Little Cowgirl Needs a Mom (12 page)

Alex studied her for a moment. “That's all I need to know.” He walked out the back door.

Okay, now she had no choice. She had to leave. No matter how much she loved it here and loved these people, she couldn't stay. Todd would never leave her alone, not as long as he thought he could have an in with her influential friends. He wouldn't stop short of hurting someone.

She drew a breath and released it. She'd talked to her school principal earlier that day. The semester didn't start until August, nearly three months away, but she'd been able to snag a summer-school job and a substitute position starting next week. The sooner she got out of town the better for everyone—except her.

 

Evan had tried to phone Jenny all afternoon trying to get an answer, but he kept getting her voice mail. Finally she'd called the house and left a message with his dad saying she couldn't go out with him.

He decided he needed to know what was going on and arrived at the back door at the scheduled time. That was when he saw Jenny throwing boxes into the Dumpster. He parked and got out, calling to her.

She turned around, looking surprised to see him. “Evan. Didn't you get my message that I couldn't go tonight?”

He was confused. “Didn't you get my flowers?”

She smiled faintly. “Oh, yes, and they were lovely. Thank you.” She glanced around nervously. “I need to go back to San Antonio immediately. So I need to pack.”

What had changed? “Is there a family emergency?”

“No. I had an opportunity to take a teaching job for the summer.”

“I know I left abruptly this morning, but I needed to get home. You understood why, didn't you?”

Her gaze didn't meet his. “Of course I did. Maybe it made me realize that with a child involved, things got
moving too fast. I'm just not ready to start up another relationship.”

He didn't want to lose her. “Okay, maybe we jumped ahead last night a little fast. We can slow things down.”

“It will have to slow way down.” She shrugged. “As a rule, long-distance relationships don't work out. I'm sorry, Evan, I know that's not what you want to hear. I told you I had a teaching job.”

“Then why race out of here? I thought you weren't returning to San Antonio until fall?”

She refused to meet his gaze. “I have a chance to substitute-teach for the rest of this semester.” She took a breath. “Maybe it's for the best.”

She started to walk inside, but before the door closed, he pushed his way in behind her. “Maybe best for you, but not for me. And what about Gracie? Talk to me, Jenny. What's really the reason?”

Her gaze darted away. “There's nothing more to say. You're a wonderful man, Evan. But I was always going to leave. It just happens to be sooner than I thought.”

“How soon?”

“A few days.”

His heart began to pound hard. “I thought things were changing between us. I guess I was wrong.”

Tears filled her eyes. That gave him hope.

“I have kids who are depending on me, Evan. I love teaching school. You knew that.”

He wanted to know if she cared about him at all, if he could change her mind. “Would it make any difference if I asked you to stay?”

Even as a tear found its way down her cheek, she quickly shook her head. “Oh, Evan, I can't. It's better this way. I'm sorry.”

He got that familiar feeling. He wasn't enough for her,
enough for her to stay. Maybe he just wasn't cut out for relationships.

“Nothing to be sorry about. You either feel something or you don't. At least we discovered it before we got in too deep.” He drew her into his arms and held her close. Jenny didn't resist. When he pulled back slightly, all he could see was the woman to whom he'd opened up, the woman who'd given him hope that they could share a future. Looked like he'd been wrong about her.

He lowered his head and touched her mouth with his. He intensified the kiss, wanting to brand her, so she'd remember him. When she whimpered softly, he finally released her. “Have a great life, Jenny. Goodbye.”

 

The evening got even worse when Jenny drove to the A Bar A. Her friend greeted her at the kitchen door. She could still remember the first time she'd met Allison Cole when she'd signed up for her quilting retreat. She'd also got to watch as her friend fell in love with Alex Casali. Yeah, she had envied what Allison had found. So much so she'd tried to find the same thing with Brian. There wasn't any fairy-tale ending for Jenny, not then or now.

They'd all become good friends. She'd had a family unlike anything she'd ever known. Now, she had to give them up, before Todd tarnished that, too. She thought about the Raffertys, knowing she'd lost them already.

She parked and went to the back door and knocked. Allison greeted her with a surprised look on her face.

“Not that I don't like seeing you, but I wasn't expecting you all the way out here tonight. What's so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?” she asked.

“I'm going back to San Antonio. A teaching job became available.”

Allison studied her. “How soon?”

“In a few days.”

Without comment Allison walked down the hall and came back with Alex.

“I hear you're leaving us,” he said. “What do I need to do to make you want to stay? If it's money, we can pay you more. You're definitely worth it.”

God, this hurt more than she'd ever imagined. “It's not the money, Alex. You both always knew I'd be going back to teaching. I have a chance for placement by substituting for the last few weeks of the semester, then teaching summer school. But I have to start immediately.”

He studied her for a moment. “I don't know why, but I have a feeling there's more. But you aren't willing to share that yet.” He reached out and gripped her by the arms. “Jenny, if there's ever anything you need, don't hesitate to call us. You are
famiglia. Per sempre.
”

Family forever. She fought to hold it together. “Thank you. I love you both and the kids so much.” She couldn't stay. If she did she'd blurt out everything. “After I get settled I'll call and come back for a visit.”

“You'd better,” Allison threatened. “And we can come and visit you. San Antonio isn't that far way.”

Jenny managed a nod. She had to stay away from people she cared about for a while, until Todd found someone else to prey on. She refused to let him hurt the people she loved. People who truly cared about her.

She thought about Evan and Gracie. She'd never recover from losing them.

“J
ENNY
is going away?” Gracie said to her dad when she got off the bus the next afternoon. “Forever?”

Evan was trying to soften the pain. “She's going back to her home in San Antonio.”

“But she can't.” Panic showed in Gracie's blue eyes. “She's helping me with my part of the quilt.”

That was the last thing Evan wanted to think about, but right now his daughter was his number-one priority.

He squatted down, seeing her fight tears. “We'll figure out something, honey. Maybe one of the other ladies can help you.”

“I don't want anyone else.” She sobbed and collapsed into his open arms. He held her small body against his chest, absorbing her tears. He'd never seen her cry like this. When her mother had died, she'd gone into her bedroom and wouldn't let him in. This was the first time she'd let him get close enough to share her pain, and he couldn't do anything to make her feel better.

“It's going to be okay, sweetie. I'm here. I'll always be here for you.”

She drew back and looked at him through watery eyes. “Do you want Jenny to go away?” The child didn't wait for an answer. “I know she wants to be with us. She doesn't
have a family who loves her like we do. Who's going to take care of her? She always helps everybody.”

Evan remembered Jenny saying her mother never had time for her. And there was that panicked look when her stepbrother had called her. “I wish I could, but she told me she wants to teach her kids. She'll be so happy to be back in her classroom.” Did it even matter that they'd all be miserable without her? How could she just walk away from everyone who cared about her?

Silently they made their way back to the house and into the kitchen. His father greeted them. “Hello, Evan, and my little one,” he said.

“Hi, Grandpa.”

“I have your favorite snack ready.”

She glanced at the sliced fruit, cheese and crackers. “No thanks, I think I'll go to my room and do my homework.” She walked out looking sad. More sad than Evan had ever seen her.

“I'll be up later to help you,” he called to his daughter.

“She didn't take the news well?”

Evan shook his head. “She cried. It breaks my heart.”

His dad cocked an eyebrow. “What about your heart, son?”

He was numb. He didn't want to talk feelings. “What difference does it make? Jenny's leaving and I can't stop her.”

“Maybe you didn't try hard enough.”

“Yes I did. I told her I wanted to build something together. I even pulled out the Gracie card. She never budged.”

Sean shook his head. “I don't believe it. I've seen how that girl looks at you. She cares, son. There has to be something else.”

“She has a teaching job.”

Sean frowned. “Even I don't believe that, son. Jenny's
not the kind of girl to get so close to a man, then just walk away. Beside there's teaching jobs here.”

Evan's thoughts returned to their night together. The things they'd shared. It couldn't have been only about physical pleasure; there was more between them. And he had to know for sure. “I need to call Allison.”

He pulled out his phone and made the call as he walked outside to the porch.

“Casali residence,” Alex answered.

“Alex, it's Evan. I need to know the real reason Jenny is leaving.”

“Believe me, I've tried everything to get her to stay. Allison and the kids are heartbroken.”

He and Gracie weren't much better. “Then we need to figure this out. You have any ideas?”

“My suspicions are that this has to do with her stepbrother,” he said. “Todd Newsome came out to the ranch the other day looking to sign up for the roundup. He used Jenny's name as a reference.”

That sent up a red flag. “Did you give him a job?”

“No, Jenny did not recommend him when I mentioned it. I had him checked out with the sheriff. He's recently been released from prison.”

That explained a lot. “Prison? What was he in for?”

“Drugs,” Alex told him, then he went on to say that after five years, he'd got an early release. “He put down a San Antonio address, but then he shows up here.”

Evan thought back to the phone call Jenny had received from her stepbrother. “Newsome called her last week. She didn't sound happy to hear from him.”

“Damn, why do I have this nagging suspicion he had something to do with the break-in?” Evan heard a sigh. “And you aren't going to like this either. There was another break-in last night. Harley's Pawn Shop.”

Evan cursed. “You're thinking Todd could be involved in this?”

“I'm saying it seems strange things started happening when the guy arrived in town. And now Jenny's suddenly leaving town. It has to be because she's protecting us from the SOB,” Alex surmised.

It was all making sense now. “Then we need to protect her and set this right,” Evan said.

 

The next afternoon Jenny finally told Millie and the women in the quilters' circle that she was leaving. She'd already packed most of her clothes and personal things. Since her furniture was in storage, there hadn't been much to move.

She didn't even have a place to live in San Antonio. She definitely wasn't going to stay with her mother and stepfather. For her own safety, she had to keep as far away from Todd as possible.

The bell over the door rang and she glanced up to see little Gracie, dressed in a skirt and blouse covered partly by a green sweater, and carrying her backpack. Her dark hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she looked as though she'd lost her best friend.

Jenny felt her heart sink, knowing she had to talk to this child.

She put on a smile and went to her, glancing around for Evan. “Hi, Gracie. Does your daddy know you're here?”

The girl shrugged.

“Sweetie, you know you can't come here if your daddy doesn't know where you are.”

“But I have to stop you from going away.” Tears sprang to the child's eyes as she rushed on to say, “Please, stay, Jenny. I don't want you to go away.”

Jenny's throat tightened, tears filling her own eyes as
she knelt down and hugged her. “Oh, Gracie.” She loved this little girl and her father so much. “There's nothing I'd like more, but I have a job.” Which she'd give up in a second to stay here in Kerry Springs.

Gracie wiped her eyes. “But why can't you stay and marry my daddy and be my mommy?”

Jenny was caught off guard by the innocent question, but her heart filled with love for this child. “Oh, Gracie. That's a wonderful thought, but…” She wasn't sure how to answer her question. Although she wanted nothing more, Evan hadn't asked her.

“If you told Daddy you wanted to be in our family he'd marry you,” Grace insisted. “He was so sad before, and when you're here, he's happy. Please ask him, Jenny. Please.”

The girl began to sob and Jenny consoled her. “I'll talk to him, sweetie,” she told Gracie. “But no promises.” Jenny stood, pulled out her phone and punched in Evan's number. She walked away from Gracie as the familiar voice came on the line. “Jenny?”

“Evan, I wanted you to know that Gracie is here at the shop. I think she missed the school bus.”

He cursed. “Keep her with you, I'm in town already so I'll be there right away.”

“Okay,” she managed to say and hung up. She had to face Evan one more time, and she hoped she could get through seeing him without breaking down. She was doing the right thing, she'd been telling herself. He wasn't ready for a relationship and she didn't have the option of waiting, giving it a chance to develop into more. Not with Todd's threats. Their one night together had been like a dream. Now, she had to face reality and walk away from everything she'd ever wanted.

She returned to the front of the shop and found someone with Gracie. She studied the familiar-looking man and it hit her—he was thinner but more muscular, and there were tattoos covering his upper arms. His hair was cut shorter, but she'd recognize Todd Newsome anywhere.

She felt her panic building as she watched him talk to the child. It looked innocent enough, but she knew it wasn't. Todd was here to give her a message.

“Gracie, I talked to your dad, and he's coming to get you.” She smiled at her. “Now, go wait in the office and you can start your homework.”

Todd took a step closer to the girl. “Ah, sis, we were just getting to know each other.”

She ignored him. “Gracie, do as I say.”

The girl went into the back as Jenny stood facing her stepbrother. “Todd, I told you, I don't want you here.”

“That's too bad, Jen. We can't always have what we want. You stopped me from getting a job with Casali. So I had to take things in my own hands.”

She refused to back down. “I didn't stop it. They probably checked your record.”

“If you had put in a good word for me, Casali would have hired me.” He grabbed her by the arm with a tight grip. It hurt, but she wouldn't show it. “It wouldn't have been hard for you. Since you're the one who sent me to Juvenile Hall in the first place, you owed me.”

“You trashed my shop and apartment. And I know you had something to do with the break-in at the pawn shop, didn't you?”

Shaking his head, Todd tossed her a sinister grin. “I warned you about blaming. I remember another time you opened your mouth and got me into trouble with the cops.” He stared at her. “I wouldn't try it again, if I were you. If
for some reason I get arrested, wouldn't your friends think you might have something to do with it?”

She jerked away. “Why can't you just leave me alone?”

“You owe me, sis. I went to jail because of you.”

She got behind the counter. “You went to jail because of what you did.”

“And because your mother favored me over you. Poor baby.” His grin scared her. “Since you refused to help me, I had to do things on my own. I have a job. A good one.”

“Here? You got a job in town?”

“Oh, yes. Kerry Springs is such a nice community and it has interesting possibilities.” He grinned at her. “And, of course, you're living here.”

“Well, I don't want you in Kerry Springs.” She couldn't leave him in town. “Besides I'll be gone soon. Shouldn't you go, too?”

“Why, sis, if I didn't know better I'd say you're afraid to leave me here with your friends.” Todd glanced back toward the office where Gracie was. “I guess you're right, bad things could happen.”

The bell over the door rang and he released her. It was Evan.

“Jenny?”

She put on a smile and moved away when her brother released her. “Evan.”

He came over to her. “Is there a problem?”

Todd turned to face him. They were much the same size, Evan a little taller.

“I just came by to see my little sister,” Todd said, holding out his hand. “Todd Newsome.”

Evan took his hand and shook it. “Evan Rafferty.”

“I'd like to stay, sis, but I need to get back to work. See you around, Rafferty.”

Evan didn't like this guy at all. “Count on it, Newsome.”

Todd paused, then walked out the door.

Evan went to the front of the shop and watched as Newsome got into an old pickup and drove off. He noted the license plate. He pulled out his cell phone and punched in Casali's number. He turned away and told him about Newsome's visit to the shop. After Alex suggested they meet with the sheriff, he hung up.

He turned toward Jenny. “Your leaving town has nothing to do with a job, does it? It's your brother, isn't it.”

She started to speak, but he stopped her. “Save it for when the deputy and Alex gets here. Now, where is Gracie?”

“She's in the office.”

“Did Newsome threaten you or Gracie?”

She shook her head. “You'll be fine when I leave.”

He couldn't stand to see the fear in her eyes. He had to make sure this guy was gone from her life. For good.

 

Over the next thirty minutes, Evan watched Jenny keep busy while Gracie did homework upstairs in her apartment.

She hadn't said much to him since her stepbrother had left. He had trouble remembering the open, caring woman he'd made love to just the other night. Jenny was withdrawn and silent as she counted the day's receipts.

Okay, she was angry with his high-handedness, but he didn't care, he'd do anything to keep her safe. He couldn't lose her, not now.

“Jenny, this isn't your fault.”

“Don't, Evan. We can't do this.” She looked close to tears. “I don't want you involved in my mess.”

“Newsome is causing the trouble, not you.”

She shook her head. “Everyone says that. But even as a kid, he kept getting away with things.” Those brown eyes showed fear. “I had reason to be afraid. You have no idea.
Todd's mean. Cruel. When he was sent to prison, I was so relieved. I thought I was finally free of him. But he's back, and I can't let him hurt you or Gracie.”

“What about you, Jenny? Who's going to worry about you?”

She shook her head. “I'll be fine, but Todd will find a way to get even with anyone who crosses him. I can't bear it if that's you. So I have to go.”

Finally, Alex and Allison arrived through the back door, along with Deputy Reynolds. Once the shop was locked up tight, the meeting began to find out Newsome's agenda.

Alex got straight to the point. “Jenny, you should have come to us when your brother first threatened you.”

Ashamed, Jenny shook her head. “I swear I didn't know he was responsible for the break-ins until yesterday. He still didn't admit it to me, but he didn't deny it, either. I'm sorry he did so much damage to the place.” She looked at Evan. “That he hurt you.”

Evan couldn't stand it. “Don't you dare apologize for that bastard. If you had been here alone…” He marched across the room, too frustrated to go on.