Chapter 5

            Eighteen months earlier . . .

            Ray was tired of being in the dark. He wanted to know what was going on with his wife and he wanted to know now.

            For the past six months, Lillian has been acting strangely and out of character. She was more argumentative and unsatisfied. No matter what Ray did it wasn’t enough or what she wanted. It was like she was a totally different person. Also, Lillian would disappear hours at a time with no believable explanation to where she had been. Recently, Lillian had expressed aspirations of being a professional country singer. Ray didn’t have a problem with it per se but it was hard to make it in the music business no matter how good a person could sing. And they had two children that needed to be cared for. He had tried telling Lillian that, but she had taken it the wrong way. She accused him of trying to stifle her dreams.

            “Why are you trying to keep me in a box? I’m a great singer and you know it.  And the boys are practically grown. They don’t need me underfoot like they did when they were born,” she had whined. “You just don’t want me to do something that doesn’t involve you and the family. Why can’t you let me experiment and be myself anymore?”

            Ray had tried to explain that he wasn’t trying to keep her from growing as a person but she wouldn’t listen. She had grabbed her purse and left. She hadn’t returned until the next morning. When he had asked where she had been, she had said she had drove into Helena, Montana’s state capital, and gotten a hotel room for the night.

            Now she was gone again. This time Ray had come in from working the range to find their thirteen and fifteen-year-old boys at home alone, rummaging the fridge trying to make themselves sandwiches for dinner.

            That’s what had really set him off. The boys – and him have had sandwiches for lunch for over a month. There was a time Lillian actually cooked something for lunch. He had called one of the ranch hands to take his sons to the diner for dinner and Ray set off to find his damn wife.

            He had called her twice and texted her three times. No answer. It hadn’t been the first time she hadn’t answered him but this time he wasn’t going to tolerate it. He had drove around town looking for her. After an hour and a half, Ray finally ran into Marty, the local drunk. But just because he was a drunk didn’t mean he didn’t know what was going on.

            “All right, Ray,” Marty slurred on the bench in the downtown area. “I’ll level with ya since you asked. If Lillian isn’t in town, then she’s probably in Three Forks.”

            Three Forks was thirty-minutes away. “What would she be doing there?”

            Marty exhaled. “Look, man, don’t shoot the messenger. All I say is you can probably find her at Thames Motel.”

            Ray stilled as he stared at the drunk. “A motel,” he sounded out slowly.

            “Yeah,” Marty slurred as he stood.  “Just don’t kill the idiot. You do have two youngins to think about. Won’t do any good if -”

            Ray didn’t even remember getting into the truck much less driving to Three Forks. He plugged the name of the motel into his GPS. Within minutes, his Dodge Ram roared into the motel parking lot. He slammed the brakes in front of the office. He hopped out and walked inside.

            “May I help you?” the scrawny boy behind the desk asked.

            “Yes, I need to know what room Lillian Steele is in,” Ray said.

            “I’m sorry, sir. Per our policy, I can’t give out a guest’s room number without prior permission from –”

            Ray grabbed the pimply faced man-child by his collar and pulled him about one-fourth over the desk. “Does it look like I’m in the mood for your fucking bullshit policy! And judging by the neighborhood and the shitty looking building and parking lot, this place rents rooms by the fucking hour! Now tell me what room she’s in or I’ll clock you so hard you won’t wake up until next week, you little shit!” Ray let him go.

            The trembling clerk quickly began typing on the computer.  “Um . . . we don’t have a Lillian Steele registered.”

            Ray grunted as he thought. “Try Lillian Hutchinson.” It was her maiden name. If that didn’t work, Ray would just kick in every door at the place until he found her.

            The clerk, still rattled, typed again. “We do have Hutchinson. Room 7. It’s on the first floor.” The motel was a two-story building.

            “Key,” Ray demanded through gritted teeth.

            “Sir, please, I –”

            “Give me a key, damn you, or I’ll-!”

            The clerk rushed to the side of the desk. Sweat sparkled from his temples as his slender hand shook while he programed a keycard. He rushed back to Ray and gave it to him.

            Ray tore out of there, running pass room after room until he got to room seven. He inserted the card and pushed the door open.

            A chain stopped him from pushing it open all the way.

            “What the hell?” a male voice said with confusion.

            Ray went into overdrive. He kicked the door open.

            Lillian screamed as – his brother rushed from atop of her. She scrambled to pull the covers over her large breasts.  Luke, his brother, starred at him in nothing but a pair of green boxers.

            “Now, Ray, stay calm. I know . . . this is  . . .” Luke stammered. His brown hair was damp with sweat like he had just finished a working out – or cumming.

            Ray rounded the bed.

            “Ray,” Luke said in a shaky tone. “Now, Ray . . . Ray – ah!”

            Ray punched him in the face, sending Luke flying back into a chair next to the window. He didn’t give the bastard a chance to take a breath. Ray was on him like flies on a horse’s ass. He punched him again and put his hands around his neck.

            “Ray!” Lillian shrieked. “Ray! Get off of him! Ray!”

            Her shrills faded away as red encircled the outer layer of his eyes. All he was focusing on was Luke as he let the rage takeover.

            Then Ray felt both his arms being grabbed. He was being pulled off of Luke. Who would dare stop him now? He glared at Luke who was trying to catch his breath as he was being pulled away.

            “Stop it, Ray! That’s enough!”

            Ray turned to his right. As his eyes adjusted a little, he could see it was his youngest brother, Jesse. He turned to his left to see . . . one of the ranch hands.

            Ray looked around. Somehow, a lamp and a chair got turned over in the floor. Lillian had put on a pink buttoned down shirt but her legs and feet were bare. Her mouth hung open like she didn’t believe what she was seeing. Her luscious blonde hair was tousled. Her brilliant blue eyes were wide, shocked as hell. Luke was still coughing and holding his throat.  His nose was bleeding and his jaw looked like it was swelling up. Ray tried to pull away from them. He wasn’t finished with Luke.

            “Stop it, boss.  You’ll end up killing him,” the ranch hand pleaded.

            That was his goal.

            “Let’s get him outside,” Jesse said.

            They pulled and pushed Ray to the door. Before they got him outside, Ray shouted, “You’re dead to me, Luke!  If I ever lay eyes on you again, I’ll kill you!”