Praying for Daylight (13 page)

I stared at her. “Huh?”

She winked, “Just wanted to see if you were listening.”

“Oh.”

Millie made room beside her, patting the rocker. “So Kate, tell me what ails, and we’ll see what we can do to fix it.” She took a bite of her potatoes and hummed, “I’m good at cooking, and good at listening, if you recall.”

“It’s hard to tell…I don’t know where to start.” I took a deep breath of the cool air and felt myself calm. “It’s hard to just…say it.”

“Right,” she set her plate down on the porch and three dogs ran up to clear it off. “You pregnant?”

“Oh God, no!”

She smiled. “You got an incurable disease?”

“Er, no.”

“Then just out with it,” Millie nudged my arm. “The shortest version you can muster. If you’re not pregnant and you’re not dying, then things aren’t that bad.”

I wasn’t so sure. “It’s pretty bad.”

“Let me be the judge of that baby girl. Now out with it,” Millie gave me her sternest glare and I caved.

“Okay, a voice on the phone called Death wants to kill me,” I let out a breath.

“I think I’m hearing things…you did say a voice wants to kill you?”

“Yeah, pretty much. Crazy dude. Thinks he’s dealing out my punishment. Wants me dead…you know at this point I’d rather find out I was pregnant or something.”

“You know, I think that whiskey is calling my name. We’ll leave this problem to the men to figure out.”

“Wait!” I watched, confused as she practically ran into the house. “You told me when I was little that women were just as strong and as smart as men.”

“Oh, that’s still true. We just know when to sit things out. This is one of those times,” she smiled. “And don’t worry, I’ll castrate anyone who tries to lay so much as a finger on you.”

Millie was rarely scary. This was one of the rare times I got a glimpse at how ferocious she could really be. “Uh, thanks.”

“No need to thank me honey. I’m not doing much here. Fact is this is out of my realm of expertise, and I know Walters is the one you need to be talking too. He’ll know what we should do.” She shrugged it off as if a kind woman like her castrating a man was nothing out of the ordinary, and when we were back in the dining room, everyone stared at me.

“Hope its okay I told them,” Dustin didn’t look the least bit sorry, but I wasn’t upset.

I smiled, relieved, “I’m glad you did.”

He smiled back, “Good.”

“Okay,” I looked to Walters, who had moved next to Dustin while I was on the porch. “What do I do?”

***

Walters didn’t offer much help. The truth was, there wasn’t much he could do. A voice on the phone was tough to pin down. He needed more than that. So I was getting a new phone to replace the one Dustin broke. The key was to get Death on the line, and then to trace the call. With a trace set up on my phone, hopefully Walters would be able to get a location.

He wanted me to try and get Death to tell me something that could be useful, maybe something that would tip me off as to who he was.

The only other thing I could do was just be vigilant. I couldn’t stay alone at the farmhouse anymore. I was going to have to stay with people. And the only people I could stay with were the McCrees.

After dinner, I went into the living room for a few minutes of quiet. Dustin wasn’t too far behind, worried about how I was handling outing myself fully.

“I’m not sure this is such a good idea, just exposing yourself.” He lowered his tall frame to sit on the couch, and handed me a mug of tea.

“Hiding isn’t going to fix my problem. You said so yourself.” I stared at the steam curling over the rim. “What choice do I have?”

He shrugged. It was rare for him to backpedal, “Maybe our choices aren’t clear because we haven’t thought up enough of them.”

“Dustin, the only thing that’s clear to me now is you,” I leaned in close, thinking that I’d kiss him quick before anyone caught us. With everything going on, that should be the last thing on my mind. But, I also knew a kiss from him would make me forget everything I feared. Even if for only a little while.

“Sorry to break up the love fest, but I think you have a call to make Kate,” Millie came into the room holding the house phone. “Sisters need to tell each other certain things, and this is one of them. You can save the pecking for later.”

I tried not to smile at Dustin’s pink cheeks, and took the phone from her. The distraction of us almost being caught kissing by Millie made dialing the phone easier.

“Uh…hello?” my sister answered right before the call went to voicemail. She sounded wary, and I realized it was probably because she took one look at the number of the incoming call, and froze.

“Hey Cheyenne, it’s me, Kate,” I said, hanging on to some of the chipper feelings running around me. They were battling against the terrified ones, and so far, neither were winning, just keeping each other in check.

“Kate, what are you doing calling from Millie’s phone?” she sounded shocked, and worried, and maybe relieved?

“Well, that’s a funny story… I went into hiding at the old farmhouse.”

“And you’re telling me this because?”

“I’m done hiding. How can I get back to my life if I stay holed up? We’ll never catch the guy doing this.”

Cheyenne sighed heavily. “As much as I’m relieved to know where you are, I’m pissed that you are practically setting yourself up as bait without any protection. Cowboys aren’t bodyguards.”

“I’ve got a lot of people here to help me. Sherriff Walters being one of them.” I leaned into the arm of the couch, thinking I needed support of some sort. Dustin slid closer and put his arm around me. “Cheyenne I feel safer here than anywhere. And cowboys may not be bodyguards, but I think that someone who cares about you is going to do a much better job of protecting you than a person you hire who’s only in it for the money.”

“She makes a good point,” Jake’s voice was faint in the background, apparently I was on speaker phone, and I wondered again if it was him. If he was Death. It was crazy. I loved him like he was family. Cheyenne adored him. I just couldn’t think of a motive, not one reason why he would do anything to scare or hurt me. “So what is your next move?”

“I’m not keeping secret where I am. I’m going to act like nothing is wrong. And I want you guys to come up here. Millie really wants to see you.”

“Of course we’ll come up.” My sister was probably online looking for flights as we spoke. “But what’s this going to do? I don’t see the point.”

“Kate is trying to draw out whoever is threatening her,” Jake said to her in the background. “And although I think that it might be dangerous, she may not have another choice. From what I’ve heard about the small town you girls come from, I think he’ll be a lot easier to catch on home turf.”

“It’s not city.” I felt like Jake was on my side. I couldn’t be surrounded by bodyguards, keeping me in a bubble. Something had to be done. “And someone who comes here looking for me will stick out. Everyone here will be on alert. I’m going to make sure everyone in town knows why I’m hiding out in McCree. And hopefully that will flush out Death.”

“And if it doesn’t?” Cheyenne asked.

“Then we figure something else out,” I said. “I can’t not do anything anymore. It’s not an option.”

“Okay, I’m going to be on the next flight out.”

“Me too. I’m not letting you guys go alone.” Jake was coming. And I really wasn’t worried about it. I trusted him.

I was saying goodbye, when my sister issued an order that didn’t surprise me, “And Katie, don’t leave the McCree house. Not until I’m with you.”

“Okay.” It wasn’t hard to agree to that, but I couldn’t exactly abide by her wish either.

But when I hung up the phone and saw Millie’s determined look, I made a deal that I would stay, as long as I could go get some of my things.

So I said goodnight to the sheriff, who said he’d be over as soon as Cheyenne and Jake were here, to talk about what he was going to do.

I could only hope that what he did was enough.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Dustin

“Are you sure you don’t want help, Kate?”

She shook her head, “Nope, I’m good.”

“If I were you, I’d bring more than a day’s worth of stuff.” I was sitting on the bed, watching Kate toss clothes into a backpack on the top of the dresser. She raced around the room like a ferocious little tornado.

“Way ahead of you. I know Millie isn’t going to let me leave until Death is either dead or in jail.” She dove under the bed and dragged out another backpack. Her first was already packed full. Even before being a country star, she’d always been a clotheshorse. She had more accessories than I could wrap my head around. It wasn’t fancy stuff, she just liked matching; boots, hats, jackets…it all needed to go together.

I’d never understand.

I flopped back against the pillows and closed my eyes, “What kind of name is that anyway? Death…why not pick something a little more…original?”

Kate was silent, and I opened my eyes to see her unamused stare from across the room. “Sorry.”

“No problem. Just keep those thoughts to yourself next time.” She zipped up the pack and gave a nod. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

I helped her make sure the house was locked up, and on our way to my truck she seemed distant, lost in her thoughts. As we drove, she glanced at me every few seconds, then away, like she wasn’t sure how to say what was on her mind.

“Just say it,” I said, knowing that she was going to keep fidgeting until she blurted out whatever it was.

“I want you to take a left up here,” she pointed at the next road, and though I knew it was in the opposite direction of the McCree’s house, I put on the blinker and turned anyway. “And right, two streets up.”

I frowned, “And where is it we are going?”

She lifted a shoulder, “Uh, I just want to pay a visit to someone really quickly. You know, since I’m not keeping it secret that I’m here.”

I let out a breath, “Okay, who are we going to see?”

“My grandfather.”

I nearly slammed on the breaks. “Kate, really?”

“What?” she groaned. “I haven’t seen him in years.”

“Yeah, and I thought you wanted to keep it that way.”

She shifted her weight, staring out the truck window. “He’s family. And I don’t have a lot of family left.”

“But Kate, the man is a bastard. You said it yourself too many times to count.”

“He’s in a wheelchair. I don’t think he’s much of a threat.” She told me where to turn next. “I feel like I should see him, at least one more time. He’s older. Maybe he’s changed.”

I pulled into the parking lot of the only nursing home in McCree, and found a parking space. Kate got out of the truck and waited by my door, crossing her arms and looking at me expectantly.

It was clear she didn’t want to go alone, so I followed her, but I really didn’t want to see the bastard.

“I feel like this is a bad idea.” A blast of warm air hit me as the doors whooshed open, and I pushed my sleeves to my elbows. Kate pulled off her jacket, and I took it from her, tucking it under my arm. She glanced at me quizzically, but gave me a smile that said her thanks.

“Hello, I’m here to visit Isaac Kelly,” Kate stopped at a desk to speak to the woman with a pencil stuck in her puff of gray hair.

“Relation?” she rasped, barely looking up.

“He’s my grandfather.”

“Visiting hours are over in thirty minutes. And you?”

I hadn’t realized the woman was looking at me, until I felt Kate nudge my ribs. “Oh, I’m a friend.”

The woman frowned, “Like I said, thirty minutes. Please sign your names on the sheet and take an ID. It must be pinned where we can see it at all times.”

We followed her rules, and were pointed to a long hallway. I kept right behind Kate, letting her take the lead in this adventure. We searched the ground floor, and then went up to the second, where there was a lively game of bingo. But her grandfather wasn’t there. He hadn’t been the most friendly person, so it didn’t surprise me one bit.

Trouble was, where was he?

One of the orderlies checked his room, and he wasn’t there.

So we waited and kept walking around. Eventually an old woman waddled over to tell us Isaac liked to visit the pond in the back. So we went out the glass doors at the back of the retirement home and followed a paved path through a garden, down to a duck pond.

Kate stopped short. I ran into the back of her, nearly knocking her over.

“What?” I asked, my eyes focused on the top of her head.

“There he is,” she whispered.

I looked up, and found a small, very frail-looking man in a wheelchair. He was parked at the edge of the path by the pond, alone, watching the ducks paddle around.

I felt Kate’s hand searching for mine, and she laced our fingers together. “I can’t do this.”

“Katie,” I stepped in front of her, my eyes meeting hers. “Honey, then why did we come?”

She lifted a shoulder, “I-I want to talk to him.”

“Why?” There had to be a reason.

“He’s family. I haven’t seen him in years. And part of me doesn’t believe he could do what he did…even though he did do it.”

I smiled as she talked in circles, “You got this.”

With a firm nod, she let go of my hand, and started around me, “Stay with me?”

“Of course,” I said, giving her a little distance, but followed close enough that she’d sense me.

Her blonde hair bounced as she neared her grandfather, contradicting the stiffness in her shoulders. She stopped, and I saw her draw a deep breath, “Excuse me, Isaac Kelly?”

“Who’s asking?” He didn’t look up from the ducks.

“It’s Kaitlin Kelly. Your granddaughter,” she sounded pretty happy, like she was excited to see him. Her body language said different though. She stood stiffly, almost as if it were business.

Isaac tilted his head back, turning to see Kate. His eyes went wide from surprise, and his face brightened just a tiny bit. Maybe this had been the right idea. Maybe age had changed him.

“I was in town, and I wanted to see you.” Kate smiled, and held out the little tin of peanut brittle she’d bought from a gift shop downstairs. “I remember you loved this candy.”