Page 31 of Dark Side of the River

“You remember me?” Billy asked, frowning as if expecting more of a reaction.

“How could I forget?”

“I never liked you, ranch boy.”

“I remember the feeling being mutual.”

Billy chuckled at that, and Cooper saw that the man was drunker than he’d first appeared. Not that it would stop Billy from starting a brawl. “I thought you were gone for good. Didn’t I threaten to kill you if you ever came back?” His voice carried. The crowd around them began to quiet, their attention turning in Billy and Cooper’s direction.

He considered what he might say to try to defuse what was clearly coming. There were no words. He turned and picked up his beer, took a sip, but didn’t set the bottle back down. He knew how Billy Hayes fought. Dirty. All-out annihilation. He wasn’t looking forward to what was going to happen next.

“Excuse me.” Tilly raised her voice.“Excuse me,”she said again, and pushed Billy aside to reach Cooper. “You promised my boyfriend, the sheriff, that you would get me home.” She sounded more drunk than he thought she was. “He just called. He said unless you want him coming down here, you’d better get your donkey’s behind moving.” She practically dragged him up off the stool and toward the door.

“This isn’t over, McKenna,” Billy yelled after him.

Cooper said nothing as he left his warm beer and he and Tilly walked out.

“You’re welcome,” she said as she climbed in after he opened the passenger-side door of his truck for her.

“Thanks. Too bad you won’t always be around.”

“Yes, isn’t it.”

He started the engine and pulled out. As he did, she spotted Billy standing in the bar doorway watching them leave.

“How was Tick?” he asked, wanting to change the subject. If Billy beating him up would solve the problem, Cooper would have gladly let him. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Things festered with a man like Billy. Not that Cooper blamed him. If he thought a man had killed his sister, he’d be the same way or worse.

“Tick,” she said with obvious disgust. “I’d rather hear about your new sister.” On the way to Miles City, they’d talked about Oakley and the investigation and what Stuart had told her. “Did you finally get to meet her?”

He knew he could be dense sometimes, but clearly she didn’t want to talk about Tick. Because she hadn’t gotten any useful information out of him? Or another reason?

But he went along with it since he didn’t have much choice. Tilly would tell him when she was ready. Or not. “Holly Jo. She’s something.” He told her about the kid’s run-in with their ranch manager after trying to saddle Midnight, the wildest of their horses.

“What does everyone else think about her?”

He had the feeling that she was trying to keep him talking about anything but Tick. Why was that? “Depends on who you ask. Elaine says Holly Jo’s delightful, but then that’s Elaine. Duffy said she seems to be an okay kid, though he wished that if Dad was going to bring home girls that they were at least legal age.” Tilly chuckled as if only half listening. “Our ranch manager says she’s hell on wheels. He couldn’t believe she’d try to saddle Midnight. Clearly, she has no experience with horses. She’s a city girl for sure. She’s lucky the horse didn’t kick her in the head.” Tilly nodded and chuckled, but he could tell her mind was elsewhere. He had a pretty good idea where.

“You going to tell me about Tick?” he asked.

“Sounds like Holly Jo’s got gumption.”

“You could call it that. I said I’d teach her to ride.”

“You’regoing to teach her?”

“Sure—why not? If she’s going to live on the ranch, she needs to have something to do. I reckon she’ll be starting school soon too, catching the bus down at the road.” Even as he said it, he wondered how she would like that.

He looked over at Tilly. She was chewing on her lower lip, something he’d seen her do since she was a kid. Usually, it meant she was brooding over something. Often it meant she was getting more determined. He realized that he’d been away from her for too long to know what she was stewing over.

Stu. Was that what was going on with her? Cooper decided to let her brood, telling himself it was none of his business.

AFTERHERVISITfrom Alexander and her sons at the hospital, Charlotte had gone down the hall to the ladies’ room to freshen up. They were right; she looked awful. She splashed her face with water, knowing that she should go home and at least shower and change her clothes.

But she couldn’t make herself do it. She wanted to be with Oakley when she woke up. Her daughter would wake up. Oakley was a strong young woman, stubborn to a fault and more independent than any of the others. She’d been like that since she was a child, a loner. Charlotte had never known what her younger daughter was thinking. Wasn’t that why she had no idea what Oakley was doing on the McKenna Ranch when she was shot?

As she’d returned from freshening up, she stopped dead in the doorway. Holden was standing next to Oakley’s bedside. For a moment, she wanted to scream at him to get out, to get away from her baby. She watched him touch Oakley’s arm. She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but she could see the expression on his face. His sorrow clutched at her chest and brought tears to her eyes.

As she stepped into the room, closing the door behind her, Holden glanced at her, but quickly turned his gaze to her daughter again. She watched him brush a lock of Oakley’s hair back from her face. The sight weakened her knees and her resolve to throw him out as it brought back the memory of how tender the man could be, how loving. Her heart felt as if it would break all over again. He made her remember how much she’d loved him and how badly she wished she still didn’t.

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