“Oh! Look at this.”
Mitch leaned to look at the telephone pole in front of her. There was a sign on it for a fundraiser.
“It’s for a couple whose house was destroyed by a tornado! I thought those almost never happen out here. That’s so sad,” she said.
“I don’t think it’s terribly uncommon here.”
She tapped her chin. “So sad. I think I’ll go to this.”
That seemed like an odd choice. Mitch didn’t want to go anywhere where there might be a lot of attention. He still felt skittish about his new identity.
“Well,” he said, “I think I’d better get back to work.”
She turned to face him. “What work?”
He sighed. “I’m supposed to learn how to be an insurance salesman for my new…well, you know.”
“That’s rough,” she said. “Alright, well I’ll see you later.”
“Definitely,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it!”
Chapter 8
Looking forward to seeing her again?
Kayla felt like she was torturing the man by talking at him for the last hour. There was no way that he was genuinely looking forward to seeing her again.
“Have a good day!” she said, turning to walk away.
It was odd. When she first met Mitch, she thought he was kind of cute. He had that tall, dark, and brooding thing going on.
But after he insulted her, she was over it. Brooding was one thing, being rude was another. Maybe he didn’t plan to have anyone tag along with him to Wyoming, but that was no reason to be mean. She couldn’t help that she got pulled into this!
And she definitely wasn’t dumb, like he insinuated – she just wasn’t a criminal like him. He was probably blindingly rich from all of the fraud that landed him in witness protection in the first place. Rich people always think everyone else is stupid. It wasn’t her problem that he was a snob.
The one thing she did feel a bit silly about was not knowing that Buffalo Bill was a real person. Why did she admit that to him? Probably because she was nervous. Whenever she could tell that someone didn’t like her, it made her talk a mile a minute. Plus, she had this terrible habit of needing to fill silence. The result was often something silly coming out of her mouth.
At the same time, if she hadn’t said anything, they would’ve sat, staring at each other, and not speaking a word. That would’ve been suspicious! Someone might think they were an unhappy couple or something and start asking questions. No need to pique everyone’s interest by being weird and sullen.
She decided not to let his snobbery ruin her Wild West vacation. Her horseback ride that morning was incredible. It was a little scary when that horse ran off with the little girl on its back, but it didn’t cause any harm.
Also, George was very good on horseback. Not just good looking – that bit was distracting – he was also quite skilled. He told her that he worked at a different ranch every season because he liked to travel the country and see all that life had to offer.
Kayla was impressed with his outlook – he was probably one of the most skilled wranglers in the area because he’d been to so many places.
She was also impressed with his Southern gentleman accent from growing up in Georgia. She felt like she could listen to him all day – and that was the real reason she was late to meet Mitch. She offered to help George take the saddles off of the horses, even though she had no idea how long that would take or what it entailed. In her opinion, she couldn’t spend a month at a ranch and not at least learn how to take care of horses!
She made a mental note to be better about being on time, though. No need to annoy Mitch any more than necessary. Also, she made a note on her phone for the time and place of the fundraiser for the tornado family. She wanted to be sure that she attended, to see if she could help in any way and to get to know the people in town.
Kayla slowly wandered through the streets, admiring the beautiful backdrop. Her goal was to make it all the way down Sheridan Avenue to the Buffalo Bill Museum so she wouldn’t say anything else ditzy about Cody. The problem was that she kept getting distracted with the side streets and the little shops along the way. She was a sucker for tourist trinkets, but she reminded herself that she wasn’t here to fill up her suitcase with junk.
After an hour of perusing the shops, she was much closer to buying a cowgirl hat than she was to walking into the museum. She truly wanted to learn the history of the area (and not just to look smart in front of Mitch), but she also felt like a cowgirl hat was equally important for fitting in. Come to think of it, though, she didn’t see many people wearing hats. Maybe they were all tourists too? Was it dorky to get a hat?
She debated the merits of the hat and settled on at least buying a book about the history of Cody – it had a lot of neat pictures that would be fun to show her parents once she got back home. She tucked the book into her purse and decided that she needed to get serious about making it to the museum before it closed.
Unfortunately for her plans, the next store she passed was a pet store and she was immediately distracted by a little yellow dog.
“Hi there sweetie!” Kayla knelt down to get a better look at the adorable face hiding under the bench.
The dog pretended that he couldn’t see her – looking up, around, and any way but at her.
“You just look like you want to melt into the ground and disappear,” said Kayla gently, slowly offering the back of her hand to the dog to smell.
“That’s because he does,” beamed a voice behind her.
Kayla stood up. “Oh I’m so sorry, is this your dog?”
He nodded and crossed his arms. “Unfortunately, it is.”
Kayla didn’t know how to respond to that. “Sorry, I’m being so rude. My name is Kayla. I’m staying at the New Morning Ranch for a few weeks.”
“Is that right? Staying with the Connors?”
She nodded. “Yeah!”
“Nice to meet you Kayla, I’m Butch. That’s good to hear. They’re good people.”
“Nice to meet you, Butch.”
Butch looked down at his dog. “Yeah, I tied him out here hoping someone would come by and want to take him off my hands.”
Kayla tried to hide the shock on her face, but did a poor job of it. “Oh?”
“Look at him,” he said extending a hand. “He’s a healthy dog, don’t get me wrong. But he’s just – my daughter brought him to me, after she found him wandering around. She thought I could get some use out of him at the farm, either hunting or protecting some of the chickens.”
“Ah. And he’s…not been a very good worker?”
“No!” Butch said, taking off his ball cap and rubbing his forehead. “He’s afraid of everything, most of all me, and he sulks around like the world’s coming after him.”
Kayla squatted again to look at him. The dog was still firmly avoiding any and all eye contact. “Maybe he didn’t have the best life before your daughter found him.”
Butch sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. And I’m sorry for it, but I don’t have the time or the patience to deal with a skittish dog.”
“Aw,” said Kayla. “But he’s so pretty!”
A smile spread across Butch’s face. “Sounds like you two might be a match.”
Kayla laughed. “I’ve always wanted a dog, but I don’t know that right now is the right time.”
Butch pulled his hat back on and sighed. “That’s what I’ve been running into. My buddy owns this pet shop, and he thought that I might be able to find someone to take him. But it’s summer now, and the town is full of tourists. Nobody wants to bring a dog home with them.”
Kayla shifted her weight. He was probably right. Most people don’t go on vacation and have a contingency plan for getting a new dog. Then again, what better time to get a dog than when she didn’t have any real responsibilities…
“What are you going to do with him?” she asked.
Butch kneeled down to pat the dog’s head
. “I don’t know. Maybe drop him off in Jackson and see if some celebrity will take him on.”
“In Jackson Hole?”
“Yeah, you ever been there?”
“No, but I’ve heard of it,” she replied.
“It’s a great place if you want to pay twice as much to hang around a bunch of rich Californians.”
Kayla didn’t know what that was about, but it wasn’t her battle to fight. “Is he house trained?”
Butch shrugged. “Dunno. I’ve only had him a few weeks, I’ve been keeping him in the barn. He doesn’t like that, though, and he’s gotten out a bunch of times.”
Kayla looked down at the dog again. “So you don’t like barns, and you don’t like strangers. What do you like little fella?”
The dog turned his head towards her and inched his body closer. He extended his nose to sniff her hand. Excited, Kayla slowly lowered herself until she was sitting on the sidewalk next to him. He took one heavy paw and set it on her thigh.
Kayla felt her heart swell. “Look, he likes me!”
“Huh, would you look at that.”
She extended her hand to delicately stroke the fur on his back. He did not resist.
“Hm,” she said out loud. “Here’s the thing. I’ll be up at the ranch for the next few weeks. I don’t know if dogs are allowed.”
He shrugged. “They probably are.”
She shot him a smile. Of course he would say that. Though…it wouldn’t hurt to give the ranch call and just ask them. If they said no, that was that. And if they said yes – well then she had a decision to make.
She did always want a dog. But much like the other plans in her life, everything took a backseat to her becoming a doctor. While she was in school, she spent countless hours studying at the library. Once she went into residency, there were days that she had 24 hour shifts at the hospital. It would have been unfair for her to have a dog then.
But what was holding her back now? This was supposed to be the beginning of her new life. This dog clearly needed a new life, too. Plus, he seemed to like her. And she couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
The thought of walking away from this living, breathing creature to walk around a museum filled with dead stuff felt intolerable. She could visit the museum anytime, and she could just avoid talking to anyone about Buffalo Bill until she had the chance. Plus, she got that history book! That would catch her right up. She could even read it to her new dog!
“I can see the wheels turning in your head,” Butch said. “I don’t want to put any pressure on you, but my friend Lincoln owns the pet shop. I’m sure he’d give you a nice discount on supplies if I told him you were taking this dog off of my hands.”
Kayla smiled. If she spent some time thinking, she could certainly come up with reasons why this was a bad idea. But she didn’t want to do that. It felt right.
“Butch, you’ve got yourself a deal!”
He stuck out his hand for a handshake. “And I thought I’d be sitting out here all week.”
She paused. “Do you mind if I go inside and get some of the supplies now?”
“Go right ahead. Tell Lincoln you’re taking the dog.”
Kayla made a quick call to the ranch – it turned out dogs were allowed for a small additional fee. She walked into the pet shop and found Lincoln, the only person in the store, tending to the fish tanks. He was pleasantly surprised to hear that she was going to take Butch’s dog.
“I confess though,” she told him, “that I’ve never had a dog before, so I’m not sure what I’m supposed to get.”
“I’m happy to help you with that,” Lincoln said.
They spent the next half hour going around the store to pick up things that she would need. It didn’t seem like Lincoln was taking her for a ride, at least; and with everything, he told her that she could take it or leave it. The only thing that he insisted she needed was a good leash that the dog couldn’t escape from, and a bag of food.
“The rest is all your preference,” he said.
He showed her a book that would help her through owning her first dog. It talked about obedience training, house training, and even using a crate to train the dog.
“Isn’t that cruel?” she asked. “To put him in a cage?”
Lincoln shook his head. “No ma’am. All of my dogs are crate trained. Keeps them out of trouble when I’m not home. You don’t plan on keeping him in there all the time, do you?”
“No, of course not.”
“Good. It’ll be like a den for him. That way, he can learn the rules of the house and not destroy anything that he shouldn’t while you’re away.”
By the end of it, Kayla decided to buy everything that Lincoln showed her. It wasn’t terribly expensive, plus he was giving her a discount. She left with a large crate, an elevated set of bowls, a pack of tennis balls, a dog bed, three squeaky toys, a no slip leash, and a handful of other things that she thought looked cute. Lincoln even had a machine to make a dog tag right in the store.
“Do you know what you’re going to name him? We can make that up for you right now.”
“I didn’t even think about it!” she said.
“Let me ring you up, maybe something will come to you.”
She stood there, racking her brain for a good name. Pongo? No, that was from a movie…was it the dalmatian movie? She couldn’t use that.
Marty popped into her head. That was cute!
Oh wait, definitely couldn’t use that – that was the name of the criminal that she wasn’t supposed to know. She couldn’t very well name her dog after him. Plus, he didn’t look like a Marty. He looked sad, like a…like a what? He was a dog getting kicked off of a farm. A dog that liked to escape. A dog that was basically an orphan. Like Oliver Twist!
She remembered reading that book when she was in school, but she was fuzzy on the details. Was it offensive to name her dog after a Dickens character?
“You ready with that name?”
She decided that no one needed to know where the name came from. “Yes! I’m going with Oliver.”
“Sounds good to me. Write out your name and phone number so I can put it on the tag. In case he gets loose.”
“Okay!” Kayla couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Her first dog! Sure, it wasn’t the best timing. When her vacation here was done, she’d have to convince Perez to let Oliver on the plane home. It wouldn’t be a big deal. If worse came to worst, she could just drive back to New York with her new friend in tow.
Kayla made sure to write down her fake name and paid for all of the supplies. She asked Lincoln if he’d hang on to them for a second while she pulled her car up to the shop.
“No problem,” he said. “I’m happy to help you with that.”
Before she knew it, her car was full of supplies and Butch was untying Oliver’s leash from the bench. She was a bit nervous that he wouldn’t want to get in the car with her, but as soon as she clicked her tongue, he jumped into the backseat. Impressed, she shut the door and scurried over to the driver’s seat. She waved goodbye to Lincoln and Butch before turning on the engine.
“Alright Oliver, it’s just you and me. Are you ready to see your new home?”
He sat up, panting nervously and breathing hot, stinky dog breath into her face.
“Whew we need to get you some water, and maybe some doggy mints, but I’ll take that as a yes!” She put the car into drive and headed back to the ranch.
Chapter 9
Over the next few days, Mitch replayed his conversation with Kayla in his head. He had a hard time meeting new people; it was difficult for him to make conversation, and then afterwards he worried that what he said could be taken as offensive or rude.
It wasn’t the best quality for someone starting over in life, but that’s who he was. As he got to know Kayla, he would open up more. He wasn’t the kind of guy to tell just anyone his life story. He certainly didn’t mind sharing a pizza with her, though; there were much worse ways to spend an afternoon –
like reading about insurance.
Yet that’s exactly what he needed to focus on before he would see her again. They were supposed to meet up again in three days, and Mitch felt like he had a lot that he needed to accomplish before then.
First, he needed to assess what actually worked in his rental house. His landlord agreed to take a look at the fridge, so that was a good start.
There were also the issues of a dripping kitchen faucet, the wonky toilet, peeling floors, and various other little annoyances that he found around the house. He spent a full day fixing things himself – replacing light bulbs, tightening door knobs, fixing leaks and generally cleaning the place up. It seemed like no one had lived there in ages. He wondered how much the Marshals were paying for this place.
The next day was dedicated to studying the insurance salesman manual. It was dull reading. He appreciated that the Marshals found a job for him that he can do without going back to school, but at the same time, he dreaded every minute of it. The thought of actually talking to people to convince them to buy insurance made him want to hide under his desk. It was only slightly better than going back to Virginia to face the goons himself.
Mitch understood that people needed to insure their cars and homes, of course. He just didn’t know how to be a salesman. It was totally against his nature. The training book said to suggest other types of insurance that might be useful to a customer. While he had no problem suggesting something that might benefit them, he wouldn’t push them if they said no. And he’d never offer something people didn’t need. He wondered if he’d be able to make a living without being pushy.
Slightly disheartened, he spent the next day driving around and buying supplies to fix up his house. He could fix almost anything, and if he didn’t know how to fix it, he’d find it on the internet and figure it out. He liked working with his hands. Working on a computer was just…boring. He wished he could get back into woodworking, but the Marshals were clear about that; trying to work as a carpenter again would run the risk of attracting too much attention.
Mitch was relieved when it was finally time to see Kayla again. The morning before their meeting time, she sent him a text asking if he would mind swinging by the ranch that afternoon instead of meeting her in town. He didn’t mind meeting her at the ranch, but he worried that it might be unwise. What if there was someone staying there keeping an eye on her, waiting to see if she made contact with him?
Doctor's Date with a Billionaire Page 6