Taylorwood (Alexandria Whitney Mystery)

by McCarthy, G. L.

  “Why of course, kind lady. Have a seat. I see we have the same liking for corned beef hash and eggs.” Frederick stood up as Alex and Cyn approached the table.

  “Thank you, Frederick. You’re such a gentleman. Not too many left these days, and yes, I love Ruby’s hash.” Alex motioned to him to please sit.

  “Good manners will get you farther than bad, I always say. Besides, my grandmother may be watching and when I get to heaven I don’t want my ears boxed.” He smiled as he looked towards the heavens and took his seat.

  “So, Frederick, who did you want to bring into our little spy organization?” Alex really hoped it wasn’t the police.

  “Sheriff Taylor. He’s a good man and I’ve know him since he was in diapers.” Frederick was hoping he wouldn’t get any argument from either of them.

  “Sheriff Taylor!” Alex looked at Cyn and they both started to laugh at the same time.

  “I’m sorry, Frederick. I don’t mean to laugh at your friend, but his name is Sheriff Taylor and I named my creep Barney. It is kind of a funny coincidence don’t you think?” Alex really hoped she hadn’t insulted the good sheriff.

  “I hadn’t thought of that. It is a rather funny coincidence. Good thing his name is John, and not Andy or I’d have to pick you two up off the floor.” He now understood the laughter.

  “That would be very funny. But Frederick, I need you to understand something about myself and why I don’t want the police involved.” Alex took a deep breath and was about to explain her reasons.

  “I know you’re a lesbian, Alex. I’ll protect you from bad press just as you’re protecting me from losing my job. The sheriff will just be there to make sure you don’t end up in harm’s way.” Frederick liked these two a lot. They were the only teachers who had ever thought he had a brain.

  “Okay, I trust your judgment. You tell him everything you think he needs to know, and thank you for looking out for me. I really appreciate it.” Alex was getting emotional as this is something her grandfather would have done for her.

  “You are more than welcome, Alex.” Frederick patted her hand as he saw the tears in her eyes and knew she must be going through a lot right now.

  “Let’s eat up, before it gets completely cold.” Changing the subject was a good idea as Frederick didn’t like to see women cry.

  The three sat and finished their lunch and spoke no more of the sheriff. They were all becoming good friends and Frederick even invited them to come over and have dinner the next time Minnie made her famous corned beef and cabbage. Minnie was an Irish girl and her corned beef was even better than Ruby’s.

  When the last bell of the day rang the weather was still holding although they had predicted more rain for later that night. Alex waved at Cyn and told her she needed to make a top first. Cyn was going to follow Alex out to the pasture and shook her head that she understood.

  Driving to the deli Alex’s mind wandered as she had so many things to think about now that she had a plan and hopefully enough evidence to get Richard Greenway on the first bus out of town. But what if his mother didn’t see things her way? She would hate to have to get a lawyer and file a sexual harassment lawsuit. But she would definitely do what needed to be done to see that he left the school and never returned as long as she worked there. If he would be allowed to return ever.

  Chapter 19

  When they arrived, Beau headed towards them, ears up, nickering the whole way. Horses will be your best friend for life if you remember to bring treats – carrots, apples, sugar cubes, and even candy. Cyn wasn’t so sure she trusted something so big, but Alex assured her he was a gentleman and was really only interested in the carrots. As soon as they were all gone, he would be a lot less animated. If it had been spring instead of fall she would have brought the saddle and given Cyn a few lessons, but Cyn assured her that was quite all right. They laid the tarp down first and then a blanket that Alex had put in the truck, just for this type of occasion.

  As the two sat eating their deli sandwiches, Cyn looked over at Alex and asked, “So tell me about Jessie.”

  “What do you want to know about her?” Alex loved to talk about her friend.

  “Everything. You know, where you two met, what she’s up to these days. Is there a possibility of her coming out?” Cyn wanted to know who her competition for Alex’s time was, especially if Dez was now going to be out of the picture.

  “Jessie – come out? Not in a million years! She’s so in love with Dawson it’s downright sickening sometimes. Just kidding. They’re so perfect for each other and I’m just envious of their relationship. They remind me of those old couples you see who walk everywhere holding hands. I often think that they’ll live to a ripe old age and then die within days of each other. That’s how much in love they are.

  Let’s see, I met Jessie, wow, it was almost ten years ago. I boarded Beau at the same stable Jessie worked at once in a while. She had to deal with other people’s POS horses.”

  “POS horses? What does that mean?” Cyn had never been around stables and knew none of the nice references horse people had for problem horses.

  “POS – Piece Of Shit – cheap horses that are cheap for a reason. Sometimes new horse owners buy them before they have any idea of the troubles that lie ahead. Of course, Jessie would never call them that. She always said there were no bad horses. They were either mishandled, mistrained, or misunderstood. She just has this natural way with them, you know, kind of a gift plus a lot of patience. Anyway, it was Jessie’s job to make them rideable, which was no easy task. I didn’t know her then, only of her. My Beau was no problem at all. So one weekend there was this big Indian Arts and Crafts show at the fairgrounds. I love Zuni fetishes, and thought I would check it out and see if I could add to my collection.”

  Cyn listened intently as Alex told how she met Jessie at the Zuni fetish booth.

  “Jessie was half Zuni and knew the lady who was running the booth. The woman had known Jessie and her father from the reservation in New Mexico. So we got to talking. Jessie mentioned that she had seen me at the stables, and introduced herself. We talked for a while, I bought several fantastic fetishes, and then I went on my way to check out the rest of the show.

  Then as I was walking out to the parking lot to leave, I saw Jessie sitting on the tailgate of her truck – which is now my truck, but that’s another story. Anyway, the truck wouldn’t start. I offered to give her a ride, but she had already called for a tow and they were on their way. I told her I would wait with her until the tow truck arrived, since I really had no place to be, and I wanted to make sure she didn’t get stranded. So we sat on her tailgate eating Indian fry bread she’d bought, and talked about how we got into horses and all that. That was the beginning of our friendship.

  She was amazing and I found myself in big trouble in the crush department. I knew nothing would ever come of it, but sometimes your brain and heart don’t really communicate too well. We were really tight for four years, but then she met Dawson, and I took a back seat to romance. I guess that’s always the way in any relationship – gay or straight. When this job came up, I took it – mainly because I needed a change, and I did have a move in my star chart. Plus, it isn’t healthy emotionally to have a crush on someone who is engaged to be married. So here I am.

  After the wedding, she and Dawson bought a guest ranch back in New Mexico. Dawson was a stuntman, but he hurt his back, so now he manages the ranch and Jessie manages the office and she used to manage the string of horses for the guests to ride, but that job has been taken over by her cousin. We still talk every month or so, although I did talk to her a couple of days ago to get the info on Richard. And that is all there is to tell about my friend Jessie Pierce-Black. So now that I’ve told you about Jessie, it’s your turn to tell me about your last crush.” Alex wanted to know what type of woman would win Cyn’s heart.

  “My last crush was another in a string of bad choices. I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to wear a blindfold when I m
eet a woman.” Cyn looked at Alex with a quick smile and a look of frustration.

  “Blindfold! You mean you lust after these women before you really get to know them.” Alex knew what Cyn’s problem was without any long explanation.

  “Exactly. I always called it chemistry, but lust pretty much describes it.” Once again Alex understood Cyn in a way none of the other women she had dated ever had.

  “You don’t need to explain. I did the same thing with Dez, only it took me five years to figure it out.” Alex had wished she had realized this a lot sooner.

  “Okay, so tell me about how Jessie’s truck became your truck.” Cyn laid back against the fence and was ready for a good story.

  “Well, it used to be painted turquoise and was so sexy looking, especially with Jessie driving it. But she ran into some money troubles. Her father needed money for something, she would never say what for, so I bought her truck. Then I tried to give it back to her as a present, you know birthday and Christmas all rolled into one. She would have none of it as she knew what I was trying to do. I did have to promise that if I ever decided to sell it I had to give her first right of refusal. When I moved I just had to paint it. Looking at the truck reminded me of her so much and I needed to make it my truck. So that’s why it looks so nice and shiny. The paint is only five years old. Trust me, I had a lot of free weekends to wash and wax it. That’s why I was so happy you volunteered to do it for me. I know what a job it is.” Alex looked over at Cyn who was smiling at her and chewing on a blade of grass.

  “You look like you have a question little girl. What is it?” Alex wondered what she was thinking.

  “Are you still in love with her?” Cyn didn’t want to specify who she was referring to.

  “With Dez? I’m not in love with her, but I do love her. Jessie I love very much, but as a very dear friend that I would do anything for and visa versa. I could never see her as a lover, even if she was gay. I can tell her anything and she’ll tell me if I’m out of line or not. She’s the most honest, forthright person I’ve ever met. You know where you stand with her. She would give you her last dime and never expect to be paid back. She’s one of a kind and I cherish her and feel blessed that she calls me her friend. I hope I answered your question.” Alex looked down as she felt possibly another question was coming.

  After a few minutes of silence Alex looked at Cyn and thought she knew what was going on with her. She decided to risk it and bring up the subject she thought Cyn was thinking about.

  “Dear friend, I want to say something and I could be way off in my thinking. The last few weeks we have become very close, so close that it’s scaring me a little.” Alex saw Cyn look up.

  “I find you very attractive and if I had met you first instead of Dez things may have worked out differently, but they didn’t. I know the age difference doesn’t bother you, and I appreciate that so much, but I just need a friend right now. I want someone who I can kid around with and who I know will be there for me, as I would be for her. I can’t predict the future and have no intentions of trying, but if you’ll be that friend I would be forever grateful.” Alex hoped she was right about this.

  “You read my mind. I’ve never met anyone who I’ve felt so close to, but at the same time knew they were out of my league. I don’t mean that in a bad way. I would love to be your friend, for now and always. Maybe you’ll be able to stop me from choosing badly in my next attempt at a relationship.” Cyn had a tear rolling down her face.

  “I do love you, you know.” Alex crawled over to where Cyn was leaning against the fence.

  “I love you too.” Cyn sat up and hugged Alex.

  Alex wiped the tears from Cyn’s face, kissed her cheek and gave her another hug. Alex wanted to find Cyn someone who would love her for the special loving woman she was. That was going to be a tall order to fill.

  Just then the two felt a blast of hot air on their heads. Beau was standing over them.

  “I think he may be getting jealous.” Alex reached up and petted his nose and gently pushed it away.

  “Go away and leave us alone please.”

  Cyn was smiling at Alex who was trying to push Beau off the tarp. He wasn’t in a big hurry to do as she asked.

  “Come on Beau, move it.” Alex was now standing up and had successfully moved him away. She reached out to Cyn to help her up. It was getting windy and darker as more rain clouds were moving in.

  “It looks like your lawn is going to get more watering tonight. Have you put in a stop order yet with Mother Nature?” Alex liked the rain, but this seemed like more than usual for this time of year.

  “I stopped trying to tell her what to do a long time ago. I only make suggestions now.” Cyn was smiling, but still sad.

  Alex saw it and reached over to give her another hug. It was mostly for Cyn to let her know they would be okay, but it was for her too. Cyn hugged her back and held on tightly. It had been a long time since she had felt this way and she needed this one. Just then a crack of thunder shook the ground and Beau took off to the other end of his pasture making both women jump.

  “Will he be okay?” Cyn was worried he could get hit by lightening.

  “He’s heading for his stall. He’s a very smart, and very chicken horse. He’ll be safe inside his nice little room.”

  Getting inside was a good idea and Alex grabbed the blanket and started folding it up. Cyn had all the trash gathered and was making a move for the tarp when Alex told her to roll it into a big ball and throw it in the bed of the truck. She would take care of it later. Alex and Cyn hugged one more time before heading for their vehicles. The first few drops had already started to fall so it was hard to tell their tear drops from the rain drops.

  Alex continued to cry all the way home. Some of it was for Cyn and part was for the end of her relationship with Dez. Cyn would make a great girlfriend for someone. But for Alex , besides the age difference, the biggest negative was working together and pretty much being together 24/7. She felt keeping her work separate from her relationship was key. So how could she ever make it work with Cyn, when she had another twenty years until retirement and Cyn had thirty? She had wanted Dez to spend time with her, but not all the time. Cyn had different interests, plus she wasn’t that crazy about horses. Having a girlfriend who was resentful of your hobby or other friends would be unbearable. Not that Cyn was that way, but who really knew. She and Cyn had become close, but there was a good chance that she would be the jealous type or possibly controlling – not in a super bad way but some of her responses during the Barney drama made Alex wonder. Cyn was still finding out who she was and Alex already had a good idea of what she wanted. She just needed to find that special person who she could share her life with and have them share theirs with her.

  When Alex finally arrived home it was still raining. Dez was home and by the lights Alex could see that she was working in her office. Upon entering she found Dez in the kitchen making herself a sandwich.

  “Hi. How was your day? Did you get much work done before the rain hit?” It felt so different now. She didn’t want to kiss Dez or even hear about her day. It was like she was just making conversation.

  “Good. I got most of my work done before the skies opened up and let me have it. How was your day, did you have to stay late?” Dez was used to finding Alex at home when she finished work.

  “No. Cyn and I had a picnic and I introduced her to Beau. We finished just as it started to rain.” It was strange to have Dez actually ask what she’d been up to.

  “Is Cyn number one on your prospective new girlfriends list?” It was none of Dez’s business, but she wondered if she was the reason Alex was leaving.

  “I don’t have a prospective girlfriend list, and if I did it would be none of your business.” Alex grabbed a water and left the kitchen.

  As she walked into her bedroom she couldn’t help but slam the door and hoped Dez heard it. She wasn’t the one who had been kissed. Alex wanted to tell her off, but why get into a fight.
They were over and what she thought was not worth losing sleep over. It was just Dez wanting to know everything she was up to and with who.

  Alex got ready for bed and picked up her book. She knew Dez was angry but she should have thought about all this before she blew off the importance of their relationship. Did she think Alex was so desperate that she would live like that forever? Why couldn’t she have shown this type of caring before last week when it wouldn’t have appeared to be the result of the breakup. The more Alex thought about it the more upset she became. She just needed to get some sleep. Tomorrow would be another day and another day closer to getting rid of Richard Greenway.

  Alex had also called about the house on the drive home and had left a message, hoping that because it was out of the way no one else had called about it. She really wanted to get out from under Dez’s roof if this was the type of conversations they were going to have every night after work. Having Dez question her about her comings and goings would be a sure fire way to put her on Cyn’s couch before the week was up. Wanting to remain friends may be harder than she thought, but taking the breakup like an adult may be expecting too much from Dez right now.

  Chapter 20

  The rain continued through the night and into the morning forcing Alex to run from her truck to get inside the warm dry lounge. On her drive in she rethought last night’s encounter with Dez and realized how hard it was for her. This was a situation Dez wasn’t completely in control of and it was a feeling she didn’t like. Giving her time and distance was probably the best course of action for the foreseeable future. As Alex looked at Cyn she felt happy to see her, but also sad that she couldn’t be what Cyn wanted.

  “Good morning, girlfriend. Did you make another suggestion to mother nature about the rain?” It could stop raining any time now, as Alex was ready for some dry sunny days.