Chapter 23

Cy had just stepped into the kitchen two days after the horrible scene at Benny’s when Daphne said, “I don’t want to talk about it.” She’d said the same thing the day before, too.

He looked at Leigh, who gave him a wide-eyed look and shook her head.

He took his cue from his wife. “Okay. Is the coffee ready?”

Daphne moved over to the sink to put water into a pot. “Yes.”

In times like this, Cy was actually a little scared of his sister. “Okay. Leigh, do you want some?”

“I have, thanks.”

Cy poured a cup and sat down by Leigh. He thought it best to try to act normal, but he couldn’t think of a single topic of conversation.

Leigh opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, and closed it again.

The kitchen door banged open, and Johnny bounded in as usual. “Mornin’, everyone. I brought the milk. Those barn cats followed me all the way over to the house, windin’ around my feet and all. I spilled a little in the drive and they left me alone to clean it up.”

Cy and Leigh were never so grateful for Johnny’s rambling.

Johnny sat the milk pail on the counter and kissed Daphne’s cheek. “Don’t you worry about Brock none. He didn’t mean it. Daniel just likes to cause trouble.”

Cy and Leigh cringed at his broaching of the topic. It was the first time one of them had mentioned it.

Daphne shook her head and poured him a cup of coffee. “I’m not so sure about that, Johnny.”

Cy and Leigh looked at each other, surprised when she didn’t bite Johnny’s head off.

Johnny said, “He asked you to marry him and you’re part Indian. That means he ain’t an Indian hater anymore.”

Daphne wanted to agree with Johnny, but she kept hearing Brock’s words in her head and seeing the hate in his eyes. Questions crowded her heart. What if they got married and his loathing for Indians returned? She wouldn’t be able to withstand something like that.

She managed a wan smile. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Johnny, but I just can’t talk about this right now.”

He gave her a sideways hug. “All right. I understand.”

“Thank you.”

His blue eyes took on a devilish gleam. “You’re not making us mice poop pancakes, are you?”

Daphne laughed, and the release felt good. “No. We’re having oatmeal.”

“Okay. You need help?”

“No, I’m fine. Just sit down and behave yourself.”

Johnny grinned at her. “Yes, ma’am.” He took a seat. “You know, I been thinkin’.”

“That’s never good,” Leigh quipped.

“Be nice to me or I won’t help build you guys a water tank,” Johnny said. “I’m gonna talk to Vern and see how hard he thinks it would be to pipe hot water out here to the kitchen. Then we wouldn’t even have to go to the bathhouse for hot water.”

Daphne said, “That would be wonderful.”

“I have to go into town later. I’ll stop by their place and ask him.”

Daphne was grateful to Johnny for lightening the mood and helping to ease her stress. The knots in her stomach loosened enough so that she was able to eat a small breakfast. But once everyone went off to work, she was alone with her thoughts and the oatmeal felt like a heavy brick in her abdomen.

Doubt gnawed at her as she went about her work. Normally, she’d hum or whistle as she ironed and dusted, but not today. With fortitude, she forged ahead, refusing to let her uncertainty and hurt interfere with her daily routine.

Brock tapped his pencil against his desk as he waited for Cy to arrive so he could find out how Daphne was. He hadn’t been able to sleep again, so he’d come into work early even though things were quiet. He’d ended up cleaning the cells since they were empty, but that hadn’t taken very long.

“Knock that off before I shove that where the sun don’t shine, Brock.”

Brock smiled at Wheezer. “Sorry. Why don’t you guys go home? I’m here and I’m sure you wouldn’t mind knocking off a little early.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” He rose and stretched. “Have a good day.”

Once the other deputies had gone, Brock decided to clean the kitchen to pass the time until Cy arrived. His shoulders ached from the tension he felt over the situation with Daphne. Had Cy also taken what he’d said the other night the wrong way? He hadn’t seen Cy since Rob had given everyone except Hunter yesterday off. They’d been making progress in bridging the divide and Brock was worried that what had happened would set them back again.

He was almost done with his task when Cy came in with the dogs.

Cy entered the kitchen and shot a hard look at Brock before going out into the yard. Brock refused to let it go at that and followed the detective. “Cy, stop. Let me explain.”

Cy turned back to Brock. “Talk.”

Brock ignored the fact that Cy had issued an order. “What I said the other night came out wrong. I never lied about my acceptance of your family’s Comanche heritage. I’ve made my peace with that, I swear.”

Cy crossed his arms over his chest. “What did you mean?”

Brock ran a hand through his hair. “Daniel keeps accusing everyone of treating him and Sly like dirty Indians. If he really wants people to treat him better, he needs to change his behavior. I wasn’t being racist. I was also pissed off about the stuff he was saying about Daphne and me and I’d had enough.”

Eyeing Brock, Cy noted his sincere expression. Although anxious, Brock wasn’t exhibiting any signs of deception. Cy nodded. “I believe you and, I hate to say it, but you’re right about Daniel. I’ve told him and Sly the same sort of thing several times, but they don’t listen to me. Of course, Daniel’s the instigator most of the time. He’s starting to get out of control.”

Brock sighed. “Yeah. I have differences with him, but I’d hate to see him seriously hurt if he ticks off the wrong person. How’s Daphne?”

Cy’s scowl said it all.

“Damn it! Do you think she’ll listen to me if I go over there tonight?”

“Let it go for now. I’ll talk to her and then you can come over tomorrow night. She should be cooled off by then,” Cy said.

Waiting to talk to Daphne would be excruciating, but Brock trusted Cy’s judgement. “All right. What about us?”

“We’re fine as far as I’m concerned.”

“Good. What are you working on?”

“Getting some paperwork done before Rob jumps down my throat about it. It’s been quiet the past few days, which is surprising. I thought things would’ve gotten out of hand somewhere by now,” Cy replied.