by Debra Holt
“You called me to meet you here, at this dead-end road in the middle of nowhere. And who is Samantha?”
“I called you here so no one would see us talking. And I certainly didn’t need you to react in any way that might get anyone suspicious about what might be going on. As far as anyone knows, I am checking out a strange noise from behind old man Talbot’s garage on the far side of town. And Pops called you back to the ranch because of an issue with one of the mares. He knows his part of the story.”
Truitt had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something unwelcome was heading his way. He drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. Then he settled his gaze squarely on Gray, feet planted, hands on hips, ready to face whatever it was…or so he thought.
“Just give it to me straight. Beginning with whoever this Samantha is that you started the conversation with.”
Gray slid his hat off his head and leaned back against the hood of his SUV, setting the hat on top of the hood. He hated what he was about to do to his friend. “Samantha Stephens…that’s her name. We all know her as Annie Sims. And Jessie is Marissa Stephens. They aren’t from California, but from Nevada. And they’re on the run from a really bad situation.”
Truitt could have been struck across the midsection by a two-by-four and been just as knocked for a loop as he was in that moment. That’s what Annie wanted to talk about? Or was it?
“Your investigating turned up all of this information? How long have you known this? Does she know that you know?”
Gray shook his head. “She has no idea that I know any of this. My investigating as you call it, turned up the name discrepancy when the fingerprints from her coffee mug I borrowed from Melba’s that morning when you came across us having coffee together showed up on a driver’s license report. But I didn’t know any of the finer details until a real low-life private investigator showed up while I was coming out of the post office and said he needed to speak with me in private…not in my office.”
“A private investigator? What is it that Annie, er Samantha or whatever has supposedly done that warrants an investigator to come all the way to Faris, Texas?”
“Good question. And I asked myself that one and a lot of others. As far as I can tell, Samantha Stephens hasn’t broken any real laws…yet.”
“Why do you say yet?”
“Because this Mr. Black offered me a very large sum of money to make certain that he got his hands on Jessie, er Marissa…the names are too confusing so I’m using the ones I know best for right now. Anyway, seems that Annie and Jessie have an uncle who happens to be a man with a lot of power and money…an assistant attorney general of the state and as crooked as a Texas sidewinder. This private eye is on his payroll and is a former cop in his state. Anyway, the man wants Jessie back under his control. As for Annie, I would earn big bucks by trumping up some charges—most likely drugs—arresting her and throwing her in jail. Then this upstanding uncle would step forward as the best guardian for the child. One of his judicial buddies is all set to rubber stamp that court order and end of story.”
Truitt shook his head, swearing softly and then louder as he paced the angry energy off in the middle of the deserted roadway, his shadow cast long in the glare of the headlights of the two vehicles. “So that’s why they came to Texas? And what she’s been keeping from everyone. Why she couldn’t trust us to know and maybe help her with?”
“I can understand why she ran. This guy owns law enforcement…judges…attorneys. Evidently what I managed to weasel out of this lowlife of his was not a pretty picture. Annie wouldn’t have stood a chance of protecting Jessie or herself if she had stayed where he could find her. She headed this way because she had a job offer. Seems that fell through just a few days after she got here. Anyway, I have a plan in mind if you care enough to want to hear it out. Or if you’re angry because she didn’t run to you for help with her problem, then that’s up to you. Sometimes, you have to step back and take feelings out of the picture. And then ask yourself given those same circumstances, what is it exactly that you would have done differently.”
Truitt was angry. But he knew that Gray had nailed the truth to the wall. Maybe it was his male pride that hurt most of all. Annie could have come clean with them all right from the start. Or could she? Would he have done the same? And the answers that came to mind didn’t help his disposition. She’d run to protect Jessie. She had no one to trust but her gut instincts. Yet, he still came back to why she couldn’t have felt she could trust him…after they were growing closer even. Surely she had to have an idea how he felt about her and Jessie? She had to know he would move heaven and earth to protect them. Or did she think it was only her fight? She was so fiercely independent from the beginning. He looked over at Gray who was silent and watching him.
“Now that they know where the pair of them are, they’ll move quickly to keep them from running again.”
Gray nodded. “That’s why I let it be known that I wasn’t above supplementing my meager lawman’s salary. And why first thing in the morning, we are convening out at the county judge’s ranch. I’m counting on you to get Annie out there. Then we can sit down with Ty and his wife, and her great legal mind. We need to not only stop this criminal act from happening, but we need to end it for good where Annie and Jessie are concerned. We don’t have time to waste. Some things have already been put into motion. And Davis McKenna is having a heart-to-heart with Mr. Black. So anything you need to do or say regarding any personal feelings in the matter, you need to be able to set them aside for right now. Is that possible? Are you in?”
“Whatever it takes.”
Chapter Fourteen
“That didn’t take long,” Aunt Sal spoke in a lowered voice, her gaze in the rearview mirror where Jessie sat, earphones in place where they had been since she was given the autographed copy of J.D.’s latest CD and had begun listening to it the moment they left the dance. Now it was clear to the women in the front seat that all the many days and evenings of the festival might have caught up with the young girl who was fast asleep, still seated upright, her head resting against the leather seat cushion behind her.
Annie glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Not long at all. She’ll have good dreams tonight.” Annie turned back and let her gaze fall on the moonlit darkness outside her window. “It was quite a few days for us all. So many good memories.”
“Memories are wonderful to store up and take out and look at from time to time. But I think I prefer looking forward to the making of other possibilities. I’ll have time to visit the memories once I can’t travel any longer or paint. They’ll be good companions in that rocking chair one of these days.”
Annie shook her head and grinned at the woman beside her. “You and a rocking chair just don’t go together in my mind. You’ll still be busy and seeing the world when you’re a hundred. I can’t imagine you any other way.”
“Well, I have to admit that I like your way of thinking. I’m not one to sit still. But I can’t say that I’m not looking forward to time in that rocker, if just long enough to rock a few of the next generation of Tremaynes. They’re beginning to come along now that Thomas is married and settled. I expect there’ll be some more wedding bells sounding in the not too distant future.”
Annie’s gaze stayed on the road ahead. While Aunt Sal hadn’t made any inference as to just which Tremayne sibling might be next to wed, only one came to Annie’s mind. Then she pushed him right out of it. The possibility of one day hearing that Truitt had found that special woman to share his renewed life with was a sharp pain in the center of her chest that she didn’t want to acknowledge. She had gone back and forth over her decision to speak to him at the ranch and lay the truth out on the table. What she dreaded the most was how it might make him feel…how disappointed in her he might be. Or how angry and betrayed by her silence even. She wouldn’t be able to fault him for any of those feelings.
“I know I’ve skirted the issue enough.” Aunt Sal’s voice b
rought her back to the moment. “But I’m going to say it plain as I can. You and Jessie came along, and we all have been better for it. I think the both of you have been better for it. I know Jessie wants to stay right here and call it home. I think that deep inside you wouldn’t mind it all that much, either. But something is causing you a tug-of-war inside. I don’t know what it is. I won’t pry it out of you because I figure if you wanted to share it, you would have done so.
“But if you change your mind, you’d make a lot of folks glad of it. You have a job offer from me on the table anytime you want it. There’s some nice property in town if you’re hankering for a good place to call your own. And you know all the rest. Whether you open your heart up to my nephew or not, you’ll still be considered part of my family and a very dear friend to boot. So I just wanted to make that perfectly clear. I won’t say another word on it.”
Annie felt a knot in her throat that was growing into a boulder. She couldn’t break down. She needed to get through her talk with Truitt. But she knew how loudly her heart was screaming in her chest at the moment. It would be so very easy to make the decision to stay. But it wasn’t that easy, not really…not with all the other reasons that still weren’t settled for her and Jessie. After tonight, she’d know better what tomorrow might bring. Until then, she’d have to keep her thoughts to herself. She simply nodded at the woman and stayed quiet.
A few minutes later, Aunt Sal pulled the vehicle into the garage. The engine cut off just as the door opened, light spilling outward. Truitt stood in the doorway. Aunt Sal stepped out of the vehicle. “Little Jessie is sound asleep in the back. Can you get her inside to her room? I hate to wake her up and all.”
Truitt came around and without looking at Annie, opened the back door and carefully slid his arms under and around the child. She stirred enough to wrap her arms around his neck as he instructed her in a whispered voice. Annie followed behind them up the stairs to Jessie’s room. She opened the door and Truitt passed through and deposited her on her bed. Annie pulled off Jessie’s shoes, took her headphones off and laid them and the rest of her music items on the bedside table. Then she drew the soft quilt from the bottom of the bed and covered her. She bent and kissed Jessie’s cheek. Truitt waited for her at the door and then pulled it shut after them.
“There’s a fire in the den. I thought we could talk in there. If you still want to talk?”
Perhaps it was the fact she was nervous and all, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that Truitt wasn’t his usual self. She couldn’t put her finger on it. Maybe it was just her feelings projecting on him. She nodded. “Sounds good.”
Once in the den, she slipped off her heels and then tucked her legs to the side and snuggled into one of the deep arms of the couch. Truitt chose to sit in the high-backed chair a couple of feet from where she sat. The only sound in the room for a few moments was the ticking of the large grandfather clock standing across the room and the occasional pop and crackle of the fire as it blazed nicely behind the grate. It was a moment she wished she could enjoy without the drama hanging between them. It was clear that Truitt was waiting for her to begin. His gaze was dark blue sapphire and unwavering as it held hers yet kept his emotions and thoughts behind a veil.
“I don’t know how to start, and I don’t know how much I can make sense of it all for you. But it’s time to put all pretense and excuses aside. You were right when you said you felt there were secrets I was keeping. And it’s time to explain, because you and your family and all the other people who have been so good to us, accepted us, made us feel part of so much…it’s time that you knew the real reason we ended up here in Faris. It begins with the death of my mother.”
Annie needed to keep the tears and emotion out of the telling. But it was a fight. At least Truitt was being very patient and his attention didn’t leave her.
“Our dad died when my sister was less than a month old. He had pancreatic cancer and it took him fast. Which I guess was a blessing. He suffered quite a bit. My mother took on two jobs to support us. I was in my second year of college, and I had to take on a second part-time job also. Times were tough. My mom took the bus to and from her main job so I could have the car to go to school and then get to my second job. They said she was tired and her attention wasn’t as sharp as it might have been. She stepped off the bus and crossed in front of it and didn’t see the car that hit her.”
“You had to become independent very young and very quickly.” Truitt made the statement in a lowered voice. “It had to be difficult being in school and working and taking care of Jessie.”
Annie met his gaze. “Before I go on, I need to explain something else that is very important. I’ll explain more of what I am about to say as I get further into the story. But I need to say that we had to begin to leave all traces of us behind. That included our names. We arrived here with names we had put in place for our leaving. Jessie’s birth name is Marissa Stephens. My name is Samantha Stephens. I think that has been one of the hardest parts of all of this.
“I had to give up my career. Marissa gave up friends and teachers and so much. And we sold what we could, which wasn’t much. I cleaned out my savings, sold my car, and bought what turned out to be a clunker. And I suppose I need to tell you now why we had to do all of this.
“After my dad’s death, my mother completed her will and specified what she wanted to have done with Jessie’s care and all. She made me her legal guardian once I was old enough. Of course, she didn’t foresee what was coming too soon. But she was raised in a relatively insulated world with a lot of money and things that went along with it. Then my dad came along and they fell in love and she married him against her parents’ wishes. They pretty much had nothing more to do with her. She still had a small trust fund that they allowed her to keep or they overlooked. She never spent a dime of that. And my uncle knew about that. So I couldn’t touch it. I was afraid it would lead him somehow to where he could send his goons to find us.”
“What makes him so determined to find you?” That was the first question in a long while that Truitt had voiced.
“He wants Jessie. Or rather his wife, our third step aunt wants her. She sees her as a pet project more than anything. Her own daughters have nothing to do with her. They turned out to be disappointments in her eyes. So she thinks she can take Jessie and make her into what she always wanted them to be…to put her back into debutante, country club, society pages and all of that. Jessie would be the ‘new Christmas puppy’ that everyone gets excited about until the week passes and then they kick it to the side. That’s not a great analogy, but it’s appropriate.
“Our uncle is an assistant attorney general. He was a judge for many years. He has many law-enforcement members and attorneys and other judges in his pocket because they owe him favors…some are very big ones. He threatened me with them and his power. He said my life would be ruined if I tried to find anyone to help because he owned them all and they would tell him. I believed him. I had heard the stories and my mother had made me promise to keep Jessie away from them, no matter what. I promised.”
“And that promise brought you and Jessie to a whole different state and city in hopes of what…finding help that isn’t on his favor list? Trying to just disappear and hope he gives up?”
“That was my thought. It was all I knew to do. And I was afraid, so very afraid of making the wrong decision. Jessie—keeping her safe and keeping my promise to our mother—that’s all that matters. That’s all that can matter to me. No matter if I wanted something different, I can’t have it until I know that we’re safe and far enough away from Paul Grantham and his long reach.” She paused. But she wasn’t finished.
“And now I want to say to you how very, very sorry I am that I hid all of this, that I stayed here too long, that I have hurt anyone. They’re just words, but they are all I have, and they come from deep in my heart. I keep wishing that I hadn’t gotten sick and got lost in that storm. So much would have been so different. And now you kno
w why I have been so adamant about leaving…not wanting to continue the lies here…not wanting to bring any of our problems into the lives of such good people. I just have no other words.” She finally braved looking up at him.
The sound of the clock chiming the late hour broke the silence that stretched as Annie waited for the man’s reaction. His gaze had moved to the fire and was blocked from her searching. He seemed to have already put a lot of distance between them. She could feel it.
“I wish you felt you could have trusted me with your story sooner. We could…”
“No…I couldn’t. Because you would have wanted to protect us and take on our problems. Because that is who you are…the kind of man you are. And our dragons are not yours to slay. You are a rescuer, but I have to do this. And it’s best that Jessie and I leave tomorrow. The sooner we do, the sooner everyone can get back to their own normal.” She stood up, sliding her feet into her shoes, doing anything but looking at the man who slowly stood across from her.
“I have one request to make of you. I need your word on it, too. There is something you can do for me.”
His request caught her off guard.
“What is it?”
“I have a meeting in the morning with a nearby ranching family. I told them about you and they wanted to meet you, maybe ask your advice on this wedding anniversary celebration they are trying to plan and not very well. It would mean a lot to them. I know that Aunt Sal was counting on Jessie to help her over at Tori’s house in the morning. We would only be gone a short while. I made this commitment before we spoke tonight. I’d appreciate this favor.”
He was asking for a simple favor. How could she refuse him? After she had done so much to him and his family over the last several weeks…taken their hospitality and repaid it with lies. Annie nodded.