by Joanna Wayne
“I had to take the phone call,” he said.
“I know. You’re a very busy attorney.” Resentment spilled from her voice.
“I’ve never been too busy for you, Effie. If you think I have, then I’ve given you the wrong impression.”
“It doesn’t matter. I have to go, Dad. The girls are already saddling up.”
He had a lot more to say, but it wasn’t the time or the place. But before the week was over he had to find a way to connect with her as a father. He was fast reaching the point of no return.
He felt it deep in his soul and it was scaring him to death.
* * *
“I’LL GET IT,” R.J. called to Mattie Mae at the sound of the ringing doorbell.
“I’ll get it, too,” Lacy echoed.
R.J. got up slowly and stood for a second, his right hand on the arm of the sofa until he was certain he was steady on his feet. The times he wasn’t were growing a bit more frequent. Still, he couldn’t complain.
It had been a little over six months since the doc gave him his death sentence. Since then the growth of the brain tumor had slowed a bit. The outlook was no brighter, except that he might have gained a few more months of life. And he wanted all he could get.
Adam, Hadley, Lacy and Lila had changed his life. Too bad it had taken him so long to realize that he needed family and that they just might need him.
Lacy beat him to the door, but she couldn’t reach the latch that was used mostly to keep her and Lila in rather than to keep anyone out.
He opened the door and then felt a smile that came directly from the heart. And the eyes. Carolina Lambert was definitely nice to look at—proof positive that he wasn’t dead yet. Carolina held her granddaughter Belle with one hand and a covered dish with the other.
“It’s Belle,” Lacy called. She grabbed the toddler visitor in a bear hug and tried to pick her up. Belle quickly wiggled her way to freedom.
Lila came running. “Come see our fort. Grandpa helped us make it out of sheets.”
Next thing he knew, the three of them were running back toward the girls’ playroom, all squealing like stuck pigs.
“Play nicely, Belle,” Carolina called as they disappeared down the hallway.
R.J. stood back for Carolina to enter. “Whatever you’re carrying there smells mighty good.”
“It’s a pumpkin roll. I made four of them this morning. Even with my whole crew coming for dinner, that’s enough to share.”
“Glad you thought of us. Mattie Mae will be glad, too. She’s fretting over Thanksgiving dinner preparations like we were feeding the Pope instead of family.”
“Will Hadley, Adam and the girls be here?”
“Yes, and Hadley’s mom and my son Leif and his teenage daughter, Effie.”
“Now that’s a surprise. You told me about Effie’s wanting to visit you, but you haven’t said a thing about being in touch with Leif. Did you know they were coming?”
“Not for sure, not until yesterday. Leif might still back out. He barely speaks to me. The only thing that got him out to the ranch was Effie.”
“So they are staying with you?”
“Effie slept over with Hadley and Adam last night so she could go on a trail ride this morning with a bunch of girls from church that Hadley had invited over. Leif drove back in to Dallas. Haven’t seen him since.”
“Still, he came yesterday. That’s progress. Count your blessings, R.J. Even the small ones.”
“I knew you were going to say that.”
“Because it’s true. Now, I should go say hello to Mattie and then tear Belle away from all the fun and get back to my kitchen.”
“I know you’re busy, but if you can spare me a minute, I could use some advice.”
“About what?”
“Leif. I can’t figure out why he’s carrying such a grudge. It was his mom who divorced me and told me flat-out to stay out of their lives. I know I should have pressed to see him and his brother, but hell, considering my life back then, I figured they were better off without having me around.”
“Maybe you should tell him that.”
“He don’t seem interested in anything I have to say. I’d let it go at that, except I really want to have a relationship with Effie.”
“It sounds like that is going well so far.”
“She loves horses. That gives us a bit of common ground. But Leif’s so wrapped up in his bitterness and resentment that he won’t even look me in the eye. And if he decides Effie can’t see me anymore, then I lose her.”
“Are they close?”
“There’s a few briars in their relationship. I can’t help but wonder if I’m not the cause of some of them. I don’t know where to start trying to clear that up.”
“I always start with prayer when faced with a problem that’s too big for me.”
“You do plenty of praying. I know that, Carolina. But you do some talking, too, when you got something on your mind. God knows, you’ve lit into me a time or two over the years.”
“Only when you needed it, and, frankly, it seldom did any good. You are as stubborn as an old scar.”
“You’ll get no argument from me on that score. But now I need advice. How do I approach Leif?”
“Just talk to him plain the way you’re talking to me now. No B.S. or beating around the bush. Ask him how he feels about you.”
“He hates me. That’s evident.”
“Ask him why.”
“So I can listen to him rant about what a rotten father I was? I don’t see how that’s going to help me.”
“But it’s not all about you, R.J. Maybe Leif needs to say it out loud and confront you with his resentment before he can get past it. It won’t be fun for you, but I’d say it’s worth a shot.”
“I don’t know. I can’t make amends at this point. Besides, Leif don’t need a daddy at his age.”
“But he just might need a father and some resolution.”
He scratched his whiskered jaw. “I’ll think on it.”
“Good.”
He watched her walk to the kitchen with the pumpkin roll. Carolina Lambert was far too pretty and too smart a woman to live the rest of her life alone. But she’d been truly in love with her husband, Hugh, before his death. It would take a hell of a man to replace him.
Someone who was nothing like R.J.
But that definitely didn’t rule out one of his sons.
But likely not Leif. He just couldn’t see Leif fitting into the ranching lifestyle, and Carolina, like Joni, would fit nowhere else.
Which meant that even if by some miracle he could patch things up with Leif, his career would never permit him to comply with the provisions in R.J.’s will. He couldn’t be expected to give up his success and all he’d worked for to move to the ranch and help operate it for a year.
Damn. Maybe R.J. should have thought the wording through a little better before he had the papers drawn up. The way it was now, he’d likely cut Effie right out of getting her fair share of his estate.
There was nothing right about that.
* * *
LEIF LIFTED THE ax over his head and brought it down hard, splitting the log in half. He bent, tossed that log out of the way and positioned the next one. Finally he developed a rhythm that made his stack of firewood grow almost as tall as Adam’s.
He stopped and wiped his brow on his shirt sleeve. “And I thought the workouts I get at the gym were tough.”
“They must be,” Adam said. “You’re in good shape for a desk jock.”
“I can see why you would never need a gym,” Leif said.
“Right,” Adam said. “Just a lot of ointment for sore muscles. We’ve probably chopped enough wood for now, though. The women and Effie are likely back from t
heir ride.”
“And I still have to take Joni to pick up her car before I drive into Dallas for Effie’s luggage.”
“Are you planning to spend the night at the ranch tonight, as well?” Adam asked. “There are several spare bedrooms at the big house.”
All cozied up with R.J. Leif shook his head. “I’m not up to that. I may stay at the motel in Oak Grove.”
Adam only nodded. He’d likely guessed that Leif had stayed at Joni’s last night since he’d showed up that morning with her in the same clothes he’d had on yesterday. Joni might have said as much to Hadley. Anyway Joni wanted to play it was up to her. He wouldn’t push tonight. But if she invited him to stay, he wouldn’t turn down the offer.
Once they’d tossed the firewood into the back of Adam’s pickup truck, they drove to Adam’s house. The structure was so new there was still work that needed to be done. The most obvious from the outside was finishing the side porch and adding the last two shutters.
There was no sign of Hadley or Effie, but Joni and Corky were in the front yard talking and laughing like old friends—or more. Leif felt a surprising jolt of jealousy. It certainly wasn’t like he had a claim on her. They’d just met.
Leif scanned the area. There was no sign of his daughter.
“Effie went with Hadley up to the big house to pick up the girls,” Joni said as Leif stepped out of the truck and approached the house. “They should be back any minute now.”
“Did you deliver that load of hay over to Carmichael’s place?” Adam asked Corky.
“I did, boss man. Now, if you don’t need me for a few minutes, I’ll drive Joni over to get her truck.” He fingered his hat brim and gave Joni an aw-shucks smile.
“I’ll drop her off to get her truck,” Leif said, quickly aware he sounded far too possessive. He mellowed his tone. “Unless you’d rather Corky drive you.”
“Not unless you want to stay at the ranch awhile longer,” Joni said.
“No. As soon as I tell Effie goodbye, I’ll be ready to cut out.”
Adam settled the issue. “In that case, you can give me a hand unloading the firewood, Corky. Then you can give the horses a good brushing.”
“You got it.” Corky adjusted his sunglasses. “Guess I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow then, Joni.”
“I’ll be here.”
“Me, too.” He smiled again before sauntering off to start unloading the firewood.
They waited around, but when Hadley returned, it was just her and her daughters in the car.
Irritation surged in Leif. “Where’s Effie?”
“She stayed at the big house to help Mattie Mae roll out the crusts for fried peach pies. You can stop by there on your way out. I told R.J. you were here. He was surprised, so I guess he didn’t see you drive past.”
“That’s not like him,” Adam said.
“He was probably asleep,” Hadley said. “His energy level is not what it was even a few weeks ago.”
Leif had no intention of sitting around and discussing R.J.’s failing health. He refused to feel guilty for not playing the part of a loving son.
“I’m ready if you are, Joni. Hadley, just tell Effie I’ll see her later today.”
“I will.”
Minutes later, they were heading to Abe’s Garage. Leif’s cell phone rang before he got there. It was Travis. Leif’s thoughts immediately shifted to the Oak Grove murder case.
“Any news on the identity of the victim?” Leif asked after a quick hello.
“Yes, and be prepared to be shocked.”
“Does this mean I know her?”
“You know her, all right. That’s why I figured I better give you a quick heads-up. You’d best get prepared for a new surge of notoriety.”
Leif cringed and waited for the rest of the story.
Chapter Nine
Joni watched as tension settled in Leif’s face and pushed the muscles in his neck into tight cords. The most she could glean from listening to his end of the phone conversation was that the news involved a woman named Jill Trotter and that she was somehow connected to the Oak Grove murder.
When the phone conversation ended, Joni waited for Leif to broach the subject matter he’d found so distressful. Instead, he stared straight ahead, his troubled expression as stony as marble.
She endured the icy silence as long as she could. “Bad news?” she finally asked.
“Could have been better.”
“I don’t want to pry, but if you want to talk about it...”
“You’re not prying. It will be all over the news in a matter of hours anyway. I was just trying to piece together what we know about the Oak Grove murder with what I remember of a trial from five years ago.”
“One of your trials?”
“Yes. My first one after moving to Dallas, one that rocked Dallas like an earthquake.”
“How are the two connected?”
“Jill Trotter, aka Evie Monsant, was accused of murdering her husband, Dr. Phillip Trotter. He’d been a much-loved professor before he’d left the education system to go into private practice as a psychiatrist. Jill, on the other hand, was a bit of a loner who had a history of chronic depression.”
“Had she been one of his patients?”
“Yes, and one of his students before that. She was also a stunningly beautiful woman, which automatically made some women hate her. All in all, she made the perfect villain in the minds of the people.”
“I don’t remember the trial,” Joni admitted. “But then, I didn’t live in Texas at the time. I assume she was acquitted since she wasn’t in jail.”
“Yes, to the shock of the citizens of Dallas. The prosecution was sure they had an airtight case against her. I punched enough holes in their circumstantial evidence that after days of deliberation, the jury finally found Jill innocent.”
“Did you believe she was innocent?”
“Yes. Still do. Unfortunately, the court of public opinion didn’t. There were threats on her life and harassment on every front. Eventually she was forced to move out of Dallas just to get some peace and quiet.”
“That explains why she changed her name and ended up a recluse in Oak Grove,” Joni said. “But it seems so unfair that she’d be treated so cruelly after being found innocent.”
“Justice and fairness don’t always equate. And to be honest, guilty people are acquitted every day.”
As far as Joni was concerned, this made the murder all the more disturbing. If she had it to do over again, Joni would have tried a lot harder to befriend Evie—or rather Jill. “Were there children involved?”
“Not between Jill and her husband, but he had children by a previous marriage. They were both in their twenties then and lived on the West Coast.”
“Did they attend the trial?”
“No. I never met either of them. According to Jill, they’d cut off all contact with him after the divorce.”
Joni leaned back in her seat and tried to put herself in Leif’s place. He had to go up against the odds every day and defend men and women accused of committing horrible crimes. How he did his job could be the deciding factor between freedom or a life in prison or even death.
“I don’t envy you your job, Leif Dalton. I’ll take my horses and Oak Grove any day.”
“There are days I’d like to shuck it all,” Leif admitted. “But there are others when I wouldn’t change places with anyone.”
“So what happens next?” Joni asked. “Surely you won’t be involved in the investigation.”
“I might be questioned by the police to see what I know about people who might have threatened Jill, but the most invasive intrusion will come from the media. It was a high-profile case five years ago,” Leif explained. “It will blow up all over again.”
&nb
sp; “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Exactly. I wouldn’t mind so much if Effie wasn’t here, but I hate that she has to hear all the talk of murder. As much as I hate to admit it, the ranch is probably the best place for her the rest of the week.”
“I agree.”
“You may want to avoid me, as well,” Leif said.
She didn’t. In fact, she’d like nothing better than to have him stay with her the rest of the week. She ached to feel his lips on hers again. Yearned for so much more.
“I’m not afraid of you, Leif Dalton.” She tried to keep her tone light and teasing.
He reached across the seat, took her hand and squeezed it. “Maybe you should be.”
But she’d been careful in relationships all her life. Had put her career first. Had been wary of men with the potential to break her heart. Leif was miles out of the safe category.
But maybe it was time to take a chance on love.
* * *
LEIF GOT OUT of the car with Joni when they reached Abe’s Garage. “I’ll wait until you make sure it’s ready.”
“No need. I called while you and Adam were cutting wood. Abe assured me it was in top condition—for a truck with that many miles on it.”
“I’ll wait all the same and follow you home. I want to take a look around the property again and see how many outdoor lights I should pick up.”
“That’s really not necessary.”
“Hey, I’m a man of my word.”
“Okay. I’ll only be a few minutes.”
But it wasn’t only the number of needed lights he wanted to check. It was also the locks on her doors and windows. He wanted to make sure they were as secure as possible.
What he hadn’t told Joni in the car was that even after discovering Jill’s identity, the police hadn’t ruled out that she was a random victim. The original furor over her release had calmed down years ago. It was unlikely—though not impossible—that someone had waited five years for vengeance.
A random victim. Not necessarily of The Hunter, but quite possibly of a copycat killer.
If it was a copycat killer, he might live in the area. And once this murder went prime-time, he’d have more impetus to strike again. The world was full of dangerous kooks. Even a town like Oak Grove wasn’t immune.