Lonestar Angel (27 page)

“There they are!” Katie shouted, hopping up and down in her seat.

The buffalo grazed in a fenced meadow. The vanload of kids erupted into squeals. The animals were bigger than Eden expected. They lifted shaggy heads as the vehicle pulled into the driveway and stopped. Clay and Zeke guided the children out for the tour. Pen and paper in hand, Rita trailed behind taking notes.

“Are you all right?” Della asked Eden as she guided the last of her kids to the van door. “You look rather pale today. Are your burns still bothering you?”

“Not bad today. It was just a rough night. I could have taken another day before dealing with a buffalo tour.”

“I’ve been here before. It’s rather tame but the girls will enjoy it.”

Della followed Eden out of the van, and they joined their husbands and the children at the fence. The girls were on the first rung of the fence, but Clay made them get down as the owner came toward them.

“They’re not really buffalo,” India said, tossing her black braids. “They’re bison. Buffalo are water buffalo.”

“How’d you know that?” Eden asked.

“I looked it up.”

Though the little girl was only a year older than the others, she seemed much more mature. Eden hugged her and stared at the shaggy beasts.

“They’re big and scary,” Madeline said. “I don’t like them.”

Paige sneezed. “I think I’m ’llergic,” she whispered. “Can I wait in the van?”

“You’re not allergic. It will be fun.” Eden pointed toward the sign that explained facts about the buffalo. Or bison, as India had insisted. One of the buffalo watched the girls climbing on the fence. The beast lowered its head and pawed. Eden frowned. “I think that one doesn’t like your red shirt, Lacie. Come over here with me.”

A man waved and joined them. As he began to tell them about the tour, Eden saw a car pull into the drive.

“They’re here,” she whispered to Clay. “Can you handle the girls by yourself?”

“Yeah. You’ll be okay with her?”

“Of course. I’ll catch up as soon as I can. Watch Lacie. That animal doesn’t like the red.” She walked down the drive to meet the car.

Her mother climbed out of the Lexus with a smile. She wore a royal-blue sundress that showed her figure to advantage. Omar joined his wife before Eden reached them.

Her mother offered her cheek to Eden. The powder-scented skin brought back too many memories to Eden, and she stepped away as quickly as she could without causing offense.

“Eden, my dear, your face is red and blotchy. Rather unattractive. Did you forget your makeup this morning?”

Eden’s cheeks heated. “I was in a fire recently, Mom.”

Her mother gasped. “Fire? As in a building on fire?”

“The shed.” Eden told her what happened.

Omar put his hand on Eden’s shoulder. “Are you saying someone tried to kill you?”

“Yes. And would have succeeded if not for Clay.”

Her mother went pale. “Oh my dear, I think I need to sit down.”

She always did that. Made everything about her. Eden realized some things would never change even if her mother wanted them to. There was an outdoor patio area on the other side of the drive, and Eden pointed it out. Omar guided his wife to a chair, then went to get her a soda from a vending machine by the building.

“I talked to my father,” Eden said as soon as he was out of earshot. “So did Clay.”

“Your father? Hector?”

Eden nodded and held her mother’s gaze. “He expressed doubts that he was my father.”

“Of course he did. What did you expect?” Her mother dismissed Eden’s concerns with an airy wave of her hand.

“Mother, I was eight when you left. I remember all the men. How do you know which one was my father?”

Angry spots of red bloomed in her mother’s cheeks, but she looked down at her hands for a moment and the color faded. “I suppose I deserve that,” she said quietly. She rubbed her hand over her forehead. “I wasn’t always the woman you remember, Eden.”

And yet, as far back as she could remember, Nancy had been exactly that woman. On Eden’s fourth birthday, she’d been sent to her friend’s house. She vaguely remembered her mother coming to get her smelling of an unpleasant odor. She later came to know that stench as beer.

When she didn’t answer, her mother heaved another sigh. “I was a young girl, impressionable and naive, when I met your father. I didn’t know he was married until you were on the way. He was my first real love. And I suppose I never really got over him. I went through a lot of men trying.”

For the first time, Eden understood what it might have been like for her mother. “How did you meet him?”

“At a party.” She glanced away. “I was young.”

“So he knew you hadn’t been with anyone else.”

Her mother met her gaze. “He knew. Why did you call him?”

“I believe he was behind my daughter’s kidnapping.”

Her mother gasped. “He was behind Brianna’s disappearance?”

Eden stared at her mother. “How do you know my daughter’s name?”

“Well, I . . . I—you told me the other day.”

Had she? Eden didn’t think so.

Her mother smiled, though it was feeble. “What did your father say?”

“Not much. I’m going to try to see him.” Eden only said this to see her reaction, and she wasn’t surprised when her mother’s eyes brightened.

“I’d like to say hello,” her mother said. “When are you meeting him?”

“I’m not sure,” Eden said. One thing she was certain of—her mother’s interest was more than casual.

Clay joined them and draped his arm around Eden’s shoulders. “What’s going on over here?” he asked, his tone jocular.

“We were just talking about Brianna,” Eden’s mother said quickly. “Do you have a picture?”

“Sure.” Clay dug a USB drive out of his pocket. It was still attached to the digital picture album. “There are some on there.”

Her mother fiddled with the frame, then frowned. “These look like men in a jungle.”

“Let me see.” Clay took it. “You’re in the wrong album.” He pressed a few buttons, then handed it back. “There she is when she was a month old.”

Eden watched her mother’s face soften and wished she could believe the older woman really cared.

“I think I’ll sleep like the dead tonight,” Clay said, yawning. “Neither of us slept worth a darn last night.”

Eden had been quiet since the trip to the buffalo ranch. The expression on her face had warned him not to probe until she was ready to talk. Not that there had been much time. The girls had been wild all evening. All they’d talked about was the trip to see the buffalo.

She barely mm-hmmed in response as she got into bed and rolled onto her side with her back facing him. He shut out the light, but the faint moonlight through the window and the green glow from the clock let him see her silhouette. What would she do if he put his arm around her waist, spoon fashion? With every day that passed, he knew he never wanted her to leave him again. Wooing her would take all of his concentration.

Her voice spoke out of the darkness. “Clay?”

“I’m awake.” He rolled onto his side, facing her. A mere six inches separated them.

“How much longer is your leave?”

Where had that come from? “Five weeks.”

“Then what? Do you know where you’ll be sent?”

He should tell her now, but what if it scared her off? When he placed his hand on her waist, she stiffened but didn’t move away. “I don’t know, Eden. I might not go back.”

She rolled onto her back, then to her other side. They were practically nose to nose. “Not go back? What do you mean?”

She was close enough that he could smell her light fragrance. Close enough that he could kiss her if he wanted. “I’m tired of the travel. The excitement has grown old. And Brianna will need me.” He wished she would say she needed him too, but he was afraid that was too much to hope for.

“B-But what will you do?”

“I have my inheritance. I could maybe use the money to start a business, but thought about applying for a job at the ranger station too, just to keep busy and do some wildlife photography. I think I’d like that. There’s the ranch here we could fix up. It wouldn’t cost much to live here.”

“Just how much money is in this inheritance?”

He grinned. “Enough to keep you in any style you’d like.”

“Really?”

Was she expressing doubt or hope? He couldn’t tell without seeing her expression. His hand was still on her waist. He brought it up to cup her cheek. “Really. Think you could stand to have me home every night?”

“I’d like to try,” she whispered.

His pulse leaped. He cupped the back of her head and drew her against him. His lips found hers. It was the sweetest kiss in his memory. He drank deep of the promise, hope, and longing in her lips.

She drew away. “You didn’t ask me how it went with my mother.”

He tried to keep the disappointment from his voice. “I thought you’d tell me when you were ready. You were both a little tense when I joined you.”

She scooted a little farther away. “Clay, didn’t you think it odd that she knew about Brianna? Did we mention we had a daughter or what happened?”

He thought back, then shook his head. “No. You both talked about the past, about your childhood. There was no mention of the kidnapping or anything. I assumed you didn’t want to get into that with her.”

“I didn’t. But she even knew Brianna’s name. I didn’t tell her that.”

He tensed. That didn’t sound right. “What did she say?”

“I told her I suspected my father had something to do with my daughter’s kidnapping. She gasped then and said, ‘He was behind Brianna’s disappearance?’”

He absorbed the information and looked for a logical explanation. “Maybe she looked us up online and ran into the story.”

“She knew our name before we met her in Alpine. You introduced us to Omar. So they would have known that first evening. Wouldn’t it have been the most natural thing in the world to ask about her granddaughter? To offer condolences?”

“Maybe. But things were awkward anyway. Maybe she didn’t want to cause more emotional upheaval.” Even to him, the excuse sounded lame.

He raised onto his elbow and stared through the darkness at her. “Eden, do you think it’s possible she contacted you because of your father?”

“What do you mean?”

“What if she’s involved in this too?” He shook his head. “No, I guess that’s crazy.”

“What’s crazy is that she is married to my uncle. When she couldn’t get my father, she settled for his brother. What if they are all in business together?” She bolted upright in the bed. “What if Omar is the one who has been trying to kill me?”

“But why?”

“I don’t know.” She flopped back onto the pillow. “It’s all such a tangle. I have no idea what’s going on. But all these things have to connect somehow. I want to know how she met Omar.”

“Ask her. When are you going to see her again?”

“I don’t know. They’re not planning to leave Alpine until at least the weekend.”

“I think we need to have another chat with them,” he said.

His mind raced through the possibilities. Santiago had what he wanted, so why would anyone want to harm Eden now?

He opened his mouth to discuss it some more with Eden, but the steady rise and fall of her chest told him she’d fallen asleep. Flopping onto his back, he tried to do the same, but it was a long time before he succeeded.

26

C
LAY SAT ON THE PORCH SWING WITH HIS ARM AROUND
E
DEN
. “E
VERY MUSCLE IN MY BODY
aches,” he said. “I thought tubing down the Rio Grande with the girls would be a piece of cake. That water was rough.”

“I’m about ready for bed,” she agreed.

Headlamps swept the front of the main house. A car light came on as the door opened, but he couldn’t see who it was from here. Just that it was a woman. She came toward the bunkhouse with purposeful steps.

When she stepped into the glow of the porch light, Eden rose. “Judge Julia! I’m surprised to see you.”