Angels In Red (18 page)

Jenna jumped to her feet the second the door closed behind him. “Can you believe my father? How could he do such a thing? For all he knew, my sister was out on the street with no money, and nowhere to go.”

Jack stood and pulled her into his arms, squeezing her hard. “It’s all going to be okay now. Don’t give your father another thought. You’ve found your sister, that’s all that really matters
.”

She shook her head and gazed into his eyes. “I love you.” She lightly kissed his lips before pulling away. “Can you believe his last name is Meed? I almost fell to the ground when he introduced himself.”

“It is a pretty common name. I was just as taken aback by it as you were.” Jack walked over to the water cooler and poured them both a glass.

“Thank you for asking him about it. I don’t think I could have formulated the words at that moment.”

He smiled and gave her a drink just as the door opened and Daniel strode back into the office.

“I hope that wasn’t too long. You can pick up your copy on the way out.” He returned to his seat.

“Do you think I can see her?” Her heart pounded so hard she imagined they heard it. “That is, if you feel it’s a good idea.” She returned to her seat and slipped her hand in Jack’s, her damp palm against his warmth oddly comforting.

“I’ve thought about this and discussed it with her doctors and primary caregiver.” Daniel crossed his legs. “If we were to introduce you to her as a sister, it would only confuse her. She tends to become very emotional with sudden change. She’s lived the same routine most of her life, surrounded by familiar faces. When your mother stopped coming, she took it very hard.”

My poor sister
.  The thought of her suffering such a loss alone almost brought her to tears.

“I think if we were to bring you in as a visitor during arts and crafts time, and without making a big production of it, you could approach her, expressing interest in what she’s creating. Now that we’ve met, however, my fear is that she’ll see the strong resemblance to your mother and not know how to process it.”

Disappointment at not being able to see her now sparked her determination to see her sister, and she rose. “What if I don’t approach her? I’d be happy to see her from afar for today. We can work on the rest later.  I promise you, this is only the first of
many
visits.”

He nodded. “I think that is an excellent idea, and if she happens to come to you, I guess we’ll just follow her lead. Give me a few minutes to find out exactly where she is.”

The second the door closed behind him, she clenched her hands and stomped her feet, so excited she wanted to shout. “I’m actually going to see my sister. Can you believe this is really happening?”

Jack chuckled. “She’s a very lucky woman to have you for a sister.”

Jenna froze. “What if she doesn’t like me?”

Jack had caught a glimpse at the amount of Jenna’s Promissory note. He’d never given much thought to how much money she’d come into. It must be a considerable inheritance to give away that much without batting an eyelash. Despite being financially stable on his own, it made him feel small, maybe even inadequate, in comparison.

She’d been so happy with everything…he didn’t have the heart to mention his unease. Not to mention, there was something about Daniel Meed that didn’t sit right with him. It wasn’t one thing in particular, more like a bad vibe. There was no reason to believe the man would lie about not having family in the area, but on the same note, there was no reason not to doubt whether he spoke the truth. Still, it was a pretty big coincidence not to at least wary.

Before heading back home, I’ll be sure to let Charles in on my misgivings.

Jenna’s excitement was highly infectious. He’d never seen her like this, but he liked it.
Very much.
They were told her sister was in the barn, feeding the horses being one of her daily chores.

Jack paused at the barn doors. “Are you ready?”

She expelled a shaky breath. “I think so.”

Daniel put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t be scared, your sister’s name suits her perfectly, you’ll see.”

He could’ve sworn the guy cast him a sly grin as his hand remained on Jenna.

Hands off, buddy.
Jack winced as she tightened her hold on his own, squeezing his fingers together. By the time he looked back, Daniel was in the doorway that opened to a dozen empty stalls. The back entry stood open wide where a few people wandered about amongst the horses in a fenced area.

Maybe I’m over reacting. Could it be a little green monster?

Angel wasn’t hard to spot; she had the same captivating emerald green eyes he’d seen in pictures of their mother Jenna had shown him last night. And she definitely didn’t look ten years older than Jenna. In fact, she seemed younger. She had the tell-tale features of Down syndrome, a small nose and round face. Instead of small, close set eyes, though, Angel’s were almond shaped, and her shoulder-length hair was a darker red than Jenna’s. Short, stubby fingers held the reins to one of the horses.

“Do you see her?” Jenna nudged his side. “She’s beautiful,” she whispered close to his ear.

“Why don’t you start here and stroll leisurely in her direction. Just smile and observe, maybe ask a few questions about the horses on your way. I’ll be right here if you need me.”

Her body trembled beneath his hand as Jack guided her over to where one of the smaller children brushed a horse’s side.

“Try and relax. We don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.”

Jenna mouthed,
Thank you.

He took a step back as she approached a little blonde girl and squatted to her level.

“Hello.” Jenna ran a hand down the horse’s smooth belly. “Does he have a name?”

The girl, no more than ten-years-old, turned to look at her with the most beautiful, ice-blue eyes. She showed no sign of fear.  “His name is Snowflake.”

A smile tilted her lips as her shoulders shook slightly in amusement at the little girl’s choice of name for the chocolate-brown mare. “That’s a pretty name. My name is Jenna. Do you have a name?”

The girl giggled, bringing two knotted hands to her mouth. “Of course I do, silly. It’s Sweet Pea.”

Jack’s heart swelled as he watched the two interact, all the while keeping a wary eye on Daniel.

“I’m very happy to meet you, Sweet Pea.” She offered her hand, obviously touched by the child’s look of shock before she gently placed her deformed hand in Jenna’s.

He turned to see if her sister paid any attention to Jenna. Angel had stopped filling the troughs and stood frozen, bucket dangling from her hand. Confusion filled her eyes as she stared at Jenna.

He casually stepped forward and tapped Jenna’s shoulder. “Angel is staring at you, and appears to be pretty confused.”

“Is she looking at me right now?”

“She hasn’t stopped.”

Angel’s stone-face gave no hint of how she was feeling.

Jenna moved slowly, walking toward her sister without actually looking at her, but Jack pulled her back to stand beside him. “I think we should stay here. She seems kind of freaked out.”

Daniel rushed to Angel’s side, speaking to her quietly until she finally gave him her full attention.

“What do you think they’re saying?” Her body vibrated against him, and her words came out a tad too fast.

“My guess is she’s a little spooked by how much you and her mother are alike.”  He rubbed her arm. “It’s not going to happen overnight. Remember what Daniel said, we can’t push her.”

“Okay,” she conceded. “I’ll let it go for today, but I’m not giving up.”

“Of course, nobody’s asking you to.”

Her disappointment was almost palpable. He tried to appear positive, yet empathetic to her feelings. Jack slipped a hand across her back and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. They walked in silence through to the other side of the barn where John waited at the car with the door open.

“Don’t be sad, Jenna.” He stroked her hair. “Be happy you’ve found your sister, and at some point, I truly believe you will become the best of friends.” Her skin was cool against his lips as he pressed them to her forehead. “Your mother would be very proud and happy about this.”

“You’re right. I’m being selfish.” The tremor in her voice told how dejected she was.

“Give yourself a break, babe. You’ve been through a hell of a lot in a short period of time. You’re entitled to feel whatever you’re feeling.” He tilted her chin up. “Everything is going to work out. Before long, we’ll be home, sitting in front of a crackling fire. We can forget about everything, at least for one night. All there will be is you and me. How does that sound?”

“Mmm.” Jenna snuggled up to him and laid her head against his chest.

The slight frown to her lips confirmed his suspicion…she was nowhere near as convinced as she pretended to be.

Jack found Charles polishing the hood of a most impressive muscle car. He whistled long and low. “Nice ride. Chevy right?”

The other man wiped his sweaty brow, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Yup. She’s a 1969 Chevelle Yenko.” He gave the shiny hood one last swipe with a shammy. “You’re back sooner than I thought you’d be. How did it go?”

“Well, we did get to see Angelina.”

“Really? I bet Jenna is over the moon. Does the sister look like her?”

He shook his head. “She has the same eyes as their mother, but unfortunately, we didn’t get to actually talk to her.”

Charles set his rag on the midnight black hood, offering him his full attention. “Why not?”

He went on to tell him about their visit and how Angelina reacted. “Daniel believes it will take time for her to accept Jenna in her life. Right now, she’s pretty agitated, so we thought it best to leave her alone for today.”

“How did our gal take all of this?”

“She’s putting on a brave front, but I can tell she’s pretty disappointed.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he sat on a bench.

“Poor kid, so what happens now?”

Jack shrugged. “I guess we go home as planned and figure out what to do next.”

The big man strolled over and sat beside him. He put a hand on his shoulder. “I know how much you want her back home with you, but do you think it’s what she needs right now?”

He frowned; not liking the direction their conversation was headed.

“I mean, the poor girl just buried her father and found a sister she knew nothing about. If I know her, she won’t give up on creating a bond with Angelina. She can’t do that from way out there in the middle of nowhere.”

His gut clenched, and he thread his fingers through his hair. He knew Jenna would come home with him if he pushed the issue, but…
Do I have the right to do so?

“I can’t stay here any longer, Charles. I have my dogs and a new litter to be trained soon.”

“I know it’s not what you want to hear, but maybe Jenna needs to stay close to her sister for now.”

Jack knew he was right, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. “Maybe, but I need to ask you to do something for me before I decide what to do.”

“Name it.”

“We learned the head honcho on the ranch goes by the name Daniel
Meed
.” Jack carefully accessed his reaction.

Charles shook his head. “Shit. Are you saying he’s related to that asshole Howard?”

He shrugged. “I asked, and he said no, that he has no family in the area.” Jack rolled his neck. “There’s something about the guy. I get a real bad feeling about him. Do you think you could look into it for me? Jenna says she agrees it’s a coincidence, but I have to wonder if she said that for my benefit. I don’t want her to know about my suspicions as she’s been through enough.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more. I promise if there’s something shady about this character, I’ll find it.” Charles offered his hand. “You can count on me.”

Jack shook it before wandering off, deep in thought.

I know I can count on him...if I didn’t, there’s no way in hell I’d leave here without Jenna.