An O'Malley Problem--Chapter 6

Seth knew Quinn and Lisa both were grilling him with their eyes to answer their questions about Whitney's silence and absentminded look.

Instead of confronting his sister and brother-in-law, Seth surveyed the area around them. It was pretty typical of what he'd seen of the woods so far.

Whitney's head stayed still, but her eyes darted around, searching the woods. He was here. He was watching her. Watching them. She'd lied to Seth and it probably wasn't the smartest choice.

Fire's behavior was not exactly the best, though. He was stopping suddenly, reacting to him the way she'd taught him. Fire had always been her friend. He'd been forced into her troubles when he was barely old enough to be ridden, but he'd reacted like a true warrior.

Whitney knew he wouldn't move from his hiding spot with Seth, Quinn and Lisa near her. But the mere fact that he'd kept his promise was enough to turn her stomach.

Soon, sweetheart, we will hunt.

Why did he still have to torture her? He needed help. Help.

It took too long for Whitney's comfort to get back to her ranch, but as she'd guessed, he'd not come out of hiding. They entered the barn just as the sun reached its peak in the sky.

"So why does she need a body guard?" Quinn asked Seth in hushed tones.

"She's being harassed by a stalker,"

"Not Slade?"

Seth turned, shocked that Quinn would know anything about Whitney's stalker.

"I've known her for a long time, Seth."

"What do you know about Slade?" Seth asked as he brushed Rose Marie down. Lisa and Whitney were near the other end of the stables, brushing down their own horses.

"He bothered her for a long time, about the same time Aaron wouldn't leave her alone."

"Was he dangerous?"

Quinn looked thoughtful for a moment. Seth wondered how much he was going to get out of him. "He was dangerous as far as Whitney's emotions. He liked to toy with her. Jesse hated him."

"How'd she get rid of him?"

"The same way she did Aaron: cut off all ties to him and block all the ways he could get in touch with her. Except Jesse socked Slade across the jaw. Slade in turn hit Jesse back and they ended up in a bloody fist fight. Whitney came home from somewhere—I don't remember where she'd gone—and found Jesse unconscious in the kitchen floor."

Seth was silent.

"What about Aaron? Tell me about him,"

"Aaron was a little quieter. He was lonely and Whitt was the perfect project for love. She was naïve and he took advantage of that. When he started getting violent, Whitney kicked him out. He's only talked to her a few times since."

"You said they were around about the same time?"

"She knew them both about the same time, but Slade got the boot first. She was wary of Aaron after that. If she hadn't kicked him out as soon as she did, he could have come to violence, too."

Seth looked over to where Whitney was. She put Fire into his stall, then laughed at something Lisa said.

She looked toward him and their eyes locked. She looked confused for a moment, then smiled and turned to walk back to her house, waving Lisa to follow.

"How'd she ever end up with such lousy friends?" Seth mumbled.

"I don't know, Seth."

Quinn and Seth followed Lisa and Whitney. "So how long have they known each other?" Seth motioned ahead?"

"Maybe a year and a half?" Quinn said.

"You know, despite the location, I never thought she might know you or Lisa... I don't know why I didn't look into that."

"Because she knocked you down and you forgot,"

Seth shook his head. "You are defiantly an O'Malley,"

Quinn smiled. They entered the house and Whitney turned form the counter to face them. "Tea or water?"

"Water," Seth said.

"Tea, please," Quinn said.

The four took their time in fixing sandwiches of their choice. They talked about trivial things and kept the conversation light.

Seth made mental notes as they talked. He now had two suspects for this talker: Aaron and Slade. He planned on asking Quinn about them both later, when Whitney wasn't around.

Lisa watched Seth become distant, just like Kate did. Something Quinn had said had bothered him. She made a note to ask both of them later.

Whitney still didn't feel safe, even in her own house. He had proved many times that her house, her woods would not protect her. She knew that with the others around, he wouldn't come out, but she felt alone. Telling Seth the truth had never been so tempting. But she couldn't. Too many wounds would be opened again. Jesse was almost over it... she couldn't.

Quinn realized that Whitney and Seth were both drifting off into their own worlds. He wasn't happy that the stalker was back. But both Whitney and Jesse knew how to deal with him. After all, they both endured... Quinn shook his head to cut off the thought. He didn't like it. And the fact that Seth was attached to Whitney said something. If things turned out like they had last time... Maybe this should be upgraded to an O'Malley problem. He'd call Marcus later, even thought he'd already been by to check on things. Quinn now knew more; they were now better equipped to deal with this.

"So you didn't ask for a body guard or the security?" Lisa asked Whitney.

"No. Dad sent them. I've tried to convince him it's not necessary, but he won't listen,"

"You might consider the possibility that he's right," Quinn said as he joined them at the table. "It's a precaution and Seth is the best in his field."

"I don't need a body guard," Whitney said again. "If Dad wanted to help, he should have done it long ago,"

"So..." Seth said as he sat down next to Whitney. "We're back at square one."

She frowned at him.

"You know what I'm talking about."

Whitney seemed to search for the words to combat him. She found none, only took a bite of her sandwich.

Seth let it go.

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A few hours later, Quinn was standing on his front porch, listening to the phone ring. Lisa was inside, probably napping.

Marcus finally picked it up. Quinn could hear crying the back ground. Holly never stopped...

"I think Seth is going to need help" Quinn said softly.

"What's happened?" Marcus asked.

"Whitney isn't telling Seth what she knows about the stalker; he's walking blind. Her father is the one funding them and she'd trying to convince him to pull them out."

"She's trying to protect him? Why?"

"I think they've fallen for each other."

"Hmm... You think whoever this is, is too much for Seth to handle?"

"Yes."

Marcus covered the phone for a moment; Quinn could hear muffled voices.

"You know what Seth is facing?" Marcus asked as he came back.

"Not as much about him as Whitney knows."

"We're headed out to see Seth right now," Marcus said.

"Marcus, overwhelming her with numbers is not going to help. She'll just shut down."

"No, Kate—We're going over—Yes." Marcus's attention turned back again. "We'll be nice, promise."

"You'd better." Quinn said.

By the time he hung up, he wondered if it'd been right. It was wrong to leave Whitney and probably Jesse stranded in his claws, but... had it been the right approach? Lord, we're going to need a lot of guidance here.

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negotiator24, thanks for your review. Which O'Malley story did you mean? There've been several since I posted the first chapter of mine.

hgranger07, The story is, sadly, coming to a close. I keep having to tell myself that I'm writing a fan fiction, not a novel!

Tammi, Thank you so much for reviewing! I hope things get better for you.

At this point, I would like to say thank you all so much! It's always amazing to have others follow a story to the end—so few do. This story will only have nine chapters, the epilogue included in #9. Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy it.