Page 37 of Barry

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Buddy’s nose was right there, thinking he still had a carrot. When he didn’t get one, the horse snorted at his attempt to pet his nose and walked away. There was still a lot of work to be done with the big guy.

Barry smiled and pushed the icon for Kathy’s number.

“Hey!” She answered almost immediately.

“Hey, yourself. I just had some great news.”

“Really? What? Mitzi, put that shoe down.” He heard her snap her fingers. “No. Sorry, she’s fascinated with my heels. I don’t wear them often and just pulled them off the shelf. You’d think they were made of steak. Honey is being such a good girl.”

Barry laughed at Kathy’s monologue and decided to hedge a bit because Andrew once told him to forget he’dever met Roman, so … “Someone Andrew’s working with is bringing some security equipment for your and Corrie’s houses.”

Kathy made a noise in her throat. “How expensive is it? I have a small savings account, but …”

“Nothing.” He’d pay for everything—hell, he’d put it on a payment plan if he had to, but the safety equipment was going in the houses.

“Are you sure?”

“Yep. Donated stuff.” He guessed, but if not, it would be donated by him.

“Okay, then. When? Not tonight, right? You’ve got a date, if you recall,” she purred, and boy, did his body take notice.

“Believe me, I haven’t forgotten. I’m just finishing with Buddy, then grabbing some dinner before I clean up. I’ll be there at seven. How’s the community hall looking?” He knew she and a couple of others had spent the day decorating and putting up tables for the turnout.

“It looks great. We used twinkle lights and Edison lights for the outside area, and Declan set up a dance floor outside. Stephanie had some tiki torches that we put on the perimeter past the parking lot. It’s going to look amazing at night. Oh, and don’t eat too much. Tegan has half a cow waiting to be grilled. Declan was fussing that he would run out of cold beer because he had to put so much meat in the coolers.”

“It sounds like they expect the entire town to show up.” Barry chuckled and sat down on a stack of hay bales.

“They are. And most of the town and the ranchers will stop by, at least to make an appearance.” Kathy sighed. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too.” He glanced around the barn just to make sure he was alone. “Maybe we could sneak away for a while tonight.”

“Don’t you threaten me with a good time, mister.” Kathy laughed. “I’d like that, and I was thinking, why don’t we go to Belle or Spearfish for a weekend? Could you get someone to watch the dogs and Buddy?”

That was one hell of an idea. “Yeah. Damn, why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because you’re worried about recent events and have been focused on them and work, and I don’t have either of those pressures. Oh, and Mom wants to know if you’re coming to Sunday dinner. I told her probably not.”

“I don’t want to put them at risk.” If Jackson had a vehicle … but he didn’t think Jackson had one, someone would have reported it. Stray vehicles were noticed pretty quickly when all you saw on a daily basis were cattle, horses, and antelope.

“I can’t wait for this to be over. I hate now that we’re … well, you know, together, we can’t actuallybetogether.”

“Do you mean now that we’re having sex?” He taunted her with a small laugh after his question.

“Yes, that.”

He could practically hear the flush in her cheeks turning darker. “I think with the new help Andrew has gotten, it’ll be over sooner rather than later.” With as bold as the guy had been with the rattlesnakes, it wouldn’t be long before he tried something. And with the cameras and security systems, it would be only a matter of time before the guy was caught.

Barry heard the sound of the dinner chimes at the main house and looked at his watch. “I better go if you want me there on time.”

“Okay, I need to let the dogs out and then jump in the shower.” Barry may have groaned a bit at the thought of her wet and naked. “I heard that, and I agree,” Kathy said. “I love you.”

“I love you more,” Barry said and disconnected. He really needed to catch a break and have that shit end. Taking two steps backward was normal. Setbacks happened. He could only control how he reacted to the events. The thoughts raced through his brain, and he stood up, frowning. Hereallyneeded to get Doc Wheeler out of his head.

CHAPTER 16

The trucks leaving the Hollister ranch resembled a convoy. Senior took his truck, Andrew and Gen took theirs, Dusty and Greg each drove separately, and Barry drove his truck so he and Kathy would have a quiet place to escape to for a few moments to be alone. The sun was still shining as they all pulled onto the highway.

Barry glanced at his watch as they pulled into the Bit and Spur parking lot. He was ten minutes early, but the lot was almost full of trucks and cars. He recognized Tegan right away. He wore an apron that said “Groom” in big block letters. Kate was right beside him at the grill, and her apron read “Bride” in the same block lettering. Well, he didn’t figure they’d be cooking for the town, but that was what it looked like. He made his way over to the couple.

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