Billy stood in his navy suit and matching silk tie at the doorway of the plane. It was 11:50. He couldn’t believe it. She still wasn’t there. He had miscalculated. Billy thought for sure she would have seen reason and come. Jarvis, his butler, came up behind him. Jarvis had been Billy’s personal butler since he was ten years old. Billy wasn’t surprised to see him on the plane. Every once in a while Jarvis would accompany him to or from a destination when Billy took the family plane. “There’s still time, sir,” Jarvis assured him. Billy had told Jarvis about Gabriella two years ago. It was around the time Billy had hired the private investigator to find her. When Billy had called New York last week, he told Jarvis that he found her. When he had called Jarvis last night, he told him about the ultimatum and to stock the kitchen with Gabriella’s favorite foods. That’s how confident Billy was that she was coming home with him. Now, Billy felt
Two months later . . . Sheriff Matt Kirby sat at his desk staring at the resignation letter he was holding. He glanced up at the switchboard operator. Matt placed the paper on his desk and shoved it towards her. “I'm not accepting this,” he said flatly. Patty’s shoulders slumped. “Sheriff, it’s time. I can’t work here anymore.” “Why?” Matt asked. “It’s . . . personal,” she answered. That wasn’t good enough for him. Patty had worked on the switchboard since she was seventeen. Matt stood and rounded the desk. He perched himself on top of it and faced her. “Patty, you’ve worked here for years. Way before I was sheriff. You started off as a summer employee and worked your way up to full-time. You got years of service here.” She looked down. “You suffered Marty Schaffer’s Reign of Terror with us. You went with us to Lynx Lake. You’re more than just an employee, you’re family.” Patty g
Patty has had a savings account since she was nineteen. She had only touched it three times during her years at the sheriff’s office. Now, she’s planning to reap the rewards from her financial discipline. She was going to use some of her savings for a road trip with Rufus, her English Mastiff. Rufus was five years old, but she’s only had him for three years. His first owner was her best friend. She would drive to Phoenix to see Chris and Rufus. Chris had gotten cancer and died six months after she was diagnosed. Before she had died, Chris asked Patty if she would take care of Rufus. Chris couldn’t bear the thought of Rufus ending up at the SPCA. Patty couldn’t either. Chris didn’t trust her extended family to take care of him, so she had asked Patty to take him in. Patty was more than happy to do it. She and Rufus got along and she loved him to death. Her house and yard were big enough for him. During the last few days that Chris was alive in the ho
Patty’s mind had wandered as she rode in the backseat of Williamson’s four-door truck. For a year, she had been in love with Goldman. During that year, Carter had figured it out. He had confronted her. She had denied it to him for months until she had gotten tired of it and confessed. Carter was a sweetheart; he wasn’t going to say anything. He was very understanding and supported her decision to stay quiet.Williamson was a different story. He was a nice guy, but he wasn’t as understanding as Carter or discrete. Four months ago, Goldman was talking to Patty in the switchboard room. When he had to leave on a call, Williamson had walked right up to her and asked why she wouldn’t tell Goldman that she was crazy about him. All the color had gone out of her face. She had begged him to keep his voice down. He had smiled and said, okay. He had kept pestering her about it until she had told him that it was a little crush and it wasn’t a big deal. Williamson had let it go, but deep down he k
Three Bahama Mamas later - Patty was having a wonderful time at Garvey’s. Williamson had told her and Carter to drink up since he was driving. He had two beers and then started drinking water. They had ordered a big batch of wings.Patty had decided going to Aspen was a good idea. She had never been to Colorado before. It would be a chance for her to experience something new. She had six weeks under her belt to be alone and think about her future. She could afford to spend one week at a fabulous chalet in the mountains.Patty and Carter were slow dancing. He let her wear his white Stetson as they swayed to the music. He was having fun, too. Carter whispered how pretty she looked as she shyly smiled. He always knew how to make her feel better. ------- The Garvey twins watched Patty and Carter from behind the bar. They looked over at Williamson. He was kicked back in the booth eating beer nuts and watc
Carter drunkenly stood up. Patty scooted closer to the edge of the booth and waited for Goldman and Carter to get out of the way so she could stand. “How are you going to go anywhere? Carter shouldn’t be driving,” Goldman stated. “I’m the designated driver,” Williamson said. “But, you’re right. Carter has had plenty to drink.” “I’m fine,” Carter belched. “Patty, you should stay here with Goldman and enjoy the rest of the night. You got the whole weekend off. Live it up. I’ll take Carter home,” Williamson said and slid out of the booth. You bastard. Patty thought. “I can’t. You’re my ride,” she slurred. “Maybe . . . we . . . should . . .” Carter trailed off drunkenly. Bless his heart. Carter was trying to get her out of the situation but he was wasted. He couldn’t think straight. “I’ll take you home,” Goldman said to her. “I’m not planning to do a lot of drinking tonight. Even if
It was Monday 4:15 p.m. Nick Dalton walked down the street in Manhattan. He had just left an appointment with his stockbroker, Avery Young. His investments were slowly growing and Nick was pleased about that. He decided to go to New York for a few days while he and his bounty hunting team were on a two-week break. They had been going hard since they left Arizona two months ago. They had worked through the holidays and it had been worth it. They had apprehended four fugitives and collected two $15,000 bounties and two $25,000 bounties. Nick had a hunch it would be easier to find the fugitives during the holidays because their guard would be down. People were also more willing to be helpful during the holidays with tidings and joy in the atmosphere. He had gotten several hot tips from landlords and neighbors. He stopped to hail a cab back to the less expensive part of New York when he heard a woman yell in Spanish, “El novio guapo! El novio guapo!” His
Nick thought he had attended nice dinners before. He was wrong. The china had gold lining around the edges. A servant took and brought every course. There were forks and spoons at the plenty. Nick was glad to see that Gabriella was still her adorable down to earth self during dinner. She whispered to Nick that she didn’t know which fork or spoon to use either. He was pleasantly surprised when Billy loudly said not to worry about it because they all did the same thing.The first course was prongs with dipping sauce. Nick wasn’t sure what the sauce was, but he didn’t care for the dish. The second course was a basic salad. Nick related to that and practically gobbled it up since he picked at the first dish. The main course was filet mignon in a cream brandy mushroom sauce. Nick has had filet mignon before but not like this. It was more delicious than the first time he had it years ago at a friend’s wedding. Nick could taste the fresh garlic, but it wasn&r