Irritation fogged her eyes. "So it's all about you being Mr. Hot Shot Detective to impress Skeets?"
"No, it's-"
She fought back tears. He didn't care about her at all. "I could lose my farm. And you're wanting me to keep quiet while you maybe figure things out? I can't even count on you being here in two months."
"Can I say one more thing before you begin your orbit and we lose contact?" His pause disturbed her. Probably getting ready to say goodbye. Which she deserved. If only she could help him understand. "Maybe I forgot to mention it, it was so busy today."
"Did I have something stuck on my nose again?" Yes, she did. Fear.
"No. You've done an outstanding job keeping your nose clean. I wanted you to be first to know..."
"First to know what already?"
"I signed the papers this morning."
Seconds went by before it registered. "You what? You're going to be staying?" She jumped from the couch, skipped around the room, hugging herself with one arm. Why hadn't he said that while he was here? But how could he, with her carrying on like five soap operas at once? "I am so happy." Her spontaneity shocked her and she lowered her voice to a logical, unemotional tone. "For you. I meant to say I am so happy for you."
"Which is it?"
His tone wobbled her knees and she moved back towards the couch. She recognized what he was implying. It demanded an answer. She caught her reflection in the mirror. Solitary. In such a large mirror. "Come back and I'll show you."
She stared at herself. How was that for being independently spontaneous?
He cleared his throat. "We'll see. It's getting late. And you need your rest. Maybe tomorrow."
"I'll not push you, Will Kilpatrick." But I will pray my guts out that you'll come. "I'll be up a while. Got to take those cows some water. And there's still a corner of cobbler left."
Chapter 43
Twenty minutes later, Blue's barking made her wish she hadn't left him tied. He would make noise until he could run after whatever agitated him. Maybe the skunk had returned. One of the cows looked up from drinking, stamped its foot, and flicked an ear.
An anticipatory warmth began at the nape of her neck, expanded, and flashed its way to her core - an enhanced version of Will's hands on her shoulders in the clinic. Though she had overdone it today, this wasn't her fever spiking. Desire's heat didn't compare to disease's.
A sliding noise against hay bedding stilled her. Her heart staggered. Breathing became ragged. Though exhausted and ready for bed, staying up longer in hopes of Will's return had been rewarded. He would understand the full measure of her excitement about his signing the papers. She turned, laughter overflowing a full heart. "Hey, good lookin'."
"Hey, back. Little Red Riding Hood, you sure are looking good."
Fear skittered through her veins. Her ventures into spontaneity were proving ill-timed. Otis's hands grabbed her around the waist, pulled her close. She turned her head, attempted to knee his groin but was blocked when he twisted a thigh into her. Off-balance, she still managed to stomp his instep and slap him across the nose, eliciting his surprised grunt, before wrenching from his grasp. A wave of dizziness back-stepped her to the wall. The impact slammed the breath from her, created a minor galaxy before her eyes.
"Been wanting to see you for a spell." Otis's voice was combination wheeze and taunt. Sweat speckled his gaunt, mottled face. He squinted an irritated eye that might have been Maced. "Miss Epiphany. Thought I wouldn't figure it out, didn't you? You under-estimated me. So did your mom. She staying here with you? Nasty article she did on me. I wouldn't mind another night with her. Then she'd take it all back."
Liza glanced around for something to defend herself with. No pitchfork. No rake. Nothing but tidy surroundings. The downside of being a neat freak. "I don't know what you're talking about. My mom left twenty years ago."
Otis snorted and shuffled a step closer, limping on the foot she'd stomped. The red outline of her hand stained the area beneath one eye. "Saw her in town this morning. Talking about her magazine story. Hinting at things that happened a long time back."
The chill shivered its way through the rest of her body. She tried to think of a way to keep him talking, allow time to catch her breath. Forget the contamination of his hands on her waist, his mashing against her.
"And those do look like my missing cows in your pen. I'll be taking you into custody. For rustling." He lowered his head and lunged to tackle her.
Liza swung a stall door open and stiff-armed it. The vibrations rattled her shoulders. Her wrists shrieked with pain. Otis's head made a satisfying plonk upon impact and he sank to his knees. She rammed the door into him again, catching him on the shoulder. Bull strong, he staggered to his feet and moved for her again, blocking her into a corner. Blood trickled from a head wound. His face looked paler than a flour tortilla. "Resisting arrest, are you? I love the feisty ones. Must run in the family."
She attempted to sidestep his charge but hit a patch of fresh manure, slipped, landed on her butt. Sharp tines of fire rocketed north. She screamed and squirmed and slithered as Otis jumped atop her, trying to pin her. His knee dug into her right biceps until she feared it would rupture. His hands pressed her shoulders as he tried to pin her to the ground. Frantic, strength fading, she scooped a glob of manure and flung it in his face. His weight across her abdomen shifted forward as he wiped his eyes. Seeing an opening, nasty fingers clawed his right eye, the one irritated and swollen and now dripping with fresh blood.
He screamed and slapped her cheek, shaking loose tears. He clamped a hand across her mouth to silence her siren shrieks. She bit into and gnawed the soft web between thumb and forefinger. He yanked his hand away, nearly extracting her teeth when he pitched to one side. His blood tasted foul and she spat it at him. She scooted backwards until the wall stopped her while he staggered to his feet, hemming her in the corner again.
"You're going to learn a lesson, you little tramp." He gestured for her to stand. "Get up. We're going to slow dance. See if you feel anything like your mom."
She salvaged enough energy to stagger to her feet. Hands on knees, panting, she braced against the wall and glared. She couldn't fight off another attack. Trembling hands wiped her eyes. This couldn't be happening. She prayed the best prayer she knew. God, help.
His fingers waggled. "Now come to daddy." He began moving his head side to side while singing. "Little Red Riding Hood, you sure are looking good. I won't hurt you."
Liza smiled as he mouthed, 'We'll see,' and stealthily glided in her direction like someone waltzing. She would have to trust him.
She curtsied.
"Quit stalling."
"I'd like to cut in, if I may." Otis turned around in time to take Will's double-fisted forearm swing across his neck, directly under an ear. Home run. Without a sound, he crumpled to the ground, landed face down in a manure pie.
Will smiled at Liza and held out a hand. "May I have this dance?"
His sense of humor never quit. She prayed it never did. "For the rest of my life?"
"We'll see."
Then his arms were around her, hers and one leg wrapped around him, drawing her nearer to a man than she had ever been. His lips softly touched hers, tugged at them, sending her thoughts skidding around the barn. This beat The Mind Bender at Six Flags. Intending to push him away, she found her hands clutching his shirt and thinking she would never turn loose. She yielded to his arms, the hunger to be held shocking in its ferocity.
He pulled back, looking down at her, tenderness softening his features. She waited for him to kiss her again. Wanted him to kiss her again. Willed him to kiss her again.
Their lips moved to each other, passion molding them together.
"You're staying? For real?" She traced the outline of his mouth with a finger.
"For real. I've been called here for a long time."
"By your uncle's grave, I heard you praying for a word, a vision, or a picture. Did you get it?" He nodded, the unde
r current in his eyes pulling her beneath their blue waves. He brushed damp curls away from her forehead. "What did it look like? I have to know."
"You."
"Me? And Guinevere?" A sign besides a major hormone spill would be helpful now. He was acting on what he sensed had God shown him. So would she.
"Yeah." A puzzled look clouded his face. "You'll never be-"
"Yes, I would." She stood on tiptoes and caressed his lips with a lingering kiss. God still answered prayers.
Otis's stirring interrupted them. Liza found some cable ties they used to bind his hands behind him, lashed a rope around him several times and, for a symbolic gesture, secured his head in the head catch like someone in stocks.
Otis complained at the uncomfortable treatment. "I'm dying. I've had a temperature for days. My eye is killing me. Can't see out of it. Big knot behind my ear, if you didn't bust it. And my side feels like somebody's amputating it."
Liza looked at Will, lips twisted into a frown. "Sounds like the vet you told me about." She nudged Otis with her foot. "You vaccinated my cows to give them Bang's, didn't you?"
"I'm not saying anything." Crouched over, head in the catch, his words sounded garbled.
Will broke in. "She's trying to help you. We know you used the vaccine. Did any spray in your eye?"
Spivey hesitated before answering. "I think so. It got irritated that night. Now let me up."
"What about the Winstrol you've gotten for years? You've been shooting yourself with it. Right?"
"Some."
"I'm going to do you a huge favor. I'll take a blood sample and test you for brucellosis. The jail doctor isn't going to think about that. At least not before you lose your eye. That okay?"
Spivey choked out a dry chuckle. "If it doesn't involve my throat being cut."
"Don't give me any ideas. And I'll run a liver panel. Taking Winstrol and drinking as long as you have hasn't helped it. Probably explains some of your outbursts. And your back rash. But not acting stupid."
"It checked out fine last week. Ask the nurse. That PJ."
"Won't hurt to check it again. Another thing. Why did you kill my uncle?"
Spivey snorted. "I didn't. I saw him hit a deer. Now let me up. This is killing my back."
"There's a witness. From his version, you left out a few important details."
"And what motive would I have?"
"Because he fell in love with Barbara. I'm betting she leveled with him about becoming pregnant in high school. That you were the father and gave her money for an abortion. But she had the baby. PJ."
"What?" Genuine surprise reflected in Spivey's voice. "So that's who the article is talking about."
"Her family lived a lie because of you and the shame of it all. When Barbara told him, the hypocrisy of your campaign slogan galled him. He was all about justice and honor. You saw Momma's Little Baby written on your record and knew something was up. Was afraid he would bring it out in the open. That's what y'all argued about at the clinic."
Otis seemed to deflate though his voice blustered. "You'll never prove it."
"Then there's Louis Johnson's murder."
Otis laughed, though it lacked confidence. "That old drunk? Nobody killed him. He wrote notes to Flo for years."
"I'm suspecting one of you O's did that."
"No body, no case."
"Keep the faith, O. Now, before you get measured for your Volunteer orange jumpsuit, do you still want me to check your blood?"
"Go ahead."
After Will left with the sample, Liza turned a feed bucket upside down in front of Otis and sat. Looked for the resemblances in him and PJ. Did she know yet? "We've got some talking to do. Why did you vaccinate my cows?"
"You sabotaged my barn, my tractor, my four-wheeler, turned Bunny against me."
"I didn't do any of that. You ruined my herd without any proof. I may lose my farm over this." She grunted. "The good news is, you won't be the one getting it if I do."
"You were the logical choice. Now let me up. This is killing my back."
"You mentioned seeing my mom in town."
"This morning. First time I've known her to come back since she ran off."
Her mouth became dry. A hard swallow pained her neck. "Do you know why she left?"
Otis twisted his neck in the head catch. "The world's going to know it, after what she wrote. But I'm not done yet. She'll pay."
"I suspect she's already done that." She rubbed her face where he had slapped her. Tender, it would leave a bruise shaped like his hand. But not as deep as other wounds.
"We dated some in high school. Had a one-night stand couple years before she left. If I remember right, she was mad at Charlie about something. Probably something stupid. I was there to...console her."
Liza's insides congealed. Words rose from a rotten place, forcing her to sort them. Still, bitterness filled the accusation. "She left me because of you."
"I didn't make anybody leave. She left when I talked to her about buying this farm."
"Why? Did you threaten to tell my dad you're my father if she didn't get him to sell?" Who really wasn't her dad. Liza stared at him, wanting to pick something up and smash his head.
Otis snorted. "What?"
"You didn't know you got her pregnant?"
"No. Bunny and me never had kids. Now I find out I've got two. Who would like to see me dead." He closed his eyes while shaking his head. "This has been a great day for personal discovery."
Liza walked away, not trusting herself to remain in his presence. So much had changed tonight. There was Will. And a new sister. Her mom was in town. Who had misunderstood the contents of Spivey's threats. God, help.
Will returned in thirty minutes and relayed the results to Otis. Positive for Bang's. Elevated liver enzymes.
"I don't understand. Why don't your results match Dr. Dudley's? It's not even two weeks ago."
"I don't exactly know. You'll have to discuss that with him." He opened the head chute, drug Spivey to his feet. "Let's go."
The patrol car arrived fifteen minutes later, followed by PJ's. Someone remained in the dark by it as she approached, along with Barbara and Flo.
Skeets read Spivey his rights, snipped the cable ties from his chafed wrists, and cuffed him. Then she faced Will. "You'll need to come in and give a full statement about this cattle business." A whimsical smile curved her lips. "Congratulations on making your dream happen. I'm glad you're staying." She inclined her head towards Spivey, then looked back. With the blue lights flashing, it was hard to tell if she was looking at Will or her. "You beat me this time. Don't count on it happening again."
Liza smiled. "I guess I'll need to come in with Will and tell about Spivey attacking me too."
Skeets nodded, unsmiling. "Sure."
Flo stepped forward, looked in at Otis, slumped on the back seat. "Bye-bye, sugar." The sultry voice surprised everyone. Looking tired, she shuffled to the porch and collapsed into a rocker.
Spivey's head perked up as he watched her walk away. "Epiphany?"
Will smiled at Skeets. "Does Jug Martin need to come with me when I make my statement? He witnessed Uncle Bill's murder."
Skeets stared at him for long seconds. "I'll let you know." She slammed the door, fired the engine, and drove off.
Liza glanced at PJ and pointed at Flo. "What was that about Epiphany?"
PJ straightened her hair. "It's been a wild night. And getting wilder. Sheriff Ledbetter got arrested at the place where they buried my grandfather. They killed him."
"Grandfather? Not father?"
PJ nodded while looking towards the porch, where Flo rocked and hummed Folsom Prison Blues. "Otis is going to love hearing Epiphany's other exploits on his ride to town.The nicest touch is the TBI getting tipped about the skeleton being in Otis's closet. "
"It has been a wild night." Liza hung onto Will's hand, thinking she would never let it go. She smiled at PJ. With her familial structure undergoing such a shift, mentioning she was
her half-sister could wait. "Maybe life can get back to normal."
"Normal is good if you don't mind it changing." PJ waved a slim, attractive lady from the shadows.
She knew at once.
Liza looked into the tentative face tendering the faintest of brave smiles while seeming reconciled for the worst. Took in the anxious eyes. The hurt lurking in their depths. The fear. The shame. The possibility of being rejected. Willing to be for this chance to meet her daughter.
Liza's emotions shattered and scattered and scurried in all directions. All the speeches, cruel and kind, she had rehearsed over the years were forgotten. Her self-righteousness dissolved, replaced and overtaken and overcome with grace she hadn't realized she possessed. "Momma?"
"Liza." Shelby's voice cracked, along with her face. Tears sluiced down her drawn cheeks, dripped from her chin. Arms hung slack at her side, useless appendages. "I'm so-"
She held a finger up. "Lets just hold each other. No words. There'll be plenty of time for words." Liza wiped her nose, stepped towards Shelby, pulled the sobbing woman into her arms. Allowed twenty years of pain to begin working its way to the surface. "I forgive you, Momma. I read your letter to Daddy. Welcome home. I want it to be a special place for you again."
Shelby's words, though muffled, reflected hope. "Really? Will you go with me there? Soon? To Charlie's and my secret place."
Liza reached a hand out to Will, took his. "Sure, Momma. But not tonight. Maybe tomorrow."
Shelby sniffed. "You'll be surprised how he provided for you over the years."
PJ squeezed Liza's shoulder. "Neither of us are who we think we are. I'll be taking these ladies home now. We've got a lot to work through ourselves. None of this has been easy." She looked at her mother and grandmother. "For any of us." Strong arms wrapped Liza in a hug. Then she stood back, eyes moist. "Good night. Sis. We'll talk about all this later."
Sis? Barbara really was PJ's mom? Not Flo? This had been a wild night. So many changes. All she could think to do was hold Will's hand tighter.
"But the real truth will set us free." Barbara had joined Flo on the porch, held her hand. "No more lies." She walked down the steps and took Will's hand. "Thanks for being like Bill. Doing things the cowboy way. For saving the damsels. Even when they didn't want it." She glanced at her family. "This is going to be hard. But it's going to be better."
X's and O's (Will Kilpatrick, DVM Mystery Series Book 1) Page 31