Texas Tough (26 page)

“If Bull had wanted them to know, I figure he wouldn't have deeded your grandpa that land. They won't hear it from me—and not from you, either, I trust, now that you know.”

“Of course not. . . .” Her voice broke on the last word. Tears glimmered in her copper-flecked eyes. “Oh, Sky!”

Lauren rose, walked around to his chair, slid onto his lap, and circled him with her arms. She held him tightly, pressing his face into the warm hollow between her breasts. For a long time they stayed like that, both of them trembling. Sky breathed in her sweet, musky aroma, filling his senses. She smelled like love, he thought.

He could ask her to marry him now. But no, he wanted to do it right, after she'd healed and after he'd had the chance to buy her a ring. The whole schmaltzy knee-on-the-ground thing—he'd always thought it looked silly, but he wanted to do it all.

Some things were worth taking time.

CHAPTER 18

L
auren gazed around the Tylers' Sunday dinner table, grateful for the good people who'd done their best to make her feel welcome here. Her eyes lingered briefly on each face. Will, at the head of the table, seemed to have aged since she'd met him. The creases had deepened at the corners of his eyes, and his dark brown hair was showing strands of gray. Worry over the drought was taking its toll on the boss of the Rimrock.

Beau, her first friend on the ranch, sat next to Natalie. With their wedding coming up and a baby on the way, he had every reason to be happy. But today he was uncharacteristically quiet, his expression uneasy, as if he were waiting for a bomb to explode.

Jasper was glancing from brother to brother, clearly sensing trouble. Bernice, who'd labored all morning to prepare a delicious pot roast with all the trimmings, simply looked tired.

Tori sat on Will's right, her lovely eyes casting concerned looks in his direction. What had happened between these two people who seemed to care so deeply for each other? Even though Tori had become her friend, Lauren suspected she would never know the full story.

“But I want to stay here!” Erin was pouting. Her parents had agreed that she should go home with her mother until drought conditions improved at the ranch and Will had more time to be with her. The real reason—the danger of a terrible wildfire—hadn't been mentioned in her hearing. No one wanted to frighten the girl.

“What if something happens to Tesoro? What if he doesn't remember me when I come back?”

“He'll be fine.” Will's gruff manner showed the strain he was under. “Stop arguing, Erin. It's time you learned that you can't always have your way.”

“I have a suggestion.” It was Natalie who spoke. “If somebody would bring Tesoro and his mother into town, they could stay in my corral behind the clinic. Erin could even help out around the place to pay for their board. I really could use her. With the baby coming, I don't have the energy I used to.”

Erin's blue eyes lit. “Oh, I'd love that! Please say yes, Daddy! Sky could haul them to Natalie's place in the trailer.”

“The horses will be fine where they are. And Sky can't spare the time right now.” Will was clearly running out of patience.

Sitting next to Sky, Lauren sensed the tension at the table. Will was Sky's boss. But Sky was partial to Erin and to those horses. Would he speak up? But why wonder? She should have known he would.

“No, listen, Will, it's a good idea,” he said. “Think about it. The mare and foal would be fine, Erin would be happy, and Natalie would have the help she needs. It wouldn't take me an hour to load those horses, drive them to Natalie's, and come back here.”

“And I wouldn't be stuck with a complaining daughter,” Tori said. “I agree, Will, it's the perfect solution. I'll take Erin home with me today, and Sky can bring the horses when he has time.”

Will scowled at the faces around the table. “Looks like I'm outvoted. If this keeps up I won't have any say around here.”

“How soon can you bring Tesoro and Lupita, Sky?” Erin was all sunshine now.

Sky glanced at Lauren before he spoke. “The funeral for Lauren's father is tomorrow. I won't have time to move the horses till it's over. But I'll shoot for the end of the day, or the day after. How's that?”

“Fine.” Erin gave him a grin. Lauren reached for his hand under the table. She'd learned that Sky had a quiet way of making things go smoothly, seeing what needed to be done, and doing it with a minimum of fuss. He'd been a godsend since her release from the hospital, helping her plan the funeral and get the house ready for the gathering afterward. Still in pain and needing a lot of rest, she could never have managed on her own.

Two nights ago when he'd told her his story and they'd held each other, she'd known—as if she'd ever doubted it—that Sky Fletcher was the love of her life and that no force on earth could stop her from marrying him.

The only trouble was, Sky hadn't asked her.

The idea that he was Bull Tyler's son was still sinking in. Glancing at his secret half brothers, Lauren could see traces of resemblance—Will's cobalt eyes; Beau's stubborn, slightly cleft chin. The bloodline and the land Bull had left him might have made a difference to her father. But to her he was just plain Sky, the man she loved.

“Bernice,” Will demanded. “How about some of that apple pie I smelled baking earlier?”

“I'll get it.” Tori spoke before Bernice could rise off her chair. “Come on, Erin, you can clear and serve.”

Erin followed her mother into the kitchen and was soon scampering back and forth, taking the dinner plates and returning with saucers of homemade apple pie, each one topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. What a blessed child she was, Lauren thought—happy, secure, and surrounded by love every minute of her life. Lauren could only dream of raising her own children with the same kind of love, in a home on the land she'd seen with Sky. But what if she was jumping too far ahead? What if she was planning a future that could vanish like virga, the phantom rain that fell from the clouds but never reached the thirsty ground?

Tori and Erin had just sat down with their desserts when Beau tapped his glass for attention. Sliding back his chair, he rose. “I have an announcement to make,” he said.

“You goin' to tell us it's twins?” Jasper's attempt at a joke fell flat. Beau wasn't smiling. And Natalie's expression appeared more worried than happy.

“I hope you're going to tell us you've set a wedding date.” Tori spoke into the awkward silence.

“That's part of it, yes,” Beau said. “We're getting married the fifteenth of August.”

A smatter of applause went around the table. Will's eyes narrowed. “Congratulations. Now tell us the rest.”

“I was getting to that,” Beau said. “After the wedding, Natalie and I are leaving. We're moving to DC.”

Will's features froze. His color deepened. “The devil you are,” he snapped.

“Hear me out, Will.” Beau stood his ground. “I said I'd give ranch life a try. But things haven't worked out between you and me, and it'll be even more of a trial to keep you happy after Natalie and I get married and the baby comes. Natalie's found a young vet, a family man, who'll lease her house and clinic and take over her practice. And I've accepted an offer from the DEA. I get my old job back at a higher salary starting September first.”

There was dead silence around the table. Will's taut voice broke it. “You know the terms of Dad's will. If you leave, your share of the ranch drops to twenty-five percent.”

“I'm aware of that,” Beau said. “And I'll get along fine on whatever's left to me. Believe me, twenty-five percent of this place isn't worth my sanity, or my family's future.”

“What about Natalie?” Will argued. “She's built up her practice here.”

Beau's hand moved to Natalie's shoulder. “We've talked about this. There are plenty of animals around DC, including horses. When Natalie's ready, she'll have no trouble finding work. Meanwhile, she can focus on resting, getting ready for the baby, and being a mother.”

Will was silent, but Lauren could sense the explosion building. Erin was close to tears. Lauren knew Will's daughter had been excited about having her new little cousin close by. Tori looked stricken. Surely Natalie would have shared this news ahead of time, but it didn't appear that way.

Will stood, quivering with anger too long held back. “Dammit, Beau, I need you! The ranch needs you! You can't just stomp the dust off your feet and walk away while we're going through a bad time. Who am I supposed to get to take your place?”

Beau's reply was glacial. “Get anybody you want. With you around to boss them like you did me, half the cowboys on the ranch could do my job. Flip a coin. Draw straws. I don't care.”

Lauren glanced at Sky. Seen in profile, his face revealed nothing. But he had to be hurting. This was his flesh-and-blood family falling apart, and he had no right to interfere. She ached for him.

Will glared down the table at his brother. “This has always been your way, hasn't it, Beau? When things get tough you walk away, just like you did eleven years ago. Dad never let on how much you hurt him, but I could tell. For all his rough ways, he loved you—maybe because you were the most like our mother. But you didn't care. All you could think about was yourself—and you haven't changed.”

“Say anything you want to, Will.” Beau's voice was strained tight. “I'm staying until the wedding to help you out—that gives you almost a month to replace me. But you're not going to change my mind.”

“Fine,” Will snapped. “Do whatever you want. You always have.” He took a step toward the front door. “I've got work to do. If anybody needs me, I'll be up on the caprock with the cattle.”

He stalked outside, slamming the front door behind him. Seconds later his pickup roared away from the house.

The stunned silence hanging over the table was broken when Erin burst into tears.

 

Stella sat alone at the bar in the Blue Coyote, smoking a cigarette and reading the Sunday paper—a day late since it was Monday, but what did it matter? The bar wasn't set to open for more than an hour, but today she had plans to carry out. She would need to make sure everything went down as it should. Split-second timing would be critical.

But it was early yet. For now she could relax a little and fortify her nerves for what lay ahead. After taking a drag on the cigarette, she blew a smoke ring and opened the newspaper to the obituaries.

The front page story about Garn Prescott's death had come out a couple of days earlier. Heart attack. Who would've guessed fate would play into her hands that way? She'd told him to watch his blood pressure, but the strain of having his dirty little secrets aired in public must've been too much. Too bad. She'd had big plans for the man before he let her down. But at least his fate would be an example to others. Nobody, not even a U.S. congressman, crossed Stella Rawlins and got away with it.

Today the news about Prescott had faded to a notice of his funeral service, to be held at ten o'clock on Monday—that was today—at the Worthington Hills Mortuary in Lubbock. Burial to follow in the family plot on the Prescott Ranch.

By now the service would probably be over, the procession headed back to Prescott's ranch. Not that Stella had planned to go—although it might have been interesting to see how many people had the guts to show up after the scandal. Would the governor have been there, or any of Prescott's colleagues in Congress? Would the governor's smarmy stepson, Josh Hardesty, have shown up to console Prescott's red-haired princess daughter?

The spectacle—or lack of it—would have been interesting, Stella thought. Too bad she couldn't have been a fly on the wall. But never mind. She had other fish to fry.

One of those fish was Marie Fletcher.

Stella had been on the fence about Marie since that fiasco with Prescott's Cadillac. True, the mistake hadn't been entirely her fault. But a professional would've made sure Prescott's daughter was dead and erased every trace of evidence at the scene, something Marie hadn't done. And Marie had seemed almost too eager to make amends. Stella's gut instincts had hinted that something wasn't right.

On Friday Abner had called her from his conference in Austin. His news had confirmed her worst suspicions. The Tylers had solid evidence that Marie had shot that old man on their ranch, and they were pretty sure she'd also killed her own brother—the crime she'd pinned on poor Nicky. Even more dangerous for Stella, they'd found tracks and a lighter that could tie Marie to the wreck that had nearly killed Garn Prescott's daughter.

“Just wanted to give you a heads-up, Stella,” Abner had said. “I'll be meeting with the county commissioners Monday morning to report on the conference. After that, I'll be coming around with my deputies to arrest Marie for attempted murder.”

Something had to be done. Abner was a good source of information, and she knew he'd warned her for a reason. But Stella could hardly ask him to get rid of Marie. She'd needed the job done soon, and she'd needed it done right. That had meant calling her Dallas connection and paying the price for a good professional hit man.

The man she'd hired was in place now, waiting by the road out of town. Hearing footsteps overhead, Stella picked up her cell phone and made a quick call. “It shouldn't be long. I'll phone you when she's on the move.”

“Fine.” The word was followed by a
click
as the man on the phone ended the call. His voice sounded foreign, but Stella couldn't be sure. She'd never met the man face-to-face. Everything had been arranged through his boss—half the payment made by electronic transfer, the other half to be sent when the job was done.

Pulse racing, Stella finished her cigarette and stubbed it out in the ashtray. She missed the old days when Hoyt Axelrod would've taken care of a problem like this. But then Hoyt had become the problem. At least this way was simpler and safer.

She was still reading the paper, or at least pretending to, when Marie came downstairs to use the restroom. A few minutes later Marie came out, still barefoot and wearing the dingy gray tee she used for a nightgown. As she headed back toward the stairs, Stella spoke.

“Marie, I need to talk to you.”

Marie turned around. “Sorry, I know I overslept. But I left the place clean last night and I'll be good to go by the time we open.”