A Family of Her Own (Dundee, Idaho #3)(30)
Author: Brenda Novak

“I’m sure everything will be fine,” she said, giving him a quick hug for comfort.

Booker reached the porch, allowing Katie her first look at his face, which wasn’t in much better shape than Delbert’s. He had a cut above his eye, a busted lip and a red spot high on his cheek. Delbert’s hands were uninjured, but Booker’s were more battered than his face.

“You okay?” she asked.

“I’m fine.” He walked with an economy of movement that told Katie he was in pain, but the tautness of his body and the gravity in his voice told her he was also angry, almost explosively so.

She stepped out of the way so he could move past her. He got himself a drink of water and headed upstairs.

Katie let him go, knowing instinctively that he wanted to be alone. Then she had Delbert sit at the kitchen table so she could clean his cuts. “Tell me about the fight,” she said as she dabbed antiseptic ointment on his injuries. “How’d it get started?”

“I was just walking to the cemetery, Katie. I wasn’t bothering anybody.”

“And?”

“Some men were in the park. They were drinking. Drinking and laughing. When they saw me, they asked if my dog could do tricks. They wanted to see some tricks. I told them Bruiser doesn’t know any. Then they said he was a worthless piece of—” His face reddened. “They said some mean stuff about Bruiser.”

He winced as she held a bag of ice against his swollen eye. “I tried to tell them he was a good dog, but they said, ‘I’ll bet you fifty bucks we can get him to turn on you.’ I said Bruiser would never turn on me.” He frowned and the eye that wasn’t covered looked at Katie beseechingly. “He wouldn’t, would he, Katie? Bruiser would never turn on me.”

“Of course not. He loves you.”

“Yeah, he loves me.”

“What happened then?” she asked.

“They wouldn’t let me go. Two guys stood in front of me and two were behind me. They said they’d share their vodka with me if I’d kick Bruiser. I said I wasn’t thirsty. I wouldn’t kick Bruiser.”

“Good for you, Delbert,” she said.

“Only that made them mad. They shoved me. Bruiser started to growl. They said I’d better tie him to a tree, or…or the police would take him away.”

Katie knew Delbert would do anything to protect Bruiser and wasn’t smart enough to realize the dog was his only defense. “And you did it.”

“I had to, Katie. I didn’t want Bruiser to bite anyone. Then someone hit me, and I fell down. They were hitting me and kicking me and…and hitting me. Until Booker came.”

Katie could only imagine the scene and understood, from her own feelings at the moment, how furious Booker must have been to see grown men attacking someone like Delbert. “Booker tried to stop them?”

“He pulled them off me. Then everyone was fighting. I ran to the Honky Tonk. Officer Orton was there. But when he came, he took Booker to jail.” He blinked several times in an attempt to stanch emotions that were obviously still very near the surface. “I shouldn’t have gone there.”

“You didn’t know, Delbert. Don’t feel bad. What about the other guys?”

“They went home, I guess.”

Fresh anger surged through Katie’s blood. “They weren’t taken to the station with you?”

“No. Officer Orton told them, ‘You’re free to go. Tell your dad I said hello, Jon.”’

“Jon Small? Councilman Small’s son?”

“Yeah.”

Katie gritted her teeth. “Who else was there?”

“I don’t know.”

No wonder Booker looked the way he did. She got a couple of Tylenol out of the cupboard and handed the pills to Delbert, along with a glass of water. “Take these and go to bed,” she said. “Everything will be better in the morning.”

“I hope so, Katie.” Delbert started shuffling across the kitchen but turned back before he reached the stairs. “Is Booker going to be okay?”

She couldn’t help smiling at the worry in his voice. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“Good. That’s good, Katie. You take care of Booker. You make sure he’s going to be okay.”

KATIE HEARD THE SHOWER turn off while she waited in Booker’s room for him to cross the hall. He’d been in the bathroom a long time. Were his injuries worse than she’d originally thought? Or was he simply letting the water pound down on his sore muscles while he grappled with the emotions raging through him? She could certainly identify with what he had to be feeling. Councilman Small’s son wasn’t some stupid teenager caught up in peer pressure. He was at least thirty-five and had no business tormenting a man who was more like a child, no business ganging up on anyone four to one.

And what did Orton think he was doing, taking Booker to jail instead of Jon and his friends? Tell your father hello for me….

Katie was sitting on the foot of Booker’s bed, holding the first-aid kit in her lap, when the bathroom door opened. She knew Booker saw her as soon as he entered, but he didn’t acknowledge her presence. He flipped off the light and dropped his towel as if to say it was her problem if she saw more than she wanted to, since he hadn’t asked her to come into his bedroom.

Without the light on, she couldn’t see much, just a quick shadowy view of his backside as he pulled on a pair of boxers. Then he got into bed, yanked the covers up and turned away from her.

Katie wanted to talk about what had happened. But she knew Booker was in pain—from more than his injuries. She also knew he didn’t deal with emotional issues the same way she did and wouldn’t want to discuss it. At least not yet.

Taking a deep breath, because it was difficult to stay when he’d made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want her there, she walked around to the other side of the bed.

“Move over,” she said.

“Katie—”

“Move over.” She spoke more firmly the second time and it came as a shock when he did as she asked.

She turned the light back on, opened the first-aid kit, and sat beside him.

He flung an arm across his eyes. “Do you have to do this? I’ve been in plenty of fights. I’m sure I’ll live without your assistance.”

But she had to see how badly he was hurt so she could put her own mind at rest. “This won’t take long.” She glanced up at the light, which did seem rather bright. “I guess I don’t have to blind you, though.”