Lone Star Legacy (17 page)

She’d gone through all the motions at the café, but she hadn’t been able to get Joel out of her thoughts. Should she have stayed? Enjoyed as much of him as she could, until the time when she needed to pack for Montana?

The painful wrench of her heart confirmed her decision. It had been wise to make a clean break, so she could heal and move on.

Heaving a sigh, she gathered up the mail to take with her upstairs, but a Montana postmark on a thick envelope caught her eye. She slid a fingernail under the flap and pulled out a two-page letter, some clippings from a newspaper and a dozen photographs.

Her entire future, delivered for a dollar’s worth of stamps.

She sat on a swivel stool at the counter and glanced at the article about a new steak house opening on the west side of Billings, then painstakingly tried to decode her sister’s looping scrawl.

Melanie had found a nice little two-bedroom rambler just a few blocks from her home, priced below market as the owners had already moved to Arizona. Low down payment. New roof. Fenced yard. The photos showed it from all angles, inside and out. It looked…nice. Well kept.

And boring.

Beth returned to the letter and read more details about the house and about the steak house, which apparently belonged to some childhood friends of Melanie’s and needed a manager. The owners had already expressed strong interest in Beth, so if she could just send a résumé…

Melanie, bless her heart, had always been the flighty sister. The one who needed to be advised or bailed out of one situation after another. Yet here, she’d managed to line up a good job and a great deal on a snug little house, and her letter bubbled over with excitement over her finds and the fact that Beth would soon live close by.

She put the letter down and sat back, suddenly tired.

The front doorbell jingled. She looked over her shoulder, ready to let a patron know that the noon serving time was over. Her heart skipped a beat.
“Joel?”

He’d seemed remote when they’d said their goodbyes at his place on Saturday. She hadn’t heard from him since, and that had only confirmed what he’d once said about avoiding commitments. He might as well have said “good riddance” when she drove away.

But now, he emanated a level of energy and anticipation that surprised her. “You look…happy.”

He strode across the floor and pulled her into a long, deep kiss that made her toes tingle. “I’ve been busy. Doing things I should’ve done a long time ago. And it’s all due to Earl.”

“Your
dog?
”

He grinned. “Earl made me see the error of my ways. And Walt, of course,” he added. “But mostly Earl, because he mopes so well.”

“I think that’s a standard job description for a bloodhound. Not to take anything away from his skills, or anything.”

“Well, I—” Joel’s gaze fell to the scattering of photographs and clippings on the counter. He pulled in a slow breath. “What’s this?”

“My new life.”

From the moment he kissed her, she knew he wanted to ask her to move back to his place. To go back to playing house, having wild and wonderful sex. But though the thought had already started doing dizzy things to her insides, it could have no place in her life. He wanted no commitments. She had responsibilities. A life to build for Sophie. She needed a better career, with good insurance and investment benefits—and that couldn’t happen, running a tiny café. But thanks to Melanie, she now had a second chance she could not pass up.

“It’s Montana,” she added. “A house, a job. Everything.”

“But what about…” He floundered. “The café?”

“The Realtor called this morning. She wants to bring over a ‘live one’—someone who grew up here and wants to move back.” Beth shrugged. “Could be a sale, or maybe not. But business has picked up, and it’s only a matter of time.”

His expression cooled. “Good news.”

“Yes, it is. I guess everything is falling into place.” She looked over at the calendar on the wall. “I might even be able to leave a month earlier than I’d planned.”

J
OEL NODDED TO
M
ARIA
, then made his way through Walt’s house to the back porch. He smiled when he found his uncle reading a veterinary journal with a highlighter in hand.

Even at seventy-two—long past retirement age—the man loved his profession too much to quit, and still studied like a college student to keep up with current research. As a boy, Joel had admired him. As an adult, he admired Walt even more, for his ethics, wisdom and his meticulous professionalism.

So why had Joel waited so long to take his uncle’s words to heart?

“I made flight arrangements this morning.” Joel settled into a wicker chair next to Walt’s. “Thought you should know that I’ll be leaving.”

Frowning, Walt lowered the journal and took off his reading glasses. “Leaving?”

“You were right, you know. About everything. Guess I was just too stubborn to see it.”

Walt leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingertips. He studied Joel intently, with a hint of a twinkle in his eyes. “This would be about the little lady from Chicago?”

“I didn’t think I could ever face the risk of any sort of commitment again. And the thought of another child…” Joel swallowed hard.

“Sophie and her momma are pretty special,” Walt said gently.

“If I could be a part of their lives forever, I’d be the luckiest guy on earth. But no matter what Beth’s answer is, I need to make sure they’ll be safe.”

“How can you do that?”

“I’ve got to go to Detroit for a meeting with my boss, because he still wants me to come back to work. But then I’m going to see some investigators with the Chicago Police Department. Beth’s husband got himself in a lot of trouble before he died, and someone is still harassing her over that deal. I’m damn sure going to find out who it is.”

“I’
M GOING TO MISS WORKING HERE
.” Beth leaned against the door to Walt’s office, surprised at how sad she felt about it. He’d been like a grandpa to Sophie over the past three months. “The deal did go through.”

“It did?” He raised a snowy eyebrow and leaned back in his desk chair. “Now, how do you feel about that?”

“Surprised. A little relieved, because it had to happen.” She bit her lip. “And sad. The buyer wanted to close immediately, so I’ve already started packing.”

“So soon? Maybe you shouldn’t jump the gun. A gal like you could find another job around these parts and stay.” His eyebrow wiggled. “I could take you on full-time.”

“I’ve…already accepted a job in Billings, so that’s a done deal. And I’ve made an offer on a little house, in a school district that has good services for kids who need them. We’ll stay with my sister until we have a place of our own.”

He pursed his lips. “Seems to me, that little gal’s hearing is coming right along.”

“She’s getting better, just like the doctor thought. But still…” Beth wished it was easier, letting go of a town she’d come to love, and people she cared for. “It’s a big school system, and their programs will help her catch up. And as a single mom, I need a good benefits package and a steady salary, so it’s all for the best.”

“But what about you—is this good for you?” He always seemed to see right through her, to the feelings she tried to hide. And even now she could hear the hint of criticism in his voice. “Leaving us all behind?”

“That’s the hardest part.” She’d made friends here. She’d fallen in love. And with over seventeen hundred miles between Lone Wolf and Billings, she’d probably never see any of these people again.

“Can’t beat a small town,” he mused.

“Oh, Walt.” She smiled through her sudden tears as she crossed the room to give him a hug. He met her halfway and hugged her right back. “I know that’s true.”

He waved her into one of the leather upholstered chairs in front of his desk and dropped into the other one. “Have you heard from Joel?”

“Not since last Monday.” Seven days and three hours ago, to be precise. Not that she’d paid any attention. “I suppose he’s busy with that project in Prophetsville.”

“Actually, he finished it, and he’s on his way to Detroit.”

Startled, she stared at Walt’s sad expression. “He’s
moving?
”

“Not yet. The department wants him back pretty bad, though. They flew him back there for a meeting. I think they want to offer him a raise and a promotion.”

She sank back in her chair, and it took a moment before she could find her voice. “He said he’d never consider it…unless something ‘monumental’ happened.”

“Surprised me, too.” Walt looked down at his weathered hands. “But maybe he never found what he was looking for, here.”

“What was that?” She held her breath.

“Happiness. A good life…even if he never knew what that should be.”

“When did he leave?”

“Flew out last night.” Walt’s voice sounded weary. “He’ll be back in a few days, of course, and then he’ll have to decide what to do.”

She’d known their relationship was over. She’d been trying to temper her aching sense of loss with the fact that moving to Billings was the right thing to do, because she’d never have a future with a man who wanted to avoid commitment.

But she hadn’t expected that he’d leave town without saying farewell, knowing she’d likely be gone by the time he returned. His action told her exactly how little he cared.

“I…suppose I’d better get back home. I’ll try his cell phone tonight, just to wish him well.”

“Are you okay, sugar?” Walt’s voice was laced with concern. “Do you need some water, or something? You look pale.”

She gave him another quick hug and managed a wobbly smile. “I’m fine. I just have a lot of packing to do myself.”

O
N
W
EDNESDAY
, Beth closed the doors of Crystal’s Café for the last time. All of her customers showed up early—filling the tables and lunch counter, even signing a waiting list. Her favorites came at the end of her shift.

Walt and Loraine, looking cozier than ever.

Gina, followed by a dozen of her ranch relatives. The two shy, youngest cowboys blushing as they walked in; the older ones clapping Beth on the shoulder and announcing that they were going to miss those fancy pastries she made, and all those “New York” sandwiches that, by golly, tasted pretty damn good.

By the time they all left, Beth was exhausted. A good thing, though, because if there’d been time to think, she might have started to cry. Since talking to Walt, she’d tried calling Joel four times—and had left messages twice.

He hadn’t returned her calls.

“You okay, Miz Lindstrom?” Yolanda eyed her over a rack of cups ready to run through the dishwasher. “You aren’t like, gonna break down, are you?”

“No. Of course not.” Beth managed a watery laugh. “We had a good day, didn’t we?”

“I got a whole eight dollars in tips! I sure wish you weren’t closing.”

“Me, too. But maybe you can get a job with the new owners.”

“Will you tell them about me?”

“I’ve never even met them. It was all handled by their lawyer.” Beth had strong suspicions about Tracy and her husband, though the Realtor refused to divulge the names. “I’ll write you a glowing reference, though, and they can call me anytime.”

After they’d thoroughly cleaned the kitchen, Beth checked on Sophie, who was curled up asleep in her beanbag chair in the play corner, then she pulled two Cokes from the refrigerator and handed one to Yolanda. “Here’s a toast—to happy futures.”

Yolanda laughed and tapped her can against Beth’s, then took a long swallow. She gestured toward the hanging racks of pans and utensils. “The new owner really wants all this stuff?”

Beth shrugged. “They paid for the contents. And where I’m going, I won’t be running my own café.”

“You don’t look happy. I’d be way excited, if I was moving far away.”

“It’s all just a lot of work. Tonight I’ve got to finish loading up the rental trailer, and tomorrow I need to be on the road by six.”

Yolanda brightened. “Do you need help? I’ve got three brothers, and they’re all football players. They’re super strong.”

“Believe me, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”

Y
OLANDA AND HER BROTHERS
proved to be better help than Beth could’ve hoped for.

By eight o’clock, the only things left in the apartment were two sleeping bags, a small suitcase and Darwin’s cat box. Darwin had retreated to the top of the refrigerator in his usual pose, with a foreleg, rear leg and his tail dangling down the front surface like mutant ivy, while Viper had promptly curled up on Beth’s sleeping bag—apparently thinking she wouldn’t have to share if she got there first.

Once Sophie fell asleep for the night, Beth wandered through the apartment listening to the hollow echo of her footsteps, feeling oddly out of place. “C’mon, Viper, let’s get you outside one more time.”

The dog dutifully got up, followed her downstairs and into the backyard, where deepening twilight had turned the landscape to shades of indigo. Viper disappeared into the shadows, while Beth sat on the edge of the porch waiting for her to do her business and come back.

The cool evening air was heavy with the scents of late spring wildflowers and the cedars growing along the stream just past the vet clinic. Now and then, the breeze picked up the peppery scent of sagebrush from the vast pasturelands that spread clear to the western horizon.

The mesquite leaves rustled. A cicada buzzed. From somewhere far on the other side of town came the sound of a dog barking.

Leaning back on her elbows, Beth breathed in the scents and lost herself in her memories of the past months, feeling melancholy and alone.

She’d been naïve, imagining that Joel had ever really cared for her. She’d been a convenience, a casual fling that was nothing more than the result of proximity and the long, dark and sultry Texas nights. So far out in the country that the lights of other ranches weren’t visible, and stars blanketed the sky, it had seemed as if they were the last people left in the universe.

Viper’s low growl brought her sharply to attention. She sat bolt upright and scanned the yard. “Viper?” she called out softly. “Come, girl.”

The dog growled louder.

Fear crawled down Beth’s spine as she eased back toward the door, ready to turn and run.

Now in the shadows of the porch and out of bright, silvery moonlight, her eyes adjusted. Focused. A towering shape seemed to coalesce from the darkness just beyond the fence.

“H-Hubie?” she whispered.

Viper bolted up the porch steps and leaned against Beth’s ankles, her tense body vibrating as she growled.

The figure stepped into a pool of light under the solitary streetlamp at this end of the road. He was a large man, his shaggy head held at an angle, but he was clearly looking in her direction. If it wasn’t Hubie, it had to be his twin.

She backed up another foot, and felt for the doorknob behind her back. Eased it open…slowly.

In one swift motion she swept the dog into her arms and whirled around, let herself inside, and shot the dead-bolt lock home.

S
HE SPENT THE NIGHT
with her hand on her cell phone and Viper at her side, listening to the creaks and groans of the old house as it settled its old bones for the night.

Each noise made her heart stutter and her hand clench around the phone. During the predawn hours, as she watched the unbearably slow march of minutes on the digital clock, she came to realize two things—hardwood floors and sleeping bags were a match made in hell, and that leaving Lone Wolf would be a blessed relief.

Billings was a large city, with a police department. It would offer far faster response times. That snug little house was flanked on all sides with neatly kept photocopies of itself—offering the close proximity and curious eyes of neighbors, who would surely be a deterrent to strangers.

Lone Wolf, Texas, would always have a big part of her heart, but in Billings, she and Sophie would be safe. The sooner they got there, the better.

S
OPHIE TUGGED
at the hem of Beth’s T-shirt. “Momma, can’t we go to Olivia’s house again?”

Beth reached down to give her a hug, then helped her into the backseat of the SUV. “Remember? We need an early start if we’re to make it to our motel tonight.”

From the rear of the vehicle came the sounds of Viper clawing at her carrier, and the loud, feral growl of Darwin, who was not pleased with his accommodations, either.

It was going to be a long, long day.

“Can’t Darwin sit on my lap?” Sophie kicked her feet against the back of the front seat. Her voice rose to a whine. “I want Darwin with
me!
”

“He’s got his food, water and a small litter pan, honey. And he’s safer if he isn’t running around in the car. What if he jumped out when we stopped at a gas station?”

Sophie’s lower lip pushed forward in a pout. “I’d hold him.”

“But with those rear claws for traction, he could make his escape all too quickly.” Beth dropped a kiss on Sophie’s forehead, checked the car seat, then rounded the back of the rental trailer to check the padlock on the back doors.

By the time she turned the key in the ignition, the first rosy blush of dawn was just peeking through the mesquite trees. The vet clinic was still dark, though; the street in front of her house was deserted and the entire town still folded in the soft, misty silence of early morning.

She’d wanted to leave early, before friends and acquaintances began stirring, and then started coming to say their goodbyes all over again.

Already the farewells filled her with a sense of loss, especially the one Joel hadn’t even thought to share—an all too painful reminder about just how foolish she’d been, letting herself fall for someone like him.

Reaching across the seat, she pulled a Texas map and a MapQuest route printout from her purse and tossed them on the dashboard. “We’re off, honey! A new adventure.”

“Maisie!” Sophie’s voice rose to a piercing shriek. She scrambled in her seat, trying to release the safety latch. “I forgot my dolly!”

Beth dropped her forehead briefly to the top of the steering wheel. “Don’t worry—I’ll get her. Just tell me where she is.”

“Back there!”

“Where?” Beth followed Sophie’s frantically waving hand to somewhere in the backyard. “The swings?”

At the child’s emphatic nod, Beth hopped out of the SUV and jogged over to the swing set, where she found the doll lying on one of the seats.

Sophie gave her a watery smile when she handed over the doll. Sophie hugged the doll fiercely, her tears starting anew. “I don’t
wanna
go.”

“I know, sweetheart. But your aunt Melanie is waiting for us, and we need to get moving.” As she climbed behind the wheel once more, a small, fluttering scrap of paper wedged against the windshield wiper caught her eye.

She grabbed it, tossed it on the seat, then started the vehicle and turned out onto the street before Sophie could think of another excuse to stop.

She drove slowly into town and turned north on Main. In her rearview mirror she glimpsed Walt’s vet truck turning west on Saguaro, and another wave of regret tugged at her heart. It was all for the best…so why did she have the feeling that she was making a terrible mistake?

T
HE CLUSTER OF ACREAGES
around town soon gave way to vast, rolling pastureland that spread out to the horizons.

“Are we going back to the other house? With the big dog?” Sophie sat up straighter in her seat and peered out the windows. “I want to see Earl again!”

Beth flicked a glance toward the backseat and shook her head. “He lives on a different highway, honey. Want your coloring book and crayons?”

Sophie flopped back in her seat, pouting. “I need to go potty.”

Beth bit back a groan. There wasn’t a town for another thirty miles or more, and some of the towns on the map were barely more than a wide spot in the road with a couple of houses and a long-closed tavern.