Chapter Three
“What on Earth happened to you?” Presley stopped her cup just short of her mouth. “You’re covered in blood.”
With one foot on the bottom step, Trudy stopped. Damn. She was hoping to get to her room before being seen. She had it all planned on her drive to Presley’s house. Sneak in the back door, rush up the stairs leading from the kitchen to her room, throw clothes in the garbage, and take a shower in her private bathroom.
Presley sat at the table in the large, but cozy, yellow and blue kitchen.
“Can I tell you after I change and take a shower?” Trudy raised her finger. “Don’t ask any more questions. I’ll tell you everything when I’m cleaned up.” She picked up an empty, plastic grocery bag from the counter and raised an eyebrow at Presley. At her friend’s nod, she raced up the back stairs and down the hallway, slamming her bedroom door behind her. After setting her backpack on the floor by the fireplace, she headed for the bathroom. No way was she going to soil anything in the gorgeous room Presley had put her in.
She sat on the toilet and removed her hiking boots, wiggling her aching toes. She probably should have broken them in before wearing them for, she glanced at her watch, six hours, and walking for who knew how many miles.
Her damp socks and dirty, blood-stained clothes were tossed into the plastic bag. Glad she hadn’t bothered with makeup this morning and didn’t have to take the time to remove it, she turned the faucet on the shower, wiggled her fingers beneath the water until it was comfortably hot, and stepped beneath the rain shower head. When her body adjusted to the temperature, she cranked it up a bit and let the hot water ease her tense muscles.
The air filled with the scent of apples as she squirted body wash on a washcloth and scrubbed the snake mess from her skin.
She smiled recalling the day she’d met one of her best friends, Presley Love. It was one of their first days of their junior year in college, and she’d been standing in line for a much-needed cup of coffee at a local donut shop. A woman with straight, brown hair nearly reaching to her rear stood in front of her. Her head was tipped down, allowing her hair to hide her face. She was at least five inches shorter than Trudy, making it easy to see over the woman and hear the two females standing in line.
“I don’t understand how anyone could possibly want to go out in public looking like that,” the blonde said, her lips curled up in disgust.
“I’d be hiding underneath the covers,” the brunette answered. “Honestly, why don’t you have surgery or something. You’re turning our stomachs.”
Trudy had heard enough. It didn’t matter what was wrong with someone, they shouldn’t be teased or bullied. Honestly, people could be so mean, and Trudy wasn’t one to put up with it. She tapped the woman before her on the shoulder.
“Excuse me. May I please talk to these two things?” She’d nodded at the two women and stepped in front of the one they were harassing.
The blonde lifted her chin and tried to look down her nose at her. “Did you just call us ‘things?’”
Seeing as Trudy had a good three inches on her, the pose only made her laugh. “I’m not sure why you two think you need to belittle this woman, but I’m tired of hearing your nasty comments.”
The brunette waved a hand at the shorter woman. “Just look at her. She’s ugly.”
Trudy gave the woman behind her a quick look. With her hair hiding her face, it was difficult to see what they were talking about. “I’m not sure why you think she’s ugly, but if you don’t like the way she looks, don’t look at her.” She hated being mean, but she disliked seeing people being bullied even more. Sometimes one had to put people in their places.
“How would you like it if I commented on how you both look like sluts? I mean, geez, why are you even bothering to wear a top? Your tits are practically hanging out. And, by-the-way, if I can tell they’re fake, so can everyone else. And a woman with thighs as wide as yours shouldn’t be wearing pants that tight. Oh, and, lighten up on the make-up. You both look like clowns.”
When the women finally stopped huffing and puffing, and stomped from the coffee shop, Trudy turned to the woman behind her. “Why don’t you find us a table? I’ll get us something to drink.”
And just like that, a friendship was born. A friendship that had survived time, distance, and personal turmoil. Presley still talked about how Trudy was one of the first people to see her as a person and not someone with a harelip and speech impediment. It hadn’t taken long to get used to her lisp.
Presley’s husband, Zane, had fallen in love with her sight unseen, since he’d been blind when they’d met. Losing his sight in a chemical accident on his ranch had heightened his other senses. It was his doctor cousin, Willow, who performed surgery to help him regain his sight.
Trudy had spent many hours on the phone with her friend, trying to convince her that Zane had sensed the warm, caring person she was, and once he’d re-gained his sight, that wouldn’t change. Trudy had been right. Now the lawyer couple was married and had their own law office.
She rinsed her hair, turned off the water, and after drying, slathered on lotion. Feeling better physically, she wished she could wash away the sight of the dead snake and the feeling of its innards being splattered all over her.
It wouldn’t be as easy to get rid of the mortification of being caught half naked by a stranger and then pressed against his body while they rode his horse. Didn’t matter. She’d never see the man again, anyway.
Trudy turned on the hair dryer. Had he been able to fix the damaged fence? He’d been swearing up a storm when she dismounted and hiked to her car. Why would someone cut his fences? Wasn’t that something that only happened in westerns?
She finger-combed her damp tresses, slipped on jeans and a tank top, swiped on eye shadow and mascara, and headed down the back stairs.
“Feeling better?” Presley asked, taking out a cup and filling it with coffee.
“I will as soon as I get some of this nectar inside me.” The jolt of caffeine did much to restore her system to normal. “That’s better.”
Presley pulled a pan of chocolate chip cookies from the oven and nodded to a stool at the black, granite island. “So, dish, girl. Why did you come back covered in blood? You obviously weren’t hurt.”
In between bites of warm cookies and hot coffee, Trudy retold the story. She glared at her friend when she snorted. “It’s not funny.”
“It is from my side of the island.” Presley wiped her eyes. “I can just picture you with your rear end bared to nature. With your pale skin, I’m surprised you didn’t get sunburned.”
“I’m sure it was red enough from embarrassment.” She rested her arms on the counter and folded them. Burying her head in her arms, she thought about her earlier fear. “I was so scared I was going to get bitten by that damn rattler.”
“You’re lucky that rancher came to your rescue.” The stove buzzer rang. Presley removed two more pans of cookies and slipped in another cookie sheet.
Several racks of cooling cookies dotted the counters. “Are you sure you’re making enough cookies? There’s enough here for an army.”
“Zane loves my chocolate chip cookies.”
A drop of melted chocolate dribbled down Trudy’s chin. “I have to admit they’re the best I’ve ever tasted.”
“I add a secret ingredient.”
Trudy closed her eyes and let her taste buds enjoy the flavor. “What is it?”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret, now would it?” Presley refilled their coffee cups. “Did you get the name of your rescuer?”
“Lincoln something. His last name started with an ‘f’, I think. I was trespassing on his land.” She shrugged. “Not that it matters. I won’t be seeing him again. And if I did, I’d probably die of mortification.”
Presley snapped her fingers. “His last name wouldn’t be Phister, would it?”
“That sounds familiar. Why?”
“Zane and I did some work for a Lincoln Phister a couple of years back. He has a small ranch a few hours west of here.”
Trudy took her cup to the sink and rinsed it out. “How small is small?”
“Two thousand acres.”
“Are you kidding me? Two thousand is small?” In Wisconsin forty acres was a lot to own. She couldn’t even imagine a ranch that a big. “My parents own two hundred acres and are considered land rich.” Dare she ask what Lincoln was like? How long would it take Presley to figure out she held a bit of interest in the man—not that it mattered. “What type of work did you do for him?”
“I can’t tell you that. You know—client privilege.” Presley bit her bottom lip. Her eyes twinkled. “Interested in him?”
“Not hardly. Even though he saved me from that damn snake, I found him to be ill-mannered and crude. Besides, after my fiasco with my ex, I’ve sworn off men.”
“Don’t tell me your family still blames you for your divorce?”
Remembering that she had put on makeup, she stopped short of running her hand over her face. Tears pooled in her eyes. “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to any of them in over a year.”
“None of them?”
Trudy shook her head. Even after all this time, her stomach clenched at the memories. “Hard to believe, isn’t it? My sister steals my husband, and they all act like it’s my fault.”
“Even Jenny?”
Her younger sister, the one she’d spent the most time with even though she was ten years younger, was the one who broke her heart the most. “I still don’t know what lies Molly told everyone, but they won’t talk to me. If I see any of them in the store, they walk in the other direction. It’s like I have a disease or something.”
Presley covered Trudy’s hand with hers. “I can’t believe they’re treating you like this.”
“That’s another reason why this trip is good for me.” Not only had she fallen apart after the death of yet another patient from cancer, but she was persona non-grata with her family.
“Maybe you should move out here. Meet new people. Get away from the stress of your job and family.”
After eight years of going from house to house, taking care of those wanting to spend their last days at home, she’d lost it when a beautiful two-year-old had died of brain cancer. She knew the family’s anger wasn’t necessarily aimed at her, but when the mother physically attacked her, sending Trudy to the hospital with a broken wrist and a cut over her eye, she knew it was time to take a leave of absence.
She rubbed the scar, still feeling the mother’s pain. How many people had she watched die? How many families had she tried to console after the loss of a loved one? There were times when she’d leave a home and sit in her car and cry until she had no more tears.
Move to Texas? Get away from her family? Her sister and ex-husband who she’d heard had welcomed a son into their family? A son who should have been hers? She glanced at Presley and nearly broke down at the pity in her eyes.
“I don’t know anyone out here. I don’t have a job.”
“Oh, pooh.” Presley flapped a hand in the air. “You know me. I know lots of people. With your nursing degree, you can get a job anywhere.” She tapped a finger to her lip. “But let’s not worry about it tonight. I think you need some fun to take your mind off everything. I’ll talk to Zane about going to Hardbodies.”
“What’s Hardbodies?” She pictured a place filled with sexy men with six-pack abs and bulging muscles, but she didn’t think Zane would allow his wife to go to a place like that.
“It’s a bar owned by Isaac McCoy, one of the McCoy brothers from the Tebow Ranch. They have live bands, and with this being Friday night, they’re sure to have a good one. We can dance, have a few drinks, and I can introduce you to some of the McCoys who will probably be there.”
“I don’t know, Pres. I don’t handle crowds well.”
“I’ll be there and so will Zane. It’ll be fun. I promise.”
“What does one wear to a place called Hardbodies?”
Presley looked Trudy over. “What you have on is perfect. Just put on a blouse over your tank top.”
Maybe it was time to kick up her heels a bit. The only thing she’d done in the past year was watch people die and try to figure out where her marriage and family life had gone wrong.
“Sure, why not?”
“Great.” Presley pressed a button on her cell phone. “We can go out to eat first, then have some fun.”
She wasn’t sure how much fun it would be going to a honky-tonk bar, but right now she was willing to try.