Lonestar Secrets (23 page)

"You don't want to believe it because it might mean your father was the one who hurt him."

She stood and went to the door. She blinked back the moisture in her eyes. "You didn't know my father. He never would have hurt a horse."

"Everyone has secrets. We don't know what this is all about, but sticking your head in the sand won't get us closer to the truth."

Faith yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Ready for bed, baby girl?" he asked. She nodded and he scooped her up.

Shannon didn't have the energy to move as the sound of his steps faded. Could her father have stolen a horse? True, she didn't want to believe it. If he had, it was to save jewel, not hurt him. She was sure of that much.

MONDAY MORNING, WITH THE WEEK'S WORK AHEAD OF HIM, JACK STOOD talking to Buzz. "When you going on your honeymoon?" Buzz asked with a wink.

Never. Jack bit back the word. It wouldn't do to air their situation to the world. "Maybe when the mustang breaking is over." Now that he'd said it, he realized a vacation might ease the tension in the house. Since Wednesday night, when Shannon suggested they work on making a real marriage, he'd been unable to think of much else. When he watched her sleep with her hair loose on her shoulders, she'd been the most tempting thing he'd seen in months. It had been all he could do to resist her.

He'd never been one to rush into anything. This hurried marriage was bad enough, but if he made a move he'd regret later, he'd think back to this time and wish he'd thought out his actions. So he was going to do that take the time to ferret out what was best. The conflict they'd had over the fate of the horse muddied the waters even more.

Questions lurked in Buzz's eyes, but Jack didn't intend to answer them. He was fooling himself if he thought the town hadn't guessed the reason for the marriage. One look at the two girls should have laid everything open.

Tucker Larue swaggered up before Buzz said anything more. His bullwhip secured to his belt and his mustache waxed to a fine curl, Larue didn't appear to have worked up a sweat with his horses today. Jack had managed to avoid the man for a week, but his luck couldn't hold on forever.

When Larue saw Jack and Buzz, he stopped and hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. "My stallion is already ground broke, MacGowan. Looks like you're losing this round."

"Got a saddle on him yet, Larue?" Jack couldn't help the taunt. At least Dancer let him drop a saddle on her back. He hadn't managed to stay on her yet, but she was progressing.

Larue gave a slow smile. "I think your bridle slipped off your little filly. I saw her smiling and batting those baby blues at a couple of cowboys today."

Jack lifted his brows. He knew Larue was talking about Shannon. "I bet you weren't one of them." He nearly grinned when Larue's face darkened and the man stalked away.

He was going to have to make sure Shannon knew not to give the wrong impression here. Cowboys were quick to respond to a pretty face and a flirtatious smile. Or even a smile that wasn't flirty. He waved to Buzz, then went to his truck. Shannon was standing by the passenger door, waiting. Her blond hair tied back in a ponytail, she appeared younger than he knew her to be.

He slid under the wheel and waited until she'd settled on her side of the truck. "Larue seemed to think you were flirting today." He nearly winced. That hadn't come out the way he intended. Even he could hear the accusation in the words.

She glared at him, her gaze a blue laser. "I didn't say two words to Tucker," she said. "I told you I'm not interested in other men. Besides, why would you care if I was? You haven't said a thing to me for the past two days! I come home. Play with the girls. I try to help with supper, but Enrica won't let me. You stare at your plate all through the meal, then vanish to your office until time to put the girls to bed. I feel like a pariah or something. I don't have a real place in the family. I'm like a poor cousin you've taken in."

She rubbed her forehead. "I'm sorry, I sound like a fishwife," she muttered.

"I don't know what to talk about," he mumbled. He focused on the road. He couldn't begin to explain how his attraction to her the other night had put him on his guard. He couldn't let her creep into his heart unless he was sure he wanted her there.

"The kids notice the tension between us. We have to at least try to be friendly, even if we're not friends. And just for the record, I don't flirt. Not ever."

You did the other night. The thought made him grip the steering wheel and stare at the road. He didn't want to remember the way she'd looked or how long it had taken him to get to sleep in his empty bed.

She turned her head and stared out the window. He glanced over at the smooth curve of her jaw and the long line of her neck. "I didn't mean to accuse you. I was repeating what Larue said," he said.

"Larue is an annoyance, nothing more." She still wouldn't look at him.

Silence stretched out along with the road for the next five miles. He reached the driveway and turned into it. "What do you want me to do?"

She turned to catch his gaze then. Her mouth drooped. "You sound like you think I'm going to ask something hard. I'd just like a little courtesy. Normal dinner conversation. Addressing me once in a while instead of the girls when we're playing games at night. I feel a little left out. And you still haven't told Faith I'm her real mother, have you? It's been over two weeks."

He couldn't stop the frown that sprang to his face. "I'm waiting for the right time."

Shannon rubbed her head. "I love her dearly, Jack. I want her to know she has a real sister, a mother who loves her. Blair has been dead for over a year. Faith needs me in her life, all of me, her mother. And her sister, her twin."

His fingers tightened on the wheel. "Blair was her mother!"

She flinched, and there was moisture hanging on her lashes when she looked at him. "There's room for both of us, Jack. I don't want to take away her love for Blair, but it's not my fault she was stolen from me." Her voice broke. "I know it's not your fault either, but please don't shut me out of her life because of your loyalty to Blair. I think she'd want Faith to have my love too." She shook her head and broke eye contact with him. "I have five years of lost time to make up. You have to tell her, Jack. It's the right thing to do."

He parked by the garage and got out without saying another word. Stalking to the house, he wondered why he'd ever thought this would work. She had him trapped. Legally, she was his wife. A court battle would prove she was Faith's mother.

But why did it feel so wrong? Telling Faith that Shannon was her mother would be letting go of the last bit of Blair. He had nothing left of her now. Not even a child they'd made together. And to think of putting anyone in Blair's place still pained him.

He bounded up the stairs and rushed through the door to his office. He found Enrica dusting his desk. The faint odor of lemon wax hung in the air.

Her head came up when he barged through the door. "You mad, Mr. Jack?"

He sank onto his chair. "I don't know what to do, Enrica. Shannon wants me to tell Faith she's her real mother." He snatched the picture of Blair off his desk. "I can't do it."

Enrica rubbed the gleaming surface of the desk without saying anything for a long minute. "Miss Blair. She not perfect." Enrica nodded to the picture. "She no saint. You forget the fights sometimes, Mr. Jack."

"We never fought," he protested.

Enrica smiled and picked up a vase from the bookcase behind her. "Miss Blair throw this at you. I fix. See crack here?"

Transfixed, he stared at it. He remembered that argument. She'd wanted new drapes for the living room and he hadn't wanted to spend the money or deal with the mess. With the door cracked open, he remembered other fights about Faith's bedtime, which movie to see, where to go to dinner. Blair had liked things her own way. She liked being the big man's wife, having the best of everything, making a splash in town and getting her picture in the paper.

She wasn't a saint. And neither was he.

Maybe he'd put her on a pedestal after her death. She would be horrified if she knew it. He put his head in his hands. It was about time he faced the truth and tried to make things better for the family he had left. What Shannon wanted was her right. And Faith's.

THE GLAZED DISHES, DEEP ORANGE AND GOLD, REFLECTED HER SCOWL. Shannon placed the plates on the table and went to get the silverware. Her hands needed to be busy so she didn't throw something. Jack was never going to tell Faith the truth.

"Miss Shannon, you should not work." Enrica snatched the silverware box from her hand. "This my job."

"I like to do it," Shannon protested. She tried to get the box back, but Enrica turned and moved to the dining room. Shannon sometimes wondered if she'd ever be more than an outsider here. She wasn't trying to take Enrica's job, but she wanted to be part of the family. Someone who did more than occupy a room upstairs.

"Will Faith be home from her grandparents' in time for supper?" she asked.

"Si." Enrica's gaze shot to Shannon. "Miss Faith's abuela fears you take Miss Blair's place."

Shannon gaped at the housekeeper. "I've never even met the woman.

Enrica nodded. "When she come to pick up the nina, she ask many questions. I see fear in her eyes."

Shannon hadn't given much thought to Blair's parents. Of course they would want to keep their daughter's memory alive. Of course they would resent the woman who took Blair's place. They hadn't come to the wedding, and neither she nor Jack had expected them to show. She needed to make more of an effort to assure them she intended to help Faith hold on to the memory of her mother.

"They are here now," Enrica said at the sound of an engine outside.

"I'll go get her," Shannon said. She stepped out onto the porch and stood by a white pillar. A woman dressed in black slacks and a black silk blouse got out of the white Lexus. She got Faith out of the backseat, and Shannon caught a glimpse of a man at the steering wheel. Faith held the woman's hand and chattered all the way up the brick walk. Her focus never left the woman's face, and as they neared, Shannon understood. If Blair had lived, she would have been a copy of this woman in her fifties.

Shannon stepped down the steps. "Hello, I'm Shannon." She held her hand out to the woman, who took it with obvious reluctance. "You must be Mrs. Stickman."

Mrs. Stickman released Shannon's fingers after the merest touch. "Yes. We've had a fine time, haven't we, Faith?"

"I want to stay with you, Grammy," Faith said, her voice full of tears. She hung on to her grandmother's hand.

"Kylie has been counting the minutes until you got back," Shannon said.

Mrs. Stickman's eyes held sorrow. "Thank you for being so good to Faith," she said. "You can't always count on that with a stepmother."

Maybe she'd never seen Kylie and had no idea of the reality of the relationship, so Shannon held her tongue. But no, surely she knew. Verna was her sister.

The door behind her flew open and Kylie burst onto the porch. "Faith, you've been gone forever!"

Mrs. Stickman gaped at Kylie, then stared back at her granddaughter. She blinked at the moisture in her eyes. "I didn't believe Verna when she told me," she said quietly as Faith darted up the steps to Kylie and the two went hand in hand into the house. "Have you told Faith?"

"Not yet." Shannon met her gaze. "And I'll do all I can to make sure Faith treasures her memories of Blair. Her sweet spirit is a tribute to her ... her mother."

Mrs. Stickman dabbed at her eyes. "Thank you. I don't know what to say. I'm just thankful Blair never had to deal with this. Faith was her whole world. As she is mine. I hope you'll never prevent her from seeing us.

"Of course not! Grandparents are so important to a child's life. Kylie has none."

Mrs. Stickman's mouth sagged, but then she smiled. "Would you consider letting us have Kylie when we take Faith?There's room in our hearts for another grandchild."

Tears sprang to Shannon's eyes, and she wanted to open her arms and hug the other woman. This kind of acceptance was something she'd craved all her life. "I'd be honored," she said in a choked voice. "Kylie has always wanted a grandma and grandpa."

"Could I have them both in a couple of weeks?"

Shannon nodded, her throat too full to speak. The other woman exchanged a brief hug with her, then went toward her car with a spring in her step.

"Nice to meet you," Shannon called over her shoulder as she stepped toward the door. She couldn't wait to tell Kylie. But first Jack had to tell the girls the truth.

The aroma of beef enchiladas filled the hall. Shannon went to the kitchen and wandered to the stove. The rice and beans were bubbling away on top, and flans sat cooling on the windowsill. Enrica must have stepped out of the kitchen a minute.

Shannon's stomach rumbled at the same time that her cell phone rang. She pulled it off her belt and glanced at the number. Mary Beth's name flashed across the caller ID screen. Shannon froze. She didn't want to answer it, but she had to. She flipped the phone open and put it to her ear.

"Shannon?" Mary Beth's voice was breathless and weak. "Everything okay?"

Shannon's heart leaped. "I'm fine. There's a guy after me. What does he want?"

"Money that belongs to you!" Mary Beth's voice was fierce. "Run a scanner over your arm and keep it. Don't give it up, no matter what he tells you. He's not going to hurt me. At least I don't think so. Oh no, here he comes." Her voice cut off.

Jack's silhouette filled the doorway. "Who was that?"

She glanced at his broad shoulders. He would stand by her. Keeping him informed was the only way he could protect them. No secrets, she reminded herself. Other than the MS. That was one secret that would take time to gather the nerve to tell.

He stood staring at her with a frown crouching beneath his dusty cowboy hat. "Shannon? What's wrong?"

She realized she'd been staring at him for several long moments and settled onto a bar stool at the gleaming granite island before her knees gave out. "It was Mary Beth, the friend I roomed with."