The sergeant beamed. “I’d be delighted. Any time at all. I’m a rehabilitator for the fish and wildlife folks. I specialize in mammals, like wolves and coyotes, pumas, raccoons, and so forth.”
“I imagine you stay busy,” Katy said.
“Very busy.” He sighed. “Too many people shoot animals without caring if they’re just wounded. We get a lot of city hunters up here who aren’t too careful about what they put a bullet in.”
“True story,” Parker agreed. “A hunter from Las Vegas came up here with a brand-new gun and shot what he thought was a white deer. It was Old Man Harlowe’s prize goat. Talk about a lawsuit!”
“It wasn’t just the money, either. He loved that old goat. Said the property was posted and everything and that idiot jumped a fence onto his property and just killed his goat. They caught him with it on the Benton highway. Said he was properly shocked when they told him what he shot.”
“I hope they lock him up,” Katy muttered. “I have no quarrel with responsible hunters, but I draw the line at idiots.”
“So do I,” Parker agreed.
The sarge looked from one to the other of them with twinkling eyes. “Well, I guess I’ll go ask Lucy Mallory for a few toffees to satisfy my sweet tooth. She’s got the cloth shop over there.” He nodded toward the other side of the square. “I never miss Halloween in town,” he added on a chuckle. “See you.”
They waved.
“He’s nice,” Katy said. “What happened to his arm?”
“Blown off when we were in Iraq,” he returned bluntly and then winced. “Sorry. He took a direct hit from a mortar. We didn’t think he’d make it, but we had one hell of a battlefield surgeon. Saved his life. He’s one of the best men I’ve ever known.” He didn’t add that he’d saved Matthews by running through a hail of bullets to recover him and been wounded in the process. Or that Matthews had saved his life by taking out an insurgent who had Parker in his sights. That was while Matthews was still recovering in the field hospital, too, before they shipped him home. A group of insurgents had actually attacked the field hospital.
“I would love to see the wolf again, now that I know he’s not dangerous,” Katy said.
“I’ll take you and Teddie over there one day. Saturday maybe if it isn’t snowing.”
“Snowing?!”
“It’s in the forecast, I’m afraid,” he said on a sigh. “The nighthawks will be cursing.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“It’s not something we mind, keeping watch over the cattle,” Parker added. “I even pitch in when I’m not working with the horses. It’s just the difficulty of getting equipment where it’s needed if we have an emergency. . . .”
“Well, well,” came an amused voice from nearby. It was the owner of the Gray Dove restaurant in town, a coincidence if there ever was one, because nobody knew it was Parker’s late mother’s name. “Fancy seeing you two in town.”
Katy flushed, but Parker just laughed. “How are you, Mary?” he asked. “Katy Blake, this is Mary Dodd. She owns the restaurant in town.”
“I’m very happy to meet you,” Katy said. “You have wonderful food. Teddie and I ate there one afternoon just last week!”
“Thanks,” Mary replied with a warm smile. “Parker, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you trick-or-treating.”
“I brought Katy and Teddie.”
“Teddie?”
Parker nodded toward the little girl dressed up as Rey in Star Wars regalia.
“Why, isn’t she adorable?” Mary enthused.
“Thanks,” Katy said proudly. “She begged for the costume for two weeks, so I gave in. I have to admit, it does look pretty good on her, even if she is my daughter.”
“That Star Wars stuff sells like mad at the costume shops,” Mary agreed. “I used to go as Princess Leia. But that was years ago. Parker, did you ever dress up for Halloween?”
He shook his head. “We didn’t celebrate it in my family,” he said, and he was withdrawn suddenly.
Mary grimaced. “Sorry. Hit a nerve, didn’t I? I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s nothing,” Parker said softly. “Really.”
“We all have our bad memories of that golden childhood everybody talks about. I never had one.”
“Me, neither.” Parker chuckled.
“Sorry,” Katy replied.
Mary pursed her lips and her eyes twinkled. “You’re getting stares,” she warned. “There will be talk.”
Parker shrugged. “Won’t be the first time I attracted gossip.”
“Same here,” Katy said, and she grinned.
Mary just laughed. “At least you have a good attitude about it. I’ll go help my girls with the handouts. Don’t forget to bring your daughter by the restaurant. We made Rice Krispies treats!”
“I wouldn’t miss those for the world,” Katy promised.
“You can have some, too,” Mary promised, and patted her on the arm. “See you. Parker, you watch your mouth.”
He put a finger to his lips and his eyes twinkled.
After Mary left, Katy looked up at him curiously. “Everybody says you cuss like a sailor, but I’ve never heard you say a really bad word.”
“I’m on my best behavior, especially in front of Teddie.” He glanced at her with real fondness. “She’s a sweet child. You and your husband did a great job with her.”
“Thanks. I’m very proud of her,” she said, her eyes on her daughter, who was now talking with some other children who’d been brought to town by their relatives. She looked up at him curiously. “You’re wonderful with Teddie. It’s obvious that you love children. But . . . ?”
“But I never had any of my own, you were going to say, huh?” he asked, and his dark eyes were sad. “I didn’t know until I got back home, out of the military, but my fiancée was pregnant with my child when she died.”
“Oh, Parker, how horrible,” she said under her breath. “I’m so sorry!”
He ground his teeth together. So many memories, all painful. He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. “I got cold feet after that. All I could think about was how much it hurt to lose her, to lose my child.” He laughed, but it had a hollow sound. “I withdrew from the world. I discovered,” he added, glancing down at her, “that most women will avoid a man who can’t say a complete sentence without a few really blue words. So I started cussing a lot, especially when the boss or the other cowboys had women relatives visiting.” He pursed his lips and his eyes twinkled. “It worked very well.”
She laughed. “Should I be flattered, that you don’t use bad words around us?”
His big shoulders shrugged. “I guess so,” he said after a minute. “I don’t want to drive Teddie away. She’s brought the sunshine back into my life.” He looked down at her. “You’re part of that.”
She caught her breath as they stared into each other’s eyes for just a little longer than politeness required.
“We’re both carrying painful scars,” he said after a minute. “You lost your husband. I lost my fiancée and my child. I’ve had longer