Chapter 9: Micah

After we return to the shop, I walk Robyn to the cabin. I show her where the washer and dryer are and leave her to get started on her laundry. She’s got a lot of new purchases to wash. “I’ll work for another hour, and then after dinner I’ll teach you about guns. We’ll just start with the basics, like how to hold it and load it. How does that sound?”

She shrugs, looking less than thrilled.

“Don’t worry. You’ll do fine.”

After instructing her to lock the door behind me, I leave the cabin and walk across the yard to the shop. After changing into coveralls, I head into the garage.

“Welcome back, chief.” Pete is grinning at me. “It’s nice of you to join us.”

“I wasn’t gone that long.” I shoot him a scowl. “And don’t call me that. It’s disrespectful.”

I have a painful history with my mother’s people. And ironically, my maternal grandfather actually was a chief. And since he didn’t have a son, I suppose I might have filled that role one day. But no. Life didn’t work out that way.

When my Cheyenne mother met and married a white engineering student at University of Denver, her family disowned her. And by extension, they disowned me and my sister. We know next to nothing about my mom’s family. When my mom passed, I was just a baby. Because our dad travelled so much for work, Ruth and I came here to Bryce to live with our paternal white grandparents.

“So, where were you?” Pete asks.

“After I picked Robyn up from the diner, we ran some errands.”

Tony whistles. “Are you her personal chauffeur now?”

“Until her car is fixed, yes.”

“I didn’t know Jenny was hiring,” Tony says. “It was news to Cara, too.”

Tony’s girlfriend, Cara, is one of the servers at the diner. It’s a small world. Sometimes, too small.

I shrug. “I guess an opening came up suddenly.”

This is getting worse by the second. If they find out Jenny hired Robyn as a personal favor to me—and that I’m the one who’s footing the bill—I’ll never hear the end of it. And I certainly don’t want Robyn finding out. She’s already made it clear she doesn’t want me paying for things.

I grab a set of Mitsubishi keys off the assignment board. “Hey, if you guys don’t mind, I’d like to get some work done.” I head out to the lot to bring the car in for a simple tune-up.

“So, how’s your new girlfriend working out?” Pete asks.

I give him a look. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Well, she’s livin’ with you, and you’re chauffeuring her around. Sounds kinda cozy, if you ask me, just the two of you sharing a one-room cabin. If I remember correctly, there’s just the one bed.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.

“First of all, no one asked you. And anyway, I’m sleeping on the sofa.”

Laughing, Tony throws a shop rag at my head. “What the hell happened to your sense of humor, man? He’s just ribbin’ you.”

The guys leave a little after five. Margie’s already gone for the day, and the office lights are off. I finish up working on the Mitsubishi and head into the office.

As I lock up, I peer out the front window just as a black SUV with heavily-tinted windows drives slowly past the shop. Robyn’s car is parked out front, but covered with a heavy tarp so it’s not in plain view. If someone is looking for her, I don’t want to make it easy for them.

The SUV slowly drives off, and I wait around a few minutes to see if it returns. Sure enough, it makes another pass, just as slowly, as it heads in the other direction. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but after finding a tracking device attached to Robyn’s car, this SUV seems awfully suspicious.

When I return to the cabin, I knock, giving Robyn a heads-up. “It’s just me,” I say as I unlock the door and come inside.

Robyn is on the sofa reading on her iPad.

“Are you still reading about the physicists?”

“Yes, and don’t knock it. It’s good.”

I shake my head. “You have the most interesting taste in reading. How about we watch more of that Bridgerton show tonight, after our gun lesson? I’ll even make us a big bowl of popcorn.” I realize, as soon as I say it, it sounds awfully close to a date scenario.

But she doesn’t seem to mind. “I’d love to.”

I cook up some fresh salmon filets for dinner, along with some roasted broccoli and cauliflower.

After we finish dinner and are clearing the table, I ask her if she’s ready for her first handgun lesson.

She joins me at the sink, and we make quick work of the dishes. “Do we really have to?”

“Yeah, I think we do. When I was closing up the shop tonight, I spotted a black SUV driving slowly past the lot—twice. The windows were heavily tinted, so I couldn’t see who was driving, or even how many people were in the vehicle. Does that ring a bell?”

“No. Ricky drives an old white Chevy, and I have no idea what Verne drives.” She dries a plate and places it in the cupboard. “You don’t know for sure they were looking for me.”

“No. But I do know I want you to be able to defend yourself if the need arises.”

She takes a step closer, and our arms brush. To my surprise, she doesn’t move away.

When I glance down at her, she’s looking up at me. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt me to learn how to hold a gun. Maybe I can bluff my way out of trouble.”

Bluff? Good God. I lean closer and lower my head to murmur quietly to her. “I’d rather you be able to shoot your way out.”