Everyone Deserves a Second Chance (12 page)

"Oh. Well she's not
staying here anymore then. That should make everyone happy."
He grumbled not even realizing that he had. Brenda, on the other
hand, would be ecstatic.

"Why don't you come
stay with us tonight Marcus?" Connie held the phone away
from her ear for a moment to tell the twins to stop harassing
each other then spoke again. "Please?"

"No. No, I'm fine.
Really."

"But the gu—"

"It's not what you
think. Okay?" Marcus pressed a hand to his forehead and
glared down at the cat. How the hell had it gotten inside
anyways?

"All right, if you
say so. But remember we're here if you need us…"
Connie's voice trailed off. "You could talk to Brenda also.
Professionally, you know?"

"Connie, stop it.
I'm fine. And I'm going to bed. Night." Marcus hung up the
phone before she could protest. He looked down at the cat
sleeping beside his pillow and let out a sigh that was half in
relief and half in annoyance. After all, it was just a cat.

Marcus shook his head in disbelief, shed his dirty clothes, and
lay down on the bed looking up at the ceiling. The cat woke up
briefly to crawl closer to him before it fell back asleep. It was
several hours later before Marcus got any sleep that night.

It was five thirty in the
morning when his alarm clock when off and jarred him awake. He'd
forgotten about the cat and the animal hissed and scratched at
him when he put his hand down on it. As he jerked away the animal
hissed again and then jumped down from the bed, ran across the
floor, and disappeared down the stairs.

"Damn cat,"
Marcus swore at it as he stumbled out of bed and into the shower.
It wasn't often he saw the animal he'd found nearly dead in his
barn almost two years ago. The cat still hadn't decided if it was
tame or feral yet. In the meantime he'd never given it a name, so
cat was as close to a name as it would likely ever get. Since
he'd taken it in, it had come and gone as it liked, sometimes
even finding its way into other people's homes and hearts. It was
an unusual animal, this cat of his.

Marcus turned the water
on as hot as he could stand it before he stepped under the shower
spray. His hand ached where the cat had scratched him and he
noticed a few bruises on his legs that he he'd acquired from the
day before without noticing it. He stayed in the shower longer
then normal, letting the hot spray relax his muscles and wash
away his convoluted thoughts. When he finally turned the water
off it was starting to get cold.

His room was just as
cold. From outside his window he could see the fine white-green
crystals of the first frost on the grass outside. He dressed
quickly and put on a double layer of clothing before he trudged
down the stairs.

When he reached the
kitchen his heart skipped in his chest. The door was open. Wide
open. His cat sat there, licking its paws and then rubbing them
over its face and ears. There was only one thought that crossed
Marcus's mind: there was no way his cat could open a locked door.

Marcus shooed the cat out
the door with his foot and pulled his boots on. There was no
sense in dwelling on the issue. He brewed a cup of strong black
coffee, drank it quickly, then grabbed his hat and headed for the
stables – pulling the door shut behind him.

"Hey Greg."
Marcus leaned against the counter of the feed store and watched
his friend turn with a smile to greet him.

"Marcus. Good to
know you made it through the night—" He stopped
mid-sentence. "Oh God, Marcus I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

"I know you didn't
mean it." Marcus grinned at his friend until he returned the
gesture.

"You're here for
your usual I take it?"

"I am."

"Its right around
back." Rick motioned him around to the back of the store
where the feedbags were piled to the ceiling.

"Hey Rick can I ask
you something?"

"You know you can
ask me anything."

Marcus took the bag of
feed Rick handed him and followed him out to his truck. "You
ever have a door come open on you?"

"A door?"

"Yeah, like your
front door."

"Maybe if it's
really windy outside and the kids are running in and out."
Rick deposited the bag into the back of Marcus's truck and turned
to meet his friend. "Why do you ask?"

"Something weird
happened last night."

"Connie told me you
sounded strange on the phone."

"Yeah. I came in
from feeding the horses and I closed the door behind me, you know
like I always do. When I went to turn on the lights nothing
happened. You know how my power is when it gets colder, what with
the pipes freezing and everything else. So I didn't think
anything of it. I found my way down the hall to the breaker box
and turned everything back on. The lights came back on just as I
expected. So I went back to the kitchen, only the door was open."

"That's funny."

"Yeah. I know I
closed it behind me."

"Maybe you weren't
paying attention and only think you did. I do that sometimes,
like when I put my newspaper down to tell the twins to knock it
off. Then I go back out to the mailbox to get it and realize it's
already inside. I do it all the time." Rick chuckled as they
went back into the store and he swiped Marcus's credit card.

The chimes of the door
rang as another man walked into the store and started to look
around. Rick smiled at him in acknowledgement then turned back to
Marcus.

"You haven't heard
the best part yet. So I locked the door, double-checked it to
make sure it was really closed and started up to bed. Then I hear
this noise behind me. Of course I get freaked, and I load my
shotgun and turn around expecting something to jump out at me.
The damn cat of mine walks in like he owns the place and plops
down on my bed on my pillow. Damn thing. It scared the hell outta
me."

Rick chuckled. "So
that's why Connie heard the shotgun."

"Yeah. She was
flipping out when she heard me unloading the gun. I never keep
that thing loaded but she asked me to come stay with you guys for
the night anyways."

"Well you know how
much we care about you Marcus. No one in town would want anything
to happen to you." Rick gave him the credit card back and
lounged against the store counter.

"Get this though. I
go to bed, wake up the next morning and go downstairs to get some
coffee before I go back out on the spread. Only the cats in the
kitchen, sitting in front of kitchen door. The open kitchen
door." Marcus raised an eyebrow, hoping his friend could
solve the mystery in his place.

"The door was open
again?"

"Yeah. It totally
freaked me out." Marcus strummed his fingers on the
countertop and shifted aside as the other man approached the
counter.

"One sec, Marcus."
Rick turned to the man with a smile and rang up his purchase of
leather gloves and bullet shells before bidding him a good day
and seeing him out.

"I just don't get
it. How did the door open itself a second time? I know I locked
it after it opened the first time." Marcus's brow furrowed
with concern. "The only thing connecting it all is that damn
cat."

"Well then I guess
it was the cat." Rick replied shrugging his shoulders in an
expression of his bewilderment.

"One things for
sure. Cat's can't open locked doors." Marcus sighed and
shuffled his feet. He was reluctant to leave.

"I dunno what to
say. Never heard of something like that before. Gives new meaning
to locking your doors, huh?"

"I guess."
Marcus laughed as he started for the door.

"Want to come to
dinner tonight?" Rick called to him as he turned to say
good-bye.

"Sure, I'd like
that." Marcus smiled and the door closed with a chiming of
bells behind him.

"I don't know what
to say." Brenda looked down at the ring and back at Marcus.

"Say yes."
Marcus smiled up at her. "That's all you have to say."

Brenda frowned at him.
"This is the same ring you gave her, isn't it?"

"Ring's are
expensive." Marcus sighed. "It shouldn't make any
difference Brenda. All you have to do is say yes." Marcus
took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger.

"See, it fits."
He smiled at her.

Brenda looked down at the
ring on her finger. He'd finally chosen his path and so had she.

"Brenda?"

She smiled.

"Lindsey open this door!" He screamed, pounding on the
flimsy wood with his fist. Lindsey could hear the wood
splintering up his thundering blows. "I'm not done with you
yet bitch!"

"You have to go to
the neighbors for help. Do you understand me?" She said to
Garrett, wiping his tears from his face with her hand.

He nodded.

Lindsey gathered him into
her arms and carried him over to the window in his room. She
opened it with one arm and helped him drop the foot or so down
into the bushes. "Go to the house next door. Hurry!"

He ran.

"Lindsey! Open this
door!"

Lindsey shut the window
and locked it. She composed herself as she walked to the door and
opened it. When she met his eyes he glared at her and raised his
hand to hit her.

"The police are
coming." She told him in a steely voice.

"That wasn't smart."
He said, taking her throat in his hand. "When they get here
you're going to tell them nothing happened. Do you understand
me?"

Lindsey shook her head.
"No Kurt. I'm going to tell them the truth."

"You lousy fuck!"
He smacked her so hard she spun on her feet and fell to the
ground. "You think you're too good for me don't you?"

Lindsey's stomach heaved
as he kicked her in the ribs once and then twice. His breath was
hot against her neck as he leaned down and took a handful of her
hair. "You tell them nothing happened or I'll kill that
bastard son of yours, do you hear me?"

Lindsey felt tears
welling in her eyes at the pain in her side and across the back
of her scalp. "Garrett is your son Kurt." She
whispered, in her mind willing it not to be true.