Wife Wanted in Dry Creek (14 page)

She arranged the couple with Conrad standing behind them the way a best man should.

“And stand in the sunlight. You’re looking a little pale,” she added with a look at the sheriff. “Now there’s no one here so go ahead and say your vows to each other. I’ll be walking around getting shots from various angles.”

Katrina started looking through her camera lens, but it was silent so she looked back up again.

“Who’s going to go first?” she asked.

“Ladies first,” the sheriff said.

Barbara blushed and Katrina went back to looking through her lens. She hardly listened to the words the woman was saying. However, she could see the love on Barbara’s face and Katrina got some great shots of her looking at the sheriff.

“Okay,” Katrina said after it had been silent for a minute or so. “It’s your turn, Sheriff.”

Katrina kept her eye looking through the camera lens.

The sheriff swallowed. Then he cleared his throat. Then he ran his finger around the neck of his shirt.

Then Barbara’s face crumbled. “You can’t say your vows!”

“Yes, yes, I can,” the sheriff said. “I just need a minute to gather my thoughts when I see how beautiful you are.”

That made his wife smile again. “You look pretty good yourself.”

“Marrying you was the best thing I ever did,” the sheriff said, his voice soft and intimate.

Katrina took a picture of them gazing into each other’s eyes. And one of them kissing. Neither Barbara nor the sheriff looked like models. The sheriff had a line on his forehead that showed where his hat set. Barbara’s face was fuller than it should be. But they had the kind of heart the calendar people would love.

Katrina was so surprised, she almost stopped taking photos. She realized she’d done nothing to bring the emotion out in these photos. The feelings were there because of what was in the couple’s heart. Maybe she had gone about her photos all wrong. Instead of trying to create scenes that looked believable she should have found the people who genuinely felt the emotions.

She moved the lens slightly and saw Conrad. The emotion on his face was just as strong as on the sheriff’s. Only he looked miserable.

Just then a cell phone rang and she looked up from her camera. The sheriff reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Sheriff Wall here.”

He listened for a few minutes and then hung up.

“Where’s your sister?” he turned to ask Katrina.

“At Edith’s house, sleeping. Along with the boys. I think Charley’s there, too. Why?”

“That was the tribal authorities. Walker must have gone back to the house last night. They found him this morning beaten up pretty bad. They are sending him to Billings General Hospital. He kept trying to tell them something about Dry Creek so he must have figured out where Leanne and the boys are.”

“Will he be all right?” Katrina asked.

The sheriff nodded. “They thought so. They just want to figure out what is going on at that house.” He paused. “Your sister was here all night, wasn’t she?”

“Of course,” Katrina snapped back. “Besides, she couldn’t beat up Walker if she wanted to.”

“I guess that’s true. Someone’s out to hurt that family, though.”

“Leanne and the boys need to stay away from the reservation until they find out what’s happening,” Katrina agreed. “They can come back to Los Angeles with me if they need for a while.”

“They can stay at my place, too,” Edith offered. “Surely the authorities will find out more about it all when Walker is able to talk to them.”

“We hope so.” The sheriff reached for his hat.

“Should I have Leanne call you? Or I can walk over to the house and get her now,” Katrina said. “Even with all the trouble, I know she’ll want to go to the hospital and see Walker.”

The sheriff nodded. “She can wait to call until she
gets back from the hospital. If she’s been here all the time since I talked to her last, she obviously doesn’t know anything about who would have broken into their house anyway.”

“Thanks,” Katrina said.

“I can walk over with you,” Conrad offered as she put her camera back in the bag.

She looked up at him. He was the man who had given her tissues every time she cried lately. He’d offered her a job when he thought she needed one. He’d brought her to church and he’d held her hand. But it wasn’t enough. Not after she’d seen the love shining in the faces of Barbara and the sheriff. She didn’t want to be with someone who was afraid to love her.

“No, thanks,” Katrina said softly. “I’m fine on my own. I better see a bill for that new muffler you put on Leanne’s car, too.”

With that, she turned and walked out of the church.

K
atrina slid her camera down the table slightly so she could see her sister better. They were both in Edith’s dining room. Katrina had given all the information she had to Leanne and her sister had called the hospital in Billings to learn that Walker would be sedated until mid-afternoon because they were operating on his leg.

Leanne insisted Katrina return to the church and finish taking the photos. “These people have been so kind to us. We need to do what we can to repay them. Besides, Walker doesn’t need either of us right now.”

“He may later.” Katrina might not care about Walker’s pain, but she did care if her sister was in distress. She didn’t want to leave her alone to face this.

“Or maybe he needs the woman he’s been sneaking off to visit,” Leanne said, hurt and anger lacing her voice. “Maybe he wants her to visit.”

“You don’t know that he’s—” Katrina tried. She’d misjudged so much in her life, she didn’t want to add
any more misunderstandings to the list, but she couldn’t give her sister false hope, either.

“I just don’t know how else to explain what’s happening.” Leanne’s lips trembled slightly. “I’d never seen him like the way he was the other day. Something is very wrong.”

“Still, until you know—”

Leanne turned so she faced her squarely. “You’re sweet to worry, but right now, I’m going to make breakfast for the boys and Charley. Then I’ll call the hospital again and see when Walker can have visitors. By then, maybe I’ll know what to do.”

Katrina reached out and touched her sister’s shoulder. She hadn’t noticed Leanne was so frail until she felt her bones. “It’s okay if you need to talk about it. I know there’s a lot in our past that we didn’t discuss—that I couldn’t find the words to say—but I want a better relationship for us from now on.”

“Me, too.” Leanne reached over and enclosed the hand Katrina had on her shoulder. “You’re my older sister and I’ve missed you. That’s why I wanted you to come visit.”

“If you want me to go with you to the hospital to see Walker, just let me know.”

Katrina almost added she’d had lots of experience with hospitals, but then stopped herself. She couldn’t tell Leanne about the cancer today. Not with all she faced regarding Walker.

Leanne smiled a little. “You know, it’s almost a relief to know there’s something behind his absences
even if I don’t know what—or who—it is. At least, I know I’m not going crazy.”

“Maybe he has a gambling problem and it has nothing to do with another woman,” Katrina suggested.

Leanne laughed. “Go take the photos. You know Walker and I don’t have enough money to get into a gambling problem.”

Katrina stood up and gave her sister another quick hug. She had hope for a relationship with Leanne again and that’s something she hadn’t had for a long time. “Come over when you’re finished with breakfast. I’d like to take a few shots of you and the boys. They’ll want their quarters.”

“Quarters?”

“It’s an aunt/nephew thing,” Katrina said as she put her camera bag over her shoulder and started toward the door. The last thing she wanted to do was disappoint her nephews.

As she stepped out into the open air, she looked at her watch. If she hurried, she would be ready for her nine-thirty appointments.

The wind was blowing, and it looked like rain. That garden gnome would have to stand there without her paying any attention to him. When she’d left, people were starting to come to the church and Katrina knew she’d have to sort out who went first. If she didn’t take pictures in the order of the appointments, she wouldn’t know if she had missed someone. One thing was clear, though. There would be no outside pictures, not unless the weather got better.

She was surprised when she stepped back inside the church sanctuary to find that everyone was lined up. Conrad was standing at the head of the line with a clipboard. Edith and Barbara were passing out small pieces of cake on paper plates and everyone was talking and eating and having a good time.

Everyone, that is, except for Conrad. He looked harried. She should have known he’d do his duty until the bitter end.

“Any man who needs a blue shirt, raise your hand,” Conrad called out, trying to make himself heard over the chatter. He didn’t know what had made him come back here, but he couldn’t leave Katrina to face this crowd by herself. “Elmer has a couple of shirts that can go out on loan. One snap, two buttoned. Remember, this is for the church. We want to look our best.”

“Can I hold my football trophy in my picture?” an old man asked. He had a large leather bag in his hands and he was holding it close to his chest like it contained pure gold.

“You never played a game of football in your life, Mr. Dailey, and you know it,” Conrad said. “So who’d you get the trophy from? Your grandson?”

“So what if I did,” the man said, sticking his chin out. “It’s all in the family. If it wasn’t for me, he wouldn’t be alive to win that trophy.”

“The rules say no one gets anything extra in their photo,” Conrad said as he held out his hand for the bag.

“Harry Bliss gets to keep his toupee,” one of the men called out. “Give the old man his trophy.”

“Yeah, my face looks better with me holding a football trophy,” Mr. Dailey agreed as he put the bag behind his back as if hiding it would make Conrad forget all about it. “Besides, some of those women in Miles City like an athletic man. We are going to send the directory to Miles City, aren’t we? They’ve got some good-looking widows up there.”

Conrad ran his hands through his hair before turning back to the old man. Why did everything have to be so difficult? “Again, these pictures are for the church, not a dating service.”

“Well, the church is where you got your wife,” Mr. Dailey said indignantly. “If you’re entitled to get help from the church, I’m entitled to help, too.”

The whole building hushed. People’s hands stopped with their plastic forks raised halfway to their mouths. One man paused in putting on a blue shirt. Conrad could feel everyone turning and looking at him.

“You know, the prayer bulletin,” Mr. Dailey added.

“I know about the prayer bulletin,” Conrad snapped back. “And, for the record, that prayer bulletin should be kept for serious business and not some romantic nonsense. And, it didn’t work anyway.”

The silence in the church was because of shock. Conrad knew he only had a few seconds before the protest broke through. He had made a mistake, he just didn’t know how to fix it. He’d attacked romance and the prayer bulletin. Especially because he looked down
the aisle and saw Katrina. He had been afraid she wouldn’t come back after talking to her sister. And now he was wishing she hadn’t.

“Look here, Conrad Nelson,” Tracy said. “Romance is not nonsense. And that prayer bulletin did so work. Katrina’s here, isn’t she? Just because you and Pete have some bachelor thing going, doesn’t mean there aren’t nice men around here who would like to marry a woman like me or Katrina.”

Conrad heard Katrina’s grunt of surprise even from where he was standing.

“And,” Tracy continued as she put her hands on her hips. She didn’t let Katrina’s shock stop her. “Those men are willing to put some romance into making that happen. They don’t just pray about it and then not do anything.”

At that, Tracy turned to give him a stern look.

“There are things that—” Conrad began. “I’m just saying there are things you don’t know.”

Conrad looked around at everyone until his eyes came to Katrina. His gaze caught her eyes and held them. “You’re right. I’m sure there are hundreds of men who would be willing to romance women like the two of you.”

“Well,” Tracy said, sounding satisfied now that she’d made her point.

Katrina just looked at him for a minute. Then she looked away. “Well, everyone line up. Who’s next to get their picture taken?”

Conrad looked away, too. He’d lost her. He didn’t
know if God had answered anyone’s prayers by bringing his calendar woman to Dry Creek. He might have become a little infatuated with the woman in the picture, but it was Katrina he’d miss. He already felt the hollowness inside.

Katrina walked down the middle of the aisle to the front of the church. People parted to let her through. She was all business now. She wanted to get these pictures taken so she could leave. She didn’t know what the old man had meant by the prayer bulletin, but she knew what Tracy meant and she agreed. There was no point chasing after a man who wasn’t ready to make a commitment.

“I’m next,” Tracy said when Katrina reached the front.

“Good.” Katrina set her camera bag down on the closest pew and took out what she needed to take pictures.

“Is your sister all right?” Tracy asked while Katrina decided what angle she wanted to shoot from. “Edith told me what was happening.”

“Thanks. I think she’ll be fine.” Katrina looked around the church sanctuary. “Now, where would you like your picture taken?”

“Probably just one of the walls around here.” Tracy looked at the two side walls. “I guess they all need painting. But then I probably do, too.”

“Nonsense,” Katrina said as she searched for a place on the side wall that would be long enough to use as a backdrop. “You’re a beautiful woman.” She shot a
look over at Conrad. “Some men just don’t appreciate strong women.”

“Oh, Conrad’s okay,” Tracy said sheepishly. “He just got what I should have said to Pete.”

Katrina didn’t agree, but she wasn’t going to inform Tracy of the man’s faults. Instead, she found what she was looking for and motioned the other woman over. “To your left between those two windows.”

Tracy walked over and stood in the spot. She fluffed up her hair and brushed any lint off her shoulders. Then her lips pressed together for a moment. “Speaking of Pete, I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I should have just let him meet with you alone. We’re like oil and water.”

Katrina nodded as she started to snap some photos of Tracy. “It’s not a problem. I don’t plan to use the few pictures I took of the two of you anyway. But—” she looked up from the camera “—for what it’s worth, I think he has considerable affection for you.”

A wistful smile lit up Tracy’s face. Instinctively, Katrina lifted the camera to her eye and captured some haunting photos of Tracy’s face. Love and despair battled in her expression.

After the last click, Tracy stood up and smoothed down her dress. Then she said, “It’s not really his fault, you know.”

“How can you say that?” Katrina asked, putting down her camera. She kept her voice low so no one else would hear. “He clearly has feelings for you and he won’t do anything about it.”

“He thinks I’m responsible for his younger brother’s death,” Tracy said softly as her face twisted. “And, some days, I’m not sure whether he’s right or wrong.”

With that, Tracy walked down the aisle and out of the church. Speechless, Katrina watched her go.

“I’m next,” one of the older men said as he walked down the aisle of the church. He was clutching some of the fruit Edith had brought over and a book. “Richard Compton.”

“Well, Mr. Compton, you know the rule. No extras. Besides, that fruit’s artificial,” Katrina said as he got closer. She was tired of being caught up in everyone’s problems so she was glad to have one that was easy to solve.

“I’m not going to eat it,” he protested. “I’m just using it to open up my negotiations. I’ll give up the fruit if you let me hold a picture instead.”

“What picture?” Katrina asked suspiciously.

Mr. Compton opened the book and took out a large old black-and-white photo of a young woman. She was wearing a black dress that was too big for her and had her hair scraped back in a bun. But her smile was soft with some deep affection for whoever stood next to that old camera. “This is my Ella. She’s been gone for ten years now, but I still miss her. This is what she looked like when I first met her almost sixty-five years ago.”

He held the photo to his chest. “I’d like folks to remember Ella, too, when they see my picture in the directory.”

Katrina looked through her lens and took the shot. The look on the old man’s face practically took her breath away. She took a few more shots and then lifted her eye from the lens so she could blink.

She’d never seen anything so beautiful. Everyone in the church was silent as they looked at the man and his Ella.

“I remember her,” Edith finally said softly from where she stood to the side. “She was a remarkable woman.”

“She brought me chicken soup once when I was sick,” someone else said. “The best soup I ever ate.”

“My mom still talks about her,” a young woman said.

Katrina had to blink a couple of more times. And then, just when she needed a tissue, Conrad was there with a folded handkerchief.

“Here,” he said as he held it out to her.

“I don’t need—” Katrina started to say when a tear rolled down her cheeks. She reached over and took the handkerchief. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” he said.

And then he just stood and looked at her like that old man had looked at his Ella. It all made Katrina want to cry even more. She needed to remind herself that he wasn’t going to do anything about his feelings. He was a disciplined man and he knew what he wanted and didn’t want in his life.

“I’m ready for the next person,” Katrina said as she took one final swipe at her tears. She’d leave as soon as she got the pictures all taken. Maybe she could follow Leanne into Billings to visit Walker at the
hospital. Then she could stay in a hotel for a night or two until her sister was ready to go home. She needed to leave Dry Creek.