Sandy
The sounds of tools came from the barn.
Sandy rocked back and forth on her swing, book in hand, glass of water in the other. Champ lay at her feet, snoring the gorgeous afternoon away. Flipping the page, she settled back into the seat, losing herself in the pages once more. It was a perfect Sunday morning as far as she was concerned, and she intended to treat it as such.
It had been nearly a week since she’d discovered Palin in the mud and had her world rocked by his revelations. Since then she’d mostly come to terms with the fact, though she’d had to get him to shift several more times to prove it. He’d taken her for a quick flight as well. That was how Sandy came to find out she was terrified of heights.
Now he was busy working on the frame to accommodate her brand-new window. The old one had been a big thing, nearly eight feet across, composed of multiple panes. Although he’d wanted to replace it piece for piece, she’d convinced him to put something newer in. Something energy efficient. She’d find the money for it somehow. For today though she was going to enjoy the sunshine, warm breeze, and complete lack of anything to do.
Palin had told her this was payback for helping him. He’d worked longer and harder the past week than she had any right to ask of anyone, and the result was a day free from chores for her. Sure, there were things she could do, but nothing that absolutely needed doing. What a blessing.
Champ lifted his head, staring down the driveway. Sandy followed his gaze and groaned. Are you kidding me? Can’t I just have one day to live in peace? Up the drive came Rusty’s blue truck.
“Why me?” she complained to her dog, who moved to sit protectively on the edge of the stairs, staying between her and Rusty as he brought his truck to a halt.
Sandy heaved herself to her feet with a sigh, and reached inside the door and picked up the shotgun, its familiar heavy weight comfortable in her hands. She’d never had occasion to use it, but she practiced every week. Just in case.
“I’m not selling,” she snarled the instant he was out of his truck. “So get back in your truck and get the fuck off my property.”
“Whoa!” he shouted, holding his hands up in the air. “Sandy, relax. I’m not here to start trouble.”
“That would be a first,” she retorted hotly.
“There has to be a first time for everything, doesn’t there?”
She frowned at the gentle tone of his voice. What the hell was going on here? This wasn’t the usual Rusty that she knew. “I suppose with you I’m hard-pressed to believe it.”
“I promise, I’m here in peace.”
Strangely enough, she believed him. Even Champ relaxed a little, though he certainly didn’t move from his perch on the top of the stairs, nor did he stop staring at Rusty.
“Why exactly are you here?”
“I think we got off on the wrong foot.”
She snorted. “That’s an understatement. You came at me like a battering ram from the first day I moved out here, trying to get me to sell the property to you. Oh, and let’s not forget those goons you sent over here to try and do who-knows-what to me.”
Rusty nodded. “That’s actually why I’m here. You see, I didn’t authorize that little expedition. They came all on their own, and I only recently found out about it. I’ve, ah, dealt with the problem, and they won’t be bothering you anymore.”
“Right.” She lifted her eyebrows in disbelief. It sounded to her like he’d had them killed. He probably just meant fired though, and was trying to make it seem like he’d done so with gusto in an attempt to worm his way into her good books.
“I owe you an apology.”
The lifted eyebrows took off into the stratosphere when he said that. “I’m sorry, one moment.” She pretended to clean her ear out with her pinky. “Say that again?”
“I said I’m sorry, Sandy. And in the spirit of mending fences and making apologies, I would like to invite you to come over.”
She stared at him, unable to make words work. He what? How the? In the? Huh? Did he just? Shaking her head, she brought her stunned brain back under control. “You want to what?”
“We’re having a get-together tonight at the ranch. I thought that maybe you would come by, say hello, and that we could try and get along.”
“What happened to the desperate need to buy my farm for some reason that I never really found out?”
To her surprise, Rusty laughed. “I’ve learned that you have a bit of a stubborn streak in you. A hell of one, actually. That’s something I’ve come to admire.”
Was he flirting with her? Now Sandy had seen everything. Still, she wasn’t picking up anything sneaky or malicious in his invite. He genuinely seemed to want her to come to his shindig. That was weird, but after three years of fighting with him, she would love to be able to mend the fences and not live in fear of encountering him everywhere she went. While she doubted that they would never be friends, maybe they could at least not be enemies.
Neutrality would be swell. She was tired of the fighting, of the constant bully-like offers to buy her property and his constant guilt trips and insults. If he really was keen on turning the other cheek, she knew she had to try.
Still, Sandy wasn’t an idiot.
“This is genuine?” she pressed. “Not some trick?”
“Genuine. We are having a party, and I would really like it if you came.”
He really did seem like he was on the up-and-up. How weird.
“You know what, fuck it. Okay, I’ll be there. What time?”
“Anytime after sundown. Look for the bonfire.”
She nodded, setting the shotgun down but making no approach. Simply putting the weapon away was the biggest concession she was willing to make. “All right. After sundown at the bonfire it is.”
Rusty smiled, bounced a hand off his truck and nodded. “Awesome. Again, I know it won’t be easy, but I don’t want us to be enemies.”
She smiled. “I never did in the first place.”
He took that in stride. “We all have to learn sometime.”
Then just like that, he got back in his truck and headed back up the drive. Sandy watched him go, trying to understand just what the hell had happened.
Footsteps sounded on the porch behind her. “Who was that?”
She turned to see Palin come up the rear set of steps that led toward the barn. “That was Rusty,” she said, still somewhat dazed.
“What the hell did he want?” Palin stepped forward angrily, but she put up a hand to his chest, stopping him from passing her.
“Believe it or not, he came to apologize and to invite me to a party tonight at his place, in an attempt to mend fences between us.”
Palin’s eyebrows lifted. “You don’t believe him, do you?”
“I…” she frowned. “I shouldn’t, but dammit if it wasn’t the strangest thing. He seemed genuine, Palin. There was no trace of anything untoward in his voice, his language, nothing.”
“What about his eyes?”
“His eyes?”
“The eyes never lie, even when the body does.”
“It’s sunny out, Palin. He was wearing sunglasses.”
The big man growled. “I don’t buy it.”
“I’m not completely sure I do either. But if he is serious, Palin, I have to take that chance. I can’t keep fighting with him. I need there to be peace between us.”
“Peace? Do you call what his workers did to your house peace? If I hadn’t been here, Sandy—”
“But you were here,” she interrupted. “And those workers weren’t here under his authorization. He said he found out about it, and that’s why he stopped by. To apologize. He said he dealt with the workers. We won’t be seeing them again.”
Palin snorted. “Still, if I weren’t here...”
“We could go around in circles. You were here, you saved the day, you hero. But that’s where we get to have some fun.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re going to be at the party too.”
Palin shook his head. “Nooooo way. We are not going to that party, Sandy.”
“Yes, we are. If he’s serious, I’m not going to spit on the olive branch that he’s extending to me. I’m tired, Palin. Tired of always having to deal with him, of him slandering me to others, of him making fun of me in public at the markets or other places. I need it to end. So that’s why I’m going.” She shrugged. “And if he’s planning something, well, I’ll have a big bad dragon with me to deal with any, shall we say, unruliness.”
“I don’t like it,” he pouted.
She rolled her eyes. “I know you don’t. But I’m not going in blind. You aren’t afraid of some pesky farmers, are you?”
Palin jerked back. “Of course not.”
“Good, I didn’t think so.” Sandy exhaled heavily. “It’s a chance I have to take though, Palin. You understand that at least, don’t you?”
“Not really. I could deal with him just as easily as he dealt with his employees. Nobody would ever know.”
“I will not condone murder,” she snapped.
“One can dream. It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it.”
“Enough already. I can’t believe I’m even having this conversation. I am not a criminal, and neither are you. Now let’s go get naked and shower together. Perhaps I can find a way to get rid of this grumpiness in you.” She stalked toward the house, crooking a finger behind her.
Palin sighed, but she heard his heavy footsteps following her.
Good boy.