Squirrel In Dream
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“I’m ready to go,” she said. She had her hand on the door handle, but stopped and glanced back at him before stepping into his room. “You know what I think?”
He smiled and nodded slowly. “Yes.”
She looked around for a moment longer and then sat down in the chair. He watched her for some time, waiting until he was certain that she would not be returning. Then he went out and closed the door quietly behind him, knowing full well that she was still sitting there.
The following morning she got up first—as usual. It seemed to Tom that no matter how tired he was when he finally crawled from bed each night, she was always wide awake as if she had never been asleep.
When he stepped into their kitchen the house was still quiet so he made breakfast. There was no reason why they should not enjoy a little peace now that she knew about his secret since it had nothing to do with him keeping her away from the ranch.
Still, every once in a while something would remind him of his need to keep her away from the place where she might stumble across an incriminating clue or two. The more time passed without anyone else finding out about this whole thing, the less likely there was of anyone else being hurt by it.
And besides, he wanted to talk to her alone. It was time. The time he had spent thinking about all that could go wrong during the next few days and trying to find ways to protect them both.
As he stirred batter, he found himself hoping that the day would be uneventful enough so that she would have a chance to tell him what had happened with the man last night. If he didn’t learn anything new tonight, he would ask her directly after church tomorrow, although that would give her another day to think up excuses and lies.
She would say that she did not want to talk about it because she feared someone would overhear. Well, he wouldn’t let that happen. But he couldn’t just force her to confide in him, even though he felt it was his duty as a husband to make sure she told him everything. He had tried to explain that it wasn’t safe, but she seemed convinced otherwise.
It was hard for Tom to believe he hadn’t known that there was trouble brewing between him and his wife before this week’s events. Maybe, he thought, the time when things were normal again would prove to be the right opportunity to bring up his suspicions.
That way it might seem like they had come about naturally rather than being brought on by any sudden discoveries. After all, she had never been so secretive with him until now.
“Tom! What are you doing?”
He turned around to see his sister-in-law standing there.
“Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
He handed her a cup of coffee, poured one for himself, then put the cups on the table. When she came closer to look at the cakes, she saw his surprise party and gasped. Then her eyes went wide with astonishment. “Are you baking these today?”
“I guess so.”
She laughed and took him by the shoulders as though he were an excited child. She patted his cheek and gave him a quick hug before going into the other room and returning with a small box wrapped in brown paper.
“It’s just a thank-you gift from my sister-in-law,” he explained. “For your help yesterday.”
Katie opened the present. A pretty silver bracelet winked in the sunlight. She reached out with both hands to take hold of his wrists and held the clasp between her fingers. “Thank you,” she murmured.
Her expression changed and her head dropped suddenly. Then she shook her hair away and stood up.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Nothing.” She picked up the box and walked over to the window where she began unwrapping it.
“Do you need any help?” he asked.
He could barely see what was inside. She pulled off a ribbon and then peeled off two layers of tissue paper.
“That’s quite a lot of jewelry,” he commented.
Then she lifted out a necklace with a large diamond pendant and stared at it for some time before letting it dangle from its chain. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
“I’ll put it on,” she whispered.
Tom went to get her dress, while Katie slipped the necklace on and adjusted the pendant so that it hung properly between her breasts. She had never worn such fine jewelry before—not even when she was married to him and living on the ranch. Now she gazed at herself in the mirror for several moments and then turned back toward him with a smile.
“You can wear your blue one if you want.”
She had never shown interest in wearing his clothes before; she seemed too much of a tomboy to care about how she looked. But she was becoming prettier by the day. Her hair was now longer and her face thinner. It wasn’t just that he had been spending a lot more time with her, but she was eating better and exercising more often.
As a result of all the changes, he was beginning to notice her. Even the way she held herself now when she walked was different, as though she had grown taller and stronger.
“This will do fine.”
The dress fit him perfectly, showing off his muscular physique without revealing anything of his body. The neckline fell to his collarbone and the sleeves reached almost down to his elbows. It made him feel like he was walking around naked, but somehow it added to his masculinity.
He waited patiently while Katie finished combing her long hair and pinned it up neatly on top of her head. She put on the earrings, then the matching necklace. He admired how they complemented her dress. She was no longer plain.
She smiled and came over to touch her dress against his. “Does it make me look old enough?”
“Of course,” he said, smiling at her. “Why wouldn’t it?”
They had spent many days together over the past year or so. But it still felt strange to kiss a woman who was married to someone else. And yet, the moment their lips met, it didn’t matter that her husband was standing behind them. They kissed passionately for some time before Katie finally broke the embrace. “We’d better go.”
“Right,” he said, taking her hand and leading her outside.
As they stepped onto the porch, Tom turned to watch his wife for one last glance. There she stood looking up at him, holding his gaze as though it was meant only for her. Then she turned back to him and blew him a kiss before stepping into the street and walking away.
***
Katie sat in the car for some time after leaving Tom’s house, staring at nothing. The drive across town seemed endless.
How was he ever going to live with this? How was he supposed to keep her secret from him for another eight months? Was he really going to marry a woman he couldn’t have sex with? That was the problem with the law.
It often caused people to commit crimes they would otherwise not think of committing. He might find out sooner rather than later and he’d be furious that she hadn’t told him earlier.
But maybe the best thing to do would be to give him an excuse to break it off with her, something about having lost interest in her because of her infidelity. When that happened, then she would leave and never return. No sense dragging things out longer than necessary, giving him time to think over her betrayal.
When the car came to a stop in front of the restaurant, she climbed out and headed inside. She took a table near the window where she could watch the sidewalk through the glass.
There was no sign of Tom in the dining room so far and he probably was already busy doing whatever work needed to be done in the kitchen. Maybe she should have gone home and changed into a skirt, but she wanted to wait here until she saw him again. She knew that was foolish, but she had promised to meet him for dinner at least once a week and she intended to stick with that promise.
At first, the patrons sitting at the tables were all men, then a few women entered and soon half the customers were female. The place was crowded with diners for a Thursday night—almost every table filled except for those in the back.
Most of them were young ladies dressed in their finest gowns and fancy hats. The men wore suits and ties or tuxedos, but a couple of them sported bowties and some even wore black-rimmed glasses. They all seemed to know each other well since they laughed and talked among themselves in loud voices.
After waiting for almost an hour, she got impatient and decided to leave. By the time she paid the waitress for her food, a man had joined her table and taken a seat next to her.
“Good evening, ma’am.”
It was the stranger from the bar.
“Hello,” she said coolly, not wanting to be bothered by anyone but Tom.
He ordered a glass of wine and asked the waitress to bring it right away. “Are you meeting someone tonight?”
She shook her head. “I’m waiting for a friend.”
“Is that Tom Morgan’s wife?” He looked surprised. She wasn’t sure if he recognized her from the bar, but there was no doubt he knew Tom.
“Yes,” she said, feeling defensive now. “What is your name?”
He smiled. “My name doesn’t mean much anymore since I’ve been disgraced.”
“Disgraced how?”
“In disgrace.”
She was curious about that comment so she tried asking another question. “Did you do something bad?”
“You don’t need to ask me that,” he said with an edge in his voice. “I’ll tell you when we’re alone.”
“Then why are you telling me about it now?” she demanded.
His dark eyes narrowed slightly. “Because Tom Morgan is my brother.”
Her stomach lurched uncomfortably. “Tom Morgan, the sheriff’s son? Your father?”
“No,” he said with a chuckle. “Our parents died in the fire when we were children and we grew up in an orphanage until Tom’s mother remarried. We never knew our father.”
For a moment, she forgot about the stranger next to her and thought of her own family. She had a sister who lived with their grandmother and two brothers in New York City. They’d always called her on Mother’s Day, wishing her good luck. Now Katie wondered how they felt about her now that she was married to a deputy.
The waiter delivered the wine and the man reached for the glass, but before he touched it, she spoke. “Please don’t drink any more of that.”
With a sigh, he placed the glass down on the table. “I don’t want to get drunk tonight. I’ll just have water.”
“That’s fine,” she answered without looking at him. “Thank you.”
As she waited for Tom to come to her table, the stranger leaned toward her. “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “I won’t bother you anymore. Just remember what I told you.” He stood abruptly, turned around, and left the restaurant.
She stared after him until he disappeared around the corner. What did he mean by “just remember what he’d said”?
***
It had taken a long time to reach the town from Tom’s house, almost an hour. After driving through one traffic light, he followed Main Street until he arrived at the restaurant.
Once inside, he spotted Katie’s face in the crowd of diners. There were three people in a booth near the door so he went straight to a table close to hers. She didn’t notice him, but as she finished eating and moved to a table along the wall, his heart beat faster.
A man sat alone at a table across from her and she started talking to him right away. His name was Frank, the man she met at the saloon the previous day. She asked him to join her for dinner, but he declined.
She was laughing and joking with him. It was obvious they were friends—and best of all, they weren’t husband and wife. When Tom approached, she glanced briefly at him before turning her attention back to Frank.
He took the empty chair between them and listened to the conversation, hoping it would distract her from being concerned about the fact that her husband was out of town for so many days.
But she hadn’t seemed upset. Maybe she didn’t care. He couldn’t believe that she could feel comfortable with Frank instead of being afraid of him. Why was she so relaxed around him? He was dangerous enough.
She laughed. “We have a lot in common.”
Frank’s eyebrows raised and then he chuckled. “So we do.”
“Do you ride?” she asked.
“Yes, but only horses.” He paused for a second. “And sometimes don’t we both find ourselves in situations where riding is necessary?”
Katie smiled and nodded.
“How about you, ma’am?”
She frowned but continued with her dinner. For some reason, her words made him uneasy. Did she know what happened to him while she waited for Tom to arrive? Was that why she kept her distance? Or did she realize that he was still angry at her for going off with Frank?
When he’d seen them leave the saloon together, he wanted to confront him. Instead, he waited until the end of his shift and drove to Tom’s house. He wasn’t sure which of them she belonged to because she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring; he figured if she did wear one, it might have gotten lost somewhere along the way.
Now, as the couple chatted quietly with each other, Tom couldn’t help wondering again how she felt about being married to a lawman. How did she explain to her family that she had no intention of giving up a career as a detective or working in another state? Her father, he knew, hated police work and would disapprove.
Maybe she didn’t even tell her father about her job.
He studied the man sitting beside her. Frank was a big man, maybe five-foot-eleven or six. His blond hair was cut short, and he wore a mustache and beard. He was wearing a dark suit jacket over a white shirt and black pants. The color of his clothes and shoes made it seem like he was dressed for church, not drinking.
As soon as the man left their table, Katie turned to Tom with wide eyes. “Did you see that?” she gasped. “I think he just winked at me!”
Tom chuckled and gave her a playful punch on the arm. “That means nothing, ma’am. Don’t be so silly.”
“You’re so funny,” she said with a laugh. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m talking to Frank when you’ve been so good to us this evening. He doesn’t look as if he’s in love with someone else, does he?”
“No, ma’am.” As Frank returned to his own table, Tom looked around for the waiter to order dessert.
“Would you like to get something to eat tomorrow night?” Katie asked, looking straight at his face. “After we finish our work here, I’m planning on visiting some saloons along Main Street and maybe having a drink or two at one of them.”
Her remark surprised him. He wasn’t ready to go home yet; he’d rather stay in town for a while longer. “You’re welcome to stop by my hotel anytime. You can visit Tom at his office too. He likes company during lunchtime.”
“Thanks.” She grinned. “That sounds nice. We’ll bring sandwiches.”
The End