A Creed in Stone Creek Part 2

"Maybe I could help out somehow," Steven heard himself say, as he took Matt's hand and started to turn away. "Not that I know much about parades."

"Join the club," Melissa said, with another of those lethal smiles of hers.

Steven grinned, nodded and managed to peel himself away.

He forgot all about paying the parking ticket, though, because his mind was full of Melissa O'Ballivan, and it was bound to stay that way.

All through the closing, held in a meeting room over at the Cattleman's Bank, Matt fidgeted. Steven signed papers, handed over a cas.h.i.+er's check covering the cost of the property in full, probably came across as a man who knew what he was doing.

Adopting a little boy. Quitting the prestigious Denver firm where he'd worked since he'd left the family business. Winding up so far from the Creed ranch outside Lonesome Bend, Colorado, which had been in the family for well over a hundred years, only to buy a run-down spread in another state.

Was he a man who knew what he was doing? Before he'd encountered Ms. O'Ballivan, Steven would have answered with an unqualified "yes." Now, he wasn't so sure. he a man who knew what he was doing? Before he'd encountered Ms. O'Ballivan, Steven would have answered with an unqualified "yes." Now, he wasn't so sure.

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED HERE?" Melissa asked, widening her eyes at Tom Parker and laying the splayed fingers of one hand to her chest. Steven Creed and his little boy, Matt, had probably been gone for all of thirty seconds, but it seemed as if they'd taken all the oxygen in the room away with them, leaving a vacuum.

Tom chuckled. "Stone Creek has itself a new chairman for the Parade Committee," he said, looking pleased and maybe a little smug on top of that. Then, about to leave, he paused in the doorway to wink at her. "And unless I miss my guess, the earth just moved." With that, he was gone.

Melissa stood in the middle of the office floor for a few moments, fl.u.s.tered. Then, because she was nothing if not professional, she walked over, gave her door a firm shove with one palm to shut it and marched back to her desk.

She didn't have many cases to prosecute; things had been pretty quiet around Stone Creek since Byron Cahill got himself sent up, but there were a few, and she always had reports to make, files to review, emails to read and respond to. If she'd been smart, she thought to herself, she'd have gone fis.h.i.+ng with J.P.

At midmorning, Andrea rapped on the office door and stuck her head in to say that she needed to go home because she had cramps and there was nothing to do around that place anyway.

Peering at the girl over the tops of her reading gla.s.ses, Melissa mouthed the word go go and logged on to her computer. Andrea might or might not have been suffering from cramps, but there was no arguing with the fact that both of them were, for today at least, underworked. and logged on to her computer. Andrea might or might not have been suffering from cramps, but there was no arguing with the fact that both of them were, for today at least, underworked.

Melissa, grateful to be putting in eight-hour days, like normal people, didn't miss the high stress levels and double workweeks of her previous jobs. She liked having the time to paint the rooms of her little house evenings and weekends, read stacks of books, enjoy her growing gaggle of nieces and nephews and even garden a little.

Okay, so she'd been through a romantic-not to mention s.e.xual-dry spell since her breakup with Dan Guthrie, several long and eventful years before. n.o.body had everything, did they?

Something sagged inside Melissa when she asked herself that question. Her sisters sisters had everything a person could reasonably want, it seemed to her-babies, hunky husbands who adored them, work they loved-and it went without saying that Brad had caught the bra.s.s ring. During his amazing career, he'd collected more than a dozen awards from the Country Music a.s.sociation, along with a few Grammys for good measure, his marriage to Meg McKettrick was beyond happy, and they were building a beautiful family together. had everything a person could reasonably want, it seemed to her-babies, hunky husbands who adored them, work they loved-and it went without saying that Brad had caught the bra.s.s ring. During his amazing career, he'd collected more than a dozen awards from the Country Music a.s.sociation, along with a few Grammys for good measure, his marriage to Meg McKettrick was beyond happy, and they were building a beautiful family together.

Melissa sighed. Time to put away the tiny violin, stop comparing herself to her brother and sisters. Sure, she was a little lonely from time to time, but so what? She was healthy. She had kin, people who loved her. Stone Creek Ranch, with its long and colorful history, was still home. She had a fine education, no mortgage, a jazzy car custom-built to look just like a 1954 MG Roadster, and enough money socked away to retire at forty if she wanted to.

Which she probably wouldn't, but that wasn't the point, was it?

For Melissa, success meant having options. It meant freedom.

If she had a notion to pull up stakes and throw herself body and soul into a job in a more exciting place-say, L.A. or New York-she could do that. There was nothing to tie her down: she could simply resign from her present position, rent out her house or even sell it, say another goodbye to Stone Creek and boogie.

She loved her sisters and her brother. She had lots of friends, people she'd known all her life. But it was the idea of leaving her nieces and nephews, not being there, in person, to see them grow up but instead settling for digital photos, phone calls, rare visits and emails that made a hard knot form in her throat.

And why was she even thinking these thoughts, anyway? Because Tom had been right, that was why.

Steven Creed and his little boy had appeared in her office and, at some point, the earth had had moved. s.h.i.+fted right off its axis. Gravity was suspended. Up was down and down was up, and the proof of that could be stated in one short, simple sentence: She'd agreed to head the Parade Committee. moved. s.h.i.+fted right off its axis. Gravity was suspended. Up was down and down was up, and the proof of that could be stated in one short, simple sentence: She'd agreed to head the Parade Committee.

Melissa drew in a breath, huffed it out hard enough to make her bangs flutter, and scanned the list of new messages on her computer screen.

Tom Parker, sitting three doors down at his own keyboard, IMed her to say that time was wasting and she really ought to schedule a meeting so she could get on the same page with everybody on the Parade Committee.

The response she sent was not something one would normally say to a police officer, face-to-face or or via email. But this was Tom, the guy she'd grown up with, the man who'd named his dog Elvis, for Pete's sake. via email. But this was Tom, the guy she'd grown up with, the man who'd named his dog Elvis, for Pete's sake.

Tom replied with a smiley-face icon wearing big sungla.s.ses and displaying a raised middle finger.

Melissa laughed at that-she couldn't help it-and went back to the official stuff.

Eustace Blake, who was ninety if he was a day and nonetheless managed to navigate the public computer over at the library just fine, thank you very much, had hunted-and-pecked his way through a complaint he'd made many times before, with subtle variations. Visitors from some faraway planet had landed in his cornfield-again-and scared his chickens so badly that the hens wouldn't lay eggs anymore, and for all he knew, they'd contaminated his stretch of the creek, too, and by G.o.d by G.o.d he wanted something done about it. he wanted something done about it.

Smiling to herself, wis.h.i.+ng mightily for a fresh cup of coffee, Melissa wrote back, politely inquiring as to whether or not Eustace had reported the most recent incident to Sheriff Parker. Because, she a.s.sured the old man, he was absolutely right. Something had to be done. She even included Tom's cell number.

The next half-dozen messages were advertis.e.m.e.nts-find love, get rich quick, clear up her skin, enlarge her p.e.n.i.s. She deleted those.

Then there was the one from Velda Cahill-Melissa would have known that email address anywhere, since she'd practically been barraged with communiques since Byron's arrest. This time, the subject line was in caps. FROM A TAX PAYING CITIZEN, it read.

Melissa sighed. For a moment, her finger hovered over the delete key, but in the end, she couldn't make herself do that. Velda might be a crank-make that a royal pain in the posterior-but she was was a citizen and a taxpayer. As such, she had the inalienable right to harangue public officials, up to a point. She'd written: a citizen and a taxpayer. As such, she had the inalienable right to harangue public officials, up to a point. She'd written:

My boy will be coming home today, on the afternoon bus. Not that I'd expect you to be happy about it, like I am. Byron and me, we're just ordinary people-we don't have anybody famous in our family, like you do, or rich, neither. What little we've got, we've had to work work for. n.o.body ever gave us nothing and we never asked. But I'm asking now. Don't be sending Sheriff Parker or one of his deputies by our place every five minutes to see if Byron's behaving himself. And don't come knocking at our door whenever somebody runs a red light or smashes a row of mailboxes with a baseball bat. It won't be Byron that done it, I can promise you that. Just please leave us alone and let my son and me get on with things. Sincerely, Velda. for. n.o.body ever gave us nothing and we never asked. But I'm asking now. Don't be sending Sheriff Parker or one of his deputies by our place every five minutes to see if Byron's behaving himself. And don't come knocking at our door whenever somebody runs a red light or smashes a row of mailboxes with a baseball bat. It won't be Byron that done it, I can promise you that. Just please leave us alone and let my son and me get on with things. Sincerely, Velda.

Sincerely, Velda. Melissa sighed again, then clicked on Reply. She wrote:

h.e.l.lo, Velda. Thank you for getting in touch. I can a.s.sure you that as long as Byron doesn't break the law, neither Sheriff Parker nor I will bother him. Best wishes, Melissa O'Ballivan.

After that, she plunked her elbows on the edge of her desk and rubbed her temples with the fingertips of both hands.

She really should have gone fis.h.i.+ng with J.P.

"IT'S ALL OURS," Steven told Matt, as they made the turn off the road and onto their dirt driveway. "Downed fences, rusty nails, weeds and all."

Matt, firmly fastened into his safety seat, looked over at him and grinned. "Can we go to the shelter and get a dog now?" he asked.

Steven laughed and downs.h.i.+fted. The tires of the old truck thumped across the cattle guard. Now to buy Now to buy cattle, he thought, trying to remember when he'd last felt so hopeful about the future. Since Zack and Jillie's death-h.e.l.l, long before that, if he was honest with him-self-he'd concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Doing the next logical thing, large or small. cattle, he thought, trying to remember when he'd last felt so hopeful about the future. Since Zack and Jillie's death-h.e.l.l, long before that, if he was honest with him-self-he'd concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Doing the next logical thing, large or small.

What was different about today?

It wasn't just the ranch; he could admit that in the privacy of his own mind, if not out loud. Today, he'd met Melissa O'Ballivan. And he knew that making her acquaintance would turn out to be either one of the best-or one of the worst-things that had ever happened to him. Thanks to Cindy, he figured, the odds favored the latter.

"I liked her a lot," Matt said, as they jostled up the driveway, flinging out a cloud of red Arizona dust behind them.

"Who?" Steven asked, though he knew.

"The parade lady," Matt told him, using a tone of exaggerated forbearance. "Miss O-Miss O-"

"O'Ballivan," Steven said. It wasn't that she was anything special to him, or anything like that. He'd always had a knack for remembering names, that was all.

"Is she anybody's mommy?" Matt wanted to know.

Steven swallowed. Just when he thought he had a handle on the single-dad thing, the kid would throw him a curve. "I don't know, Tex," he answered. "Why do you ask?"

"I like her," Matt said. Simple as that. I like her. I like her. "I like the way she smiles, and the way she smells." "I like the way she smiles, and the way she smells."

Me, too, Steven thought. "She seems nice enough." Steven thought. "She seems nice enough."

But, then, so had his live-in girlfriend/fiancee. With the face and body of an angel, Cindy had been sweetness itself-until Zack died and Steven told her that Matt would be moving in for good so he thought they ought to go ahead and get married. They'd planned to anyhow-someday.

He'd never forgotten the scornful look she'd given him, or the way her lip had curled, let alone what she'd actually said.

"The kid is a deal breaker," she'd told Steven coolly. "It's him or me."

Stunned-it wasn't as if they'd never talked about the provision in his best friends' wills, after all-and coldly furious, Steven had made his choice without hesitation.

"Then I guess it has to be Matt," he'd replied.

Cindy had left right away, storming out of the condo, slamming the door behind her, the tires of her expensive car laying rubber as she screeched out of the driveway. She'd removed her stuff in stages, however, and even said she'd thought things over and she regretted flying off the handle the way she had. Was there a chance they could try again?

Steven wished there had been, but it was too late. Some kind of line had been crossed, and it wasn't that he wouldn't wouldn't go back. It was that he go back. It was that he couldn't. couldn't.

"So if she's not already somebody's mommy, she might want to be mine," Matt speculated.

Steven's eyes burned. How was he supposed to answer that one?

"And she's going to make a parade," Matt enthused. she's going to make a parade," Matt enthused.

As they reached the ruin of a barn, Steven put the truck in park and shut off the motor. Off to the left, the house loomed like a benevolent ghost hoping for simple grace.

They had camping gear, and the electricity had been turned on. The plumber Steven had sent ahead said the well pump was working fine, and there was water. Cold Cold water, but, hey, the stuff was water, but, hey, the stuff was wet. wet. They could drink it. Steven could make coffee. And if the stove worked, they could take baths the old-fas.h.i.+oned way, in a metal wash-tub in the kitchen, using water heated in big kettles. They could drink it. Steven could make coffee. And if the stove worked, they could take baths the old-fas.h.i.+oned way, in a metal wash-tub in the kitchen, using water heated in big kettles.

Shades of the old days.

"Yeah," Steven said in belated answer, getting out and rounding the truck to open the door and help Matt out of his safety gear. The pickup was too old to have a backseat, but Steven had a new rig on order, one with an extended cab and all the extras. "Ms. O'Ballivan is going to make a parade."

"And you offered to help her," Matt said. That kind of confidence was hard to shoot down. In fact, it was impossible.

The reminder made Steven sigh. "Right," he said. Then he lifted Matt down out of the truck, and they started for the house.

"This place is awesome, awesome," Matt exclaimed, taking in the sagging screened porch, the peeling paint, the falling gutter spouts and the loose s.h.i.+ngles sliding off the edges of the roof. "Maybe it's even haunted!"

Steven laughed and put out a hand, gratified when Matt took it. "Maybe," he said. The boy would be too big for hand-holding pretty soon. "But I doubt it."

"Ghosts like old houses," Matt said, as they mounted the back steps. Steven had paused to test them with his own weight before he allowed the child to follow. "Especially when there's renovation going on. That stirs them up."

"Have you been watching those spooky reality shows on TV again?" Steven asked, pus.h.i.+ng open the back door. There was no need for a key; the lock had rusted away years ago.

"I wouldn't do that," Matt said sweetly. "It's against the rules and everything."

Steven chuckled. "Far be it from you to break any rules," he said, remembering Zack. Matt's father had lived lived to break rules. In the end, it seemed to have been that trait that got him killed. to break rules. In the end, it seemed to have been that trait that got him killed.

The kitchen was worse than Steven remembered. Cupboards sagged. The linoleum was scuffed in the best places, where it wasn't peeling to the layer of black sub-flooring underneath. The faucets and spigot in the sink were bent. The refrigerator door was not only dented but peeling at the corners, and the handle dangled by a single loose screw.

"Are we going to live here?" Matt asked, sounding a little worried now. So much for his interest in ghost hunting.

"Not right away," Steven said, suppressing a sigh. This place wasn't even fit to camp camp in, let alone call home. The thought of returning to the Happy Wanderer Motel depressed him thoroughly, but there weren't a lot of choices in Stone Creek, and the next town, Indian Rock, where there was a fairly good hotel, was forty miles away. in, let alone call home. The thought of returning to the Happy Wanderer Motel depressed him thoroughly, but there weren't a lot of choices in Stone Creek, and the next town, Indian Rock, where there was a fairly good hotel, was forty miles away.

"Good," Matt said, sounding-and looking-relieved. "The people at the shelter probably wouldn't let let us adopt a dog if they knew we were going to bring it us adopt a dog if they knew we were going to bring it here here to live." to live."

Steven laughed. It seemed better than crying. He crouched, so he could look straight into Matt's face, and took him gently by the shoulders. "We'll make this work," he said. "I promise."

"I believe you," Matt said, breaking Steven's heart, as he often did with a few trusting words. "Can we look at my room before we go back to town?"

"Sure," Steven said, standing up straight.

Matt, always resilient, was already having second thoughts about leaving. "Maybe we ought to stay here," he said. "It's better than the motel."

Steven grinned. "I won't argue with you on that one," he said, "but the Happy Wanderer has hot water, which is a plus."

"We could skip taking showers for a couple of days," Matt suggested. Unless he was going swimming, the kid hated to get wet. "Where's my room?"

Steven led the way through the dining room. Although there was a second floor, there was no way anybody would be sleeping up there before the renovations were finished and the fire alarm system had been wired and tested.

"Here you go," he said, opening a door and stepping back so Matt could go inside. It was, as Steven remembered from his visit with the Realtor a few months before, a s.p.a.cious room, with lots of light pouring in through the tall, narrow windows.

"Where's your room from here?" Matt wanted to know. He stood in the middle of that dusty chamber, his head tilted back, staring up in wonder like they were visiting a European cathedral instead of an old ranch house in Arizona.

Steven smiled. c.o.c.ked a thumb to his right. "Just next door," he said.

"Can I see?" Matt asked.