AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter One
“Shit.”
With an annoyed downward thrust, Reed Kincaid jabbed the pitchfork into the hay bale and pulled his vibrating cell phone out of his pocket. As he thought, the text was from his highway patrol partner, John Wainscott, the fourth today. Disregarding it the same as the others, he tucked the phone back in his pocket.
“Ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away.”
Reed glared at his younger brother, Slade, from across the stacks of hay. “You ought to know.”
Slade cocked his head, a bead of sweat rolling down his neck. “I deal with my issues in my own way, my own time. You’re avoiding yours altogether.”
They were working in the large storage barn today, loading fresh straw for the horse stalls and feed to transport to the stable and barn. Slade grabbed the embedded hay bale D-hooks and tossed the bundled fodder onto the tractor bed, leaving Reed to scowl at his back.
“It’s Saturday, and we’re not on the clock today. John should sign the fucking papers and let his wife go. It’s the least he can do considering his behavior during the two years before she had the good sense to call it quits.”
Turning, Slade leaned his arms on the tractor hood and regarded him with a curl of his lips, his Stetson shielding his gray eyes. “You were John’s best man at their wedding, and yet you never mention his wife by name.”
Using the end of his T-shirt, Reed wiped the trickle of perspiration rolling down the side of his face, his muscles tensing from frustration at having another unwanted fact pointed out to him. “What’s your point?” he asked with an edge to his tone. He sighed, bemoaning how quick he was to go on the defensive over anything alluding to his partner’s wife, Lily Wainscott, when most times he was the mild-mannered, easygoing one between him, Slade, and their older brother, Brett.
“I’ll leave you to figure that out for yourself.” Slade swung up onto the tractor seat and started the engine. Shouting over the noise, he jerked a thumb toward the wide-open barn doors. “Meet me in the stable.”
Reed nodded and lifted his hat to scrape his hair off his damp forehead before lowering his arm. He’d let it grow longer than usual, and his boss had already issued two warnings, reminders he was in violation of their codes. At one time, that would never have happened. Somehow, within the last year, he had quit caring so much about his career, his desire to join Slade daily in running the thirty-thousand-acre ranch he and his brothers inherited from their father overriding his enjoyment of working in law enforcement.
Following the tractor out of the barn, Reed lowered the brim of his Stetson against the bright afternoon sun. He welcomed the late-August heat seeping into his sore muscles while looking forward to the cooler fall temperatures. This year, there was Brett and Allie’s summer wedding to look forward to during winter’s long, tedious frigid days of less outdoor activity. Big brother had surprised everyone with his quick proposal to the woman he had spent so much effort trying to convince himself was not his type. Good thing Allie was one of those people who refused to take no for an answer when she wanted something, or someone, and knew when to pause when necessary. It was she who had insisted they wait almost a year before marrying, since Brett’s divorce had just been finalized.
His partner, John, was the same, but not in a good way, like Allie. His future sister-in-law knew where to draw the line in her efforts to get what she wanted, and when to give up and walk away. John refused to grant his wife the divorce she filed for eight months ago after Reed had warned him repeatedly his cheating would cost him everything. When it did, the reality of losing her sent him into a tailspin of depression and anger that he continued to unload on Reed.
And he was fucking tired of John crying to him over losing Lily and swearing he couldn’t live without her, claiming she was his one and only after spending the last three years involved in one affair after another. Lily, with her compassionate heart and hidden depths reflected in her golden-brown eyes any sane man would give his left nut to explore, deserved better. But John had refused to heed his advice then as now whenever Reed told him to stop dragging her to court to stall the divorce.
Yeah, Reed thought, striding toward the stables, John was a problem he intended to ignore on his day off. It was either that or go over to his house and knock some sense into the idiot. As much satisfaction as he would derive from planting his fist in his friend’s lying, cheating face, Lily’s disapproval stayed his hand. When he’d last seen John’s wife, she’d been gazing at her estranged husband with sympathy and concern, telling Reed that John needed him more than ever, and asked him to please not abandon him.
Until that moment, he’d believed there wasn’t anything Lily Wainscott could ask of him that he would deny her, but, God help him, he wanted to ditch his six-year friendship and partnership in the worst way.
Reed entered the stable, shoving aside thoughts about John and Lily. Hard work was a great antidote to plaguing issues, and when that wasn’t enough by end of the day, he could always call a member of their exclusive group to join him tonight at Casey’s. The nightclub he and his brothers had opened a few years ago had proved a profitable sideline, and with the upper floor renovated to hold private BDSM themed parties with friends in the lifestyle, it was the perfect escape to unwind and relieve stress.
They labored in companionable silence while unloading the tractor, but no matter how much sweat he worked up, Reed’s thoughts still strayed to the one woman who was off-limits. He was proud of the way he’d kept his surprise masked when John first introduced him to Lily, considering the jolt of recognition seeing her again had given him. There had been two feet of snow on the ground when he had been in Casper testifying in a court case a year after hiring on with Wyoming Highway Patrol. Dealing with people who held no regard for others, like the perp fighting the DUI he had given him, always left him in a sour mood. That day, catching sight of Lily’s selfless act of kindness to a homeless woman as he’d driven by a city park had reminded him there were still good people around.
Reed didn’t need the truck’s heater cranked on high when he slid behind the wheel. Having to make this trip into Casper to testify against a drunk driver fighting the loss of his license had left him hot enough under the collar to ward off the frigid cold. He slammed the truck door and tried to forget about the callous young man who insisted he’d done nothing wrong by driving while intoxicated. Too bad for him Reed’s recollection of the guy’s weaving in and out of traffic along the US highway between Casper and Cheyenne was excellent.
Dealing with such cold, self-centered individuals with no regard for others reminded him of why he’d left the Denver police department and returned home to Wyoming. At least as a highway patrol officer, he wasn’t subjected daily to the worst of humankind. His tires crunched over the packed-down snow as he left the courthouse parking lot then turned the corner, intending to grab something for lunch before returning to work. Up ahead, an SUV pulled to the curb, a woman with long sable hair hopping out and grabbing his attention as she dashed over to a huddled figure sitting on the park bench.
She wrapped an arm around the older woman who appeared frail, and possibly homeless given her scanty attire and the beat-up bag at her feet. His curiosity piqued, he waited as they spoke in case this was a touchy family situation, wishing he could see more of the younger woman’s face than her profile. He was about to offer assistance when it became obvious the older woman didn’t want to leave her perch, but she finally complied, accepting whatever help the other woman was offering.
Her Good Samaritan ushered her across the street and into the hotel. The most the decades-old, run-down establishment offered now was cheap but clean rooms and creaky pipes in the bathrooms. He got a good look at the younger woman as she emerged alone from the hotel several minutes later, her face reflecting sadness but relief, and he assumed she had talked the homeless elder into staying. His interest kicked up another notch, this time in appreciation for both the kind act and an attractive, appealing woman.
As soon as she drove away, he got out and went inside the hotel to ensure the proprietor did right by both females.
Slade’s cursing pulled Reed back to the present, and he put more effort into working. The memory of that hotel manager’s face blanching when he showed him his badge still amused Reed. The man quickly turned, more willing to reveal Lily’s name and how she and other volunteers from the local homeless shelter kept an eye on the “crazy old Asian lady” and would try to get her out of the frigid cold as much as possible since she refused to stay at the shelter. He only had Lily’s first name, or he wouldn’t have been so surprised when John first introduced him to his fiancée.
Reed retained a few other fond moments shared with Lily from getting to know her through John these last three years, but it was in his best interest to ignore them until he could let them and her go without regrets. Otherwise, he would remain in an emotional limbo, coping with feelings he should never have possessed for a friend’s wife.
****
“You’re quiet tonight.”
Reed shrugged, avoiding eye contact with Jordon Myers, a good friend they had hired to manage Casey’s. “I have a lot on my mind right now.” He sipped his beer, swiveling on the barstool to scan the Saturday night crowd at Casey’s. The music wasn’t so loud people couldn’t converse without yelling, but the boisterous enthusiasm coming from the group gathered around the mechanical bull reached across the ten thousand square foot space they’d spent months renovating. His mood lightened watching Allie mount the gyrating vault. “She’s managed to master that thing in no time, hasn’t she?”
Jordan nodded, grinning. “The more people bet against her, the more determined she’s become. It’s been fun to watch.”
