The Comforts of Home (33 page)

Tyler pressed the delete button just as he heard the front doorbel chime.

Adrenaline shot threw his veins. The memory of Leland showing up was stil too raw in his mind to make a guest at night welcome. There were no family times scheduled for tonight.

When he reached the hal way, Autumn was already there in a robe that looked like it might have been left by Wil amina. The girl had the broom in her hands as if prepared for battle.

“Should I dial 911?” she whispered.

Calvin came running up from downstairs. “I heard the bel . You don’t think it’s . . .”

Dave bumped into Calvin, almost knocking him down with the snow shovel he carried.

Tyler couldn’t panic; the job was already overstaffed. He had to be the voice of reason. “Autumn, get the kitchen phone. If it’s trouble, dial and set the phone down. The boys wil be here fast when the Cal er ID comes in at both the station and the sheriff’s dispatch. Calvin and Dave, stand in the shadows in case you’re needed.”

Tyler moved to the door as the bel chimed again. He felt like a general riding in front of the troops. “Everyone stand ready. It’s not that late. Maybe someone thought we’d stil be open.”

He flipped the lock and slowly opened the door. As he saw who it was, he raised his hand as if to tel the troops to stand down and let out a long breath.

“A little late for a delivery.” He smiled, letting Ronel e Logan in. “But a postwoman is always welcome. Is there something I can help you with?”

Ronel e nodded. “I need a place to stay. I think I just ran away from home.”

Autumn moved forward. “Wel , from the looks of you, I’d say it’s about time. Mr. Wright, you want me to get out the cookies and milk?”

“Yes.” He was grateful to his new housekeeper, as he had no idea what to do in a situation like this. No one in the hundred-year history of Wright Funeral Home had ever had one, much less two runaways in residence.

MARCH 16

BLUE MOON DINER

TYLER BARELY MADE IT TO BREAKFAST WITH

HANK THE next morning. By the time he and the girls had finished talking while eating cookies and milk last night, Autumn and Ronel e had bonded and Tyler had gained five pounds. The girls made up the hide-a-bed in Autumn’s sitting room for Ronel e, and Autumn fil ed her in on the schedule while Tyler put away the milk. They al agreed she should stay with Autumn for a few days before making any big steps.

He’d left the girls in the kitchen, thinking he didn’t even want to think about what Martha Q would have to say about his new situation. Maybe he should change the sign out front. WRIGHT FUNERAL HOME AND HALFWAY HOUSE

FOR RUNAWAYS.

When he sat down at the Blue Moon a little after dawn, Hank looked like he was already on his second cup of coffee. They ordered and Saralynn settled into her drawings.

“You hear about the mess at the sheriff’s office last night?” Hank didn’t wait for Tyler to answer. “Seems one of Alex’s new deputies overreacted to a cal from Dal as Logan. He had the whole panhandle out looking for a girl who’d been kidnapped . . .”

“I heard,” Tyler said, before he had to listen to the entire story again.

Hank raised an eyebrow and waited.

“Ronel e knocked on my door last night. I don’t know if Dal as kicked her out or if she ran, but she says she’s not going back. She’s staying with my housekeeper.”

“I can’t blame her for leaving. It would take a real gentle soul to put up with Dal as for that long. What is she going to do?”

“I told her I’d help her find a place to live, but she’s welcome to stay til she gets her footing.” Tyler shook his head. “I don’t know if I can stand it. Having Wil amina around al those years was like living with a ghost. She rarely even spoke to me. On the first of every month, I walked into the kitchen and handed her a check and her only comment was always, ‘About time.’ Now I’ve got Autumn, who never stops talking, and Ronel e. They’re both young enough to be my daughters; maybe I should adopt them. I’m not used to women around.”

“Welcome to my world. Now you have one day of my life. When my father died I was trapped on the ranch with a mother, two sisters, and two old aunts.”

Tyler got over his pity party. “How are al the ladies in your life?”

“Wel , Aunt Pat’s been gone for days. She went over to the Truman place and Aunt Fat hasn’t stopped talking about the scandal of it al . I expect Jeremiah to crawl out of his deathbed and bring her back home any minute. She’s a real dear, but after forty years in the classroom she can’t seem to stop teaching. Sometimes I think she and Aunt Fat take turns at the podium. She’s eighty-four and apparently, according to Aunt Fat, has decided to live in sin with the neighbor.”

“How is old Jeremiah?”

“Doing better, I think. He’l probably outlive us both.”

“Sir Knight?” Saralynn patted Tyler’s hand with sticky fingers. “Can I come live with you too? I don’t have a daddy and you don’t have a kid.”

“Wouldn’t you miss your mother and grandmother?”

“I could bring them too.”

Both men laughed, but it was Hank who answered. “You know, Saralynn, I need you at the ranch. You’re the only one who keeps up with what day it is. And who would feed your rabbits?”

She sighed. “You’re right. Sorry, Sir Knight. I got to stay home.”

“It’s al right, Princess.” Tyler smiled down at her. “I’l just have to settle for being your knight and you being my princess. Maybe one day the right man to be your daddy wil come along.”

“How wil I know him?”

Tyler thought for a minute and whispered, “You’l see a twinkle in his eyes that says he thinks you’re something. If he’s the right man, he’l love your mother and he’l protect you just like your uncle Hank and your uncle Gabe and I do now. He’l ride in and save you if you ever get trapped in the castle.”

She smiled and went back to her coloring.

Hank’s voice was calm. “Alex told me Leland, Autumn’s boyfriend, is long gone. You don’t have to worry about him.” Tyler picked up his coffee cup. “I think I’l keep my doors locked after hours just in case, for a while.” They talked on about Hank’s family and about the people of town. To Tyler they were al family, except maybe Martha Q. After getting to know her, he was surprised at least one of her seven husbands hadn’t kil ed the woman.

He couldn’t tel if she was trying to get Kate and him together or rip them apart.

A nagging possibility tugged at his thoughts. Maybe he and Kate were never a couple except in his mind. If so, Martha Q’s meddling wouldn’t have much effect at al .

After breakfast, he walked over to the post office as he did every morning. Ronel e was there in the back. Rumor was Dal as Logan hadn’t stepped foot in the post office since her husband died. Tyler guessed Ronel e was betting on her mother not showing up today.

When Jerry Donavan handed Tyler his mail, he whispered, “That’s a good thing you did, Mr. Wright, a real good thing.”

“How’s she doing?” Tyler nodded toward the back.

“A little jumpy when the door opens, but good. She asked me if she could stay in the back al day today, and I thought it was probably smart. I’ve known Dal as for thirty years and I swear if she was bottled wine, she’d be pure vinegar by now.”

Tyler picked up his mail and nodded. He didn’t know Dal as Logan al that wel and hoped that fact would remain the same. He walked out to his car, as always planning his day.

Beth and Stel a McNabb were in the main office when he got back to work. A family who lived in Harmony years ago had cal ed and wanted a graveside service for their father on Thursday. Stel a thought that maybe since the family was smal and had no church affiliation, she would put together a meal for them in the conference room after the short service.

Tyler started to say that funeral homes don’t cater, but Autumn walked in, handed Tyler his coffee, and offered to help cook.

“I just heard on the radio that a storm’s coming in Thursday,” she said.

Stel a agreed. “Bob’s been tracking it since yesterday.

What with bad weather and a funeral, it would be nice to have a quiet lunch before they head back.” While the women talked, Tyler slipped into his office.

As Tyler sat down at his huge desk he decided he had time to check his e-mail while he opened his regular mail.

He flipped his computer on and noticed Kate had sent two messages.

The one from last night said,
What’s going on, Ty?

Martha Q says you’ve got trouble.

The other came an hour ago and said,
I’m on my way
home. Will call as soon as I know my flight.

Tyler laughed. Apparently al he had needed to get his Kate to come see him was have two young women move in with him. The world was getting more confusing by the day.

Al his life he’d told himself he liked order. He grinned, realizing he was wrong. It turned out, he loved chaos.

AT

NOON,

RONELLE

UNWRAPPED

THE

SANDWICH AUTUMN had made her for lunch. She wanted, more than anything, to walk over to Marty’s place, but she didn’t dare. She hadn’t had a chance to tel her mother why she’d been late getting home. But in this town there was little chance Dal as hadn’t figured it out.

Knowing Dal as, she was circling the post office waiting for Ronel e to come out. With luck, she hadn’t heard where her daughter had gone after she’d packed her things last night, but someone was bound to tel someone, who in turn would cal her mother.

Ronel e picked up the phone on the back desk. She never used it except for official business, but maybe Mr.

Donavan wouldn’t mind this once. She dialed.

“Hel o.”

“Marty,” she whispered.

His voice changed from hard to caring in an instant.

“Ronny, are you al right?”

“I walked out of my mother’s house last night.” She said the words without shaking. She was getting used to the idea and there was no going back. If she did, her mother would spend the next thirty years reminding her what a fool she’d made of herself.

“Where are you?”

“I’m at work. I spent the night with a girl named Autumn at the funeral home. She works there and has a smal apartment beside the kitchen. She said I could stay for as long as I needed to.”

Marty was silent for a moment. “You’ve got a lot of growing to do, Ronny. It’s not going to be easy, but the woman who is going to come out the other side of this mess wil real y be something.”

“You think so?”

“I know so, honey.”

She smiled. Al she’d been thinking about was the chaos she was in. He gave her hope that there was an end to this dark tunnel.

“Want me to pick you up after work? We could get a hamburger and talk about it. Maybe drive over to Bailee, where no one would know us.”

“I think I’d like that very much. Pick me up out back of the post office. I didn’t take much last night. I may need to do a little shopping.”

“You got it,” he said. “And Ronny, I’m sorry to be the cause of al this, but you did the right thing.”

“You weren’t the cause. I should have moved out a long time ago.” She knew what he meant by growing. Fear tangled with excitement in her blood.

“After we eat, I’l find a back road and start teaching you to drive. If you’re going to be on your own, I have a feeling you’l want to go a lot farther than you can walk.”