Lonestar Angel (33 page)

“There is no warrant out for his arrest. If he’s been involved in this, he’s kept a low profile. We’ll be sure to question him and Hector both, though.”

Eden’s mother came running up. “Eden, please tell me you had nothing to do with this ambush.” Her mouth was twisted and tight, and angry tears stood in her eyes.

“He had to be taken off the streets, Mom,” Eden said. “And he sent someone after me. Someone who has tried to kill me.”

Her mother’s eyes widened. “You did set this up! I can’t believe it.”

Clay stepped in. “What did you expect her to do? Look away while this guy destroyed lives and ruined kids?”

“But he’s her father!”

Eden’s chin came up. “He says it’s more likely Omar is my father. Is that true?”

Her mother glanced away. “That’s a lie,” she said, but her voice lacked conviction. “How could you do this to your own family? I’m disappointed in you.”

Eden laughed derisively. “My family. You used me to get to Hector. You didn’t come back because you loved me and wanted to make amends. You thought Hector would agree to see me, and you could contact him that way.”

Her mother met her gaze. “I did no such thing!”

But Clay saw the truth in her eyes. Eden was right. This pair had used his wife. “Haven’t you put her through enough? Did you have to hurt her like this?”

“How has this hurt her? She’s fine. Not a scratch.”

“I was actually beginning to believe you,” Eden said softly. “I thought you’d really had a change of heart, maybe even found God or something. I believed you weren’t the same woman who left me on my own. Now I find that I was just a tool.”

Clay pointed to the van. “And according to Hector, this isn’t the first time you’ve used her. What was all that about his wife?”

Her mother started to walk away. “This is no concern of yours.”

Clay caught her arm and turned her around to face them. “Let’s have the truth.”

In the harsh light her mother looked older, drained. “Hector broke off ties with Omar when Omar told him we were going to marry. They argued. Hector said some hateful things about me.”

“Like maybe the fact you weren’t welcome in the Santiago family?” Eden asked.

“Yes. He called me names. We were desperate, though. Neither of us had a job, and we needed money. I thought maybe his wife would make him support his daughter at least.”

The woman’s lies took Clay’s breath away. “But you’d already abandoned Eden by then.”

The woman had the decency to blush. “Else didn’t know that. We thought she would make Hector do his duty.”

Eden shook her head. “No, you wanted revenge. You wanted to hurt Hector.”

Her mother pressed her lips together. “He’s skated through life without a thought for other people. It’s about time he paid for some of his sins.”

There was no getting through to this woman. She was blind to her warped character. “So you told his wife. What happened?”

“The silly woman was hysterical. From what I heard, she took some pills and overdosed. To this day, no one knows if it was accidental or deliberate.”

“She died?”

“I have heard she lived but went a little crazy. I’m not sure, though.”

The poor woman. Destroyed by this pair. “I don’t ever want you to contact us again,” Clay said. “Let’s go, Eden.”

The agents were gone, leaving only dust in their wake. The acrid taste of betrayal clung to Eden’s tongue. She stood with Clay’s arm around her in front of the abandoned house. The wind rolled two tumbleweeds past their feet.

“It’s over, honey,” Clay said. “We’ll go on from here. We have each other and Brianna.”

The love in his eyes brought a lump to her throat. “I’m clinging to that. It will take me a few minutes to come to grips with everything she’s done.” She glanced back at the house. “Can we look at it in the daylight?”

His grin came, tenderness in the curve of it. “Let me make sure there are no snakes in our path.”

They went to the door. He kicked the pile of weeds out of the way, then shoved the door open. Sunlight streamed into the open courtyard between the outer entrance and the house. There were more tumbleweeds in the corners, but the hand-painted Mexican tiles on the ground were untouched. Their colors glowed in the sunshine.

“It’s lovely!” She stepped onto the tile behind him. A mural was still intact on the back wall of the house. Eden studied the scene of cacti and distant mountains. Warm terra-cotta-colored paint on the other walls made her feel at home. Dead rose branches overran the trellis that covered a seating area. “Who painted this? I love it.”

He stood examining the space with her. “I did. It was one of my early teenage attempts at art.”

“It’s really good.” She pointed to the other walls. “You could do some other murals there. Ones of the mountains.” She went to the French doors on the right wall. “Where does this lead?”

“Into the dining room.” He opened the door and led her into the house. “Looks okay,” he said.

She followed him into a huge room flanked with floor-to-ceiling windows. The light had a quality that lifted her spirits. She could see them living here. Brianna playing with her toys on a rug that warmed the tile. On one end of the room was the kitchen. It was still decked out in the eighties style, just like when it was built. Dust and cobwebs covered the counters and cabinets, but the layout and structure attracted her. There was a beehive chimney over the stove. In her mind’s eye, she could see a new kitchen with granite counters and cherrywood cabinets.

“How many bedrooms?” she asked.

“You won’t believe it. Six. And six bathrooms.”

She gaped. “Why so many? There were only three of you kids, right?”

He nodded. “Mom wanted room for company, and she liked to sew, so one room was set up as her craft space. It was a great house to grow up in.” He took her hand. “Let me show you our room.”

Our room
. Eden liked the sound of that. They could make a home here with Brianna. She could hear her daughter’s laughter in this place. And any other children who might come along too. She let Clay lead her to a wing that had several rooms sprouting off of it. She peeked in as she passed and saw two generous bedrooms and several bathrooms.

“The master is at the end of the hall,” Clay said.

The door was closed, and he pushed it open to reveal a huge room with fifteen-foot-high ceilings. Clerestory windows illuminated the space. Eden wandered the room and exclaimed over the huge bathroom with a separate shower and soaking bathtub. The walk-in closet was as large as their bedroom back at the bunkhouse.

“I never expected anything so grand,” she said.

His grin widened. “Only the best for the love of my life.”

She realized the tension she’d felt was gone, washed away by dreaming of the future with this man she loved so much. “Let’s see the rest.”

By the time she’d seen the five bedrooms in the wing at the other end of the house, she was ready to move in. “How long do you think it would take to get it ready?”

“Depends on what all we want to do. We’ll have to get it cleaned, a new roof for sure.”

“A new kitchen,” she said. “The bathrooms are fine. They just need to be cleaned.” The expensive Mexican tile and hand-painted sinks were still in good condition in all the bathrooms. “This place is like a small village. The three of us will have trouble finding one another.”

“I can find you anywhere,” he said, taking her in his arms. “You can run and hide, but it will do you no good. You belong with me.”

“It’s the only place I want to be,” she said, nestling against him.

They would fill this house with love and laughter again. “What time is it?” she asked. It felt like two days since they’d left the ranch.

He glanced at his watch. “Nearly noon. Sister Marjo should be getting to the ranch soon. We’d better go.”

31

S
ITTING HERE WITH
C
LAY
,
IT WAS HARD FOR
E
DEN TO REMEMBER THAT A FEW HOURS AGO
they feared for their lives. It was all over now. The judge had called to report that one of Santiago’s lackeys was beginning to talk. Julia hoped to have several branches of Santiago’s empire cleanly amputated in another day or two.

Eden glanced at her watch, then at Clay, who was on the porch swing with her. “She’s late.” She was enjoying resting in the circle of his arm. The girls played with Frisbees in the front yard.

He hugged her. “Only forty-five minutes. Be patient. We’re in the boonies. It takes awhile to get here from Austin.”

Allie stepped from the house. “Lunch, girls!” She held the door open while the children scampered inside. “Still not here?” she asked.

Eden nearly groaned. “Where is she?”

Allie’s smile faded as she glanced at her watch. “She said she thought she’d be no later than noon. I hope her car didn’t break down.”

The phone rang from inside. Eden had a feeling it was going to be bad news. Her stomach muscles clenched when, a few moments later, Allie returned with a grim expression.

“What is it?”

“That was the sheriff. He found Sister Marjo’s car abandoned off the road. There’s no sign of her.”

Clay lurched to his feet. “She had an accident and tried to walk for help?”

“Maybe. It appears that someone sideswiped her. The driver’s door was hanging open like she got out in a hurry. He’s got some deputies out looking for her now.”

“We should help too,” Clay said.

Allie nodded. “Maybe on horseback. Rick can decide. There’s lots of desert to cover.”

That plan ruled out Eden. No way she was getting in a saddle. “What else can we do?”

Allie glanced at her with an intent expression. “Pray.”

“I have been.” And God had been so faithful. Little by little, he had filled Eden’s life with hope. She’d been afraid to allow herself to dream, but God had given her all she could possibly desire.

Clay rushed off to the barn to fetch Rick. Both men returned leading saddled horses. Eden watched them mount up.

“I want to go too,” Allie said.

“It’s brutally hot out there today,” Rick said. “I’d rather you stay home. In your condition.”

Eden glanced at Allie and saw a flush running up her neck. “Condition?”

“I’m pregnant,” Allie said. “I suppose I’d better stay home. But I don’t want to.”

Rick dropped a kiss on her lips. “We’ll find her. Try not to worry. And pray.”

“We will.”

The men mounted their horses and rode off down the drive. “Congratulations,” Eden said. “When is the baby due?”

Allie smiled. “Not for five months yet. I’m not even showing. Betsy is hoping for a girl. Matthew wants a brother, of course.”

Eden found her own hand had wandered to her belly. She remembered carrying Brianna. Then she’d been young and scared. What would it be like to have another baby with Clay now that the barriers between them were finally down?

She forced her thoughts back to the present. “We might as well make sure the girls are eating,” Eden said.

Clay settled in his saddle. “Would you mind shutting the barn door?” he asked Eden. “I just realized we left it open.”

“Sure.” She glanced at Allie. “You want to check on the girls? I’ll shut the door.”

“Sure.”

Allie headed toward the house. Eden had shut the door and turned to leave when a voice from inside the barn stopped her.

“Eden,” the distorted voice whispered. “I have her.”

She wanted to run, but she stepped closer to the barn. “You have who?” But she was afraid she knew. “Sister Marjo?” Who was on the other side of this wall?

“Only you can save her.”

A window was nearly at eye level. She stared into the barn, but the brilliant sunlight turned the glass into a mirror and she could see nothing. “How?”

“Leave Bluebird. Today. Right now. Clay’s truck is outside. His keys are in it. All you have to do is get in and drive away. I’ll let the nun go.”

“Did you hurt her?”

“Not yet.”

The implied threat made her swallow hard. “She’s done nothing to you.”