Return to Promise

  He held out his arms, urging her to join him, and one look told her what he had in mind.

  Jane hesitated. “I hope you’re not thinking what I suspect you’re thinking.”

  “Honey,” he pleaded, “it’s been nearly three weeks since we made love.”

  Jane sagged onto the side of the bed. “Not tonight.”

  Cal looked crestfallen. “Okay, I guess I asked for that. You’re upset about the house being a mess, aren’t you?”

  “I’m not punishing you, if that’s what you’re saying.” Couldn’t he see she was nearly asleep on her feet?

  “Sure, whatever,” he muttered. Jerking the covers past his shoulder, he rolled over and presented her with a view of his back.

  “Oh, Cal, stop it,” she said, wanting to shake him. He was acting like a spoiled little boy—like their own son when he didn’t get what he wanted. At this point, though, Jane didn’t care. She undressed and turned off the light. Tired as she was, she assumed she’d be asleep the instant her head hit the pillow.

  She wasn’t.

  Instead, she lay awake in the dark, wondering how their reunion could possibly have gone so wrong.

  Chapter Five

  To say that Jane’s kitchen cupboards were bare would be an understatement. One of her first chores the next morning was to buy groceries. Cal kept Paul with him for the day, instead of taking him to town for the church-run preschool, and Jane buckled Mary Ann into her car seat and drove to town.

  She was grateful to be home, grateful to wake up with her husband at her side and grateful that the unpleasantness of the night before seemed to be forgotten. With the washer and dryer humming and the children well rested, the day looked brighter all around. Even Mary Ann seemed to be feeling better, and a quick check of her ears revealed no infection.

  Although she had a whole list of things to do, Jane took time to stop by and see Ellie. Later, when she’d finished with her errands, she planned to make a quick run over to Annie’s.

  “You look…” Ellie hesitated as she met Jane outside Frasier Feed.

  “Exhausted,” Jane filled in for her. “I’m telling you, Ellie, this time away was no vacation.”

  “I know,” Ellie said, steering her toward the old-fashioned rockers positioned in front. “I remember what it was like. With my dad sick and my mother frantic, it was all I could do to keep myself sane.”

  Jane wished Cal understood how trying and difficult these weeks had been for her. He should know, seeing that his own mother had been so terribly ill, but then, Phil had protected his sons from the truth for far too long.

  “I’m glad you’re home.” Ellie sank into one of the rockers.

  “Me, too.” Jane sat down beside her friend, balancing Mary Ann on her knee. She loved sitting right here with Ellie, looking out at the town park and at the street; she’d missed their chats. She could smell mesquite smoke from the Chili Pepper. California cuisine had nothing on good old Texas barbecue, she thought, her mouth watering at the thought of ribs dripping with tangy sauce. A bowl of Nell’s famous chili wouldn’t go amiss, either.

  “Everything will be better now,” Ellie said.

  Jane stared at her friend. “Better? How do you mean?”

  Ellie’s gaze instantly shot elsewhere. “It’s nothing…I was thinking out loud. I’m just pleased you’re back.”

  Jane was a little puzzled but let Ellie’s odd remark slide. They talked about friends and family and planned a lunch date, then Jane left to get her groceries.

  Buy-Right Foods had built a new supermarket on the outskirts of town, and it boasted one of the finest produce and seafood selections in the area. The day it opened, everyone in the county had shown up for the big event—and the music, the clowns who painted kids’ faces and, not least, the generous assortment of free samples. There hadn’t been a parking space in the lot, which had occasioned plenty of complaints. People didn’t understand that this kind of congestion was a way of life in California. Jane had forgotten what it was like to wait through two cycles at a traffic light just to reach a left-turn lane. A traffic jam in Promise usually meant two cars at a stop sign.

  Grabbing a cart at the Buy-Right, she fastened Mary Ann into the seat and headed down the first aisle. Everyone who saw Jane seemed to stop and chat, welcome her home. At this rate, it’d take all day to gather the items on her list. Actually she didn’t mind. If Cal had shown half the enthusiasm her friends and neighbors did, the unpleasantness the night before might have been averted.

  “Jane Dickinson—I mean, Patterson! Why, I do declare you’re a sight for sore eyes.”

  Jane recognized the voice immediately. Tammy Lee Kollenborn. The woman was a known flirt and troublemaker. Jane tended to avoid her, remembering the grief Tammy had caused Dovie several years earlier. After a ten-year relationship, Dovie had wanted to get married and Frank hadn’t. Then, for some ridiculous reason, Frank had asked Tammy Lee out. The night had been a disaster, and shortly afterward Frank had proposed to Dovie—although not before Tammy had managed to upset Dovie with her lies and insinuations.

  “Hello, Tammy Lee.”

  Her gold heels made flip-flop sounds as the older woman pushed her cart alongside Jane’s. “My, your little one sure is a cutie-pie.” She peered at Mary Ann through her rhinestone-rimmed glasses. “I swear I’d die for lashes that long,” she said, winking up at Jane.

  Trying to guess Tammy Lee’s age was a fruitless effort. She dressed in a style Jane privately called “Texas trash” and wore enough costume jewelry to qualify her for a weight-lifting award.

  “From what I understand, it’s a good thing you got home when you did,” Tammy Lee said in a low voice.

  Jane frowned. “Why?”

  Tammy Lee glanced over her shoulder. “You mean to say no one’s mentioned what’s been going on with Cal and that other woman while you were away?”

  Jane pinched her lips. If she was smart, she’d make a convenient excuse and leave without giving Tammy the pleasure of spreading her lies. They had to be lies. After five years of marriage, Jane knew her husband, and Cal was not the type of man to cheat on his wife.

  “Her name’s Nicole Nelson. Pretty thing. Younger than you by a good, oh, six or seven years, although it’s hard to say for sure. Bearing children ages a woman, you know. My first husband wanted kids, but I knew the minute I got pregnant I’d eat my way through the entire pregnancy. So I refused.”

  “Yes, well…listen, Tammy Lee, I’ve got a million things to do.”

  “I saw Cal with her myself.”

  “I really do need to be going—”

  “They were having dinner together at the Mexican Lindo.”

  “Cal and Nicole Nelson?” Jane refused to believe it.

  “They were whispering. This is a small town, Jane, and people notice these things. Like I said, I’m surprised no one’s mentioned it. I probably shouldn’t, either, but my fourth husband cheated on me and I would’ve given anything for someone to tell me sooner. You’ve heard the saying? The wife is always the last to know.”

  “I’m sure there’s a very logical reason Cal was with Nicole,” Jane insisted, not allowing herself to feel jealous. Even if she was, she wouldn’t have said anything in front of Tammy Lee.

  “Isn’t that something?” Tammy Lee said, laughing lightly. “When my dear friend finally broke down and told me about Mark seeing another woman, I said the very same thing. Wives are simply too trusting. We naturally assume our husbands would never betray us like that.”

  “I really have a lot to do,” Jane said again.

  “Now, you listen to me, Jane. I want you to remember later on, when you’re forced to deal with this betrayal, that I’m here for you. I know what you’re feeling.”

  Jane was sure that couldn’t be true.

  “If you need someone to talk to, come to me. I’ve been down this road myself. If you need a good attorney, I can recommend one in San Antonio. When she’s finished with Cal Patterson, he won’t have a d
ime.”

  “Tammy Lee, I don’t have time for this,” Jane said, and forcefully pushed her cart forward.

  “Call me, you hear?” Tammy Lee gently patted Jane’s shoulder. Jane found it a patronizing gesture and had to grit her teeth.

  By the time she’d finished paying for the groceries, she was furious. No one needed to tell her who Nicole Nelson was; Jane remembered the other woman all too well. Nicole had sought Cal out the afternoon of the rodeo. Jane had sat in the grandstand with her two children while that woman flirted outrageously with her husband.

  For now, Jane was willing to give Cal the benefit of the doubt. But as she loaded the groceries into the car, she remembered Ellie’s strange comment about everything being “better” now. So that was what her sister-in-law had meant.

  The one person she trusted to talk this out with was Dovie. Jane hurried to her friend’s antique store, although she couldn’t stay long.

  Dovie greeted her with a hug. The store looked wonderful, thanks to Dovie’s gift for display. Her assortment of antiques, jewelry, dried flowers, silk scarves and more was presented in appealing and imaginative ways.

  They chatted a few minutes while Dovie inquired about Jane’s parents.

  “I ran into Tammy Lee Kollenborn at Buy-Right Foods,” Jane announced suddenly, watching Dovie’s reaction. It didn’t take long for her to see one. “So it’s true?”

  “Now, Jane—”

  “Cal’s been seeing Nicole Nelson?”

  “I wouldn’t say that.”

  “According to Tammy Lee, they were together at the Mexican Lindo. Is that right?”

  Hands clenched in front of her, Dovie hesitated, then nodded.

  Jane couldn’t believe her ears. She felt as though her legs were about to collapse out from under her.

  “I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical reason,” Dovie said weakly, and Jane realized she’d said the very same words herself not ten minutes earlier.

  “If that’s the case, then why didn’t Cal mention it?” she demanded, although she didn’t expect an answer from Dovie.

  The older woman’s gaze shifted uncomfortably. “You’ll have to ask him.”

  “Oh, I intend to,” Jane muttered as she headed out the door. She’d visit Annie another day. Right now, she was more interested in hearing what Cal had to say for himself.

  When she pulled off the highway and hurtled down the long drive to the ranch house, the first thing she noticed was that the screen door was open. Cal and Paul walked out to the back porch to greet her. She saw that her husband’s expression was slightly embarrassed, as if he knew he’d done something wrong.

  “Don’t be mad,” he said when she stepped out of the car, “but Paul and I had a small accident.”

  “What kind of accident?” she asked.

  “We decided to make lunch for you and…well, let me just say that I think we can save the pan.” A smile started to quiver at the corners of his mouth. “Come on, honey, it’s only a pan. I’m sure the smoke will wash off the walls.”

  “Tell me about Nicole Nelson,” Jane said, point-blank.

  The amusement vanished from his eyes. He stiffened. “What’s there to say?”

  “Plenty, from what I hear.”

  “Come on, Jane, you know me better than that.”

  “Do I?” She glared at him.

  “Jane, you’re being ridiculous.”

  “Did you or did you not have dinner with Nicole Nelson?”

  Cal didn’t answer.

  “It’s a simple question,” she said, growing impatient.

  “Yeah, but the answer is complicated.”

  “I damn well bet it is!” Jane was angrier than she could remember being in a very long while. If they’d had a wonderful reunion, she might have found the whole matter forgettable. Instead, he hadn’t bothered to show up at the airport until after she’d landed. The house was a mess and all he could think about was getting her in the sack. She shifted Mary Ann on her hip, grabbed a plastic bag full of groceries and stomped into the house.

  “Jane!”

  She stood in the doorway. “I have all the answers I need.”

  “Fine!” Cal shouted, angry now.

  “Daddy, Daddy!” Paul cried, covering his ears. “Mommy’s mad.”

  “Is this what you want out son to see?” Cal yelled after her.

  “That’s just perfect,” Jane yelled back. “You’re running around town with another woman, you don’t offer a word of explanation and then you blame me because our son sees us fighting.” Hurt, angry and outraged, she stormed into the bedroom.

  No one needed to tell Glen that things weren’t going well between his brother and Jane. He saw evidence of the trouble in their marriage every morning when he drove to work at the Lonesome Coyote Ranch.

  He and Cal were partners, had worked together for years, and if anyone knew that Cal could be unreasonable, it was Glen. More important, though, Glen was well aware that his older brother loved his wife and children.

  By late October the demands of raising cattle had peaked for the season, since most of their herd had been sold off. Not that the hours Cal kept gave any indication of that. Most mornings when Glen arrived, Cal had already left the house.

  “Are you going to talk about it?” Glen asked him late one afternoon. Cal hadn’t said more than two words to him all day. They sat side by side in the truck, driving back to the ranch house.

  “No,” Cal barked.

  “This has to do with Jane, right?” Glen asked.

  Cal purposely hit a pothole, which made Glen bounce so high in his seat that his head hit the truck roof, squashing the crown of his Stetson.

  “Dammit, Cal, there was no call for that,” Glen muttered, repairing his hat.

  “Sorry,” Cal returned, but his tone said he was anything but.

  “If you can’t talk to me, then who can you talk to?” Glen asked. It bothered him that his only brother refused to even acknowledge, let alone discuss, his problems. Over the years Glen had spilled his guts any number of times. More than once Cal had steered him away from trouble. Glen was ready to do him the same favor.

  “If I wanted to talk, you mean,” Cal said.

  “In other words, you’d prefer to keep it all to yourself.”

  “Yup.”

  “Fine, then, if that’s what you want.”

  They drove several minutes in tense silence. Finally Glen couldn’t stand it any longer. “This is your wife—your family. Doesn’t that matter to you? What’s going on?” He could feel his patience with Cal fading.”

  Cal grumbled something he couldn’t hear. Then he said in a grudging voice, “Jane paid a visit to Tumbleweed Books the other day.”

  His brother didn’t need to explain further. Nicole Nelson worked at the bookstore, and although Jane was good friends with Annie Porter, Glen suspected she hadn’t casually dropped by to see her.

  “She talk to Nicole?”

  Cal shrugged. “I don’t like my wife checking up on me.”

  Glen mulled this over and wondered if Cal had explained the situation. “Jane knows you didn’t take Nicole to dinner, doesn’t she?”

  “Yes, dammit!” he shouted. “I told her what happened. The next thing I know, she’s all bent out of shape, slamming pots and pans around the kitchen like I did something terrible.”

  “Make it up to her,” Glen advised. If his brother hadn’t learned that lesson by now, it was high time he did.

  “I didn’t do anything,” Cal snapped. “If she doesn’t believe me, then…” He let the rest fade.

  “Cal, get real! Do what you’ve got to do, man. You aren’t the only one, you know. Ellie gets a bee in her bonnet every now and then. Hell if I know what I did wrong, but after a while I don’t care. I want things settled. I want peace in the valley. Learn from me—apologize and be done with it.”

  Cal frowned, shaking his head. “I’m not you.”

  “Pride can make a man damned miserable,” Glen said. “I
t’s…it’s like sitting on a barbed-wire fence naked.” He nodded, pleased with his analogy.

  Cal shook his head again, and Glen doubted his brother had really heard him. Deciding to change the subject, Glen tried another approach. “How’s Jane’s father?”

  “All right, I guess. She talks to her mother damn near every day.”

  The ranch house came into view. Glen recalled a time not so long ago when they’d reached this same spot and had seen Nicole Nelson’s vehicle parked down below. A thought occurred to him, a rather unpleasant one.

  “Are you still in love with Jane?” Glen asked.

  Cal hit the brakes with enough force to throw them both forward. If not for the restraint of the seat belts, they might have hit their heads on the windshield.

  “What the hell kind of question is that?” Cal roared.

  “Do you still love Jane?” Glen yelled right back.

  “Of course I do!”

  Glen relaxed.

  “What I want is a wife who trusts me,” Cal said. “I haven’t so much as looked at another woman since the day we met, and she damn well knows it.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t.”

  “Well, she should,” was his brother’s response.

  To Glen’s way of thinking, there were plenty of things a wife should know and often didn’t. He figured it was the man’s job to set things straight and to make sure that his wife was left without any doubt about his feelings.

  In the days that followed it was clear that the situation between Jane and Cal hadn’t improved. Feeling helpless, Glen decided to seek his father’s advice. He found Phil at the bowling alley Friday afternoon, when the senior league was just finishing up. It didn’t take much to talk Phil into coffee and a piece of pecan pie. The bowling alley café still served the best breakfast in town and was a popular place to eat.

  As soon as they slid into the booth, the waitress automatically brought over the coffeepot.

  “We’ll each have a slice of pecan pie, Denise,” Phil told her.

  “Coming right up,” she said, filling the thick white mugs with an expert hand. “How you doin’, Phil? Glen?”