Lonestar Secrets

  THE SMALL CHURCH HELD A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE. PASTOR GRADY O'Sullivan and his wife, Dolly. A few folks from the adult Sundayschool class Jack taught. The Baileys. Jack's parents were here, but he hadn't invited Aunt Verna.

  He glanced down at his daughter clinging to his hand. The two girls wore identical dresses in a weird bluish shade. They were made of that filmy stuff that made them look like princesses. In cream leather flats, with bows in their curled blonde hair, they could have stepped from the pages of a fairy-tale book.

  Shannon had done a good job, but he was ready to bolt for the door, especially after the other night in the sandstorm. He was way too attracted to her. He cracked his knuckles and made himself stand where he was.

  "You nervous?" Rick asked. Dressed in a suit, he could almost be going to his own wedding.

  "A little." Jack eyed Rick. Shannon had moved in with the Baileys last week, and she'd been tight-lipped about the reason why. Maybe it was the state of the house her uncle had left her. Or maybe she just needed Allie's comfort as they planned the wedding.

  Jack cracked his knuckles again, then stuck his hands in his pockets. His dark blue suit was new, and he'd had his hair trimmed yesterday. All to marry some woman he didn't know. No, strike that. He squeezed Faith's fingers gently. To keep his daughter. That's what it was all about. He had to keep his priorities in mind.

  His daughter pulled her hand free and ran across the church to join her sister. They still had to tell the girls the whole truth, but Jack intended to put it off as long as possible.

  Rick waited until she was out of hearing range. "Shannon has been a wild woman for three days. Pacing the floor at night, crying for no reason, eating every bit of homemade bread in the house." He grinned. "Between her and my pregnant wife, I haven't gotten a lick of work done."

  A short bark of laughter burst out of Jack's mouth, and the release kept him grinning. "Enrica doesn't allow wheat in our house. Shannon's going to have a hard time of it if she gets nervous at our place." He stared hard at Rick. "You're happy, right? Married, I mean."

  Rick nodded, his eyes twinkling. He leaned closer. "I didn't know Allie when I married her either."

  Jack had heard rumors, but he hadn't known what to believe. "Some people said you knew her from a long time ago."

  "Nope. I hadn't laid eyes on her until I found her and Betsy stranded at the side of the road. We married for Betsy's sake, and it's worked out. More than worked out. We've got a great marriage." Rick slapped Jack on the shoulder. "Give yourself a chance to discover she's a terrific gal."

  Jack grunted. "You couldn't prove it by me. She could have just done the right thing. All she had to do was sign Faith over to me."

  "Would you have done that? If the situation were reversed and that child was yours?"

  Jack didn't want to answer. He wanted to hang on to his anger against Shannon, to hug his feelings of outrage. "Maybe not."

  "You wouldn't. You'd want to know your daughter too. Anyone would. You can't blame her."

  Jack shrugged. "I've been railroaded." He knew he sounded sulky. No, he was sulky.

  Rick's grin faded. "Like I said, don't shut the door on a real marriage. It can happen."

  "Yeah, right." Jack took his hands from his pocket and cracked his knuckles again. His stomach plunged when Grady stepped out the side door by the pulpit and motioned to him. This dog and pony show was about to begin.

  All he wanted to do was run for the nearest exit, but he'd have to grab the pommel of this saddle and hang on for dear life.

  Rick grabbed his elbow when he took a step back. "You can do it. Let's go."

  Jack forced his feet to move forward, shuffling closer to the front of the church. He barely noticed the flowers hanging on the ends of the pews or the candelabra at the front of the church. All touches someone had cared about to make the day nice for them.

  The next thing he knew, he and Rick were standing in front of the few guests. Grady's wife, Dolly, put her hands on the organ, and the sound filled the small church. The girls came down the aisle together, one scattering petals and the other holding the ring bearer's pillow with the fake rings.

  "You've got the ring, right?" Jack whispered to Rick.

  "Got it."

  Allie came down the aisle in a blue dress that was shiny. She looked nice, and the love in her eyes when she saw Rick made Jack's throat thicken. Blair used to look at him like that. Now here he was, settling for a loveless marriage.

  The organ pounded out the first notes of the "Bridal Chorus." He caught his first glimpse of his new bride. She wore a cream dress that left her shoulders bare and draped over her down to a jagged kind of hem. At least it wasn't a normal bride's dress. It didn't even have a train.

  His gaze found her face. She looked pale, and her eyes stared straight ahead. She didn't turn to smile at any of the guests. Her mouth pressed into a straight line, she walked with a halting step. Was she trying to match the music or was she about to turn tail and run? His muscles tensed to grab her if she started to bolt. She'd gotten them both into this, and she'd see it through.

  One foot in front of the other, she advanced until she stood at his side. No one gave her away. Pale as a yucca blossom, she stood swaying beside him. As Grady had them repeat their vows, Jack could barely hear her answers, though he replied to Grady's prompts in a strong voice.

  "I now pronounce you man and wife."

  The ominous words struck Jack in the gut. Man and wife. When he'd first heard those words, he'd thought his marriage would be forever. At that time it had been a happy thought. Today, forever was more of a threat.

  "You may kiss your bride," Grady said softly.

  Jack glanced at Shannon. Her smile seemed more like a grimace. People were watching and he didn't want to embarrass her, so he bent and brushed his lips across hers. The softness of her mouth startled him. It had been so long since he'd kissed a woman a year in fact. He didn't want to think about her in the same category as Blair. He stepped away.

  It was all he could do to offer a tight-lipped smile and his arm to his new bride. She clung to his arm as he led her back down the aisle. He knew she'd seen Verna seated in the back by the way she gripped his arm.

  "Did you invite her?" she whispered.

  "No," he said softly.

  Verna's eyes pleaded with them as they passed out the doors of the sanctuary to form a reception line in the foyer. She was the first one out of the sanctuary door and came toward them with her arms outstretched. "I'm sorry, so sorry," she sniffled, pulling a hankie from her purse. "But it's all turned out for the best, hasn't it?"

  Jack didn't know how to answer that. He maintained a tight smile for the sake of the guests coming up behind her. Shannon's arm trembled against his.

  "What do you call `the best'?" Shannon asked softly. "A loveless marriage?"

  Verna dropped her gaze, then lifted it again with a touch of defiance in her eyes. "You've got a good man to take care of you. The girls are together. Blair died happy. What part isn't good?"

  "How about the fact I've never tucked Faith into bed at night? I've never read her a story or nursed her. All the years I've missed."

  Verna's gaze softened, and her eyes filled. "I can't give that back to you, but what you lost, Blair gained. That should bring some comfort."

  To Jack's surprise, Shannon slowly nodded. He eyed her pensive face and wondered what she was thinking.

  "Maybe you're right, Verna," she said. "One person's loss is another's gain. I'll try to remember that good can come from bad."

  Her lips were tight, and he knew she was trying not to spoil their day. He took her hand, and her fingers curled around his as they turned to greet the rest of the guests streaming out of the sanctuary.

  When family and friends finally finished hugging them, they escaped to the reception tent. One more duty with the punch and cake and they could leave. His mother had insisted on filling the tent with flowers. So far he'd managed to keep her away from Shannon, but his l
uck was about to end. His mother bore down on them with his father in tow. Her set face wore a smile, but the determination in her eyes told him he'd have to be on his toes to keep the truth from her and Dad.

  "Shannon, you look lovely," his mother said, her teeth nearly bared. "I'm so eager to get to know you better. How amazing that the girls look so much alike."

  No pussyfooting around with his mother. She went straight for the jugular. Jack brushed his lips against his mother's cool powdered cheek. Once upon a time, he'd thought the scent of face powder was a necessary requirement for a woman. The thought sent his gaze skipping to Shannon.

  He pulled her forward to meet his parents. "Shannon, this is my mom and dad, Alexis and Senator Jack. You probably figured it out." He knew his smile was weak. How on earth was he going to steer this conversation away from the girls?

  "I'm so happy to meet you." Shannon embraced both parents, then stepped back and tucked her hand into Jack's elbow again.

  "She doesn't know you think the sun comes up just to hear you crow." Jack's dad punched him on the arm. "Wait until she lives with you a spell."

  Jack forced himself not to fire back. Just because he didn't jump when his dad snapped his fingers didn't mean he was self-centered. "We'll have plenty of time for her to find out my faults."

  "Well, what was the rush, Jack?" His mother tossed back a strand of hair that dared to stray onto her forehead.

  Her gaze stayed focused on her new daughter-in-law, and a puzzled frown marred the smoothness of her brow. Her Botox must be wearing off. Jack tanked the stray thought and managed a smile. "I didn't want her to get away."

  Shannon's fingers tightened on his arm. "We wanted the girls to get to know one another as quickly as possible."

  His mother's eyes narrowed. "Why do they look so much alike? Is your child Jack's love child? The girls looked enough alike to be sisters, and they're the spitting image of you."

  Jack nearly rocked on his heels. Is that what everyone thought? That he'd had an affair while he was married to Blair? "No, Mother. Look, the guests are hungry and this isn't the time to discuss the situation. I'll explain it to you later."

  His mother opened her mouth, her protest in the vertical lines between her eyes. He ignored the way her hand came up. "We'd better mingle." He led Shannon to the serving line to speak with the few guests who had come.

  He'd have to tell his parents the truth, and the confrontation wouldn't be easy.

  SHE MANAGED TO ENDURE THE WEDDING AND RECEPTION. SHANNON KEPT remembering the way Jack's mother had stared at her like she was an unknown species of tarantula that inspired horror, fear, and curiosity. Jack had taken his dark good looks from both parents, and their reaction to the situation had been a mirror of Jack's horror when pushed into marriage.

  Facing the townspeople wasn't easy either. Several of the people who'd avoided her and mocked her in school were there, though with kinder attitudes. Amazing what Jack's mantle of approval could do. Or maybe it was the fact she was grown up now, with a vet's license. That would bestow some credibility upon her too. She wasn't any longer the poor white trash they could torment.

  Large stone pillars flanked the paved drive back to the two-story home. Driving the Jeep packed with her few belongings up to the house, she trembled inside. She had to keep reminding herself she had chosen this life for her daughters, or she would have turned the SUV around and jammed the pedal to the floor.

  Her face wreathed with smiles, Kylie chattered in the back from her booster seat with her arm around Moses. "I'm going to share a room with my sister. And we're going to build a playhouse with blankets."

  Faith probably had a real playhouse, but Shannon didn't destroy her daughter's dream. Kylie would discover what a privileged life was like soon enough. No more buying clothes at Goodwill or taking hand-me-downs from friends at church. No more saving quarters to buy shoes or get those blonde locks trimmed.

  Maybe a comfortable life would be enough compensation for a loveless marriage. Especially if the worst happened, and Shannon ended up unable to work. Her symptoms had gotten worse with all the stress of everything.

  Shannon wanted to tell Jack about all of it, to share the burden. The words stuck in her throat every time she thought about it. How did she explain Mary Beth? Better to keep quiet and hope the storm passed. He already wondered about Shannon's morals. If he knew about the fix Mary Beth had pulled her into, Jack would question her judgment too.

  Jack motioned her to stop by the huge front porch supported by massive white pillars. She'd barely popped the lift gate when four ranch hands began pulling out her boxes. They disappeared through the open double doors with her things. Jack lifted Kylie out of the backseat, then set her down to grab Faith's hand. Moses went to sniff noses with Jack's dog.

  Shannon gathered her courage to face her future. Holding her cream skirt down in the wind, she followed him up the wide steps to the porch. Every gray board was spotless. The red doors opened into a wide foyer painted in pale green. Shannon hurried inside before he could make a move to carry her over the threshold. She could only go so far with this marriage thing, and he'd already forced himself to kiss her after the ceremony.

  The color soothed her the minute she stepped onto the plush oriental runner protecting the gleaming oak floors. Some kind of spicy candle perfumed the air.

  "Wow, Mommy," Kylie said, her voice awed. Her hand crept into Shannon's. "Can I sleep with you?"

  Shannon was overwhelmed too. The ceilings rose twelve feet, and a curving staircase swept up to the second floor.

  Jack lifted Kylie to his shoulders. "Your room is right across from your mommy s.

  "And my room has a door to your room," Faith put in. Her hand crept into Shannon's.

  Shannon glanced down at her unknown daughter and squeezed her fingers. It would be worth everything she had to go through to keep the girls together and to get to know this little girl who'd been stolen from her.

  "I wanted to share a room with my sister," Kylie said, her lower lip trembling.

  "You're tired." Shannon knelt and pulled Kylie into an embrace. "You'll see plenty of Faith. You might even get tired of each other."

  "I'll never get tired of my sister." Kylie turned out of Shannon's arms to reach for Faith's hand. Both girls smiled at one another.

  Jack put his hand on Kylie's head. She gazed up at him as if he were Barney and Clifford the Big Red Dog all rolled into one. "I had double beds put in both rooms. You can share a room whenever you want to. And then you can go back to your own rooms whenever you want."

  Jack's gaze met hers, and she saw a surprising softness in his eyes that warmed her. At least he was showing affection to Kylie, who was lapping it up like a kitten.

  "Your rooms are this way." Carrying Kylie on his shoulders, he led them up the gleaming oak staircase to a wide hallway that stretched in both directions from the stairs. He turned right and strode along the thick carpet to a set of doors at each side of the hall. Setting Kylie down, he opened the door on his left. "This is your room, Shannon. The girls have the connecting rooms across the hall. You can hear them from here very well."

  Shannon peeked into the room. "It looks new. The furniture, I mean." The air held the faint odor of paint. The walls were pale pink and so was the carpet. White country-french furniture brightened the room even more. A pink-and-yellow quilt covered the pillow-top mattress, and silk pillows in both colors nearly overflowed the bed. She fell in love with her bedroom the minute she saw it.

  "Daddy used to sleep in there," Faith said, still clinging to Shannon's hand. "It was all dark, but he said you'd like it prettier. Besides, he said girls need their own bathrooms for their smelly stuff. It's painted pink too. Daddy let me pick the color."

  "It's lovely," she said, smiling her thanks. He'd done all this for her? She had trouble taking it all in.

  He shrugged and turned to the rooms across the hall. "I let Faith pick out the color of their new stuff too. She wanted the white furniture y
ou had."

  Both rooms had double canopy beds, pink and white. Definitely girlish and sweet. A picture caught her attention. "Unicorns?"

  He shrugged. "Faith loves them."

  "So does Kylie."They shared glances, then she turned back to examine the room again. He'd dropped quite a bit of money redoing all three rooms. Her smile faded. Not that money made up for the distance between them. But this circumstance wasn't for her. She had to remember that. It touched her even more that he would do this for Kylie.

  Jack left her to unpack. Shannon laid out Kylie's clothes first, then while the girls played, she went to her room and shut the door. Opening her suitcase, she put her clothes away, then got out her cell phone. Nothing. No word about Mary Beth since Wednesday night. It was like the lull before the storm though. Shannon was sure the man wasn't through with her yet, and the waiting was taking a toll on her health. If only she knew what to do.

  13

  THE DINING ROOM TABLE GROANED UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THE SUNDAY evening dinner Enrica had prepared. Jack sat at the head of the table. He could hardly bear to see Shannon in Blair's place, and it was easier to avert his eyes and not deal with it.

  Faith chattered to her grandmother, but his mom's gaze kept flitting from her to Kylie. His mother's eyes glazed over at the steady stream of little-girl talk. Horses, new beds, a new sister. Faith's life was exciting, at least to hear her tell it.

  The turkey tasted like sand in his mouth, and Enrica's famous dressing didn't lift him out of his dread. He ate a piece of pie, but it was like eating dust.

  At seven, his mother pushed away from the table. "Enrica, you put the children to bed. I'd like to talk to the newlyweds."

  Jack and Shannon exchanged resigned glances and rose to join the elder MacGowans in the living room. Shannon had so far only ventured from her room to the dining room since church, and he watched her take in the thick carpet, the ornate ceiling, the massive stone fireplace, and the leather seating clustered around it.