After she filled their coffee cups, Sue Ann stepped into the kitchen hoping that Floyd would take the hint. He did. Before she could turn around he was behind her and she walked into his arms for a kiss.
When they pulled apart, he said, “I couldn’t wait to do that again.”
She giggled and heard Jo giggling softly from her vantage point behind the counter.
Floyd looked over at his little cousin and said, “I’m sure glad to see you sitting on that stool. Gil told me to keep an eye on you to make sure you do. I’d hate to have to rat on you but I would.”
Jo laughed. “You two overbearing males don’t have to worry about that. Sue Ann nags me enough for all three of you.”
The shop was busy with its normal breakfast rush and Sue Ann didn’t get to much more than say goodbye when Floyd and Hal left.
After the breakfast rush, the two women were sitting in the kitchen trying to rest up for the lunch rush when they heard the bell over the door ring.
Jo started to get up but Sue Ann placed a hand on her arm. “No, you stay off your feet a little longer. I’ll get it.”
She barely made it through the opening behind the counter before she saw a mean looking man standing about ten feet from it. She had never seen Matt Hennesey in person but she’d seen his picture in the paper enough to know that this was him. He was much thinner and very pale but there was no mistaking those piercing almost evil eyes that were looking straight at her and the threatening glare he was giving her.
She knew she wouldn’t be able to get to the phone before he could get to her so she stood frozen in place waiting to see what he would do.
She sure hoped that Jo would stay in the kitchen. But Hennesey called out in a loud voice, “Come on out of that kitchen lady.”
With that, Jo appeared at Sue Ann’s side. Somehow, she had to shield Jo and her baby from this evil man.
Hennesey moved over to stand in front of them. That was when he noticed that a light was lit up on the phone. He casually picked up the receiver, punched the button then hung it up.
He laughed an evil laugh that would probably give her nightmares. “I won’t be here long enough for them to figure it out and get here anyway.”
He looked at Sue Ann. “I just wanted to give your boyfriend a message.” He grinned grotesquely and said, “Tell him that I can get to anyone close to him any time I want to. Just think of what all I could do to you two right now. Tell him to go ahead and make it easy for me to get him. I’ll get him either way. You’ll see.”
With that said, he walked past them through the kitchen and out the back door.
Sue Ann turned to Jo and saw how pale she was and grabbing both of her elbows guided her to the stool.
“Sit down while I call Floyd.”
Jo shook her head. “No need to do that. I picked up the kitchen phone and dialed 911 and laid it on the counter then I came out when he called me. They’ll be here any second.”
Sure enough, Sue Ann was slowly making her way through the kitchen to the front after relocking the back door when Floyd came charging through the front door with three deputies right behind him. They all had their guns drawn but pointing down toward the floor.
Floyd holstered his gun, ran up to the counter, and pulled both women into a hug. “Are you two okay?”
When they both nodded, he said, “What happened here? Did you get robbed?”
Jo still looked pale so Sue Ann grabbed a cup of water that Jo had been drinking and pushed it at her.
Jo took a sip of water and said, “No, it was Matt Hennesey.”
Sue Ann thought she was going to have to pick Floyd up off the floor. His face was paler than Jo’s and then it turned red. She reached out and placed a hand on each of his cheeks pulling his gaze on her.
“Floyd, it’s okay. He didn’t do anything to either one of us.”
When Floyd relaxed a little and his breathing calmed down a bit, she said, “He said he wanted us to give you the message that he could get any one of us anytime he wanted to and for you to make it easier for him to get you because he was going to anyway.”
Floyd turned to the three deputies and said, “Get this out to dispatch and get the ATL on Hennesey updated.”
When the deputies raced out of the shop, Floyd stepped behind the two women and placing a hand on each one’s back guided them to a table near the counter and sat them down.
He sat across from them and said, “Now, take it from the beginning and tell me exactly what happened.”
When Sue Ann did, he turned to Jo and said, “Do you need to see a doctor, Jo. Something like this could cause problems for your baby.”
She shook her head vigorously causing her red hair to fly from side to side. “No, I’m all right. I’m just worried about you Floyd.”
He tried to smile back at her but didn’t quite accomplish it. “This is all a part of my job, Jo. We’ll get him before he hurts anyone.”
He blew out a breath, looked from one to the other and said, “I’ll give you two a choice. Either you close this place up and spend your days at the sheriff’s office until we catch this guy or allow me to place a deputy in here whenever you’re here.”
Sue Ann started to get that old feeling she’d always gotten when Floyd ordered her around. Then when she thought about it, she knew he was right. They needed to be protected.
“We just bought this place, we can’t close it. We’ll lose too much business if we do.” Jo looked from Sue Ann to Floyd.
Sue Ann crossed her arms over her chest and said, “Floyd Ray McCracken, don’t you get any ideas that you’re going to be able to boss me around.”
He opened his mouth to argue but she held up her hand. “No, don’t bother. I agree with you, but we’re going to stay here so you just go ahead and post your deputy here.”
Floyd grinned and said in an extremely soft voice for him, “Thank you.”
* * *
Floyd continued to sit at the table in the coffee shop while Sue Ann and Jo began to serve their lunch rush. He coordinated a search for Hennesey from right there using his cell phone and his hand held radio with an earplug in his ear.
He was about to leave when Gil Turner came flying through the door and went straight to the counter where Jo was sitting on her stool making some kind of fancy coffee. He grabbed her and just held her for a minute.
After Jo repeatedly reassured Gil that she and the baby were both just fine, he came over to Floyd’s table and fell into the chair across from him.
Gil just sat there staring at Floyd while he finished a conversation on his cell phone.
When Floyd disconnected, Gil said, “What are we going to do to protect those two?” He tilted his head toward the women.
Floyd almost smiled in spite of the seriousness of the situation. Gil had said ‘we.’ Floyd wasn’t going to call him on it though. He remembered last year when Gil had hiked through the woods with him to rescue Jo from Jake Hollis. He didn’t doubt for a minute that Hennesey would have to go through Gil to get to Jo.
Floyd tilted his head toward a deputy sitting at a small table near the counter. “One of my deputies will be here any time the girls are here until we catch Hennesey.”
“Good.” Gil nodded and frowned. “Thanks Floyd. I know you now have double reasons to worry.” When Floyd gave him a frowning look he added, “I think it’s great that you and Sue Ann are getting together. You don’t know how bad Jo has wanted that to happen.”
Floyd snorted. “I can imagine. When that little woman gets it into her pretty little red head that something’s going to happen, believe you me, it happens.”
When Gil only nodded, Floyd said, “Well, Gil, I’d love to sit and jaw with you a bit more but I’ve got a maniac to catch before he hurts someone.”
Once Floyd was in his Tahoe, he decided to pay Hershel Hollis a visit. He didn’t think he’d find Hennesey there or at least catch him if he was. But he knew that he could get a message to Hennesey through Hollis.
> On the way out to the Hollis farm, he listened to the radio as each deputy reported in on their failure to find any sign of Hennesey. He wasn’t surprised. The guy had eluded them for almost a year the first time before Floyd finally caught him hiding in an old abandoned farmhouse.
Well, he certainly didn’t look forward to another encounter with Hershel Hollis. Hershel had seemingly laid low since his cousin Jake had been killed in a shootout last fall. They’d never had a reason to determine whose rounds had actually killed Jake, but Floyd was sure he’d hit the guy at least a couple of times. He had certainly wanted to get that guy. As it turned out, Jake had raped Jo eight years ago and had kidnapped her again. Thankfully, they’d gotten to Jake before he’d had a chance to hurt her again.
But with all those thoughts aside, he’d heard that Hershel had bragged several times since then that he was going to get even with Floyd for killing his cousin.
With all that in mind plus the fact that Hollis had four grown boys, he pulled out his cell phone and called Hal to meet him on the county road at the turnoff to the Hollis place.
Floyd stopped long enough for Hal to hop in his Tahoe before heading down the dirt road.
Floyd kept his eyes on the road ahead while Hal kept scanning the road behind them and the woods to each side.
“What do you expect to accomplish by going out here today, Floyd?”
Floyd snorted. “Probably nothing at all. But I got to do something. Before today this was a personal thing between Hennesey and me.” He shook his head. “Now he’s included my whole family and Sue Ann too. By threatening Jo and Sue Ann, he’s gone over the line. I’m going to get him now no matter what. And I’ve got to be the one to get him now.”
Hal frowned. “Floyd you know I shouldn’t have to tell you of all people not to let your emotions get involved in any kind of case you’re working on.”
Floyd grunted. “There’s no way I can keep my emotions out of it, especially now. Hennesey has seen to that.”
They remained silent the last few minutes while they continued their vigilance.
When they pulled up in the front yard of the two-story house that needed paint and probably a lot more, Hershel Hollis was sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch with all four of his sons standing around him. Considering it had to be below freezing out, that was strange.
That fact made it clear to Floyd that he and Hal had been expected. That couldn’t be just the normal small town gossip mill at work. Somebody had to have tipped Hollis off.
As Floyd closed his door, he scanned the porch for any sign of weapons. He noticed that Hal was checking the area between the house and the barn behind it on that side.
Before Floyd could say anything, Hollis laughed and spit a stream of tobacco that fell five feet short of Floyd. “Hear you had some excitement down in town this morning Sheriff.”
He said the last word as if it were a swear word. It also proved that he’d been in contact with Hennesey. Floyd looked straight at Hollis and said, “I was wondering if you’d seen or heard from Hennesey lately.”
Hollis laughed loudly. “What’s the matter Sheriff? He got you worried now that he’s shown you he can get to your family any time he wants to?”
Floyd chose to ignore that barb. “I’d appreciate it if you’d let me know if you see him.”
He turned around and headed back to his vehicle with Hollis’ laughter ringing in his ears. He watched the area behind the Tahoe while he knew Hal was watching the porch and behind the house as well as he could.
Once they were back in the Tahoe and heading on out the dirt road, Hal said, “There was someone in the hayloft of that barn watching us.”
Floyd snorted. “Yep I saw him. But without a warrant, there was no way we could go back there and check it out.”
“I know. It’s just so frustrating. I know that was Hennesey back there.”
After Floyd dropped Hal off at his vehicle, he headed back to the coffee shop. He had to see with his own eyes that both Sue Ann and Jo were still okay.
When he walked up to the counter, both women came around it and gave him a hug. A fellow sure could get used to this kind of treatment.
He smiled down at them and said, “What did I do to deserve this?”
“Nothing.” They said in unison.
He laughed loudly for the first time today. “Okay, next question. What do you want?”
They both giggled at that and Jo said, “We both love you so much that we just can’t keep away from you.”
Sue Ann snorted at that. “She’s speaking for herself on that one Floyd.”
He left there feeling somewhat comforted. He then headed back to the office with a slightly lighter heart because of two women he dearly loved. Loved? Both of them? Yes, he’d always loved his sweet little cousin. But now he admitted to himself that he loved Sue Ann too. That revelation was going to take some time to think through.
* * *
The rest of the day went by in a blur for Sue Ann. This was one day she certainly was glad that they only stayed open until two o’clock. She wanted to get home and talk to her mother and Andy about the danger they were all in now.
Her mother’s car was in the garage but when she walked into the kitchen, Wanda wasn’t there at the table as she usually was. She went into the living room and found both her mother and Andy sitting there. Andy was watching one of his favorite nature shows and Wanda was knitting.
“Hello you two.”
They both returned her greeting but she could see that Andy was involved in his program for he merely waved at her. She looked at the clock and realized there was only another ten minutes left in the program so she sat next to her mother on the sofa to wait.
As soon as the program was over, Sue Ann said, “Andy, could you turn the TV off for a little while, I really need to talk to both you and Grandma for a minute.”
She looked at her mother, who gave her a puzzled look, and started talking to Andy.
“Andy, I don’t know if you’ve heard or not but Floyd put a very bad man in prison . . .”
Andy sat up and said, “Yeah, Penny told me all about it. This guy’s dying and he broke out of prison so he could come after Floyd.”
Sue Ann leaned back in the sofa and looked at her mother who only shrugged her shoulders. Was Penny being a bad influence on her son? She’d have to pay a little more attention to make sure.
“Okay, that’s right Andy. This bad man came into our shop today and threatened all of us who are close to Floyd.”
She let that sink in for a moment taking in the shocked look on her mother’s face. Andy’s face was scrunched up and she knew he was deep in thought. She knew her mother wanted to say something but they both waited to see what Andy’s reaction would be.
When it came, Sue Ann realized just how much of an influence Penny had on him.
He shrugged his shoulders. “No problem. Penny said her dad will get that guy before he can get to any of us.”
While she was trying to recover from the shock of that statement Andy looked up at her and said, “Can I turn the TV back on now Mom?”
She wasn’t sure she’d actually gotten through to him or not. Then when she thought about it she figured that if he was good with what he’d said, then she’d let him be at least for now.
“Okay, Andy. Go ahead.”
She stood and headed into the kitchen knowing that her mother would follow. Neither said anything as Sue Ann began pulling things out of the refrigerator to start supper and Wanda began making a pot of coffee.
Sue Ann wanted this to be a special meal since Floyd and Penny were coming over.
Wanda finally said, “Do you think it might be a good idea to have Floyd talk to Andy tonight?”
Sue Ann was chopping an onion but paused to look at her mother. “I hadn’t thought about that, but it might be a good idea.” She placed the knife down. “And the more I think about it, I think it might be good for him to talk to Andy and Penny both. I think Penny
is getting some strange ideas about her father that he should know about.”
As they continued to work on supper, Sue Ann kept thinking about Floyd and that awful man Hennesey wanting to kill him. She shivered just thinking about it. Floyd had to get that guy. She knew now without a doubt that she loved Floyd and she wanted a future with him. She just hoped that God wouldn’t let them finally get this close and then something would happen to Floyd.
Those thoughts caused her to stop then and say a quick prayer in her mind for everyone’s safety, especially Floyd’s.
Sue Ann thought back over the years and realized several things that she hadn’t really thought about before. The first thing was that she had always more or less loved Floyd McCracken. It was just that she’d never quite understood her feelings enough to act on them. Then when she went to Springfield, she’d basically left him behind especially when she met Ray who had convinced her that he was everything she’d ever wanted in a man. Boy had she ever been fooled.
Another thing she realized was that she hadn’t really been ready for Floyd until now. Then that thought made her realize that he must not have been ready for her either. She knew that Darcy had hurt him badly back when she left him. She realized that she and Floyd both had had to get over a bad marriage before they could even think about getting together.
She was feeling somewhat better when Floyd rang the doorbell. She went into the living room to get the door but Andy beat her to it. As soon as he opened it, Penny came through the front door first and of course, took off with Andy to his room saying hi on the way.
That left her standing there staring out at Floyd who was still standing on the porch staring back in at her. Then they both began to laugh at the same time.
She stepped aside and Floyd stepped in but kissed her briefly on the way in. She closed the door and grabbed his arm to pull him back to her. This time their kiss lasted until they heard giggling coming from the hallway.
As they broke off the kiss and turned toward the sound, Penny said, “Are you two going to get married?”
Andy gave her a push on the shoulder and said, “If they did you’d be my sister. Wouldn’t that be neat?”
A Better Solution (Crowley County Series Book 2) Page 17