A Long from the Girl Next Door: The Caldwells of Rebel Creek Book 2

by T M Morris

  Milford sounded as if he was asking a silly question. He scanned the crowd. They all nodded or grunted. “All righty then, let’s get going. We’re wasting time standing here jawin’. I know it’s been a long time since we’ve had to do one of these, so I figured we needed a bit of a run through. Now, before we set off let’s have a prayer. He nodded to an older man that Lilly recognized as Tommy Meadows, Dusty’s father, and her dad’s best friend. “Tommy?”

  They all bowed their heads and listened to Tommy pray. Several added in an amen or two in different places. Once Tommy reached the end of his prayer, and they all said their last amen, they saddled up and took a point. Without another word, they set off. Sheriff Halfacre turned to Dusty and Lilly. “Why don’t you two let me and Calvin take the four wheelers and y’all go saddle up two of the horses?”

  Dusty nodded. “Seeing as how y’all don’t have either I don’t see a problem with it, do you, Lilly? Well, Sheriff, I guess she doesn’t since she’s already headed for the barn.” He turned to go himself, but the sheriff stopped him.

  “Dusty, you might want to take the rifles. We have our own.” Milford smiled.

  “Yes, sir.” Dusty pulled out the one closest to him from the scabbard and took the other from Calvin. “Hopefully this won’t take too long.”

  Calvin yawned. “I hope so. I haven’t slept since yesterday.”

  Milford snorted as he looked at his watch. “Ain’t none of us have, young’un. Let’s go.” He mounted the four wheeler. We’ll take the north-northwest point. That leaves you the north point.”

  “All right. I hope to hear from you soon.” Dusty turned away as the two engines roared to life.

  By the time he got to the barn, Lilly had a beautiful Palomino mare saddled and was walking a huge Quarter Horse into the aisle. “Who is he for?”

  “Why? Do you think you can’t handle him? He’s quite mild. I rode him the other day to exercise him. He’s a real sweetheart.”

  “I know Tank, and I know he’s a sweetheart. I was just wondering who you were planning to put on him.” Dusty flung the saddle over his back after Lilly smoothed the blanket over him.

  “We need to hurry. I’m worried about Dad. I’m sure Mom’s making herself sick over this.” Lilly pulled the cinch tight as she elbowed the gelding in the ribs causing him to let out the breath he was holding.

  ‘I see you haven’t forgotten your equestrian skills.”

  Lilly looked over Tank’s shoulder, only her eyes showing. “It’s not something you can forget. It’s like riding a bike. Besides you can rent horses from the equestrian center and ride around Central Park.”

  “Really? I didn’t know that.” Dusty lowered the stirrups. “Let’s get going. I’m sure we’re miles behind everyone else.

  Lilly didn’t respond. Instead, she gathered the mare’s reins and led her out of the barn. The other two horses whinnied as they passed their stalls. “Maybe next time, Pete.” She slowed enough to let the old bay gelding nuzzle her hand.

  Once outside she closed the barn and mounted. Looking over to Dusty as he settled into the saddle she said, “Let’s ride.” She clicked her tongue and took off at a trot.

  Dusty followed suit and easily caught up with her. They had ridden for a good forty-five minutes in companionable silence before he broke it by saying, “Do you have any speculations as to where he may have gone?”

  “No. I’m not sure where the herd is or if they are all in one group. I’ve been taking care of the chores close to the house. As far as I know, he may not even be checking on anything. He may have just wanted to go for a ride.”

  Dusty sniffed. “I would think that if Otter were going to go for a ride, he would have ridden one of the horses.”

  “You have a point. Can we stop for a minute and stretch? I may know what I’m doing, but I haven’t been in the saddle this long in forever.” She pulled Misty to a stop and dismounted. Holding the reins in one hand, she did a couple of squats and stretches.

  Dusty dismounted and stretched also. He wasn’t going to admit that he hadn’t been riding much at all in about as long as she had. He paused to watch her. She was very limber. He could just barely touch his toes, and here she was with her feet about four feet apart and touching the ground about two feet behind her. She moved her hands to one foot and looked up to see him watching.

  Lilly straightened. “What?”

  “Nothing. I’m just admiring how limber you are. I can barely touch my toes.” He was thankful for the light of the full moon, which had finally come out from behind the clouds, didn’t show his blush. He cleared his throat and turned to remount Tank. “We need to keep going.”

  Once Lilly was in the saddle, she asked brazenly, “Did you like what you saw?”

  Dusty coughed, spooking the horses which forced a pause. He didn’t want to blurt out yes, so he struggled to come up with another answer. Once they settled Tank and Misty, he cleared his throat gently. He didn’t know what to say.

  Lilly chuckled and teased. “Can’t find your tongue? That means you did, doesn’t it, Dusty?”

  “Doesn’t mean I can do anything about it.” He muttered hoping she didn’t hear him over the horses’ hooves clomping on the hard ground.

  Unfortunately for him, she heard him. “Why not?”

  He was silent for what seemed hours. Lilly sighed. “Never mind. It’s not like I expect you to like me. I’m your best friend’s little sister and that’s all I am. Your friend by default.”

  “Lilly, it’s not like that, and it is like that. You are my best friend’s little sister, and he made it plain that he didn’t like anyone looking in your direction for a girlfriend. I have too much respect for him to go against his wishes.”

  They allowed another long pause to mark their progress along the ridge line of the tallest hill on the farm. Finally, Lilly asked, “What do you want, Dusty?”

  “What do you mean?”

  She snorted. “Just what I asked. What do you want? What do you want between us?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Are you going to ask me what I want?”

  “I’m afraid to ask.”

  “Why?”

  Dusty sighed, but he gave no answer, at least not a spoken one. He thought he knew what he wanted. He wanted to be her friend, but he was spending most of his free time with her. For him, it was as if he was back in high school daydreaming about her. Once again she was invading his dreams. He knew what he wanted. He wanted her. It was twisting his insides so tight he could barely breathe. But Lilly was Erik’s little sister. She was off limits.

  Lilly asked, “Do you want to know what I want, or does it not matter?”

  “Lilly.” He said her name as if it were a plea for mercy.

  “I’m going to tell you whether you want to know or not. I want you to treat me like the twenty-six-year-old woman that I am and not like the fifteen-year-old I was. Erik doesn’t control you or me. I would like to think he would want us to be happy.”

  “Lilly.”

  “No, Dusty. We are adults. We can do what we want with our lives. We don’t need anyone’s permission, especially Erik’s.” She didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she dug her heels into her mare’s sides spurring her into a canter.

  Dusty kept his pace even though he had to hold the gelding back. Both he and the horse wanted to be with the girls, but Dusty wasn’t sure he was ready to deal with the emotional turmoil within him. He knew he wasn’t ready to deal with her. Eventually, Tank won out and caught up with the mare. They nickered at each other as if discussing their human’s behavior.

  For another hour they rode in uncomfortable silence making passes back and forth and up and down their section of North to Northeast. The moon had set, and there was just the slightest brightening of the eastern sky. Dusty pulled the reins taught stopping his horse short.

  Lilly reined in as well. “What is it?” She scanned the area and spotted the overturned four-wheeler. “Dad.” She trotted off in the
direction of the ATV searching the brush for her father.

  Dusty was fishing his phone out of his pocket as he rode at a slower pace. He first checked the GPS app for their coordinates then he called the sheriff. The sheriff was pleased to hear they had found him and headed in their direction. He would call off the rest of the searchers and call for life flight. He and Calvin were only about a mile maybe two away and would be there shortly.

  “Dad. Dad.” Lilly called. She stopped to listen. Nothing. She called again then waited. By the time she reached the ATV, she had called him several times with no response. She dismounted ten feet from her dad’s vehicle and walked around to the side that was on the ground.

  “Dusty. Come and help me. I think his leg is caught under this thing, and he’s unconscious. Probably in shock.”

  Dusty was beside her in seconds with the blankets and water. “Here cover him up.” He handed her the supplies and began to lift the machine. Lilly set the blankets down and leaned into it also. Together they managed to set it right on their first attempt.

  Lilly threw the blankets on her father and began chaffing his frigid hands. He was suffering from exposure. Thankfully, he hadn’t been a victim of coyotes while pinned underneath the ATV.

  “His leg is broken. It wasn’t trapped under the four-wheeler. I imagine he was in too much pain to move. Where’s his phone? Surely if he could have reached it, he would have called someone.” He searched all around the vehicle. It wasn’t quite light enough for him to see clearly but he kept looking. He decided to see what was in the pack strapped to the back of the machine. There was water, a carton of vaccines and syringes, a pistol and his phone. He waved the phone. “Here it is in his pack. He must not have been able to reach it.”

  “Dusty stop worrying about that and do some doctoring on Dad.”

  “I’m a vet.”

  “Basically it’s the same. I need your help.”

  He knelt beside her and checked Otter for a pulse. It was steady but weak. “Keep chafing his skin. We can’t get him to drink anything since he’s unconscious. They’ll be able to give him IV fluids when the paramedics get here. Let’s see.” Dusty went through his mental list of first aid he could barely remember from high school health class. He wasn’t bleeding, at least not visibly. He had a pulse. He was breathing. The only other problem he could see other than him being out cold was the broken leg. “I think we’re doing all we can for him.”

  They heard the rumblings of ATV engines almost as soon as they heard the beat of helicopter blades in the distance. Lilly sat on her heels. She patted her father on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Dad. Help is here. We’ll have you taken care of and to the hospital in no time. We get you all patched up.”

  Sheriff Halfacre cut the engine of his ride and dismounted. “How’s he doing? Calvin go find a flat spot where they can land.” He turned from the deputy and strode over to the small group. “Is he alive?”

  “Yes, sir.” Dusty nodded. “He’s unconscious, and we’ve not been able to wake him. His pulse is weak, and he has a broken leg. He couldn’t call because his phone was in his pack on the rack behind the seat. I’m guessing he couldn’t reach it and was in too much pain to move closer. He must have lost balance here on this hill and tried to correct it, but it was too far over, or his leg snapped. I can’t tell you which happened first. He’ll be able to tell us when he’s awake.”

  Milford nodded. “That’s a pretty good estimation if you ask me. Look here. The paramedics are here. Make way. Lilly, you need to get up.”

  The whole time Dusty and the sheriff were talking Lilly continued to rub her father’s hands and talk to him. She told him he was going to be okay and that she loved him. She scolded him for not waking up and fussing at her for bothering him while he slept. She begged him to wake up. The sheriff lifted her by the underarms and pulled her away so the medics could move in. “Come on, Lilly. Let the professionals do their job.”

  She stood nearby wringing her hands. Dusty stood close beside her. He was so close to her, she could feel the heat radiating from him. If she weren’t oblivious to everything, but what they were doing to her dad she may have found comfort in his nearness. They had him hooked up to an IV, and they had his leg splinted. In no time, they were putting him on a stretcher to carry to the helicopter. “Lilly,” Sheriff Halfacre took her ice-cold hand in his. “Lilly, you go with them, and we’ll take care of everything here, okay?”

  She looked at him dully. “There aren't enough people to ride everything back to the house.”

  “Don’t worry none, honey. We can take care of it. Your horse can follow behind Dusty. We’ll take it all back to the house and take care of the horses. I’m sure Dusty will be willing to take care of feeding the horses and calves. Won’t you Dusty?” Sheriff Halfacre looked pointedly at him.

  “Of course I will. Lilly, give me your keys so I can get into the feed shed and into the house to put the rifles up.”

  She nodded dully and fished them out of her pocket. The sheriff took her by the elbow and led her to the helicopter where the paramedics were lifting Otter into it. By the time they were off the ground and headed toward the hospital the three men left on the ground were mounted and headed for the barn.

  Chapter Ten

  “Miss Caldwell?” Lilly felt someone tapping her on the shoulder. “Miss Caldwell?” She bolted upright from the fetal position she managed to get into in the chair where she waited for her father’s surgeon to come and tell her how her father was doing after the surgery. She’d waited for what seemed a long, long time.

  “Yes. What? How’s my dad? She rubbed her burning eyes as she stood.

  “He’s fine. His leg will mend in time, and the scans of his head are clear, and he doesn’t have any internal bleeding. His body probably decided the best way to cope with the pain was to be unconscious. Lucky for him the weather has been so mild for this time of year and not under freezing most nights like it’s supposed to be. Otherwise, he would have frozen to death long before you found him.”

  She nodded. “Thank you, sir. Thank you for taking care of him. Is he in a room now?”

  “He’s still in recovery. Someone will be out to tell you what room they will move him to.” He smiled, and as he turned to go, he said, “Take care.”

  “You too. Thanks again.”

  “Hey.”

  She squeaked and jerked into her normal stance. “Hey, Dusty.” She hugged him. He felt solid and strong. He smelled of hay and sunshine. She mumbled into his shirt. “Thank you.”

  He held her close and rested his chin on top of her head. “Any news?” He asked.

  Not wanting to let go of him she slid her hands down his back and clasped them together at his waist. She turned her head to the side and sighed. She heard the strong beat of his heart. “He’s in recovery now. They say he’ll be just fine once he heals up. His hard head is just fine, too. The surgeon said he was probably unconscious because of the pain. They’ll let us know when they move him to a room.”

  They stepped apart as Dusty said, “I was thinking of going to see Miss Addie. Or, would you rather I wait with you?”

  “I haven’t been up there yet. I was waiting for Dad to get out of surgery. If you don’t mind, will you go and see Mama? Tell her Dad’s going to be okay.”

  She looked up at him. He backed a few more steps away from her. “I’ll stay with Miss Addie. You come up when Otter gets settled, okay?”

  She nodded as she watched him walk away. Once the doors closed, separating the surgical waiting room from the hall, she returned to her seat and promptly fell back to sleep.

  Dusty shook his head and cursed under his breath. The way she looked at him filled him with an incredible need to kiss her. He had to keep his focus on her as a friend, Erik’s sister, nothing more.

  He cursed again as he stepped into the elevator. Who was he trying to fool? She was never just a friend. Lilly Caldwell was his heart; not that he would admit it even to himself.

 
Chapter Eleven

  Dusty slipped into Miss Addie’s room with an armload of flowers. “Miss Addie?” He called softly.

  “Dusty? Come on in, hon, what have you heard? Where’s Otter? Is he okay?” Miss Addie straightened up in the bed and smoothed the covers in an attempt to look presentable. She looked awful. Not only had the disease taken its toll on her but the last twenty-four hours of not knowing where her husband was or the state of his well-being had aged her several years.

  “He’s going to be fine, Miss Addie. I was just on the surgical floor talking to Lilly. She’ll be up here as soon as they move Otter into a room. He’s in recovery now.”

  “What did they have to do? Was he hurt badly?” Miss Addie began to get agitated. Her heart monitor began to buzz.

  ‘Settle down, Miss Addie.” An older nurse scurried in. “Sir, you don’t need to upset her. If you continue, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  “He’s not leaving until he tells me what’s happening with my husband.” Miss Addie’s voice rose with every word.

  “Miss Addie, please settle down.” The nurse said again as she tried to push Addie into a lying position.

  “Why don’t you let me tell her about Mr. Caldwell and then she’ll calm down.” Dusty wedged himself between the nurse and the bed. He turned to face Addie. “Miss Addie, Otter’s going to be just fine. They had to put a couple of pins and rods in his leg. He broke it up on the ridge to the north of the house. He hasn’t been awake long enough to tell us what exactly happened, but I figure he was going out there to vaccinate the herd. His pack had a box of vaccines and a box of syringes in it. The long and the short of it, Miss Addie is that he’s going to be fine.”

  Miss Addie’s heart monitor slowed and stopped pinging its alarm. She sighed. She turned to the nurse. “Do you think I could go down and see him once he’s in a room?”