Heart of Texas Series Volume 1: Lonesome CowboyTexas Two-StepCaroline's Child

  She was in love, really in love. It both terrified and excited her. And with that realization came another. She needed to tell Grady about Maggie’s father. He had a right to know the truth, although the thought of telling him brought a dull ache to the pit of her stomach.

  “You’re quiet all of a sudden,” Grady said.

  “I was just thinking.” She shrugged off his concern.

  “That could be dangerous to your mental health,” he teased. He leaned forward, his lips moist with wine, and gently kissed her. His mouth lingered in a series of short nibbling kisses far more potent than the wine.

  “I can’t make myself stop kissing you,” he said, leaning his forehead against hers.

  “I can’t stop wanting you to kiss me,” she told him. She moved her hands along his neck, loving the feel of his skin. “I…I want to talk to you about Maggie.” She closed her eyes, fighting back the tension that gripped her. The sooner she got this over with, the better.

  “I’m trying, Caroline, I honestly am.”

  “I know…but what I want to say doesn’t have anything to do with how she feels about you.”

  Grady went very still.

  The heavy pounding of her heart echoed in her ears, drowning out her thoughts. She couldn’t look at him while she spoke of that pain-filled time. Before she could stop herself, she was on her feet.

  “It’s about Maggie’s father.” She clenched her hands until the knuckles were white. Her stomach tightened. The only one who knew the full truth had been her mother. Caroline was well aware that other family members and certainly her friends had speculated for years about who’d fathered Maggie, but she’d never told them. Never told anyone. Never felt the need until now.

  “Caroline, you’re very pale. Is this really so difficult for you?”

  She bowed her head and exhaled slowly. “It’s much harder than I’d thought it would be.”

  He stood up and moved behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Then forget it. My knowing isn’t necessary, not if it upsets you like this.”

  “But it is necessary.” He had no idea how much.

  “Then you can tell me some other time,” he insisted. He bent to kiss the side of her neck. His mouth lingered and her head fell forward. “I want our afternoon to be special. I don’t want anything to interfere with that.”

  “But you have a right to know.” She paused and swallowed. What he didn’t seem to understand was that telling him wouldn’t get any easier. In fact, the longer she waited…

  His hands gently stroked the length of her arms. “Let’s not spoil our afternoon with memories best forgotten. There’ll be plenty of time for you to tell me everything—but not today.”

  “Aren’t you curious? Don’t you want to know?”

  He released a long sigh. “Yeah, I am,” he said after a moment. “Perhaps I’m a little afraid, too. I don’t want anything to ruin what we have.”

  “Oh, Grady.” He made it so easy to delay telling him the truth. Easy to thrust it into the future with excuses she was far too willing to accept and he was just as eager to suggest.

  “I’m your prince, remember?”

  “I remember,” she replied dutifully.

  “Good.” He kissed her then, his mouth touching hers in a quick caress. “Now let’s get back to our wine.”

  He waited until she’d settled herself on the blanket before he handed her the glass he’d refilled. Positioning himself behind her, he eased her against him. Caroline closed her eyes as he gently fingered the fine strands of her hair.

  “I told you this is a magic place.”

  “Mmm.”

  “Reality will find us soon enough, so let’s enjoy the magic while we can.”

  Caroline had to admit she was willing to do just that.

  * * *

  MAGGIE PUT Savannah’s dolls back on the bedroom-window seat and looked out again, hoping to see her mommy. She’d gone horseback riding with Grady and they’d been away a long time. Longer than she wanted them to be. She was ready to go home now.

  Bored, she put on her backpack and wandered into the kitchen where Savannah was kneading bread dough.

  “When’s Mommy coming back?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, sweetheart, but I imagine they’ll be here soon.”

  “Where’s Richard?” Maggie asked next.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Can I watch television?”

  “Of course, but get Laredo to turn it on for you, okay?”

  “I can do it,” Maggie insisted. She turned on the television at home and it wasn’t hard.

  “Grady got a new satellite dish and it has three remote controls.”

  There was his name again. Not only did Grady shout, but he made it so she couldn’t prove to Savannah how smart she was.

  “Laredo’s in the barn, but he’ll be finished any minute.”

  Maggie glanced wistfully toward the barn, but she wouldn’t go in there alone, not anymore. The last time, she’d gotten into trouble, and Grady had yelled at her again and grabbed her. He’d been scared, too; she could tell when he pulled her away from the horse and held her.

  “I’d do it for you, sweetheart, but I’ve got my hands buried in bread dough,” Savannah explained.

  “That’s all right.” Not wanting to wait inside, Maggie walked onto the porch. She sat on the top step, and Rocket ambled over to lie down beside her. She rubbed his ears for a few minutes because Savannah had told her he liked that. Then she rested her chin on her folded hands, looking out over the ranch yard, hoping she’d find something to do. Something that wouldn’t get her in trouble.

  She caught a flash of color and saw Richard coming out of the bunkhouse. Her spirits lifted immediately. Leaping off the steps, she raced to his side. “Richard!”

  He jerked around, then smiled when he saw her. Maggie liked Richard’s smile, but what she enjoyed most were his magic tricks. Once he pulled a coin out of her ear. Another time he had her draw a card out of the middle of a deck and then told her what card it was. He was right.

  “Howdy, kiddo,” Richard said.

  “Wanna play?” she asked, skipping after him.

  “Not now.”

  “Nobody wants to play with me,” she said, hoping he’d feel sorry for her and offer a game or a few tricks.

  “Sorry, kiddo, I’ve got things to do.”

  Maggie’s face fell. Everyone was too busy for her. “Can I help?” she asked, thinking if he finished early, he might take time to play.

  “No,” he said sharply. He sounded almost like Grady when he was mad, and Maggie gasped.

  Richard squatted down. “Maybe we can play, after all. How about a game of hide-and-seek?” he suggested. “You go hide and I’ll come and find you.”

  This was great, better than she’d expected. “Okay.” Maggie glanced around, looking for a place to hide, somewhere Richard wouldn’t find her.

  “Are you closing your eyes?” she asked.

  “You bet I am, kid.”

  Maggie didn’t like the way he said it, but she was so pleased to have someone willing to play with her that she didn’t care.

  “Don’t peek,” she warned and raced around the corner.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” he called after her.

  He said that in a way she didn’t like, either. Almost as if he was mad but without raising his voice. Maggie tore across the yard, her pack slapping against her back, and hid in Savannah’s garden. She liked the smell of the roses. She crouched down under the table on the patio…but Richard didn’t come and he didn’t come. She got tired of waiting.

  He was probably looking in places near the barn, she decided. Sneaking out of the rose garde
n, she crept on tiptoe closer to where she’d last seen him. Circling around to the other side of the barn, she saw Grady’s truck that Richard sometimes drove. He didn’t usually keep his truck there. The truck bed was covered with a sort of blanket but bigger.

  Richard would never think of looking for her there. The tailgate was down, and by standing on a box she was able to climb inside. The floor hurt her knees and it was dark and warm inside, almost like a cave under the heavy cloth. There was lots of other stuff, too. She found a rolled-up sleeping bag and leaned against it.

  “Richard!” she called, thinking he might need help finding her.

  Nothing.

  It was getting so hot under the blanket that she took off the backpack. Soon her eyes grew heavy with sleep. She decided to put her head down on the sleeping bag, but just for a few minutes until Richard found her.

  Just until then.

  * * *

  THIS WAS SO EASY it was embarrassing, Richard Weston told himself. The pickup, formerly owned by Grady—as he liked to think of it—sped down the road toward Bitter End. No one would think of looking for him there. No one would even guess.

  Luckily his brother’s head was in the clouds these days. Grady Weston in love—if it wasn’t so damn funny, it’d be sad. Grady had fallen in love—for the first time, Richard was sure—at the age of thirty-six—and it wasn’t a pretty sight. For a couple of weeks now he’d been walking around the house with his tongue hanging out of his mouth and his eyes glazed over. It was a wonder he hadn’t tripped down the stairs and broken his damn neck.

  Actually Richard wouldn’t have minded doing the dirty deed with Miss Caroline himself. He’d bet that woman was some hot number in the sack. Still, he felt grateful to her for keeping Grady distracted. His blockhead of a brother didn’t have a clue what he, Richard, was up to. Before Grady figured it out, he’d be long gone. Yup, it was that easy.

  Richard laughed aloud. “Idiots.” He hated to say this about his own flesh and blood, but both Grady and Savannah were dolts. It was kind of sad that they’d be gullible enough to let him drive off with several months’ worth of supplies. He’d even managed to acquire a small gasoline-powered generator—one he’d put onto his brother’s business account, naturally. Of course Grady wouldn’t know anything about it for a couple of weeks.

  Richard almost wished he could be a fly on the wall when the bills started coming in. Grady would have a conniption. Richard felt a mild twinge of guilt about that, but hell, he didn’t have any choice. Not really. He had to eat, and while the portable television might seem an extravagance, it wasn’t. How would he know what was going on in the world without watching the evening news? It wasn’t like he was going to get cable in the old ghost town, either. All he had were rabbit ears. He’d be lucky to receive one station, possibly two, but that was probably just as well. Otherwise he’d be tempted to laze around and waste his whole supply of gasoline on running the TV.

  By the time he reached the turnoff to the dirt road that wound up the far side of the valley, he was lost in his thoughts.

  He knew himself well enough to realize he’d find it difficult to stay cooped up in Bitter End, with no companionship and few diversions. There were sure to be times when he’d welcome an excuse to venture into Promise, or any one of the other small towns that dotted the Texas hill country.

  He couldn’t do that, however. Grady was bound to report the truck as stolen, and sure as shootin’, Richard would have a lawman on his tail five minutes after he hit the highway. But a stolen vehicle was only a small part of Richard’s worries—just one more complication in his already complicated life.

  Hell, all the lawmen in three states would give their eyeteeth to get their hands on him. So the last thing he needed was to be pulled in for driving a stolen truck.

  A shiver raced down his spine. He didn’t want to think about that.

  The road grew bumpy and he slowed. For a moment he thought he heard a sound, a cry of some kind, but he strained his ears and didn’t hear it again.

  Imagination was a funny thing, he mused. Could be dangerous, too. On a recent visit to Bitter End, he’d had the impression that someone was watching him. Someone or something. A vague feeling, mildly uncomfortable.

  He blamed Ellie Frasier for that. She’d given him the willies the time he’d brought her to Bitter End. The minute they’d left the truck, she’d started making noises about this “feeling.” He hadn’t felt a damn thing, while she’d been practically crawling out of her skin. Naturally that was for the best, since he certainly didn’t want her coming back and bringing her friends along.

  Ellie hadn’t been able to get out fast enough. Whatever the feeling was, it had never bothered Richard—until that last visit. He’d probably just heard too much about this so-called sensation. He didn’t understand it, but he was counting it as a plus. The town’s reputation for eeriness meant that people would stay away. He’d have to control his own imagination, not let ghost stories and strange noises spook him.

  As he neared Bitter End, he reduced the truck’s speed. He’d found a spot in the ghost town where he could hide the pickup, so if anyone did happen to stumble in, they wouldn’t see it.

  He stopped in front of the wooden stable, which leaned heavily to one side. He’d say one thing for the folks who’d originally built this place. They’d been great craftsmen. Most of the buildings still stood, despite their age.

  He drove the truck into the decrepit stable and jumped down from the cab. He was about to close the door when he caught a movement under the canvas tarp.

  He froze. Sure enough, he saw it move again. Believing in the element of surprise, he moved quietly to the back of the truck and firmly gripped the edge of the blanket. With no warning, he jerked it away from the bed.

  Maggie Daniels screamed and cowered in a corner. It took them both a moment to recover, but she was faster.

  “Richard!”

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded.

  The smile on her face disappeared. “We were playing hide-and-seek, remember? I fell asleep….”

  Richard swore.

  Maggie’s eyes grew round. “If my mommy was here, she’d wash your mouth out with soap.”

  As far as he could see, Richard had few choices. He could dump the kid on the highway—but would she shut up about where she’d been? He could keep her in Bitter End. Or he could do away with her entirely. Kidnap and murder charges wouldn’t look good on his rap sheet. But he might not have any other options.

  Damn it, what was he going to do now?

  * * *

  GRADY HAD NEVER been one to idle away time, nor had he been known to sit under a willow tree and soak in the beauty of a summer evening. Not for the past six years, at any rate. It’d taken him that long to get the ranch into the black. He’d earned a decent profit last year and would again this year, God willing. He finally felt good about his life and he didn’t want his happiness compromised now with talk of Maggie’s father. He tried to convince himself it didn’t matter—but it did. Caroline had wanted to tell him, and curious though he was, he’d persuaded her to wait. Grady recognized that his behavior was uncharacteristic; generally he faced problems head-on. But he knew why he didn’t want to hear what she had to say. Admitting it didn’t come easy, not by a long shot. Intuitively he feared that once she told him about Maggie’s father, nothing would be the same between them. Sitting with her in the shade of the willow tree, holding her close, loving her—these moments were far too special to invade with difficult truths. So he’d delayed the inevitable, hurled it into the future until he felt more ready to deal with it.

  Caroline lay down on the blanket beside him, her head resting against his thigh. Lazily he brushed the hair from her face. She was so damned beautiful he could barely manage not to stare at her. Barely manage not to kiss her aga
in. They’d done plenty of that this afternoon. She’d tasted of wine and chocolate, and Grady thought he’d never sampled a more intoxicating combination. Sweet and potent at the same time.

  He’d as good as told her he was interested in marrying her. A man didn’t go courting otherwise. It was time for him to settle down. Glen was about to make the leap into marriage, and with Savannah married and she and Laredo building their own home, he’d soon be alone. But it wasn’t just the events in other people’s lives that had convinced him.

  It was Caroline and Maggie. Whenever he was with them, he didn’t want their time together to end. His life felt empty when they weren’t around.

  He tried to tell Caroline that, but he couldn’t manage the words. He discovered it was damned hard to admit how much he needed someone else. He’d never felt this way before, and it frightened him.

  “I could almost go to sleep,” Caroline murmured. Her eyes remained closed and he ran his index finger down the side of her jaw. Her skin was soft and smooth. Lovely. She was lovely.

  Her lips eased into a smile. “You’re right.”

  “Well, I don’t know what I’m right about, but I like the sound of those words.”

  “Every man does,” she teased.

  “Flatter my ego and tell me why I’m right.”

  “This place,” she whispered. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so…content. So relaxed.”

  “Me, neither.” Today was the first time he’d spent more than ten minutes here in years, and already they’d been gone at least two hours.

  “I wonder…” she began wistfully.

  “What?” He bent forward to graze his lips across her brow.

  “If you have any other magic tricks up your sleeve.”

  “That’s Richard’s specialty, not mine.”

  Caroline frowned. “You provided a magical afternoon for me,” she said. “Wine and chocolates and this beautiful place.”

  “The kissing wasn’t half-bad, either.”