looking over at the same lady he’d helped earlier.
“Thanks for coming. Do you know this lady?” he
said pointing at the hippy girl.
“I just met her last night. She’d come by my
restaurant. I happened to be sitting in my truck when
she started to go in. I told her it was closing soon.”
The Officer was jotting all this down on a small
pad of paper. “Okay. So you never met her before
last night?” he said, looking up at Cody after he
wrote the last word.
“That’s right, sir. Is she in some kind of trouble?”
“No. She was apparently sleeping in her car when
someone tried to rob her. A doctor just getting off his
shift saw the altercation and intervened. He offered
to call someone for her, and she said to call you.”
Cody threw his head back and sighed. He dug his
hands deep into his jean pockets. “Call me? How did
she even know my name or my number? I didn’t give
her any of that last night.”
The officer furrowed his brows. “That’s strange.
Maybe you should talk with her.”
Cody walked over to the lady. She was holding
her head with her hands, visibly shaken by the
assault.
“Hey there. What’s going on?” Cody said softly.
The lady took her hands down from her face.
Cody glanced at the inked flower on her wrist. “I
didn’t know who to call,” she sputtered.
Cody nodded. “How did you know my name?”
The lady softened her face. “Bryan,” she said.
Chapter Two
This changed everything. Now he had to find out
how she knew Bryan. Cody walked over to the
officer in charge. “I can take it from here. I’ll make
sure she’s okay before she goes on her way. Seems
we do have a mutual friend. Thanks for your
assistance,” Cody said, offering his hand to properly
thank the officer.
Cody stood with his back against her car, his legs
and arms crossed as he watched the officers get into
their cars and drive away. The sun was beating down
on them, and he knew he needed to get her in an air-
conditioned place. He gently touched her arm. She
looked up at him, a smile tugging at the corner of her
mouth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t really want to meet you
this way.”
Cody brushed his hand across his face. He felt
the stubble that was beginning to grow. “Yeah, about
that. You said Bryan told you to come here. How do
you know Bryan?”
“He’s my brother.”
Cody shot her a look. “Brother?”
The lady’s face was flushed, and Cody could see
beads of sweat gathering on her forehead.
“Why don’t you follow me back to the
restaurant? We can get out of the heat.”
The lady fanned her face. “Are you sure?”
Cody tossed his head back. “I don’t think I have
much of a choice. I can’t leave you here. By the way,
what is your name?”
She covered her eyes with her hand, blocking the
intense sun from piercing her eyes. She peeked
through her fingers meeting his eyes. “Darla. My
name is Darla.”
* * *
He glanced back in his rearview mirror every few
seconds to make sure she was still behind him. Soon
they were pulling into Cody’s Steakhouse parking
lot. He waited until she pulled up alongside him
before he got out of his truck.
Cody pulled out a set of keys and proceeded to
unlock the door. With one hand he pushed open the
door and motioned for her to step inside the
restaurant. He followed her, closing the door behind
him. He flicked on the lights and led her to the bar.
“Coffee, tea, wine, or beer?”
“That sounds good,” she said.
Cody smiled. “Which one?”
“Surprise me,” she said.
“Have a seat,” he said, pointing to the bar stools.
“I’ll be right back.”
came out with two frothy mugs of an amber beer.
“This red ale comes from Oregon,” he said putting
down the heavy mugs.
Darla let out a small giggle. “This is exactly what
I had in mind,” she said taking a sip of the cold brew,
then wiping the white foam from her mouth with the
back of her hand. “Tastes good,” she said, a slight
smile appearing on her mouth.
It seemed weird to be in the restaurant alone with
this woman. This woman who he’d just met.
However, Bryan was his best buddy when he was in
the Marines. He barely recalled him ever talking
about his family let alone a sister. He wondered if
she was pulling his leg.
“So you say Bryan is your brother? He never told
me he had a sister. In fact, he rarely spoke of his
family at all. I think he said he was from Montana”
Cody locked his gaze onto hers.
“Idaho. We’re from Idaho,” she corrected.
Cody knew it was Idaho. He wanted to see what
she knew. “Ahh. That’s right. Idaho. So what brings
you to Texas?”
“Just traveling through. I never stay in one place
too long,” she said, then took another sip of her beer.
Darla set the mug down. “Bryan told me a lot about
you. Said if it wasn’t for you, he’d been dead a
hundred times …” she said trailing off.
Cody tried not to think about the past. It had been
brutal over there. He had always been on the
offensive. That’s what had kept him and his group
alive. After his second tour in Afghanistan, he knew
he was going to get out of the military. He dreamed
of owning a restaurant.
“I’ve lost track of Bryan after I got out. Did he
stay in?”
Darla nodded. She ran her fingers through her
hair, tossing the locks behind her ears. Cody noticed
her dangling turquoise earrings. “He stayed for
another year. After that, he got out, too.”
“What’s he doing now?” Cody asked.
A tear rolled down her cheek. “You don’t
know?”
Cody stiffened his body. “No. What happened?”
“The convoy he was in got hit by heavy artillery.
It almost wiped out his entire unit. He was one of the
lucky ones. He lost one of his legs, and three fingers
on one hand but his life was spared.”
Cody lowered his head. An image of Bryan
popped into his mind.
Cody raised his head and turned toward Darla.
“How’s he doing these days?”
“Not great. He wishes that his life ended that day.
It was getting too heavy to be around him. I had to
split. I tried to get him help, but you can only help
someone if they are willing. He’s in Walter Reed
right now, and I hope for his sake they help him.”
Cody softened his face. “It’s hell over there. I’m
happy I made it out in one piece. But I still have days
that I’m haunted by what I’ve seen and what I’ve
done to survive. I hope Bryan gets the help he needs.
If you do see him, let him know I’m thinking of him,
and if he’s ever out this way, I’ll buy him a beer and
a steak dinner.”
“You’ve been very nice, Cody. Thanks for
listening. I better be going.”
“Where are you headed now?”
“I don’t know. I thought about driving all the
way to Walter Reed. As much as it was stressful
being around him, I miss him.”
Cody stood up and with his body he pushed the
stool back out of the way. Darla did the same thing.
He reached out and gently touched her arm. “I’m
glad you reached out to me. I wish you’d said
something to me last night.”
“I was going to. But then I thought, why bother
you with our family drama.”
“In the military, we have a saying. We’re all
brothers and sisters. Bryan was like a brother to me.
I’m sorry we fell out of touch.”
Cody reached out his hand. Darla looked at his
hand and smiled. She opened her arms wide. Cody
walked into her embrace and held her tight. After a
few seconds Cody released his hold and led her
toward her parked car.
He had a zillion things he wanted to say but yet
couldn’t find one word to speak. They reached the
car in a matter of moments. Darla reached out to put
her hand on the car door handle. She hesitated
briefly, whirling around, her gaze locking onto him.
She started to speak but suddenly stopped. He
watched her as she struggled for words. It was the
same way he was feeling, too.
“If you aren’t ready to travel, you’re welcome to
stay with Tracker and me for a few days. To get your
plan together,” he added not sure where that came
from.
She tossed her head back, and a smile quivered
on her mouth. “You’d do that for me? I mean you
just met me. I might be an ax murderer,” she giggled.
“I think I can take care of myself,” he softly
spoke.
Darla looked him up and down. He had that right.
Muscles in all the right places, she could tell he was
built tough just like a cowboy. “I can tell. You seem
to still be working out even after you gave up the
military life.”
“Once a Marine, always a Marine. Besides. I
have a small ranch that keeps me fit as well. So
you’ll consider my invitation?”
“On one condition,” she said batting her lashes.
“What’s that?” he said.
“You let me cook a nice dinner for you. I’m a
great cook.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal. I rarely cook for
myself. I eat here,” he said looking back at the
restaurant, “or have something quick like a bowl of
cereal.”
“If you can take me to the grocery store, I’ll get
all the ingredients I’ll need. I prefer a store that sells
organic foods. Anything like that around here?”
“This is Dallas. We have everything. Follow
me.”
Darla followed Cody to the Whole Foods nearby.
She went inside while he waited. She told him she
wanted to surprise him and surprised he was going to
be!
As the two made their way to his ranch, Darla
listened to some audio book she was glued to on the
power of positive thinking and how one creates their
own happiness. Darla laughed out loud. Bryan would
roll his eyes at the thought of listening to this type of
propaganda as he called it. She wondered what Cody
listened to.
They turned onto a gravel driveway and made
their way toward the ranch. Darla was blown away
by the view. Although the land was flat, there were
fenced pastures, paddocks for horses, a big red barn,
and even a windmill on the property. Soon they were
parked in front of a Spanish-style house. The stucco
structure with a curved entranceway led to a large
mahogany door with large black hinges and door
knob. In the middle of the door was a matching door
knocker. A stained glass window adorned the
wooden beast of a door and soon Darla was standing
inside a beautiful home. She kicked her shoes off
before she took another step. “This is beautiful,” she
said.
“Welcome to my home.”
Darla’s eyes widened. He had the most beautiful
house. She made her way down the hallway in her
bare feet looking at everything as she did. She
noticed how clean and uncluttered it was. The family
room was furnished with leather sofas and chairs,
large wooden tables, and colorful rugs over wood
and tiled floors.
“This is my bedroom,” he said motioning toward
the opened door. Darla peeked inside. A king-size
bed was on one wall and a matching dresser and
mirror on the opposite wall. On each side of the bed
were matching side tables and pewter lamps with
burlap covered shades. His bed was covered with an
off-white comforter and for color, bright pillows in
blue, red, and green adorned the large four-poster
bed. Gleaming hardwood floors led to the even more
massive master bathroom.
“Your bathroom is as large as some hotel rooms
I’ve been in,” she said.
“Yeah. I’ve seen some of those elegant hotel
bathrooms. Large soaker tub …”
Darla put up her hand to stop him from talking.
She furrowed her brows. “No, the whole room. This
bathroom is as large as the entire hotel room!” she
said as she took in the two-person tiled shower, jetted
tub, and the two sinks with granite counter tops. She
ran her hand down the Egyptian towels that hung on
the nickel satin towel bar.
“Nice feel.”
Cody lowered his head and stared at his boots.
He shook his head. “Gottcha. I misunderstood.”
“No worries. I’m glad you got it like that.”
“Excuse me?” he said.
“Clearly, you’re rolling in the dough. Are you
some big establishment type?” she asked.
Cody shook his head. “Nope. Just a cowboy
trying to make it in this big bad world.”
Tracker heard the commotion and came galloping
to greet them. Cody witnessed Darla’s eyes widen at
the size of him. “He’s harmless. He’s a big baby in a
big body,” Cody said, stroking his back.
Darla quirked a smile. She reached down and
gently patted his head. “Nice, doggie,” she said.
Cody shot her a strange look. “Tracker. His name
is Tracker.”
Darla stood up. “Tracker. That’s a fitting name
for him, I suppose.”
“Follow me into the kitchen,” Cody said.
Darla did as he asked and soon Tracker was
behind her. She could hear the pitter patter of his
nails on the tile and the sniffing sound he was
making as he breathed in the air around
him. “Is he a
hunting dog?” Darla asked, her voice wavering some.
“He’s a hound and yes, he’s a great hunting dog
although he’s getting up in years now, so we mainly
just hang out,” he said, putting the groceries on the
counter.
Darla started pulling items out of the reusable
cloth bags. “I believe in recycling, so I bring my own
bags when I shop.” She put a clear container on the
counter.
Cody began reading labels. “Tofu?” Cody
bellowed.
Darla smiled. “Tastes just like meat.”
Then she placed a zucchini, yellow squash, a
green pepper, and some mushrooms on the counter.
Lastly, she placed a carton of organic sodium-free
beef stock. Cody looked on at the strange
ingredients. He wondered what he was in for. She
reached into the next bag and took out some pasta, a
carton of half-and-half, sour cream, and a small loaf
of sourdough bread. “Vegetable pasta?” he said,
reading yet another label.
“Yes, I’m a vegetarian. I do eat some dairy now
and again. You’re gonna love this dish. It’s sort of
like beef Stroganoff.”
Cody let out a laugh. He dug his hands deep into
his pockets. He bit his bottom lip. He wanted to
choose his words wisely. “Sort of like beef
Stroganoff? Isn’t that like saying imitation or fake
even?”
Darla stiffened her stature. She pursed her lips.
She then softened her face and Cody got a glimpse of
a tiny twinkle in her eyes. “I prefer to say an
alternative to beef Stroganoff. There is nothing
imitation or fake about it. Why don’t you wait and
taste it before you criticize it?”
Cody nodded. “You’re right. I’ll wait before I
pass judgment. I’m just used to eating steak. Hey,
you do to eat meat, don’t you? You came by the
restaurant and wanted steak.” Cody blurted.
Darla started laughing uncontrollably. “Oh, you
make me laugh so hard,” she said gripping her side.
Cody stood there tapping his boots on the tile
sending a little chill up Darla’s spine. “Well?” he