The Cattleman (Sons of Texas Book 2) (42 page)

“It’s pretty much a man cave,” she continued. “Pic says it wasn’t always that way. When his mother lived here, the whole house looked different.”

“I see,” Shannon said. “Why doesn’t she still live here? Drake has never told me that history.”

“I don’t know it, either. I was living in Lubbock when she left. All I know is she and Bill Junior have never gotten a divorce and they still get together occasionally.”

They reached the living room, a large airy space with a wood beam ceiling, comfortable armchairs and a fireplace made of unusual gray stones. “This is where the family gathers for Christmas every year,” Amanda said. “They put a big Christmas tree over in the corner by the fireplace. Last year, Kate had this room professionally decorated and it was beautiful.”

Amanda omitted telling Shannon about the family brawl that had taken place over one of Bill Junior’s girlfriends, which had resulted in Pic throwing the elaborate Christmas tree out into the yard.

Shannon stopped in front of a huge painting of a live oak trees shading a carpet of bluebonnets.

“A famous western artist painted that,” Amanda said. “But his name escapes me. He was friends with Bill Senior. He’s dead now, but when he was alive and still painting, he came here and stayed a month every year. He drew and painted scenes from around the ranch. Pic was a little boy at the time. He says he used to follow him around like a puppy, itching to get into his paints.”

“That must have been a big thing to Pic,” Shannon replied, smiling.

“One of his most famous paintings is of Smoky when he was young, feeding an apple to his horse. I know you’d know the painting. You see copies of it everywhere.”

Amanda led them to a seating area where two oversize chairs with thick padded arms huddled adjacent to each other and they sat down. An awkward silence followed.

Finally, Shannon broke the ice. “You seem a little on edge. Are you okay?”

“Yes, of course. I’m just worried about what could have happened to that old Lockhart house.”

Not entirely a lie. But no way did Amanda intend to reveal her inner conflict to Pic’s brother’s wife, no matter how warm and friendly Shannon appeared to be.

“I still don’t understand why someone wants to harm the Lockhart family,” Shannon said. “Drake hasn’t been forthcoming with an explanation that makes sense. I’m not sure he understands it either. All I know is everywhere I go nowadays, I’m being followed around by mysterious men in black vehicles and wearing dark sunglasses and they tell me my life might be in danger.” She laughed.

“I’ve got one of those, too,” Amanda said. “I’m getting used to it, but I’m constantly having to explain it to people who give me odd looks. Nobody understands, especially in Drinkwell. I’m sure some of the parents don’t want their kids in a classroom with a person who might be the victim of a crime at any time.”

Shannon shook her head. “It’s so surreal. In my whole life, I’ve never felt threatened by anyone.”

“You’re right about it being surreal,” Amanda said.

“You and Pic have been together a long time?”

Amanda
waved the idea away with one hand. “Oh, it’s been off and on. I first met Pic when I started kindergarten and he was in second grade. He, Kate, Troy and I were all in the same room. You see, the Drinkwell school system is so small, in the elementary school, more than one grade is taught in the same room, even now.”

Shannon smiled. “I went to school in Camden. It wasn’t quite as small as Drinkwell, but I know what a small town is like.”

On the mantel stood a large photograph of two teenage boys dressed in football uniforms. “Is that a picture of our boys?” Shannon asked.

“
Sure is. In high school, Pic and Drake both were hot-shot football players, although Pic was the better athlete. All of the girls swooned over them.”

Amanda deliberately didn’t mention the high school girlfriend Drake had been with for years and had planned on marrying. If Shannon didn’t already know that story, she wouldn
’t hear it from Amanda’s mouth.

“And you dated Pic?”

“When I got to high school. I already had a crush on him, but when we actually started spending a lot of time together and having sex, I fell for him, hook, line and sinker. He was the guy I wanted to stroll into the sunset with.”

“But Drake said he’s been married and divorced.”

Amanda nodded, picking at a thread on her skirt. “I thought he cared about me as much as I cared about him. But then, his sophomore year at Tarleton, right out of the blue, he got married.”

“Oh, wow,” Shannon said. “Were you engaged or anything?”

“Oh, no. We just sort of didn’t go out with anyone else. I was the only girl in high school that he dated and vice-versa. At the time, when he went off to college, I couldn’t imagine that he would even look at another girl. Of course, I was a naïve kid who thought most of the people in the world were good. I didn’t know there were people like that girl he married. I doubt if Pic knew it either.”

“She wasn’t good?”

Amanda didn’t know Pic’s ex-wife personally. And she didn’t think about those teenage days much anymore, although at the time, she had cried for weeks. She sat forward, propping her arms on her thighs and holding her own glass of water between both hands. “I don’t know how you’d describe Lucianne. After they got married, I found out from a friend who had also gone to Tarleton that Pic’s bride had slept with half the student body.”

She sat back in her chair, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips. “I don’t know wh
y I’m being so bitchy today or why I can’t seem to shut my mouth. I don’t mean to bend your ear.”

“Please don’t think that.
I like hearing people’s stories, especially if it’s people I’m now related to.” She smiled, making Amanda wish they were sisters.

“
I’m exaggerating about his ex-wife,” Amanda said. “But she did have a reputation for being pretty loose. She was from some town down south, going to Tarleton on a rodeo scholarship. So with the college not having much in the way of dorms, she had lived off campus with a couple of different guys. I don’t know if Pic knew that about her or if he was so head-over-heels he didn’t care about it.

“Later, even after they came back to the Double-Barrel to live, she kept rodeoing and sleeping around.  Everyone in Drinkwell talked about it. Pic finally caught her with someone. I didn’t live here at the time, but other people have told me about it. People in Drinkwell don’t have anything to do but gossip, you know.

“Anyway, the Lockharts hate her. They call her a gold-digger and think she took advantage of a dumb teenage boy. But to this day, Pic has a blind spot where she’s concerned. If someone criticizes her, he always defends her.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want to admit he made a bad choice
,” Shannon said.

Amanda
shrugged. “I believe he really loved her.”

Saying that sent a pang through Amanda’s chest.
She couldn’t keep from wondering if he still loved her. Looking down into her glass, she ran her finger around the rim. “She was a barrel racer. I’ve seen her pictures. She was a tall, gorgeous blonde. She even competed for Miss Rodeo America. The story I was told was that she met Pic because she was looking for a new horse, but couldn’t afford to buy one. So Pic ending up giving her one.”

“He
gave
her a horse? Wouldn’t a horse like that be expensive?”

“As I understand it,
the one he gave her wasn’t trained to race barrels. So he helped her train it. And the romance was on. Guess he was a sucker for a pretty face and a sad story.”

“A lot of men are like that,” Shannon said. “
Even after they get old.”

“Maybe so,” Amanda replied. “Just look at Pic’s Dad. Anyway, I spent my senior year in high school nursing my broken heart. Then, after I graduated, I went to Lubbock to live with my aunt and go to Tech. At the time, Tech had a great swim team and I wanted to get on it.
The fact that I did was a miracle considering where I’d come from. Looking back, it’s almost laughable when I think of the fierce competition I faced. I wouldn’t have the nerve to do it now. Anyway, after I’d been in Lubbock a while, I met a guy and got married myself. And yada, yada, yada.”

“Didn’t work out, huh?”

“Haven’t you heard about him?...And me?

“I haven’t, no. I didn’t even know you had an ex-husband.”

A bitter laugh burst from Amanda’s throat. “Well, I’m sure you’ll hear sooner or later. Thanks to Pic’s mother, my secret’s no longer secret.”

“Oh?”

“My ex-husband went to prison. Only one other person around here, who happens to be my best friend, knew that. Then Betty came up with some kind of investigator’s report and spread the news everywhere.”

“She’s apparently good at that,” Shannon said. “After the report she got on me, Drake told her she needed to lose that
investigating company’s phone number. Evidently, that advice didn’t take.”

“Sam just got out. He’s a free man. He called me last Friday to wish me happy birthday. I wonder what Betty would do if she knew about that.”

“When you say prison, do you mean the state prison, as in down at Huntsville or some place?”

“Yep. That’s where he went.”

“Do you mind if I ask you what he did?”

Shannon was so easy to talk to. She listened attentively and emitted a sincere interest and concern. And today, Amanda’s emotions were as raw as an open sore. A dry shoulder was too welcome. Tears burned her eyes. She sighed. “Burglary. Computers. Cell phones. TVs. All kinds of electronic stuff. He and his three brothers had this ring going. Sam had a good job making good money, but his two brothers weren’t doing so well. They always had money troubles. So Sam came up with this scheme.
He was the ringleader.

A crown creased Shannon’s brow. “Oh, Mandy. What a terrible thing to go through.”

“Hah. Tell me about it. His regular job was calling on retail stores that sold electronics, everything from cell phones and accessories to TVs and all that goes with that, so he had knowledge of which stores had what on hand and when. He and his brothers would break into the stores at night and take a truckload of the store’s inventory. Whatever was easy to get. Then Sam would sell the items on the black market. They did that for a couple of years before they got caught.”

“Did you know about it?”

“I wish I had. I would’ve cooked his goose sooner than it got cooked. I didn’t have a clue. I had no idea he even knew people who would buy things that people stole. My only excuse is I was preoccupied with getting my teaching career going and trying to learn to be a swim coach. I didn’t pay a lot of attention. We didn’t have a great marriage. There wasn’t much communication and we were both so busy we were sort of like ships passing in the night. I was aware of the money he always had. He got paid commissions, so I just thought he was extremely good at his job.”

“
Good grief,” Shannon said. “How did he get caught?”

“Greed. He wanted to grow the business, so he brought a couple of outsiders into the ring. His brothers resented it. They didn’t want to divide the loot anymore than it was already being divided. Then, his oldest brother got arrested for beating up his wife. He even cut her with a knife.
It was bad. He already had a history of domestic abuse, so he was facing assault charges and prison time. He was so mad at Sam for widening the ring, he traded information about the thefts for a lesser charge on the assault.”

Shannon’s eyes had gone wide. “Oh, my God. He didn’t go to jail?”

“He did. But with his plea bargain, he got a shorter sentence than Sam did.”

Amanda hadn’t told that story to many, but when she had, the reaction had always been the same from everyone.

“I was investigated. Well, more than that. I was arrested. I stayed in jail overnight. I mean, how could they not think I was part of it? But Sam convinced them I didn’t know what was going on and they released me without charges. I guess I should thank him.”

“And that’s
what made you come back to Drinkwell?”

“
Actually, no. My dad was still alive then. I couldn’t stand to face him, so I didn’t tell him about it. It’s ironic. Both my parents went to their graves without ever knowing about their scandalous daughter.

“
It was a horrible time. Sam was contrite. I believed he felt remorse and he had been loyal to me, so I stood by him. Hiring a lawyer to defend him took nearly all of the money we had. I stayed in Lubbock and worked.

“When the trial rolled around, the jury found him guilty and the judge gave him eight years. He appealed, but by then, I had started to see a side of him that I didn’t like very much. Our money was gone and my job was in jeopardy, so I left him and filed for divorce. At about the same time, he lost the appeal. He had nowhere to go but prison. I had to take bankruptcy. I
didn’t have much, but what I did have, I lost.”

“How awful, Amanda. I’m so sorry.”

She dabbed at a tear in the corner of her eye. To this day she couldn’t discuss that part of her life without tears. “Oh, it’s water under the bridge. A learning experience, as the saying goes. Not too long after that, my dad was diagnosed with cancer. He needed someone, so I came back to be with him. I applied for a job in the Drinkwell school system. It’s so tiny and out of date they didn’t even do a background check on me. The superintendent and the principal knew my parents and that was good enough for them.