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The sun had yet to come up when Maggie parked and walked in the back door of the Yellow Rose.

“Something sure smells good in here,” she said.

Pearl turned around, beaming. “Girl, I am so glad to see you. Welcome back, honey.”

“Looking good,” Davey added.

“Thanks. Glad to be back,” Maggie said, then put on an apron, slipped an order pad in the pocket, and went to work. She wasn’t saying anything to Pearl about her news until all was confirmed and her paintings were on their way to Santa Fe. Pearl was making biscuits, and Davey was frying bacon and sausage for the warmer. Darla arrived soon after, and the day began.

***

Sonny was back at the trailer house site watching the power company pull the electric meter from the pole. A fence crew from Silverton was just getting started on taking down the old fence that had run east to west behind Sutton’s trailer. They had their orders and knew what to do, so as soon as the power company left, Sonny got Emmit’s weed-eater out of the truck and began to clean up the area along the fence row, pausing every now and then to stop and check his phone. Rationally, he knew Magnolia was safe, but he would have nightmares of her kidnapping for the rest of his life.

He glanced up to see how the fence crew was doing, loaded up his equipment, then went into the pasture to help them roll up the wire they were taking down.

***

As soon as Cheryl showed up for her shift, Maggie headed home. In the short time she’d been living with Sonny, knowing she was loved and cherished had made all the difference in her life.

Magnolia Brennen was finally blooming into the woman she was meant to be, and Sonny had just cracked the wall behind which she’d been sheltering. As she drove by the trailer site, she saw men along the fence line, and Sonny’s truck farther west. Whatever was going on, he was in the middle of it.

When she got home, she found a note on the table telling her where he was working, and to call if she needed him.

A quick check of the refrigerator assured her there was a package of thawed hamburger meat, so she dug around to see what else was in the pantry. After finding the needed ingredients, she mixed up a meatloaf, poured barbeque sauce over it just before she put it in the oven, covered it with foil, set the timer, and put it in to bake. Then she wrapped two baking potatoes in foil and put them in the oven with the meatloaf.

The house was neat, the floors were clean, so she changed out of her work clothes into sweatpants and a T-shirt. The sofa beckoned. Exhausted from the busy morning at the Rose, she took the blanket from the back of the sofa, covered herself up, then rolled over and closed her eyes.

She slept until the timer went off, took the meatloaf out, turned the potatoes, and reset the timer to finish them off, then sat down at the kitchen table. All of her things were now out of Pearl’s house, and she had one last round of utility bills to pay before everything went back into Pearl’s name. Once she had finished paying bills, she glanced at the time. Almost five. Sonny would soon be coming home.

***

Sonny had hired a double crew to remove the old fencing. Six of them were rolling up old wire, while six more were pulling fence posts as they went. It was getting late by the time they loaded up the last of the refuse and drove away, leaving Sonny with a pickup load of T-posts and another couple of truck loads neatly stacked on the far side of some bushes, out of sight of anyone looking for something to steal.

He was tired and dirty, but satisfied with the day as he got back in the truck and drove home through the pasture. The horses watched him, but when the truck didn’t slow down, they went back to grazing.

Once he got back to the house, he pulled around behind the roping arena and began unloading the T-posts. After the truck was empty, he fed and watered the mares before heading to the house.

His girl was there. All was right with his world.

He walked in the back door then stopped. “Dang, woman! Something sure smells good in here!”

Maggie came running and threw her arms around his neck. “It might be me, but I’m betting it’s the meatloaf you smell.”

He groaned, picked her up off her feet and lowered his head. Her lips were soft and warm, and she smelled so damn good, he didn’t know what smelled better—the lingering scent of lilac shampoo in her hair, or that meatloaf.

“Can you give me about ten minutes to clean up?” he said.

She brushed a kiss across his lips. “I already gave you my heart. I think I can spare ten minutes, too.”

He gave her backside a quick pat. “If I wasn’t so hungry, I’d go back outside and come in the house again just for this greeting.”

“You’re worth waiting for. Go do your thing.”

Sonny was still smiling when he got in the shower.

***

Charlie Bluejacket’s workday was over, but he had a stop to make before he went home, and called Frannie to let her know he’d be a little late.

“Hey, handsome. What’s up?” she asked.

“Hi, honey. I’m going to stop by Retha’s house to let her know where Nubby is. No need leaving her to worry he’s lying dead somewhere, you know?”

“Nubby is a creep, but Retha is a good woman. She doesn’t deserve that stress and worry. Drive safe,” Frannie said.

“I will. See you soon, and tell Julia to feed Butters one scoop, not two. He’s getting fat.”

She laughed. “I will.”

He was still smiling when he hung up, but the smile slipped once he headed for Retha Borders’s house on the other side of Okmulgee.

He was pulling into her driveway when she came around the corner of the house pushing a wheelbarrow full of bedding plants. He knew she was in her fifties, but by the stoop of her shoulders, and the wobble of the wheelbarrow, she looked like an old woman. Life had been hard on Retha and his news wasn’t going to make it better. Still, he got out and ran to help her.

“Here, Retha, I’ve got it. Lead the way,” he said.

“Charlie! Thank you! If you’ll get it to the far side of the porch, I can take it from there.”

Charlie pushed the wheelbarrow where she wanted it to go, and then stopped.

“Before you start digging in the dirt, do you have a minute? We all know you’ve been worried about Nubby going off with Walker like that. I have some news. Come sit on the porch with me a bit out of the sun, okay?”

All the color faded from Retha’s face. “Is it bad?”

“Oh, they’re alive and kicking, but they both got themselves in trouble,” Charlie said, then helped her up the steps and onto the porch swing, while he took a seat in a chair.

“What have they done?” Retha asked.

Charlie sighed. “They started out together for a really bad reason. Walker set out to find Sonny at the ranch he’d just inherited. He wanted payback because Sonny wouldn’t take Walker with him. Walker told Sonny he should have died that night at the rodeo arena. That he should already be dead and buried, so when we found out they were headed in Sonny’s direction, we both knew his intentions were to hurt Sonny in some way. I don’t know what their specific plans were, but Nubby wasn’t just along for the ride. They got as far as Boise City, out in the Oklahoma panhandle, before Walker’s old truck broke down. Long story short, Nubby pickpocketed money from a bunch of women in a grocery store, and got caught. He’s in the Cimarron County Jail serving a six-month sentence.”

“Oh lord,” Retha muttered. “He’s been nothing but trouble his whole adult life.”

“Well, he’s not in as much trouble as Walker is, though. He went on and found the town near Sonny’s ranch, then didn’t know how to get to him without being seen, so he kidnapped Sonny’s girlfriend to try and lure Sonny out of town and get him alone. He had a gun in the front seat of the truck when he was caught, and the young woman tied up in the back seat. Sonny beat the crap out of him before the Texas Highway Patrol caught up with them. Walker’s facing years he doesn’t have to give in a Texas state prison.”

Retha gasped. “That’s terrible!”

“Yes, ma’am, it is. He’s never been a good man, or a good husband, or even pretended to be a father figure. I was told you were worrying about Nubby’s whereabouts, and wanted to put your mind at rest. At least you know where he is, and why. I expect when it comes time for his release, he’ll be expecting Walker to bring him home. So, if you call your brother, you might want to tell him to start making other plans.”

“Can I call Nubby?” Retha asked.

“Not sure how it all works there, but you can call the Cimarron County Jail and ask. They’ll give you the information you need.”

“Yes, I will, and I sure thank you for letting me know,” Retha said.

Charlie shrugged. “It’s not good news for either of our families, but you’re welcome. I’d better get home. I want to get my chores done before dark.”

He went back to his truck as Retha went back to her bedding plants, both of them thinking, life happens, and life goes on.

***

Supper at Sunset had come and gone, and so had the sunset.

Sonny was stretched out on the sofa with Maggie lying between his legs, her head pillowed on his chest as she chattered away.

“Darla had a big spill at the Rose today. A whole order. Little kid rolled his Hot Wheels so fast it slid off the table and rolled right under Darla’s foot. She caught herself from falling, but the tray of food went everywhere. The parents were horrified and were apologizing profusely. Paid for the wasted food and then gave Darla a huge tip. Dad put the toy car in his pocket and the kid spent a good five minutes crying about it.”

“What a mess. Good thing she wasn’t hurt, though,” he said.

“Oh, I know. All those years at the Rose, and we’ve slipped and skidded, and dumped food and dirty dishes all over the place.”

He frowned. “Did you ever get hurt?”

“Only my dignity,” she said. “It’s hard to get up and walk out of a room with mashed potatoes and gravy on your butt.”

He grinned, then kissed the top of her head just because she was so damn cute. “My poor sweetheart.”

She giggled. “Oh, you get over it or you never have the guts to go back to work the next day.”

“Changing the subject for a minute,” Sonny said.

She sat up and turned to face him. “Okay. What’s up?”

“We still need to decide about our wedding. My timeline is yesterday, but we have all this excitement about your budding career, so it’s your call. I have this terrible, male desire to make sure the world can see you’re taken. There’s no jewelry store in Crossroads to pick out rings, but it’s not far to Amarillo. You google shops that carry wedding dresses and then we’ll pick out the rings together. My brother and family want to come to our wedding, and I need you to meet the good people in my family. Maybe it will take away the nightmare Walker put you through.”

“Saturday and Sunday are my next days off,” she said.

“Then we’ll make it happen,” Sonny said.

***

After Charlie Bluejacket’s visit, Retha couldn’t quit thinking about Nubby, and when morning dawned, she dressed slowly, still thinking about wanting to call him. As soon as she’d finished her breakfast, she sat down with a pad and pen, googled the phone number for the Cimarron County Jail, and after being transferred to a couple of different extensions, she bought minutes on a calling card, and money in Nubby’s name for the commissary.

She was assured they would notify her brother, and now she had to wait and hope he would call when he was allowed.

***

It was later that afternoon before Nubby was notified that his sister had set up a calling card and money in his account for the commissary. The first chance he was given, he made a call. It rang and rang, and he was right at the point of thinking she wouldn’t answer when he heard her voice.

“Hello!”

“Hey Retha, it’s me. Thanks for setting up the accounts here. I appreciate it.”

She sighed. “Well, Nestor Lee, once I found out you were still alive in the world, I thought about just letting you stew. But I guess I’m not mean enough.”

Nubby didn’t give a flip about another person in the world, except for Retha. “Yeah, well, I got enough mean for the both of us,” he said. “Sorry about this, but I won’t be here long. I got six months, and Walker will come get me and bring me home when I’m released.”

“No. That’s part of why I wanted to talk to you. Walker is in a Texas state prison, likely for the rest of his mortal life, for aggravated kidnapping.”

Nubby was in shock. “What the hell? Who did he kidnap?”

“Sonny’s girlfriend, in hopes of luring him out of town. Apparently, your friend had plans to kill his own son, which I’m sure you knew about, and it backfired. Sonny caught up to Walker on a highway somewhere between Crossroads and the New Mexico border. He beat him to a pulp and cut off his braids, and if the Texas Highway Patrol hadn’t arrived when they did, he would have beaten Walker to death.”

The skin crawled on the back of Nubby’s neck. “Cut off his braids? Whoa! That’s harsh!”

Retha snorted. “And what he did to that poor girl wasn’t worse? My God, Nubby. What’s wrong with you?”

“Sorry, but that was shocking. What happened to the girl?” Nubby asked.

“She’s going to be okay, no thanks to Walker. And here at home, the tribal council has taken away Walker’s voting privileges and shunned him. Even if he gets out some day, he will not be welcomed back in the tribe. There are devils inside him. And this is a reminder to you. The police know you were meant to be with him on this trip.”

Nubby got defensive all over again. “How do they know that? Did Walker tell them?”

“No. Sonny has visions. Remember when that escaped inmate was trying to catch Charlie and Frances’s daughter Julia? Sonny had a vision that it was happening, and called his brother. What he did saved her life. So, Sonny also saw you two broke down on the side of the road. He knew ahead of time that you were coming after him, and now the authorities have you in their sights. When you get out, you better get yourself home and stay on the straight and narrow, because they have you pegged as some kind of hit man. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Nubby’s skin crawled again. Sonny turned into some psychic, and Nubby’s six months in jail felt like a prize. It sure beat the hell out of a life sentence in a state prison.

“Yeah, okay Retha. I hear you.”

“Good. I’ll keep money in your accounts. Call whenever you need. And when you’re going to be released, let me know. I’ll come get you.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Nubby said.

“If you want to come home, then yes, I do. You’ve burned all the bridges you ever had with the people who know you.”

His sister’s words were like a knife in the back. He hadn’t seen that coming. “Gotta go. Time’s up,” Nubby said. “Thanks again for this.”

The line went dead in Retha’s ear. She was swallowing back tears as she got up and went outside to water her new plants. Staying busy was the only thing that kept her from going mad.