Promise Made (The Callahan Series)

by Mitzi Pool Bridges

  They were well suited. Phyl had been raised on a ranch, had worked in a veterinary clinic before she showed up here. While Donovan was away, their mother had hired Phyl to run the ranch. She’d been great. Now she was a real helpmate to Donovan. The woman was amazing. She could do anything on the ranch from repairing fence to birthing calves plus everything in between.

  Not only was she good at ranching, but a good person. When Phyl and Donovan married, they’d agreed Mom would live at the ranch with them. Most mothers didn’t get along with their son’s wife as well as Mom and Phyl did. But they’d been friends before Phyl even met Donovan. Phyl had told him more than once his mom was the mother she never had, and the grandmother her son adored.

  Dugan had never heard a cross word pass between the two women.

  Donovan was beyond lucky.

  Even Douglas, the guy who for years was the one who loved all the ladies, had fallen in love with Lisa after her attempted murder a year ago. They’d been married for six months now and you’d think they were still on their honeymoon.

  Only Dugan and Darin were still single.

  It seemed as if they’d stay that way. For a minute there, he’d thought Mary Jo might be the one. But until he settled this issue about Kate, he couldn’t make a commitment to anyone.

  Donovan grinned when he came into the kitchen and spotted Dugan. “Figured you’d be here when I smelled chocolate cake.”

  With a sigh, Dugan sat down to eat. He looked around at Donovan’s contented expression. At the love reflected in Phyl’s eyes—the devotion and admiration in Mark’s as he looked at Donovan. Even baby Susie smiled her sweet smile at them all. His mother glowed with pleasure. Kate’s image flitted through his mind. He could see Kate here sharing this same kind of happiness. Always could. Funny, he’d never pictured Mary Jo the same way. He envied his family. Wanted the same.

  Maybe he just hadn’t found the right woman yet.

  ****

  “Smells wonderful, Gram,” Kate said when she entered the kitchen. But then, Gram’s kitchen always smelled wonderful. Since Kate didn’t spend much time in front of a stove and Gram’s food was the best, she looked forward to these visits more and more.

  Gram dropped a pan, bent to pick it up. She seemed nervous.

  Kate asked, “Did you say what time Ed would be here?”

  “Six,” Gram said sharply.

  “Are you all right? You don’t seem yourself.”

  “I’m fine,” she snapped. “You know how hard it is to get fried foods to the table and keep them all hot at the same time.”

  Kate laughed. “Not really. But who cares? It’ll be great even if it’s not as hot as you’d like.”

  Fish sizzled in one skillet, fries in another. Gram flipped over a piece of fish, stirred the fries, and checked the oven. Then her eyes darted to the clock.

  Kate’s curiosity soared into the red zone. Something was up. There was no one as calm and cool as Gram. Especially in the kitchen. But right now, she was as flustered as a teenager.

  “I’ll finish setting the table.”

  “Fill the glasses with ice while you’re at it,” Gram said as her eyes slid once more to the clock.

  At one minute until six, the doorbell rang.

  “Watch the stove,” Gram said, as she hurried to the door.

  “Something is definitely going on,” Kate mumbled, taking Gram’s place. Gram knew better than to leave Kate in charge of a sizzling skillet.

  The fish looked done to her so she started to put a piece on a platter only to be stopped by Gram with it halfway there.

  “Wait. We have to drain it on a paper towel first.”

  Kate shrugged. “I didn’t know.”

  Gram patted her shoulder. “You’ll learn. Now go into the den and entertain Ed while I put the food on the table.”

  Kate shook her head and did as she was told.

  “You look wonderful, Kate.” Ed walked toward her, a wide grin on his face.

  She couldn’t help but smile back. Ed had always been one of her favorite people. When he retired Dugan had taken over his job in a landslide election.

  “You don’t look so bad yourself.” He wore sharply creased jeans, a freshly laundered shirt, and highly polished boots. He hadn’t been out of the shower long as his hair still looked a little damp.

  When she stepped close to shake his hand, she inhaled his aftershave. “You smell good tonight, Ed. New cologne?”

  Ed blushed.

  Was there a bit of attraction between the town’s retired sheriff and Gram? She shook her head. Not possible. She’d have known about it by now from the gossips. But neither of them acted like themselves, especially Gram.

  “Will you be here a while?” Ed asked.

  “For a while. Have to get back after that. Work, you know.”

  “I do know. So how is work? Do you like what you do?”

  They’d taken chairs across from one another. Ed was comfortable to be around and Kate had always enjoyed their conversations. “I like being a lawyer.” She didn’t add that she wasn’t sure she still had a job. Or that she didn’t want to go back and face Erik.

  “Good.”

  He was silent for a moment. “Ever consider opening an office here?”

  She laughed, crossed her jean-clad legs and looked out the window so he wouldn’t see her uncertainty. “I don’t think that’s possible.”

  “It’s a good idea. Good for the town. Good for your Gram. Maybe even good for you.”

  She had issues to settle first with Dugan, and with Erik. Plus, she had to be absolutely positive this was what she should do. She couldn’t afford to make a mistake that would affect the rest of her life.

  To stay here would be a gigantic one if she and Dugan couldn’t settle the past. How could she stay if she had to face the anger in his eyes every time he looked at her? How could she stay if she couldn’t get a handle on her own screwed-up emotions?

  Before she could respond with an evasive answer to Ed’s comment, Gram called them in to eat.

  At the table, Kate observed the body language between Ed and Gram. They leaned toward one another. Touched. Unobtrusively to be sure, but touched. Yep. Something was up between them. So why didn’t she know about this? Why hadn’t Gram told her she was dating? Even the town gossips were quiet on the subject.

  Emma Wells, who’d stopped her this morning to let loose an earful, hadn’t mentioned them. Neither had Sadie. The biggest busybody in town would have pumped Kate for info on the two of them. Nothing delighted those two women more than to be the first in the know with any tidbit. Good or bad made little difference, they reveled in it. Without being obvious, Kate kept a watchful eye on Gram and Ed. Ed told a fish story. The same one everyone in town had heard many times before. Yet Gram sat there, eyes shining, a look of fascinated interest on her face. Over a decades old fish story!

  Kate laid down her fork, crossed her arms. She could leave the table and they wouldn’t notice. How had the two of them managed to have a romance without the entire town being in the know?

  Interesting. More than. Gram was seventy. How did it feel to be in love, if that’s what this was, at that age? But as she watched the two of them, you could almost see the years fade away as they gave each other the same kind of looks she and Dugan once shared.

  Her stomach lurched. Why did she have to think of that time of her life now? As if just being here didn’t conjure up enough memories—memories best kept buried and forgotten.

  She knew his presence would affect her, which was a big part of why she’d avoided him these past five years. What she hadn’t realized was how much. She’d expected a few awkward moments when they saw each other, but hadn’t expected the way her heart slammed against her ribcage, or the quick thrum of desire.

  “You aren’t eating, Kaitlin. Aren’t you hungry?”

  Kate picked up her fork, speared a piece of fish. “Just taking a break, Gram.” She turned to Ed. “The fish is wonderful. My favorite.”
/>
  She would have sworn his chest swelled with pride. “I’ll keep you stocked as long as you’re here.”

  “Sounds good to me.” She grinned, took another bite. It was the truth. The fish was great. So was the rest of the meal. Only Kate wasn’t really hungry. Every so often, she’d slip a bite to Heidi who sat beside her chair, blue eyes begging.

  Kate’s gut curled into a knot at how Gram could find pleasure in a romance, if that’s what this was, with a good-looking man, while every time Kate came head-to-head with romance, she ran like hell in the opposite direction.

  Gram laughed at another joke Ed told, her eyes alight with enjoyment.

  Kate envied her.

  After the dishes were finished, she feigned a headache and went to her room. She could tell Gram and Ed wanted to be alone. She remembered the feeling. Remembered how the room lit up when Dugan walked in and dimmed when he left. How her heart beat faster at the sight of him.

  It never did with Erik. Didn’t that tell her something?

  She fell across the bed, wondered again what made her this way.

  Erik would make a fine husband, but she didn’t love Erik.

  Dugan’s face floated before her. She wouldn’t go there. Didn’t dare.

  ****

  Kate awoke the next morning in the same position and in the same clothes she’d had on when she threw herself on the bed last night. She must have been more exhausted than she imagined.

  The room hadn’t changed much over the years. Instead of frilly curtains on the windows there were sheers and blinds. The furniture was the same. Familiar and comforting.

  A dull ache started behind her eyes and bored through to the back of her head.

  “Just what I need,” she mumbled as she stripped and stepped into a hot shower.

  Thirty minutes later, she joined Gram in the kitchen.

  “Feel better?”

  How did Gram know about her headache? Of course. Just went to show you shouldn’t lie. “Better.”

  Gram handed her a cup of coffee. “Sit. I’ll fix you something to eat.”

  Kate shook her head. “I ate too much last night. Coffee is fine.”

  “Sure?”

  “Positive.”

  Kate put two fingers between her eyes to massage her brow. The ache was still there, not as pronounced, but there.

  “What would you like to do today?” Gram asked.

  Kate looked at the older woman and wondered how she would find the energy to do anything. “Nothing. I have a couple of books to keep me busy. I have some notes I need to e-mail. What about you?”

  “Have to get my walk in. Then I’d like to take these curtains down. I’ve meant to do it for a while. I have some new ones, but haven’t had time to put them up yet.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Take your walk, and I’ll help with the curtains when you get back. It’s not a job for you to do alone anyway.”

  Without any more encouragement, Gram was out the door.

  Despite her headache, Kate chuckled.

  Ed Clark and Grace Stockwell. They made an interesting couple all right.

  When Gram got back from her walk, Kate vowed to ask her about it.

  She went into her room and picked up one of her books. The bed looked enticing. She’d read a while, maybe take a little nap. Maybe then her headache would go away.

  The soft bed made her sigh in appreciation. She was content here. She’d never appreciated the feeling before. She opened the book and started to read. By the second page, the words blurred. Before she could make sense of them, she was sound asleep.

  A loud crash sent her out of bed and onto her feet. “Gram?” she called as fear leapt through her.

  “Kaitlin. Help!”

  “Gram?”

  Kate’s heart beat an unsteady beat as she ran from the room, raced through the den, and skidded to a stop in the kitchen. Gram lay on the floor, one hand to her head, her other arm lying in an awkward position out from her body. When she saw the ladder and the curtains half off the window, she knew what had happened. “What have you done?”

  Kate knelt beside Gram, brushed her hair off her forehead. “Are you all right? Of course you’re not all right, what’s wrong with me?”

  She grabbed the phone and dialed 911.

  Yogi barked as he ran around in circles. Even he knew something wasn’t right. “Go lay down.”

  But Yogi paid no attention. Kate ignored him, took a dishtowel and dampened it. Tears fell as she wiped Gram’s beloved face. What would she do if Gram died? She looked so pale lying there. So unlike herself. “Why didn’t you call me, Gram? I told you I’d help. Now look at you.”

  “I’m sorry, Katie-Girl. But you looked so tired this morning. I wanted you to rest.”

  “What hurts, Gram?”

  “Everything,” Gram said, her face pinched with pain.

  It’s my fault.

  If she hadn’t gone back to bed, she wouldn’t have let Gram get on the stupid ladder. Now here she was, her arm broken. What else? Kate shivered. She should call someone.

  Ed. She should call Ed.

  But she didn’t have his number.

  She grabbed the phone again, dialed zero, and asked for the sheriff’s office. “Hurry!” she begged when Gram let out a soft moan.

  “Sheriff’s Office,” a woman’s voice answered.

  “I need to speak to Dugan. It’s an emergency.”

  “Can I help you?” the woman asked.

  “Please. Put Dugan on the phone.”

  Finally, he picked up. “Sheriff Callahan.”

  “Dugan. Gram fell and broke her arm. At least I’m pretty sure it’s broken. I don’t know about the rest of her. But Ed Clark needs to know. Would you call him?”

  “Have you called 911?”

  She heard a siren in the distance. “They’re here now.”

  “I’ll call Ed. Will you take her to the hospital in Oaktree?”

  “Yes. She needs X-rays, then we’ll see.”

  She hung up, was beside Gram when the EMTs arrived.

  Their arrival did nothing to ease her concern.

  Once they were in the kitchen, Kate stepped back, locked her hands together to stop their trembling. Also to stop herself from trying to help. She’d just be in the way.

  She looked down. Her knuckles were white where she held them so tight. Just like her chest. She could barely breathe. Everything in her was tied up in knots.

  Please let Gram be all right.

  She loosened her grip, took several deep breaths. She had to be strong for Gram.

  For the first time in her life, Kate was in a position to help Gram instead of the other way around.

  No matter what, Kate vowed to meet the challenge.

  In minutes they had her arm stabilized. Not long after, she was ready to be transported.

  “How bad is she?” Kate asked.

  “X-rays will tell the tale,” the paramedic said. Her nametag read Emily Jacobsen.

  “You’re Wayne’s daughter?”

  “Do you know Dad?”

  “I went to school with your sister.”

  They slid the gurney into the ambulance.

  “Do you think it’s bad?” Kate asked.

  “If she’s lucky and doesn’t have anything except a broken arm, they can fix her up real quick.”

  “Good.”

  Kate was about to step into the ambulance when Dugan’s patrol car, lights flashing, siren sounding, skidded to a stop beside her.

  “Is she all right?” he asked, his face a picture of worry. She’d forgotten how much he cared for Gram.

  Kate shook her head, willed the tears not to fall. Now that Dugan was here, it would be too easy to let go.

  She had to be strong.

  After a word with the driver, Dugan was back in his car.

  It took less than five minutes to make it to the hospital on the outskirts of town. With Dugan leading the way, the ambulance following, they made a loud and dramatic entrance.
<
br />   Before the hour was over, everyone in town would know Grace Stockwell had broken her arm.

  They’d know the sheriff had escorted them to the hospital, lights blazing and siren screaming.

  And they’d know Ed Clark was right behind them.

  The only thing they didn’t know was that Kate’s plans to leave town had just been put on hold.

  Chapter Four

  It hurt to see Gram suffer. Kate sank into one of the hard vinyl chairs in the hospital waiting room to ease the wooziness in her head and the empty feeling in the pit of her stomach. Dugan and Ed didn’t help, as they spent every minute silently pacing the floor.

  Guilt piled so high she thought she might choke.

  The men left the waiting room every so often to wander the hall, Ed so jumpy she couldn’t stand it. She wanted to ease his concern, but hers was too intense.

  Kate tried to distract her mind from what Gram was going through. She looked around the room. The hospital was small, but well run. Several times during the years, they had threatened to close it down. But the town always voted to keep it open. If there was an emergency it was too far to Sonora or San Antonio. They had several doctors in town with offices on the backside of the thirty-bed hospital. The more serious cases were sent to San Antonio.

  Kate thought there was no way they could do without it. Of course her vote didn’t count.

  Besides the necessary health care it gave to the community, the hospital provided much needed jobs.

  She wondered who kept the plants scattered around the room so well tended. But no matter how she tried to think of other things, the thought of Gram lying on the floor so pale and hurting kept coming back, as did that terrible moment of shock and despair. Shutting her eyes, she said a quick prayer.

  When Doctor Pullman walked in, Kate jumped up to meet him, Ed and Dugan right behind her. If they had to transfer Gram to San Antonio, Kate vowed to stay with her every second.

  “I set her arm. An MRI shows no other breaks. We’ll keep her overnight just to keep an eye on her. She can go home tomorrow.” He looked at Kate. “Of course she’ll need help for a few weeks.”

  “I’ll be here,” she promised.

  “I’ll do everything I can,” Ed said, his voice gruff.