The next morning Krisa sighed feeling the sun on her skin as she got out of bed and headed to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee before heading out to the Walker ranch. She was scared to death about going out there. To be honest she didn't want to go out there in all honesty. She was only going because her dad told her she needed to.
After making herself a cup of coffee she grabbed her keys and headed to her car leaving her dad a note telling him she was going out to the Walker ranch. She had just barely gotten out the door when her cell phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey Kris" her heart stopped the second she heard his voice on the other line.
"Cordell.. How.. How did you get my number? "
"Your dad gave it to me after I talked to him last night."
"Figures.. What's up?"
"Your dad said you were going out to the ranch today."
"I promised him I'd go see your folks. IT's been a long time since I've seen them and daddy said you wouldn't be home"
"I won't be I'll be at work"
"Cordell, why are you calling me? I thought you figured out last night I don't want to talk to you at all. I have nothing to say."
"Kris, look I'm sorry about what happened in the past. I'm hoping maybe you'll let me at least try and apologize for what happened. And meet me for a drink at the side step later ."
"Cord…"
"Please Kris.. I really want to talk to you without running away."
Krisa thought about it for a second. The silence on the line was killing Cordell all he wanted to do was talk to her without her running away. Finally after what seemed like a lifetime of silence Krisa finally answered him.
"Alright Cordell I'll meet you at side step about six fair enough?"
"Yeah, yeah that's perfect I'll see ya then."
"See ya then Cowboy" Krisa smiled as she hung her cell phone.and got into her car.
Cordell had a big grin on his face as he sat his coffee cup on the breakfast bar. Abby noticed this as did Liam and Bohman. All three had a feeling something good had just come out of his phone call with Krisa. They all knew Cordell when it came to Krisa; she could make him smile like a big goofball. The only other person who could do that had been Emily. Liam thought maybe he could tease his brothers about it.
"So did Krisa agree to meet you for drinks later or did she hang up on you and you've been talking to yourself this whole time." Liam teased.
"She agreed to meet me. And no I wasn't just talking to myself she just did scare me for a minute though she'd hung up when the phone went quiet." Cordell said as he sipped his coffee.
"Is she still coming out to visit?" Bohem asked
"Yeah daddy she's coming."
"Good it'll be good to see her again."
"Cordell, are you going to wait for her to come or are you going to work?" Abby asked her eldest son.
"I'm gonna head to work momma, she doesn't want me here when she comes and I think it would be a bit much before tonight anyway."
"Cordell, has she changed much?" Abby asked with concern on her face.
"No momma, she's just all grown up." Cordell said with a half smile on his face.
Abby didn't say anything, she just smiled at her son. Liam noticed the glint in his big brother's eyes and knew that Cordell was happy to have Krisa back. He hadn't seen his brother smile like that in the year since they'd lost Emily. Even after everything Cordell never smiled the same again. Something about Krisa being home just seems to bring his brother back to life a little bit. Bohman noticed the look in son's eyes as did Abby. Cordell had just walked out the door when he saw a gray and black mustang pulling into the driveway. He felt a lump form in his throat when he saw Krisa getting out of the car. She must have noticed him because when she stepped out she stayed close to the car.
"I thought you'd have left for work already…"
"I.. I was just leaving…"
"Okay,... C." Krisa wanted to tell him he didn't have to leave hell she wanted him to stay. Only she knew it wasn't a good idea.
"Momma ,Daddy and Liam are in the house." Cordell noticed she had stopped dead mid sentence.
"Thanks…" Krisa said as she moved away from her car towards the house.
Cordell watched her as she pulled her hair into a ponytail, her trademark hairstyle he smiled when she turned back around to face him. Krisa looked him over once maybe even twice she wasn't sure but she knew he'd changed. They both had, no longer those kids that rode horses around the ranch and who would chase Liam around playing all over.
"Kris…"
"Yeah…"
"See ya later…for drinks…right?"
"You got it Cowboy." Krisa smiled as she turned to walk in the house.
Cordell smiled at the nickname, she had always called him Cowboy it was her thing. He'd missed hearing that over the years. No one ever called him that. Shaking his head, Cordell headed to his truck and drove off to the office. Krisa walked into the house feeling nervous about being in a place that at one time had been like a second home to her. Walking into the house it hadn't changed much over the years. She was just about to call out when she saw Liam Walker walk into the living room.
"Well well look what my brother finally brought home." Liam teased.
"Hey he didn't bring me anywhere I came on my own." Krisa laughed.
"It's been way too long Krissy." Liam said as he wrapped her in a hug.
"Way too long Li way too long." Krisa said as she returned the hug.
"Your daddy said that you were getting married soon. Who is he?"
"He's from Houston, he's a lawyer, his name is Cade Starson."
"Starson, I know that name is he the son of Ted Starson? "
"Yeah Ted is his father."
"Krisa I know I'm not one to have to tell you this but….."
"KRISA!" Abby called from the entrance to the living room, cutting Liam off.
"Ms.Abby!" Krisa said as she moved around Liam and went to hug his mother. Abby squeezes the younger tight. Pulling back she's said
"Look at you. As beautiful as your mother."
"Now Ms.Abby"
"No honestly dear you look just like your mother." Abby said with a smile.
"Well thank you Ms.Abby"
"I thought I heard a familiar voice" Boham said
"Hey Mr. Bo." Krisa said with a smile as she hugged the older man.
"Good to see you again Krisa, it's been a long time."
"It has been a long time Mr. Bo."
"You're old enough now to call me Bom."
Krisa smiled as she just shook her head. She might be all grown up but Mr. Bo would always be Mr. Bo to her and no amount of time would change that. Nothing it seemed had changed in the Walker house. Everything looked the same and even smelled the same. Krisa's eyes were drawn to the mantel where she saw Cordell and Emily's wedding picture and picture of they're kid sitting in frames in the middle of the mantel. Krisa walked over to get a better look. Abby noticed this and walked over putting her arm around the younger woman's shoulders.
"We missed you that day. Cordell kept wishing you would show up."
"Ms. Abby please don't lie, we both know Cordell didn't want me there."
"Krisa… honey he did. We sent you an invitation but you didn't answer."
"You're right I got an invitation but I didn't want to come. Cordell didn't miss me that much over the years. I'm glad he found his happiness in Emily."
"I wish you had been here when she died. Maybe you could have pulled him back, maybe you could have helped him."
"I don't know that me coming back would have made much of a difference." Krisa whispered softly.
"Krisa, don't ever think that you coming back wouldn't have made a difference. You would have been the biggest help to him. Maybe if you had come back you could have stopped him from going down the road he did. You're his other half. He loved Emily but he needed you."
"No he didn't…"
Abby was just about to say something when Bonham walked over and put his hand on Krisa's shoulder. She looked over at the older man who had been like a second dad to her.
"Why don't we go for a ride Krisa you do still remember how to ride right?"
"It's been a while but yeah I'm pretty sure I can remember how to."
Bohman and Abby both laughed. As Bohman leads Krisa outside to the horse barn. The walk was silent for a while. Neither talking, Krisa remembered how she and Bohman used to talk about everything and he always had a way of making her feel better. After a while Krisa spoke.
"Daddy said you've been helping with the farm"
"I've been trying. Your dad has always been a good man Kris. An a good friend to me"
"I'm glad you've been helping him. Daddy needs a good bit of help. It hasn't been easy since momma died"
"I'm sure it hasn't been, your momma was a lovely woman and I know your daddy misses her a lot. Hell, we all miss her."
Krisa just smiled. Bohman was right; it had been hard since her mother died. When her mom died. And Cordell had been there for her; he'd stayed over and even helped her with her daddy. It had been hard on her losing her mom. After that Krisa noticed Cordell had changed. He'd become kinda distant. He said it was because he'd given her space to deal with everything. But to Krisa it didn't seem that way.
"Krisa you okay?" Bonham asked to bring krisa out of her thoughts.
"Sorry I was thinking about momma for a second"
Bonham nodded as he opened the barn door. When they stepped inside Krisa couldn't help the smile that crossed her face at the sight of the horses. Nothing had changed in the brain either. Krisa saw the horses and even her favorite the black race horse she'd loved as a kid, Chopper.
"Chopper…" Krisa walked slowly over to the horse and stuck out her hand letting the horse smell her.
Chopper came over to the pen and stuck his nose into Krisa's hand. Krisa smiled as she rubbed the horse's head and rubbed his ears. Bohman smiled as he watched the young woman. She'd always had a way with the horses. Chopper had been a colt when she'd been a kid. He and Krisa always got along well. In fact Krisa had loved Chopper's mother to death.
"He's all grown up," Bonham said as he walked up next to the pen.
"He is that, it's been years."
"Krisa, I'm gonna tell you something. And I think you should know. You have every right to know."
"What's that Mr.Bo?"
"Your leaving was hard on Cordell. I mean yes he had Emily, Hoyt and Gerri. He didn't have you thought and that made things difficult on him"
"I left for a reason I didn't want to. But I didn't have a choice"
"I understand that and I believe you did. I know you love Cordell."
"Mr.Bo I…."
"No,no I understand why you left the way you did and I'm not mad at you. I can't be because you did the right thing. I just wonder sometimes if you had stayed if Cordell would have come around to the idea of you being something"
"No, he only ever loved Emily. I know that ,I knew that even back then. It hurt when I saw the signs and tried to ignore it. When we grew apart I knew he didn't feel the same way. I'm glad he got his life with her and as much as I want to say I'm jealous of that. I can't be because Cordell was happy and that's what matters"
"You've always put his happiness before your own. Even when you two were little. I remember he'd wanna do something and even though you didn't want to you'd do it anyway because of him"
"I remember."
Meanwhile at Ranger HQ Cordell was having a hell of a day. Mostly because he couldn't get Krisa off his mind. He and Mickie were sitting in Captain James' office going over the latest case
and Cordell couldn't even think straight to hear about it. Because his mind kept going back to Krisa. Finally what seemed like hours. Captain James asked Mickie if he would talk to Cordell alone. She agreed and stepped out of the office.James waited a heart beat and then spoke
"Cordell what's going on?"
"What do you mean?"
"You've been in your head this whole time. Don't think I haven't noticed what's going on ?"
"An old friend came home," Cordell said with a half smile on his face after clearing his throat.
"So Krisa finally came back huh?"
"Yeah, she's out at the ranch right now visiting my folks. I'm meeting her later for drinks." Cordell said with a full smile.
"Well, how has she been? I heard she was engaged to a Starson."
Cordells face fell suddenly. He'd heard that name before. Ted Starson was a hot shot lawyer out of Houston and he only had one son. Liam had said at one point that Starson had been involved with cartels. Only there was never any proof of it.
"WALKER!" James said, bringing Cordell back from his thoughts.
"Sorry, umm I didn't even know she was engaged."
"Is she not wearing a ring?"
"No not that…not that I saw"
"Wow.You would think she would be after she is marrying one of the top lawyers in Texas."
"Yeah, you would think that," Cordell said with a fake smile.
Captain James could tell that Cordell was thinking too much about this because his mind was beginning to wonder.
"Walker, look I know you and Krisa have history. I know she ran away all those years ago because of reasons…"
"She ran because of me…"
"What?"
"Yeah, turns out she was in love with me."
"Wow…"
"Yeah.. she uhh… she wanted to tell me but…"
"You were in love with Emily"
"Right"
James nodded his head in understanding. He knew a little about Krisa. Cordell talked about her sometimes . He just didn't know everything but he knew enough to know she was someone Cordell cared about.
"Look man, I don't know what to tell you about her. If she's moved on and found someone else then maybe you guys patch things up be friends again"
"Maybe.. I don't.. I kinda…"
"Cordell, things between you and Krisa will work out in time. Don't push her. "
"I don't wanna push her away again… but I can't be who she wants to be."
"Maybe just wants her old friend back. Nothing more"
"Yeah maybe"
After spending the afternoon riding with Bohman and having lunch with Liam and Abby. Krisa headed home to get ready to meet up with Cordell at SidenStep. As she was driving home a song came on the radio that reminded her of Cordell.
" I was just thinking about that weekend out on Cumberland lake and that one time in Baton Rouge when we made out in the rain. When we went chasing, Falling started on the hills at your daddy's farm. Don't be sorry for calling me up right out of the blue. I was just thinking about you"
Krisa smiled as she listened to the song it reminded her of when she and Cordell had been close like that. Just as the last few bars of the song ended Krisa was pulling into the driveway of her house. Getting out of the car she went inside humming.
"Daddy?" Krisa called out to see if her dad was home.
"Hey baby girl, how was your day out at the Walkers? Boham, show you the new horses?" Tommy asked his daughter as walked into the living room from the kitchen.
"It was good. And yeah he did still can't believe he has chopper after all these years"
"Best horse Bohman got. So going out to meet Cordell for drinks?"
"Yeah I said I would daddy."
"So off to meet Cordell for drinks?"
"Yeah. I'm scared about this…"
"Baby Girl it'll fine now go talk to your boy.for all our sakes"
Krisa just laughed as walked upstairs to her old room to change. Humming the song that had been on the radio. Krisa changed into her favorite dark blue shirt and jeans. Slipping in her black boots she grabbed her bag and headed downstairs.
"I'll be back later, daddy." Krisa called from the front as she went to go into the car and head out. On the way to the side step the same song from earlier came on the radio again.
Laughing to herself Krisa couldn't help but think that maybe someone was trying to tell her something. It didn't take her long to pull into the side step parking lot. Looking around she spotted Cordells truck. Getting out of the car she headed inside. The place still hadn't changed much.
Lost in her thoughts she had realized that she had walked straight to the bar. Not paying attention.
"Hey though you wouldn't show" Cordell said as he got up to greet Krisa.
"Hey, said I would be here"
"After this morning I wasn't sure you would come," Cordell said, pouring Krisa a glass of whiskey.
"It's not a date." Krisa said as she took a sip of the whiskey.
"Yeah I know so how is Houston?"
"Different It's not Austin for sure"
"This is home right."
"Yeah this is home"
Cordell smiled hearing her say that. He couldn't help but look at his old friend. She had grown up, that was for sure.
"Hey do you remember when we were like six maybe seven and that metro shower happened?"
"I remember that, Cordell you didn't ask me here to talk about the past did you?"
Cordell just chuckled while sipping his whiskey. He could see Gerri from across the room watching them. Krisa noticed this too and just smiled at the other woman.
"You're right."
"So why are we here then?"
"There was something I wanted to ask you about."
"What is that?"
Cordell reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter from all those years ago. Krisa's eyes went wide when she saw it. That ment Abby had given it to him recently from the looks of it. Sighing, Krisa took another sip of her drink.
"Abby gave me this"
"You were never supposed to see that."
"I know but Abby said I should read it. So you leaving was because of me." Cordell said as his green eyes turned a dark green.
"It was part of it."
"Was Emily the other part of it?" Cordell asked a lump in his throat
"NO! God Cordell no! Why would you think that"
Cordell didn't want to talk anymore about the past. All it seemed to do was upset both of them. Taking a long swig of his drink he changed the subject.
"So tell me about Starson! His dad is the big hot shot attorney in Houston right? How did you meet him?"
"Matthew was helping a friend of mine with her divorce. I met him at a party for my friend's company. He and I just kinda clicked"
"So how long have you been a couple?"
"Almost four years. He purposed on my birthday last year"
"Wow that's… that's amazing so are you getting married here or in Houston?"
"Houston, his family basically is handling everything. His sister is a bridal consultant."
"Wow so is that why you were able to finally come home?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking or maybe hoping to try and convince daddy to move to Houston with me. I don't like him being here alone."
"His not, Kris you know that me , my family we look out for Tommy always"
"Cordell…"
"Krisa"
"There we go again fighting in the saddle" Krisa laughed as she poured herself another glass.
"Always"
"I missed you Cordell."
"I'm sorry we lost touch Kris I really iam"
"I should have called after Emily passed. Cordell hell I should have been here."
"You're here now, how long are you gonna be in town for?" Cordell asked, pouring himself another drink.
Krisa paused for a moment to take a sip of her drink. That was when Cordell noticed something. It was in her eyes or maybe a trick of the light but she seemed almost worried about something. As if there was something she didn't want to say but really wanted to say.
"Six weeks. Matthew and I are supposed to meet up here in about another week or so. His working a case here local and he hasn't meet daddy yet"
"Wow, that's…. that's great… I mean wait four years almost and he has yet to meet Tommy."
"Yeah I feel bad daddy hasn't met him yet"
Now Cordell knew something wasn't right. Krisa would never get married to someone before Tommy got the chance to meet him. Something was really off about this whole thing. He needed to talk to Tommy.
"Hey so I was thinking why don't you and Tommy come to Sunday dinner like the old days"
"I don't know Cowboy. I don't think that's a good idea"
"Oh..okay ..maybe another time before you leave town at least.
"Maybe"
"Kris…"
"Yeah Cordi…"
"It's good to have you home"
"Nice to be home"
Cordell smiled as he finished his drink. It was nice to have his old friend back home again.
A little while later after having promised Cordell she would think about Sunday dinner. Krisa had a funny feeling looking down at her engagement ring she just getting into her car when her cell phone rang and the I'd read "matthew"
"Hey babe"
"Hey sweetie, what are you doing?"
"Just had a drinks with an old friends about to head home"
"Old friend huh?"
"Just an old friend babe"
"Would that friend happen to be a Texas Ranger"
"Matt! What the hell! You can't be following me"
"I'm not babe just teasing. Sorry to spook you"
"That wasn't funny Matt jezz"
"Sorry babe just miss you, so how is Austin?"
"Good I miss you to"
"How is your dad?"
"He's okay he just.. I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet about the move"
"Babe you need to"
"I will he… I went over to visit friends today. I'll talk to him tomorrow okay"
"Yeah you better"
"What does that mean?"
"You should know. You forget you have six weeks until your mine"
"I'm starting to wish I could tell the real reason I came home. I hate lying to everyone. Even Cordell."
"You tell that Texas Ranger anything and your dad doesn't see you again ever understand"
"I gotta go babe"
"Goodnight sweetheart"
Krisa hung up the phone quickly. She hated this. Putting her head on the steering wheel she released a giant breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She didn't know how much longer she could keep the rouse up. Only if she wanted to protect her dad and Cordell she had to do what Matthew wanted. Otherwise she would lose everyone she loved and cared about.
Starting the car she pulled out of the sidestep parking lot and headed home. Dread played in her mind as she drove back to the place that for now was her safe haven. But for how much longer she didn't know.
