Chapter Nine
Josh rose slowly from his seat to face Randy; his face contorted in anger. “You’re acting like a Sheriff.”
“I sure as hell am.” Randy countered, “It was no accident this time, no bad decisions, no error in judgment. This man shot an arrow with intent to kill. So you’re going to listen to me.”
Josh’s face grew dark red as his eyes narrowed on Randy, “You should fire that old, lazy ass Deputy Ed Walker. Then you can hire some real help and find Beth’s stalker instead of wasting your time lecturing me about how I should live my life!”
Elizabeth stepped in between them. She wasn’t about to allow a fistfight to break out in her living room. She placed her hands on Josh’s shoulders and said, “Why don’t we all sit down and cool off for a minute. The last thing we need is the two of you at each other’s throats. Amy will be back from picking up the kids from school in 15 minutes. So you two need to come to an agreement and fast.” She spun to face Randy and added, “Josh is fully recovered, and we haven’t had any sign at all in the last two months that would indicate the stalker is even still around.”
Randy forced his eyes away from Josh’s hostile glare. He could see the concern in Elizabeth’s eyes. Randy took a deep breath and moved to sit in the high-backed leather chair across from the sofa. Elizabeth smiled and added, “Good, now I’ll get you both an iced tea, and we can all discuss this calmly.”
Elizabeth went to the kitchen to prepare their drinks. Hopefully, the argument would resolve itself once they calmed down.
Randy glanced at Josh’s angry grimace, and said calmly, “I’m not backing down on this.”
Josh pushed his hair back from his face and met Randy’s gaze. He said, “I’m not going to let Jake down. He’s been planning on this for over a year. I won’t let the thought that the stalker might still be prowling those woods stop me from taking my son on his first hunting trip. I refuse to live my life in fear.”
Randy nodded and said, “I don’t want to disappoint Jake either.” They stared at each other in silence. Elizabeth returned with their drinks.
She sighed and said, “Okay, so what about a compromise? Is there somewhere else you can take Jake to hunt? Somewhere you haven’t been in a long time which is far enough away from here to be a feasible substitute?”
Randy looked at Josh and said, “Wolf Creek is 3 hours from here, and I’ve heard it’s crawling with Elk.”
“We’d have to leave the night before.” Josh said, “It would add another night to our trip.”
Elizabeth sat down beside Josh and said, “Amy and I were planning on taking Molly into the city on a shopping trip for school clothes. I’m planning a girl’s weekend, and they are both coming over for a slumber party. You can leave Kilo with me. I think the combination of the dogs and my security system is plenty of protection; we’ll be fine.”
Randy added, “Amy’s become quite a shot with her Cobra 380.”
Josh looked from one to the other and added, “Mike said he’s not going hunting this year. He can run by and check on them. They can call him if anything happens; he’s only a few minutes away.”
“It’s settled then. I’ll find a hotel, and we will head out tomorrow as soon as Jake is out of school.” Randy announced and rose to give Josh his hand.
Josh grinned and rose to shake his hand. “Let’s get the grill going, Elizabeth has steaks marinating.”
The front door opened, and Molly rushed in followed by Charlie and Kilo. Jake and Amy entered after them. Molly ran straight to Elizabeth and asked, “Can I ride Mazie today? Please?”
Elizabeth glanced at Josh, who nodded his assent before disappearing through the back door with Randy.
“I get Flo!” Jake chimed in.
Amy took over the meal prep while Elizabeth took the kids out and helped them saddle the horses. She watched as they galloped across the pasture. It was surprising how quickly she’d become attached to Josh’s kids. Molly took to Elizabeth instantly. Elizabeth considered her lack of a consistent mother figure a significant factor in their instant connection. In fact, Elizabeth enjoyed helping Molly choose an outfit and fixing her hair.
It wasn’t easy finding time alone with Josh, but Elizabeth didn’t mind. Josh’s rule of no overnights when the children were home did put a cramp in their sexual relationship. If it weren’t for Randy and Amy taking the kids every other Friday night, she and Josh would never have an entire night alone.
Elizabeth did understand and agree with Josh’s reasoning. He was their father and wanted to set a good example. He’d done a great job raising both of them. They were confident, polite, and good-natured. She’d even taken Amy’s suggestion and was researching step parenting to add to her Blended Families book series, although she was more interested in making sure she had a good relationship with Josh’s kids than writing a book.
When it was time to eat, Elizabeth called the kids back to the stables and watched as they gave the horses both a handful of oats
Amy had set the table on the deck, and Josh announced their plans during dinner.
“Randy and I have decided to hunt at Wolf Creek this weekend.” Josh began. “Are you ready to hunt some elk Jake?”
Jake’s eyes widened, and his face broke into a huge smile. He answered, “I sure am! This is so awesome!”
Elizabeth turned to Molly and added, “You and Amy are going to stay with me this weekend. We are going shopping on Saturday and have a slumber party Saturday night.”
“Goodie!” Molly jumped from her seat and hugged Elizabeth then rushed around the table to hug Amy. “We should all get matching PJ’s on Saturday for the party!”
Josh smiled across the table at Elizabeth and added, “You’ll have to show Beth how to make s’mores, Molly.”
“I sure will!” Molly giggled and climbed onto her father’s lap.
Three-Year Rule Page 25