Lookin' for Trouble (Honky Tonk Angels Book 6)

by Ciana Stone

  At peace with the decision, she finished her shower, threw on a pair of loose boxer shorts and a T-shirt, and returned to her room. Five minutes after her head hit the pillow she was asleep.

  *****

  JD pulled up behind the feed store. There were two customers ahead of him at the loading dock so he parked out of the way and went inside. Frank Odel, the owner, was just handing a receipt to a customer. "Hey JD. I've got your order almost ready but running a little behind here today. Part time help called in sick."

  "That's okay. I needed to make a stop at the bank anyway, and might as well grab lunch. Hour give you enough time?"

  "That'd be great. Sorry for the inconvenience."

  "No problem, Frank. I'll be back in an hour."

  "Thanks JD."

  "You bet."

  Rather than drive the couple of blocks to the bank he opted to walk and left through the street-front entrance of the feed store. There were quite a few people in town today. The moment he stepped out onto the sidewalk he noticed two women headed his way. What surprised him was the way they moved to one side as he drew near.

  He nodded and gave them a smile and a "Good day, ladies." The smiles they returned seemed strained. Maybe it was just his imagination. That had to be it, and yet he still couldn't stop himself from looking back at them. They were watching him, leaning in toward one another and chattering.

  That was odd. He dismissed it and kept walking. A block later, he paused for a lady coming out of the pharmacy, Dianne Davis. Dianne owned a dress shop across the street. She was carrying a small bag in one hand and a cup of to-go coffee in the other with the Sweet's Sweets logo on it.

  "Morning, Dianne."

  She stopped dead in her tracks, looked at him, and then cut her eyes away as she spoke. "Mr. Weathers."

  Mr. Weathers?

  Dianne was a divorcee, he’d had dinner with a couple of times, but quickly realized she was shopping for husband number two and so he’d not asked her out again. As far as he knew, she hadn’t harbored any ill-will over it.

  Then again, maybe she was just having a bad day. It happened to everyone. He kept walking and when he reached Stella Sweet's bakery shop saw Netta Bloom and Nellie Mae Baker. They'd just crossed the street and were stepping onto the sidewalk.

  "Well, Justice Weathers, fancy seeing you here." Netta said.

  "Just making a feed run. Errands. How are you Mrs. Bloom? Mrs. Baker?"

  "A sight better than I imagine you are today."

  "Pardon?"

  "Well with the…" Netta stepped closer to whisper loudly. "… The business with that TV show and your family and all that awful mess."

  What? To the best of JD's knowledge, no one in his family had discussed the television thing. As far as he knew, his father was still trying to decide whether to talk to the reporter at all.

  "I— I'm not quite sure what you've heard Mrs. Bloom, but we don't have a mess."

  "Oh of course not, of course not." Nellie Mae blurted and elbowed Netta. "Come on Netta, let the man go about his business."

  "Oh yes, yes. Of course. You have a nice day, Mr. Weathers."

  "And you.” What the holy hell was going on here? He pulled out his phone and called his father.

  "Have you told anyone about that TV show thing?"

  "Not except you boys."

  "Any of them say anything?"

  "Doubt it. Told them not to."

  "Well someone talked about it. The gossip gals just stopped me on the street about it."

  "Ah hell, them red hat ladies?"

  "Yeah, the ringleaders."

  Jason made a noise that summed up JD's mood at the moment. "Well hell, son. I don't know what to tell you."

  "How about whether you've decided to do it?"

  "Yeah. I am. If I don't it'll make it look like we got something to hide."

  "And if you do?"

  "JD, you got to let go of that, boy. Wasn't your fault and you got to quit carrying it like a damn cross."

  "Pop."

  "Don't Pop me. Time you started listening."

  "This isn't the time. Frank's backed up so it'll be an hour before I can get loaded. Headed for the bank now and then going to grab some lunch at the Willow Tree."

  "Okay son. We'll talk later."

  "Yep." JD ended the call and stuck the phone into his pocket. He made it to the bank without encountering anyone else. People in the bank either avoided looking at him or gave him curious looks but he tried to ignore it. He took care of what he needed to do, and then crossed the street, headed for the Willow Tree diner.

  It was busier than normal, but as he checked the time, he realized it was getting close to noon. The tables were all filled. He spotted Cody Sweet at the counter, sitting with another dark-haired woman. Beside Cody's companion was a vacant seat. He made his way to the counter, delivering a greeting as he drew near.

  "Hey, Cody."

  She turned to look at him and smiled. "Hey, yourself. Pull up a stool and join us."

  The smile on his face felt like a frozen death mask when the woman with Cody turned her head in his direction. It hit him like a punch to the gut. The smile on her face vanished and for the space of several seconds, they froze with gazes locked.

  Visions of three years ago filled his mind and feelings returned to haunt him. He couldn't form a coherent thought for that length of time. This couldn't be happening.

  "Jo?"

  "Dylan?"

  "What – what are you doing here?"

  "My job brought me here."

  "Your job?" What was it she did? She must have told him three years ago. Why couldn't he bring it to mind?

  "Yeah. How are you, Dylan?"

  JD didn't know how to answer that. He'd forgotten that he'd given her his middle name. He was still reeling from seeing her. She hadn't changed much. Still had that long dark hair that begged fingers to rake through it, those golden brown eyes that could darken with passion, and that tight lithe body that could mold to a man just right.

  "I'm—I'm good. You?"

  "Fine."

  "Well, good. Good. It's good to see you Jo."

  "And you."

  He nodded, at a complete loss for more words, turned and walked out. When he reached the sidewalk, he looked back. She was watching him. There was a part of him that wanted to go back in, apologize for leaving her the way he had three years ago, reconnect with her.

  But he couldn't do that. She was part of the reason he hadn't been there when the mother of his children killed herself. Had he not been in Jo's arms, he might have prevented that.

  He knew it to be unreasonable, but he allowed anger to surface. Mostly at himself, but he let it spill over onto her. That anger gave him the strength he needed to turn away and head back to the feed store. He needed to get home. To work until his body was too tired to move and then drink until his mind was too numb to think.

  He needed to forget he'd ever seen her.

  Jolene watched in surprise as Dylan turned and walked out. What the hell? What was he doing here? She noticed several other people watching as well; people whose gaze turned next to her.

  Cody was watching her, too. "Well, hey now. You friends with JD?"

  "Pardon?" Jolene turned her attention to Cody.

  "JD, Justice. Duh. The man who was just here?"

  "Justice?" Her mind was in a whirl.

  "Yeah, Justice Weathers."

  "Justice Weathers?" This couldn't be happening. "Is he related to Jason Weathers?"

  Cody laughed. "Damn girl, the dust getting to you? Jason's his father. I thought you knew him?"

  "Oh, oh… I… uh… I…" Stringing word together wasn't possible at the moment. The man she'd known as Dylan was Justice Weathers, a member of the family she was here to film. What were the odds? And why did his face still wear an expression of pain and fear?

  "Oh yeah, you definitely know him." Cody grinned and took a big bite of her burger.

  Jolene didn't know what to say. She and
Cody had just met. In fact, this was second time she had even talked with Cody. Their initial meeting was at the local bakery this morning, Sweet's Sweets, owned by Cody's mother.

  They'd hit it off from the start. When she ran into Cody again on the sidewalk as she was walking to the diner, Cody suggested they have lunch together. It had been fun and interesting so far. Cody appeared to know everyone in Cotton Creek.

  While Jolene felt they had the start of a friendship, she didn't know Cody well enough to talk about Dylan – JD, or whatever he called himself now.

  "It's kind of a long story." She grimaced at her own lame response and forced herself to push thoughts of Justice Weathers to the back of her mind.

  Cody nodded, swallowed, and took a sip of her iced tea. "And I know, you don't have time now, and neither do I, but girl we're gonna make time for that story."

  Jolene could not stop the smile from rising on her face. She really liked Cody. "We'll need more than iced tea for that one."

  "No problem. I've got liquor."

  Jolene laughed. "I bet you do. So, I wanted to ask. How long until the demolition of your bar is completed?"

  "Hopefully not more than a few more days or I'm liable to shoot somebody."

  "Big on patience, are we?"

  Cody laughed. "Oh yeah, like cooking, it's one of my virtues."

  Jolene joined in on the laugh. "Oh god, tell me. I've been told I can –"

  "Burn water." Cody finished the sentence with her. "Same here, girl."

  "Well, cooking skills are over-rated anyway, right? Unless around here the old saying still holds that a way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

  Cody blew a raspberry with her lips. "Had to be a man that started that saying."

  "Amen to that."

  Cody chewed down the last bite of her burger. "Okay, since you're not gonna spill your sordid tale, I need to bolt and get back to the bar. You have plans tonight?"

  "Aside from avoiding Mrs. Nellie Mae? Nope."

  "Why don't you come over to the ranch? I can't cook but I can grill a steak and throw some potatoes in the coals."

  "Sounds good, I'd love to. What time?"

  "Six?"

  "Perfect. I'll be there. Can I bring anything?"

  "Beer would be good."

  "You got it. Any preference?"

  "I'm an equal opportunity drinker."

  Jolene chuckled. "Okay, see you at six."

  As Cody got up and walked away, Jolene gathered up her things. She felt like someone who had just crossed over into the Twilight Zone. Memories of her and Dylan's time rushed in on her, making her weak with emotion.

  Obviously, he didn't feel that way. His expression kept coming back to the forefront. What had him in such pain, and why did that pain seem flavored with anger? The questions would drive her mad. She took the bill Paula handed her, plunked a five-dollar tip on the counter, and hurried to pay the cashier.

  Once on the sidewalk, she headed for Nellie Mae's house, pulling out her phone to call her researcher, Stan. "Stan, hey. In the research on the Weathers, did you come across anything about the son, Justice? Yeah. Call me back. I'm headed back to the boarding house and have to leave for the Weathers ranch in about half an hour."

  She had just tucked the phone into a pocket on her messenger bag when Nellie Mae stepped out of a shop, a dress shop according to the sign. There was another older woman with her, as short and round, but with jet-black hair cut in a style that might be described as a football helmet, sprayed to the nines.

  "Well looky here." Nellie Mae crowed and grabbed her friend by the arm. "Netta, this is my boarder Jolene Windwalker. She's the star on that television show that's here to do the piece on the Weathers."

  "Oh it's so nice to meet you." Netta gave a toothy smile then leaned closer. "I was just telling Shirley in the bakery that you could have knocked me over with a feather when I heard about that family. To think that all these years we thought their name really was Weathers when all the time he's some convict—"

  "Excuse me?" Jolene was stunned.

  "I know. I was shocked to the bone. To think of all the people around here who have trusted him. For years. My god, we could have been killed in our beds."

  Jolene felt her own skin grow hot as anger blossomed. "I don't know where you got that information Mrs. Bloom, but Jason Weathers is not a convict. He's never been convicted of a crime or served time for a crime."

  "Only because he hightailed it like a jackrabbit," Netta said and then added. "You can bet that folks around here are not going to like knowing we've all been duped."

  At that moment, it all became clear. Last night Nellie Mae had been eavesdropping while Jolene was sitting in the front room talking to Stan. And she hadn't been delivering towels when she fell into Jolene's room. She'd been listening at the door.

  And talking about what she overheard. Shit. If Cotton Creek was like most small towns, the false stories these two were telling would spread like wildfire. A vision of Justice Weather's face appeared in her mind and brought a swell of misery with it.

  Abruptly the fog in her mind lifted. The moment their eyes had met, she'd felt something slam into her. His gaze was that powerful. All raw male and hidden pain. She could feel it pouring off him. Just like it had three years ago. It still had her off balance.

  Now she had to wonder if his abrupt departure from the cafe was connected to the gossip and finding out she was there to interview his family.

  Crap. This could end up being a real mess.

  "I'd hate to think this was a town where people would be likely to believe such obvious lies about a fine family and shame on whoever started those rumors. Now, if you'll excuse me. I have to go." She couldn't bring herself to talk to Nellie Mae or her friend one more moment. She wanted to light into both of them – for eavesdropping and turning the truth into something ugly.

  Maybe she would do that later. But for now, she needed to get back, talk to Stan, and figure out how to smooth things over if she got to the Weathers ranch and they were waiting for her with shotguns.

  Crap. Suddenly this assignment wasn't looking appealing at all.

  Chapter Six

  Jolene wiped her hands on the thighs of her jeans after she parked her car in the drive of the main house on the Weathered Rail Ranch. She was nervous about what kind of reception she would receive. She grabbed her messenger bag and got out of the vehicle.

  Before she'd covered half the distance to the house, a man stepped out onto the porch. Tall and big, he looked to be in his sixties, with thick gray hair and heavy brows. The angles of his face were familiar. Justice Weathers favored his father in appearance.

  "Mr. Weathers?" She stopped at the base of the front porch steps and looked up at him.

  "Ms. Windwalker?"

  "Yes sir."

  He said nothing, and the look on his face was none too friendly, which prompted her to speak. "Mr. Weathers, it's come to my attention I owe you and your family an apology. As you know from our conversations and the information I had sent to you, we conduct extensive research on the people we feature on the show. We're committed to reporting the truth.

  "But, it appears that conversations I had with my researcher were overheard and that information was disseminated in a manner that was contrary to what was said."

  "What you're saying is that damn gossip you're staying with overheard you talking and then started flapping her trap."

  "Well, in a nutshell, yes. I never called you a criminal or a convict or said anything about you being guilty of wrongdoing sir. It's why we dug so deeply into your background – to uncover the truth. And I would not share information about you with the public without your permission. As I said in our first conversation, nothing will be broadcast without your consent.

  "I can't tell you how sorry I am this happened. I'm… well to be honest, I'm angry that someone eavesdropped on my private conversations and then spread lies. And I intend to take issue with this person, but it was more important
that I come to you with what happened, and my apology."

  He continued to stare at her for long enough she was feeling like the student called to the principal's office. Finally, he nodded and a slow smile rose on his face. "Young lady, I know all too well how those dang red bonnet ladies operate. Durn fools thrive on gossip and if they can't find any they aren't above creating it."

  "Thank you, sir. I was so worried that you would blame me."

  "I'd like to, if I'm being honest. Easier to blame a stranger than a neighbor, but the truth is, you're here to do a job and have been a straight-shooter with me from the get-go, so I've got no quarrel with you. As to those – ladies, well let's just say I'll deal with them in my own way when the time comes."

  "Then you're still agreeable to do the interview?"

  "Against the wishes of my oldest son, yes."

  "That would be JD, Justice Dylan, correct?"

  "Yes it would."

  "Mr. Weathers, I don't want to cause problems for your family and if this interview will cause a family rift—"

  "It won’t. What's between my son and me will stay right there, between us. And it has nothing to do with why you're here. The way I see it, you cleared my name and that took away a weight I've been carrying most of my life.

  "I'm not ashamed of my life or what I did. I didn't kill that boy, nor had the intent to do so. I was just a scared, skinny kid trying to hold his own with a bully. It cost me my home and family. I never got to see my brothers or my father again. They died not knowing where I was or if I was even alive.

  "I can't get that back, but now my sons and their children can move on knowing there's no stain on them or me."

  "I admire that attitude, Mr. Weathers and I'm sorry for your loss but I'm really glad the truth has come to light. And it seems to me, just from reading about your family that you have a real nice life and a family to be proud of. I'm proud to introduce our viewers to you."

  "Then let's get with it, young lady."

  "Thank you. I just need to call my crew and tell them to drive over. And please call me Jolene. Or Jo, to my friends."