I drum my fingers on the wheel as we cruise toward town.Pulling up Sadie’s number on my phone, I listen to it ring a few times before she answers.
“Hey, Boss. How’s Billings?” She’s been taking care of the dogs and the house while I’ve been away.
“I’ll be back tonight so just check in on the dogs this afternoon. Sadie, I appreciate you doing all this.”
“How’s Callie?” News travels fast in a small town and while everyone doesn’t know the exact events from that night, they know enough to fill in a fantastical story for what they don’t know.
“She’s good; they are sending her home tomorrow. I’ll probably be at Waylon’s this weekend. Thanks again.”
As I hang up, Cash speaks up, “Did you know they are saying you and I burst into her house, guns blazing?”
“That’s honestly better than the real story of us sneaking around like cat burglars.”
He snorts out a laugh. “Are you okay, you know, with everything?”
He means the shooting. We haven’t talked about it. We’ve tap danced around it while we worried about everything else going on. But now, since Caroline is coming home and is on the mend, I don’t blame him for wondering.
“Yeah, I think so. Like, prior to that moment, I never considered I would need to use it for protection, even though that’s the reason I had it in the truck. I’ve taken all the classes, you know? And we’ve been hunting our entire lives. But I’ve never actually pointed a weapon at a person.” I exhale heavily. “I guess, I’m glad I had it, and I could bring myself to use it. Using it to protect the girl I love? Worth it, I think.”
He nods his head sagely. “Speaking of the girlwelove, how do we tell her that?”
“We don’t. Not yet. She just went through something awful. I think supporting her through it is showing her how wefeel but she doesn’t need the burden of the obligation to confess her own feelings. Besides, she might choose one of us.”
“I know. And when she picks me, don’t hate me, okay?” He laughs as he says it.
I reach out and punch him on the shoulder across the cab.
“Ow.” He rubs the spot. “Damn, Duke, it was a joke. You been working out? I’m going to have a bruise.”
“Like I said, dramatic.”
By six am, we have accomplished a long list of tasks. We picked up Dolly and Hank and brought them to the ranch, along with some of my clothes and things since I’m sticking around. Now there are twice as many obnoxious dogs.
We went to see the state of things at Caroline’s apartment and discovered the door was fixed and we could go in and get some of her stuff. We just threw everything we could into a few suitcases we found. The clothes in the closet, we left, but we got socks, pajamas, leggings, t-shirts, and panties.
Cash set Caroline up in the room across from his and I’m next door. I have the hall bath, but the guest room has its own bath. Cash would have probably given up his room if it didn’t. He wants everything perfect.
“She won’t want to sleep in your man-whore bed anyway,” I tell him as we bring her bags into the guest room.
He looks a little contrite. “You think I should buy a new bed?”
“For God’s sake, no. Just wash your sheets, you heathen. And spray some Febreze. Actually, open the windows. It smells like musk and pussy in there.” It doesn’t, but I like the embarrassment he wears. “Do you think the room will do for her?” Ifollow up as I put some of her soft things from her own bed onto this one. Lifting a cute little stuffed animal to my face, I smell the strawberry and vanilla scent that always clings to her.
Since being in the hospital, she doesn’t smell like that anymore. I went into her bathroom and grabbed her shampoo and conditioner as well as other toiletries. I don’t know which one makes the smell, but I want it back. We aren’t going to unpack her things; she will want to do it, but we put out a few things to make her feel at home.
“I wish I knew what kind of food we should stock. I didn’t even look in her kitchen.” Cash wanders around, picking things up and moving them before moving them back. “Oh, she loves the coffee at Lizzie’s. I’m going to go get her some so she has it here. I just want her to be happy, Duke.”
“I know, me too.”
Climbing up in his, honestly, stupidly high truck, I look over at him and it seems like we realized the same thing at the same time.
“Dammit, Cash, why is your truck so fucking stupid?”
“Duke, I’ve never needed to transport someone who couldn’t climb in here.” We sit there trying to figure out how to solve such an absurd problem.
“Got it.” Pulling out my phone, I scroll to K.
“Hello?” she answers on the third ring, her voice heavy with sleep.
