After Tex (25 page)

“Me, either, if it comes to that. Let's just say it works and let it go.”

She moved on to the answering machine. Before she could ask Jake a million and one questions about that, Henrietta came running in.

“Oh, Lord, Jake, you've got to come right away.”

“What is it?” he asked, already following her out the door. He called over his shoulder to Flo, “Hold down the fort, I'll call you soon.”

“It's Barbara Sue,” Henrietta said as they crossed the street. “Bryce is about to arrest her.”

Jake's heart thudded dully. He'd been worried about something like this. “What's the charge?”

“Attempted murder. She shot Lyle this morning.”

The news was every bit as bad as he'd feared. “Is he going to make it?”

“Don't know,” Henrietta said. “Personally, I hope the son of a bitch dies, but it won't be good for Barbara Sue if he does.”

“No, it won't, so start saying a few prayers for the miserable excuse for a man. Where's Barbara Sue now?”

“At the jail.”

“And the kids?”

“I've got 'em at the diner. Bryce had the decency to drop them off. Janie's over there with them. I'll go on back, unless you need me.”

“No, you take care of the kids. Do you know what happened?”

“Lyle was about to take a strap to her oldest and I guess she just saw red. Sissy's been weeping and wailing that it's all her fault. Nothing I say has been able to calm her down.”

“You do what you can. I'll be in touch as soon as I know what's going on with Barbara Sue.”

At the jail he found her sitting across from Bryce, her hands folded tightly in her lap, the beginnings of
a bruise on her cheek and a stoic expression on her face.

Jake nodded to the sheriff. “What's going on?” he asked, as if he hadn't already heard the whole story.

“She shot her husband in cold blood,” Bryce said. “Won't say another word.”

Jake gave her hand a quick squeeze. “Good for you.” He glanced at the sheriff. “Did you happen to mention that she had a right to have a lawyer present?”

“Yes, Mr. Big-city Lawyer. I read her her rights. It was as close to a conversation as we've had.”

“Then I'd like some time alone with her.”

Bryce shrugged. “Fine by me. I'll take a run over to the hospital to see how Lyle's doing in surgery. Don't either of you budge till I get back.”

“Wouldn't dream of it,” Jake said. As soon as the sheriff had gone, he settled onto the corner of Bryce's desk. “You okay?”

Barbara Sue nodded, but huge tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Jake handed her a handkerchief.

“Oh, sweet Jesus, what have I done?” she murmured. “What will happen to my babies if I'm in jail?”

“We're going to concentrate on keeping you out of jail,” Jake said quietly. “Now, start slowly and tell me exactly what happened.”

She drew in a deep breath. “Lyle had a fight with his mama yesterday. She was fed up with the way he's been shirking his work at the store. He was out most of the night drinking,” she began.

“When he came in, he was looking for a fight. He
woke me up. I tried to get away from him, tried to agree with everything he said just to keep peace, but he wasn't having any of that. He hit me anyway. I fell against a table and knocked a lamp on the floor. I guess Sissy heard us, because she came running in and told her daddy to stop. She was crying and waving her little fists at him. Punched him right in the stomach, she did.”

“And, of course, that made him even madder,” Jake guessed.

Barbara Sue nodded. “He started to unbuckle his belt and I knew what was coming. He never stopped looking at Sissy, so I ran for his shotgun. By the time he realized what I was doing, it was too late. I didn't even aim. I just pulled the trigger. Maybe I wanted to scare him. Maybe I wanted him to die. I don't know anymore what I was feeling, except sick—sick that he was going to beat my baby.” She stared bleakly at Jake, her eyes dry now. “I couldn't let him do it, don't you see?”

Jake gave her hand another squeeze. “Yes, I do see. We're going to work it out, Barbara Sue. Even if I can't get the charges dropped, there's not a jury around that would convict you for protecting your daughter.”

Her gaze fell. “I want him to die,” she murmured, so softly Jake almost didn't hear her. She lifted her head. “Isn't that awful? I loved him so. I had two children with him. And now I'm praying that he'll die. What kind of a woman does that make me?”

“One who's been through too much,” Jake said, wishing things hadn't ever had to go so far.

“Are the kids okay?” she asked.

“They're with Henrietta and Janie. They'll be fine,” he assured her.

“I suppose my sister would come and take them, if I asked her. She's never liked Lyle much, so we've kind of lost touch. I hate to bother her.”

“It's up to you, but I know Henrietta will be glad to have them for as long as necessary. With any luck, it won't be all that long before you're back with them again.”

She nodded. “If she's willing, that would be best. Henrietta has been an angel, to me and the kids. I don't know what I would have done without her these past few months. The kids adore her as much as if she were their very own grandmother. She's not a thing in the world like Lyle's mother.”

The door to Bryce's office opened. To Jake's surprise, it was Megan.

“Is everything okay?” she asked. “I heard what happened. I wanted to help.”

“Come on in. You can keep Barbara Sue company.” He turned to the woman. “Mind if Megan stays with you for a bit, while I go see what's going on at the hospital and check in with the prosecutor?”

Barbara Sue shrugged. “Whatever.”

Jake paused beside Megan. “If Bryce comes back, don't let her talk to him,” he instructed. “She's liable to blurt out that she's glad she shot Lyle. It might be true, but it won't help her case.”

Megan nodded. He touched a palm to her cheek. “I'm surprised you came. Why did you?”

She regarded him with an uncertain expression. “I don't honestly know. It just felt like the right thing to do.”

Jake grinned. “Don't look now, darlin', but you're actually getting involved in the real world, instead of sitting on the sidelines preaching about the good life.”

Her gaze narrowed. “Are you suggesting that what I do for a living is frivolous?”

“Of course not. I'm just suggesting that once in a while it's good to take a hard look at the world that exists outside the pages of a magazine.”

She glanced back at Barbara Sue, who was watching the two of them with a bleak, soul-weary expression. When Megan's gaze returned to Jake, she looked shaken.

“This conversation isn't over,” she muttered as she brushed past him to pull up a chair beside Barbara Sue. She took Barbara Sue's hand in hers and murmured something Jake couldn't hear.

Watching the two women—one dressed in fancy designer clothes, the other in a frayed housecoat—Jake felt something shift inside him. He'd loved Meggie his whole life, it seemed. He'd wanted her just about as long. But perhaps for the first time ever, he could honestly say he respected her. Some of what he'd said to her about living in the real world applied to him, too. She was growing up, and maybe, just maybe, so was he.

T
he news at the hospital was good—at least it seemed unlikely Barbara Sue would face a murder charge. Lyle was in intensive care in guarded condition. Bryce told Jake the doctors were all but certain he would make a full recovery.

“How hard are you going to pursue this case?” Jake asked.

“I have an obligation—” Bryce began.

“What about your obligation to protect Barbara Sue?” Jake asked, cutting him off angrily. “You knew Lyle was beating her. You had to. Everyone else in town did.”

Bryce flushed. “She never pressed charges,” he retorted defensively.

“Then you could have made it unofficial. You could have taken your cousin out and beaten the crap out of him. Maybe that would have put an end to it, and it wouldn't have come to this.”

Bryce sighed. “Look, I know Lyle's not perfect.”

“Now there's an understatement.”

“That doesn't give her the right to shoot him in cold blood.”

“Not even when he was about to start beating their daughter, the same way he'd been beating on her?”

Bryce's complexion paled. “He was going to hit Sissy?”

“Had his belt off and was going for her when Barbara Sue got the gun.”

“Damn.”

“All things considered, I think you could do a lot to convince the prosecutor to reduce the charges, go for probation. Having their mama in jail won't do those kids a bit of good.”

His expression grave, the sheriff nodded. “I'll see what I can do.”

Jake started away, then turned back. “One more thing, Bryce. Keep your cousin the hell away from them when he gets out of here.”

“Unfortunately, that may be easier said than done. Once his daddy died, his mama doted on him. Lyle's pretty much gotten his own way his whole life. I doubt anyone can step in now and change that. He's real possessive about Barbara Sue and those kids.”

“Make it happen,” Jake insisted. “Or the next time might not turn out so well. We could have a real tragedy on our hands.”

Bryce sighed. “I'll do what I can.”

Back at the diner, Jake found Henrietta at her wit's end. She'd run her fingers through her short hair so often it was standing up in spikes. She was trying her best to keep Barbara Sue's kids out from underfoot so they wouldn't hear the avid gossip about their mama. They'd seen what she'd done. They didn't need to hear everybody else's take on it.

“I can't keep 'em locked up in the kitchen forever,” she told Jake. “But there's a lot of ugly talk no child should have to hear about his parents.”

“I'll take them with me,” Jake offered. “We'll go out to the ranch for the rest of the day. That should distract them.”

Henrietta looked startled. “How's Megan going to feel about having more kids underfoot? Seems to me she's barely gotten used to having Tess around.”

“It won't be a problem,” he said. “She's with Barbara Sue right now. Then, I imagine, she'll be heading back to Peggy's to do another taping. She won't even know about this until she gets home tonight. As for Mrs. Gomez, she'll take these children under her wing just like she did me years ago.”

Henrietta nodded. “But you'll bring 'em back into town to stay with me tonight?”

“Absolutely. That's what Barbara Sue told me she wanted, if you don't mind. And with any luck, they'll be able to go home with their mother tomorrow. I think Bryce is going to do his best to get the prosecutor to plea bargain the case out. We should have a deal by morning. Maybe even by the end of the day, if they can hammer it out and get it to a judge.”

“Thank the Lord for that. How's Lyle?”

“Still alive.”

“More's the pity.”

“Be grateful,” Jake countered. “Otherwise, it would be a whole lot trickier to get Barbara Sue reunited with her kids.”

“He'll come after her the second he's out of the hospital,” Henrietta predicted, echoing Jake's own fear.

“Not if Bryce has anything to say about it,” he said reassuringly. “I think he's finally seen the light regarding his cousin's potential for violence.”

Henrietta didn't seem impressed. “If you ask me, you're trusting the law, when the truth is its hands are tied. Bryce's heart might be in the right place, but if Lyle wants to get Barbara Sue, there's not a soul on God's earth who'll be able to prevent it.”

“Then we'll just have to leave it to God,” Jake said. “Maybe this brush with death will make Lyle reevaluate his life and start off in a new direction.”

Henrietta looked skeptical. “Wish I could believe that, but I don't. I'm telling you, he'll be gunning for her. And we both know a restraining order is a waste of the paper it's written on.”

Flo Olson's contact with Tess was proof enough of that, Jake thought wearily. But what more could they do?

“They'll just have to come live with me,” Henrietta said decisively. “I'd like to see that man try to get past me.”

“That's very kind of you, but you could be putting yourself in danger.”

“If Lyle Perkins sets foot on my property, he's a dead man,” she countered.

“Now, Henrietta…”

“No, Jake. I mean it. That's a promise you can take to the bank. Not a judge or jury in this county would convict me for it.”

“They might not want to, but the law's the law.”

“Don't you worry about me, Jake. I know what I'm doing. Now take those kids on out of here,” she said, waving him toward the door. “Let 'em run off some of their energy out at the ranch, and I'll see the lot of you at my house later. Bring Megan and Tess
along. I'll make fried chicken and mashed potatoes. That always makes folks feel better.”

He headed toward the kitchen to get the kids, then paused to press a kiss on her cheek. “You're a wonder, you know that, don't you?”

“Oh, get on out of here,” she said, but her cheeks had turned bright pink and there was a pleased sparkle in her eyes.

 

Megan walked in after seven to find her entire household in chaos. There were almost as many people running around as there had been on the set for the taping, but half of these were under the age of ten. The noise level was earsplitting. Henrietta and Flo were in the midst of it, deep in conversation. How they could hear each other was beyond Megan.

Jake spotted her standing motionless in the doorway and came over. “Welcome home.”

“Are you sure this is my house?” she asked, just as one of Barbara Sue's kids darted past her with a whoop, two more children in hot pursuit. “What on earth is going on?”

“I needed to get Barbara Sue's kids out of Henrietta's hair for a while earlier today. Tess got home from school and pleaded to have them stay for dinner. Henrietta agreed and said she'd drive on out to pick them up. Then Flo turned up at the diner and asked her if she could hitch a ride out here, too.” He shrugged. “I guess it got a little out of control. Do you mind?”

Megan had a raging headache and her first instinct was to say yes, she did mind. But after the rough day they'd all had, the sight of the smiles and the sound
of unrestrained laughter reverberating through the house made her pause.

“No,” she said eventually. “I don't mind at all.”

“Right answer,” he said with a wink. “Mrs. Gomez has your dinner waiting for you in the kitchen. Want some company while you eat? Or would you rather I try to guarantee peace and quiet?”

“Company would be nice.” She kicked off her shoes and padded toward the kitchen.

Mrs. Gomez took one look at her and began clucking. “Sit. Sit. Your dinner is ready. I made chicken and dumplings again. It is comfort food. I decided everyone needed that tonight.”

“Even Tess?” Megan asked, recalling the girl's avowed dislike of the meal.

“Tess likes it well enough. She ate three helpings. Had you been here, she would have turned her nose up just on principle,” Mrs. Gomez said. “I remember another little girl who did the same when I made Tex's favorite pot roast.”

Megan grinned at the memory. “I wouldn't touch it as long as he was at the table.”

“Which was why I always insisted you stay at your place until you'd finished,” Mrs. Gomez said. “Once Tex was gone, you ate every bite.”

“Perverse little thing, weren't you?” Jake asked.

“Still am,” she reminded him.

“I've noticed.”

Mrs. Gomez set Megan's dinner in front of her and offered Jake another helping of apple pie. Once she was satisfied that they were both taken care of, the housekeeper announced she was leaving.

“Unless you need me to stay the night,” she said to Megan.

“No, go home and get some rest. It's been another long day for you. In fact, I think you should sleep in in the morning. I'll get up early and make breakfast for the men and for Tess.”

Jake chuckled.

Megan scowled at him. “It'll be edible enough.”

“Were you thinking of serving kiwi and perhaps a cheese and spinach soufflé?” he inquired.

“Very amusing. I can do scrambled eggs, bacon and toast as well as the next person.”

“If you say so. Maybe I'll slip on out to the bunkhouse and warn the men to run into town tonight for a couple of boxes of cold cereal and some milk just in case.”

“Maybe I should stay,” Mrs. Gomez said, frowning.

“No,” Megan insisted. “Go. Don't listen to him. No one will starve if you come in late for once. You've been pulling extra duty for too many weeks now. It's time I pitched in.”

After she'd gone, Megan ate in silence for a while, then glanced up at Jake. “What will happen to Barbara Sue?” she asked. “I've been thinking about her all day.”

“I'm pretty sure we'll have a deal by morning. I talked to Bryce about an hour ago. I'm meeting with the prosecutor first thing and we'll go before a judge.”

“What about Lyle?”

“I'd like to think he'll be smart enough to take off
the minute he's released from the hospital, but everyone tells me that's wishful thinking.”

Megan nodded. “It probably is. If memory serves, Lyle wasn't the smartest kid on the block. Maybe Barbara Sue should be the smart one and leave town and take the kids with her. I suggested that to her this morning.”

“What did she say?”

“That this is her home. That she wouldn't know how to survive anywhere else.”

“That's probably true, you know.”

“But it's too dangerous for her to stay here. I offered her the use of my apartment in New York until she gets on her feet. I could make some contacts for her, help her find a job.”

Jake was shaking his head before the words were out of her mouth. “She'd be miserable in New York.”

“But she'd be safe,” Megan countered fiercely. “Isn't that what's important?”

Jake stood behind her and massaged the tension from her shoulders. “I love it that you care so much.”

“Why wouldn't I care? I've known Barbara Sue my whole life. We weren't the best of friends in school, not the way Peggy and I were, but I certainly wouldn't stand by and let her go through this all alone.”

“A lot of other people have known about Lyle and have turned their back on her,” Jake said.

“Probably because they didn't know what to do. Neither do I, not really. But at least I can offer her a safe place to stay.”

“But to accept your offer, she has to disrupt her life and move hundreds of miles away.”

“So you think I'm wrong?”

“Not wrong. I just think you can't make Barbara Sue do something she's not comfortable with, any more than I could make her take legal action against Lyle before this happened.”

Megan heard the genuine regret in his voice. “You saw it coming, didn't you? That must have been frustrating.”

“Infuriating,” Jake agreed. His touch gentled, became more of a caress. “Almost as infuriating as wanting you right this second and knowing that the odds of having you are slim to none.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “Maybe not as much of a long shot as you think,” she murmured, then turned to gaze up at him.

“You seem to be forgetting all the company in the other room.”

“You seem to be forgetting this house has a back staircase.”

Surprise registered on his face, along with smoldering desire.

“Right over there,” she said, indicating the doorway to the pantry. “Hidden away for quick escapes, I suspect.”

“Well, I'll be,” Jake murmured, then sighed. “But I think we'll have to test it out another time. Those kids of Barbara Sue's are sneaky little devils. If they think we've disappeared, they're liable to come searching for us.”