He just wasnt certain who that man was anymore.
Shane? Are you still there?
Yes. With a mental jerk, he shifted his attention back to the woman on the other end of the line and answered her question.
Well, thats good, then. I wanted to tell you about the sweetest little shop Ive set up. Im selling Wiccan items and teaching some classes. You cant believe the response Ive gotten. With my ability for summoning the spirits, theres a never-ending stream of people who are lonely for a long departed loved one. But not all people are open-minded about that, as you recall.
He read the underlying message in what she didnt say. Run a little afoul of the local law, did you?
Her tone was just right. A little bewildered, with a touch of the shakiness one might expect in a seventy-year-old woman. Except that Genevieve Fleming had never exuded signs of her age in her entire life. She didnt admit to it at all, unless it could help her in some way. Theyre hounding me, Shane, treating me like some common criminal. They want a payoff, of course, a bribe to leave me alone to conduct my business in peace.
Really. When he noticed his fist clenching, he consciously relaxed it, continued sorting the mail. Are you sure its a bribe they want, Gran? I believe its more commonly referred to as bail.
There was a moment of silence, while she rapidly regrouped, but only a moment. Shed always been quick to recover. Quick to assess any situation and milk it for all she was worth. Then she gave a martyred sigh, like a woman trying her best to be strong. You have caller ID, I suppose. Well, as a matter of fact, I hadnt wanted to alarm you, but for some reason Ive been put in jail. I dont know how to handle this. I feel so alone. Her voice broke.
There had been a time, even a few months ago, when the sound would have tugged at his conscience. Guilt was a habit decades in the making, difficult to break. But right now he felt nothing. No guilt. No compassion. Nothing but a weary sort of irritation that he might have felt for a particularly annoying stranger. His grandmother was little more than that, at any rate.
Considering your experience with jails around the country, its hard to believe youre totally out of your element. He tossed a credit card application onto the discard pile. You have my lawyers number. Use it.
He hasnt been helpful at all. Do you know, he expects me to plead guilty? If he was really worth the money you pay him, hed post my bail and have the charges dismissed. He refuses to get me out of here.
Because youve skipped bail the last two times youve been arrested, he reminded her. Leaves us in a rather uncomfortable position when you cant be depended on to show up for the court date. His gaze dropped once more to the plain white envelope, its very simplicity inviting him to pick it up. Open it. To delve once again into a morass of emotion that he was reluctant to repeat. There was something to be said for the lack of feeling hed been experiencing for the past few weeks. Absence of emotion also meant absence of pain. One of those damn silver linings the Pollyanna types always talked about. If he had an ounce of self-preservation left, hed toss the letter away with the junk mail.
Shane, if youd just fly here to talk to me, Im sure we could work this out. I need to see my only grandchild. Genevieves voice quavered a bit. Remember when you lived with me what a great team we made? We were inseparable.
He smiled humorlessly. Actually, I do remember teaming up with you. I remember everything. Which is why I have no interest in a reunion. Id recommend that you call my lawyer and follow his advice. Theres nothing more I can do. He was disconnecting the phone with one hand, even as he picked up Cassies letter with the other.
He could think of no better time to read her letter than right after dealing with his grandmother. They had, after all, so much in common. With any luck he could dispense with Cassies message as easily, as emotionlessly, as he had with Genevieve.
But that hope was dashed when he read the single line printed on the page.
We need to talk.
There was nothing else. Just four words followed by her neat signature. Nothing to hint at her reasons for contacting him. Certainly their last fight, a few days after the fair, had been passionately final.
We need to talk.
Theyd said everything they needed to each other then, and, if truth be told, even more. When he remembered the bitterness with which they parted, regret surged, forging through the shield hed erected around his heart. But as often as hed turned it over in his mind, hed never been able to figure another way for them.
He looked at the postmark on the envelope. It had been mailed after hed been in Afghanistan for two months. His original assignment had been for four weeks, but hed made arrangements to extend it. And then he had ended up staying even longer than he could have imagined.
His gaze dropped to the letter again. Whatever she wanted to talk to him about had already waited a month. Maybe shed written the note in a weak moment, driven by memories and remorse. Perhaps shed thought better of the missive as soon as it was mailed. At any rate, what would they talk about? If there was one thing hed learned in the past few months, it was that regret never changed anything. What was done was done. And then one just figured out how to live with the results.
We need to talk.
He didnt need to talk to Cassie. He didnt need her on any level. Hed spent three long months learning that. What he needed at this moment was to contact the hospital, get himself back on rotation. To unpack and deal with his wash. Get some medical supplies, including a prescription of painkillers and maybe, if the mood struck him, a haircut so he wouldnt scare his patients. Those were his priorities right now, and every one of them could be accomplished without dredging up painful feelings that were better left safely buried.
Decision made, he balled the note up in his hand, let it drop to the floor and headed out the door.
Cassie murmured soothingly to the half-wild stallion, not attempting to move any closer to it. Its rolling eyes and flared nostrils told her exactly how agitated it was. Now shed see how much shed taught it about trust.
Her hand inched upward a fraction of an inch at a time, even as she kept up a running litany of calming sounds. Her gaze never left the animals eyes. That was where shed see its reaction first.
It whickered nervously, backed up a little, flicked its tail. She moved forward a step and it went still, warning her. She froze, but never stopped her low, soothing monologue. The horse shook its mane and danced sideways, then finally lowered its head and pricked its ears, watching her.
Recognizing that the timing was right, Cassie reached out slowly, stroking its shoulder before easing forward to rub its neck. When it lowered its head further, she snapped a lead rope on the halter and led it quietly toward the hands waiting in the barns entrance.
Damn if I know how she does it. Lonny, their newest and youngest hand, shook his head. He was as spooked as Ive ever seen him.
Hes been off his feed, Cassie frowned consideringly. Maybe we should get the vet out here to give him a going-over. He could be coming down with a virus.
Jim reached out to take the lead rope and Cassie stepped back. Youre getting as good at that as Hawk, Cass.