Heck of a kiss

Chapter Ten

Driving home that night, Josh thought about the fight and Amy’s secret.  The fact that Amy was a pick-up man didn’t surprise him at all. She felt very protective of Mila and Lesley and because of that, she would do anything to give them a good life. Since she was Chad’s younger sister, it made sense that she would find work at the rodeo. Bad memories aside, that was where Amy’s passion was.  At least being a pickup man wasn’t degrading or wrong.

            Despite her hard stubborn nature, Josh didn’t envy the conversation Amy was going to have with Lesley when the woman caught sight of Amy’s face. In addition to the swollen mouth, she had a shallow cut on her cheek bone, and her nose was red and inflamed. Even with makeup she would not be able to hide the evidence of the fight.

            The fact that she had managed to work at the rodeo for two years without having anyone blow her cover was a miracle. Amy was a woman, and she had a woman figure yet somehow she managed to hide it, and turn herself into a boy, this was an explanation for Jed’s odd behavior. Amy had also mastered the art of walking like a man, which made the disguise more authentic. Still, Josh should have seen it earlier.

            Pulling into the gravel drive, Josh pulled his truck into the garage to park and saw that in front of his porch was Dustin’s truck. Quickly turning off the truck, he ran inside and met Dustin on the porch.  Ushering his older brother into the foyer, he took off his hat and hung it on the coat rack inside the door.

            Dustin’s tan sheriff uniform was limp and wrinkled from the day in the cruiser, and since he wasn’t driving his work truck, Josh wasn’t really worried. However, Dustin had come straight from work so it must be important.

            “To what do I owe this pleasure? How are things on the ranch?”

            “Everything is fine at home. Just thought I’d give you a word of warning, we’re closing in on a drug ring at the rodeo.”

            Josh headed into the bathroom and began scrubbing the streaked pain off of his face. “We both knew that illegal stuff was happening at the rodeo, what brought this up?”

“We’ve had an anonymous tip and we’ve planted a bug, thought maybe you should know so you can work with him.”

“Who is it?” Wiping his face off with a hand towel, Josh turned to look at his brother.

Dustin rolled his eyes. “After all this time you should know I can’t tell you.”

“After all this time? You’ve barely been in that uniform two years.”

Abruptly Dustin changed the conversation. “Why don’t you quit the rodeo, come home and work the ranch.”

Passing Dustin, Josh shot a look at his older brother over his shoulder. “Why, is Liddy having a hard time?”

Giving a derisive snort, Dustin followed him. “Liddy’s got three kids and a no good husband. I’m trying to help out but I work too much.”

Feeling guilty thinking about his youngest sister, Josh shrugged. “I’ll come over and work on my days off.”

“Josh, you and I both know you don’t need to keep doing this. Rodeo was never your dream.”

Refusing to meet Dustin’s gaze, Josh flopped into his recliner and stared at his hands. “When I was still going to the shrink, he told me I needed closure, this is my closure.”

“It’s been going on for five years; I think that’s long enough.”

Shaking his head, Josh rubbed his face before answering. “It’s not done yet. I’ll quit when it’s done.”

Silence reined for a couple moments, then Dustin roused himself and said: “I’m heading out, just wanted to let you know.”

Josh simply nodded and followed Dustin to the door, watching silently as his taillights disappeared down the street.