Unleashed

by Nancy Holder

  “We should check you for rabies. And the dog will have to go into quarantine.”

  Uh-oh. Her lie was becoming a little too complicated.

  “Uh, he ran off,” she said nervously.

  “And nobody caught it? Or volunteered to take you to the clinic?” he asked, eyes clouding over in anger.

  “I didn’t want to make a fuss, so I didn’t let on how bad it was,” she said.

  He closed his eyes and shook his head, as if at the stupidity of it all. Another blow for emancipation.

  “Next time, you holler your lungs out when you need a doctor.”

  “Okay,” she promised.

  “Let’s go. We’ll take you in and have you checked out good.”

  “Thank you,” she said, hurrying to stand up. “I’ll go change.”

  “Sweats are good enough for the hospital,” he said.

  She followed him outside, trying not to limp too much. There was a Subaru Forester parked beside the truck. His friend’s, she decided.

  His dead friend’s.

  He opened the cab of the truck and paused, a strange look on his face. Her heart skipped a beat as she wondered what she’d forgotten. Then he pulled the tire iron out of the cab, where she’d left it.

  She sagged in relief. “I got a flat and had to change it before I … we drove home. I forgot to throw that in the back.”

  He put it away and then they both got in the truck and started down the mountain.

  “Your daddy teach you to change your own tires?” he asked, looking pleased.

  She didn’t have the heart to remind him that her dad had died long before she would have wanted to know how.

  “Yes,” she said. It was the most innocuous lie she had told that morning.

  “That’s nice.” His voice sounded far away. “Hold on just a little longer, Katie. We’re almost there.”

  The “hospital” was a tiny clinic that was open 24/7. She wondered if it was where her grandfather’s friend had died. Fortunately there wasn’t a long wait. She was relieved, and embarrassed by herself for it, that the doctor who examined her had a Boston accent. In her less charitable moods she had imagined that the local doctors probably doubled as veterinarians.

  “Well, you do have a mild concussion, but it looks like you’ll be just fine,” he said at last. “You can go to sleep when you get home.”

  “What about the bite?” Ed asked, voice tight.

  The doctor frowned at it. “Definitely looks like some kind of canine dentition. Teeth,” he added.

  She stiffened. She hadn’t thought the doctor would be examining the wound in that much detail. She’d said it was a dog. Why was he checking it out like that?

  “I’m going to clean it up a bit more and it looks like you need some stitches. We can do the rabies treatment just to be on the safe side.”

  “Let’s do it,” Ed said.

  The doctor nodded and got to work. He examined the wound again and Katelyn worked hard not to scream.

  “Sorry,” he said. “Let me numb it.” He very gently injected something into the jagged skin. Once he was sure she couldn’t feel anything, he sewed it up and covered it with a large bandage.

  “Now for the rabies,” he said. “One shot in the arm, and one in the tush. You’ll have to come back three more times.”

  “Oh, joy,” she grumbled. She hated shots.

  “It’s better than rabies,” the doctor replied.

  Katelyn was grateful when they were back in the truck and relieved that she’d been patched up. She experimentally touched her calf, but it was still numb. She’d sworn off painkillers, but she supposed they were okay as long as they didn’t make her loopy.

  “You okay?” Ed asked.

  “Yes, thank you,” she said. “I really appreciate you taking me.” Exhaustion was setting in and it made her tear up a little.

  “Of course. I wasn’t about to risk the health of my grandchild, not for anything.”

  It was a nice thing to say and she believed he really meant it. It made her feel worse about lying to him, but she knew she couldn’t tell him the truth.

  “Why didn’t Trick look out for you?” he asked suddenly.

  “Oh, um.” She flushed. She really didn’t want to talk about it but couldn’t figure a way out. “He wasn’t there when it happened. He’s mad at me at the moment.”

  “Why?”

  I wish I knew, she thought, frustration building in her at the memory.

  “It’s guy stuff,” she said, hoping that he would get the clue to let it go. Apparently, though, that was the wrong thing to say.

  “What did he do?” His voice was low and dead serious.

  She didn’t know how to explain his behavior, and even if she could, her grandfather wasn’t the person she wanted to discuss it with. “He didn’t do anything.”

  Her grandfather’s voice rose. “Did he try to make you do something?”

  She flushed, embarrassed at the implication. “No, it was nothing like that. He was just mad because I—I talked to Justin Fenner. He doesn’t like him.” She had no idea why she’d said that. It was the first thing that had come to mind.

  Ed relaxed only slightly. “Trick’s got pretty good instincts about people.”

  “I think he’s just jealous.” Great. Now she was dying of embarrassment in front of her grandfather on top of the deep mortification she felt every time she thought of Trick.

  Ed chuckled. “Is this the point where you tell your grandpa to butt out?”

  “Yes, actually,” she said with relief.

  They drove along. Halloween decorations were going up everywhere in the cute little town. She could almost imagine that they were in Sleepy Hollow, and the headless horseman was waiting at that metal bridge to carry off Ichabod Crane.

  “Okay, I’ll butt out, so long as you promise me that if any of those boys does anything out of line, you tell me so I can beat ’em within an inch of their life.”

  “O-okay,” she said, not sure she wanted to see what that would look like.

  He patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, honey. There’s nothin’ dumber on the face of this earth than a teenage boy. They do grow out of it, eventually. The ones who live long enough.”

  “Thanks,” she said.

  She couldn’t help wondering what kind of advice her dad would have offered her about boys if he’d had the chance.

  She leaned her head back and sneaked a peek at her grandfather. She had never known her grandmother and she began to wonder what she had been like. What was their story? She knew her mom and dad’s—met at a ballet performance of The Sleeping Beauty one Christmas at the Paris Opera, got married, came back to California together. Giselle had stopped dancing when she’d found out she was pregnant with Katelyn.

  “Can I ask you something?” she asked cautiously.

  “Sure.”

  “What was Grandma like?”

  His features softened and he smiled a little. “She was a kind, warm, generous woman. She laughed at everything, especially me. She always told me I took myself too seriously. Family was everything to her; fiercely loyal she was. You hurt one of hers and she was like a mama grizzly. Watch out.”

  “I wish I’d known her,” Katelyn murmured.

  “I’d give everything I own if you could have,” he said, voice fierce.

  “You know, I’ve never even met my other grandparents,” she said. “The ones in France.” It had always seemed weird to her.

  “I guess family doesn’t mean quite the same to your mom’s folks as it does to us.”

  She glanced sharply at him, wondering if somewhere in there was a criticism of her mom. It was true, though. Her mom had liked small, intimate. Her father had always liked large and boisterous. Could that be why after Dad had died, they never saw Ed? Had her mom not wanted the contact because to her only her immediate family mattered?

  Katelyn had always assumed it was Ed who was keeping his distance from them. Could it have been the ot
her way around?

  “How come you never came to see us after Dad died?” she asked before she could stop herself.

  Ed swore and swerved, the brakes squealing.

  11

  It happened so fast.

  Katelyn faced forward in alarm as her grandfather slammed on the brakes. A child—just a toddler—was running across the road with a red balloon in her fist, unaware of the oncoming truck. For a moment everything seemed to telescope, and she could see every freckle on the little girl’s face.

  “We’re going to hit her!” she screamed.

  There was a loud droning to her right; as the truck skidded, the droning became a roar. A motorcycle shot across the road in front of them. The rider leaped off, tackled the little girl, and rolled with her to the side.

  “Oh, my God!” Katelyn shouted.

  With the truck under his firm control, Ed stopped just as the bumper tapped the motorcycle. Katelyn pushed open the door and climbed down, limping to rider and child. The girl was screaming. She’d let go of the balloon in her hand and the rider was holding her up and checking her for injuries. The rider’s helmet was still on, and he turned and looked up at Katelyn.

  Though she couldn’t see his face, she knew at once that it was Justin. Her heart stuttered. He’d just saved that little girl.

  “Where the hell are her parents?” Justin growled as the girl batted at him.

  People poked their heads out of the shops and Justin gave a wave to show everyone he was okay. Ed came up next to her and after a moment took the child from Justin.

  “You need help?” Ed asked.

  “I’m good, I’m good,” Justin replied as he unbuckled his helmet and took it off.

  “Maybe her mama’s in the drugstore,” Ed said, carrying the little girl across the street.

  Still crouched on the ground, Justin gazed up at Katelyn. His eyes were even bluer than she remembered. His face, unshaven. She knew how soft his lips were, what they tasted like. What he felt like.

  “Kat,” he said huskily.

  She stiffened, amazed by her reaction to him. He had a girlfriend, and yet she still wanted to bend down and kiss him.

  “Help me up?” he asked, holding out a gloved hand.

  She was afraid to touch him, afraid of what she would do, but she stretched out her hand. He got up on his own and she dropped her arm to the side.

  “Are you hurt?” she asked, aware of the people walking toward them.

  He stood still, holding her wrist. “In a way. I should have told you.” He flushed. “Not even. I shouldn’t have touched you.”

  He was talking about kissing her.

  She swallowed hard, pulse skittering at the memory. “What you did was wrong.”

  “I didn’t mean to do it,” he replied, gazing at her, taking in every inch of her face as if it were water and he had been dying of thirst. “Don’t you feel it? A connection between us?”

  Her mouth went dry and all she could do was stare at him. It wasn’t just her. He felt it, too.

  “Okay, got the girl taken care of,” Ed announced, jogging over to them. “Her mama was in the store, didn’t realize she was gone. She’s coming out to thank you.”

  “I’m glad you have such great reflexes,” Justin said to him as Ed helped him pick up his bike.

  “Runs in the family. And Katie here thought she got her speed and grace from her mama,” he joked.

  She closed her eyes as her head suddenly began to pound. Maybe it was all the crazy drugs in her system. Maybe it was the exhaustion from not sleeping. Maybe it was the fear culminating in the latest near accident.

  Or maybe it was being around Justin.

  “A few scratches,” Ed said, looking at the fender of the motorcycle.

  “I can polish those out,” Justin said.

  Katelyn’s head felt as if it were about to explode. She pressed her fingertips against her forehead.

  “I have a headache,” Katelyn said. “A bad one.”

  Ed frowned. “I’ll take you back to the clinic.”

  “No. If you just have something I could take …” she said. “Something like aspirin.”

  He grunted. “I don’t have anything in the truck. I’ll go back into the store and get you something. How about you go sit down?”

  “Okay.”

  As Ed walked away, Justin frowned anxiously at Katelyn.

  “Clinic?” he said.

  “Yeah, I had a little accident. Nothing big.”

  Then she walked back to the truck and climbed in. Justin stood there looking at her as people milled around. The throbbing in her head had a rhythm, like music. And even when she closed her eyes, she felt as if she could see the sun through her eyelids. A rap on her window startled her, and she opened her eyes to see Justin, peering in at her, looking troubled.

  She rolled down the window.

  “Hey,” he said. “Are you okay? You’re so pale.”

  “Killer headache,” she said, her voice loud to her ears.

  “Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “We need to talk.”

  “No, we don’t,” she said icily.

  “Kat, listen, please. I didn’t come to your house to do … what I did.” Color rose in his cheeks and he winced, then sighed. “I just wanted to see you. I swear it.”

  She looked down, angry and embarrassed. He reached in and touched her hair, so gently and softly she wasn’t certain he’d actually done it.

  “Lucy and I … we’ve been together a long time.”

  She tried to speak but only succeeded in coughing. She didn’t want to hear about Lucy.

  “But if I had a choice,” he said, “then I would …” He took a breath and looked at her straight on, all hesitation dropped. “I would do more of what I did. With you.”

  She wanted to say something snide. She wanted to douse the heat his words ignited. It frightened her, the passion he aroused in her.

  “Kat,” he whispered. “Please say something.”

  “You really don’t have to explain this to me,” she finally managed to croak out.

  There was a long pause. She looked up at him. He was staring down at her with such longing that she had to catch her breath.

  He seemed as if he was about to say something, but then he looked past her. His eyes widened and he muttered something she couldn’t hear. Then he waved. “Hey, buddy. Hey, Jesse,” he called.

  Her head still throbbing, Katelyn looked in the direction of the store entrance, to see Justin’s brother walking with a girl she didn’t know. The girl had caramel-colored hair in a tight, thin ponytail and she was wearing a white tailored shirt and super-skinny jeans. Beaming, Jesse was carefully clutching an ice cream cone in his fist. The girl was looking at Justin, nervously touching her hair.

  “Pretty lady!” Jesse shouted, jabbing his cone at Katelyn.

  The girl cupped her hands around the scoop of ice cream in case it fell. She said something to Jesse and he stared down at his treat, then carefully cupped his free hand around it. He looked back at her, beaming when she smiled and nodded at him.

  Together they crossed to the truck, the girl eyeing Katelyn. Justin tensed, and Katelyn nearly did a forehead smack against the dash. She felt anger, jealousy, humiliation, and guilt all in the span of a moment as she realized that this was Lucy.

  “Hey, we heard about the commotion,” the girl said in a much twangier voice than Katelyn had heard so far. She gave Justin a kiss, and he kissed her back, but it was clear he was upset about something. “You’re okay, right, sugar?”

  “Right as rain,” Justin said, voice wary. “I slid my bike, but nothing’s broken.”

  “We were in the back of the pharmacy,” she said, playing with her ponytail. “Didn’t hear a thing.”

  “We saw LaRue,” Jesse told Kat. “I have to pet LaRue softly, softly. Don’t wanna squish him! This is Lucy. She’s my sister.”

  Lucy smiled. “Not yet, honey. We’re not that Southern.”

  Katelyn made herself smi
le at the pretty young woman. “Hi. I’m Kat.”

  “A pleasure, Kat,” Lucy said.

  “We don’t kiss strangers,” Jesse said, looking from Lucy to Katelyn. “Only family.”

  “That’s right, baby.” Lucy patted Jesse on the arm.

  “I kissed Kat. Justin wanted to.”

  Katelyn felt herself blushing furiously and had no idea what to say.

  “Oh?” A hard, appraising glint sparked in Lucy’s hazel eyes and she laced her arm through Justin’s. “Jesse mentioned that someone new had come by the house.”

  “My pills were all gone,” Jesse said, interrupting. “We need the pills or it’s bad.” He pushed past Lucy and Justin and stuck his head through the open window to kiss Katelyn on the cheek. “Not a stranger.”

  Katelyn smiled at him, but the way her head hurt, his kiss felt almost like a slap.

  “Lucy got me ice cream,” Jesse announced.

  “I see,” Katelyn said, massaging the back of her neck as Jesse’s ice cream threatened to fall off the cone and splat against the side of the truck.

  “Kat’s pretty,” he told Justin.

  Justin smiled. “Yes, she is.”

  Katelyn bit her lip and looked away, not trusting herself at the moment.

  “We didn’t have my pills,” Jesse said again.

  “We should have had plenty,” Justin replied edgily, looking at Lucy.

  Lucy gave her head a little shake. “I looked everywhere. No one else was home. I had to come to town to get the prescription filled. So I brought him with me.”

  Jesse broke into a huge smile. “I got to see LaRue.”

  “Hey, buddy,” Justin asked in a very friendly way, “did you hide your pills? So you could see LaRue?”

  “I have to go home,” Jesse announced. “I’m supposed to stay home. People might see—”

  “I’ll take him,” Justin cut in.

  “I’ve got a highlight in an hour and then I’m done. I’m a hairstylist,” Lucy added to Katelyn. “You should come by. I could do wonders with that hair.”

  No claws on this one, Katelyn thought sarcastically. “Thanks,” she said.

  Ed emerged from the store and Katelyn had never been so happy to see him. She was ready to go home and escape the awkwardness that was happening around her.