Page 32 of Dependable Cowboy

He deserved serious consequences for that sin alone.

“People get confused sometimes, Kara,” he spoke gently to her. “Sometimes they forget what the most important thing to them should be and get a little lost. And sometimes, they hurt those they love in the process. It’s sad, but it’s human. So, for now, I want you to try to put what happened tonight out of your mind and lay down.”

Kara nodded, obeying him, and just for good measure, he read her not just one story, but two. He made certain these were cheerful stories with happy endings—ones he for sure performedthe voices on—and that by the time she’d shut her eyes no more remnants of that evening’s trauma marred her features.

At least not in an obvious way.

Her eyes and nose remained somewhat red and swollen, and her expression wasn’t entirely peaceful. But it was the best he could do under the circumstances.

“Thank you for calming her down,” Joy gave him her appreciation, and looking in her eyes he could tell she was just as freaked out as her daughter. Joy might still be on her feet, and she might’ve stood up to the man who’d seemingly come back from the dead. But she looked like a stiff breeze could blow her over as easily as a bowling ball knocked over pins.

“Least I can do,” he comforted her, leading her over to her couch.

“You didn’t have to do anything. You didn’t even have to come over here. But I’m glad you did. He…” She trailed off. “He was so… scary.”

Aaron couldn’t help but agree.

“Showed up with no warning, I take it.”

Her only reply was to nod. She reminded him of someone who had been through a terrible car accident and was physically uninjured but had no clue where they were. Then, almost as an afterthought, she spoke up.

“None at all.” She looked down at her hands, where she’d been rubbing her thumb into the opposite palm. It was a habit she’d had since elementary school but only when upset. “After all my worry, wondering what was going on when we were in Hollywood, seeing him today was just…”

Taking her nerve-ridden hands in his, he held them until she gazed into his eyes. Bringing them up to his lips, he pressed kisses to each palm, as well as the back of each hand. Then, he tucked them together against his chest, bringing her head so that it nuzzled against his collarbone. Looping his arms around Joy, he simply held her.

He did it for her, sure. But he also did it for himself. To remind himself that she was in fact okay.

“I was going to call you back. I’m not even certain how we got disconnected.”

He wasn’t, either. But that wasn’t the aspect of what had occurred that was currently bugging him. “How did he find you and Kara, Joy? If you hadn’t had any contact with him for so long, couldn’t even reach the man to serve him with divorce papers, how did he just appear like he did?”

“Good question,” she answered, which didn’t satisfy Aaron in the least. But then, she went still and sat up, goggling at him. “Debbie…”

“Huh?” he raised his brows, puzzled.

“My friend back in Hollywood. Debbie Malone. She worked onFutile Passionsas a production assistant and was friendly with Wayne. That’s how I became a stylist on the soap. If I hadn’t, we wouldn’t have had two pennies to rub together.”

“All right.”

“No, you don’t understand.” Joy pressed her open palm to his collarbone. “She’s the only person back there I told my plans to. She knew I was taking Kara and moving back here. That I was coming home.”

To Rocky Ridge.

“And she told Wayne,” Aaron concluded.

“She must have. I doubt that he maintained ties with anyone he knew from so long ago here. He knew I’d been on the outs with my mom and dad forever, so he wouldn’t have gone to them anyway. If he had, they wouldn’t have told him. Not in a hundred years. So, it must have been Debbie. It couldn’t have been anyone else.”

Before he could ask her what she was doing next, she was up and plucking her own phone from the cord where she had it plugged in on the kitchen counter.

“It’s earlier out there. Not too late to find out for sure,” she mumbled, and that was when he understood that Joy was calling this woman. Aaron listened, and Joy didn’t beat around the bush. “Have you seen Wayne?”

There was some chatter he couldn’t quite make out.

“Uh-huh. I suppose it’s a miracle. Did you let him know where I was?”

More incoherent chatter, the tone this time sounding more like regret.

“Well, in the future, please don’t let anyone else know our location. Especially anyone affiliated with him. He’s unstable, Debbie. And when he just showed up… well, it wasn’t good.”

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