Chapter Twenty Five

For just a minute or two, Billie let herself sag into Jon’s embrace, allowing herself the luxury of tears, then she caught back control and snuffled the sobbing into silence. Jon gave her another comforting squeeze before pulling his head back so he could look at her.

“Okay?” He asked softly, and she nodded.

“Uh-huh. Thanks, Jon. For everything. For helping Deke - and me - and for the hug.”

“You’re welcome. I’m just glad I heard him whimpering, or he could’ve been there all night.”

They eased themselves apart, then Jon looked at his hands. From the amount of blood, you’d have thought he’d been slaughtering cattle, and he winced as his jeans tried to unstick themselves from the blood on his thighs, tugging at hairs.

“I think I need to go clean up.” He said. “I’m a bit…..”

As Jon held up his hands, Billie nodded understandingly.

“You know where the shower is.” She looked down, seeing the dark patches on his jeans where the blood had soaked into the denim. “If you want to leave your jeans, I’ll soak them in cold water to get that blood out.”

“Cold water?”

“Uh - yeah. Cold water gets blood out better than hot.”

“Never knew that.” Jon was surprised, then he smiled slightly. “Well, my jeans were badly in need of cleaning anyway.”

“Just leave them here.” Billie pretended to cover her eyes modestly, the worry over Deke fading. She knew Mike well enough to know if he said the dog would be okay, then it was a near certainty. “I won’t look.”

“Looking is fine.” Jon smirked. “Just no touching. Actually, no, touching is just fine, too.”

“Will you just go shower?!” She smiled, glancing at the clock and wincing at the ungodly early hour. “I’m going to make some coffee. No way I’ll get back to sleep now.”

“You may want to shower, too, Billie. You’re almost as bloody as I am.”

“You go first. I can wait.”

So Jon stripped off jeans and t shirt, heading naked to the bathroom, trying - and failing - not to wince in pain as the jeans unstuck from his legs. Billie scooped up his clothes and took them into the kitchen, filling the deep sink with cold water and dropping the jeans in, making sure they were well soaked before turning her attention to coffee. While it perked, she took water and a cloth through to the living room, cleaning up the drying blood, then following it backward, cleaning away the trail Deke had left after he’d pushed in through the doggy door in the kitchen.

The pot was half-full by the time Jon returned, a towel around his waist since his jeans were currently residing in Billie’s sink. She poured them each a mug of coffee, then blushed when her stomach rumbled loudly.

“Hungry?” Jon smirked.

“Mmmmm. We never did eat dinner last night, did we? Popcorn was all we had.”

“All we wanted though, at the time.”

“Mm-hm.” Billie sipped coffee. “I’ll hit the shower then make us something to eat. Unless you’re going back to sleep?”

“Nah. I’m wide awake now. Don’t s’pose you have a spare robe or anything?”

“Sure.” Billie smirked. “Black satin or pink and fluffy?”

“Shit.” Jon muttered. “S’fine. I’ll make do with the towel.”

“I’m kidding. There should be a white one in the bathroom cupboard.”

She fetched it for him, and Jon unwound the towel from his waist, pulling the robe on instead. Billie showered quickly, carefully rinsing the bath to get rid of all the blood, then she went back to the kitchen wearing the pink fluffy robe she’d offered Jon. A quick search of cupboards and fridge, then she settled for making French toast, and they sat at the kitchen table to share it.

“Hey.” Jon said suddenly as a memory - an image - hit him. “Can I ask something?”

“Sure. If I don’t like the question I won’t answer!”

“Fair enough. I just……you have a scar on your back. Is that from the car wreck?”

“Uh-huh.” Reflexively, Billie reached back to touch where she knew it was. “I got a piece of car in my back - they had to cut it out.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. I don’t think I ever mentioned it before, but Deke was in the car, too. He was only a few months old, and he wasn’t even hurt.” She blushed slightly. “Guess that’s why I took it so hard, seeing him hurt.”

“Don’t apologise for loving your dog!” Jon said, almost angrily. “Things you’ve been through, Billie, I’d be more worried if you didn’t take it badly.”

That little head-tilt again, then she smiled. “Thanks.” She said faintly.

The food was finished, and they refilled the coffee mugs and went to the living room. There was a fractional moment of awkwardness as they stopped at the couch, which was still made up into Jon’s bed, then he dropped onto the mattress and sat with his back against the couch-back, beckoning to Billie.

“Siddown.”

She smiled, sitting on the bed, half facing him, and they talked while they finished their coffee. Reaching to lay her empty mug on the low table, Billie laid her head back against the couch, closing her eyes, just for a moment. Jon chuckled, a few minutes later, when he spoke and got no response from a sleeping Billie.

“Oh, sure, babe.” He murmured. “You’re wide awake!”

He was just as bad, though, laying his head back and falling just as quickly asleep, and when the sunlight woke them Billie found she was lying on her side, flat on the bed, with Jon snugly behind her, his arm across her waist. When she tried to move away, his arm tightened, and she felt his breath on the back of her neck when he spoke.

“S’okay, Billie. It’s just me.” He chuckled. “So much for us being wide awake, huh?”

“Yeah.” Billie rubbed her palm over his hand. “Good morning.”

“G’mornin’.”

Separating themselves, they got themselves showered and dressed with little conversation, then Billie headed outside to feed Drummer and Copper while Jon announced he’d make breakfast. After asking him to, please, not burn down her house, and having her ass soundly slapped, Billie headed out to the barn. When she came back in, ten minutes later, she was pale but grinning.

“What’s wrong?” Jon asked, turning from buttering toast.

“Nothing.” She grinned again. “There’s a dead coyote in the yard.”

“Really?!”

“Yep. Guess Deke did win the fight after all.”

“Told you he was a tough guy.” Jon grinned, bringing toast to the table. “Food.”

He poured more coffee and sat at the table, watching Billie as she nibbled toast before smirking at him.

“Glad to see you didn’t stretch your culinary skills here.” Seeing him pout theatrically, she continued. “But it’s very, very good toast!”

“Aw, shut up and eat.” Jon grinned. “I’m a ro……uh, a singer, not a chef!”

After they’d eaten, Jon put away the bed while Billie checked his jeans, pulling them from the sink and letting the pink-tinged water drain away. The denim wasn’t stained any more, so she wrung them as best she could before dumping them into a basin and carrying it out to a utility room that Jon had never noticed. She threw them into the washer then went to her bedroom and got a few things from the laundry basket. Passing through the living room, she paused.

“D’you have any other clothes that need to be washed?”

“Yeah.” Jon grinned. “More jeans and some shirts. You offering to do my laundry?”

“I’m offering to throw them in the washer with some other stuff, yeah.” Billie grinned at his typically male, thank-God-there’s-a-woman-to-do-this expression. “But if you’re going to be a smartass about it you can do your own.”

“No! No smartass. Promise.” He almost begged, opening the black saddlebag and pulling out dusty clothes. “Pretty please?”

Billie rolled her eyes, taking the clothes. “Fine.”

Looking at what he’d handed her - a pair of jeans and three shirts that ranged from a full t shirt to a barely-there ripped tank - Billie looked at Jon speculatively.

“Is this all you have with you?”

“Yeah.” He frowned. “Why?”

“Well, if these are your only other jeans, unless you were planning on wandering around in public wearing that robe…..”

Jon laughed. He hadn’t even thought of that. Good thing one of them had a brain.

“Naw.” He shook his head, grinning. “I was more thinking of going with that black satin you offered!”

Billie snorted uncontrollably, tugging the jeans from the bottom of the bundle and throwing them at his head.

“I don’t think so! This is a small town, darlin’ - folks aren’t ready for that! I can get you another shirt, and I’ll throw those jeans in the washer once the first pair are wearable.”

“Okay. Thanks Billie.” Jon paused. “If there’s a store in town, I may just buy another pair. Couldn’t hurt.”

“Well, we don’t have a department store - anything major, we go to Great Bend - but we have a feedstore-cum-tack store that sells jeans and stuff.”

Jon just nodded, and Billie left him, heading back through to the utility room. She set the washer going, then they got themselves out of the house and into the pickup. Their unscheduled nap hadn’t broken until well after ten o’clock, so it was now late enough that they could go get Deke, and Billie drove at a more sedate pace this time, stopping the truck in the parking lot and switching off.

They went into the hospital building, finding just Carrie, Mike’s animal nurse, at the desk. She did a swift double-take on Jon, but he was pretty sure it was just because Billie had brought a guy with her, since there was no flash of recognition. Whatever it was, the girl grinned at Billie.

“Thank God you’re here!” She said. “That damned dog of yours keeps trying to make me play with him!”

“He does?” Billie’s face lit up. “He’s okay?”

“Oh, he’s fine. Battered and sore. Maybe a bit dopey, but fine.” Carrie opened the door to the treatment area. “Come get him.”

Jon lagged slightly behind, and Carrie took the opportunity to grab Billie’s arm.

“Who the hell is he?” She whispered in Billie’s ear. The two were friends, so it wasn’t as strange a question as it seemed.

“Just a guy.” Billie shrugged. “He’s been staying with me for a few days. He’s travelling around on his bike and I offered a bed for a few nights.”

“I bet you did.” Carrie muttered, flicking a glance back at Jon. “Yours, I assume?”

“What?” Billie blushed. “No! The fold-out in the living room, Carrie! What d’you think I am?”

“Crazy if you’re not screwing him.” The other girl mumbled, but then Jon caught up to them and she stopped grilling Billie.