A lump the size of a Bartlett pear made its way down her throat, and she nodded some more.

  Dang it. I wasn’t helping. I put a hand on her desk and leaned in. “You deserve to be someone’s one and only.”

  That did it. Two buckets of tears drained from her eyes. “I-I-I knew that, I guess. I just needed someone to tell me.”

  Glad it could be me. Hey, maybe I could set my family to finding Brittany a beau and get them off my trail. I backed out while Brittany plucked a Kleenex from the box on her desk and dabbed at her tears.

  The front door rattled opened to the sound of pattering rain and clanked closed. It could be any number of citizens on a hundred different missions at the courthouse.

  What did it say about me that I expected the worst?

  10

  Before I took more than three steps from the clerk’s office, a magical aroma of fresh, strong coffee hit me. I’d left my cup on Brittany’s desk, considered it a casualty of war, and went forward to find the source of the smell.

  Kyle Red Owl wiped his boots on the doormat. Kyle had the well-toned physique of the Marine he’d been less than two years ago. He held a soda case cardboard box with two giant Styrofoam takeout cups and accompanying white boxes.

  I almost ran to him. “My savior!”

  He tilted his dark face in surprise. “Why don’t all the women welcome me like this?”

  I pulled one of the cups from the box and flipped off the lid. “They would if you brought them coffee and rolls from the Long Branch.”

  He handed me the box and shook out of his wet jacket. “Uncle Lloyd Walks His Horse always told me a way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach.”

  “Wise man, your uncle.”

  Kyle grinned. “Naw. He was single. Couldn’t cook.”

  He took the box back and I sipped the magic brew. The hot liquid melted tension between my shoulder blades.

  “How’s your morning?” he asked.

  “I’m just destroying the hopes and dreams of young girls.” Wouldn’t it be nice if I could save one once in a while?

  The front door opened again. Why was I so jumpy? I didn’t relax much when Pete and Tammy Grainger stepped in from the gloomy morning.

  Tammy wore a belted red rain jacket, her blond hair looking stylish despite the wind. Pete had on jeans and a fleece, no sheriff’s duds in sight. He vibrated with his usual energy, his dark crew cut glistened with moisture and his perpetual tan made him look more like a coach than a sheriff in the manner of the full-bellied profiles of Milo or Barnett.

  Tammy broke into a wide-mouth smile when she saw us. “Kate! It’s great to see you.”

  Pete stuck his hand out. “Well, look here. Great to run into you.”

  It’s not like I was an elephant in the alfalfa patch. A sheriff’s natural habitat was the county courthouse. On the other hand, it was my county, and Pete belonged to Chester County. “What brings you back this way?”

  Pete’s attention focused on Kyle. His eyebrows dipped before he pulled out his full-on happy again. “Working on weekdays now?”

  I fielded the question. “He’s making up hours from Saturday when he was at the sweat.”

  Pete’s face tightened slightly but he never lost his grin. “Gotcha. I need to slip in and talk to Ethel. She had me scout out a new pole barn on Dempsy’s place. It’s on the border between our counties, and she wanted to know if she should assess it or leave it to Chester County.”

  His eyes lingered on Kyle. He’d probably report to his buddy Lee, and there would be general discussion about Kyle working on a random Monday. As if it were any of their business.

  Kyle lost his ease. He motioned toward my office. “I’ll be down…” He walked away, leaving me with Tammy.

  She waited a beat, her Vanna White smile easy. “We’re on our way to Broken Butte. District music is today. Rusty has a trumpet solo, and Becca is singing with swing choir.”

  I tried to look interested. “Nice you can go.”

  She batted her blue eyes. “Don’t you love the flexibility of this job? Pete is so lucky he can be such a part of our children’s lives. Of course, he’s a lot happier when we’re following sports. Especially basketball.” She looked stricken, as if mentioning family and jobs might have insulted me.

  Before I answered, she patted my arm. “I know I haven’t been a very good friend.”

  I didn’t know we were friends.

  She quit patting and squeezed my arm. “But, you know, I feel so awful about the way Ted treated you.”

  Where was my cloak of invisibility?

  Her voice lowered. “I don’t understand cheating, I really don’t. I mean, if Pete ever did that…Well, I’d do exactly what you did. I’d leave.”

  I wanted to jerk my arm from her grasp and run away. No, I really wanted to tell her to shut up. But she meant well, I was sure, and besides, Pete would return soon. I hoped.

  She gave me a knowing look, as if we were soul sisters. “I mean, Pete was dating someone when we met, and I found out he hadn’t broken it off with her. I forgave him that one time, because, as I understand it, she just wouldn’t let him go. But he knows. Never again.”

  Pete’s footsteps sounded in the hall, and if I knew it wouldn’t send Tammy into a jealous fit, I’d have thrown my arms around him. To say I was relieved to wish them a fun day would be like calling Lake Michigan a puddle.

  I headed toward my office, where Kyle waited outside the locked door. I unlocked it and pushed it open to Poupon sitting in my desk chair with impeccable posture.

  One hand holding my coffee, I waved the other. “Get down.”

  He slowly turned his head away.

  Kyle raised his eyebrows at me and the dog. His lips barely moved, and even though he sounded fierce, he spoke so quietly I strained to hear. I couldn’t understand the harsh syllables and sounds in the back of his throat, the melodic Lakota language.

  Apparently, Poupon understood perfectly. He whipped his head toward Kyle and immediately jumped off my chair, trotted to Kyle’s side, and dropped down, head on paws.

  “What did you say?”

  Kyle bent over and scratched Poupon behind the ears. “A dog doesn’t have to grow up on the rez to understand the concept of soup.”

  Kyle settled in the oak chair, and I sat in the preheated chair behind my desk. “I’m going to ask Pete to switch weekends with me next month. That work for you?”

  “Sure. Got a romantic getaway planned?”

  We tucked into Aunt Twyla’s cinnamon rolls, all warm and gooey with slathers of cream cheese frosting and melting pats of butter.

  “Not you, too?” I licked my finger. “I signed up for scuba lessons in Denver.”

  He gave me a “you’re crazy” eyebrow raise. “
It’s your weekend.”

  My phone rang, and I wiped my sticky fingers before picking up.

  Stormy sounded irritated and sorry at the same time. “Can’t get that car until this afternoon. Donna’s refusing to leave that little turnip until after her bath.”

  I thought the car would be on its way in by now. “Get to it as quick as you can, then.” I hung up, a little irritated myself.

  Kyle tore off a small bite of roll. “What’s that?”

  I spoke around a sweet nibble. “Someone rolled a car up north on the county line. I think it might be a rez car. Let’s drive on up there. Maybe you can ID it.”

  Kyle took his time swallowing a sip of coffee. “As the token Indian, I know all the rez cars?”

  Pete’s subtle disapproval hadn’t been lost on Kyle. Levity might help dilute the insult. “Exactly.”

  That earned me a half-smile.

  “You could stay here and clean out the jail cell if you’d rather.”

  He gave me a cute grin that made him look about twelve. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t take a look.” Kyle studied his frosting-covered finger. “Barnett spends more time on the rez than I do. He’d know whose car it is.”

  “Except he doesn’t.” I nearly groaned at the goodness of the cinnamon roll. “Do you know anything about folks moving onto the old Olson Ranch?” I wasn’t ready to call it Hidden Valley Ranch. “It’s owned by a Delaware corporation, but I don’t know who’s living out there.”

  “I can ask around.” Kyle wiped his fingers on a paper napkin.

  I picked off another gooey portion. I should have started with the middle, the tastiest section, and left the doughier outside. I felt stuffed, but no way was I leaving the most delicious part. “Let me finish this and we can head out to the wreck. I got a call from a girl, and she sounded pretty scared. I’m not sure it was the driver, since no one was at the wreck. But I feel jumpy about the whole thing.”

  “Was it a sheriff call?”

  I shook my head. “Not sure. Sounded more like she thought I was someone else.”

  A roar, sounding like the sky fell, filled my office, and Kyle and I both turned our heads to the ceiling, then at each other. It probably looked like choreography in a cheesy comedy. “It’s really coming down.”

  Squeaky tennis shoes on linoleum warned us of someone heading down the hall. I hadn’t heard the front door, but I had a moment to hope it wasn’t more bad news before Susan (Go Big Red) poked her soaking head into the office. “Hope you’re building a big boat or we’re all gonna drown.”

  Susan was a younger version of me, compact and sturdy, with tons of wavy, dark hair. She popped into the office, took one look at my roll, and pulled a line off. Between chews, she said hi to Kyle and shook her head, sending drops of water in all directions.

  “Poupon!” She offered him a bite of my roll, which he accepted with no thanks. “It’s good you’re taking him. Diane and the kids never pay attention to him.”

  “I’m not taking him. Just watching him for a week.” I offered her the box with the remainder of the roll. “I thought you were heading back to Lincoln today. When’s your job start?”

  She waved to indicate I should wait until she swallowed. “My shift is five to midnight, but the other bartender will cover for me if I’m late.”

  Charming Susan, the youngest of nine. She could work hard when she was motivated, and the rest of the time, she knew how to use her smile. Who was I to judge? The kid had a 4.0 after two years in pre-med at the university.

  She had a way of getting people to fill in the blanks for her, so I figured she hadn’t stopped in to say goodbye. “Hope you don’t have heavy rain the whole way.”

  She shrugged and swallowed the last of the roll. “I’ve got a favor to ask.”

  Didn’t take a psychic to predict that, so I didn’t score points for my forecast.

  She tossed it out in a casual way, though her eyes looked anxious. “I need to borrow two hundred bucks.”

  I didn’t say anything. Kyle looked from her to me, his expression clearly wondering how I’d react. I waited.

  She started to show a little more angst. “I have to pay my share of the cleaning deposit on the apartment, and I don’t have the money until I get paid.”

  “How long have you known you owe this?”

  She went on the defensive. “I had a lot of expenses at the end of the semester.”

  I nodded. “Uh-huh. I’m sure that road trip to San Francisco wasn’t cheap.”

  She gave me big eyes. “It’s not like it was a vacation. I had to go. Emmy didn’t have anyone else to help her move.”

  I could play this game with her all day. In the end, she knew and I knew I’d give her the loan. I wouldn’t buy beer for them when they were underage. I wouldn’t fix tickets or bail them out of jail. But I’d lend them money, babysit their kids and dogs, let them move in with me, and just about anything else they’d need. I pulled out my checkbook.

  “Thank you.”

  I’d been saving for that vacation. The one I’d been dreaming about since Ted and I went to Cancun two years ago. Not like our trip sitting on the beach and drinking margaritas, hitting all the tourist sites along with honeymooners and families with sullen teenagers and whining kids. I wanted to learn to scuba dive.

  Since divorcing Ted, I decided to do this one thing for myself. I’d even picked out the resort on Cozumel where they’d finish my open water training and certify me after I passed the basics in Denver. The only thing holding me back was time and money. With Kyle on board, the time off could be managed. But last month, Jeremy needed help paying for a saddle he’d had made, and the month before that, Esther, Louise’s middle child, wanted desperately to go to drama camp. They’d all do the same for me.

  Susan hugged me, dripping water and smelling like damp dog. “Thank you so much. I promise to pay you back with my first paycheck.”

  Except there would probably be some other emergency. I’d get my $200 back eventually. Maybe after she began practicing medicine.

  Susan folded the check and stuck it in her hoodie’s front pocket, where it had a high likelihood of getting lost. “Just for the record, I voted for you to stay single and strong.”

  “Voted?”

  “When the sibs were debating whether you should go with Trey Ridnoir, Heath Scranton, or Josh Stevens.”

  Kyle snickered, and I gave him The Look. He wasn’t any more intimidated than Rhonda had been. I might need to work on my technique.

  I picked up the budget worksheets scattered around my desktop and patted them into a neat stack, as opposed to letting out a string of curses. “Can’t see as how that’s anyone’s business.”

  “I told them you should date Tori Engseth and that shut them up for about two seconds. With our family, that’s saying a lot.”

  Kyle looked at me with a puzzled expression. “Isn’t that the new English teacher? I didn’t know she’s gay.”

  Susan wound her hair into a wet ponytail. “I don’t know that she is. Neither is Kate.” She addressed me. “Got a ponytail holder?”

  I slipped mine off my wrist and handed it to her. “Hey, have you met any new guys around here lately?”

  She laughed. “I’m not the old maid who needs fixing up.”

  Grr. “I wondered if you’d seen or heard about a guy around your age. Tall, geeky-looking with a lot of dark bushy hair.”

  She fawned. “Sounds dreamy. But no.”

  It was worth a try. “Be careful driving in this weather.” My heart squeezed at the thought of another young woman in trouble. Was this the price of being sheriff? Suddenly every situation screamed danger.

  She shook her damp hair. “It’s just rain.”

  I nodded. “And you could hydroplane or lose visibility.”

  Kyle took up the warning, using a haunting voice. “Flash floods and washouts.”

  Susan gave me a hug and kiss, took the last swig of my coffee, and flew out the door.

  Kyle grin
ned. “They are a pain in the butt, but we love them.”

  “You’ve got brothers and sisters?” Kyle and I didn’t spend personal time together. He filled in on my weekends off, so aside from work-related conversations, we hadn’t shared much.

  His face lightened. “I’ve got a sister that just graduated from high school.”

  Another woman starting out. I liked hearing good news. Maybe this one wouldn’t find trouble. “Congratulations.”

  His eyes gleamed with pride. “She’s going to Chadron State on scholarship in the fall.”

  I didn’t ask if she graduated from a rez school. Maybe she didn’t live on the rez, though I knew that’s where Kyle grew up. If she did, it would account for Kyle’s glowing pride. The dropout rate on the rez hovered around 70 percent, and going on to college wasn’t a given, as it was in the Fox household.

  I considered my own numerous clan. “Is it just you and your sister?”

  That happy expression vanished. “I’ve got two brothers. Both younger.”

  If I were Louise, I’d jump all over that mood change. She couldn’t help but search out family trauma. I pulled my coat from the back of my chair. “Let’s go check out that car, see if we can find something to help us identify the driver.”

  Kyle wadded up the napkin, placed it in his food container, and snapped the lid. He picked mine up, I assumed to deposit them in the Dumpster at the parking pad in back.

  He surprised me by sticking with our conversation. “Shelly was valedictorian of Sand Gap. I didn’t want her to go to a rez school, but she took college courses online and went to some academic summer camps, and I think she’s ready.”

  “That’s pretty dedicated.”

  “Shelly always knew what she wanted. When she was three, she carried around these two Dr. Seuss books everywhere she went. My brother, Darrel, tried to take them away once, and she beat him up.” Kyle laughed at the memory. “He was two years older than her and about twice as big. You do not want to get in Shelly’s way.”