“Gwen is those guys’ little sister, she’s about eleven. She’s been in here homeless and hungry, so I’ve been paying her to help me with some things and feeding her lunch and letting her take a bath and stuff. She flattened your tires and was probably the one who broke the window. We have to help her!”
Chase’s face had turned red. “Help her? We need to arrest her. She’s a juvenile delinquent.”
“No, I don’t think so. I think she’s scared and yeah, pissed off. But she doesn’t know what to do, we have to help her.”
Chase crossed his arms. “Explain to me why we have to help her instead of calling the Sheriff and CPS.”
Katie told the whole story to Chase who still didn’t look convinced, but he did look a little less inclined to call the Sheriff.
Chase could not believe his ears. There was a homeless girl Katie was feeding and paying to work in her store. Was she nuts? But he had to admit her reasoning about suspecting the girl as the window and tire culprit made good sense. What she thought they should do about it was completely insane. In his book, they needed to call CPS and the Sheriff and be done with it. Although whether they could find her was the real issue.
He was thinking fast while Katie tried to convince him they should help the girl. If he let her wait until tomorrow when Gwen came into work for her, they could surround her in the store, if he got the Sheriff and a brother or two involved. Katie only had two doors for customers and then her back door for deliveries from the alley. So maybe all they really needed was him and Drake and whoever else was on duty tomorrow. He couldn’t remember if Drew was going to be on tomorrow. But even if he wasn’t he could talk to him about all this tonight and see what he advised.
It was clear however, that Katie was not in any danger. The kid wasn’t going to bite the hand that was feeding her and even her letting the air out of his tires was pretty harmless. The broken window had been from her first reaction, when she was most likely terrified and angry to have her brothers taken into custody.
He decided he would not try to convince Katie to turn the girl in. She might dig in her heels. He knew what needed to happen and he would just take care of everything. Then Katie wouldn’t have anything to worry or feel guilty about. She was a soft-hearted woman and was thinking with her heart, not her head.
When Katie wound down. He asked, “What makes you think Gwen will take your help? Won’t she just run off?”
“I think she’s desperate enough to take it. With it still being Indian summer she’s fine, but once winter rolls around it will be another story all together. I’ll explain that to her.”
He and Summer both nodded, but he still wasn’t convinced. “I think that we should make sure she can’t leave the building until you have a chance to talk her into telling you the truth. I could get a couple of guys to hang by your doors and just make sure she doesn’t try to run.”
Katie nodded. “Yeah some of your brothers or a ranch hand would come in handy to watch the doors.”
He rubbed his chin still thinking. “Sounds good. What time would be good?”
“Lunch time might be best. That way I’ll have the time to sit down with her and talk it out, plus we’ll be in the break room.”
Chase nodded, that would be good. He’d round up some guys to help with the operation. “I’ll get going then, so I can make some calls and you can lock up.”
Katie smiled and then gave him a warm kiss, right in front of Summer, who looked a little shocked.
He grinned at her. “Might as well get used to it.”
Chapter 24
Katie paced back and forth, she was a nervous wreck, and had been all morning. If she was honest she’d been that way all night too, tossing and turning, punching her pillow. She kept going over and over what she should say. Thinking about how to get the girl to level with her and tell her the truth. Katie wanted Gwen to know she wasn’t still angry about the window. Or the truck tires for that matter. The thought of that child not having anywhere to go, when the temperatures started to drop, was frightening.
When Gwen finally came into the store looking a little more relaxed, Katie was able to calm down too.
“Good morning, Gwen. I’d like you to straighten up the toy section and make a list of anything that needs restocking. Actually, please make a list of everything you find back there, so we can make some decisions for next year. It’s changing of the seasons time so an inventory of everything would be good.”
The girl nodded and took the pen and notepad and went back to the children’s section. Katie kept a lot of games, card decks and simple toys. People on vacation often didn’t think about what to do in the evenings or as a family. As they put their normal activities on hold for a few days they often looked for a family game. She sold many decks of “Old Maid” and “Crazy Eights” and lots of games. Summer was over, which made it a perfect time to take stock and prepare for next year.
While Gwen worked on the children’s area Katie assessed the jewelry. A lot of what she had was turquoise, Black Hills Gold and the ever-popular aspen leaf, that looked like it was dipped in gold or silver. She also carried a few really nice pieces from Colorado jewelry designers. One of her favorites was a woman in southern Colorado that created very unique items. She needed to call her to put in an order and send her the payment for what she’d sold the previous quarter.
Katie didn’t wear a lot of jewelry, but she always loved looking at it and working with the artists to have something new and fun for her store. The local women waited for new items to arrive and then swarmed the place. Katie took notes on what she needed, and what she might want to send back because she had too much of it. She could also put it on sale. Maybe she would put it on sale first and then see what she had left that she might want to send back. Sometimes a piece she thought would sell quickly didn’t, at least not at her store, and it was possible that it would sell better somewhere else. Better to move it along than have it sit in her display case getting dusty.
Gwen came up front just as Katie was finishing with the jewelry and handed Katie the list she’d made.
Gwen smiled. “Lots of toys.”
Katie showed her the list she’d made. “And lots of jewelry, too.”
Gwen looked at the similarly long list and nodded.
“Let’s have some lunch. I whipped us up a fancy salad this morning.” She didn’t mention that she’d done it very, very, early this morning. Because she couldn’t sleep and couldn’t stand to be in bed any longer.
Katie followed Gwen into the break room and got out the food and drinks she had ready, her hands were shaking she was so nervous. She put everything on the table and encouraged Gwen to sit down to eat. After Gwen had eaten most of her salad and Katie had pushed hers around on the plate she got up and closed the door.
Gwen looked at her wide-eyed.
“I wanted to talk to you in private.” She sat and folded her hands, pushing the food to the side. “We’ve been working together for a while now, Gwen. You are a very good employee, and I’m happy to have you continue to work with me. Gwen honey, I need you to level with me.”
Gwen looked at the door and back at Katie. “What do you mean?”
Katie took one of the girl’s hands and noticed they were cold as ice. “I suspect you are homeless, Gwen and that maybe your brothers are the guys that were arrested a while back.”
Gwen started to pull her hand away, but Katie held on tight. “It’s not your fault. I suspect your brothers are worried about you, too. I would like to reassure them that you’re okay and, well, even make sure you stay that way.”
Gwen whispered, “How would you do that?”
“I don’t know exactly, but I can’t help you at all if you don’t tell me the truth.”
Gwen’s eyes filled with tears and Katie’s heart broke for the child.
“Let me help you, Gwen.”
“They’re not always bad. Only when they drink. They kept promising to stop. It’s just we’ve all been con
fused since our parents died.” Her voice hitched. “I’ve been so scared, and I miss them. I’m sorry I broke your window, but I was so mad.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“I saw them talking to you and then you all went into the alley and up against the building, so I couldn’t see. Then that guy came and yelled and punched Tommy. I grabbed a wrench Kevin had brought in after working on the car and ran out of the hotel room. I had to wait until the lobby was empty to sneak out, by the time I came around the corner, the police were there. So, I hid.”
Gwen scrubbed at her eyes. “Then I couldn’t get back in the hotel room. I didn’t have a key. All our stuff was in there. I didn’t know what to do or where to go, I just hid for a long time. Then later when it was quiet I tried to find a way into the hotel or anywhere that I could sleep. When I couldn’t find anywhere I was so mad I hit your window with the wrench”
“The person at the front desk could have let you into your hotel room.”
The girl’s breath shuddered. “Tommy told me not to tell anyone I was in there, they didn’t pay for me.”
“Oh sweetie, that wouldn’t matter.”
Gwen shrank down into herself as she whispered. “Then when I got scared to go back to the grocery store, because the guy there started asking all kinds of questions, I came here. You were so nice to me. I felt bad for breaking your window.”
That poor frightened child, how could anyone be angry with her. “I forgive you, Gwen.”
“But that guy that hit my brothers, I don’t like him, so I let the air out of his tires. Tommy’s wrench has a thing for letting air out. We used it when we all used to go off-roading. My parents and me in one car and Tommy and Kevin in another. It was so much fun. Then one night mom and dad went to a movie and never came home.” The girl dissolved into wracking sobs.
Katie’s heart shattered, and she pulled Gwen into her arms.
When the sobs quieted to hiccups. Katie said, “We’ll figure something out. Do you have any other family?”
Before Gwen could say another word, Chase and Sheriff Drake walked into the room. Behind them was a matronly woman that Katie guessed was a CPS worker.
Gwen jumped up and backed further into the room. “You called the cops on me?”
Katie glared at Chase. “No. I didn’t. I really do want to help.”
“You were just lying to me, my brothers told me not to trust anyone, but them. I should have listened.”
“No. Now listen to me, these people want to help you, too.” She reached toward Gwen, who moved away and wrapped her arms around herself.
Gwen tried to fight back, when Sheriff Drake and the CPS woman approached her. The two of them easily subdued the frightened girl. She looked at Katie with so much fear and anger battling in her eyes. “I trusted you.”
As the officials escorted the girl from the room Katie looked at Chase with tears in her own eyes. “Chase, how could you? I was helping her. I trusted you, Chase, and you betrayed that trust. And me.”
Chase felt the blood drain from his body, he had never seen so much anger and pain on Katie’s face. His heart broke at the feeling of betrayal he could see in her expression. “Katie, honey, the girl needs real help.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I was helping her Chase. She doesn’t need to be hauled to jail or some, some foster home. Or worse. I don’t want to discuss it with you. Get out of my store.”
She pointed to the door. “Get out. Get out now.”
Chase didn’t know what to do. He’d only been trying to help. Katie couldn’t keep taking care of a homeless girl. The authorities needed to be brought in to handle this. But he guessed he’d done it all wrong. He should have tried to convince Katie that the girl needed real help, maybe they could find her family or something.
“Katie, we need to talk about this. You’re not her mother or a relative, she needs someone to help her find her family. You know me, you know I wasn’t trying to hurt the girl.”
Katie looked at him with daggers in her eyes. “Apparently I don’t know you at all. I can’t believe you could be so insensitive, so heartless. Her parents are dead. What if she doesn’t have any other family, or what if they’re abusive? You don’t know anything about her. I was asking her those kinds of questions. She was talking to me. And now you’ve sent her away before I can finish.”
She pushed past him and went into the store, directly toward the pharmacist, Steven. She talked with him for a minute and then marched out the door. He trailed after her as she charged down the street toward the Sheriff’s office.
Chase didn’t know what to say or do to convince Katie he wasn’t a heartless monster. He hadn’t thought about the idea that Gwen’s parents might be abusive or dead. All his thoughts had centered on getting the girl back with her family, so Katie wouldn’t be consumed by her.
Maybe his actions had been a little self-centered. And he could admit he did kind of consider the girl a bit of a juvenile delinquent. She had broken the window and flattened his tires. Well that’s what they thought anyway. He could also acknowledge the girl had looked terrified and very, very young.
He huffed and tried to catch up to Katie. “I’m sorry, I thought I was helping.”
She stopped and turned to him. Poking him in the chest she said, “I don’t know what in the hell you were doing, but it sure as hell was not helping. And you know it. You deliberately allowed me to believe you were going to let me handle it. You flat out lied to me, Chase Kipling.”
“Katie…” he’d never seen the look of disgust that was written across her face and it terrified him. Not physically, but emotionally.
“No. Don’t deny it, just go. I can’t stand to even look at you right now.”
He tried again. “But we can’t leave it like this.”
“We can, for now. That scared girl needs me, not you. I’m the only person she knows in the whole town and I am not going to let her down.”
She turned her back on him and left him standing there. His heart broke and he couldn’t breathe, it hurt so much. He realized right then, just how much he loved her. Now that he’d quite possibly screwed everything up.
Chapter 25
Katie stormed into the Sheriff’s office. She couldn’t think about what Chase had done, because she might collapse into a puddle of sorrow. How could she have known him for twenty years and had no idea what a jerk he could be? She couldn’t think about that, so instead, she held onto her righteous anger at his betrayal, and the fact that Gwen needed her. Anger and a mission, were much better than the pain of losing her best friend.
The CPS woman and Sheriff Drake were sitting in his office talking. Drew was just getting ready to go out on patrol. She didn’t see Gwen anywhere. “Drew, where is Gwen?”
“In back with her brothers.”
Katie screeched, “You locked up a child? Have you lost your minds? Is that even legal?”
Drew took her arm and said soothingly, “No Katie, we didn’t lock up a child. She begged us to let her see her brothers and Drake and Mrs. Armstrong agreed that would be acceptable.”
“Oh, well I guess she would want to see them. That was nice of you.”
Drake came out of his office. “Katie, please come in here, we need to ask you some questions.”
Katie didn’t want to spend hours talking to Drake, she needed to see Gwen. “I want to see Gwen and make sure she’s all right.”
“You can do that after the questions,” Drake said.
She knew the Sheriff would get his way, so she resigned herself to the inquisition. The sooner it was over, the sooner she could see Gwen.
She told Drake every little detail she knew about Gwen. And explained five times, why she hadn’t called him or CPS to help take care of the girl. Both of them had stressed to her how badly things could have gone, by her choosing the path she had taken. She realized she had been foolish to try to handle it alone.
After what seemed like hours, they finally let her into the back
to see Gwen.
She walked to the cell where the three of them were, to find Gwen fast asleep on the bunk, with her head in one brother’s lap and the other brother sitting on the floor holding her hand.
The brothers looked up at her as she approached, but instead of seeing animosity in their eyes, she saw gratitude.
The one on the floor cleared his throat. “We want to apologize for attacking you. Landing in this jail has been a real wakeup call for us.”
The one on the bunk spoke up. “We can’t thank you enough for looking after our sister. The fear and worry we’ve felt for her, while we’ve been locked up in here, brought home to us what’s really important in life.”
The one on the floor shook his head. “Our sister is more important than having a good time, drinking and taking advantage of women. We were fools to put her into jeopardy like that.”
The one on the bunk ran his hand down Gwen’s hair. “Our parents would skin us alive if they were still here to see it. I’m so ashamed of risking Gwen, by living inside a bottle the last few months. Yes, it dulled the pain of our parents’ deaths.”
“But that is nothing to the pain we’d have felt if something had happened to Gwen.” The one on the floor hung his head in shame.
Katie looked at the sleeping girl. “She’s a good girl and the way I hear it, you two are not going to be out of jail for some time. Even before you stand trial for your past acts. Which one of you is Tommy?”
The one on the bunk winced at the name and rubbed the back of his neck. “Me. You’re right, we’re mean drunks. We deserve what we get, but Gwen doesn’t.”
“No, she doesn’t. And you might want to think about how you would feel if some drunk guys treated your sister like you did me.”
Kevin gasped. “It would kill me to have her go through that. I’m so damned sorry we treated you that way.”
Tempting Chase_Burlap and Barbed Wire Page 13