Katie swallowed as misery engulfed her. “You’re right,” she managed in a weak voice, hating the coward who seemed to be living within her now.
“No more bullshit, Katie. Somebody’s going to wind up dead. You’re going to go the sheriff tomorrow and make a statement, got it?” He held her eyes and his tone gentled. “I’ll go with you, and hold your hand the entire time if you want, but it’s happening. I swear to God, you’ll thank me later. You want some girl’s rape or even death to be on your conscience?”
Katie closed her eyes as the blood drained from her face. “No, I don’t.”
Josh stood up and enclosed her in a tight hug. He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “It’ll be okay, I promise.”
Katie knew this had to be done. And then after it was over, she’d have to tell her parents what she’d been through. There would be no way around it. After she made her statement, Jesse would be picked up and eventually there would be a trial. Her parents had to know. Distress engulfed her as she thought of the pain this would cause them, but she stiffened her spine and reminded herself that this wasn’t her fault. It was Jesse Whitaker’s fault and he deserved to be punished for what he’d done. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. Had Josh really meant what he’d said? “Will you go with me and promise to stand beside me?”
His arms tightened around her. “Yeah.”
Katie pulled back and looked at him with determination. “Okay, we’ll do it tomorrow.”
****
The next day sucked. It was obvious to Katie that Sheriff Thompson already knew what had happened to her, so he tried to make it easy on her. Giving the statement to him went smoothly, much better than telling her parents. That afternoon, her mother cried, and her father looked as if he wanted to commit murder. They both coddled her the rest of the day.
Katie breathed a huge sigh of relief that it was all over and thought everything was all good until Josh slammed into the house and announced that the sheriff had picked up Jesse and taken him into custody, but not before he’d cornered Hannah alone and scared the crap out of her.
Horror bled through Katie. This time she couldn’t convince herself that it wasn’t her fault, and tears came to her eyes. Jesse should have been in prison a long time ago. And he would have been, if she hadn’t been so cowardly. “Is she okay?”
Josh looked fit to be tied, and who could blame him? She’d figured out that Josh and Hannah were more than friends, although he never talked about personal stuff. And she never questioned Hannah about Josh, because for some deep-seated reason, Katie didn’t want to be in on their secret.
She didn’t know why she’d been so slow to get it, at first. Josh was a loner for the most part, but he had two good friends, Ethan and Ty. When Hannah and her friend Ava began hanging around Josh, Katie had thought it was because Ty was Ava’s brother. But it was plain for everyone to see that Ava had a massive crush on Ethan, and Katie suspected that Hannah felt the same about Josh. But she’d sincerely believed that her cousin was too smart to get involved with Zachary McIntyre’s little sister. But obviously, she’d been wrong.
“She’ll be okay. He pulled a knife on her but he didn’t have time to hurt her. I got to her first, and then the sheriff showed up.” Josh pulled a water bottle from the refrigerator and turned to Katie’s mom. “I’m going to her house now. Her parents are more shaken up than Hannah is.”
Katie’s mom looked frazzled. She bit her lip and agreed, “Okay, sweetheart. Let us know if we can do anything to help.”
“It’s going to be okay now. He’s behind bars and he’ll stay there until the trial.” Josh turned to Katie with approval in his eyes. “You did good.”
“No, I didn’t. He couldn’t have hurt or even scared anyone else if I’d done the right thing a long time ago.”
“Katie, don’t beat yourself up about this. Everybody heals in their own way. Nobody, and I mean nobody, blames you for anything.”
She felt twin tears spill from her eyes. “Thanks.”
He walked toward her and lightly caressed her hair. “No problem.”
“Where… where did it happen?”
“At the high school. In the gym.”
“Does Zachary know?” Katie voiced the question before she could stop herself, but neither Josh nor her mother seemed to think anything of Katie asking about Zach McIntyre.
Her cousin clenched his jaw. “I doubt it. He’s in Dallas and about to leave for the Middle East from what I understand.”
Katie let that information sink in. “Tell Hannah that I’m glad she’s okay and I’ll see her soon, okay? I still haven’t seen her since her grandmother died. I didn’t even know she was back from Shreveport.”
Josh’s expression turned grim. “She got home this morning.”
Josh slammed out of the house on a mission and Katie took another sip of the hot chocolate her mother had fixed for her.
****
The New Year came and went, and with it, the trial that Katie had dreaded. With the support and testimony of both Hannah and Mandy Thompson, the trial hadn’t been as bad as Katie had feared. But it wasn’t something she cared to relive. Ever.
By spring break things were on a more normal footing. Katie had been blissfully lazy the last few days, and the new knowledge that Jesse Whitaker was finally in prison made going into town much less stressful. On this particular day, she was sitting at a booth in the diner with Hannah, Ava Anderson, and Mandy Thompson.
Katie knew that Ava had experienced several losses in her own life lately, and watching the younger girl’s colorless face and the dark lines of fatigue and stress under her eyes made Katie afraid that she might break in two at any given moment. Katie refused to take sides, and in fact, she didn’t know enough of the situation to take sides, but at the moment, a small, feminine kernel of heat made her want to kick Ethan Jackson’s ass. Just as quickly as the thought came, Katie realized she might be judging Ethan unfairly. Katie had known Ethan her entire life, well, since kindergarten, anyway, and Ethan was a stand-up guy. She knew he’d loved Ava, it wasn’t a secret, the entire town knew of both their love and their heartbreak.
What the town didn’t know of was their story, or what had happened to put the fine lines of stress around Ava’s mouth and the sadness in her eyes.
Not wanting Ava to see the pity that might be in her eyes, she turned her attention to Mandy. Katie and Mandy had graduated together, and Mandy was home from college for the break as well. “How do you like U of H?” Katie asked Mandy.
“It’s huge. Houston is huge,” the sheriff’s daughter replied.
“You live on campus though, right?” Katie asked.
“Yeah, and I try never to leave.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. UTA is fairly massive, too. It’s a major dose of reality after being raised in a small town, isn’t it?” Katie knew she was making small talk, but she didn’t know exactly how to broach the subject with the other girl that she really wanted to talk about. She’d already had a few long talks with Hannah, and now she wanted nothing more than to apologize to Mandy; she hadn’t had a chance during the trial.
“Yeah, I know, right?” Mandy agreed. “Redwood Falls will always be home, but it’s a different experience in a major city.”
While Hannah and Ava listened, Katie nodded her head and took a sip of her Diet Coke. She set the glass down and took a deep breath. “Mandy—”
Katie paused and the other girl watched her intently from across the table. “Yes?”
“I want to tell you how sorry I am—”
Her words were cut off when Mandy interjected, “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare apologize to me. I wasn’t hurt and you’re not to blame anyway.”
Katie worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “I feel like it’s my fault.”
“It’s not. Hannah and I didn’t go through even half of what you went through and the last thing you need to do is apologize. Right, Hannah?”
“Right. I already
told her that,” Hannah said with a worried tone.
Mandy smiled at Hannah and Katie could tell the girl was trying to change the direction of the conversation, and she was grateful. “I can’t believe that Josh was there to rescue us both.”
When there was a moment of silent agreement around the table, Ava said quietly, “Josh is quite the guy.”
Katie quirked her lips in a small smile. “I’m pretty sure we’re all in agreement about that.”
Mandy looked across at Ava. “So let’s talk about something more pleasant. Tell us about your amazingly hot brother.”
Katie was relieved when color highlighted Ava’s face; the poor girl almost spit her drink out. “Yuck.”
Katie laughed. “It may be yuck to you, but trust me, the girls here in Redwood Falls think your brother’s hot.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “Ty’s been in North Dakota for a couple of months now already. He got a job fairly quickly, and he was living in one of those man camp things. But he couldn’t stand living there so he saved his money and bought a travel trailer. He’s doing pretty well. He’s making good money and he’s saving most of it, from what I understand.”
“Does he have a girlfriend?” Mandy asked, a bit slyly.
“I don’t think there are many women up there where he’s at. It’s mostly oilfield workers really. If he’s found anyone, he’s not talking about it, at least not to me.” Ava glanced at Hannah. “Has Josh mentioned anything? Does he know if my brother’s found a girl?”
Hannah shook her head. “Not that I know of. All Josh has said is that Ty is making shit-tons of money.”
Mandy snickered. “Too bad I’m in Texas and he’s up there. I always wanted to go out with him.”
Ava rolled her eyes again. “You and everyone else.” And then Ava and Hannah shared a look. “Except for Hannah, that is.”
“Hey,” Hannah complained softly.
Mandy grinned at Hannah. “Don’t worry. We all know that you can’t see past Josh.”
Katie felt both amusement and foreboding when Hannah looked only slightly disgruntled as she answered, “Well, I can’t and I’m not going to apologize for it.”
Chapter Three
Redwood Falls, The Bar M Ranch
It was two in the morning when Zach pulled into his parents’ driveway. He’d been out of the country for almost two months, and when he’d picked up his car at DFW, he’d had every intention of driving to his apartment. But when he’d hit the Interstate, in a move he couldn’t explain, he’d boarded the freeway in the direction of Redwood Falls.
Home.
His body and soul ached for the Bar M Ranch.
Not even bothering to grab his carry-on from the backseat, knowing that his stepmother kept everything he’d need in his old bedroom, he let himself into the house on silent feet. It was his intention to slip into his room without waking anyone, but as he walked past the media room, he saw a light shining from the door that stood ajar.
He walked inside and found Hannah curled up on the couch with her cell phone in her hand. She was smiling at whatever she was reading and as he watched her silently from the doorway, she clearly began answering the last text she’d received.
“Hannah,” he announced his presence in a low-pitched voice.
Startled, she jumped an inch from her seat. “Zach!”
He strolled into the room and reached down and hugged her. “Hey.”
She hugged him back. “When did you get back?”
Zach glanced around the darkened interior of the room. “My flight got in around midnight.”
“Cool. I’m glad you’re home.” Hannah’s phone vibrated and she glanced down.
He snickered at his sister’s so obvious inattention. “Sure you are. Who are you texting?”
She didn’t even glance up. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” she questioned sarcastically.
The animation on her face as she read the text had Zach asking, “Is it a boy?”
Hannah rolled her eyes without looking away from her phone. “He’s not a boy, he’s a grown man. And I met him on the Internet,” she teased. “And he’s forty-five years old.”
Zach ignored her baiting. “Is it Ava?”
She shrugged. “Sure, we’ll say that.”
“Seriously, is it a guy?”
She looked heavenward in exasperation and continued keying.
“You shouldn’t be hiding in here at two in the morning texting boys,” he couldn’t help remonstrating.
She glanced up at that. “I’m not hiding. Mom and dad aren’t even here. You’re acting as if I’m committing a federal crime. I’m almost eighteen, Zach. If I wanted to do something wrong, there’s nobody here to stop me. Lighten up.”
“Where the hell are they?”
“They had to go to Shreveport again. Something about grandma’s will.”
Fatigue from the long flight and drive began wearing Zach down. He was punch-drunk already and needed some serious sleep. “All right. I’m going to bed.”
Hannah looked down at her phone again and said distractedly, “Try to be quiet.”
“What for?”
“Katie’s asleep in the guest room.”
A wave of heat spread through Zach’s veins and grabbed him by the throat. “Fine,” he answered as calmly as he could. The exhaustion he’d been feeling a second ago disappeared in less than a heartbeat. He wasn’t going to get a damn bit of sleep knowing that girl was in the house.
He was almost to the door when Hannah said, “And can you make an attempt to be nice to her in the morning?”
His footsteps stalled and he turned to face his little sister. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Hannah was finally looking him in the eye, giving him her full attention. “I don’t know. Because her last name’s Turner?” She asked him softly and knowingly.
Zach had no clue how to answer Hannah, he knew he’d been guilty of treating Katie poorly in the past, so he simply dipped his head in agreement and walked away, shutting the door as he left the room.
The house was a split-floor plan, with his parents’ suite on one side of the house, and all the other bedrooms on the other. As Zach walked down the hallway toward his bedroom, he passed Hannah’s room and then his footsteps stalled in front of the closed door to the guestroom.
Without realizing his intent, he put his hands flat on the door and held them there, as if he could see inside the room through touch alone. As he lingered in the hallway, he knew it was only his imagination, but he swore he could smell Katie’s soft scent as it drifted in the air. His cock twitched and grew in his pants as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
She was always there. Always there in the back of his psyche. Months would slip by but she was always there. Out of his reach, but someone he badly wanted to touch. Someone he badly wanted to own.
He inhaled raggedly. He was about to turn and leave when he heard the whimper. It was just a small sound, but it jerked him to attention and snapped him from the lethargy that had held him in its grip.
As he listened, he heard the sound again, only this time stronger, and the whimper became a wail of distress. The high-pitched sound was an inarticulate, mournful cry, and it was laced with such suffering that Zach didn’t stop to think. He twisted the knob and pushed the door open, and as his sight adjusted to the dim interior of the room, he closed the door behind him and unerringly made his way to the side of the bed.
Katie looked small and helpless as she lay in the center of the bed, the sheets a tangled mess around her. Her head thrashed from side to side on the pillow. “No, no, no,” she whimpered.
Zach sat down on the edge of the bed and very gently, gripped her hand with his. “Shh. Katie, wake up, sweetheart,” he murmured, trying to rouse her from the nightmare but not wanting to startle her into full wakefulness.
Her body stiffened at the sound of his voice. “Noooooo,” she cried, the word grief-stricken.
“Katie, wake up, baby.” He gently shook her.
“You’re having a bad dream.”
Her body jerked. “No. Stop. Please, stop.”
“Katie!” Alarmed, Zach shook her harder until abruptly, her lashes lifted and she stared straight into his eyes.
She visibly swallowed and glanced around the room with a haunted look before her eyes found his again. She grimaced and inhaled deeply. “Zach?” she whispered.
He ran his hand up and down her arm in a light caress. “Yeah. You were having a nightmare.”
She sucked in another breath, and then, to his utter amazement, with a quick, jerky movement, she jackknifed into a sitting position and threw her arms around his neck, clinging to him. She moaned softly again and his arms wrapped around her with no input from his brain. He held her for a moment, giving her what comfort he could while his body splintered with the pleasure he felt at having her in his arms.
She continued to cling tightly and the moment was surreal for him. He fully expected her to come to her senses and let go, but she didn’t. Her grip only tightened and she chanted in a tiny voice as if reassuring herself, “Zach … Zach … Zach.”
The way she said his name sounded peculiar, but Zach put it down to the nightmare she’d just had and waking up in a place that wasn’t her own home. His head fell to her neck and he breathed in the scent of her hair as he let her take what strength she could from him. “Yeah, it’s me. You’re okay.”
He lightly kissed the brown silk of her hair and lifted his head. “Are you awake now? Everything okay?”
She pulled a bit away from him but didn’t let go and he could feel the fine trembling of her limbs. She looked into his eyes, and in a move that stunned him even more, she put her lips on his and pressed a firm kiss on his mouth. It wasn’t a sexual kiss; her lips stayed tightly closed, and after holding them there for a couple of seconds, she pulled away from him and untangled her hands from around his neck. With his heart beating wildly in his chest, he watched as she fell back to the pillow and pulled the covers up to her chin.
He stared at her intently for a few seconds before he could think straight enough to get his voice to work. “Answer me, Katie. Are you all right now?”
An Eye for an Eye: Zach and Katie's Story (Redwood Falls) Page 4