“I don’t know yet, but there have been some problems around town with other large land tracts. I don’t want us to be caught with our pants down. Speaking of which, Mak is staying here for a while. Tell the boys to be respectful. No pissing out in the middle of a pasture if she’s around.”
“Got it.”
“Thanks, Roger. I’m heading out, but I have my cell if you need me.”
It had been about a half hour and Mitchell figured Kayla should be done with her coffee by now. He had just closed the side door when he caught part of her and Evan’s conversation.
“Evan, you know Thomas would like to see you.”
“I know, Kayla. I didn’t tell him where I was going or what I was doing when I left. I betrayed our friendship. Hell, all I’m supposed to say is that I work for the Federal Government.”
“He wouldn’t say anything.”
“You weren’t even supposed to know.”
“I didn’t until last night, but I did let it slip that you’re in town.”
“Hell, Kayla.”
“I didn’t know, Evan.”
“I know. Well, maybe you can invite ‘im over for a drink or something.”
“He’s going to ask why you aren’t helping today. I’ve got to tell him something.”
“Tell ‘im I had some paperwork to catch up on. That isn’t a lie. I do have some things to run down.”
“Hey,” Mitchell said to let them know he was in the doorway.
“Hey, yourself,” Kayla said as she flashed him her beautiful smile.
Mitchell kissed her on top of her head. “We need to get going so we can get this report filed then head to your folks’ place.” He turned his attention to Evan. “I have Roger and the guys looking into stuff around here. I told him I want to know about anything unusual they find.”
Evan nodded as Mitchell led Kayla out by the hand. He opened her door of the truck then gave her a soft kiss before he helped her in.
By the time he walked to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel, she was staring into space with her hands clenched in her lap. He took one of her hands in his. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she said.
He started the truck and drove even though he knew she had something on her mind. He hoped it wasn’t regret about this morning. “Talk to me.” There was a long silence. He made it to the end of the driveway before she cleared her throat. This had his attention. Since he was on alert for what was coming next, he put the truck in park to face her. The look in her eyes scared the shit out of him. He couldn’t let her go again. He’d tell her everything today, now. “Do I need to turn around so we can have this conversation in the house?”
She shrugged. “I don’t think so, but I do have some questions.”
“Mak. If we stay here, the guys will think there’s something wrong with my truck, and from the look in your eyes I don’t think this conversation will be over during the twenty minute drive into town. Let’s go back so we can talk without worrying about any interruptions.”
“Okay,” she said quietly.
Mitchell turned the truck around and drove back to the house. When they got out of the truck, Tom and Paul were saddling a couple of horses. They threw up a hand, but he waved them off. It was just their way of asking if all was good. He helped Kayla out of the truck and put his hand at the small of her back to guide her into the house. When they walked in, Evan came around the corner. He was getting ready to say something, but Mitchell shook his head. He turned and went back in the direction he came from.
“Let’s go to my room, sweetheart.”
They walked in silence down the hall. Mitchell closed the door and waited. She started pacing just as she had last night. This wasn’t a good sign. Apparently, it was going to be a long talk.
To help break the ice and maybe put his heart at ease a little, Mitchell asked, “Do you regret last night or this morning?”
She turned and stared wide-eyed at him. “No! Why would you think that?”
“The way you’re acting. Just ask me what you want to know. I love you, Mak. I’ll tell you everything. No secrets. That’s how we work.”
“We both know we’ve kept secrets, but I don’t want to anymore.”
“I agree.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Is it true the reason you and Sally ended things is because she was tired of being called ‘Mak’ in bed?”
Whoa! That wasn’t what he expected. Hell, he didn’t know what he expected to come out of her mouth, but that just cut right to the heart of everything. As he walked to the sofa, he ran his hands over his head and down his face. He sat with his forearms on his knees while he stared at the floor between his boots as he gathered his thoughts. “Who told you that?”
“Yesterday, Curtis made that comment, too.”
“I see. Curtis was just full of all kinds of information, wasn’t he?”
“Well?”
“Yes and no, Mak.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come over here and sit with me. I want to touch you while I explain. I need to touch you while I explain.”
“Mitch, you’re scaring me. Do you have a child with her?”
“God, no! You calm me as much as I calm you, sweetheart. Maybe we should’ve had this conversation in the truck.”
She hesitantly walked to him and sat close enough for Mitchell to hold her hand. He rubbed his thumb across her knuckles, and the feel of her skin was very fascinating at the moment. She wiggled her fingers to remind him she was waiting. “I don’t even know where to start with this story. I guess five years ago when you left is the best place.” He looked up into her eyes.
“This must be some story.”
“More like a full confession.”
“Oh.”
With all sincerity he began, “Please let me finish before you say anything. Once I start telling you, I don’t know if I can stop. I’m scared if I stop, I may not get it all out.”
“Okay.”
He was watching his thumb again. “Not long after you left, Evan did, too. I was miserable. So after he finished that first school they sent him to, he called to tell me he was assigned out west. You’d been gone for a couple months at this point, and we weren’t talking very often. He wanted me to meet him in Vegas. He said it’d cheer me up and help get my head out of my ass, but he was so wrong. It only made things worse.” He took a breath. She was looking directly at his eyes. “Anyway, the first night there we picked up a girl. Oh, God. Mak, you have to believe me on this. Shit! This is harder than I thought.” He dropped her hand, and it was his turn to pace. When he turned to see the look on her face, she was worried. He knew he couldn’t look at her when he told her this. He didn’t want to see the hurt he knew he would. “Um, we, um,” he stalled. “I’ve never shared a girl before. Evan thought it’d be a good idea since I hadn’t been with anyone but you. I was more than a little buzzed, so I agreed. I didn’t know how it was going to work. I figured Evan would fuck her, and I’d let her blow me. But somewhere along the line, things changed. She wanted both of us…at the same time.” He glanced at her, and thought her eyes were about to pop out of her head while her mouth was opened slightly. Pacing was the only way he could finish this. “Mak, I did it. I’m sorry. Apparently, I said your name when I came. Evan felt terrible afterwards. He told me if he ever doubted what I felt for you before, he didn’t anymore. He apologized and admitted it was a bad idea. I wore a rubber, Mak, and was tested a few months later. After that, I could never tell you how I felt. I didn’t deserve you. When I came home, I resigned myself to a life without you in it.
“A few months later, I ran into Sally. I told her up front that my heart belonged to one person and one person only. If she wanted to hang out and have some fun together, I was okay with that. I wasn’t looking for anything else. She said she was game. We had only been out a few times when you saw us at the bar that night. She must’ve seen you before I did because she never kissed me like that before o
r after. I think she was trying to send you a message. When I pulled away, I saw you. The look of horror on your face—that look has haunted me ever since. I never want to see that look again. I got drunk and had sex with her for the first time that night. I said your name. I felt terrible later. She said she understood, but said it better not happen again. I couldn’t promise her that. You’d been in my heart and head for so long, there was no way to get you out.” This time when he looked at her, there were tears in her eyes. She was remembering that night, too. “I only knew of you coming back into town once since then because you cut off all communication after that. You left town again, and Evan was still gone. I worked here at the ranch most of the time but, like I said before, it gets lonely. I saw Sally a couple times a week. We hadn’t had sex for a while after that night. A few months later, she invited me to her house for dinner. It had been a hard week, both at the ranch and with real estate. I had been thinking about you so much and even contemplated going to find you. I hadn’t eaten all day, so a few beers had me a little tipsy. I knew I should’ve left, but I was weak and lonely, so we had sex. When it was over, I actually called her ‘Mak.’ She slapped me and that’s when I realized what I’d done. Obviously, she told me she couldn’t see me anymore. I agreed with her and left.” Kayla was sitting there, shell-shocked.
“I’m sorry, but it gets worse.” Mitchell walked over to the door and leaned against it. As much as he wanted to touch her, he needed to be away from her when he told her this. “Like I said earlier, I only knew you’d come back to town once after you saw us that night. It was about a year later if I remember correctly. I was in the grocery store when I saw your cousin, Brenda, who works at the hotel. She told me you’d checked in and brought a friend with you. I saw red. In my mind, you’d brought some guy home to meet your family. You were moving on without me. I was furious. I left the store and went straight to Sally’s. She didn’t question why I was there, didn’t stop me when I started unbuttoning her blouse, and she sure as hell didn’t stop me when I jerked her skirt up. I fucked her against the wall in her foyer. As seemed to be my mantra, I called your name when I came. She was livid. She told me to get out and never come back. I didn’t blame her, still don’t. I apologized again, but I’d used her. I was an asshole of the biggest kind. Then a few weeks later, I ran into Thomas and he told me you brought a friend named Ginger home with you. I felt like an idiot.” When he dared to look back up this time, those tears had made their way over her lids and were rolling down her cheeks.
This time he went and knelt in front of her. He gently placed his hands on her legs. “Mak, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you how I felt five years ago. I’m sorry I was an asshole to someone who didn’t deserve it. And most of all, I’m sorry for the girl in Vegas. I know I just dumped a whole truckload of shit on you.” He rubbed his hands on her thighs. “I wanted everything out in the open before we made love, but when you said you were willing to finish this morning, I couldn’t let the moment pass. I love you, Mak. I’ve always loved you, but I’ll understand if what I’ve told you changes how you feel.”
“Oh Mitch,” she whispered through her sobs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let it all out for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, her sobs started to subside and turn into sniffles. “I had come home that weekend to invite you to the mountains. When I saw her kiss you, I thought I was too late because you’d moved on. I couldn’t be mad because I’m the one that left, but I just never understood, why Sally? She tried to break us up in high school. She made my life a living hell after you graduated.”
“At the time, I was lonely. I wasn’t thinking about high school.”
Kayla couldn’t blame him completely. She needed to admit her part. “I was a moron. If I’d just told you how I felt, none of that would’ve happened. It’s my fault, too. I’m so sorry, babe.” She took a breath and tried to smile. “Aren’t we a pair? I think we owe it to everyone around us to work this out.” She kissed the top of his head which caused him to tilt his face toward her so she kissed her way to his mouth. She took his mouth in a soft, reverent kiss full of apology, forgiveness, and acceptance. This woman was his world.
9
Kayla was emotionally spent by the time Mitchell finished. Just watching him relive things that had made him feel guilty and unworthy slayed her. Why were they so incredibly stupid?
“Mak, don’t blame yourself. Like I said before, we were young.”
“I know, but it kills me to know how much pain I caused you. Just so you know, I never thought I was worthy of you. You’ve always brought out the good in me.”
“Baby, we were made for each other and no one else. I’m certain of that now more than ever.”
They held each other for several minutes. To feel his arms around her made her feel like she could take on the world. With him by her side, she felt like Wonder Woman.
“I want to make love to you again, but we do need to get going. Are you ready to try this again?” He asked.
“Ding, ding. Round two.”
They walked out of his room hand in hand to go file the police report that should’ve been filed hours ago. Just as they got to the door, they came face to face with Evan. His face turned red and his eyes looked everywhere but at her. She knew her brows furrowed. She didn’t know if she should be angry about what he did, or grateful that in his own twisted way he was trying to help Mitch. She didn’t want to think about it right then.
“I’m sorry, Kayla. I…”
“Stop. Please. I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
He accepted what she said and looked at Mitchell. They shook hands and wrapped the other arm around each other for a hug. She heard the expected slap on the back as she walked toward the door. When she reached for the knob, Mitchell’s hand moved hers out of the way and opened the door while his other hand went to the small of her back. They hadn’t spoken a word to each other since they left his room. He was letting her digest everything that he’d said. He knew she needed that. She was letting him come back to himself, get his footing after such a major confession. They were both a little lost in their own thoughts, but found solace in each other. As they got in the truck and headed down the driveway, she knew they were going to be fine. He turned left, and they actually made it out this time.
Once they were on the road, she asked, “When you and Evan were in Vegas, who went in through the out door?”
“What?”
Kayla raised her eyebrows and stared at him.
When he realized what she was asking, he rushed to say, “Evan.”
“I see.”
After a few minutes, Mitchell asked, “Mak, sweetheart, why would you ask that?”
“I’ve just heard that once you’ve done that…”
“Baby, if I ever do that, it’ll be with you. And let me put your mind at ease, it’s not something I need.”
“You sure?”
“Positive. Are we done talking about this? I really want to be.”
“I think so. I’m still wrapping my head around it, though.”
“I understand.”
Just then, they pulled into the police station. Mitchell asked, “Are you ready to do this?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
They were greeted by Officer Nichols as soon as they entered the front door. “May I help you, Mr. Riverton?”
Of course she knew who Mitchell was. She was female and he was gorgeous. “Good morning, Rita. We need to file a report. Someone tried to run Kayla over last night.”
“Did you call 9-1-1 when the incident occurred?” Officer Nichols asked.
“No, we were too shaken up.”
“Were there any witnesses?”
“Yes, me.”
“Okay. Have a seat. I’ll see who’s here to take the statements.”
They sat in the waiting area for a while before an older, middle-aged officer approached them. “I’m Officer Wilson. I can take your statements.”
; “Thank you, Officer. I’m Mitchell Riverton and this is Makayla Gregory,” Mitchell said. They followed the officer to a private room in the back.
“I know who you are, Mr. Riverton. So, who can tell me what happened?”
“I can. Ms. Gregory was walking toward me. She didn’t see the car coming behind her.”
“Is that true, Ms. Gregory?” Officer Wilson asked.
“Yes, sir. I was walking toward Mitchell. When I got close enough to see his face, I noticed his scared expression and realized he was running full speed toward me. He tackled me to the side of the road and I heard car tires squeal. That’s really all I know.”
“Mr. Riverton, what can you tell me about the vehicle you saw?”
“It was a car, not a truck. It was a dark color and had out-of-state tags. The last digits were 7-9.” He didn’t need to know that Mitchell took a picture and got the whole tag, which he had given to Evan.
“Did you see what state?”
“No, sir.”
“Well, we can watch for a car with that description, but that doesn’t give us much to work with.”
“Yes, sir. We just wanted a record of the incident.”
“Here. Each of you write down what you saw. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Officer Wilson gave each of them a form for their statements.
A few minutes later, Officer Wilson and Chief Taylor walked in. Kayla and Mitchell glanced at each other because Curtis was the last person they wanted to see here today.
“If you’re finished, sign at the bottom beside the “X.” I’ll take the top copy, and you can take the bottom,” Officer Wilson said.
“Well, well. If it isn’t Mitchell and Makayla. You’ve seemed to run into a lot of trouble since you’ve come back to town, Ms. Gregory. I’m sure you’re goin’ to leave as soon as possible, aren’t you? You takin’ Mitchell, here, with you this time?”
“Good of you to drop in and check on us, Chief,” Mitchell said. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but Ms. Gregory is sticking around for a while, aren’t you, sweetheart?”
“Yes, I think I am. Is that a problem, Chief?” Kayla said as she rested her hand on Mitchell’s thigh.
Unwelcomed Greeting: A Riverton Crossing Novel Page 6