Save Her (Texas Hearts Series Book 1), page 6
It didn't take long for the sheriff to get there, seeing as how the police department, which was really just a room in the county library, was only a dozen miles away. He and his deputy walked through her house taking pictures and making note of everything, occasionally asking questions about where something had been. After two very long hours, it was determined that absolutely nothing was missing and that whoever it was had set out to vandalize the place.
She did not want to think about the pictures of her parents that were ruined and could never be replaced. It was taking everything in her not to break down. As the officers were turning to leave, she decided to accompany them outside to see if there was anything else she could do to help. They asked her some "routine" questions about anyone with a grudge or any strange occurrences lately. She told Sheriff Pike about the trouble with Chad as she wondered if he could possibly be behind this, but quickly discarded the idea because although he was a bully, this was his town, too, and she couldn't see him doing something so childish and destructive. The sheriff told her they had all the evidence they could gather and that as soon as they had any leads, they would let her know.
As she entered the house, she was surprised to see Sean on the floor, on his hands and knees, picking up glass from the broken pictures, the photos still in their frames stacked neatly on the hardwood floor. Following his lead, she made her way to her bedroom, where she picked up her makeup and clothes, shaking them out then hanging them neatly in the closet, setting aside some comfortable pajamas to change into after a shower when everything was set to rights. After a few brutal hours of putting away her belongings that could be salvaged and throwing away what couldn't, they finally sat down to a frozen pizza and Coke, not having the time or energy to make anything more elaborate for dinner. Tossing the briefly rinsed dishes into the dishwasher, she headed upstairs to take a shower and go to bed, calling it an early night after such a tumultuous day.
It was several hours before she remembered the mysterious message with no name and a Dallas phone number.
Chapter 7:
When it finally occured to her that she still had the now crumpled-up piece of paper in her back pocket, having slid it in there on her way in the door, she searched through the dirty clothes and dug it out. Pulling her cell phone out, she glanced at the clock. It was a little after eleven P.M., but she decided to give it a shot in spite of the time. After all, the paper did read URGENT.
On the second ring, a girl who sounded just a few years younger than Katherine answered, "Hello, Dunlap residence." Katherine jerked so hard she nearly dropped the phone, but quick thinking reminded her that her dad did have a brother, so taking a shot in the dark, she asked, "Can I speak to Mr. Dunlap, please?"
"Who is it, Claire?" she heard a man ask in the background.
"It’s for you, Father. Here."
He cleared his throat and said, "Yes? This is Donald."
"Umm, hello, Donald, er, Mr. Dunlap? This is Katherine Dunlap. There was a note in my mailbox with your number on it. I’m really sorry about the time. I guess you know what happened, so I am sure you can understand that I have been a bit preoccupied. Is there something I can help you with, sir?"
A long pause followed as he presumably gathered his thoughts.
"Well, Katherine, as you know I haven't spoken to my brother in some years. I really did not want the distance between us, but frankly, my dear, your father was not a forgiving man. When I finally found him again, he told me, in no uncertain terms, to stay away from him and his family; he no longer acknowledged me as his brother and did not want us around. Sadly, I obeyed his wishes thinking that with time, I would have a chance to make it up to him, but now I hear this sad, terrible news. I was wondering, my dear, if you mind very much if your aunt and I brought Claire, that is your cousin who answered the phone, down to see you? We would all very much like the chance to get to know you and for you to know us. You see, we are the last of the Dunlaps, and so the line stops with us, and seeing as how neither of us has any other family, it would be comforting to get to know each other, wouldn't you agree?"
She was unsure of what to say. Her father, unforgiving? That just was not right. She started to tell them no. After all, if the kindest and most generous man she'd ever known couldn't forgive him, then there must be a serious problem, but he was right. They were the only family she had in the world—and a cousin. She wondered how old she was, trying to picture her for just a second.
"Katherine, are you there?" he sounded impatient, so she answered him quickly, her voice coming out a little too sharp.
"Of course, you must come down; I live right outside a little town called Wolf Spri—"
He cut her off mid-sentence to inform her that he already knew where she lived, having left the note in her mailbox, and that they were staying in Dallas, not very far from her at all. She suggested dinner at the diner. Right before hanging up, he said, "My dear, since we will be staying with you at your parents’ home, I hope it won’t be terribly forward of me to ask that our rooms be ready upon our arrival from dinner. I'm sure we will all be extremely exhausted."
"I’m sorry, sir, but that would be impossible. You see, a close family friend is staying with me for a while, and we do not have any extra rooms. This is only a three-bedroom house, and I am sorry, but I am not ready to clear out my parents’ room."
"Where exactly do you intend for us to stay?"
"Well, naturally, I assumed that since it was your idea to come down, you would be staying at the local hotel. While I am truly sorry for any inconvenience, I’m sure that you will understand."
He took a deep breath, as if trying to steady himself, and told her that he would make the necessary calls to move into the hotel temporarily. "Well, we will see you tomorrow as planned. Good-bye."
After learning that she was no longer alone in the world, she was so excited that she rushed to the door to Sean's room and knocked softly. "Sean?" She tried the handle, finding it unlocked, so she turned the knob and stepped into his room.
Looking around, she was thankful to find that he was still a tidy person, even sleeping on one side of the bed, the other remaining neat and made, although this could actually be a bad thing. Was he used to sleeping on one side because Courtney kept to the other side? She walked closer to him, leaning over, and gently shook his shoulder. "Sean? Please wake up. I’m sorry but AHH!" she yelled out in surprise as his arm snaked out to wrap around her waist, jerking her down onto the bed. It all happened so quickly that he didn't even realize she was lying below him with his arm above her bracing him against the headboard and a hand covering her mouth. As his eyes cleared and he realized it was her he was holding down, he quickly jumped up out of the bed and dropped the cover.
Forgetting that he had nothing on underneath.
All she could do was stare at him, all muscled and toned from years of riding bulls, pink and white scars scattered on his body, proof of the many battles both won and lost in the dirt arenas of rodeo grounds from all over the country. He followed her gaze, instantly realizing he had nothing on, and quickly grabbed the blanket to cover himself, immediately reaching for his pants.
At this point, she climbed off the bed in a mad rush to get on the other side of his door. As her hand touched the knob, she heard his soothing voice from across the room. "Peach, wait, you don't have to leave. I'm sorry I reacted that way; I was dead asleep and didn’t know what I was doing. I'm really sorry, darlin’," he said as he crossed the room, pulling her into his arms when he reached her.
"Did you have a nightmare?" She shook her head negatively in response, not trusting herself to speak and also trying not to act as awkward as she felt in such close proximity to his naked chest after so many years. And she had just seen the man naked.
Holy hotness. He is sexier than ever.
"What is it, then? Is someone in the house?" He took an involuntary step toward the door with her still in his arms. "Damn it, I knew I should have stayed with you! I’ll kill them! You just sit right here and lock the door, and I will be back when the coast is clear. Do you have your cell phone?"
Finally, she regained her ability to speak. "Sean! My family... They’re coming here. They'll be here tomorrow."
He stiffened. "Family? Katy, baby,” he spoke gently, “I’m not trying to be too blunt, but darlin’, you don’t have any family; any blood kin, I mean, do you?"
“Ok, here’s the deal. You remember that note that was in the mailbox earlier today? I called the number on it a little bit ago, because in all the chaos I completely forgot about it until then. I called, and a chick around my age, I’m guessing, answered the phone. We had the same last name, so I asked to speak to her dad because I know that Pop had a brother, but I had never met him. I was right and the man was Pop’s brother. He wants to meet me. They are driving in tomorrow to meet me for dinner at the diner. You'll go, right? I really need you in my corner."
He looked her in the eyes and gave her a dramatic eye roll. "Of course, I will. Try to stop me, Peach. No one messes with my girl."
Her heart began to flutter wildly and her stomach started to churn. Once again, she had to remind herself of their past and how his definition and hers were so opposite. Of course, he did not mean it the way she wanted.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. He had a girl; it just wasn’t her.
There was an awkward moment where neither of them spoke, then he sighed and dropped his hand from her arm and she went through the door. After a few steps, she heard another deep sigh, then he rested his arm on her shoulder.
"Might as well tuck you in, since you obviously don't know how to stay in bed once you get there."
She playfully shoved him, then walked through her door. Lying down in her bed, she childishly crossed her arms. "Happy now?"
"Almost," he whispered softly before reaching down to gently brush his lips against her brow. He rested his forehead against hers, eyes closed tight for a moment, just breathing the same air as her then he breathed, "Good night, Peach," against her lips, sending chills down her spine; before he abruptly rose and headed to the door, not sparing her a second glance.
When the door slammed shut behind him, she was already cursing herself mentally, because she just had to react so dramatically every time he showed any friendly affection towards her.
Chapter 8:
As dinner grew closer, she could feel her anxiety building; she was so nervous her heart was pounding overtime. How would she know if she looked good enough? What if they didn't like her? What was she going to say to them?
Fully in freak-out mode now, she got in the shower and cranked up the heat, relying on her times tables to keep her brain from ramping her anxiety up any further. Once out of the shower, she curled her mahogany hair so that it fell in fat ringlets around her face, and put on her makeup, applying it with a gentle hand, being sure each side of her face was an exact replica of the other. She pulled the royal blue sundress over her head, adjusted the spaghetti straps, and looked at herself in the mirror pulling the white sash that crossed directly under her bust line to the back to tie it in a neat bow. She sat down on her bed to pull on her shoes, a pair of pointed-toe cowboy boots with a brown toe and white tops with brown designs stitched into them. Standing back up, she gave herself a critical glance in the mirror and reapplied her lip-gloss. Realizing this was the best it was going to get, she smacked her lips, drew in a deep breath, and left her room to search for Sean.
Stepping into the kitchen and seeing Sean, she sucked in a sharp breath, drawing the spit into her throat and sending herself into a coughing spasm; and as Sean came over to slap her on the back, she couldn't stop thinking that the man was absolutely breathtaking, literally. Wearing a light blue western shirt with white lines cutting squares into the solid color, creased denim jeans, boots, and a white Stetson, he looked phenomenal. She looked up at his face to see that he was staring at her hard, too, so she cleared her throat and said, "If you're ready, can we leave a little early? I would really like to get there first and give myself some time to prepare."
He was still staring at her with an odd expression and hadn’t acknowledged her words, so she spoke again, "Sean?"
Shaking his head hard, he cleared his throat and said, “Yeah, of course. Let's get going." He walked to the door, opened it, and placed his hand at the small of her back to usher her out the door.
At the diner, they walked in and gave the room a quick glance. She saw no unfamiliar faces, so she waved at people as they passed while they followed the hostess to a large round table with six chairs, then sat down to wait. Attempting to slow her heart, she started counting scratches on the table.
"Are you alright, Peach?"
"I've never had an extended family before, Sean. It's kind of nerve wracking."
"Well, if you want to get out of here, just say the word and we'll leave."
"We can’t just leave. I mean, they’ll be here soon and I have a cousin, did I tell you that? Claire. It will be worth the experience just to meet her, I think. I... Oh, that must be them. Do I look alright?" She waved at the newcomers and hoped that they were her newfound family because otherwise, she surely looked like a mad woman.
"You look beautiful, Peach, so calm down. They are the ones who need to make a good impression, not you. After all, they came looking for you, right?"
Looking at them as they made their way to her table, she could not help but stare. They made such a handsome family. Her uncle, she assumed, was dressed in a black suit with a crisp white dress shirt underneath, his wife dressed in a silk blouse and slacks, finishing off the look with sharp stilettos. The girl, who must be closer to her age than she had assumed, was dressed more simply, in a dressy shirt and fashionably ripped jeans, also wearing boots.
Katherine and Sean stood up as they approached their table, and she self-consciously smoothed her dress. Not sure if she should hug them or shake hands, she mentally prepared herself to do either, following their lead. Her uncle came to her first, so she introduced Sean and herself to him and his family as he reached out to shake her hand. His wife did the same, and he introduced his family to them. "I assume that you know I am your uncle, Donald. This is my wife, Marie, and our daughter, Claire. Claire, your cousin Katherine is exactly two years older than you. The two of you share the same birthday."
As he finished the introductions, Claire reached out and drew Katherine into an unexpected hug before quickly stepping back and shyly offering her hand to Sean, which he gallantly kissed before they sat down, Sean to her left, Claire to her right, Marie next to her, and her uncle sitting next to his wife, leaving an empty chair next to Sean. When the waitress, Judy, whom Sean and Katherine had gone to school with as well, came over to take their orders, her uncle said, "I don't suppose you have any champagne choices?"
“No, sir, we sure don’t. We have diet and regular soda, sweet and unsweet tea, and ice water with a lemon or lime, if you prefer that,” she told him. He muttered under his breath, but neither Sean nor Katherine were close enough to understand.
"This is really a small town, and we usually drive to one of the bigger cities to eat at more extravagant restaurants," she offered in apology.
He seemed to ignore her comment and made small talk with his wife, effectively ignoring them for the most part. Sean and Katherine attempted to carry on a conversation with Claire.
"So, where do you go to school, Claire?" Sean asked.
"Oh, I'm out of school. Graduated this May with my Bachelors in Business Management, and I'm looking for a job so I can get my own place."
"I am a veterinarian here in town, I partnered with the old man who has always run our veterinary clinic when I got out of school, and even though I'm on a leave of absence right now, I could put in a good word for you. We need a new office manager because Sally is about to quit. She's decided to try out being a stay-at-home mom."
"Oh, that would be great! We could work together and get to know each other. A front office job is perfect because that’s what I did in Oklahoma at a doctor’s office."
"I haven't even asked you when you go back to work, Peach."
"Really? You were right across from me when I talked to the doctor about it here in this very building. I still have the rest of this week; Doc Matthews was a good friend of Mom and Dad’s, so he told me if he saw me back in the office before then, he would be reporting me to the good Doctor Beachum post haste."
Claire was cracking up about something, smiling at some unknown joke. Katy inquired, "What is so funny?"
"Did,”—hiccup—“did he just call you Peach, like as in Princess Peach from that old video game?"
"Yeah, it’s his idea of humor," Katherine said with an eye roll.
Sean playfully nudged her and said, "Humor? No, she used to constantly eat peaches. Peaches in her purse, peaches in her car, hell, even peaches in her saddlebags. This girl was never without a peach. Therefore, that became her nickname. Come to think of it, I haven't seen you eat a peach since I've been back. There aren’t even any in the house. What’s up, need a ride to the grocery store or something?"
Still smiling, she replied without thinking, "Oh, I haven't had a peach since high school." The smile quickly left her face as she remembered why, and an awkward silence filled the air as Sean realized that her discontinuance of eating peaches coincided with his departure from her life.
He stared deeply into her eyes before muttering, "Damnit. I am so sorry, Katherine."
The three of them sat in awkward silence, making broken small talk while waiting for their orders to come out.
When their food arrived ten minutes later and her uncle had yet to speak a word to her, she began to wonder if this might have been a bad idea. They ate, but the silence was deafening but for the low murmur of the crowded diner, touched only by the occasional sound of a fork scraping a plate.
When all plates were nearly cleared, her uncle finally broke the tense silence. "I find I must ask you a question, Katherine, but it is a rather delicate subject. Did you by any chance inherit the money from my parents as well as your own?"
