Promise Made (The Callahan Series) (21 page)

“Having fun?” Dugan called out.

Donovan and Mark stopped and turned. “What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

The dogs, Freckles and Queenie, barked a welcome.

Dugan laughed as he bent down to rub the dogs’ heads. “Just answered the same question inside. Nope. Had an errand out this way and stopped in.”

“Bet you were hungry.” Donovan grinned.

Dugan ruffled Mark’s blond hair. “You’re really good with that bag.” He kneaded the boy’s upper arms. “Building muscle, too, I see.”

Mark bobbed his head. “It’s fun.”

“I hate to tell you this, but fun’s over. Your mom wants you inside.”

Mark made a face, turned to Donovan. “Can I stay a while longer, Dad? I haven’t seen Uncle Dugan in a while.”

“If you don’t go in now, your mom will come out here. You know what’ll happen then.”

“Aw, Dad.”

But he pulled off his gloves, put them on a shelf and left, Queenie and Freckles following right behind him.

“Next time, we’ll chat,” Dugan called out. “He’s a good boy, Donovan. You’re a lucky man.”

“I tell myself that every day. Now tell me why you’re really here.”

Chapter Nineteen

Kate sat with Gram in the kitchen as they admired Ed’s painting. “I didn’t know Ed painted.” Until today. “I’m more than impressed. This is beautiful.” And it was. It was like looking at a yard full of freshly picked flowers strewn over the top of a table.

“He’s got this crazy notion if anyone finds out he paints they’ll think him a sissy or something just as foolish.”

“You’re kidding.” She examined the painting from all angles. “This is extraordinary.” She turned to Gram. “Can I look at his work? I’d like one of these myself.”

“They’re all one of a kind. No two are even similar,” she bragged. “I think this one is the best he’s ever done.”

Since she was well aware of the answer, Kate felt guilty when she asked the question, “Has he asked you to marry him, Gram?”

Gram’s smile wobbled.

“What did you tell him?”

“I haven’t given him an answer.”

Kate grabbed Gram’s hand. “You love him and he loves you. What’s the problem?”

Gram looked Kate in the eye. “You love Dugan and he loves you. What’s
your
problem?”

“We’re friends, Gram. After the shabby way I treated him, I’m thankful for that much.” Friends with benefits. At least they had been. Dugan didn’t know of her decision that it couldn’t and wouldn’t continue.

Gram shook her head. “I have reservations about our age and about you.”

“You can’t be serious?” It was ridiculous the first time Kate heard this excuse, worse the second.

“You’ve only known one home since you were thirteen. Would you feel comfortable at Ed’s?”

Kate looked around at the familiar room. She loved this house. It was big, comfortable and well kept. She could live here the rest of her life and love it.

“I see,” Gram said.

“No. Gram, you don’t. Of course you should live at Ed’s. It’s only right. This place is too big for you anyway. Besides, you should know me well enough to know I’d go anywhere to be with you.” But, oh how Kate would miss this place. She plastered a smile on her face. “Will you put Ed out of his misery? And deny yourself his love?”

Gram patted Kate’s arm. “I plan to think about it.” She brushed a hand over Kate’s head. “Dugan loves you, Kate.”

Kate put a hand to her heart. “Dugan and I have just now found our footing. We can be together now without anger flashing in his eyes. Nothing else.” Except for the hot sex.

“He was deeply hurt then. This is now. I see love when he looks at you. Real love doesn’t come around often, Katie-Girl. Don’t blow it off. Dugan’s a good man. He won’t run out on you like your dad did. Some lucky woman will yank him up one of these days and it will be too late.”

Kate’s stomach curled into a knot. Another woman in Dugan’s arms, kissing her the way he kissed Kate, making love. Tears came to her eyes at the thought.

She wondered if Dugan was tied up with a call or avoiding her. She hadn’t seen or heard from him since the trial and she very much wanted to see and talk to him.

It was too early to go to bed. Her heart heavy, Kate walked into her office, her only company her animals. But she couldn’t concentrate on the case files stacked on her desk. Dugan standing in his bare feet, his shirt only partially buttoned, filtered through her head. Gram was right. Any woman would be lucky to have him in her life.

Kate could have been that woman.

Regret swept through her in waves of discontent.

She gave up on getting any work accomplished, sat there and let the dream of what might have been consume her.

An hour later, she headed for bed.

****

Dugan handed Donovan a bottle of water, then settled down on a bale of hay. Donovan took the one next to him.

“Spill it.”

“I don’t know where to start.”

“Start with Kate. That’s what this is about, isn’t it?”

Donovan always did have a sixth sense when it came to the family. “I’m crazy in love with her, Don. More so than the first time. At first I was so angry she was here I prayed she’d leave. Now I worry she might.”

“And?”

“Kate wants no part of a commitment.” He’d leave it at that. No need for Donavan to know that they’d made love.

He put his hand to the back of his neck, kneaded it. He looked at his older brother. The one who’d fixed his toys when he was a kid, the one who took him on his first solo ride on a horse, the one who had always had a word of encouragement for his siblings. “What would you do?”

Donovan leaned over, propped his elbows on his knees, then dropped his head into his hands. When he looked up, he said, “More than one romance started out being friends first. Maybe you just need to give it time.”

“There’s still that niggling worry I have that if we did get together she’d leave again. Her commitment issues are deep-rooted.”

“That’s a big one. Added to that, you’re just a little bit afraid if she leaves you again you might never get over it.”

“Two reasons to stay clear, right?” Valid reasons that flew out the window at the first sight or thought of her.

“Up to you, little brother. There’s a big problem there. You still love her.” He paused. “I’d like to see you settled down and happy.”

Dugan grinned. “Like you?”

“Like all the family.”

“Except Darin. He’s a bachelor, too. Maybe the two of us are destined to remain single.”

“Don’t believe it. You and Kate may or may not get back together. If not, you’ll find someone else. Darin hasn’t found the right woman yet. But he will.”

“You know this how?”

“I can see into the future.” He grinned.

Dugan shook his head.

“Hey, even here, we get wind of the rumors floating around town about the two of you.” Donovan’s eyes lit with mischief. “You know there are no secrets in Oaktree.”

“Damn busybodies.”

They stood. Donovan clapped Dugan on the shoulder. “I put my own bet in.”

Dugan’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t.”

Donovan chuckled.

“So which way? For or against?”

“I think you know. If you love her like I think you do, don’t give up. Okay?”

They walked into the kitchen. Mom was alone at the table.

“Has everyone gone to bed?” Donovan asked.

“They have.” She looked at Dugan. “Why don’t you spend the night? It’s late, no sense in a trip to town when you look so tired.”

Dugan
was
tired. He was weary all the way to the bone. The offer tempted him. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d stayed at home overnight. “Let me make a call first.”

Ralph was on duty and answered on the first ring.

“Everything’s quiet, Sheriff.”

“Hear anymore from Jerome Johnson?”

Ralph chuckled. “Sure did. Booger called and complained. I picked up Jerome and put him in the slammer. He won’t bother anyone tonight.”

Dugan let out a relieved breath. “Good. Don’t turn him loose until I talk to him in the morning. If you need me, call me on my cell.”

“Will do, Sheriff.”

They hung up.

“I’ll take you up on your offer, Mom. But don’t bother with breakfast. I’ll be out of here before you wake up.”

“I’m not the only early bird around here.” His mother’s eyes lit up when she laughed. “Phyl is the early riser.”

Dugan made his way upstairs and into the familiar room that had been his for the biggest part of his life. Several homerun baseballs sat on the dresser along with a couple of football trophies. He’d been so proud.

All those years ago, Kate was there on the sidelines. At the time he’d paid no attention. Since the day she came to live with Grace, he’d seen her around. Being two years ahead of him in school was a big gap when you were a kid. He didn’t find out until later she’d been stepped up two grades. They were the same age, but Kate was that smart.

It wasn’t until they were both at Texas A&M that he really got to know her. He was a junior; she was ready to start law school. The gap didn’t seem so wide then. They probably wouldn’t have gone out at all, except one day he was entering his favorite sandwich shop just as she was coming out. They recognized each other and started to talk. They took a booth and talked some more. He forgot about food. She forgot she wanted to study. After their first encounter, he asked her out. Six weeks later, Dugan was in love.

As he sank onto his bed and turned off the light, the memories kept coming. During spring break they drove back to Oaktree together. By then, everyone looked at them as a couple. Everyone, including his family and her gram, had expected them to marry.

When he’d asked and she’d said yes, he was the happiest man on earth. Mom, along with Grace, had planned the perfect wedding.

Only Kate didn’t show.

Devastated wasn’t strong enough to describe how he'd felt.

He took a deep breath. Until she came back to town, he’d thought he was over her.

Now he was torn between wanting her in his life and the fear she would leave him broken-hearted again if she were.

No other woman could do this to him, because no other woman meant as much.

Dugan had no idea what to do.

Chapter Twenty

Just as his mom had predicted, Phyl was in the kitchen when Dugan got up the next morning.

“What would you like to eat?” she asked.

“No time. I need to get back.”

Two pieces of bread popped up from the toaster. She buttered them, wrapped them in a paper towel, handed them to him, and poured coffee into a travel mug before putting it in his other hand. She was so like Mom. But he wouldn’t tell her.

“Should hold you until you get to town.”

He kissed her cheek. “You’re the best.”

He walked into his office forty minutes later. Sybil frowned, and turned back to her work. Jonathan didn’t look him in the eye. What the hell was their problem?

“Jerome still in his cell?” Dugan didn’t know why he asked. His instructions had been clear last night.

“Yep,” Jonathan said, still not looking him in the eye.

“In my office, Jon,” he said. He’d get to the bottom of this right now.

Jonathan walked in and shut the door. Piper stood, walked over to Dugan who rubbed his head. “Did you feed Piper this morning?”

“Yeah. Took him out, too.”

“Okay. Have a seat. What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re my best friend. If you can’t tell me what’s up around here, who can?”

“Okay. You asked for it. Ralph was at your house last night; he'd smoked some brisket, wanted to give you a plate and all the fixings. You weren’t there. He decided you were with Kate.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake. What if I was?”

“Were you?”

Dugan let out a tired sigh. “It’s no one’s business where I was.”

Jonathan leaned over the desk and looked Dugan in the eye. “She’ll break your heart again. I guess your real friends don’t want to see that happen.”

Dugan leaned back and shut his eyes. This had to end. “I didn’t spend the night with Kate, Jon.” Not that he wouldn’t or didn’t want to. “Look. This obsession the town has over my love life has to stop. Can I count on you to help?”

“What can I do?”

“I know people ask questions; just remind them it’s none of their business what the sheriff does in his personal life. We have to quiet this down.”

“I’ll do my best, but you know how they are.”

“I know. But it’s gone on so long now it’s downright embarrassing.” He wondered how Kate felt about the gossip.

Just then, the intercom beeped. “There’s a big accident on the Interstate,” Sybil said. “They need all the help they can get.”

“We’re out of here,” Dugan said, grabbing his Stetson.

“Right behind you, boss.”

They were in the cruiser and on their way in seconds.

The wreck was a bad one. An eighteen-wheeler had hit a van and was sprawled across four lanes of traffic. No one had died, at least not yet, but everyone involved except the truck driver was on the way to the hospital.

It took most of the day to divert traffic until the truck could be hauled off.

By the time that was cleared up, a fight broke out between two neighbors on the other side of the county. Though it didn’t take more than a ten-minute speech to clear things up, the day was gone.

Dugan still hadn’t talked to Jerome. Nor had he talked to Kate since the trial. He was tired, but very much wanted to see Kate. Had to see her.

At the office, Jonathan got in his car to go home. Dugan went inside, waved at Ralph, who was on the phone. After tending to Piper, he sat behind his desk and called Kate. No answer. He called Grace’s number; still no answer. Where the hell were they?

At least he could instill fear into Jerome.

Ralph got to his feet when Dugan walked out of his office.

“Got the keys to Jerome’s cell?”

Ralph’s face paled, but he didn’t go for the keys.

“What?” Dugan asked.

“He yelled for a lawyer right after you left this morning, claimed he was unjustly arrested. The judge slapped him on the wrist, told him to stay sober or leave the county, and let him go.”

“Can’t anything go right?” First, a woman got away with killing her husband. Now a man threatening murder was on the streets. What else could go wrong?