Independence: #4 Hayley (19 page)

“How many kids do you know talk about their sex lives with their folks?” Dane asked as he started the truck and set the heater before buckling himself in.

“Granted, we’ve never taken a woman with us to family stuff,” Jack admitted with a thoughtful frown. “I’m not sure how they’d take it. Some of mine already have speculations about my sexual orientation because we’ve spent so much time together.”

“Same here,” Dane said with a nod, guiding the truck down the drive to the main road. “They don’t get the drive it took to get the business going, though. No, that’s not true. I think some of them do…our dads are supportive. Mom wasn’t too keen on me leaving the east coast, but I’m sure it’ll be an excuse for a visit in the future.”

“I think it’s different for the girl,” Hayley said thoughtfully.

“Your relatives can’t believe you’d be dating two guys at the same time?” Dane looked at the crossed eyed expression on her face and laughed. “I guess that’s a no.”

“They might buy that I’m dating two guys at the same time, but not that the guys were friends and they were okay with the whole thing.”

“Getting across to people that there isn’t jealousy or…competition…between us has been a hard thing most of our lives,” Jack said thoughtfully, thinking back through their lives. “And don’t think we don’t compete on some stuff. We game…we’ve played on opposite sides of sports teams. But this is different for us…and I’m not sure how to explain the feelings.”

“And that’s not to say we haven’t met our share of women who want to play us against one another,” Dane remarked, his tone more than a little sour.

“To what end?” Hayley looked from one to the other. “If they managed to only interest one of you to the extent that it was serious, I think it would hurt your friendship over time. Especially if she was…”

“Manipulative. Playing me while making eyes at Dane,” Jack recalled.

“Claudia was grasping and a climber. She was after tuxes and diamonds and…” Dane shook his head. “She was also the daughter of one of our clients at the time. Never a good mix.”

“Did she…was she…” Hayley inhaled slowly. “Did she play?”

Jack raised a hand and tugged on the long ponytail. “Claudia was a spoiled rich kid. She was into the edgier things than we were…decorative cutting and needles…she was pretty close to a hardcore masochist.”

“That when we discovered that the side of BDSM didn’t work for us on a sexual level,” Dane added, following the instructions from the GPS.

“I don’t know what to tell them,” she said, almost to herself.

“We’re friends, Hayley. That’s what they need to know,” Jack said flatly. “What they want to guess at is their problem to deal with. If it was only me or Dane, they’d make their guesses at our private life and probably still give us grief until they decided we were good enough for you.”

“It doesn’t seem honest…or fair…” she shook her head. “We’re almost there. It’s that house in the corner…the pale blue one. And her car’s here…it was at her office. I drove her to the airport.” Impulsively, she hugged Dane and then Jack. “Thank you. For talking…and for listening.”

“That part comes easy to us,” Dane said with a grin. “We argue and talk and talk some more. Maybe that’s why we fit so well together, Hayley. We all like communicating.”

She thought about that as he parked, barely giving Jack time to get out before she was scrambling from the truck. She almost ran up the narrow walkway and stabbed at the doorbell.

“They would, you know…” she glanced to her side at them. The curious looks on their faces making her laugh. “My brother…maybe my cousins…they’d grill you and make it hard on you.”

“Hayley?”

She snapped around as the door was pulled wide. A woman with short, straight dark brown hair stood staring at her. Surprise was evident on the woman’s face. Jack found himself watching her closely. It wasn’t the surprise that caught his attention, but the slightest glimmer of shock he saw in her eyes as they shifted from Hayley to the pair of men with her.

“Tessa?” Jack asked casually, his hand extended. “Jack Bennett.”

“Dane Landon,” Dane said, stepping in with the same gesture. They each shook hands while Hayley stared.

“Tessa, why didn’t you call me? Tell me you were coming back? Are you all right?” Hayley grabbed her, hugging her close. “I was so worried about you! I called your cell and you didn’t answer…”

“I turned it off. I didn’t want to be bothered,” she said coldly, pushing out of Hayley’s hug. “Why are you here?”

“Why…? Tessa, what’s wrong? We’re friends…”

“You made him hate me. He won’t talk to me,” she said coldly, taking a step back angrily. “I didn’t want your call.” Her hand had been gripping the edge of the door seconds before she took another step back and slammed it shut.

Chapter Eighteen

“Tessa?” Hayley raised a hand to touch the door.

Dane stepped forward, blocking her from the door. He pressed gently until she took a step back. Her head was shaking and her eyes filled with tears.

“No…no…”

“Hayley, let’s take you home. Tessa is evidently okay,” Jack wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her down the broken concrete walkway.

“She’s so angry,” Hayley whispered, one hand up and covering her lips. “She was…they had to stitch her hip and forehead he’d beat her so hard. They took photos…they were going to go after him and charge him but she refused to press charges.”

“Do you know his last name?”

“Tessa never told me…I asked…the first time she…she came to see me all battered and…and her lip was split…she had hand prints around her throat,” Hayley barely noticed the seat she was lifted onto. Jack nudged her into the middle. “She tried covering it with a scarf…Tessa never wore scarves. She liked comfortable, loose fitting tops like I wear. She likes these sparkly necklaces…”

“Give her some time. This isn’t your fault, Hayley,” Dane said firmly, staring at the house, his lips pursed in thought. “We need to find out his last name. If he’s locked her out of his life, he might have decided to refocus on another woman.”

“I have to go back and talk to her. I have to make her listen to me,” Hayley turned in the seat, staring out the wide back window.

“Another day. Maybe she’ll get her sense back with some time, Hayley. Now, she’s just angry,” Jack took her hand and held on. “What we need to do is find out Derrick’s last name.”

“I can call her office in the morning,” Hayley wrapped two hands around the back of her neck and rubbed. “Maybe…maybe I can get her assistant to check for me.”

“I have some friends I can check with,” Dane said with a long sigh. “Gabe might know someone. If he’s been in the scene in Olympia, someone in the scene here will have heard of him. Some of the edgier people who play at Independence might have information.”

“I’m sorry…you shouldn’t be involved in this mess,” Hayley straightened her shoulders and reached for the GPS. She tapped in the address of the ranch and leaned back, her eyes closed. “I cannot help someone who doesn’t want my help. I know that.” She fought it but sniffled. “I thought she was my friend. We’ve been friends since we met in school…through separations and…”

“Shh…It’ll be okay…” Jack promised vaguely, his arm going around her shoulders and pulling her to lean against his chest.

Hayley sniffled again and accepted the tissues from Jack.

“You can’t make that promise.”

“I’ve never been…” Dane ran one hand over his head and onto his neck. “I don’t know if I’ve been lucky or not, but I’ve never known someone in an abusive relationship. Or they were, and hid it from the world, and me.”

“I’ve known a few guys I’ve suspected,” Jack said quietly. “You have, too. But we never knew the women in their lives. I don’t know if Tessa will come around or not, Hayley. But I know you’re strong enough to know you did the best you could. And that – makes it okay.”

She offered him a slightly crooked grin. “That is a very sweet thing to say.”

“What’s wrong with making promises?” Dane asked as he drove.

“It hurts when you break them. Daddy made promises all the time…so did Dell.” She shrugged and pushed against Jack’s chest until she was sitting upright. “Then life intruded…but when you’re a little kid, you don’t think of that. And sometimes, even as a big kid…it still hurts. So don’t make me promises you can’t keep.”

“Fair enough,” Jack said, gazing out the front windshield. “Tell us when we’re near where you were shot at, Hayley. I want to get out and look around.”

“It’s after you leave the highway, follow the signs. Once you get to the gravel and dirt road, go about half a mile and stop.”

“Probably where the yellow crime tape is,” Dane remarked with a jerk of his head to the side. “Your truck must have gone off to the left.”

“It did,” Hayley stared through the window as they came to a stop. “I was reaching for the CD in the well to the right and…that’s why it missed me. Just luck,” she whispered with a hard swallow. She quickly shoved her hands beneath her thighs. Cold and shaking and not what she wanted to share at the moment. “I’m only here because of luck.”

Jack didn’t have anything to say to that and met the blue gaze of his friend and business partner. He stepped from the truck and turned to face her as she scooted across the thickly padded seat. The door behind her closed as Dane walked toward the markers on the road.

“Don’t make me stay here alone,” she breathed raggedly, her eyes pleading. “Please, Jack.”

He nodded once and held his hand out to her, keeping her close as they followed behind Dane toward the edge of the gravel. He walked her to the front of the large truck and leaned her against the fender. Slowly, he turned, taking in the terrain in all directions.

“Whoever it was is one hell of a shot,” Dane voiced Jack’s thoughts aloud. “There’s no cover for almost a mile in the direction the shots came from.”

“Deer hunters…a 30-06 and impossible to track,” Jack said as if talking to himself. “This area is probably packed with them.”

“I don’t know too many people around here who don’t have one,” Hayley stepped away from the truck, her head up and mouth dry suddenly. She looked behind her, the direction the shots would have come from.

“The Lieutenant’s been all over the area. I received a text from her saying they found the tree where the shooter had been,” Dane met the surprised look on her face. “I asked her to keep us informed and told her we’d be with you.”

“You didn’t have to do that. I’m…I should be angry…but I know you did it to try and spare me from the…the details,” Hayley shook her head and went to the passenger side of the truck. “Thank you.”

She stood waiting, vaguely listening to them discuss the angle and the direction where the shooter must have been lying in wait for her to come down the road. It was possible they’d meant their shots for someone else. Possible. Or maybe it was just random. Someone with a grudge against the ranch.

Her uncle Phillip came to mind. She just wasn’t that sure he had the nerve for something like this. And killing her wouldn’t get him extra money from the ranch. Her share would simply be divided up between her brother and cousins. And none of them had a grand scheme to get crazy rich. They were like her. They actually enjoyed their jobs and their lives.

“You’re deep in thought,” Dane remarked when the men joined her in the truck again.

“Just follow this road to the first Y and take the far right road. The center one will take you to the offices and main area. The far left one will take you to Dell’s house,” Hayley said quietly, her gaze straight ahead, though she really wasn’t seeing much. “Trying to figure out who would want to shoot me. I just can’t come up with an answer.”

“Tessa’s ex-boyfriend?” Jack suggested, one brow arched when she looked at him.

“I suppose…but…it doesn’t make sense. He’d be the kind to pound on me to deliberately hurt me, not make it quick. I can’t see someone with that kind of personality allowing me to go that easily.” She stopped speaking, realizing the truck had come to a stop in the middle of the wide open splits in the road. She looked from one to the other. “What?”

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Dane asked with a slight grin at her before taking the direction she’d indicated.

“Problem is…we take him off the suspect list and we’re down to zero,” Jack remarked. “How long have you lived here?”

“I had the house built three years ago. It’s not…compared to what my brother and cousins built, mine is cozy. I only had it built with one master bedroom and bath in the loft and another on the first floor. I have a small apartment in the office where I see patients. That’s down the center road.”

“You each selected what you wanted built?”

“I’d been waffling for a while…but yes. They went with the standard three or four bedroom. I guess I built mine just for me…” she smiled at the bright yellow and deep silver trimmed house. “I never thought I’d take time for anything more.”

“You have lights strung outside,” Jack said.

“It’s Christmas,” she chided with an elbow to Jack’s side. “Of course I have lights up. I have lights up inside, too.”

Jack’s hand came up to rub at his side and he watched her bouncing on the seat between them anxiously.

“She elbowed me.”