Page 5

“A re you threatening me?” Mandy asked.

“Without a doubt.”

She couldn’t breathe. With anger almost choking her, Mandy sent him her best icy frown guaranteed to curl the leaves on a philodendron at ten paces. “Don’t bother picking me up.”

“I assure you, it’s no bother.”

“You’re not spanking me,” she hissed.

“Wrong.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but he was already moving away, his back to her as he skirted the front of the truck and bounded up on the sidewalk. She was livid. Yanking open the door of her pickup truck, Mandy waited for Mags to jump in. Then she slid herself in and slammed the door shut behind her.

“What was that all about? Why did Sam have a gun? What did Az say?” The questions tumbled out of Beverly’s mouth, one after the other.”

“Nothing!”

“Okay—if you say so.”

“I’m sorry, Beverly,” she apologized, “but Az makes me so mad I could scream.” She banged her small fist against the steering wheel and winced as she drove toward Beverly’s house on Apple Street.

Mags sat up and whined, her tongue licking Mandy on the arm.

“It’s okay, Mags, I’m just mad.” She patted the Golden Retriever soothingly on the head.

“Just out of curiosity, why are you so mad?”

Mandy’s glance slid sideways to Beverly and back to the road. She’d never kept any secrets from her best friend before, but she didn’t know how to tell her that Az had spanked her—and intended to do it again.

Beverly was living with her boyfriend, Wiley, and the couple had set a wedding date. Impulsively, she asked, “Beverly, does Wiley expect you to do everything he tells you? I mean—is he on any kind of a male macho trip?”

“What do you mean?” Beverly’s voice was guarded, and Mandy glanced over at her in surprise.

“I mean, if you had been me this morning, and Wiley was Az, what would he do?”

“Well,” Beverly hedged. “Wiley and I are engaged. I didn’t even know you and Az were dating.”

“We’ve known each other forever, Beverly. He’s been bossing me around forever, too, and I’m done with it,” she boasted with a bravado she didn’t truly feel. “He did ask me to dinner.”

Bev stared skeptically. “So, are you dating?”

“I don’t know what we are. Anyway, that doesn’t matter. Just tell me what Wiley would do.”

“If I tell you, do you promise not to say anything? To anybody?” Beverly’s voice was pleading.

“Of course, I won’t. You know me better than that.”

Beverly flushed and shifted uncomfortably on the seat. “Okay, then, I guess I can tell you. Although you have to promise me you won’t think I’m weird.”

“No, I won’t think you are weird. Beverly, we’ve known each other all our lives, for heaven’s sake. What is so bad that you’re afraid to tell me?”

Mandy whipped the pickup over to the curb to park in front of her friend’s house. She watched curiously, waiting for her to continue.

“We have sort of an agreement, I guess you would call it.” She flushed slightly, the color creeping up the white column of her slender throat. “Oh, hell—there’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it. If I did what you did, Wiley would put me over his knee and spank me.”

“You’re kidding,” Mandy squealed. She had begun to suspect it might be that with all of Beverly’s hesitation, but the revelation had shocked her anyway. “And you say you agree to that?”

“You can’t say anything to anybody.” Beverly stared defiantly at her. “You promised, Mandy.”

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t tell a soul.” Her voice lowered a few notches. “That’s what Az intends to do to me,” she confessed.

It was Beverly’s turn to look shocked. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

“I wish I were. I can’t get over how much Az has changed. He’s not the same person he used to be. I don’t think I like this new one any more than I did the old one either.”

“He spanked you last night, didn’t he?” Beverly guessed, grinning.

“Yes, damn him.” She threw her shoulders back and banged her fist on the steering wheel. “But he isn’t going to get the chance tonight, because I’m not going to be home when he comes to pick me up.”

“Mandy!”

“I’m not. He has no right, Beverly. Good grief. At least you and Wiley are engaged and have an understanding. I guess that kind of... sort of... gives him some rights, doesn’t it?”

“He thinks so,” Beverly replied with a giggle.

“Well, I’m not putting up with this macho crap. I’m going to be somewhere else tonight.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere but home,” Mandy vowed fervently.

“A bit of advice for you—don’t run. They don’t like it when you run from them, and it only makes it worse when they finally catch you.” Beverly smiled knowingly.

“I can’t believe you agree to it.”

“There are some super side benefits that we both enjoy.”

Mandy stared at Bev as if she had sprouted horns. “What sort of benefits? I can’t think of a single benefit to getting your butt whacked by a hard-as-a-rock hand.”

“Famous last words,” Beverly replied dryly as she slid out of the cab. “Take my advice and stay put. Get it over with.”

Mandy thought about it as she drove home, but she didn’t intend to follow her friend’s advice. She wasn’t going to sit around waiting for Az to come and punish her like a recalcitrant child. Glumly, she mourned the chance for a nice dinner and maybe some toe-tingling kisses, but she had to stand her ground.

She wasn’t a child—she was a woman—with rights.

Besides, he was flirting with Courtney Beauchamp. “Let him go spank Courtney, Mags,” she huffed to her canine pal.

Mags woofed in agreement.

“Crazy Courtney would probably love it.” She snickered at the thought of Courtney yelling and pleading as she got her comeuppance, but a sliver of jealousy shot through her. Who was she kidding? She suddenly found that she didn’t like Courtney being anywhere near Az.

What was wrong with her anyway? All her feelings were upside down and swirling around in confusion, with one aggravating male at the center. She grumbled into the house with Mags trailing her and wagging her tail in full agreement with everything she said.

***

S HERIFF DORNEY AND Az stood gazing at the calmer waters of the overflow basin, while men in waders assembled what was left of the cow parts and the barrel that had burst open.

“Nothing big would have gone on downstream, not with the grating in place,” observed the sheriff.

“This is pretty weird, Sheriff. Why would you chop up a cow and put it in a barrel?” Az watched as various gory pieces of a cow were brought to the banks.

“Look at this, Az,” yelled one of the sheriff’s deputies. He brought over a piece of cowhide to show the men. The brand on it was an arch with the letter G in the middle.

It was Gramp’s brand.

“That must be one of the steers we lost last night,” Az said, eyeing it with distaste. Hugh and Aaron told him they’d lost three before he left this morning. And it wasn’t the first time, either.

“Probably,” the deputy replied. “These remains are not rotted at all. It looks like a fresh kill.”

“I’m noticing something here, boys,” the sheriff pointed out, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “There doesn’t appear to be much meat. You’ve brought up some horns, hide, and feet, but no real chunks of meat. Why do you suppose that is?”

“Maybe it’s in another barrel,” suggested the lanky deputy.

“Or maybe someone kept the meat,” Az observed.

Sheriff Dorney nodded. “Or if what Sam Pickering is saying is true, then maybe someone is butchering the cows and trying to blame Genetico Industries by putting the remains in their barrels.”

“But why?” Az asked, his brows wrinkling.

“Any number of reasons.” The sheriff tipped his hat back. “It could be a disgruntled employee wanting to get even. Or it might be someone butchering the cows for food and trying to throw us off the scent. Things to keep in mind at this point.”

Az stared at the hide in his hands. “I guess that could be why the cattle haven’t shown up anywhere. But who would do it? And how? You can’t butcher a cow just anywhere.”

“I think we need to have some divers check out the lake, for starters. Whoever called Sam this morning knew what was going on. And if Skeeter was telling the truth about dumping up here, then there may be more barrels in there. If there are, and the meat is gone, then someone is eating them. Or, selling the meat packaged and ready to eat, which would make them dang near impossible to track. Twenty-seven head of cattle on the hoof don’t just disappear into thin air, though. They have to be somewhere.”

“I think we should talk to Skeeter Davis again,” Az decided. “He might have seen something last night, considering the crazy old coot took a shot at us.”

“Agreed.” The sheriff shaded his gaze as he looked at the horizon where the sun was slowly beginning to sink. “It’s time to call it a night. I’ll arrange for the divers and meet you at the office in the morning. Then I’ll go by Skeeters.”

***

A S AZ RETURNED TO HIS truck, his thoughts returned to Mandy. They’d never been far from her all day, and the coming chat he intended to have with her had been weighing heavily on his mind. It was time to finish the day’s business and head her way.

The girl was as headstrong as she had ever been, maybe even more so as a woman. She was beautiful, with all the curves a man could want in all the right places. She needed her butt blistered for ignoring him today, though. The girls had been in real danger. Rustlers weren’t known for leaving witnesses.

It was 7:00 p.m. on the dot when Az knocked on the front door of Mandy’s ranch-style brick home, the memories of the many times he had crossed that threshold washing over him. The evening air was silky as it blew across his face, the smell of something cooking inside filling his nostrils. It smelled like beef stew, and his stomach rumbled.

The house was set slightly on the outskirts of town, but only about fifteen minutes from the grocery store Mandy’s grandmother owned. Petunia Collier had bought it from the Benson family several years ago, and Mandy had worked for her grandmother since she was old enough to help.

Az still remembered the day Mandy’s parents had been hit by a grain truck on I-70 when their car had stalled out. It left her without her father, and left her mother in a wheelchair.

Mandy had only been fourteen when the accident happened, but it had aroused his protective instincts. And looking out for her had become a permanent habit. The next fall, she started high school. Once she finally decided she didn’t have a crush on him, they’d settled into an uneasy friendship. After he was out of high school and attending the nearby junior college for his associate's degree in criminal justice, he was extra careful to keep tabs on her so that the randy juniors and seniors of Mockingbird Hollow High didn’t take advantage of her. She hadn’t appreciated it much, but he knew how it felt to lose a dad, and he knew she was hurting just as much as he was.

Glancing over at the driveway, he didn’t see Mandy’s red pickup parked in its usual place, but Randy Berenger’s Lincoln town car was in the driveway. He must be visiting Mrs. Merriweather.

“Well, hello, Az.” The door opened, and Mrs. Merriweather was there in her wheelchair, smiling. “Can I help you with something? Mandy isn’t here.”

“Not here?” Az glanced at his watch. It was two minutes after 7:00 p.m. “Where is she? We were supposed to go to dinner.”

Mrs. Merriweather was a fine-looking woman, and Az could see where Mandy got her looks from. Unlike her daughter, Sara had always been sweet and polite to him.

“She never said anything about having a date,” Sara replied, looking puzzled.

“Did she say where she was going?” Az clenched his hat in his fist, his irritation starting to simmer.

“No, she didn’t...wait. I overheard her having a conversation with Beverly on the phone earlier. Maybe she went over there. She just told me she was going out for a while and would be in early.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I’ll just go over and check on her.” He jammed his black hat down on his head and stalked towards his old brown and white Dodge pickup. It was embarrassing to show up for a date and find the girl wasn’t there. It didn’t make him feel any happier towards Mandy for running away from him. Growling low in his throat, he jumped into the truck. “You can run, Mandy, but you can’t hide.”

***

“I S THERE A PROBLEM , Sara? Is that Az I heard you talking to?”

The rich, deep tones of Randy Berenger came from behind her, and Sara turned her chair around to face the tall, distinguished rancher. “It seems Az had a date with Mandy, but Mandy isn’t here. Isn’t that odd?”

Randy chuckled. “I didn’t know they were dating.”

“They aren’t—or at least they weren’t. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Well, I did hear that Az took her away from Sam Pickering last night at the Saddle. So, maybe they are a couple now.”

“Oh, you know how small towns are—they gossip about everything,” Sara retorted. “It’s not like Mandy to avoid Az. Lord knows I’ve often wished he and Mandy would get together, but they’ve always just been friends. Mandy always called him her buddy, or her big brother.”

Sara really liked Az and his family, and had always thought he would make a good husband for Mandy. Her headstrong daughter was used to doing exactly as she pleased and needed a firm hand for guidance in the future. She took too many risks.

Randy nodded. “I’ve always liked Az, and I agree with you. However, from a man’s point of view, I’d say he’s been more than just a big brother. There’s something behind that friendship that’s been on simmer all these years, according to Evan.”

“Sheriff Dorney, you mean? Randy, have you two men been gossiping?” She scolded him with a laugh.

Randy waggled his dark brows at her. “Not gossiping, just observing. Evan swears Az has been in love with Mandy all his life, but he just hasn’t acted on it yet.”

Sara’s eyebrow arched upward. “Really? Shame on you two for speculating about my daughter.”

Randy leaned down, his hands on her hands on the wheelchair handles, to look her in the face. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed, Sara Merriweather. Because if you do, that means you’re fibbing to me. And you know how I feel about that.”

Sara laughed. “You know me too well, Randy. All right, yes. I’ve noticed that Az does seem unusually attached as a protector through the years. But that doesn’t mean they are in love.”

“True,” he conceded, then went behind her to take the handles of her wheelchair. “It doesn’t mean they aren’t either.”

She shrugged her shoulders and allowed Randy to push her back to their card game. No point in worrying about it. Mandy would tell her what was going on in her own good time. Secretly, she really hoped it was true.

***

W HEN AZ TURNED DOWN Apple Street and saw Mandy’s red pickup truck in Beverly and Wiley’s driveway, he hesitated. Now that his anger had cooled, he wondered if he should pursue this or just let it go. It was obvious that she didn’t want to see him tonight, knowing she was in trouble with him.

He pulled over to the side of the road and put his truck in gear, letting the engine idle while he thought. The kisses they’d shared yesterday had changed everything. So had the spanking he’d given her last night. He was suddenly achingly, blazingly aware of her as a woman, and he wanted it all. He wanted to cherish her, protect her, bury himself deep within her, and make her his. But did he have the right to enter into a serious relationship with her this soon?

He sighed as he thought, his anger at her avoiding him seeping away. It mattered little if she were running from a spanking—he could catch her if he wanted to. If she was running from him , that bothered him. Did she care for him at all? Or was she just experimenting with that kiss? Was she playing with him as she had been with Sam Pickering? Worse yet, was he now a candidate in her silly quest to lose her virginity?

He didn’t like the thought of that.

Finally, making a decision, he flipped a U-turn and sent the pick-up back towards the Golden G. Maybe it was better this way. He was still in school. He and his brothers shared the ranch Gramps had left them with his mom. He wouldn’t be able to afford a home of his own for a while.

Feeling miserable, he turned onto Possum Lake Road and headed towards the dam. He used to go up there all the time when he was a kid, just to think. The moon was bright, and the stars twinkled, seeming to mock his loneliness as he parked in the shadows, seeking the darkness like a balm to his troubled thoughts.

If he were lucky, maybe a dumper would show up, and he could impress Evan with his stakeout skills. They were investigating the lake after all, but he didn’t see any sign of the sheriff or a deputy anywhere. With a sigh, he settled back in his seat.

In the vast wooded area surrounding the lake, the Whippoorwills chorused their three-syllable song. “ Whip-por-WILL...whip-por-WILL .” Emphasis on the third syllable. He rolled down his window to listen. Whippoorwill County and Mockingbird Hollow were named after the full-throated little warblers.

Tonight, they reminded him of his granny , as he called his grandmother. She and his mom both liked to sing the old song, ‘Mockingbird Hill’, to him and his brothers, and basically, anyone who would listen when he was growing up. He hadn’t realized how much he missed hearing his granny belt it out.

The song was based on a Swedish song called ‘Life in the Finnish Woods’ . Popular fifties singers Patti Page, Les Paul, and Mary Ford made it popular around 1951, but his granny always preferred the Slim Whitman version with his yodeling included. Boy, could she yodel back in the day.

A grin curved his lips as memories of Mandy singing along with Granny on a hot summer day several years ago drifted into his thoughts.

Tra-la-la Tweedledee-dee-dee it gives me a thrill,

To wake up in the morning to the Mockingbirds' trill.

Tra-la-la, Tweedledee-dee-dee there's peace and goodwill,

You’re welcome as the flowers on Mockingbird Hill.

As he thought about her, he began to realize that a lot of his best memories centered around the young girl he had decided to protect and take care of. Maybe Evan was right, perhaps he had been in love with the little brat all along.

But was she in love with him? That was the 64-dollar question.

***

M ANDY LISTENED WITH half an ear, expecting Az to knock on Beverly’s door at any time. That is, if he wanted to find her. The knot of apprehension in her stomach had been like a cold ball all evening, and she wished he would just come and get it over with.

The minutes ticked by like hours, and soon it was 9:00 p.m. Mandy put her cards down and went to the kitchen to get another soda, restlessly staring out the window as she drank. There wasn’t much to see. The night was quiet, and nothing moved in the moonlight.

“Do you think he will come?” Beverly walked in and stood beside her, looking out the window.

Mags put her paws up on the windowsill to survey the moonlit street, then woofed and hopped down. Nothing was going on out there that she could see.

“I could have sworn he would, but now I’m not sure. Maybe he was so mad when he went to my house and I wasn’t home, that he just left.”

“I don’t know what to think either,” Beverly replied, shaking her head. “I would have bet he would come.”

Mandy felt a painful tug at her heart, but she pushed it away. “I guess if he doesn’t care, he won’t bother,” she added wistfully.

On an impulse, she picked up the phone and dialed her home number, getting her mother on the line. When she found out that Az had been there to pick her up at 7:00 p.m. and left, she carefully put the receiver down, trying to stifle the disappointment. Her mother had suggested she might be at Bev’s, but he hadn’t come after her.

“I...I think I’ll go home and get in an early night, Beverly,” Mandy said painfully. “I’m tired after all the excitement of today.”

Beverly nodded in sympathy and waved goodbye to her friend as she pulled out of the driveway.

A few minutes later, Mandy slipped into her bedroom with barely a few words to her mother and Randy, declaring tiredness and an early night. She lay back on her bed with Mags at her feet and stared at the moon out her window. If she hadn’t wanted to be with Az tonight, then why did she feel so bereft and lonely? She should be happy that she wasn’t with him. That he wasn’t bossing her around and spanking her.

It was what she’d wanted—wasn’t it?

She turned on her side as tears welled up unbidden and unwelcome. Sniffling, she turned her head into the pillow and cried.

Mags whined and crawled on her belly up to where she could lick the tears from Mandy’s face. Mandy put her arm around her faithful friend and finally fell into a troubled sleep.