Trusting Drew: Burlap and Barbed Wire

by Shirley Penick

  Although he did have to admit, she fit in with his family really well. She didn’t put on any airs or look down on them. Even her family fit in and they had never asked about them letting veterinarians look at their daughter’s wounds. He’d been surprised by that.

  They’d never really talked about her family or where they lived or what they did. He’d tried looking her up online but Smith, even Lily Smith, was too common of a name, there had been lots of them. Too many to weed through.

  Drew was certain Lily would have a fun and happy life in Montana, regardless of everything else. She was right now texting on her phone to friends. Probably talking about the hick that took her out where the bears were.

  He inwardly shook his head at himself. No, she probably wouldn’t be interested in a guy like him, who lived ten hours away on a cattle ranch. He needed to stick to his own kind, not get all uppity with a girl like Lily. He would go to the pageant and keep her safe, and then he would hug her goodbye and come back to Colorado, while she went off to the next level of the pageant, because he couldn’t imagine anyone beating her.

  Chapter 14

  Lily, her mom, and Summer went to Denver on Saturday. They’d decided that waiting until they were headed for the plane was not a good time to try to find comfortable shoes, get a mani and pedi, and find a few more matching clothes for the twins. It had been a lot of years since they had dressed similarly and they didn’t have any suits or formal attire that they could wear to the many events. So, Summer was armed with a list and their measurements, to shop for them both.

  As they got into Alyssa’s car, which had enclosed cargo space that the pickups didn’t, Summer giggled. “I can’t believe they trust me to buy clothes for them. I am so tempted to buy them something ridiculous, just because I can.”

  Elaine laughed. “But then they would never trust you again.”

  Summer tapped one finger on her knee. “Maybe I could buy them something frivolous that won’t show. Like boxers or t-shirts, oh, or socks. I have to get something.”

  Lily said, “What about a tie that looks normal from afar but if you get up really close it’s naked ladies or cartoon characters or something like that. Then it would be seen, but only you and Katie would get close enough to know what it really was.”

  “Lily, that is a great idea. I don’t know where to find something like that, but it would be perfect.”

  “Look it up on your phone silly, under novelty ties or something along those lines.”

  “Of course. Let me see what I can find. I’m glad I don’t have to drive. You don’t think your feet will hurt from driving, do you?”

  Lily shrugged, she was so happy to be behind the wheel, even if she couldn’t do it for long. “If it gets to be too much we can switch. Mom can drive, or you can. But for right this minute, I’m thrilled to be behind the wheel, it seems like I’ve been trapped for weeks.”

  Elaine said, “It’s only been eight days. But that can seem like a long time.”

  “Yeah mom, it does. But here I am driving off for a shopping adventure. Yay!”

  Her mom laughed at her and turned on the radio, so they could sing along to it. Her whole life they’d done that whenever they were taking a road trip. This was a short one, just into Denver, so only about two hours of driving.

  Summer didn’t immediately join in the singing, but Lily wasn’t sure if that was because she was glued to her phone finding ways to tease the twins, or not.

  Lily thought about maybe buying Drew a little token of appreciation for all he’d done for her. Maybe they would have something at Summer’s tie place that would be fun, but also appreciative. Like a tie with guns on it or cows or something.

  She still felt bad for the young man who’d lost his best friend and his wife-to-be. What a horrible thing to go through. Lily knew she should have been more upset about Ronald, both being a rat and then dying in such an awful way. She did feel bad for him, but it wasn’t devastating, which only indicated to her that she was never really in love with him, and had truly let him talk her into the engagement.

  She certainly didn’t feel the zing that she sometimes got from Drew. It didn’t happen every time they were together but there were definitely moments when there was something there. Something she’d never felt before from any other man and most assuredly, not from Ronald.

  She’d wondered for a moment the other day, when they’d been chased off by the bears, if Drew wanted to kiss her. The feeling hadn’t lasted long, just a few seconds, but it had felt like he was considering it. She’d have been more than happy to kiss him, and had almost swayed toward him, but then he pulled back and had driven off toward the house.

  Her imagination running wild was what she’d determined it was and nothing more. Thinking back over it now, she didn’t think so, there had been something in the air, an expectancy. If it happened again she was going to see if she couldn’t move things along, maybe just grab his shirt, pull him down for a kiss, and see what would happen.

  Lily didn’t normally go around grabbing men and kissing them, but she felt like Drew would be the place to start. She laughed at herself, she wasn’t sure she would have the guts to do it at all. It might be an impossible task, but at the same time it might be worth it. She just didn’t know, but she wanted to find out. So, if Drew didn’t make the move, maybe she would pull on her big girl panties and go for it.

  She internally rolled her eyes at herself and sang louder to try and drown out her thoughts.

  Drew couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he’d wanted to kiss Lily and had chickened out. He’d not had a strong desire to kiss a woman since the day Monica had died. He’d kissed a few since then, but it had been more their idea than his. But he’d certainly wanted to kiss Lily, he really thought if there hadn’t been a mound of crap between them he might have gone for it.

  He had no idea if she would have been on board or not. It seemed like there were times where interest showed in her eyes, but he didn’t know if that was wishful thinking on his part. Maybe she was just grateful for his help. She’d been in a committed relationship just a week ago.

  Yes, the guy had turned out to be a rat, but if she’d been engaged to him, shouldn’t she be more upset? Both about the betrayal and also his death? He had to admit that Lily didn’t seem very traumatized by either.

  Of course, she’d had a whole night to stew about his betrayal, and then flee from him. Maybe she’d sobbed her heart out over it, he shook his head, he just didn’t get the impression she’d been that in love with him. It almost seemed like she’d just been going along for the ride. But why?

  She’d said something about him pushing her and of course Ronald’s whole plan revolved around getting her to trust him enough to go off for a romantic weekend, shortly before the pageant, so maybe he had pushed, and she’d just knuckled under. He didn’t see Lily as the type to do that, but maybe between the pageant pressures and then Ronald, she’d had too much stress to fight with him.

  He couldn’t think of another scenario that fit, at least not one he wanted to consider. Drew turned his focus off of Lily and back toward the computer. He was studying the hotel floor plan and then he was going to go over the sightseeing trips and look over all the locations they planned to stop at. He wanted to have an idea of all the places Lily might be vulnerable.

  Drew wished he had more information about whether any of the other girls had been threatened like Lily. It would give him a better idea of what he was up against. Lily had gotten him access to the social media pages for the pageant, so he could see what the other contestants were saying, but he didn’t see anything that was relevant. It was just a lot of rah, rah, so excited, can’t wait kinds of posts.

  He’d talked a little more with each of his siblings that were going to be there. Making plans, talking over strategies. He gave them each the link to the hotel website and the itinerary for the pageant days. Adam had suggested they find a way to all come together each day and debrief, and he thought th
at was an excellent idea.

  Drew thought maybe in the twins’ room would be best, that way no one would see the guys together. They’d talked about Adam and Rachel calling in, since they were not supposed to be all together. But it also seemed ridiculous to go to so much trouble, that they were sneaking around. Chase skulking was going to be enough. Besides, he didn’t think anyone was going to be watching their every move, either.

  He’d also decided to enlist Emma to watch the show and let him know immediately, if she saw anything wonky. His mom and dad promised to do the same. He didn’t know for sure, but he was pretty certain at least the last bit would be shown live. Other pieces were being recorded, but it still didn’t hurt to have everyone keeping their eyes open and looking for trouble or oddities.

  Grandpa K knocked on the door frame.

  Drew looked up and smiled, “Come on in, Grandpa.”

  “As long as you’re not too busy.”

  “Never too busy for you. Have a seat.”

  “Don’t mind if I do. So, tell me what you’ve got planned.”

  Drew decided that organizing his thoughts, by relating them to his grandfather, would be a step in the right direction. It might point out flaws in his logic or holes in his plans. “That’s a good idea, Grandpa. I’m not sure I would call them plans exactly. They’re more like contingencies and being aware of our surroundings. I don’t know whether anyone will really try something once we get to New York, but I mainly need to keep my eyes open. And since there will be almost a dozen pairs of eyes, I’m hoping we can waylay anyone who might have something shifty going on.”

  Grandpa K nodded but didn’t interrupt.

  “I hope that Adam and Rachel can get into the locations where the photo shoots are going to take place and scope them out, maybe Beau and Alyssa can go with them so one pair of them can stay while the other pair goes on to the next. Alyssa and Beau aren’t great photographers, but they’ve got eyes and instincts I can trust. So, if they hang back at each location and just watch, have our backs, so to speak, while Rachel and Beau go on ahead to the next stop.”

  Grandpa K said, “That sounds reasonable. So, you plan to keep Cade, Summer, and Katie with you?”

  “If we can work that out, yes. I don’t know how much entourage each contestant is allowed, but a photo shoot seems to scream for at least hair and makeup, and maybe even wardrobe. If Cade is the workhorse for the wardrobe, Summer does hair and Katie helps out as needed, it doesn’t seem like too many.”

  “And Chase?”

  “Snoop.”

  The older man guffawed at that. “So that’s the first two days. What about the nights?”

  “I’m hoping the receptions will be large enough that we can have everyone there. If not, they can hang around in common areas to keep an eye on people.”

  “Good, good. If anything is going to happen it would seem like the days leading up to the pageant would be the most likely time. Once it starts it would bring a lot of attention.”

  Drew nodded. “That’s what I was thinking too, but I don’t want to let down our guard until we’re on the plane heading home.”

  “Good thinking. You just never know when a snake might bite.”

  Drake hadn’t really thought about that. Since he didn’t know the motivation of getting Lily out of the competition. Grandpa K stood to go, so he put that thought on hold for a moment. “Thanks for stopping by. Let me know if you think of anything else I should do or be aware of.”

  “Will do, Drew. Mighty proud of you standing up for this girl, it’s good for an old man to see that his grandkids are all he’d hoped they would be.”

  Before Drew could comment his grandfather walked out of the room. Drew thought about what he’d just heard and got a little choked up. He could admit that his siblings were fine upstanding people. They’d all had good role models, who’d taught them the value of hard work and being part of a team, a family. If one member of a team or family didn’t do their best, the others had to pick up the slack. It was not an easy lesson to teach, but his parents and grandfather had found a way to do so. Drew counted himself lucky to have been born into this family with the values they had.

  He turned back to his plans to protect Lily. Time to put those family values to work. Grandpa K had mentioned something he hadn’t thought of and that was timing, which led to motive. He got out a pad of paper and a pen and began brainstorming motives.

  Drew got a good handful of possible motives down on the paper, before he realized he needed more information. Part of determining motives revolved around the rewards for the pageant. And was there more, what was the next step after the pageant was won. Was there an even bigger event for the winner?

  With a sigh, he woke back up his computer and went back to researching, again. He’d not spent so much time on a computer in years, but he was determined not to let one stone be left unturned. Drew wanted every tidbit of information he could find, before they got on that plane headed for New York. He had to keep his girl safe.

  His movement and his thoughts stilled. His girl? He let that idea wash through his mind and heart. It didn’t feel wrong or intrusive or even unimportant. It felt right.

  Of course, he had no clue how Lily might feel about that idea, but maybe when this was all over it would be the right time to find out. Right now, they needed to keep her safe, that was the first priority and he couldn’t afford to be distracted thinking about convincing Lily to be his. So, it would wait, it was only a week, there was no rush.

  As he turned back to his computer, a warmth spread through his chest at the idea of Lily being his.

  Chapter 15

  Lily slept late the next morning. The shopping trip had worn her out. They’d had a wonderful time buying out every store in Denver. Summer had insisted that Lily buy at least three pairs of comfortable shoes, because even though they were comfortable, her feet would be happier in different shoes each day. Summer had also informed her that she planned to bring at least one extra pair along for the sightseeing days.

  They bought a few more things Summer had pushed for, in the makeup realm. She’d looked over Lily’s supplies before they left and declared that Lily needed a couple of items to round out her look, and some better brushes.

  After hitting the shoes and makeup stores it was time to get the twins’ clothes. They’d had fun watching the clerks keep asking ‘You want two? Exactly the same?’. They hadn’t told anyone why they were buying two, so the confusion was amusing.

  When they got to the novelty tie store they’d realized it wasn’t only novelty ties, but every conceivable type of tie a man could own. Lily had bought her dad one and three for Drew. One of which had very discreet pigs with holsters and guns on them, one was a western style string tie and one was a very nice plain blue one.

  Summer had picked out nearly a dozen for the twins, some were normal, and some were novelty. One set had lassos on them for Chase being a roper, and there was one set that was positively wicked if you took the time to really look at it. Most people wouldn’t. Again, the clerk was mystified by her buying two of each type.

  Even Lily’s mom had gotten Howard some ties, she’d also found a naughty tie that she cackled over nearly all the way back to the ranch. She’d told Lily that she was going to surprise him with that one when they got to New York.

  The manicure and pedicure were the last stop and Lily’s feet were more than happy to be pampered. The stitches on the big cut were still in so the technician had covered it with a waterproof bandage to keep it clean. Alyssa planned to take the stitches out on Monday, but she’d declared that it was healing nicely. Lily hadn’t been troubled by her injury during the shopping craze, it was more fatigue, than anything worrisome.

  Lily sat up in bed and decided it was time to greet the world. She wanted to try out each pair of her comfortable shoes to make sure they were still comfortable after an hour or two, rather than the five minutes in the store.

  After she was showered and dressed she pull
ed on her favorite jeans, a t-shirt that had seen better days, and put on her brand-new shoes. She looked ridiculous but that didn’t matter, she was with family or at least as close as one could get, after just meeting a whole group of people.

  But she did feel like they were family. They were all taking a week off to go with her to New York to protect her, which meant the few not going would have to pick up the slack. A cattle ranch was always busy, and having that many people all leave at the same time, would be a burden. Yet no one had batted an eye when it was suggested.

  That showed they had a lot of faith in Drew, and he had a lot of faith in his siblings. She knew her siblings would have her back if she needed it, but they might also try to persuade her not to go at all. Especially her older sister, she’d always thought being in the pageant was a silly idea and that Olivia’s request had overstepped the bounds of friendship.

  Lily sighed and made a beeline for the kitchen, she was starving, all that shopping yesterday had taken a lot of energy. She might even eat another carb or two to compensate. She grinned to herself, what a lovely excuse.

  She found her mom and dad in the kitchen together with Meg and Travis Kipling and Grandpa K. The older adults stopped talking when she walked in. Had they been talking about her?

  Lily looked to her mom, who shrugged. “Nothing to worry about, we’re just talking everything through. Travis and Meg are pointing out the strengths of each person going to New York, so we’ll know who to tap if it’s needed.”

  Lily nodded, the Kipling’s had probably also pointed out weaknesses, but her mom was being diplomatic. She wondered what all had been disclosed, it would have been interesting to hear. “I just came for breakfast, all that shopping.”