After the Rain (The Callahans) (17 page)

“I heard you. Do you love her?”

The question caught him off guard. “That’s none of your business.”

“Sure it is.” She turned those big, brown eyes on him. Those eyes had once melted his soul. Now they literally repulsed him.

“When you screwed Danny, you kissed anything we had goodbye. It would serve you well to remember that and quit coming back here, Shayna. I’m not kidding.”

Her gaze narrowed in surprise. His harsh words had hit their mark. He turned and went back into the bedroom. By now, Kylie was under the covers asleep again. Irritated with the entire evening, he sat down on the bed and removed his boots. Too tired to even remove his clothes, he leaned back next to her and shut his eyes.

18

When Kylie awoke the next morning, the first thing she noticed was that her head wasn’t pounding quite so much. Her mouth hurt and she could tell her lip was swollen, but over all she felt better. She turned over, expecting to see Trey lying next to her. He wasn’t there.

During the night, he had woken her several times. She knew he’d slept on and off next to her. So where was he? With Shayna?

She pushed the thought aside, knowing she had to get over her insecurities about Trey’s ex-wife. Seeing the woman had not made things easier. She was beautiful. Her Native American features were perfect, her hair long and black. She looked like some kind of goddess or something. Kylie frowned as she thought about the night before. Shayna had practically been naked. There was no doubt in Kylie’s mind that Trey’s ex-wife had planned to attempt to seduce him.

She looked up as the door opened and Trey stepped into the room, a cup of coffee in his hand. He was showered and changed, his hair still damp. He was obviously ready for work. His gun was already in its holster and his badge was clipped to his belt. When he saw that she was awake, he smiled halfway.

“You’re awake. I tried to be quiet so you could sleep a little longer.”

“What time is it?” she asked, stretching her arms out.

He took a drink of coffee as he walked over and sat down on the bed. “A little after eight. How do you feel?”

She reached up and touched her swollen lip. “Like I look like crap. How bad is it?”

He had the decency not to wince. “It’s not that bad. A couple days and you’ll be good as new.”

She grimaced. “I can’t believe he hit me.”

Immediately, he looked sheepish. “It might have been mostly my fault. I shouldn’t have ducked.”

She could tell he still felt terrible about the incident. “I know you didn’t mean for me to get hit.”

“Instinct had me ducking before I thought about it. I never meant for you to get hurt, Montana. I would have taken the hit before you if I had been thinking straight.”

She pulled herself up into a sitting position and eyed his coffee cup. “Are you planning on sharing that?”

He offered her the cup.

She took one long swallow, then another, wincing again when the pressure of the cup touched her lip.

“I feel really badly about this,” he finally said, solemnly. “You can punch me in the mouth if you want to.”

She smiled at that and reached out to take his hand. Their fingers entwined and their eyes met. “I’m not much for punching people in the mouth. Besides, I like yours the way it is.”

After a moment, he smiled too. “I try not to go randomly punching people in the mouth either. Yesterday was an off day.”

“Is he gone?” she asked, taking another sip of coffee before handing the cup back to him.

“I had one of my deputies escort him to the airport this morning. I don’t think he will be bothering you again. At least not around these parts.”

“Was he hurt really badly?” She almost didn’t want to know. She knew she shouldn’t care, considering the trouble Paul had caused. But for some reason she did.

“He was walking on his own, Montana. His pretty, little face isn’t so pretty anymore. It’ll heal.”

“What about Shayna?”

His expression remained neutral. “She’s up at the house. I kicked her out when I got up this morning.”

Kylie grinned at that. “She was trying to seduce you last night.”

“I know what she was doing. I told you she’s trouble. You’re the one who made me let her stay here.”

“I didn’t want you to toss her out into the dark.”

He grunted and took a long swig of coffee.

“I don’t suppose you can stick around a while. We could stay in bed a little longer, maybe make a late breakfast?” She pulled him toward her until their noses bumped. When his mouth covered hers, she winced.

“Sorry.” He backed up a little.

“It’s a little tender,” she admitted. She leaned forward and kissed him anyway, ignoring the pain and focusing on the pleasure.

After a moment, he pulled back. “As tempting as your offer is, I have to go to work. Maybe we can continue this later on.”

“In your office?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He laughed at that. “I suppose if you have police business to discuss and it just can’t wait…”

She laughed too. It felt good. Just being there with him laughing and content felt good.

“You can hang out here if you want,” he finally said, squeezing her hand one last time and then standing up. “There’s some food in the fridge but make sure you check the dates before you eat it. My refrigerator is a little like my desk at work. I eat up at the house a lot.”

“You’re starting to impress me as a slob, Sheriff.”

He grinned at that. “Don’t let the secret out.”

She rolled her eyes. “I think what I need is a shower.”

“There are towels in the bathroom. I’m sure Faye will bring your stuff down if you call her. I have my cell if you need me.”

He was gone a moment later.

Not long after he drove off, there was a knock on the door. Figuring it was Faye, she walked over and opened it. She found her mother on the other side of the door, fresh faced and obviously well rested after the nightmare the evening before.

“Oh your poor little face.” Felice frowned and walked into the house. “Where’s the ice? You should keep something cold on that. It will minimize the swelling.”

“I think the swelling is minimized as much as it’s going to. How did you get here?”

“Sherriff Callahan had one of his deputies bring me over.” Felice raised an eyebrow. “I must say, he’s quite stunning.”

Stunning
was one word to describe Trey. She knew her mother would have more to say about him than that.

“Why didn’t you tell me about him?”

Letting the door shut, Kylie shrugged. “There’s nothing to tell. We only met a few weeks ago.”

Felice walked over and dug through the cabinet until she found a coffee cup. “I am not blind, Kylie Marie.” She poured herself some coffee before walking back into the living room and sitting down on the couch. “It was obvious last night that there is something between you two. Something more intense than what you had going with Paul.”

“What I had with Paul was a joke.” Kylie sat down, figuring at this point, her mother wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’m aware of the problems you had with Paul. What I want to know is what makes this young man different?”

“He just is,” was all Kylie could come up with.

“And he knows what happened to you?”

“He knows.”

Felice contemplated this. Finally, she sighed. “He apologized to me this morning, for allowing Paul to hit you in the face. That took balls.”

“Mother,” Kylie began.

“What I’m trying to say, Kylie, is that I don’t know him well yet. But what I see, I like. Perhaps this Trey is a good man. Maybe this one will go somewhere.”

“He’s a good man,” Kylie assured her. “But I’m not marrying him, Mother. Don’t get your hopes up. He’s been married before and things didn’t go well. He’s gun shy when it comes to that kind of commitment.”

“Ah, so that’s his flaw. I knew there had to be something.”

“I don’t want to get married either, Mother. We just met. We’re having fun just getting to know each other. Can you understand that?”

“Of course I can. Just be careful. You aren’t one for casual flings.”

She was right. Kylie could only shrug her shoulders.

“Well, I’ve said my peace. I would appreciate it if from now on you would keep me more informed on your plans. I never would have allowed Paul to come here if I had known what was going on. I thought you loved him. I was trying to help.”

“I know you were. I’m a big girl now, Mom. I know it’s hard for you to look at me like that, but I am.”

Felice’s eyes seemed to cloud over. “I’m your mother. I can’t help but get too involved sometimes. You’ve been through so much.”

“I’m happy, Mom. Right now, anyway. Just give me the chance to see where this goes.”

“What about your house? I stopped by the other day and Richard asked about you. He said he’s been keeping an eye on the place for you.”

Richard Melzo was Kylie’s neighbor. They’d become friends quickly when Kylie had moved into her two-bedroom rambler back in Montana.

“I’m going back. Probably not until after the wedding.” The thought made Kylie uneasy and she struggled to tamp down on the feeling.

“And what of this Trey Callahan thing then? You’re going to be able to just walk away?”

Would she? She didn’t know. “I can’t just leave my house and job behind without a second look. I know that, Mom.”

“Your father wants me to fly back home today. He thinks I’ve caused enough trouble.” Felice frowned. “In a sense, I suppose he’s right.”

“I know you meant well,” Kylie said, honestly. Her mother had a good heart. And she loved her daughter. Who could fault her for that?

“As much as I’d love to stick around and spend some time with you, I’m going to fly home for now. Your father and I will both be back in a couple of weeks for the wedding. Is that alright with you?”

Kylie smiled. “Of course. Faye will enjoy seeing Daddy too.”

When her mother had gone, Kylie poured herself some coffee and headed off to shower. Trey’s bathroom was clean and orderly, which surprised her. Apparently, he had a fetish about neat toiletries. The only thing out of place was his shaving kit, which he’d left haphazardly on the counter top.

She made a mental note to call Faye when she got out of the shower and have her bring a toothbrush and her bags down from the house.

After undressing, she climbed into the shower and let the warm water pour over body. It felt heavenly. She lathered her hair up with some shampoo and rinsed it, careful of the lump on the back of her head. When she was finished, she turned the water off and reached for the towel she’d slung over the top of the shower door. That’s when she saw the shadow of a person standing just outside the foggy glass.

“You came back,” she said, without thinking, and opened the sliding glass door. But it wasn’t Trey who stood on the other side of the door.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

Kylie let out a shriek at the sight of the strange man reaching for her, a gun in his right hand. He was large and ominous and the first thing she noticed about him was that his breath stank like cigarettes and alcohol. Dear God, who was he?

“Not so fast, little one.” He grabbed her and yanked her toward him. Immediately, she froze, her eyes wide as saucers as she stared up at him.

He let one finger slide down the inside of her neck and her skin began to crawl.
Not again
. She couldn’t live through something like this again.

“You’re a pretty little thing,” he said, his breath fanning her ear.

She struggled to pull the towel up over herself.

“Don’t cover up on my account.” He turned her around to face him. Her fear came out in a shriek again and he covered her mouth with his hand. “I’m only gonna tell you this once. Be quiet. Real quiet. If you don’t, things are going to get real nasty here. Do you understand me?”

She didn’t answer but she stopped screaming.

“That’s a good girl. Now where is she?”

Kylie stared at him, dumbfounded.

He grasped her arms and shook her violently. “Where the hell is she?”

“Who?” she managed to stammer.

“Don’t play stupid with me, bitch! I know she was here. I saw her last night.”

Shayna
. He had to be looking for Shayna. This was likely her infamous husband.

“She’s not here,” Kylie said, finally forcing herself to speak.

“I can see that. Where is she?” he asked, his teeth grinding. His grip on her tightened.

“I don’t know,” she said, willing herself to fight back this time. She couldn’t go down without a fight. Not again.

“You know what I think? I think you’re lying.” He reached up and grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him. The evil in his eyes stunned her briefly. “I know she was here, sweetheart. I know she runs to that bastard of an ex-husband of hers every chance she gets. She calls him on the phone daily. They’ve been carrying on for years behind my back.”

Obviously deciding he could overpower her without the pistol, he reached behind him and shoved the gun into the back of his jeans. “This time she went too far. She took my kids. She’s going to pay for that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kylie said, shaking her head. “I don’t even know Shayna.”

“Well….that’s really too bad. Because all I came here for was her.” His mouth curled into a sickly smile. “But perhaps you will be a nice little diversion for me.” He slid his hand down the front of her towel and she felt bile rise into her throat. She could not lie still for this again. She willed herself to fight back. The only weapon she could find was Trey’s razor, which lay on the counter next to his shaving kit. Without thinking, she grabbed it and swung around, catching him squarely in the face with its sharp edge.

He howled, his hands briefly letting her go. She made a beeline for the bathroom door but he managed to reach out a long arm and grab her by the hair. “You’re gonna pay for that, bitch!” He slammed her hard into the doorjamb and for a moment, the wind was knocked out of her.

Fight,
she kept telling herself.
Do not let this happen to you again.

The phone began to ring. Trey, she thought—it was Trey calling. If she could only get to the phone…. But she couldn’t. It was all the way across the house.