As he went out the door she called after him, "Cow pie." She could hear him chuckle as he walked down the hall and she muttered to herself, "Double cow pie. How am I supposed to have a conversation when he won't converse? It's not just the computer that's going to foing."
"What are you grumbling about in here?" Richard came in and sat down at his desk.
"Oh, nothing. I just want to whack your son."
"Well, do what you have to do. We try, but Chase is a hard head. What did he do this time?"
Charlie felt slightly sheepish remembering how hard she'd elbowed Luke. "It was Luke actually, for once."
Richard did a double take. "Luke? Oh, no. He's the one child I have that typically stays out of trouble. What'd he do?"
Still muttering, Charlie said under her breath, "Nothing, dang it." To Richard she admitted, "He just won't be honest with me about what I did in Connecticut that has offended him so much. He's hardly spoken to me in more than a week. It's awful. Sorry I'm whining."
"Ah, whine all you want. Did he get that thing working?"
"Of course. You know him. He can fix anything except my peace of mind.” She shut the paper drawer on the printer with a bit to much force, took a deep breath and tried to change the subject. “I'm taking the little ones in to the pediatrician to get some vaccinations this afternoon. Can you sign these releases? And do you need anything from town?"
Richard smiled big at her as he signed where she indicated. "Just your peace of mind, Charlie."
"I'll work on that. Maybe a big hot fudge sundae would help. I always wanted one after I had to get shots when I was little, but my mother never had time. I think I'll stop and get the kids one if they're good."
"I have heard hot fudge does wonders for peace of mind."
"Enough fudge sauce can fix anything. You no longer mind if someone doesn’t care about you. I believe I'll try it."
The smile faded from Richard's face and he asked, "Are you sure that he doesn't care, Charlie? Or is it that he cares too much?"
She wrinkled her brow, trying to understand what he was saying. "Why would he quit speaking to me if he cared too much?"
"Because you're leaving."
She thought about that and then shook her head. "No. Luke is too confident to let that bother him without at least saying something. It has to be something else. I know when it happened. I just don't know what I did. It was at the beach that afternoon. Maybe he'd simply had enough of my family."
"Or maybe your family is why he doesn't feel he can pressure you to stay. Maybe he thinks you already have enough people trying to manipulate you."
Turning to the office door, she said, "I can't matter too much then, can I?"
****
The conversations with both Fo and Richard had been thought provoking, but somehow the idea that Luke was giving her the cold shoulder because in actuality he wanted her to stay didn't seem plausible. If he actually wanted her to stay, wouldn't he at least hint that? Fo's comment about how Luke hadn't been very happy about her date was intriguing as well and when she saw Dr. Nichols on the way into the pediatrician's office and he asked her out, she said yes. It would be interesting to see Luke's reaction. At the very least she could enjoy a night out with a pleasant man.
Charlie had been honest with the little ones about where they were going and why. Her mother had never mentioned vaccinations until the syringe appeared and Charlie had always felt as if that was dishonest somehow. Charlie told them about the shots, but she also downplayed it and told them if they were brave they were going to go get sundaes with all the extras and not surprisingly, the vaccinating went fine.
Jamie cried for a moment, but then was so thrilled with his Winnie The Pooh Band-Aids and the sticker he got he forgot all about just having been poked. The only problem with the girls’ reaction was the minor argument over who got the Belle sticker and who had to settle for Snow White.
They got huge sundaes and Charlie knew she'd hopelessly spoiled their dinner, but she'd also treated them the way she wished she'd been treated as a child. It was a good feeling to know she was making a difference for these kids, even if it was only in a small way.
****
If she was hoping for a reaction from Luke when Dr. Nichols showed up to pick her up, she was thoroughly disappointed. When she emerged from the main house to greet him, he and Luke were standing on the porch talking like they were old friends. As they left, Luke simply whistled for the dogs and then got into his truck and headed for somewhere on the ranch, absolutely unconcerned that she was going out. So much for seeing if he cared.
Dr. Nichols took her to a concert at an outdoor amphitheater near Kalispell. It was a folksy blue grass band and while that wasn't necessarily her favorite, it was okay. The scenery more than made up for the lack luster music. There was a storm gathering to the west and the sunset was incredible.
When Dr. Nichols asked her out again at the door of her cabin, she put him off with the promise to see if the Langstons needed her on the night in question and the assurance that she’d call and let him know. In a way, she was half hoping they would. Greg was all right, but there was nothing there romantically for her. She sighed as she patted Pilgrim's head, let herself in and slipped off her shoes that were wet from the storm that had finally hit on the drive home. Somehow she knew there was nothing there with Greg because there was already too much that she felt for a certain cousin of Fo's. A cousin who was still very much allergic to her. She really missed that easy friendship the three of them had enjoyed for the first few months of the summer.
Her thoughts about her and Luke's friendship, or the lack thereof, were brought up short as she went to walk into her bedroom. Her bare feet on the wooden floor planks noticed the moisture on the very first step. She stepped back and flipped on the light and found exactly what she had worried she would. Large, wet footprints went from her front door toward the bedroom door of her cabin. Without hesitating for a second, she grabbed the heels she had just stepped out of and went back out the door and toward the bunkhouse.
In bare feet and in the rain and dark, she had to go more slowly than she wanted to, but she still arrived there out of breath, probably more from fear than from exertion. When she realized Fo still wasn't back, she waffled about whether to bother Luke and then settled for waiting in a chair there on the porch in the dark. Fo shouldn't be too long. It was after eleven and he had to work the next day. If she saw or heard anything questionable in the mean time, she would barge in on Luke anyway.
It was a longer wait than she thought and by the time Fo showed up after midnight, she was shivering from the cold. He got out of his SUV and came up on the porch and stopped short when he saw her there. "Charlie, what's going on? What are you doing up this late and hanging out in the rain?" He draped an arm around her shoulders as she stiffly got out of the chair. "Holy, Charlie, you're an iceberg! Come inside. What's going on?"
She gladly followed him inside where he automatically pulled a heavy jacket off of the coat hooks and wrapped it around her and then asked again in a whisper so they didn't wake Luke, "What's going on, Chuck?"
Wondering what to tell him, she finally asked, "Could you come up to my house for a second? There's something I'd like to ask your opinion on."
He looked at her closely in the low light and then said, "Sure. Let's go." He grabbed a jacket as well and they headed back out in the rain. At her cabin, the footsteps were still obvious, although now there was a set that came back out of the bedroom and out the door again. Fo swore quietly under his breath. "Had you locked the door?" She nodded and he went on, "Grab some sweats. You can't stay here tonight, even with your gun. Tomorrow we'll have the locks changed and arrange for some kind of security. And we need to file another police report."
Grabbing the recommended sweats, she grabbed the little black gun case as well and followed him back out the door without even bothering to lock it. Tyree obviously had a key. At the bunkhouse, Fo locked the door behind them for the second time and she went into their bathroom to change out of her damp clothes. Fo seemed to understand that she wasn't up to sleeping just then and he dug a package of Oreos out of the cupboard and then cups and milk.
They sat at the little wooden table in silence and dunked their cookies until he finally asked, "How did your date go anyway? What'd you guys end up doing?"
"A blue grass concert at this magnificent outdoor amphitheater where the sunset was better than the music. It was incredible! How about you two?"
Fo gave her a mellow smile. "We talked for hours over fries and shakes at McDonald’s. It was incredible too, although I have no idea if the sun even set."
Charlie laughed softly. "Sounds too romantical for me."
"Actually, you'd be surprised. Dipping a French fry into someone else's shake is very intimate."
"I guess I don't have to ask if you're still head over heels."
"Nope. How was the Dr.? You mentioned the sunset, but not the company."
She sighed. "The sunset was unreal. The company was okay."
He laughed. "He would be so disappointed to hear that. Ever since he met you, he asks about you. You must have made quite an impression."
"That's what I'm afraid of." She picked up their cups and the cookies and carried them to the sink. "It's late and you have to work. We should call it a night."
Watching her, he asked, "Do you think you can sleep yet?"
"Probably not, but that's no reason that you shouldn't. I'll lay there and ponder the deep meanings of the universe. At least I feel safe here."
"You're safe." He ruffled her damp curls. "Night, Chuck."
"Thanks for rescuing me."
"Anytime."
Luke was up and showered and headed out the door when he spotted her tousled curls on the last bunk in the row. He did a double take again when he realized that was a gun case she had stashed next to her pillow and he went back into the bathroom to ask Fo what was going on. Fo shrugged and kept shaving and when it became apparent that he wasn't volunteering much, Luke shut the bathroom door and braced him. "Look, Fo. Is something going on or not? She wouldn't just show up again. Do you know why she's here?" Fo nodded. "Then out with it. This is my home. I run this place. I have the right to know."
"Tyree has a key to her house."
"What!"
"I saw the tracks inside myself and you know she's conscientious about locking it."
"When was this?"
"Last night. I found her shivering on the porch when I got here at a little past midnight."
"Shivering on the porch? Why didn't she just come in? I was here." Fo just glanced at him and kept shaving and Luke said almost to himself, "All right, all right. I haven't been terribly warm and fuzzy lately. I don't blame her. But doesn't she realize that of course I'd welcome her? Especially when her safety is in question?"
Fo answered calmly as he wiped off his face, "Apparently not. She knows darn well you don't want her anywhere near you. She's not stupid."
Almost snapping, Luke replied, "Of course she's not stupid. And you and I both know it's exactly the opposite of not wanting her near me."
"Look, don't get ornery with me, Luke. You're the one who's trained this monkey. You can't be all offended when she's done just what you wanted her to do. Stay away. She only waited for me because she knows beyond anything else in the world that I have her back. That's the way I've trained the monkey. And why are you asking me all this? She's right out there. Go ask her."
Luke looked toward the ceiling and put up a hand to rub the back of his neck and Fo looked at him in disgust. "Don't tell me that you consider saving your heart more important than her safety."
This time Luke snapped in earnest, "Of course not! I just don't know how to untrain the monkey, so back off! Where did she get the gun?"
Fo snapped right back, "She bought it the other day when she got a restraining order against him after he took some of her jewelry."
"Oh and was anyone going to mention this to me?"
Fo looked at him blandly. "I recommended she tell you and I believe her exact words were: I can't. We're not speaking. And I have no idea why."
Luke made a sound of complete disgust deep in his throat. "And you let her get away with that? Fo!"
Shaking his head, Fo said, "Look man. That was just after you had said you weren't willing to even approach her about staying. Exactly what am I supposed to do here? I'll watch over her, Luke, if you're truly not willing to deal with her. I've been doing it for about twenty years now and I'll take her back to Utah in a couple of weeks as well, if you honestly can't see she's worth fighting for. But I have to tell you. You're being a bone head. She's a one in a billion and you're a fool. And you'd better lower your voice or you're going to wake her up."
From the other side of the bathroom door they heard her drowsy voice. "She's already awake. What are you two arguing about in there?"
Fo looked at him wordlessly and then opened the bathroom door and said, "We're not arguing. At least not anymore. Luke just has some monkey issues. How did you sleep?"
She looked from Fo to Luke hesitantly and said, "Fine, thanks." Turning around, she said over her shoulder, "Thanks for the sleep over. I need to go get busy."
Fo glanced at Luke, but Luke ignored him and walked out of the bathroom to stop her at her made bunk as she picked up her heels and gun case. "Oh, no you don't." He put a hand on her arm. "You and I need to talk. I want to know what's going on that you showed up here last night and didn't even come in and wake me when you knew there was someone in your house."
Still obviously tired, she looked up at Fo and then down at Luke's hand on her arm. Shrugging it off, she said, "Fo handled it, thanks. Everything's fine. I've got to go start breakfast."
"No, Charlie. They can eat cold cereal." He stopped her again. "I'm having a locksmith come today to change out your locks. How many times has Tyree been back here?"