Revenge (33 page)

“You and I and Casey and Max and even you, Mavis, we all know the kind of man he was. Jonah's kids weren't people—at least not to him. They were just things, possessions like everything else around here. Trophies when they were good, embarrassments when they were bad. I guess I win the award for being the worst.” Shoving himself forward, Jenner refused to use his crutches and half stumbled over to the couch where Virginia was sitting, clutching her hands over her heart, her eyes brimming with tears. “It's time to stop deluding ourselves. All of us.”

“You didn't even know him,” Virginia whispered.

Jenner snorted. “We all knew him, but we just made excuses. Mavis here, she blamed herself for spoiling him. You... I guess you figured you were lucky to catch the richest man in the county and turned a blind eye to his faults. Max believed in Dad to the point where he was almost corrupted himself, and I... Well, I spent a lot of time trying to prove that I didn't want or need him, just the way he treated me.”

“He loved you!” Mavis interjected.

“He loved himself.”

Beth couldn't stand any more. Gathering Cody into her arms, she said, “I think I'd better go.”

“What?” Jenner turned too quickly, nearly fell over, but caught himself. “Already? Just when things are getting interesting?”

“I did what I had to do. Now I think it would be best if—”

“If what?” he roared. “We all went back to our same little lives? If we all acted as if you hadn't appeared with your son and your claims about his heritage? Is that what you expect?”

Her spine stiffened and she stared him straight in the eye. “What I expect, Jenner, is respect. That's all I want from anyone, including you!”

“Don't go!” Mavis pleaded, her lips quivering. “Jenner will apologize.”

“Like hell!”

“Why did you bring me here?” she demanded, and Jenner's grin was as cold as a blue norther raging through the mountains.

“I wanted you to see what it was like to be a McKee. You know, a lot of people in town envy us, think we've got the perfect lives, but they aren't privileged enough to see deeper than the surface into the flaws.”

“What Jenner is trying to say,” Casey cut in, “is that he's being a class-A jerk to scare you off because he's afraid of what you and your son represent.”

“Which is?” Jenner asked.

“Responsibility and stability.”

“One psych course in college and now you know all about me.”

“You're classic, Jenner.”

“And you all wonder why I moved out.”

“No, we all know why,” Casey snapped back, her temper rising along with his. “It's because you can't face yourself in the mirror, brother. It's because you're scared to death that you're never going to be able to do the things you love. It's because you're...you're.:.”

“Go ahead and say it,” Jenner snarled, his face flushing an angry shade of red. “A cripple. That's the word you were looking for.”

“I was going to say a coward.”

Virginia shook her head. “That's not true! He saved Hillary's life and Dani Stewart's, as well.”

“Oh, hell, let's not forget the horses, shall we?” Jenner said sarcastically. “Don't you know, Casey? Haven't you heard? I'm some kind of hero. A goddamned, crippled hero!”

That was enough. Holding Cody close, Beth headed for the front door. “Thanks...thanks for the hospitality,” she blurted out, though, considering the situation, it hardly seemed sincere. She walked through the door and headed for Jenner's pickup. Oh, Lord, why hadn't she brought her own car? She could call her mother, she supposed, but Harriet was working the afternoon shift at the Pancake Hutt and Zeke was probably getting ready to head out for the swing shift at the mill. Short of walking the nearly ten miles back to town, she had no recourse but to wait for Jenner.

“Damn! Damn! Damn!” she said, rolling her eyes to the blue sky and wishing she hadn't been such a fool. Coming back to Rimrock had been a mistake of the highest order. The more she was around the McKees, the more certain she was that she'd made an irrevocable error, one that would affect her son for the rest of his life.

“You mad?” Cody asked, his eyes round with worry.

“No...well, yes.”

“At me?”

“Oh, no, pumpkin.” She wrapped her arms around her son more tightly and wondered how much of the conversation in the ranch house he'd understood. She should never have subjected him to such a horrid and painful scene.

She heard the front door open and listened for Jenner's uneven gait. “Jenner's coming!” Cody obviously spied Jenner over her shoulder. Wriggling to the ground, he raced up to the cowboy who had sired him.

Jenner managed to balance on his good leg and hoist the boy into the air. Cody giggled in sheer joy and Beth's heart tore a little with the sound.

“I ride horse now!”

“Well, pardner, not right now.”

“When?” Cody demanded as Jenner set him on his feet.

“Maybe later.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow.”

“I told you—don't make promises you can't keep,” Beth warned as Cody, intrigued with the old crossbred retriever lying in the shade of an old apple tree, ran eagerly to the dog.

“Be careful,” Beth warned.

Jenner snorted a laugh. “Careful of old Reuben? He wouldn't hurt a flea. Isn't much of a watchdog for that matter.”

“Look, would you just give me a ride back into town?” she asked, not wanting to share any small talk with him. It was better when she hated him, when she didn't trust him, when her heart was hard where he was concerned.

“You don't want to stay at the Rocking M—even with the red-carpet treatment?”

“I need to get back.”

Casey, half-running, hurried out of the house. “Oh, Beth, I'm glad I caught you,” she said, crossing the yard. “I just wanted to apologize for my brother. He can be one helluva bastard when he wants to be.”

“Now wait a minute—” Jenner cut in.

“Rude, obnoxious, self-indulgent, arrogant, a real jerk.”

“Thanks,” Jenner muttered.

“I'm not telling Beth anything she hasn't already figured out.” Casey shot her brother a furious glare. “I don't really understand everything that went on in the house, but I heard enough to put two and two together, and it looks like I've got myself a nephew.” She smiled as she cast Cody a loving glance. “I can't tell you how thrilled I am, and if... well, this sounds really hokey I know, but if you ever need anything, especially a baby-sitter, I'm available.”

“Hey, hold your horses!” Jenner objected. “We don't even know—”

“Know what? That the kid's yours?” Casey whirled on him. “I heard the whole story from Grandma just now. Of course Cody's yours. Look at him, for crying out loud. He's got McKee stamped all over him.”

Despite the tension straining the air, Beth almost laughed.

“How can you tell? He's just a kid!” Jenner said.

“Ever see any pictures of you as a toddler? Go look in Mom and Dad's bedroom. Cody's a dead ringer for you.” She shook her head and met Beth's amused gaze. “I'd better warn you of something. All the men in this family are muleheaded. Maybe there's still time with Cody, but the rest of them are beyond help.”

“Thank you, Dr. Freud,” Jenner muttered.

“I'll send you a bill,” Casey quipped back, then rolled her eyes at Beth. “I'm serious,” she affirmed. “Anytime you need anything.”

“How about a ride into town?”

Jenner stepped between the two women. “Wait a minute. I'll give you a ride home.”

“Don't bother. If Casey would—”

“I said I'd do it.” He grabbed her arm possessively.

“Don't you understand, Jenner?” she said, angling her face to his. “I'm giving you an out.”

“Well maybe I'm not asking for one.”

Casey lifted both palms skyward. “Hey, I'm not going to get in the middle of this. I'm outta here. You two work it out and you—” she pointed a finger at Jenner “—be smart for once in your life!” Flipping her hair away from her face, Casey climbed into an imported sports car of some kind and roared down the lane.

“My sister neglected to mention that the women in the family have some of the same unique and endearing traits as the men.” Jenner's fingers still surrounded Beth's wrist. He blew out a sigh and watched Reuben lick Cody's chubby little hands. “About what happened in the house—”

“Let's just forget it, shall we?” A dry gust of wind caught her hair, blowing the dark strands over her face. Just as she was brushing them aside, Jenner touched the edge of her cheek with a callused finger.

“I just wanted you to see what you were getting yourself into. What kind of family we are.”

“It doesn't alter the facts, does it? Or were you just trying to test my mettle and scare me off?”

His fingers traced the line of her jaw, his gaze suddenly warm, and the harsh edges of his face seemed to soften a little. “You've given me a shock. I just want you to realize all the ramifications of what you're doing.” His hand dropped back to his side and he leaned a hip against the fender of the truck.

“I can't turn back now,” she said, and he watched the breeze play with her hair again. Sunlight glinted off the red-brown curls and her cheeks were high with color, probably from embarrassment.

Suddenly Jenner felt like a heel. “Do you want to... turn back?”

“I don't know,” she admitted, her jaw jutting forward in defiance. “I thought this was the perfect opportunity for Cody to meet his father. Maybe I was wrong.” Before he could answer, she called to her son. “Come on, Cody. It's time to go.”

“Dog come, too?” Cody asked.

“No, but—”

“Sure. Come on, Reuben.” Jenner whistled to the old retriever who loped over to the truck, then upon command leaped into the bed.

“I ride with him.”

Beth was horrified. “No way.”

“You're up in the cab, pardner,” Jenner said.

“But I want doggy.”

“Who's gonna steer the truck?”

Beth let out a little squeak of protest.

“I drive?”

“You bet.” He winked broadly at Beth as he yanked on the door of the old Dodge.

“God help us,” Beth whispered as Cody, with Jenner's help, scrambled into the driver's side. She was climbing into an ancient pickup that was going to be driven by a man with the use of one leg and a two-year-old. “Crazy, that's what this is,” she muttered under her breath.

Jenner shoved the truck into reverse, and Cody, sitting next to him in the car seat reached over and honked the horn loudly. From the bed, the dog let out a sharp bark and they were off, leaving a plume of dust in their wake.

Beth glanced at father and son, both grinning widely as if they were having the time of their lives. She couldn't help but wonder just how long it would last.

J
enner smelled trouble. The kind of trouble that reeked of problems and clung to a guy for the rest of his life. Not only was that little imp of a kid getting to him, but the mother, as well.

They'd spent the rest of the day together. Though Beth had come up with a hundred reasons to return to her mother's house, he'd managed to convince her to stick around. They'd gone to the park, a dippy kid's movie in Dawson City and out to dinner at an Italian restaurant. Eventually, with Reuben still in the back of the truck and Cody falling asleep leaning against his mother, Jenner had taken her home to the cottage on Buckskin Drive. The house was nearly dark, soft light coming from only one window near the back and a single bulb burning on the front porch.

He pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. Tapping his fingers against the wheel, he squinted through the grimy windshield. “You're not what I expected,” he admitted.

“I hope not. You thought I was some kind of con artist, I think.”

“That about sums it up.”

“Not quite. You thought I'd do anything, even jeopardize my child's emotional well-being and security, to get at a few McKee dollars.”

He rubbed the stubble on his chin. “You make it sound like Monopoly money.”

“You're the one who suggested I was playing a game.”

He leaned back against the seat and studied this woman who just twenty-four hours ago he hadn't known existed. Resting against the door, her son sleeping in the car seat, illumination from the porch lamp highlighting her features, she kissed the top of Cody's head by instinct, and Jenner watched the movement, his gut tightening at the familiarity and warmth of this simple act. For a split second, he considered kissing her, just as he had earlier today when they were overlooking Stardust Canyon and she'd touched his arm.

Her lips were pliant and now devoid of lipstick, her arms protectively wrapped around her child. Her hair was mussed, thick mahogany curls tangled from the wind as they'd pushed Cody on a swing, or balanced together on a teeter-totter, or spun slowly on a merry-go-round. Beth had raced her son to a slide, then slid down with him when the child had protested that the contraption was too high.

“It's supposed to be high, silly,” she'd explained with a gentle nudge. “Otherwise it would be flat and we would have to push ourselves along. Let me hold you first and see if you like it, okay?”

“'Kay,” Cody had said reluctantly, but had soon been whooping in glorious excitement as they'd slipped down the slick piece of equipment. “Do again! Do again!” he'd insisted when they'd landed.

Beth's generous smiles and laughter had touched a dark part of Jenner's soul that was better left locked away.

Cody's little feet hadn't been able to race fast enough back to the ladder, and the second time he'd needed no prodding from his mother. “You do, too!” he'd cried, pointing at Jenner, who had been forced to decline rather than stumble up the metal steps with his one good leg.

His back teeth ground together as he thought of a lifetime of missed opportunities. A lifetime that, despite the encouraging words from surgeons, would never be the same. He stared at her long and hard. “You've never said what it is that you want from me.”

“I wish I knew,” she admitted, a line forming between her arched eyebrows. “I... well, when I first found out I was pregnant, I had this silly fantasy that you and I would...oh, well, you know...” Her voice trailed off in embarrassment.

“What? Get married?”

He noticed the dark stain that washed up the front of her neck. “Something like that,” she admitted, her voice rough. “I knew it was out of the question, that we really didn't know each other, but I had this Norman Rockwell vision of what a family should be.”

He snorted. “Not my family.”

“Nor mine,” she said, shifting a sighing Cody in her arms. “Anyway, I made the mistake of trying to locate you and instead I ran into a brick wall named—”

“Let me guess. Jonah McKee.”

“Right. I don't know how he found out, but I suspect it was through Ralph Fletcher. They had some business dealings, I believe. Anyway, your father set me straight right away. Told me that you weren't the marrying kind and when you were you'd probably settle down with Nora Bateman. He acted as if she was the typical girl-next-door and said you two had been involved in some kind of on-and-off-again romance since high school.”

Jenner scowled. “It was off when I met you.”

“Was it?” She let her chin rest on the top of her son's head.

“Been off ever since.”

“Then I guess Jonah didn't like me or the thought of a bastard grandchild.”

Jenner's gaze skated down Cody's dozing face. A bastard? Would someone—his own father—actually look upon this dynamo of short legs, curly hair and bright eyes as a bastard? The thought brought a vile taste up the back of his throat and he realized with sudden clarity that no matter how much he protested the fact that he'd sired this boy, the kid was really getting under his skin. He experienced a strange sense of caring for this little two-year-old scamp. Funny, he'd never liked kids much. Except for Hillary, his niece, he didn't have much use for children and thought most of them were brats. He sure as hell had been one.

“I can't explain Jonah,” Jenner finally said. “I don't think anyone can.”

“Anyway, I think I was telling you all about my stupid fantasies.” She stared through the windshield and into the night. “Once your father shattered my illusions, I left Rimrock and finished nursing school. I decided that neither Cody nor I needed you, that we could get along just fine. And we have. Until your grandmother wrote me.”

Jenner still wasn't absolutely convinced. Though Beth looked as if she was telling the God's honest truth, he didn't know her. She could be the world's most accomplished liar for all he knew. “So now what do you expect of me?”

“I don't know. Recognition maybe. I, um, grew up not knowing my dad and it would've been nice to put a face with a name occasionally.”

“You never saw him.”

“Not much. Once in a while he'd show up, or he'd call, but it was pretty much hit-or-miss.”

“And that bothered you?”

She opened her mouth as if to give a quick answer, a lie maybe, then shut it quickly. “Yeah,” she admitted, “it bothered me a lot.”

His gut tightened when he saw the tip of her tongue skim her lips nervously. He didn't want to feel any empathy for her, didn't want to feel anything. So she had a rotten childhood. Lots of people did and they survived.

“Well, look, it's late. Cody's already asleep and I'd better get going.” She reached for the handle of the door, but he grabbed her shoulder, surprising himself.

“Wait—” His body just seemed to react on its own as he dragged her close, boy and all, and let his lips touch the wet trail her tongue had left only moments before. Her mouth was soft, pliant and brought back dusty memories as she sighed softly. She smelled and tasted familiar, but that could have been his imagination playing tricks on him. The way her body seemed to melt into his... Warmth, hot and urgent, invaded his limbs, caused his heartbeat to thunder in his ears.

Cody, caught between them, moved and made sucking noises with his mouth, but Jenner didn't mind. In fact, as his arms drew her closer, the child was wedged between them and it felt right somehow.

His heart was still pounding when Beth lifted her head to gaze at him for a second. “Stop,” she said, her voice breathless. “This isn't necessary—”

“Has nothing to do with necessity.”

“You don't need to prove that... Damn it all, just because you and I... Just forget it, okay?” She pushed away quickly as if suddenly afraid. Her fingers scrabbled for the handle of the door.

The latch opened. A rush of cool air swept into the cab, dispersing some of the condensation that had collected on the windows. But Jenner wasn't quite finished. He reached for her again and tightened his fingers into a firm, angry grip. “There's something you'd better understand about me,” he said unevenly. “I don't have to do anything and I know it.”

“Of course not. You're a McKee, aren't you?”

Growling a curse, he yanked her close to him again and his lips were no longer gentle, but came down with a punishing anger that was hot and wild and way out of control. She took a swift intake of breath and he pressed his advantage, his tongue delving deep into the warm, sweet recesses of her mouth.

Cody let out a squeal and Jenner let go, suddenly realizing what he was doing. Shooting a hard glare in his direction, Beth held Cody more tightly and slid from the seat of the cab. As her feet touched the pavement, she sent him a scathing look. “You made your point, Jenner,” she said, taking deep gulps of air between words. “I've done my duty by coming here and you've done yours by meeting Cody. You don't owe him or me anything.” Tossing her hair out of her face, she said, “Let's call it even.”

“Even?”

Back stiff as sun-dried leather, she marched up the walk and disappeared inside.

“Hell,” Jenner muttered. He reached across the seat and grabbed the door. A jolt of pain shot up his leg, raging like a prairie fire as it raced from his knee to his hip. Slamming the door, he straightened, ignored the throbbing and tore away from the curb.

Who was that woman? And why the hell did she get to him?

 

“It's pointless to stay any longer,” Beth said as she eyed the small bedroom where she'd laid Cody in his playpen. Snuggled under a blanket, thumb firmly in his mouth, he'd barely awakened when Jenner had squeezed him during their kiss. She turned off the light and, with her mother following her, headed back to the kitchen. She needed a drink. Something stronger than coffee. Oh, for God's sake, who was she kidding? She reached the kitchen, grabbed a wineglass, then shoved it back into the cupboard. Instead, she paused at the sink and splashed some water on her face. Her lips still felt the warm impressions of Jenner's mouth and her blood was still running hot. Too hot.

“But you just got here. Just because things didn't go so great with Jenner McKee is no reason to turn tail and run.” Harriet reached for a pack of cigarettes on the counter.

“I'm not running!” Good Lord, she was protesting much too loudly.

“I thought you were staying for a week.”

“I was, but—”

“But now, just like that—” Harriet snapped her fingers loudly “—you're heading back to the city.”

“I belong in the city.”

With a flick of her lighter, Harriet lit up and drew in a lungful of smoke. “If you say so.” Her eyes darkened a second as if with a private pain, then she sighed.

“Mom...I only came back because of Mavis's letter. I felt coerced into seeing Jenner again.”

“Did you?” Harriet leaned a hip against the counter, crossed her arms over her waist, and let her cigarette burn between her fingers as she studied her daughter. “I wasn't going to say anything. Lord knows I hate a meddling mother. But I feel it's only right to speak my mind.

“You've got your life all neatly planned out. Get another job working at a hospital, marry Stan and hope that he'll be the father to Cody that he doesn't have now. You'd like to pretend that Jenner McKee doesn't exist, that you don't give two cents about him, but the truth of the matter is that you're not over him. Probably never will be.”

Beth dried her face on a towel hanging near the window. “I thought you didn't like the McKees.”

“I don't. Don't trust 'em, neither.”

“But—”

“But you'd better listen to your heart, girl, or you're going to end up in a whole lot more trouble than you're already in. Marrying Stan because he's stable, because he's nice, because he's financially secure won't make you forget Jenner.”

“I already broke up with Stan and I don't know what you're—”

“You're too smart not to know. Face it, Beth. I see the way your eyes light up at the mention of Jenner. He stirs your blood, and don't tell me he doesn't. I've known enough men to recognize when one's got hold of my daughter's heart. I hoped that you'd forget him, that when you saw him again you'd see that he's not the man for you, but unless I miss my guess, that little plan backfired.”

Harriet's words echoed Beth's own worrisome suspicions, but she wouldn't acknowledge them. “Jenner and I have a history, that's all.”

“Not quite,” Harriet reminded her. “The two of you have a son.”

“Let's not talk about it now.” Beth glanced out the window. “I left my car at the apartment. How about helping me retrieve it?”

Harriet grabbed her keys and purse. “All right, but just remember Jenner McKee has done nothing but hurt you.”

 

The Black Anvil was one cut up from a dive. The bar had seen better years, the floor was made of worn oak slats polished by spilled beers, broken glass, dirt from unwiped boots and even occasional drops of blood from nosebleeds, the result of infrequent but angry fistfights.

Several of the regulars had bellied up to the bar. Jenner recognized Jeb Peterson, a big bear of a man who owned a sawmill in Dawson City and whose affinity for ale bulged over his belt. Slim Purcell was perched on the end stool and Jimmy Rickert was shooting pool. A cigarette hung limply from the corner of Jimmy's mouth as he concentrated on his game against Barry White who was somehow related to Ned Jansen. Rimrock was a small town—lots of people related to each other, everyone knowing everyone else's business.