BIG SKY SECRETS 01: Final Exposure (17 page)

And the silence in the car was deafening—though the expression on Max’s face needed no words.

“Are you hungry?” Jack smiled and cut a glance toward his nephew in the rearview mirror. “I’m sure there must be some good places to eat in Cody.”

The child mulishly turned his head to stare out the window at the incredible red bluffs that soared above the highway on both sides.

“We’ve got another good hour to go, and then I think we’ll stop, anyway. What about hamburgers? We haven’t seen a fast-food place since we got to Lost Falls.”

“I want caramel rolls.”

Not the answer Jack had hoped for, but at least the
boy had broken his silence. “I’m sure we can find those, too.”

“Not someplace else. Where Charlie and Erin live. And the pony and Iz-bell.”

When Jack glanced back again and saw the tears glistening down Max’s cheeks, he pulled over into a scenic overlook, got out and opened the back door, knowing exactly how the tyke felt but feeling more at a loss than ever. What could he say that could fix this?

Nothing.

He had to go back to Dallas. They both did, so Ted’s mess could be straightened out once and for all. So there’d be a decent income in the future and a secure, comfortable life for Max.

Max was crying in earnest now, the sobs shaking through him and tears pouring down his cheeks.

Jack unbuckled the car seat and Max launched himself into his arms, then rested his wet cheek against Jack’s neck. The child’s sobs ricocheted through Jack’s soul as he embraced him.

A surge of love and protectiveness seemed to come from Jack’s very bones as Max melted against him for the first time—with no reservation, trusting him to make things right. “I’m so sorry that you’re this sad.”

“I—I wanna go back.
Please.
I wanna go back.”

The counselor had been dead wrong about this trip. Instead of providing a chance for healing and
bonding, the poor kid had become attached to a new place and new people, only to be uprooted yet again.

Jack closed his eyes and held Max tighter. “I know it’s hard, buddy. But we have a house back in Texas, remember? And when we get home, we’ll find a puppy and a pony there, too. Texas has
lots
of them, I promise. And there are great preschools, so you’ll have friends, and we’ll find someone nice like Isabelle.”

“But not Charlie. And not E-Erin.”

The boy was right on that score.

Except that Erin had made it crystal clear that their departure was just an early end to the lease agreement. Nothing more. And though he’d figured he needed just a few weeks back home to take care of business, he’d come to realize that maybe a complete break would be the better course—before it hurt even more to leave.

After Elana’s abrupt ending of what he’d thought was a lifetime commitment, he knew when to cut his losses and run.

“We can’t go back to Erin’s, buddy,” Jack said gently.

“You can turn around.”

He made it sound so simple. “We have to go to Texas. For my job and our house. Remember the swimming pool in back? And the big trees? You have that nice blue bedroom with the Sponge Bob bedspread, and all the toys.”

It was hard enough to try to explain. But when Max sighed with utter defeat and silently laid his head against Jack’s shoulder, it felt like the twist of a knife aimed straight at his heart.

God…I don’t talk to You that much. But You were there with me when I begged for Your help—I could feel Your presence.

And now I’m asking for one more thing. Help me to do what’s right for this child. Help me be the right kind of parent for him and to make the right choices. Because I know I can’t do this alone.

He stood still for a moment, willing God to give him some sort of answer. But when none came, he carefully put Max back in his car seat and buckled him in.

And then he headed for Dallas.

T
he days turned into weeks, then a month rolled past.

Erin methodically went about her business at the store, welcoming the new customers who had heard about the reopening, thanks to the news articles about Patrick and the time he’d spent hiding in the area.

But despite being busier now, the empty house next to the store echoed the empty place in her heart, and she hadn’t been able to bring herself to move there. Not just yet.

“I’m done sweeping,” Ollie said proudly.

“You always do a great job,” she said with a smile. “And now that you’re done, there’s someone in the café who’d like to talk to both of us. Is that okay? You can have your coffee and rolls while we visit.”

Ollie shook his head vehemently. “Bad lady,” he whispered, glancing at the front door as if debating making a run for it.
“Bad.
I saw her.”

“She’s a social worker, Ollie.”

“She tried to take me away.” He gripped the broom handle tighter, his hands trembling. “Won’t go. I
won’t.”

“It’s okay, I promise. We’ll just talk.” She took the broom from him and set it aside, then led him to a table in the café where Betsy Peters waited, her hands folded on top of several files. The silver-haired county social worker had met with Erin to discuss Ollie’s situation several times during the past two weeks, and with luck, this meeting would go well.

He jerked to a halt when he saw her. “Not going,” he said, his voice rising. “I won’t!”

“We’ve tried convincing him to move to the county home for years, but he wouldn’t go.” Betsy smiled at Ollie. “But this is something different. Just have a seat, okay?”

He warily sat down, ignoring the coffee and caramel rolls that Erin set down in front of him. He gave her an accusing look.

“Ollie and I go way back,” Betsy said, stirring sugar into her cup of tea. “The county has tried lots of options, but he never wanted to leave his childhood home. Right, Ollie?”

He bowed his head. “Mama’s house.”

“But you’ve lived there alone for how many years? At least ten or more. It’s no longer safe.”

He didn’t look up.

“The house is actually in need of demolition. And with all the years of unpaid taxes, well…something just has to be done. Do you understand, Ollie?”

When he didn’t answer, she gave Erin a quick glance.

“Your mama would want you to be safe and warm, Ollie,” Erin said. “That house is terribly drafty, and it isn’t insulated. And though the church ladies bring you food sometimes, they can’t do it if the weather is bad. And then what?” She took a deep breath. “But we’ve got exciting news! There’s a brand-new group home nearby that was finished just this year. It’s about halfway between Barry’s greenhouse and this store, so you could work at either place if you wanted to and you’d be really close.”

He lumbered to his feet, his eyes filled with panic.
“No!”

“You’ll always have three good, hot meals a day—with your very own room and comfy living room with a TV.” Betsy smiled warmly. “You could always go and come whenever you like. No one would make you stay inside. And you’d have people there for company. Friends. You wouldn’t be alone. And you wouldn’t ever go hungry.”

“And there’s even a nice little barn in back with gardening tools and lawn mowers.” Erin rested a hand on his arm. “Your cats could come along, too, and stay out there.”

His lower lip trembled.

“But the best part for me is that you’d be nice and close for visiting, Ollie. You could come here for coffee anytime.” Erin said a swift, silent prayer. “Betsy says I can go see it today, if you’ll come with us. Please? I’d love to do that. I hear the empty bedroom is the nicest one of all.”

He stood for a long moment, his face a mask of granite. “It’s close?”

“We can take a nice little shortcut through the timber and be there in fifteen minutes. Plus, I got to meet the other people who live there, and they were really nice. They’d just love to meet you, too. What do you say? All three of us can go for a visit.”

She held her breath, praying he would agree.

When he finally looked up at her, his expression was sad and defeated. “Just visit?”

“Just visit. In fact, I think we’ll get there in time for lunch, and I believe they’re having baked chicken and mashed potatoes today. With cherry pie.”

At that, his eyes widened. “Chicken? And
pie?”

“If you like the place, then we can work on moving you there.” Betsy shrugged. “If not, don’t worry. We’ll think about other options.”

But at the awe in Ollie’s eyes, Erin smiled with relief. If nothing else, the cherry pie and chicken were going to seal the deal.

And soon Ollie would have a far better life.

Erin wistfully watched a young couple walk out the front door of Millie’s. Probably in their mid-twenties, they’d proudly showed off their new wedding rings and had bubbled on and on about their wedding on a beach near San Francisco.

It was wonderful to see people so happy, so filled with excitement over the future. Even Ollie was happier than she’d ever seen him. He’d moved into the group home two days after his tour, and twice now he’d shown up at Millie’s with a different new friend in tow.

If only…

But Jack had been in an obvious hurry to leave, and she hadn’t heard from him since. No matter what she’d felt for him, it had clearly been one-sided. Though sometimes, during the long evenings, she sat with Charlie on the porch swing and relived those last days when Jack and Max were still here.

If she’d been more open, would things have ended any differently? Had she really ever seen that gleam of interest in his eyes—or had it been only her imagination?

At the sound of a car door slamming, she turned and dredged up a friendly smile, shelving her melancholy thoughts.

A child’s footsteps raced across the porch, and the front door burst open.

And there was Max, smiling from ear to ear, his eyes sparkling and cheeks flushed. “Surprise!”

Stunned, she stared at him, unsure for a heartbeat whether he was real or an apparition.

But Charlie heard him, too. The dog scrambled to his feet and bounded across the store, tongue lolling and tail wagging furiously.

“Charlie!” Max wrapped his arms around the dog’s neck and buried his face in the fur. “I missed you, Charlie.” A heartbeat later he ran to Erin, and when she lifted him high, he wrapped his arms around her neck. “We
had
to come back. We drove and drove and
drove.”

She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so glad, Max—I missed you both so much. And Charlie did, too. Are you hungry?”

He nodded vigorously. “You are the best cooker ever. But don’t tell Uncle Jack.”

Without looking up, she sensed the moment Jack appeared in the doorway. She lifted her gaze slowly, taking him in. Tall, broad-shouldered, with that dark, wavy hair and those deep dimples bracketing his mouth, he looked like someone who could ride to her rescue on a black stallion, sweep her up behind him and thunder off into the sunset.

“We had to come back,” he said simply, striding over to stand in front of her. He looked down at her, his eyes twinkling. “Max made sure I knew it was a big mistake for us to leave, but I knew it, too.”

“A mistake?” she asked faintly. She gave Max an extra hug and then put him down. “What kind of mistake?”

“Let’s go outside for a few minutes.” She followed him to the porch swing, with Max and Charlie tagging along behind them.

As soon as she sat next to Jack on the swing, Charlie jumped up to join them, and Max squeezed in at her other side.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you something,” he continued. “It’s probably the wrong place, and it’s definitely the wrong time. But I just can’t wait any longer.”

Her heart started to flutter.

“We haven’t known each other for very long…yet I feel like I’ve known you forever.” His deep, gentle voice was like a caress. “I know you’ve made a commitment to your grandfather, and that you need to stay here. But if I move back to Texas permanently, we might lose something that’s too precious to risk.”

A tentative ray of hope began to flicker in her chest when he cupped her cheek with his hand, then brushed a kiss over her lips.

“I just want to know if there’s any chance…for us.”

The tender emotion in his eyes nearly took her breath away. “I’ve never wanted anything more.”

With a fifty-pound mass of fur lying across them on the swing, it was nearly impossible to move, but she ached to turn into Jack’s arms.

“Charlie, you really need to go,” she murmured.
“Now.”

Maybe the dog understood what this moment meant, because he eased out of the swing and moved to a corner of the porch without protest and, grinning, Max hopped down to follow him.

With Charlie out of the way, she curved her arms around Jack’s neck and drew him into a kiss that made her feel breathless and giddy.

And when he kissed her back, she felt as if she’d joined the stars above.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the beautiful Montana Rockies and the start of my BIG SKY SECRETS trilogy. The other two books will be out in February 2010 and June 2010. I hope you will mark your calendar and join me for the ongoing stories of these three young women. A terrible tragedy may have marked their high-school years, but each of them has grown up to be a strong, resourceful woman ready to face the challenges and dangers ahead in their own lives.

In
Final Exposure,
Erin remembers a Bible passage that means a lot to me, too.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Jesus Christ.
Philippians 4:6, 7

What wonderful reassurance this is! This passage has helped me through some difficult times, bringing me peace and comfort. If you are facing tough times, I hope you will turn to the Lord, too, and speak to Him in prayer. He will never let you down.