Trusting Drew: Burlap and Barbed Wire

by Shirley Penick

  “This is Ronald.”

  “Is it now?”

  The voice on the other end was so cold he nearly got frostbite holding his phone. Hands shaking, he said, “What’s up?”

  “Funny you should ask. Lily just posted on social media that she would be at the pageant. Care to explain?”

  Fuck, he was going to have to dig out. Dammit, he wasn’t prepared to run. What was he going to tell them? “Oh, well, I took your advice and decided to give her as a snack to the wild animals. Guess she outwitted them.”

  “Leaving her as a snack would only work if you’d killed her first, moron. I don’t think you have the balls for that. What really happened?”

  Shit he was going to have to come clean, surely, they would understand. “She got loose. I went into town to get her some food. I had her shoes and coat and purse with me, I’d tied her to the bed. Somehow, she got loose and ran out into the wilderness barefoot, in winter in Colorado. I figured she was lost or attacked by some animal, so I left.”

  “You didn’t search for her?”

  “No. I didn’t want to get lost, too.”

  “You failed me.”

  Ronald chuckled weakly. “I’ll go to the pageant and take care of her.”

  “No need, we’ve got people in place for that.”

  Ronald was relieved he didn’t need to do anything else, would they still pay him what they’d promised? He could get out of the country with just half of it. “Oh, great. Well, as long as it’s taken care of. Um, I don’t suppose you’d pay me a bit of what was promised, just enough to get out of the country.”

  “Why would I pay you if you failed me?”

  Ronald decided to be brave. “Well I do have your phone number. I could forget it with enough money for a plane ticket and a few thousand to keep me going.”

  There was a knock on his door and he jumped, probably just some nosy neighbor, he would just ignore it.

  “I hear you have company, answer the door, Ronald.”

  “No, it’s probably just a neighbor, so what do you say to my proposition?”

  “I say you’re an idiot. Good bye, Ronald.”

  Before he could blink his door crashed in. His last thoughts were, “Damn. Not a nosy neighbor.”

  Chapter 12

  There was a knock on Lily’s door, it was mid-morning, she’d had breakfast earlier and was working on pageant stuff. She’d missed too many days and needed to get ready, there was a lot of things she needed to be ready to discuss. Ronald had distracted her some during her prep months and then she lost her memory, so she wanted to make sure she’d recalled everything.

  When she opened the door it was Drew, she was happy to see him, she’d not seen a lot of him, he’d been absent a lot of yesterday. With her trying to get it together for the pageant she hadn’t been downstairs much either.

  Lily looked carefully at him and was surprised to see him looking worried. He said, “Sheriff Drake called to let everyone know he was coming over and that you and your family, along with mine, needed to hear what he had to say. He’ll be here in ten minutes.”

  Lily didn’t like the sound of that, but she told Drew she’d be down in a minute. He went off to find the rest of the people that needed to be there. When she got downstairs, everyone was gathering around the table.

  When Sheriff Drake walked in Lily could tell something was very, very wrong.

  He sat down heavily at the kitchen table. “I regret to inform you, but Ronald Duvall was found dead in his apartment, yesterday morning. Before I came over, I called New York to get the facts, telling them that Ronald Duvall was a person of interest in a situation we had here. Apparently, his landlady had gotten a complaint about loud noises and arguing late at night, two nights ago. She went up to tell Ronald he needed to keep control over his guests. When she arrived, the door was found slightly ajar and the hinges sprung, so she went in and found his body, he’d been shot.”

  Lily felt all the blood drain from her head. Shot? Yes, she wanted to kick him, but dead? Ronald? Why? But she knew the answer to that, he had failed in his mission to keep her safely tucked away until after the pageant was over. She’d called the hotel for an extra room and had let the pageant officials know she would be bringing a bodyguard, and she’d posted on the pageant social media page. Lily counted back and realized it would have been the same day Ronald was killed. Had he been shot because of her actions? This was a lot more serious than she’d realized.

  Everyone at the table was chattering a mile a minute. She couldn’t think. Which action had triggered his ‘bosses’, was it someone in the pageant, or did they have hotel connections or was it the social media post? She had no idea, but she’d clearly let the bad guys know she wasn’t out of the running and Ronald had paid the ultimate price.

  She wanted to throw up.

  Was a pageant really worth all of this? Not in her opinion, but clearly in someone’s it was. She wondered again if she should drop out, but she felt the same strong conviction that she shouldn’t let these unknown murderers win.

  The talk dwindled down and Lily could feel the eyes of the whole group focused on her.

  She said, “I really want to run and hide and have nothing to do with this pageant, but I just can’t do it. I can’t knuckle under to these unknown murdering monsters. What do all of you think?”

  Her mom looked up with many emotions flitting through her eyes. “Oh Lily, on one hand I want you safe and sound at home, or even here, where no one knows where you are. But I also agree that these people cannot be allowed to go Scott-free pushing their agenda. They need to be stopped and shown that they can’t just do whatever they want. I never really felt Ronald was exactly right for you, but even with all his misdeeds, I don’t think he should have paid for it with his life.”

  Lily couldn’t agree more.

  Her dad frowned. “Drew and I will be right there with you. I have no intention of letting any harm come to my little girl.”

  She turned in time to see Drew exchange a look with his dad and mom, who both gave him a slight nod, then he cleared his throat, and everyone gave him their attention.

  He quickly glanced at each of his siblings and said, “I know you were all teasing the other night about wanting to go to New York, but if any of you are serious, I wouldn’t turn down the backup.”

  The only people in the room not shocked by this announcement were Drew and his parents, and maybe Grandpa K. The reactions were all different.

  Adam and Rachel sat back in their chairs, although she noticed they’d linked hands.

  Beau and Alyssa were talking in hushed tones.

  Cade looked at Summer and then said, “We’re in.”

  Chase got his phone out and his thumbs flew over the keyboard.

  Emma grimaced. “I’m going to have to sit this one out, although I wish I could join you.”

  Her dad looked at Travis. “Are you sure about this?” Travis just nodded.

  Meg said to Lily’s mom. “It will be all right. You can’t have a dozen Kiplings surrounding the place and not be seen.” Lily saw her mom smiling through her tears.

  Grandpa K puffed out his chest, clearly proud as he could be of his grandkids.

  Drake sat quietly watching the rest of the people at the table.

  Lily herself was dumbfounded and couldn’t have commented to save her life. Which hopefully wasn’t something she needed to be worried about.

  After a few minutes Drew cleared his throat again and regained everyone’s attention. “So, who is on board?”

  As Lily looked around the table she saw determination etched on each face. Each couple affirmed they would be going. Only Emma, Grandpa K and Drew’s parents were staying back to work the ranch.

  Drew nodded and looked more relieved with each affirmation. “Great, so I’ve been thinking about it. Rachel and Adam, I want you two to go in as a photographer and assistant. I don’t want anyone to know you are with us. Rachel you use your maiden name on your photos and since
you guys aren’t married yet and I think that’s a good idea to perpetuate. You and your camera will see things we can’t, especially with your zoom.”

  Sheriff Drake said, “I think the twins should be one person. That way you can have one be the backup.”

  Drew grinned at his boss. “Exactly what I was thinking. Since Summer is famous, I think Cade should be the out front one and Chase can be the detective. Summer can go in as Lily’s makeup crew, but slowly expand to help all the girls with makeup tips and tricks if she wants to, that way she can gather information from the contestants, and see if any of them know anything. Cade can pretend to stand around being smitten.”

  “No pretense needed,” Cade said with a grin.

  Drew tapped his fingers on the table. “I think the four of you can get a room with two queen beds. And see if you can gather together any clothes that you have that match. We are planning to stop in Denver on the way to the airport, so if you need more you can pick up some things. Katie you can be Lily’s secretary or maybe for both Summer and Lily. I was looking through the pageant website and some of the girls have a large entourage, so I don’t think it will be a problem.”

  He stopped talking and sighed. “I’m not quite sure how to stage Beau and Alyssa.”

  Drake didn’t seem to have a suggestion either and neither did Travis or anyone else. Alyssa said, “We can think about it.”

  Drew continued the discussion. “Now, I can and plan to take my gun. Since I’m a police officer I’ve jumped through the hoops and everything is arranged. But the rest of you can’t.”

  Cade spoke up. “I’ll bring my rope and my secret weapon.” He grinned at Summer.

  Summer grinned right back. “I don’t need no stinkin’ weapon, my body is good enough.”

  Drew chuckled. “That’s true enough. Rachel’s secret weapon is her camera, for both the telephoto and evidence.”

  Adam said, “I can bring my own camera. I’m not half bad with it. We still have those motion sensors from when those dumbasses were looking for gold. They are small enough to put a couple in with Rachel’s equipment. They might come in handy.”

  Beau and Alyssa said they would bring medical supplies, just in case. And another camera or two they normally used for photographing the stock.

  They talked a little longer about ideas and strategy, but since no one knew what they were going up against they really couldn’t make too many plans. This was definitely going to be a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of operation. Hopefully something would come to light once they got to New York.

  Lily was rather astounded by all the ideas and plans they did come up with. She wondered about some of the statements they’d made, like Summer being famous and having a body that was a secret weapon, but now was not the time to ask about that. So, she sat and listened and tried to interject anything she knew about the pageant.

  Emma had left earlier saying she was going to look into flight and hotel accommodations. The discussion was running out of steam when Emma came back and handed out sheets of paper to everyone. Apparently, they all now had flights and rooms and a couple of rental cars, just in case.

  It had taken Lily a lot longer to get hers and Drew’s, Lily decided Emma must be some kind of wiz to be able to book four more sets in such a short time.

  Drew felt a lot more confident with all his siblings backing him up. He’d have gone and protected Lily by himself, but the backup would be great. He didn’t really think anything would happen, but if something did go down, the Kipling brothers and their women would be a force to be reckoned with.

  He thought about calling his best buddy Zach to see if he could join him, but he remembered he was in Las Vegas at the bull riding finals. He knew his friend would drop everything to join him, if he needed it, but Drew decided his family was enough backup.

  They all knew how the others thought and would react, in any given situation, so it would be like a team. Even if there were other security and bodyguards in place, he didn’t know them. He knew his siblings and could count on their actions. Cowboy up!

  When everyone began moving off he decided to ask Lily if they could talk. He wanted to gauge her reaction to the news of Ronald’s death and also wanted to talk to her about how they should operate, strategize a bit. Plus, they’d both been so busy he just missed her, plain and simple as that.

  “Lily, do you have a minute?”

  She stopped and smiled up at him and all his brain cells fried. She had such a great smile. For a moment his mind blanked, but he managed to kickstart it back into gear. Try not to act like an idiot, Drew.

  He looked down into her joyous face. “Do you want to maybe go outside for our chat?”

  “That would be great. I am feeling a little cooped up, although I don’t know how far I should be walking.”

  Alyssa came up from behind them and said, “Not far. Maybe take her in your truck, Drew. She hasn’t seen anything of the ranch.”

  Lily laughed. “That would be fun. Do we have time for a mini tour?”

  He hadn’t planned on being gone that long, but Lily looked so hopeful, he couldn’t turn her down. “Sure, that would be fun.”

  “Oh goody, I’ll go get a jacket, and let my parents know.”

  Alyssa watched her go, then turned to him. “It will do her good to think of something else. Maybe take her out to see your land. Show her our house and Beau’s and where the twins are building. Now that she’s met everyone, clue her in on everything. Summer’s TV and cheer. Rachel’s books. Take some food with you and don’t hurry back. It will both do you a world of good.”

  He nodded, it did sound like a good idea. He could use some down time and it would be better for her to know everyone’s history. Alyssa went over to the fridge and quickly made a bag of snacks and drinks for them to take with them.

  Lily didn’t take long despite her slow movement. She had on a jean jacket over a sweater of burnt orange. Clearly the woman knew how to layer, which was always a good thing to know in the Colorado mountains and especially when it was early winter. The weather could be bright with sunshine one minute and snowing the next, which Alyssa had discovered the hard way.

  He grabbed the bag of goodies Alyssa had put together, his duster, and his keys hanging on the peg by the door. Then he reached up and unlocked the Gun safe and pulled his badge and gun out.

  Lily’s eyes widened, and he said, “I don’t leave home without it. Just part of the job.”

  She nodded but didn’t look convinced. He stuffed it into a saddle bag even though they were taking the truck, and they walked out into the bright morning. It was chilly but not near freezing like the day he’d found her, and the sun was bright, making the sky a brilliant blue.

  She followed him to his truck and clambered in, while he stowed the food and saddle bag in the rear seat. They all drove extended cabs, his father thought it was dumb to have a two-passenger vehicle in a family the size of theirs, so there was always room for whoever needed to go along.

  “Alyssa suggested I take you on a drive along the eastern side of the ranch, so you can see the other houses, and land.” He started the truck and began driving on the newly formed road. They hadn’t had anything linking the siblings’ land to the main house until all the building began and then it only made sense. It was a one lane unpaved road, but it was well graded and served its purpose.

  “The first house is Beau and Alyssa’s. Each of us picked a parcel of land a few years ago, and Beau already knew he was going to be the family vet, so he picked the closest to be ready and nearby for emergencies.”

  He pulled into the short drive and up to the house.

  Lily said, “Oh it’s so pretty, and way bigger than I expected.”

  “Alyssa comes from a large family who all live in Washington state, so they wanted a couple of guest rooms even though the main house has plenty. They also plan to have a pack of kids themselves. That whole side on the right is setup to be a hospital ward for any animals that need constant car
e. They’ve only used it once, when the old dog that used to sleep in the kitchen passed on.”

  “Oh, that’s sad.”

  “No not really, the dog was a bazillion years old and couldn’t do much anymore, he wasn’t a pet, he’d been a working dog who had not been able to continue, so we made him a nice bed in a warm spot to live out his last days, which ended up being a couple of years.”

  Lily smiled. “In other words, you’re a family of softies.”

  “Can’t say that isn’t true. Beau has a pet heifer that tangled with a mountain lion as a calf, he nursed Dolly back to health and that started his career as a vet.”

  “Her name was Dolly?”

  “We teased him and called her Dolly, because she was always with him, like a living Doll.”

  Lily giggled, and he loved the sound.

  “We can see if we can introduce you to Dolly, she’s old too, and should have been put down, but Beau was having none of that. So, she lives on the land and is the old wise one the other younger mama’s look up to.”

  That statement caused Lily to light up with laughter, and he vowed to find other stories to make her laugh.

  As he drove out of the yard he said, “I imagine the vet clinic will be useful as time goes on.”

  When they got to Adam’s house Lily sighed. “Oh, it’s gorgeous. I’ll bet those huge windows have an excellent view.”

  “They do. Rachel being the photographer that she is, insisted on putting the garage under the house, to raise the first level up, so she could see the mountains past the trees. In the back there is a view of the river.”

  “So, you said when we were at the cabin, that Rachel had a book deal.”

  “I did, she’s got a great coffee-table type book of the Chelan valley in eastern Washington. It’s where both she and Alyssa are from.”

  “Oh, right, you did mention they were friends. How did they manage to snag two of your brothers?”