“You’re wrong about that.”
Caitlin and Chase both whirled around as Range stepped out of a shadowed area of the shed by the door.
“How long have you been there?” Chase demanded.
Range gave a sigh, “Long enough to know that Caitlin wants to go home. Long enough for me to know that she thinks I’m an arrogant, egotistical tyrant and that Cathy is a Stepford wife. You may be right about me, but you’re wrong about Cathy. She’s spoken up plenty in Wyatt’s behalf. I’m sorry, Caitlin, I have been a pig-headed. I’ve already apologized to Wyatt, and I’ve told him that he can plan on studying anything he wants, including computer programming as long as he doesn’t break the law again. I came in when you said you were leaving. Please don’t, not on my account. Stay for Mom, stay for Chase and stay for Wyatt. You can tutor or teach him anything you wish. I’ll stay out of it. I’m sorry you didn’t have a family to support you, but I guarantee you Wyatt will have the entire families support when he goes to college. I hope that you’ll be part of that support system. I apologize for making you feel unwelcome, and I apologize for causing an argument between you two. My only excuse is that I didn’t want Wyatt to become one of those useless people you read about who sits around and plays video games all day or thinks creating computer viruses that destroy other peoples work is fun. I want Wyatt to grow up to do what he wants to do, but I want him to be responsible and to be able to make a living and support his family in the future.”
“Tell him Cait,” Chase prodded.
She looked at him and back to Range. “Gaming companies spend on average around twenty million dollars to hire teams to develop a single game. The programmers on those teams are very smart and very talented, and they are well paid. I know of an eighteen-year-old kid that’s making a salary of half a million a year. He started working at sixteen. It’s possible to do very well. I’m not saying Wyatt is that good because I haven’t assessed his skill level. From what I’ve seen, though, Wyatt is brilliant. He has the brains to succeed at anything he wants to do. I accept your apology, but I need a few minutes by myself.” She gave him a curt nod and walked out of the shed.
Chase and Range squared off facing each other.
“If you want to have a go at me, go ahead,” Range said. “I’ve already faced the hurt and disappointment in my son’s eyes. I never thought I’d see that, and it’s about cut me to the bone. I’ve also heard myself being described as a dictator and a failure as a father.”
Chase shook his head. “I don’t general hit people when they’re down and at least you sound like you’re listening which you haven’t been for a while.”
Range nodded his head. “Contrary to what Caitlin thinks, I still have to face Cathy, and she’s liable to pin my ears back. And that’s not counting what Mom and Gran will do if they get wind of this,” he grumbled.
“Caitlin won’t say a word. She’s not like that,” Chase said.
Range shrugged. “Have I screwed things up for you with her?”
Chase shrugged back. “We’re still trying to figure that out ourselves. Caitlin is independent and strong. She’s had to be that way to survive. It doesn’t help that the people that are supposed to be good guys, keep kicking her in the teeth. I’ll give her a few more minutes and then I’ll go stir her up or calm her down. It could go either way.”
“She doesn’t get how we live, doesn’t realize what’s underneath the structure of our family,” Range said.
“No, not yet,” Chase agreed. “She’s never had an example of a strong family unit. Right now, all she sees is the discipline and the male dominance. She doesn’t see the love and the respect that builds that structure. I’m working on that.”
As the men left the equipment shed, they heard a bell clang three times. That had been their mother's warning when they’d been kids to finish whatever they were doing and head for the house because dinner would be put on the table in fifteen minutes. Everyone obeyed those bells or ate a cold dinner. Once Karen Bennett had worked and delivered a hot meal to the table, she wouldn’t allow it to be reheated unless there was a very good reason for being late.
Range headed off to the backyard while Chase tried to find Caitlin. She wasn’t in any of the three barns, and he was beginning to think she’d had taken off when he found her in the dog run.
When he stepped inside Duke rose to snarl at him, surprising the heck out of Chase.
“Easy,” Caitlin said gently stroking the dog as it lay back down and dropped its head back in her lap before looking at her with adoring eyes.
“You’ve stolen the affection of our dog,” Chase complained with a laugh as he squatted down next to her. “Easy there Duke,” he said scratching the dog along the back of his neck.
“He’s a good old dog, aren’t you, Sweetie? Has he been out here all this time?” Caitlin cooed rubbing the dogs face.
“Duke,” Chase said a little annoyed that she was treating their strong, alpha dog as she would a baby kitten. “His name is Duke, not ‘Sweetie’ and at one point in his life he could be a vicious watch dog. He’s been at the vet’s for the last week getting a urinary tract infection under control. Dad brought him home early this morning. Old Duke here is thirteen and is in his doddering years. He doesn’t have the patience with small children that he’s had in the past, and he’s been known to snap at the little ones. Normally he spends his days in his dog bed by the fireplace, but today with all the excitement and the kids running around Dad thought he’d be happier and safer in his dog run for the day.”
“He’s lonesome, aren’t you Sweetie?” Caitlin cooed.
“Come on,” Chase said pulling her to her feet. “That bell you heard ringing was a warning. Food is being served in less than fifteen minutes.” He pulled her out of the run and closed the gate. “Are you over being mad?”
“Almost, but you owe me an apology,” Caitlin said stiffly.
“What for?”
“What for? For hitting me, when I didn’t do anything wrong. You should have been punching your fucking brother out!” Caitlin snapped.
Chase looked around quickly, yanked her behind a tree and whacked her hard on the bottom several times.
“Damn…” Caitlin was silenced when his hand whacked her several more times.
“I am not apologizing for giving you something you deserved,” Chase growled out. “I’ve told you time and time again to clean up your language. I agree you weren’t in the wrong about Wyatt, but you were in the wrong in the tone and manner in which you dealt with Range. Name-calling and throwing insults at someone is not the way to get through to them. This is how I deal with a woman’s bad temper, bad language and bad behavior. Deal with it and be glad I’m not baring your ass and spanking you in front of an audience. This is who I am, Cait. Deal with it or walk, but I’m tired of walking around on eggshells with you. When you need a spanking, you’re going to get it, and that’s the end of it! Now, we’re going over to the barbecue with my family, and you’re going to be polite, considerate and if you don’t enjoy yourself, it’s no one’s fault but you own. There are at least twenty married couples over there, and not one of them is a divorce statistic. That says we’re doing something right!”
Chase said his piece, and he stood looking at her for a moment and when she didn’t respond, he turned and walked away.
He was only ten steps away when Caitlin ran after him. “All right, I’m sorry.”
Chase shook his head. “A simple sorry, doesn’t cut it, Cait. When we get home tonight, I’m toasting your butt, and you either accept that you’ve pushed me too far and you’ve got a spanking coming or you pack!”
“That’s not fair!” Caitlin complained. “You’ve already spanked me!”
Chase motioned toward the equipment shed and back to the tree. “Those were warnings, nothing more. What you’ve got coming is a full out ass blistering. You’ve had them before, so you know what’s coming!” He moved on, ducking through a break in the bushes and joining his fam
ily where the backyard barbecue was in full swing.
Caitlin stood where she was for a long minute trying to decide if it was time to pack and run again or stay and face down Chase. She felt a prickly sensation on the back of her neck, and she turned to scan the area behind her. She’d felt that before - the feeling of being watched. A cowhand, one of many that worked for the ranch, stepped out of one of the barns and tipped his hat to her. She blushed as she realized he’d probably seen Chase chastise her. Regardless, she had a decision to make.
Caitlin followed slowly, ducking through the same bushes. She detoured to wash her hands at an ancient hand pump at the back of the kitchen door and helped some of the younger kids with soaping up their hands and drying off. She smiled at everyone and got into a long line snaking through a series of tables set up as a casual buffet and ending at no less than six grills. Each grill was manned by a Bennett male - brother, uncle, or cousin - grilling everything from hotdogs to steaks. With an extremely overloaded plate, she turned to find a seat and was nudged along until she sat down at an empty spot that Chase had obviously held for her. The huge family was seated over several long picnic and fold-up tables. Seated directly across from them was Uncle John, his wife and two of his five children. From listening to the conversation, Caitlin was introduced to the uncle that had loaned Chase the use of his private plane. The man looked concerned when Chase told him about Caitlin’s fear of flying and that she’d had to be drugged to get her aboard. Soon the conversation turned to flight hours and certifications. That was how Caitlin found out that Chase was working toward getting his certifications to be qualified as a commercial pilot.
She cocked an eyebrow at him. “You were flying the plane from Salt Lake City to Austin?”
“You were asleep,” he reminded her with a quirk to his lips.
“I was drugged,” she said. “That was probably a very good thing.”
* * * * *
Valerie slipped her key into the back door of Blake’s house and kicked open the door since her hands were full. She had accepted an offer of full-time employment from the event planning company where she’d been working as a temp. The new job paid for all the hours she worked, including overtime. She’d been scheduled to work a half day Saturday at the company because their heaviest consultations days were Fridays and Saturdays. In addition to her half day, she’d worked four more hours of overtime. Who would have thought that she would have been volunteering for overtime, but she did every chance she got. She was also now working in a part-time capacity at the airport on an on-call status. It made a big difference in her paychecks, and she was serious about paying Blake back. He rarely said a word about her owing him so much money. The fact was, he didn’t like that she was pulling more hours at a second job, and he was concerned that she was working too hard. At the same time, he was proud of her for taking responsibility and making the effort to pay back the loan sooner. Owing Blake bothered Valerie a lot.
“Hi, Baby,” Blake said, taking the box from her arms and placing it on the kitchen table. “What’s this?”
“Leftovers,” Valerie grinned. “There was a big presentation to land a high-dollar wedding and Mr. Fuller went all out with samples of everything from the dinner entrees to the desserts. All of us packed up a load of stuff to take home. There’s everything from chicken and roast beef to cheesecake and sample wedding cakes. I’m not exactly sure what’s in all this stuff, there were three of us trying to pack up all the goodies before the cleaning crew threw it away.”
Blake grinned looking into one of the large bags. “I found the cheesecake. This is a nice side benefit of your job.”
“The overtime is nice too,” Valerie, said giving him a kiss.
“Baby, there’s no hurry,” Blake said seriously.
“There is for me,” Valerie said very seriously back to him and she smiled. “Let me get changed, and we’ll dig through all this stuff and sort it out.”
“You got a letter from your Mom. When is she going to learn how to text message? The mail’s on the hall table,” Blake said loudly to her back as she went through the living room, and he started sorting through the boxes, sneaking a sample here and there.
A scream lent through the air, and Blake reached for a gun that wasn’t on him. He ran into the living room to find Valerie on her knees.
“Val! Did you trip or fall? Are you hurt?” he demanded kneeling beside her.
Valerie was holding a letter in her hand and with wild eyes, she handed it to him. “I won. I think I won. Did I really win?” She asked handing him a check and a letter.
Blake took the check and his eyes got wide as he read the letter.
“Is it for real?” Valerie whispered. “Is it?”
“It looks real,” Blake, said sitting down on the floor beside her. “It says it’s real. What did you enter?”
“It says in the letter,” she snatched the letter back. “The Gas and Go for Life Sweepstakes, eight grand prize winners guaranteed. I don’t know where I signed up for it. I’m always signing up for contests, drawing and sweepstakes. I’ve won a couple of small prizes. I won a diamond necklace once, but I’ve never won anything this big! Blake! If this is for real, I can pay you back all in one lump sum. I could afford the wedding dress of my dreams!”
“Slow down, baby,” Drake said taking the letter back and scanning it again. “We have to check this out first to see if it’s for real. There’s a toll free number we can call on the bottom here.”
“You do it,” Valerie thrusting the check at him. “I’m too scared. I don’t want it to be a hoax or one of those letters that makes it look like you’ve won when you really haven’t!”
“All right,” Blake said pulling out his phone and dialing the number. He spoke to someone and was put on hold, before being transferred to someone who could help him. He read off the winning number from the letter, repeating it three times. He read off the check number several times and who it was made out to, including the address. He thanked the man on the phone and disconnected. “It’s for real.”
Valerie screamed and jumped into his arms. “Blake! We can get married! You do still want to marry me don’t you?”
Blake swung her around and kissed her. “Yes, I do!” He looked at the check in his hand again and handed it to her. “This is yours, baby, but remember, it’s considered income so you still have to put enough way to pay the taxes on it.”
“How much is that?” Valerie asked.
“Hold on, I can find out fast enough,” Blake said, hitting the Internet connection on his phone. “Here it is,” he held up his phone so she could see the calculation. “I’d say sock about six thousand away for taxes because, as winnings. It’s going to increase your total revenue for the year which will knock you into a higher tax bracket.”
“How much will I have left after paying back what I owe you?” Valerie demanded.
“Well, you’ve paid a lot of the loan back already, so if you paid off the remaining balance, and I’m not telling you that you have too, minus taxes that would give you about seventeen thousand dollars.”
“Oh, wow,” Valerie said sitting down on the floor again. “We could have a nice wedding, or maybe we could have a real small wedding and I could put some away to help my Mom and Dad. My Dad’s truck is on its last legs, or…”
“Baby, you can do whatever you want to do with it, but let’s make sure it clears the bank before you spend it okay?” Blake said pulling her up again. “Let’s go out to dinner to celebrate. That’s on me!”
“Yes!” Valerie screamed and hugged him, but she pushed him back and shook her head. ‘No, we’ve got all that gourmet food out in the kitchen. We can’t let it go to waste! We’ll go out and celebrate another time. Oh, Blake, pray, pray, pray that the check clears. I love you so much.”
Blake ran his hands down her back and cupped her bottom. “Okay, we’ll eat your gourmet leftovers and I’ll treat you real fine desert later.”
Valerie’s eyes sparkled. “I
get to have dessert twice, what I brought home and you. Only… can I have you first?”
Blake kissed her, pulled her to her feet, lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He headed down the hallway. “Before, and after the fancy leftovers, Baby!”
Chapter 10
Caitlin was little subdued for the rest of the barbecue. She smiled and she played lawn games with the kids and the adults, but Chase knew. He was watching her. She was worried, he decided. Not scared - he hadn’t seen her scared since they’d reconnected. The scared girl was gone, and in her place was a fighter – a woman determined to take on her battles headfirst. He was watching, and he knew she was thinking and worrying.
“Caitlin is a beautiful girl,” Karen said, sitting down beside her son and noticing where his attention was directed.
“She is,” Chase agreed with a smile.
“Is she Irish?”
“I don’t know that she’s ever researched her background. If she has, she hasn’t told me about it. She was orphaned at seven, raised by an uninvolved aunt who considered her a duty. She was only sixteen when she entered college. She’s been on her own for a long time.”
“That’s probably why she’s having a hard time dealing with us, and you,” his mother said. “She’s never known family love. Is she under WITSEC protection?”
“Mom!” Chase protested in a hushed tone and looked around to see if anyone else was listening.
“Chase!” Karen said in the same tone mocking her son. “We know what you did for a living in the U.S. Marshal’s service. It makes sense. You fell in love with her and yet you weren’t together. There had to be a good reason for you to let her go. I know my boys. You would not have let her go had there had been any other choice. Then, you went out of the service on a leave of absence, and suddenly she’s back in your life again.” HERE HERE
Caitlin's Conspiracies Page 12