The Defender

by Lindsay McKenna

  “A whirlwind romance?”

  “It was. I helped Zoe move to Chicago, find a nice apartment and we spent the rest of our honeymoon in the city. I don’t like big cities, but she did.” Joe shrugged and recalled the noise and pollution. He preferred the wide-open spaces of Wyoming and a blue sky that arced over them and went on forever.

  “You were happy?”

  “Very.” He rubbed his brow. “But I was worried, too. I didn’t know if Zoe really understood the stress of our being separated for a year. Once I graduated from officer training, received my lieutenant bars, we stayed in touch by emails and Skype calls.”

  “At least you had amazing technology to stay in touch. The soldiers from any other era only had letters.”

  “You’re right.”

  “But it wasn’t enough?”

  “No. Zoe really got angry when, after returning home for five months, I had to leave again for another tour. I kind of knew when I left the second time it wasn’t going to work out. We’d had a lot of arguments about what a marriage was and wasn’t. She was upset, and I don’t blame her. But there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn’t disobey orders.”

  “And then, before you got wounded, did she file for a divorce?”

  Pain hung in his heart. “Yes, she filed for a divorce six months into my second tour.”

  “I’m so sorry, Joe.” Katie eyed him sadly and saw the disappointment in his face. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault, really.”

  “Zoe blamed the war and Congress. She wanted her husband around, not gone all the time.” He shook his head. “Military spouses are a special group. They can tough out the times when the man or woman is gone. It takes special strength and one hell of a backbone.”

  “At least you and Zoe didn’t have any children, right?”

  “Right. If we had had, it probably would have pulled our marriage apart faster. I’m just glad there were no children involved.”

  She heard the relief in his deep tone. Slowing down, she turned into the entrance of the Elk Horn Ranch. “Children are so special.”

  He looked over at her. “Do you want kids?”

  “Oh, absolutely!” Katie grinned, excitement entering her voice. “I dream of teaching my children about loving nature.”

  Joe tried to stop the question from leaving his mouth, but failed. “What about you, Katie? Is there someone special in your life right now?” Probably Shep Baldwin.

  Laughing, Katie drove over the sloping hill. Below lay the sprawling Elk Horn Ranch. The raptor facility gleamed in the sunlight; the day was cloudless and a deep blue. “Me? Oh, no. I’m afraid I’ve got a track record no one would be proud of.”

  “How so?”

  “I was an angry teen, to say the least. I didn’t like boys when I was growing up. I don’t know why. Probably because I was focused on finding my mother. I was so wrapped up with why she left me, and being unhappy in every foster home, I had no time for them.” She gave him a glance. Joe seemed interested and she trusted him. “When I got to Jackson Hole and Donna became my foster mother, I settled down. I learned too late that boys wanted a girl for only one thing. I was really dumb and kept making the same mistakes over and over again.”

  “Maybe naive would be a kinder word to use?”

  She shrugged and pulled into the parking lot. Hands resting on the steering wheel, Katie said, “I have a very poor track record in relationships, Joe. I’m twenty-six years old and I’ve decided I’m lousy at choosing the right guy. My last relationship lasted six months. When I found out he’d lied to me and was a drug addict, I quit. He was hiding the truth from me.” Opening her hands, she added, “I know I’m messed up, Joe. At least, emotionally. My whole life has been focused on finding my mother.”

  “And now you’ve found her.” He saw her brows draw down, the smile dissolving.

  “I guess I’m just too much of an idealist. I dreamed my mother to be very different from what she really is. Iris says my Pisces nature is to be a romantic idealist and a daydreamer. It fits. I always have trouble accepting reality versus my dreams of what life should be like.”

  Joe unsnapped the seat belt. “There’s nothing wrong with dreams. You have dreams of having children someday.”

  Opening the door, Katie said, “Someday I’ll find the right guy. I just feel it here, in my heart. Right now, I’ve just had one dream come true—finding my mother.” She closed the door and walked around to join Joe. They walked to the facility.

  “So the next dream is what? Finding Mr. Right?”

  Walking into the facility as the door slid open, Katie laughed. “I’m not so sure about that, Joe.”

  “You seem to like Dr. Baldwin.”

  Turning, she set her purse on her desk. “He’s very nice,” she agreed.

  “Single?”

  “Yes, he is.”

  Joe kept his face carefully arranged. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but he knew he had no business caring about it one way or another. Yet, kissing Katie had changed his world, whether he wanted it to or not. And he could feel the gnaw of the jealousy as it constantly ate away at his heart. “Then, the kiss we shared yesterday was nothing more than you just needing a little TLC?” He’d said the words softly and left the judgment out of his tone.

  Katie looked up at him. “I guess it was, Joe. Thank you for being there for me. I don’t know what came over me. I—I was more distraught and upset than I realized.”

  “You were under a lot of emotional pressure yesterday,” Joe said, placing his hands in his pockets. He could see the confusion in Katie’s eyes. “People need one another. Especially in times of trouble and trauma. I think you reached out to me because of that.”

  “You’re probably right.” Her fingers wrapped around his upper arm. “I wasn’t thinking. Thank you for not taking it the wrong way. You’re so good at knowing people.”

  As Katie released his arm, his flesh burned beneath her shy touch. Joe saw embarrassment over the kiss clearly written across her features. “No harm, no foul,” he told her a little more gruffly than he’d intended. Why the hell was his heart wishing Katie had wanted to kiss him because she was drawn to him? Joe knew that path led to a different kind of hell. Another part of him was relieved. Still, just thinking of Katie having a relationship with the vet bothered him a lot more than it should.

  “Hey, we have to get busy. Weighing and feeding time.” She looked at her watch. “We’re a half an hour behind schedule.” Peering down the aisle she heard the raptors chutting and whistling, and she said, “They know it’s past their breakfast time!”

  Lifted by her enthusiasm, Joe managed a crooked smile. “Want me to bring them to you for weighing?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  Joe grabbed his gauntlet and walked down the wide, clean aisle. His heart lifted with joy. Once more he was alone with Katie. He had her full attention and could absorb that wonderful smile of hers. It always sent warm, flowing ribbons through his chest and his heart expanded with silent joy. It shouldn’t have, but it did.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  THE PHONE RANG at the raptor facility. Sitting at her desk Katie answered it.

  “This is Janet. I thought you might want to come in and look at the place I just leased for my courier service.”

  Katie gulped and gripped the phone a little tighter. She wanted to say, Hi, Mom, but swallowed her instinct. “Hi, Janet. Sure, I’d love to come in. What time?” Her heart pounded with excitement. Her mother had said she’d call in a week, but only four days had passed since their first meeting. She clung to Janet’s every word.

  “Now.”

  “Oh.” Katie looked over at Joe who was finishing the cleaning of the mews. “Well, yes, I can make it. Why don’t you give me the address?” She quickly jotted the information in her notebook.
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br />   Joe looked up and heard the excitement in Katie’s tone. He dumped the last of the refuse in the garbage can and walked toward the office area. Katie was flushed, her eyes sparkling as he came up to the office area. “Who was that?”

  “My mother!” She gave him a dazzling smile. “Joe, I’ve got to meet her in town. She’s leased space for her courier service.” Grabbing her purse out of the drawer and slinging it over her shoulder, she asked, “Can you take care of things while I’m gone?”

  “Sure,” he said, setting the broom against the wall. “I thought she wasn’t going to contact you for a week?”

  Shrugging, Katie grabbed her baseball cap and settled it on her head. “Well, I guess she wanted me to see her new office. I’m so excited!” She flashed him another huge smile.

  He nodded and managed to return a fraction of her joy. “Okay, just let me know when you’re coming back.”

  She rushed out the sliding door, fumbling to find her truck keys and calling over her shoulder, “I’ll be in touch by cell.”

  Joe watched Katie drive off. Frowning, he rubbed his chin and felt torn about the whole situation. It probably wasn’t a great idea for her to see her mother again. But what else could she do? As for his own feelings, he was unable to forget the softness of her mouth against his. Somehow he continued the normal morning routine.

  Iris Mason showed up a few minutes later as Joe was putting away the scale.

  “Hey, Joe, good morning,” she said, entering the facility. “I saw Katie take off like a shot. What’s going on?”

  “Janet just called and wants Katie to see her space she just leased in town for her business.” He tried to keep his voice neutral.

  “You know,” Iris said, draping her hands on her hips, “I got a bad feeling about this, Joe. Have you met that woman?”

  “No, I haven’t.” Just in his nightmares, was all.

  “Well, I did. I ran into her by accident yesterday at Mo’s Ice Cream Parlor. She was having lunch by herself when I came in to grab a sandwich. Mo, the owner, took me aside and told me who she was. Of course, I wanted to meet her.”

  Joe offered Iris a chair and she took it. He leaned against the doorjamb. “You met her?”

  Wrinkling her nose, Iris placed her work gloves on Katie’s desk. “You get close to her and she smells like marijuana smoke.” She pushed a strand of hair from her brow. “I’m worried, Joe. The woman is coarse. She reminds me of a third-string boxer who gets beaten around the head and face. In fact, I hate to say this, but she’s a nervous wreck.”

  “Tell me about it?”

  “I went over to introduce myself and said that Katie’s facility was on our ranch. I stuck out my hand and she just glared up at me. When I looked into her eyes, they looked blown, as if she were high.” Sighing, Iris said more softly, “Zach Mason, my grandson, is a pothead. I recognized the look because he was always smoking when he lived here. I could never get him to quit.”

  Joe knew it was painful for Iris to talk about Zach. The kid was now in prison for his part in burning down three of the Hunters’ fishing cabins and setting up Val Hunter to be kidnapped. Fortunately, that hadn’t happened, but Zach had been caught and tried for his criminal acts. “I’m really sorry, Iris.”

  “I know.” She made a sour face. “Anyway, the point I’m making is that Janet Bergstrom has the same look, like she’s in outer space. It scared the bejesus out of me, Joe. When I repeated who I was and how I was connected with Katie, she just continued to glare at me. She wouldn’t even shake my hand.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I wished her good day and left. I went and ordered my sandwich at the cash register and never looked back.”

  “Did you tell Katie about your meeting?”

  “No. I thought about it, but that girl has spent her life looking for her mother.” With a grimace, Iris said, “And I hired Norah to track her down. Now, I’m sorry I did. Janet is a piece of work. God knows what else she’s into. And poor Katie is so starry-eyed about finding her mother she can’t see the truth.” Touching her heart, Iris said, “Katie is such a beautiful soul of kindness and generosity. The complete opposite of her mother. I don’t know what to do. Should I try and warn Katie or keep my mouth shut?”

  Shrugging, Joe said softly, “It’s a tough dilemma, Miss Iris. When Janet called here a while ago, Katie lit up like Christmas-tree lights. She was excited. There was hope in her eyes.”

  “Do you think Katie realizes her mother is probably a drug addict?”

  “I don’t know,” Joe said. The older woman’s wrinkled face grew concerned. “Are you thinking of an intervention?”

  “Yes. Was I that obvious?” She managed a twisted grin.

  “Not really.”

  “Have you been around druggies, Joe?”

  Joe had to lie. “A few. But I haven’t met Janet yet, so I have to rely on your experience.”

  “I’ll tell you,” she said forcefully, standing up, “don’t ever get mixed up with drugs. Zach is going to spend five years in prison because he can’t stop using drugs. He got mixed into the wrong crowd and look where it’s got him.” Shaking her head, she pulled on her gloves. “Do me a favor? When Katie returns, would you let me know? I need to get closer to her and get involved in her desire to know her mother better. I just have a bad feeling about Janet. I feel like the woman’s up to no good....”

  Joe made a fresh pot of coffee after Iris left. Unsettled, his stomach knotting, he was worried for Katie. Iris Mason knew from experience with her grandson Zach Mason that drugs destroyed lives. He didn’t want Katie destroyed by getting too close to Janet. What the hell was he going to do or say?

  * * *

  KATIE PARKED THE TRUCK on the plaza. Her mother was standing by a two-story redbrick building at the end of a wide wooden porch. She wore a gray pantsuit, silver jewelry and a bright red scarf that went well with her white blouse. As she slipped out of her truck, her heart beating hard, Katie waved and smiled at her mother.

  Janet nodded.

  Why did she look so stern? Almost disapproving? Katie ignored those feelings and observations. Janet was her mother. She wanted to love her, not judge her. As Katie approached, she noticed the heavy makeup on her mother’s broad face. Her hair was coiffed as usual, hairspray sternly holding it all into place. It was her eyes that got Katie’s attention. They seemed out of focus.

  “Hi, Janet. How are you this morning?” She walked up the steps to the wooden porch.

  “I’m fine.” Janet struggled to stay on target. She’d had a small bump an hour ago. A call from Xavier had goaded her like a cattle prod to reach out to her daughter. He was insisting Katie be brought into the fold. Janet had argued with him, to no avail. She did a couple of lines, but only to soothe her anger. Her daughter looked beautiful even though she was wearing work clothes. “Don’t you ever dress up?” she demanded.

  “Excuse me?” Katie was taken aback by the snarl and censure in her mother’s voice. She looked down at her orange T-shirt and jeans.

  “Your clothes,” Janet snapped. “My God, you look like a waif. Don’t you ever wear good clothes?”

  Laughing to take the edge off Janet’s continuing scowl, Katie said, “I work for a living and raptors don’t need fancy clothes.” Inwardly, she was hurt by her mother’s disapproving appraisal. “Is this the building you’re going to lease?” She gestured toward it, hoping to get her mother in a better mood.

  “Yeah, it is.” Fumbling in her huge white leather purse, Janet finally located a set of keys. She was a little unstable and almost tripped over her own feet as she turned and unlocked the front door. “Come on in.”

  Katie watched her mother weave as she entered the empty first floor. What was wrong with her? Was she ill? She was sweating, huge beads across her upper lip. Trying to ignore her mother’s tigh
t slacks, the seams pulling and puckering, Katie chose instead to look around the empty building.

  “Shut the door.”

  Katie closed it. “This is a really huge building. I like the oak floors. They’re beautiful.”

  Janet anchored her feet apart so she wouldn’t weave. She opened her purse and found a piece of paper. “Here, look at this.” She tossed it in Katie’s direction.

  Katie couldn’t catch the paper and it drifted to the floor. Why was Janet so gruff with her? Was she like this all the time? Picking it up, Katie unfolded it and walked over to her. “This is a drawing.”

  “Yeah, I made it last night.” Janet poked her index finger at it. “This is how I’m gonna get it laid out. I’ve hired a carpenter and drywall guy to come in today and start putting up the walls. This front part is the desk and where you’ll be. This wall will have a door to it and behind it all the boxes and envelopes will be stored. You’ll be out here.” She jabbed at the paper several times.

  “I see,” Katie said. “What about a counter? Have you found one yet?”

  “I bought an oak counter yesterday from the Goodwill store.” She smiled a wolfish smile. “In business, you find something cheap. You never pay full price if you don’t have to.”

  Katie tried not to wrinkle her nose. The sickeningly sweet smell was strong around her mother. She was behaving as if she were drunk. “I see. Will someone be bringing it over?”

  “Hell, yes. I’m not gonna be hefting that stuff around.”

  “Are you okay, Janet? You look...well...like you don’t feel well.” Katie gazed into the woman’s bleary eyes.

  “I’m fine! Just mind your own business, dammit!”

  Though wincing inwardly, Katie kept her poker face. “I was worried.” Everything about her mother was sloppy today, unlike their first meeting. She was continually sweating and wiping her upper lip with her bejeweled fingers.