Forever's Affection (Forever In Luck Series Book 3) (25 page)

“You’re
not being very subtle you know,” she said, pinching his butt.

“Indulge
me.”

“No,”
she answered crossly.

Scowling,
he turned and walked to the spot he was digging and dropped the bag of sand.

Why
did he have to be so protective? Okay, fine, he didn’t want her lifting or
digging, she’d show him. Going in the barn, she picked up the handles to the
wheelbarrow and steered it to the back of the pickup. Sliding the remaining two
bags of sand into it, she steered it over to him and dumped them with a huff.
“We don’t even know if I’m pregnant.”

“You
haven’t gotten your period.”

Crossing
her arms over her chest again, she answered him. “It’s probably stress. In the
past, when I’ve been under a lot of stress, I’ve missed a monthly or they’ve
come late.
So what, no big deal.”

Digging,
he started shoveling the dirt into the wheelbarrow. “I bought a pregnancy test.
It’s in the nightstand drawer next to the condoms.”

She
snorted. This was just her luck. “Does it come with pictures? If not, forget
it.”

“Pee
in the cup, dip the stick quick, take it out, wait, one line not pregnant, two
lines you are.”

Turning,
she glanced towards the house. She should check on Junie, see if she was awake.
Linnie’s car turned down the drive to Dani’s relief. Perfect, a diversion, she
liked the state of denial. Walking towards the house, she waited as Jules came
to a stop. Walking up to the car, she opened the back door and started grabbing
bags of groceries.

“Don’t
tell anyone,” Jules said excitedly as she hopped out of the car, “but I bought
myself a new vehicle.”

Dani’s
eyes opened wide and she smiled.
“Really?
By yourself,
or does Jake
know
?”

“By
myself, thank you very much,” she said smugly. “He’d want me to get a pickup
and I didn’t want one, so I went to St. Croix and talked with Matt at
Johnson’s. He’s the only one the Albrecht’s will deal with, so if you need a
new vehicle he’s the one to talk to, and if you’re having trouble with the one
you’ve got, Jose’s team in service is who they have work on their stuff.”

Walking
to the house, Dani opened the door. “Good to know. When are you picking it up?”

“I’m
not, they’re bringing it here. It’s a surprise for Father’s Day.”

Unloading
a bag, Dani looked at Jules perplexed.
“A surprise for Karl
then?”

Jules
laughed. “
Jake,
and I suppose Karl. Jake’s been after
me to get a vehicle now that I know how to drive. I told him I would when I
needed a car seat.”

Dani
gasped and her heart leapt wildly. “Are you pregnant?”

Jules
nodded her head rapidly and they both squealed in delight as they threw their
arms around one another.

Hell,
Dani felt like one of the girls. “I’m so happy for you!
When?”
This was great! If she was pregnant they could go through things together,
because if she were honest, she would have to admit she was scared to death.
Somehow, with Jules pregnant, the concept seemed less daunting.

Smiling
widely, Jules rubbed her tummy. “It’ll be a Christmas baby. I’m surprised Jake
hasn’t become suspicious because I’m getting a little paunch.”

“You
are not,” Dani answered quickly, then seeing Jules holding her shirt flat
against her stomach, said, “Well, maybe a little. This will be such a nice
Christmas for you all, two new babies. How exciting. I remember when Junie was
a baby, it was a special time. Does Linnie know?”

Jules
shook her head. “Just you, so don’t tell. I want to surprise them all.”

Wow,
the two were like best of friends and yet Jules told her first. She felt, well,
honored. “Mums the word,” she answered, pulling out the watermelon and a knife.
“When do we need to start the coals?”

“Soon,
the ribs need to slow cook.”

Walking
to the door, Dani said, “I’ll be right back, I’ll put Kris on it,
he’s wanting
to be extra useful.”

Turning,
Jules looked her way in confusion. “
Ahh
, really,
that’s so unlike him. He generally takes off when there’s
women’s work
to be done. Interesting, before you know it you’ll
have him trained.”

Dani
laughed as she walked out of the house. Damn straight she would. Walking over
to Kris, she started picking up the empty sand bags.

“You
do it?”

Annoyed,
she answered. “No, your sister-in-law is here.”

“So,”
he responded with irritation. Reaching, he snapped up the tools.

Ignoring
him, she went about her business. “We need you to start the grill, or am I
allowed to do it?”

“Quit
being a brat!”

Turning,
she responded happily as she walked away, “Fine, I’ll do it.”

Dropping
the tools, he followed her. “Dani—

“Cuckoo
doodle doo, Kristopher Karl Albrecht. No arguing today and I mean it.”

He
scowled. “You’re so damn stubborn.”

“Ditto, right back at you.
I love you
too.”

A
few hours later, and several spins around the quarter in Jules’s brand new SUV,
they all sat eating and talking, when Junie let out a yelp and quickly crawled
form Kris’s lap onto Dani’s and proceeded to burst into tears. Dani looked up
to find two sheriff’s vehicles coming down the driveway.
Great.
Trying to console Junie, she passed her off to Kris. “Hold her would you. I’ll
deal with this.”

Getting
up from the picnic table at the same time the first sheriff emerged from his
cruiser, he said rather loudly, “We need to speak with Alexa Reed, is she
here?”

“That’s
me,” Dani said, moving towards them.

Joined
by his coworker, the sheriff continued. “Ma'am we need to have a word with
you.”

Duh?
“Yeah, I gather
that. What seems to be the problem?”

“You’ve
been difficult to find Ms. Reed,” the second one said. “We’ve been asked to
have you call this number immediately.”

He
promptly handed her a slip of paper with writing on it. Lot of good that would
do, she couldn’t read what it said. There were some numbers though, so that was
going to have to be good enough. Folding the paper and putting it in her
pocket, she looked at the men. “Thank you, I will.”

“Now,”
the first one said firmly.

She
wanted to argue, tell him she wasn’t giving Junie up. Pulling out her cell
phone and the piece of paper, she looked at it and carefully found the numbers
on her phone and punched them in. Putting the phone to her ear, she listened as
it rang.

“Boulder Police Department.”

She
paused and hesitated, looking at the two men before responding. “Yes, hello,
I’m Alexa Reed, I was told to call you.”

“Do
you have a contact name, ma'am?”

Dani
shook her head in confusion,
then
answered weakly.
“No.” It was probably on the paper they gave her.

“Just
one moment please.”

There
was silence, followed by a series of clicks, then a man picked up.
“Officer Hayes speaking.”

Clearing
her throat, Dani said, “Yes, hello, I’m Lexy Reed, I was told to call you.”

“
Ahh
, Ms. Reed, we’ve been trying to find you for several
days now. Are you alone or is someone with you?”

Looking
at the two sheriff deputies, she paused. “
Ahhh
, the
sheriff’s department is here and I also have family with me. What is this all
about?” Dani heard the squeak of what sounded like a chair and imagine the man
shifting his position.

“Ms.
Reed, are you a relation to one Tippy Reed from Buffalo, Wyoming?”

So
help her God, what had she done now? Dani paused,
then
answered solemnly, “She is my mother.”

The
officer’s voice softened. “Ms. Reed, we believe your mother was involved in an
accident but have been unable to verify that directly. Might there be any identifying
marks on your mother to validate her identity.”

Turning
and looking out unto the pasture, Dani stared upon her horses. Thinking hard
for anything but the obvious, she tried to remember, then said reluctantly,
“Umm, well, there are two tattoos, one on her lower abdomen and one across her
back side, both sexually explicit.”

 
“Very well.
Ms. Reed,
I regret to inform you your mother did not survive the crash.”

A
very loud buzzing noise went through her head and she could have sworn the
earth wobbled a bit, because her vision rocked as her knees buckled a little
before she caught herself and swallowed around the dryness of her throat. The
noise in her ears sounded like humming electrical lines. She blinked. “Excuse
me, say that again, please.”

Clearly
uncomfortable, the man on the line cleared his throat. “Ma'am, your mother, she
was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. I’m sorry.”

Silence.
Then the
vocalizations of birds chirping and calling loudly, sounded in the near
periphery of her head as she heard, strangely enough, a rooster crowing.

“Believe me when
I tell you, you two are not going back to Wyoming, Wisconsin is your home now.”

Time
warping and snapping back to the present, she looked around as she fought back
tears. Tipping her head up, she watched as the clouds of a gathering storm
parted in the sky and the sun peeked out, shining upon her. It was over, and
the two of them were free. Lost in the moment, she took a deep and satisfying
breath. “Thank you, Officer Hayes. Have my brothers been notified?”

“No
ma'am. Your name was the only one we found in her wallet.”

Naturally.
“Thank you
again, I will call them. Have a nice day.” Dani was about to hang up, when she
heard the officer say something. “Excuse me.”

“Her
body, it’s at the county morgue. Could I give you the number? I’m afraid
someone will need to make a positive ID and claim the body.”

Turning,
she looked at
Kris,
she should really talk with him
about this. She shook her head. No, that woman never cared for her one bit, and
she wasn’t about to honor her with the status befitting of a loved one.
“Officer Hayes, I will contact my brothers, one of them will be in charge of
making decisions regarding my mother from this point moving forward. Their
names are Clint and Wade
Reed,
one resides in Casper,
the other in Cheyenne.”

He
paused, clearly sensing
the disconnect
. “Very well,
Ms. Reed, we’ll wait to hear from one of them then.”

Hanging
up the phone, she looked at the two men standing in front of her. “Are we
done?”

“Yes
ma'am, is there anything we can do for you?”

She
shook her head. “No, thank you. I’ll be fine, thank you for coming. I’m sorry
for your trouble. I need to call my brothers. Thank you again.” She was
rambling. Turning, she wobbled and walked away. Pulling up Wade’s number, she
headed for her swing.

*****

Standing
when Dani looked at him, Kris watched as she turned from the men and walked to
her swing. Looking back when he heard the doors of the cars slam shut, he
watched as both vehicles backed up and headed out the way they came.

Coming
to stand next to him, his dad said, “You better go see what’s going on.
Something’s happened, she damn near fell when she turned around.”

Tipping
his head down, Kris looked at Junie and noticed she’d reverted to the way she’d
been when they’d picked her up from the airport.
“
Junebug
?”
She simply snuggled closer to him,
tightening her grip. “Sweetheart, the men have left.” He turned so she could
see. “You’re alright. Can Papa Karl hold you while I go talk to
Nonny
?”

Shifting
her head a little, she looked to where the men had been. Sitting up, she
reached for his dad and did something she’d never done before. She started
sucking her thumb. Oh boy, she had to be scared to death. Running his hand over
her head, he tried comforting her. “Stay with Papa, honey, I’ll be back to get
you, I promise.”

Hightailing
it over to
Dani, he heard her talking on the phone as he neared.

“I
don’t care what you do, you can do anything you want, but I will not be coming
back there.” She spluttered and threw a hand up in the air. “Oh well, you two
figure it out, and if you do nothing, than it can be the county’s problem, but
I’m not dealing with it, I won’t. My focus is Junie.”

She
scooted over, as he came to sit by her. Putting his arm around her, he listened
as she talked.

“All
I want are any important papers that have to do with me or Junie, that’s
it.”…“You’ll have to come here then, because I won’t be going there.”…“I have
no idea, you’ll have to talk with Officer Hayes from the Boulder Police
Department. If you choose to do nothing,
then
at least
let him know.”…“You’ll call Clint?”…“Alright, I’ll talk with you later.”