by Carol Finch
“R and R agrees with you,” she said, ignoring the grumble in his voice. She turned to Millie, her cheery smile still intact. “I bought you a new shopping cart. One with a padded handle. I think you’ve gotten your fifty thousand miles out of the wheels on the old one.” She gestured toward the hardware store. “It’s over there, Millie, all charged up and ready to go.”
Nate blinked in amazement when he saw the expensive motorized cart with its cushioned seat and metal basket attached to the padded handlebars. Judging from the astonished look on Millie’s face, she was delighted with the unexpected gift.
Nate wished he had thought of it.
“Oh, my gawd!” Millie wheezed. “That’s for me?”
“Yes,” Katy affirmed. “You can tool around town and turn on a dime. No more pushing a cart. It’s time you started riding in one.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Millie whispered, tears spilling from her eyes.
“A thank-you will do just fine, Millie. And my thanks to you for being Nate’s guardian angel all those years. I’m grateful that you were there to keep an eye on him.”
Once Katy showed Millie how to operate her newfangled cart, the old woman zigged and zagged through the crowd, giggling in delight while Mary Jane galumphed alongside her.
“That was really nice of you,” Nate murmured, then squirmed uncomfortably. “Er…the reason I called last night—”
“Well, look who showed up to spoil the day. It’s No-Account Nate, the cripple.”
Nate gripped the armrests of his chair, willfully restraining his temper. But it was damn hard when Lester Brown and his shadow, John Jessup, strode up to smirk down at him.
To Nate, it seemed the world had screeched to a halt, and then time spun backward. Sitting in this wheelchair represented all the seething frustration and vulnerability Nate had experienced as a teenager. Suddenly, he was right back where he started.
“When are you going to catch a clue, Channing?” Lester taunted in a loud voice, calling plenty of attention to himself. “Nobody wants you here. Go crawl back to whichever rock you slithered out from under.”
Folks stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at Nate. Those suspicious, unwelcoming glances that eroded his pride and confidence came again. Nate hated being the center of condemnation. He was damn sick of this. Sick of this unforgiving town. He should never have let Millie and Mary Jane drag him here.
“Let’s go, Katy,” Nate muttered.
When she tried to push the wheelchair past Brown and Jessup, the men blocked her path.
“This is your last warning, Mr. Drug Lord,” Lester jeered hatefully. “Turn your wheelchair around and roll out of town.”
“That’s it!” Katy burst out. “I have had it with the two of you!”
When she stamped around the side of his chair, Nate clamped hold of her arm. This was exactly what he was afraid would happen eventually. Katy was trying to come to bat for him in front of a crowd. Her name would be forever linked and dragged down with his bad reputation, his bad breeding. She would become as much an outcast as he was.
“Katy, don’t—” Nate winced in pain when she jerked loose from his grasp.
“Sorry, Nate,” she apologized, but her attention was riveted on Lester, John and the crowd that was closing in around them. “It’s time this nonsense stopped, and I intend to put a stop to it.”
To Nate’s astounded disbelief, Katy elbowed her way between Lester and John, then stamped toward the stage. She jerked the microphone from the stand and held it in her hand. Electrical equipment squealed and squawked, drawing undivided attention to the plywood stage that had been erected in front of Coyote Fountain.
“I have something to say to everyone in Coyote Flats,” Katy announced huffily. “I have watched the whole blessed bunch of you let Lester Brown and his sidekick speak for you, think for you. Since when do good and decent folks take the word of a man who has done absolutely nothing for this community?”
“Katy, stop!” Nate shouted at her. He had a very bad feeling about this. She was going to have gossipers tongue-wagging from both ends if she continued this public outburst in his defense. Damn it, if he could walk he would have stormed onto the stage, dragged her off of it and spirited her away.
“Stop?” She laughed bitterly. “No way, Nate. I’m not going to stop until I’ve had my say. This festival isn’t going to proceed until I’m finished, either.”
Katy’s gaze swept over the crowd. “For two months Nate Channing has done one good deed after another to improve this community. He has donated his time, labor and money to repairing homes, tidying up empty lots and helping those who need a helping hand. In return, he has been treated like an outcast. But the plain and simple fact is that Nate Channing came back to town to offer this community the economical boost it desperately needs.”
Nate knew what was coming next. Katy planned to spill the beans about who owned Sunrise Oil. “Katy, wait!” he called out as he rolled himself toward the stage.
“You have seen the signs posted at the construction site outside of town,” she continued. “The property belongs to Sunrise Oil Company. What you don’t know is that Nate Channing owns and operates Sunrise Oil.”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Nate felt a sea of gazes roll toward him. Well, hell!
“That’s right,” Katy confirmed. “It was Nate Channing who donated the computers to the school for your children. He also donated tables, chairs and computers to the library. I recently learned from his secretary that he has purchased permanent flag holders and plaques to be placed in the cemetery, honoring our war veterans. He also purchased Christmas decorations and hundreds of strings of lights so we can celebrate the holiday season in style by setting up spectacular light displays in the park and the town square. All these generous contributions were offered to bring pride in the community and economic growth to people who have looked upon Nate with suspicion and mistrust.
“If any one of you would have encountered the same obstacles Nate Channing faced, when he tried to give something back to his hometown, you would have thrown up your hands and left town weeks ago,” Katy thundered. “But did Nate quit on you? No, he kept working to better this community. He has already put five young boys to work and taught them to give of their time and effort to improving their community. He has become the stand-up role model who has taught his young charges to take pride in themselves, to live up to their potential.”
Hundreds of gazes swung to Nate, then bounced back to Katy.
“He plans to open the branch office for his oil company here and staff it with people from his hometown. He could have constructed those offices anywhere. But he chose to do it here. God knows why, since this town hasn’t given him the slightest respect or encouragement. Yet, Nate is determined to increase family incomes and see that this town prospers. There will be more opportunity for job advancement and more money in our pockets because of Nate Channing’s generosity.”
Nate sat there in his wheelchair, staring at Katy with a sense of amazement. It suddenly dawned on him that she had come an incredibly long way these past two months. The first time he’d seen her she couldn’t make eye contact with him. She barely spoke above a whisper for fear of calling attention to herself, and she downplayed her femininity. Yet, here she was, a microphone in one hand, waving wildly with the other, and reading the citizens of Coyote Flats every last paragraph of the riot act.
Whew! She was blasting away at folks with both barrels—on his behalf. She scolded folks as if they were naughty children for doubting his acts of kindness and generosity, for believing Lester’s propaganda about Nate’s drug activities.
“And you, Lester Brown, you have deceived us by blackening Nate Channing’s name and reputation,” Katy blustered. “Actually, you are the one who has been trafficking drugs and stashing the illegal substances in your barn and then dispensing them throughout Texas!”
A tidal wave of gasps swept through the crowd.
Nate’s mouth dropped open as he swiveled in his chair to see the color drain from Lester’s ruddy face.
Silence descended when Sheriff Peterson, retired Sheriff Fuzz Havern and three special agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency strode forward to read Lester his rights. He was cuffed and led away, while John Jessup received his Miranda warning for being an accomplice in drug trafficking. Nate was still trying to shut his sagging mouth when Jessup was bustled away and stuffed into a patrol car.
All eyes, Nate’s included, swung back to the stage where Katy stood in all her oratorical splendor and glory.
“It is time Nate Channing had his day,” Katy declared. “It is time we opened our hearts and our minds to this kind, generous man. We, the citizens of this community, let ourselves be taken in by scheming criminals. We allowed the worst elements in society to do our thinking and to turn us against the one man who came here to make a difference, to help us improve our lives. Incomes generated from Sunrise Oil promise the dawn of a new day for this town. We have a chance to make a new beginning and look to a progressive future.”
Katy paused, then stared at the crowd for a long moment. “And do you know why Nate Channing has worked tirelessly for this community? Well, I’ll be happy to tell you why. Because he wanted to give every last person in Coyote Flats something you weren’t willing to give him. A second chance.”
Nate swore a feather could have dropped on the street and it would have sounded like a nuclear bomb. The crowd gathered in a semicircle around him. He could feel them inching closer, feel their gazes zero in on him. But Nate’s absolute attention was transfixed on the woman standing at center stage in that yellow dress that complimented her complexion and her shapely figure. All the love and pride and affection Katy felt for him was radiating from her face, from her eyes.
“Don’t you think a man who has given so much, who has dedicated himself to giving even more to this community, deserves a second chance? Nate Channing gave me a second chance in life. I had all but given up on myself until he showed up. I owe him the greatest of favors, and so do the rest of you. If Nate Channing isn’t the Citizen of the Year, maybe of the decade, then I don’t know who is!”
Then suddenly, Nate couldn’t see Katy, because the citizens of Coyote Flats swarmed around him. Hands thrust forward in greeting. Heartfelt apologies flowed like a roaring river bursting through a dam. Thank-yous flooded from smiling lips. People patted him on the shoulder and inquired about the extent of his injuries.
They came in droves, young and old alike.
When Alice Phelps approached, she flung her arms around Nate’s neck and hugged the stuffing out of him, apologizing profusely for not being neighborly. Alice set a precedent and Nate found himself hugged and kissed on the cheek about a hundred times the next half hour.
People lined up on the sidewalk, waiting their turn to express appreciation for his generosity. For the first time in Nate’s life he actually felt as if he belonged in this town. He was being treated with the kind of respect and friendship he thought he’d never get.
And all because Katy had stood up for him, refused to let the misinformed citizens defeat him. No one had ever stood up for him like that. Oh, certainly, Fuzz and Bud had instructed and guided him, but Katy Bates had taken on the entire town for him!
Nate received so many dinner invitations that he wouldn’t have to eat at home until Thanksgiving. And damned if Nate didn’t think it was a grand idea to name every festivity and business establishment after the town’s namesake. In fact, he was feeling so good he wanted to throw back his head and howl with the coyotes.
When the receiving line dwindled down and folks wandered off to enjoy the food and craft booths, Nate saw Fuzz Havern ambling toward him.
“My, my, aren’t you the celebrity around here,” Fuzz said, chuckling.
“Thanks to Katy.” Nate craned his neck in an effort to locate Katy. He knew he was still wearing a stupid smile that was a combination of pride, relief and immeasurable pleasure. “Where is Katy, anyway?”
“Aw, you know Katy,” Fuzz said, then shrugged. “She’s always working behind the scenes during events like this. While everybody else is wandering around, enjoying themselves, she is serving the community in whatever capacity she’s needed.”
Nate frowned curiously as Fuzz rolled him down the sidewalk to purchase lemonade from one of the food booths. “How did you find out that Lester was storing and distributing drugs?”
“I didn’t,” Fuzz replied. “Katy did.”
Nate’s eyebrows jackknifed. “Katy?”
“Yup. The superhero herself. Still blows my mind to think she is the same reclusive woman who slunk around here the past few years. You worked a miracle on her.” Fuzz stopped to buy Nate and himself a drink, then he took a long sip. “Mmm, nothing better than fresh-squeezed lemonade.”
“Nothing better,” Nate agreed. “Now, you were about to tell me how Katy got involved in a drug bust.”
“She drove out to talk to Lester last night,” Fuzz reported. “She noticed some suspicious activity going on in Lester’s barn. Hay bales were being delivered and unloaded, then the trucks drove off without flicking on the headlights. It made her suspicious, so she hiked across the pasture to investigate. Then she gave me a call to come take a look at what she had stumbled onto.”
“So that’s where you rushed off to last night,” Nate guessed.
Fuzz nodded his buzzed head. “When I got to the barn, Katy and I clipped open a couple of hay bales. We found plastic sacks filled with all sorts of illegal substances. I called Sheriff Peterson, who contacted the DEA. This morning, while Lester made his usual trip to the café, we took a search warrant with us and seized possession of the stash. We also searched Lester’s house and found smaller sacks of the drugs that he was preparing for distribution. Then we searched Jessup’s home and vehicle and we found another stash of illegal substances.”
“I’m surprised Lester didn’t claim I had set him up to take the fall,” Nate muttered, then sipped his lemonade.
“Yeah, Katy was worried about that, so she decided to kill two birds with one stone by socking it to the folks of Coyote Flats to let them know how badly they had misjudged you and simultaneously lowering the boom on Lester. The poor bastard was so shocked to learn that his illegal activities had been discovered that he didn’t have time to protest and hurl accusations at you.”
Fuzz grinned in supreme satisfaction. “Ole Lester was too busy listening to the reading of his rights and watching me cuff him to think straight. I think it’s fitting that Lester and his worthless son are going to be reunited…in prison. Good place for the both of them, in my opinion.”
Nate decided it was very fitting that the son who set him up sixteen years ago, and the father who had been giving Nate grief since he returned, got exactly what they deserved. Maybe there was justice somewhere in this world. For a while there, Nate had just about given up on truth, justice and the good old American way.
He had also given up on himself and this town.
But Katy, like a fairy princess, had waved her magic wand and made everything turn out right….
And she claimed that Nate didn’t trust her enough to take command of a difficult situation….
Nate winced uneasily when he realized Katy had been right about him. For years he had depended solely upon himself and expected nothing from no one. He was afraid to put complete faith in Katy, didn’t think she could assume command of his business dealings without botching up. He had been so busy trying to protect her that he hadn’t stopped to realize that she had become the epitome of capability and reliability—his equal in every arena.
Damn, thought Nate, he had some serious apologizing to do. He glanced around, but still he saw neither hide nor hair of Katy. Apparently, Wonder Woman’s mission was finished here, so she had sailed off on her next crusade.
“Fuzz, I have a favor to ask,” Nate said abruptly.
“Ask away,” Fuzz replied.
&nb
sp; When Nate pointed to one of the stores on Main Street, Fuzz chuckled in amusement. “Fasten your seat belt, son,” he said as he took control of the wheelchair. “We’re going to see how fast this chair can fly without mowing down half the citizens in Coyote Flats. Hot damn, this is turning out to be one hell of a day!”
Chapter Fifteen
Katy was totally exhausted by the time she came down from her adrenaline high and completed all her duties for the spring festival. After a week of nonstop activity, she wanted nothing more than to soak in a bubble bath, then fall into bed and wake up a week from Saturday. She had accomplished her purpose at the Festival of the Coyote. She had given her rousing speech to restore Nate’s reputation, and she had seen to it that Lester and John had received their just desserts.
Of course, next week was going to be every bit as busy and hectic, she reminded herself. She still had several duties to attend, more arrangements to make. She was also going to have to squeeze in time to pack up her belongings and move out of this house—her father’s monument to propriety, wealth and prestige. But it was right and fitting, Katy mused as she peeled off her clothes and sank into the steamy bath.
Katy had only enjoyed five minutes of peaceful solitude when someone rapped soundly on the door.
“Aunt Katy?”
Ah, would the day ever come when she could take a relaxing bath without interruption? “What is it, Tammy?”
“I talked to Daddy a while ago, and he said your idea sounded super to him. He said all systems are go. We can move whenever we want, and he’ll be back next weekend to help.”
“How are things going for James in China?” Katy called out.
“Daddy says things are going so well that he can leave a day early and fly to Washington, D.C., to wrap up the negotiations, then be back here for a few days of vacation. He wants to take me to Dallas on a shopping spree if we can fit it into our moving schedule. Can I go?”
Katy smiled in satisfaction. Her brother must have taken part of her lecture to heart. James was making an effort to spend quality time with Tammy.