Touch the Sky

Chapter 9

Asa tried not to be obvious about it. But after he returned from his visit at Delilah's farm, he watched Lil' Foster curiously to see how long it was going to take the man to take off down the mountain. The big man used his injury as an excuse to stay in his cabin. But rather than resting, what he was actually doing was working on tanning the hide from the bear he killed. No one else seemed to think anything of it. Lil' Foster was known for his skill at fur tanning. And a bear hide was valuable by Farrell standards. But Asa had his suspicions about what Foster was planning to do with his trophy. And those suspicions were confirmed when the bear fur was fully cured.

"Goin' hunting," Lil' Foster announced, stomping through the village with the bear fur rolled up and strapped to the top of his pack. To the man's credit, he was at least giving the impression that he was telling the truth. Lil' Foster had his longbow and a large hunting knife strapped to his belt. But Asa had no illusions that the man was going to return with any game. His cousin was after something. But that something certainly wasn't a wild turkey or a deer. Asa followed Lil' Foster long enough to confirm that he was heading down the mountain at a rapid pace. And then he returned to the village to look for G'win.

Delilah sipped her coffee, her back porch swing swaying slightly with the movements of her leg. Over the last week, she'd developed a new morning routine. Instead of drinking her coffee alone at her kitchen table and trying not to think about how much she missed her husband, she started drinking it on the back porch. Wrapped in a thick quilt, she sipped her sweetened brew and stared up at Shay Mountain.

Asa seemed certain that she hadn't seen the last of his giant cousin. But Delilah wasn't so sure. It had been over a week now. And there was still no sign of Foster. The more days that passed, the more sure Delilah was that she was correct in her belief that she was never going to see him again. But that didn't stop her from thinking about the way his hands felt stroking over the naked curve of her hip. Being in Foster's arms made her feel alive in a way she'd never felt in her life. Not even with her husband, though she wasn't sure if she was ready to admit that to herself. Even if she never saw the man again, she wouldn't give up the moments they shared. Not for anything. And though she longed for him, it wasn't in the same way she longed to see her husband again. This longing had an undercurrent of hopefulness rather than despair.

Delilah sighed, hesitating before she finished the last sip of coffee in her cup. Once it was gone, she'd have to actually start her day. And she was rather enjoying the quiet thoughtful moment she was having alone on her porch. Before she could rise from the swing, Remy was up and darting around the side of the large white house. The dog had much better ears than her. But a moment later, Delilah heard the sound of a car pulling up her driveway.

Setting her empty mug on the kitchen counter, Delilah headed for the front door. She peeked out the window first, rolling her eyes and groaning when she saw the all too familiar police cruiser in her drive. "There goes my peaceful morning," she grumbled under her breath.

There was no need to call Remy inside. This particular cruiser didn't belong to Wade Houghtong or any of the other Blackburg police officers. It belonged to her ex brother-in-law, Raymond Tate. He worked at the sheriff's station a few towns over. As much as he annoyed her, Delilah would almost rather it was Wade Houghton in her driveway. Even he was a more welcome sight than her late husband's younger brother. And the sinking feeling in her stomach grew stronger as the man climbed out of his cruiser and adjusted his belt so that it sat slightly lower on his paunchy stomach.

"Hi Ray," Delilah said, offering the man a very insincere smile as she stepped out onto her front porch. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Naw," he replied, skirting around Remy as he headed for the porch. "I just came by to see how you were gettin' on. I was worried. You haven't been answering your phone. I left you several messages." He stared up at her, adjusting his hat. He didn't appear to be on duty. But he was still wearing the sheriff department issue felt hat. Whether it was because he liked the self imposed authority it gave him, or just wanted to cover his receding hairline, Delilah didn't know and didn't care.

"I've been busy," Delilah said. It wasn't a total lie. The farm kept her busy pretty much all the time. And she'd been gone for a few days taking Foster up the mountain. But that wasn't why she hadn't returned Ray's phone calls. She didn't return his calls because she didn't want to talk to him.

Delilah felt herself bristling internally as the man clomped up her front porch steps and reached for her screen door, holding it open for her. Not only was he acting like he owned the place, he was inviting himself inside. And he was practically ordering her inside with him. She understood that this was Ray's childhood home. He and Jonathon grew up on this farm together. And that's why he felt empowered to enter the place without being invited. But it was still annoying. And after Delilah walked past him into the house, she noticed that he was quick to click the door shut with Remy still outside. Being alone with him inside the house made her feel uneasy.

As Raymond poured himself a cup of coffee from her pot, Delilah fought back the urge to ask him what in the actual fuck he thought he was doing. It was only coffee. But it was her coffee. And her coffee pot. Delilah took a deep breath and let it out as slowly as she could. Her coffee pot wasn't worth a fight. She lost a husband. But she wasn't the only one grieving. Ray lost his only brother. She felt that that earned him a little more leeway than she would usually hand out to such a pompous asshole.

When Ray was done pouring himself a cup of coffee from her pot, he refilled Delilah's mug and handed it to her. She took it with a brief nod of thanks and headed for the kitchen table where she kept the sugar.

"You shouldn't put so much sugar in there," he scolded. Delilah rolled her eyes as she added an extra scoop. Then she headed for the fridge and got the creamer out. Given that, out of the two of them, Ray was the one that could stand to lose a few pounds, she really didn't think he had any business telling her how she ought to take her coffee. But she kept her opinion about his overstep and his weight to herself.

"Have you thought any more about my offer?," he asked.

Delilah snapped the fridge shut and spun around to face him. She didn't realize until he spoke that he'd moved so close to her while her back was turned. He reeked of cheap aftershave and old spice cologne. The last time she'd seen him, he was sporting more of a full beard. But he'd shaved it off since then, leaving only a large bushy mustache above his upper lip.

"You know this place is too much for you to take care of on your own," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "I don't know why you're being so difficult."

"I've been doing just fine," Delilah countered. "...and I just hired someone from town that's going to start helping me out." Sally Ann hadn't officially accepted her job offer yet. But Ray didn't need to know that. And the young woman did stop by a few days earlier to help her work on the garden. So Delilah was hopeful that she'd see more of the young woman soon.

"There's no need for you to hire someone when I can do the work for free," Ray said, his nostrils flaring slightly as he moved further into her personal space. "And I don't want a bunch of day laborers and strange men hanging around here. It's not safe."

Delilah couldn't laugh at the irony of the situation. But she did find it rather amusing that of all the strange men that had been hanging around her house in the last few days, the only man that was making her uncomfortable was him. For a moment, Delilah considered telling Ray that she'd hired a woman to help her around the farm. But she quickly decided that it was none of his goddamn business. And not only was Ray butting into her business, in an offhand way he was also degrading her deceased husband's habit of hiring drifters and homeless people to help out around the place. Even if he didn't need any work done, Jonathan would find something small for them to do. He always said earning their money instead of begging for it gave people a sense of worth.

"It's none of your business who I hire," Delilah snipped, backing him up slightly by lifting her cup of coffee to her lips.

"Don't be like that," Ray said, his voice going from authoritative to sad and hurt in a flash. Delilah sighed. She knew he was being manipulative. But it was hard for her not to feel empathy for him when she knew some of the sadness in his voice was probably real. "I understand you needed some time after Johnny died. I miss him too. But it's been six months. No one will judge you for moving on."

Ray lifted his hand, gently cupping her face as he began to lean in closer to her. Delilah placed her free hand firmly on his chest and pushed him back. Her coffee mug clinked as she set it on the counter, sloshing a bit of the hot liquid out of the cup in her haste.

"Look Ray," she said, trying to keep her tone as calm as she could. She really wanted to scream at him to keep his fucking hands off her. But she was hoping not to escalate the situation to that point. "What happened between us after Jonathan died was a mistake. I wasn't in my right mind. I never meant to hurt you."

"You never meant to hurt me?," he repeated, his voice now laced with venom. "My fucking wife left me Delilah!"

Delilah's eyes widened slightly. His audacity was truly unbelievable. Ray's wife divorced him and took the kids. But Delilah had a sneaking suspicion that she left him because he was a condescending asshole. Not because he offered to drive his brother's grieving widow home from the funeral and fucked her. Though that probably didn't help, he'd been having marital problems since as long as Delilah had known him.

"If you wanted to stay married, maybe you shouldn't have cheated on your wife!," Delilah countered. "That's on you, Ray! Not me!"

With that Delilah pushed out of the corner of the kitchen he had her backed into. First she was going to let Remy in. Then she was going to kick Ray out. And she had a good mind to go upstairs and get Jonathan's shotgun if he needed a little extra motivation to get his ass moving. But in reality, Delilah only made it about two steps before Ray grabbed her arm and jerked her around to face him. He grasped her hair with his other hand, forcing her head back as he pressed his lips down onto hers. She struggled against his grip. But he was nearly twice her size.

"Don't pretend you don't like it," he whispered with a sickening laugh. "As soon as I get my dick in you, you'll be begging for more. The whole town knows you're nothing but a little Farrell slut. Just like your mother."

Delilah narrowed her eyes at him. And since he accused her of being a Farrell, she did the most feral thing she could think to do. She hocked back a giant wad of phlegm and spit right in his face.

"Fuck you!," she cursed.

Delilah heard the sound of his skin on hers before she felt it. Her face rocked to the side as Ray slapped her. Then the side of her face exploded in pain. Delilah felt herself being lifted off the ground. And a moment later, she felt herself being lowered down onto the kitchen table as Ray began tugging and ripping at her clothes. Ray's hands were on her, the weight of his torso pressing her down against the table. She was clawing and slapping at him. But she knew her struggles weren't going to do her much good. And then suddenly he was gone.

Delilah sat up. She could really only see clearly out of the eye on the side of her face that wasn't slapped into next week. And it took her a second to even process what was happening. She had no idea where the man came from or how long he'd been there. It felt like Foster pretty much materialized out of thin air in the middle of her kitchen. His long hair was loose and wild around his head and the decorative vest he was wearing put his muscular arms on full display. To Delilah, he looked the same way he looked when she helped him outside that bar. Like some sort of wild angel.

The moment he appeared, Foster immediately started beating the ever loving shit out of her late husband's brother. It wasn't until Foster threw the man into the wall that Delilah screamed. Foster was going to beat Ray to death. He was going to kill him. And that wouldn't end well for either of them. Ray was a disgusting pig. But he was also still a cop.

"FOSTER!," Delilah screamed. "STOP!" She hopped down from the table and darted in, putting herself between Foster and the object of his wrath and pushing him back. "Stop before you kill him." Foster let her back him all the way to the table. Then he leaned down, his fingers gently grazing over the side of her face where Ray slapped her.

"Are you alright?," he asked. Delilah nodded. She wasn't alright. But physically she was going to be fine. And she assumed that's what he meant. Foster pulled her against the broad expanse of his chest, holding her like she was something delicate and precious. It wasn't until he released his grip and began to move past her that she grasped ahold of him.

"Don't kill him," she warned. "He's a cop."

"A law man?," Foster asked, obviously not quite sure what 'cop' meant. Delilah nodded. "Some law man," Foster grumbled as he approached the man. Delilah wasn't sure what damage Foster did to Ray's body. But he'd most definitely broken his nose. There was blood running out of and turning his bushy mustache dark. Foster gripped Ray by the collar of his shirt like he was a naughty kitten rather than a grown man that was probably at least a decade older than him. And Delilah watched as her giant savior walked Ray all the way out to his cruiser and shoved him into the driver's seat.

"Don't you ever come back here," Foster warned before he slammed the car door shut. Remy added a few menacing barks to his words before the large dog followed Foster back up to the house. Delilah met him on the porch. And she wrapped her arm around his waist as they watched until Ray started his cruiser up and disappeared all the way down her long winding driveway.