Jessie’s Dusty Dreams

by Kat Carrington

  "We need to talk," Jessie said. "Right now."

  "Come on; we'll go sit down at the Spur."

  He helped her up into the truck and drove the few blocks to the Rusty Spur. When they got inside, finding the bar blessedly empty except for Mitch, they sat at the bar and Mitch brought them a beer. Jessie's slow burn had become a real blaze. She told Brady and Mitch about the conversation she had overheard, and Brady's face was absolutely scary.

  "I've got to find that son of a bitch." His voice was dangerously quiet.

  "Now, hold on, Brady," Mitch said. "You need to think this through. You running off after Dan to beat the shit out of him isn't going to help Jessie. It'll only make you feel better."

  "I'm not going to sit around and wait for that bastard to attack her."

  "No, you're not. But you're going to do this right. You have to make sure that nobody pays the price except him. Not you, because that's going to hurt Jessie, and not Jessie, for obvious reasons. Calm down, and let's make a real plan."

  Enraged, Brady said, "That crazy son of a bitch has been at the house, hiding outside and watching us through the window."

  Jessie's mouth dropped open and she said, "What? And you didn't tell me this? What the hell were you thinking?"

  Brady gave her a brief glance and then told Mitch, "I scouted out the area all around the house where you could see into the kitchen and where I could best see his hiding place from. Thing is it's so cold and snowy now, he's not going to come around and leave tracks. At least, not if he's thinking straight, which he may not be. I brought some things back from my parents' house when we came back from Christmas."

  Mitch said, "Such as?"

  "Such as a couple of traps heavy duty enough to hold a man. My rifle and scope and my night vision goggles."

  Mitch gave a low whistle and said, "That's serious shit."

  "This is a serious matter."

  Jessie was getting pissed. "Listen, you two, I happen to be part of this mess too. You can't just sit here and make your plans without including me. You act like I'm not even here."

  Brady said, "We know damn well that you're here and part of this. If it weren't for you, there wouldn't be a situation here."

  Jessie gasped and Brady held up a hand. "I didn't mean that the way you're taking it. This guy is crazy, and he's out to get you. I am not going to let him get near you. It would kill me if he did anything to hurt you. I mean that, Jessie, it would kill me."

  Jessie was left speechless. Then, with tears filling her eyes, she said, "Well, Brady, I can't have anything happen to you either. You get yourself hurt going after him, that would kill me. You have to slow down and make a plan that includes Dan Whitman getting caught and put away and nothing—I mean nothing—happening to any of us. And I'm including Mitch because he looks like he's got his mind made up to be part of this."

  Mitch gave a nod. "Good call, Jessie. And I'm going to tell you both something else. Jessie, you might not realize it, but you're loved in this town. If we need any more help, it's going to be readily available, just for the asking. For example, Dave Fletcher. If I'm not mistaken, he was there when Dan threatened you at the gas station. Right? He wouldn't hesitate for a second to help any way he could. And Jeff and Boyd, too. If we make a sensible plan and need more hands, we've got them."

  Brady hung on to the idea of taking care of Dan Whitman by himself for another few seconds and then nodded at Mitch. "That's good to know. Now we've got to do some thinking and planning. We need to catch him at something that will actually put him away for a while. But we can't let him get near Jessie. This is what I was thinking."

  Brady talked for a while, and Mitch got out a pad of paper and pencils. They wrote stuff down, crossed stuff out, hashed it out some more, and finally sat back, looking satisfied. They looked at each other, and Mitch got them all a beer.

  "I think this will work. I really do," Brady said.

  "I think you might be right," Jessie answered, a little stunned.

  "I think you're both right," Mitch said, clicking the neck of his bottle to theirs. "I'll talk to Dave and Jeff tomorrow, they're usually in here on Friday afternoon. Boyd too, if he wants in on it. I'll give you a call and let you know when will be a good time for the whole bunch of us to talk."

  "That sounds good, Mitch." Brady said. "I want to thank you, I would have made myself a plan that only included me."

  Jessie spoke up. "Oh, no, you wouldn't have. I wouldn't have stood for it. You can be in charge when it comes to some things, but not that. No way."

  Brady gave her a thoughtful look. "I think you mean that, don't you?"

  "I certainly do. Sometimes it's a two way street, my love."

  Brady's eyes widened a little at her words and he looked down quickly. The three of them drank their beers, and then Brady and Jessie said their goodbyes and headed home. They were turning into the driveway when Jessie gave a sudden laugh.

  "What?" Brady asked.

  "We didn't get anything we went to town for. And I was supposed to buy groceries."

  Brady chuckled. "We sure didn't. I'm glad town isn't an hour's drive away. We'll have to try again tomorrow."

  "I think I'll just go do the grocery shopping myself tomorrow. I can get it out of the way early and be back to make lunch."

  "Okay, but you make sure you keep your eyes open and be on your guard."

  "I will, but Dan does have a job. He'll be working when I'm shopping. I'm sure I'll be perfectly safe."

  "Probably so, but it's better to be safe, right?"

  Jessie kissed his cheek and said, "No argument here."

  "Good."

  The next few days passed by without incident. Jessie didn't have any trouble remembering to keep the doors locked, and Brady spent a couple of hours at Mitch's house with the other guys, talking and planning. When they were all satisfied, he promised to be in touch soon, and they all parted ways. Just as Mitch had predicted, all three of the guys were more than happy to help Brady and Jessie. Jessie talked to Kayla and arranged to spend a few hours at her house with Indy when the time came.

  They went over and over the plan, the two of them and Mitch, and reached the point where they couldn't fine tune it anymore. Brady spent several nights watching from the tool shed or the barn for Dan to show up to watch them again, but he never showed. Then there were a couple of unusually warm days and what was left of the snow melted off. Dan couldn't resist taking the chance to watch Jessie again. Brady saw him from the barn, in the same spot he had watched from before. Brady emerged from the barn, whistling, and headed for the house.

  When he got inside, he locked the door and took off his boots and coat as usual. He walked into the kitchen, where Jessie was putting the finishing touches on their dinner. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss, turning her away from the windows.

  "Keep your face normal," Brady said softly. "He's out there."

  Jessie's eyes widened, and she stiffened for a moment. "So now we know. He really means this shit."

  "Yep. Afraid so." Brady gave her another loud smooch and laughed when she pushed him playfully away.

  They ate their supper, and Jessie was thankful that Indy had been out with Brady and didn't need to go out again. The time dragged by as they went through their usual routine, never letting on that anything was different. When it finally got late enough to turn out the lights and go to bed, Jessie heaved a huge sigh of relief. Brady crept out to the window as soon as the lights were out and watched carefully through his night vision binoculars. When he saw Dan creep away and keep going down the road, he put down the glasses. A minute later, he saw headlights on the road and knew Dan had gone.

  "He's gone, Jess."

  Jessie came up behind him, shivering a little. "Are you sure?"

  Brady wrapped his arms around her and said, "Yeah, he was parked down the road that way, just out of sight. I saw his headlights come on and move on down the road. Let's go to bed."

  Jessie said, "I think I'd like a
whiskey first."

  Brady nodded and said, "That's not a bad idea. I'll pour."

  Sleep was a long time coming for both of them that night, and Jessie dreamed of Jake. This time, he wasn't smiling when he appeared in her dream.

  "Jessie, you've got to be careful. There's trouble coming. You can't trust this guy. Things aren't what they seem. You've got to watch out."

  "Jake," Jessie pleaded. "Please, you've got to tell me more. Please."

  But Jake was already fading away, and a moment later, he was gone. Jessie woke with a start, but this time she was sure that Jake was warning her about Dan. She snuggled closer to Brady, and after a little while she drifted back to sleep.

  Chapter 16

  The next day, the word began to spread in town that Brady was going to spend a few days with his parents to help out his dad for a while. Mitch, Dave, and Boyd made sure it was heard in enough places that pretty much everyone in town would know. Jessie and Kayla helped the process along. That evening, after Brady was sure that Dan was outside watching, he carried his duffel bag to his truck, gave Jessie a kiss goodbye, and drove off down the road. Brady pulled his truck into an old barn down the road a bit and hiked back until he was close enough to watch Jessie's place with his binoculars.

  Once Dan gave up his surveillance and headed home in the truck he had left over the hill, Brady walked back to the house. Jessie gasped and threw her arms around him as she let him in the back door. She switched the kitchen light off quickly and they stayed in the shadows, out of line of the windows.

  "He's gone, but it doesn't hurt to be careful. Red will be here in the morning, and he'll stop here at the house before he goes out to do chores."

  "Okay, I can give him breakfast."

  "Yeah, that would be something you'd normally do. I don't think Whitman will be around that early, but keep up the act."

  Jessie said, "No, you're probably right. He'll have work, so I wouldn't expect him until late afternoon or evening."

  Brady tightened his arm around her. "Probably evening, so he knows that Red is done and gone. Dave will be watching his house, and Boyd will follow him to work and watch the parking lot there until he leaves."

  "Kayla will pick me up as soon as you think he might be headed this way," Jessie said.

  Brady fretted a little. "I still wish you'd just go over there and stay."

  "That would ruin everything. He's going to want to see that I'm just carrying on life as usual here. Even though Red is helping, I would be working here too, right?"

  Reluctantly, Brady nodded. "Yeah, that would be the most normal thing. I just can't stand the thought of him getting near you."

  "He won't. I'll be with Kayla, and you guys will catch him breaking in here. That will be enough to make him pay a price, and he'll know he can't ever mess with me again."

  "I just feel like we're missing something," Brady said.

  "Well, it's just nerve wracking; we'll both be glad when it's over."

  The two of them went to bed early, wrapped in each other's arms but unable to sleep until much later. In the morning, Brady stayed out of sight while Jessie invited Red in for breakfast. Red made faces at Brady, eating his breakfast over in the shadows near the hallway. Brady shook his head at him and flipped him off.

  "It's a good thing I like you," Brady growled softly, making Red chuckle.

  The rest of the day dragged by, with Dan carrying out his usual routine of work and stopping at the Rusty Spur for a burger and a couple of beers. They started all over the next day. By the third day, they were beginning to wonder if Dan was going to take the bait or if it was all for nothing. Brady crept out to the barn to find some things to keep him busy early in the afternoon. Later that afternoon, Brady answered his phone, and Mitch was on the line.

  "Hey, Brady, that fool's truck is still parked at work, just like yesterday. You want to go check out his place?"

  Brady considered for a moment. "Boyd's still watching there?"

  "Yep, he'll call if Dan makes a move."

  "Yeah, let's do it," Brady said. The inactivity was driving him crazy.

  Mitch was there twenty minutes later, and Brady gave Jessie a kiss goodbye and promised to be back before long. Less than an hour later, she heard something at the back door and went to the kitchen, smiling. Dan Whitman stepped through the door. Jessie's mouth dropped open.

  "Dan! What are you doing here?"

  "Well, hello, darlin', did you think I'd forgotten you?" Dan locked the door behind him and stepped toward her.

  Jessie was having trouble processing the fact that he was there. "What…why aren't you working? Why are you here?"

  "I've got some business to take care of right here. What the hell were you all thinking? That I'd just fall for your stupid plan? You think I'm that dumb?"

  Jessie backed up a little. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "Jessie, Jessie, you can quit playing hard to get now. You and I are going to have a good time. I'm going to show you what it's like to be with a real man. I told you once I was going to fuck you like you've never been fucked before."

  Jessie snapped at him. "You stop that right now. You're acting like an idiot. Take yourself right back out the door and get out of here. This is my place. You've got no business here."

  Dan laughed. "Ooh, feisty, aren't you? Good, I like it when they fight. I'm going to fuck you until there's no fight left in you."

  "You don't want to do this, Dan. Right now, you're not really in any kind of trouble. You touch me, and you're going to be in all kinds of trouble."

  "Oh, I really do want to do this. I'm going to take my time with you. I'm going to do everything to you that I ever thought about all this time. You think you're so special, you could just turn me down every time I asked you out? And not just turn me down, but insult me and laugh at me? You're the one who's in all kinds of trouble. You ought to learn how to treat people, Jessie. You think you can move in here, buy the place I wanted right out from under me and then treat me like shit?"

  "Buy the place you wanted? I never heard such a thing."

  "Yeah, I wasn't quite ready to buy it yet. But it sat here for a couple of years without anybody taking a second look at it. Then you and your war hero brother waltz into town and take it."

  Jessie couldn't believe her ears. "Dan, nobody was trying to buy this place when we bought it. The realtor said he hadn't had a call on it in over a year. We didn't take it out from under you."

  Dan wasn't listening to her. "At least once I saw you, I figured there were two ways to skin a cat. Just take you out, wine and dine you a little, and then I'd still end up with this place."

  "What are you talking about? This was my and Jake's place. It would never have been yours."

  "You shut up, bitch!" Dan roared at her.

  Jessie flinched but stood her ground. She looked over and saw Indy standing near the stairs, the hair on her neck bristling and her head low. She gave her a hand signal to wait and the dog stayed just as she was. Jessie backed up a little, hoping to get to the counter where her cell phone was without Dan noticing. She took a deep breath and searched for the right thing to say to distract Dan from his purpose.

  "Let's talk about it, Dan. Would you like a beer?"

  He looked at her suspiciously and then said, "Yeah, I'd drink a beer."

  "Have a seat. I'll get it for you." Jessie gestured toward the table.

  "Yeah, how about you wait on me a little? You're always waiting on that asshole who moved himself in here. Time you had a real man around."

  Dan pulled back a chair and sat down. Jessie went to the refrigerator and got out a beer. Stalling, she got into the freezer for a frosted glass. She poured the beer and cautiously took it to the table. Dan took a long swig of the beer, eyes closed, and she tucked her phone into her pocket without him seeing.

  His mood changing, Dan said, "Go on, girl, get yourself one and sit down here."

  Jessie got another beer out, going through the same routin
e before she sat down across from him. She set about trying to keep him talking, and Indy stayed on her guard across the room in the shadows. Dan finished his beer and Jessie got him another one, asking him if it was true that he'd been promoted at work. That got him talking, his chest puffed out as he bragged. Finally, he stopped talking.

  "That's enough," Dan said abruptly. "It's time for us to have some fun."

  He got to his feet and came toward her. As he reached for her, Jessie's heart turned over in her chest.

  * * *

  Brady and Mitch made quick work of looking around Dan's small house in town. Brady had picked the lock easily and let them in. They looked for something helpful to them, but the worst thing they found was a stack of skin magazines. The place was messy but not filthy and kind of bare, without personal photos or much in the way of decor. Then Brady found a notepad beside the phone, scribbled over and over with Jessie's name.

  "This isn't getting us anywhere. I've got a bad feeling about this. Something's wrong," Brady said. "Let's get out of here."

  As they got back into Mitch's SUV, Brady's phone rang. It was Boyd.

  "Brady," Boyd's voice was tense. "Some guy I don't know just came out and started to get into Whitman's truck. He said Whitman left early and told him he could borrow his truck to go pick up something from the farm store. Whitman took his car."

  "Shit, I knew something was wrong." Brady swore and said, "Mitch, get us to Jessie's place fast. Boyd, get to Jessie's place."

  Mitch yelled at Dave, who had been watching Dan's house from his truck, and told him to follow them. He drove as fast as he dared out to Dusty Dreams.

  "There's a car there. Jesus, I hope we're not too late. What the hell was I thinking?"

  Mitch grabbed his arm. "Don't let him hear us come up to the house."

  "Right." Brady jumped out of the car and ran silently through the grass to the house. He went to the kitchen window just in time to see Dan grab Jessie. Then a dark shape hurtled across the room as Indy launched herself at Dan. Without a sound, she went straight for his throat. As Brady kicked the door in, Dan let go of Jessie and threw an arm over his face, screaming for help.