Chapter 2

Laura

When I heard Chip scratching at the front door, I knew that one of two things was going to happen. Either he was going to shoot Chip, or all the boys would come flying in, sensing that there was trouble, and Chip would save the day. Damn, that dog is a godsend. He should win an award for what he did. I know it’s silly, because the gun wasn’t loaded and the safety was still engaged, but still. Had neither of those facts been true, that dog would have been hailed a hero.

It’s funny, because I was scared when the gun was forced against my temple, but once I realized who was behind the trigger, I almost wanted to slap him. How dare Matty pull a stunt like that. It’s bad enough that he’s swindled his family business out of thousands of dollars, and conned cash out of lord knows how many others in Huttonville and outside of town, but now he’s endangering other people’s lives. He should be punished to the full extent of the law.

Believe me, out here in Huttonville, our County Sheriff holds nothing back. They’ll throw the book at him. Aside from the odd petty crime, our town is quite safe. Why, I don’t remember the last time I locked my front door. And this is precisely why the town is so safe. Because when you break the law here, you pay. For a long, long time. And not just behind bars or doing community service, no, everyone in this town remembers. They remember who and what and how, and anyone who has defied justice in Huttonville will not only be denied a job here, but they’ll never given a welcome to any establishment, ever again. That’s usually why nobody ever dares to wrong anyone in this town. Why, Matty’s face will always be seen as a score to settle here now.

Fool.

Anyway, I can’t pull one over on Grayson. And this is going to be so hard. If Clint slips up and tells Grayson, I’ll kill him. But that won’t ever happen. Instead of trying to be forcibly spontaneous with Grayson, I decide to actually surprise him. But like with most surprises, I’m going to need some help. Because of the levity of the surprise, I don’t want to tell anyone other than the person who already knows, and that’s my brother, Clint.

Once I have my idea in place, I call him. “Doctor Kelsey here.” He answers.

“Clint? It’s Laura.”

He pauses. “What are you doing calling me in the office? Why didn’t you just call my cell phone?”

“Because in case you’re with Grayson.”

“I could be with Grayson in my office, too.” He points out, and I feel stupid.

“Alright, fine. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

He chuckles. “Get used to that.” Another pause. “Hey, are you okay? Grayson told me about the run-in you had with Matty Herald.”

“Yes, I’m fine. Clint, can you help me with something?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“I need to get Grayson somewhere as a surprise, so I can tell him the news. I tried to convince him to go out to dinner with me tonight, but a red flag immediately went up, so I kyboshed that.”

“What do you have in mind?”

I tell him and he agrees to help.

“Thanks, Clint. I’ll see you later.”

“See ya.”

Now that I have a few hours to spare before everything falls into place, I have to put Grayson’s gift together. But first, I have to get the perfect picture of Chip, and I have to find that notice board that I used to use when we offered riding lessons. An hour later, when I’ve rearranged the plastic letters on the board, put the board into a nicer, more appropriate frame, and taken the picture with Chip sitting next to the frame, I’m ready to go, with one exception…I want to look nice.

When I’m upstairs, fussing with my hair, and I have my dress on already, I hear the door open downstairs. “Laura?” It’s Lisa.

Twice in one day? Sheesh! Doesn’t anyone have a life around here anymore? “Upstairs!” I call, huffing.

When she reaches the top of the stairs, I ask. “What are you doing here? I just saw you this morning.”

“Well, that’s a fine welcome. What crawled up your butt?”

“Nothing.”

She looks me up and down. “What are you all dressed up for?”

“Grayson and I are having dinner out tonight. I want to surprise him and catch him right when he’s finished work.”

“Tonight an anniversary or something?” she probes. Lisa is the mother of all busybodies, and I’m so used to it, that I don’t take the bait. I’ve held out this long without telling anyone, and I’m not giving up now. Grayson and I haven’t been together for long, so an anniversary would be a stretch.

“Something like that.” I half lie.

I try to divert her attention, so she’ll change the subject. “Kurt outside?”

She shrugs. “Yes.” A bark. “Where else would he be?”

Kurt is Grayson’s brother. He came here to take Grayson’s place as Lead Hand at the ranch, when Grayson took Clint up on his offer to work at the medical clinic with him. It’s a long story. Kurt just also happens to be the one man whom Lisa regards as Kryptonite. See, she’s a world-class flirt, and comes on usually very strong, but when Kurt came around, well, you get the picture. Lisa can’t even be in the same room as him, without hanging her head towards the floor. My guess is that she likes him. For real, likes him. A lot. Because the other men, including my Grayson, before he and I were an item, of course, anyway, she’s all over them. Lisa and Clint went out together years ago, but Lisa isn’t the marrying type, whereas Clint is, so let’s just say that they clashed.

Lisa hits on Will, my other brother, too, but he’s more of a flirt than she is, and, let’s just say that I think they’ve gotten together at least once. So they’ve got it out of their systems. “Well, I don’t know. I figured you’d at least talk to him for a minute. The guy thinks you can’t stand him. It isn’t a nice feeling.”

“Well, if he feels that way, why doesn’t he ask me?”

“Because you run like a scared rabbit every time he’s around you.” I guffaw. “What is up with that, anyway?” A topic I’ve wanted to brooch for a while, and now is the perfect time. Lisa will forget all about wanting to dig deeper into my day.

“Because he’s….” I sigh. “Not my type.” She lies.

I give a long sigh. “Try again, not buying that. Kurt is totally your type and you and I both know that.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s handsome, single, smart…and he’s male.” I state. “And let’s be real, here, number four would have sufficed for you.”

She gives me a look. “Shut up. I don’t hit on Grayson, do I?”

Sputtering a laugh, I say. “You did! Before he and I got together, you were all over him!”

“Yeah, I drove you to him. If it weren’t for me pushing, you two would have never gotten together.”

“Well, thank you.” I say too sweetly. “I do think that I should take some credit for that.” I pinch my earlobe with my index finger and thumb, hooking my earring in, and then I do the other side.

“Fine. Are you okay? You know, from this morning?” she asks, changing the subject. “That is really why I came over. To check on you.”

I give her a warm grin. “I’m fine. Really. Grayson stayed with me while we ate lunch with the boys. I got some work done after lunch, and now I’m getting ready to go meet Grayson for dinner. So, would you scoot? I’m running out of time.”

 

***

Clint

 

One of the front receptionists taps on my door. “Doctor Kelsey?”

“Yes, come in.” I call.

“I’ve got all the files ready for the morning. Doctor Thomas just saw our last patient. Would it be okay with you if I left for the day?”

Checking my watch, I realize that I’m running out of time. I hadn’t realized what time it was until now. “Sure. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Have a good night.”

“You too.”

When she leaves, I stare at the wall that I share with Grayson, or Doctor Thomas, my sister’s boyfriend, and I wonder how in the hell I’m going to pull this off. Grayson is a straight-shooter, and I know that he’s going to get right ticked off when I won’t tell him what’s going on, but insist that I drive him to the location that Laura requested that I drive him to. Just as I’m reluctantly trying to devise a plan, my door knocks again. “Clint?” It’s Grayson.

“Yeah, come in.”

“I think everyone’s gone for the day. It’s safe to leave the door open now.” He says.

“Yeah, I just dismissed Stacey for the day.”

“What a crazy day, huh.” Grayson shakes his head. He already took his smock off, so he’s just standing in his jeans, boots and t-shirt. His back rests along the wall, and he’s got one ankle over the other one.

“Yeah. Never a dull moment at the ranch. But I suppose that you’re used to that by now.”

“Pretty much.” Grayson agrees.

I can tell that he’s got something on his mind, because he’s not scurrying out of here to get to Laura as quickly as possible. He takes a lot of work home with him, so I never worry that he’s going to get behind. Me, I like to finish all my paperwork and preparation while I’m here at the office. Maybe that’ll change one day when I have a significant other and/or a family, but until then, I stay put until the job is done.

“You got stuff to take home with you tonight?” I ask conversationally.

“Yeah,” he scratches his head. “Just a couple of charts. I’m going to go over the lecture notes from last year’s convention, just so I’m on the ball when that rolls around again. Been a while since I dug into that material.”

“That’s a good idea. There’s not a lot to cover.”

“I usually go through that stuff when Laura’s in the bath. Takes her an hour, so that’s plenty of time most night.” he chuckles.

I cut to the chase. “Got something on your mind, Grayson?”

He licks his lips. “As a matter-of-fact.”

I gesture for him to take a seat. He removes himself from the wall and sits down, interlacing his fingers in his lap. “Like myself, I know that you, Will and Laura don’t have a father anymore, and in my eyes it ain’t right to ask…without asking first, see…”

I know exactly where this conversation is headed. “You want to propose to my sister.”

“Sure do.”

“You got a ring?”

“Yeah. Picked it up yesterday.”

“It’s not gaudy, is it?” I whine. “Dang, some of the ones I’ve seen out there look like something only Elizabeth Taylor would wear.”

He chuckles. “Wha, hell, Clint…I didn’t know you had an opinion on such things.” He pulls something out of his back pocket. “Here, judge for yourself.”

I look at it. It’s definitely something that Laura will love. “Antique?” I ask, but I know the answer.

“That’s Laura’s taste.” Grayson answers. And it’s the absolute truth. Laura’s house is filled with antiques. She knows nothing else. The ring is yellow gold, with heart filigree in white gold, leading to the center stone, a round cut diamond, and two smaller, round cut diamonds on either side. Under the round cut diamonds the posts are heart filigree as well. The ring has been polished, freshly dipped, and a new, thick band has replaced the original. The ring looks like it will outlive her, even though it’s probably as old as our grandmother was.

“She’ll love it.”

“Do I have your blessing?”

“I wouldn’t give it to anyone else.” I say fairly. “When are you pulling it off?”

“I had plans to do it tonight, but, after the Matty Herald incident this morning, I thought that it might be poor timing.”

I smile. “Actually, your timing couldn’t be better. Laura’s fixing to surprise you tonight.”

He’s grinning, but there’s a ‘v’ between his brows. “She’s not letting up on that, is she.” He chuckles. “She wants to take me out to dinner. We’ve never done that. I put up such a fuss, she let it go.”

“Well, now she’s got me taking you to an undisclosed location, as a surprise.” I lift a finger. “Now, I ain’t telling you anymore. You’re well aware of how Laura gets when you don’t follow the rules.”

“Do I ever.” Grayson agrees, nodding. “She ain’t…pulling one of them ‘I’ll propose to him’ deals, is she? I know we spoke about marriage a while back, so maybe she’s thinking the same thing I am.”

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

 

***

 

Grayson

 

We’re in Clint’s truck, on our way to wherever Laura said for Clint to drop me off at. My palms are sweating. Don’t remember the last time that those sweat, but I imagine I’m nervous about proposing to the woman I love more than anything or anyone else on earth. Laura is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I want her to know that. She’s the only woman I see myself with for the rest of my life. Never thought I would ever see myself in this position again, after losing Kelly, but here I am.

When I’m with Laura, I see life through a different set of eyes. Better ones. Way better ones to be frank. The thought of going back to who I was before I met her gives me goosebumps, and not the good kind, either. The way I see it, if we’re married, if she’s my wife, it’s set. This is forever. The thought of marriage doesn’t make me nervous. It’s how Laura will react to the proposal. It’s not been that long since we fell in love. But I figure, neither one of us are young or stupid. She and I are both reaching forty. We’re not naïve.

We’re just in love. Both of us have been married. Both of us have been widowed. We have more in common that that, of course, but sometimes it helps that we’ve been along the same path, and understand the experience that we shared, not together, but you know what I mean. Anyway, I’m sure that she’ll say yes, but there’s always that little voice inside your head that’s talking back to you, almost taunting you. If it weren’t for the small amount of time that we’ve been together, I wouldn’t have a doubt in my mind, and sure, I thought about waiting, but why? My love for her isn’t going to change. Fact, I love her more each day, so what’s stopping us? I hate referring to Laura as my ‘girlfriend’, or ‘the lady I live with’, or just ‘Laura’, as I’ve been using lately, since I’m sick of using the other references.

I want to call her my wife. End of story. And I don’t know what frustrations she’s encountered when she talks about me, but I’m sure that she feels the same. It’s no secret in this town that Laura and I are together. So why shouldn’t she be my wife? Seems simple enough.

“We’re almost there, man.” Clint says. “It’s not too late to turn back.”

I look at him and his face is impassive. He’s not kidding. “I appreciate that. But there is no doubt in my mind that Laura’s the one for me.”

“Good.” He pats my leg. “You passed the test.”

I shake my head, but I’m smiling. “You’re something else.”

“I gave Quentin the same line before he walked out onto the altar.” Clint states. Quentin was Laura’s first husband. Died tragically ten years ago. “You know how that story ended.”

“That I know. I won’t forget it, either.” I grunt as we pull up to a restaurant that I don’t recognize. Clint puts the truck in park and I look at him. “You think she’s ready for this?”

“What, on account of Quentin?”

“Yeah.” I nod.

He stares at the gearshift. “Until you came along, I didn’t think she’d ever be ready. Quentin’s all Laura ever knew. He was her everything. Never saw my sister so lonely or sad since he died.” He looks at me. “Now, you, and your romancing her, and all that gooey crap you spoil her with…damn. Makes me sick, I tell ya.” He shakes his head.

I laugh. “Alright. Enough said.” I look around. “There’s her car over there. She must be inside waiting.”

“Well, don’t keep her waiting too long.” Clint advises.

“That’s the same line that got me here.” I chuckle, good-naturedly.

“Alright. Good luck, man.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ll pick you up for work in the morning.”

“Cool. Thanks.” I say, exiting the car.

I check my pocket before leaving. It’s there.

I check my heart, too…it’s there now more than ever.