Western Flame

Chapter 26

Liana tipped the remains of a can of coke over the rum in the bottom of her beat up St. Patrick's Day mug, letting it bubble up and settle with each pour. She took a sip, made a face, and added more rum.

The quiet of her apartment had been soothing all afternoon after she'd gotten home with her groceries. She napped on the couch, had a bath and pampered herself, using her expensive body cream and shaving with the nice gel foam that she saved for special occasions. It restored her to an almost functional human. She needed the time alone to gather up her thoughts, and just to have time that wasn't filled with tension and worry was blissful.

It seemed like eons ago she was sitting out at West Line when Tanner called her about Brady. A whirlwind in reality, considering everything that had happened since. Including the sex. The incredible sex. The mind blowing orgasm she'd had, and then given him the very next night. Images of Tanner bare chested and wet in the shower popped into her head and the heat between her legs radiated up into her abdomen. She ran a hand absently over one breast, the nipple popping out under her t-shirt as she did.

"Stop it," she muttered to herself when she realised what she was doing. Liana had declared the rest of today a Tanner free zone. Self care was more important. Although, a good self-delivered orgasm would be the cat's pyjama's right about now, to seal the level of relaxation she was attaining. Maybe later, to help her sleep. The evening was hers, wasn't it?

She plopped onto the couch and unravelled the towel around her hair, gently drying it as she glanced at the clock. Six p.m. It wasn't late, and she toyed with an early bed time. Another sip of her drink, more hair drying, and she turned on the television. The news came on so she upped the volume absently. There might be a mention of the fire.

"In other news, another incident south of Brightside, we have reports that gunfire erupted at a local cattle ranch. No major injuries or casualties reported, and the gunman is still at large. Police are investigating and a search is underway for what they believe may be a targeted attack. We've reached out to local authorities and the owners of the property, but none were available for comment at this time."

Liana almost dropped her drink as the reporter moved on to the next story.

"What?" she gasped as she scrambled for her phone on the coffee table. She fumbled for Caitlin's number. It rang, and went to voice mail.

"You call me, okay? I saw the news. What is going on out there?" she barked and then hung up. She dialled Peony next, and she didn't pick up either.

She tapped her phone with her fingernails. She didn't want to bug Brady, or Jake.

"Fuck it," she muttered and flipped over to her texts and found Tanner.

She typed 'Hey, checking in. Saw some news about a shooting. Are u guys OK?'

She waited. It delivered, but when she got impatient, she set her phone down and got up, pacing. She bit a fingernail between her teeth, and then opened her laptop, worry and urgency pushing at her. Facebook was buzzing with the news, but no one had spilled where the shooting was. A lot of speculation. She surfed around on some news sites, but nothing came up.

Any zen she had was gone. Any thought of being drama free was gone. The news had said no major injuries, but that didn't mean no one was hurt. Was it West Line? Given the chain of events, it was more than probable. Brady being run off the road. Deliberate fire to a hay shed... Bad things came in threes, and this would be the whopper of a third.

She sank back on the couch and pulled the mug of rum and coke close to her chest, then drained it. Tanner still hadn't replied, and she tossed her phone beside her with an irritated growl. Despite how messed up they were right now, she wanted to see him and reassure herself that he was safe.