She tiptoed across the kitchen and paused outside the finished addition. She swung the door open silently and looked for her son. Levi was curled up inside the sleeping bag her father had left out for him. He looked so peaceful, his curly brown hair framing his cherub face. She doubted his teachers would use the word cherub to describe Levi.
His less-than-angelic behavior had been what finally drove her to return home. Levi shared more than physical looks with his father. They had the same quick temper and nose for trouble. Despite her best efforts, he was becoming more like Tony every day. Levi tended to get bored quickly, and boredom led to trouble. For the second time in her life, she was putting college on hold for the good of her child.
Country life was ingrained in her bones, but even so, moving back to Salt Creek was hard. Almost like admitting that she was a failure—the valedictorian, National Honor Society president and Best All-Around Student returning home a single mother with no education and no job.
Two things gave her the courage to face her conservative hometown. The first was the knowledge that Levi needed a change of environment to keep him out of trouble and possibly out of juvie. Her son was way more important than her pride. The second was knowing that no one, not even her father, knew who Levi’s father really was.
She topped up her coffee and carried it into the sparsely decorated living room. It was just large enough for a sofa and reclining chair, and her mother’s throw pillows still adorned the leather furniture. The Lampasas Dispatch lay folded neatly on the coffee table and she picked it up. The small newspaper was delivered only on Sundays and Wednesdays. Did Salt Creek still have a small section on Wednesdays?
She flicked the newspaper open to the middle and settled back to read. A local high school girl was competing in the Miss Texas pageant. An engagement picture of a young couple. She frowned at the names. Was that the same little boy she used to babysit? Another break-in at a construction yard. It didn’t take long to read the one-page section. She closed the paper to read from the beginning and her blood turned to ice.
The headline read “Hero Cop Has Roots in Lampasas County.” One name jumped out at her and sent her heart into overdrive. Tony Montoya. It couldn’t be. She scanned the article again.
Her hands shook and she laid the paper on the sofa. All the town had ever seen in Tony was a rebellious teenager looking for trouble. He’d certainly proven them wrong. A decorated police officer who put his life on the line by jumping in front of a bullet to save a young man’s life in the middle of an attempted robbery?
According to the paper, he was at home with his grandparents, where he was recovering from a fractured rib and a bruised lung. He was expected to return to work by the end of June. How was she going to avoid running into him in a town of fewer than seven hundred people?
* * *
TONY RUBBED HIS EYES. There was someone standing next to his bed. His gaze finally focused as an imposing figure with gray hair hovered over him, making him jump. A sharp pain shot through his shoulder, jolting him back to reality. He wasn’t at his apartment in San Antonio. He wasn’t at the hospital. He was in the one place he’d sworn he’d never return to. Salt Creek.
“Papa. What are you doing? It’s two in the morning.” He rubbed a hand across his face.
“You were moaning in your sleep,” his grandfather said. “Your grandmother was worried.”
Abuela wasn’t the only one. Tony rolled his shoulder and winced. The nurses at the hospital had warned him that the pain would get worse. Still, he’d rather suffer a little than risk relying on medicine. He’d have to do a better job of masking the pain. The thought of his grandmother losing sleep over him pierced his heart.
Papa fumbled through Tony’s things on the dresser. “Where are your pain pills? Didn’t you take them before you went to bed?”
“I don’t need them.” Tony stood up, fighting a wave of lightheadedness.
Papa pulled the empty prescription bottle from the top drawer of the dresser. “Where are they?”
Guilt pricked him. Did his grandfather think he’d already taken them all? Was Papa worried he’d end up like his mother? Pain medication was the first of many drugs his mother had been hooked on.
“I flushed them down the toilet after Abuela brought them home from the pharmacy.” Tony didn’t voluntarily take narcotics of any kind. Not even the helpful ones. Ever. The ones given to him immediately after his surgery didn’t count.
“Why?”
Tony noticed the lines around Papa’s eyes. He looked tired. He looked...old. “I’ve read that children of addicts are much more likely to become addicts themselves. I’m not willing to take that chance.”
Papa stiffened. “So you didn’t take the pain medicine?”
“No, Papa. I’ll take some ibuprofen when it bothers me too much, but I won’t take anything stronger than that. Please don’t ask me to.”
“You’re not like your mother, mijo.” Papa placed his hands on Tony’s shoulders. “Abuela will make an icepack for that shoulder. Perhaps that’ll help.”
Papa walked out of the room and Tony sank back onto the edge of the bed. Where would he be today if social services hadn’t discovered the grandparents he hadn’t known existed? Would he have been holding up convenience stores and pushing drugs like Adolfo? No. Not drugs. Never that.
Before his mother died, he’d joined a small street gang in his neighborhood. Until he’d found out they were the ones pushing drugs at his school and his own mother was one of their best customers. Getting out had meant risking his life. The beating he’d taken would’ve been more than worth it if he could’ve saved his mom.
At the soft knock on the door, he gritted his teeth, determined not to let any pain show on his face. “Come in.”
“I brought you some ice for that shoulder.” Abuela placed the pack on the nightstand and sat next to him. “You will tell me if you need anything?”
“Of course,” he lied. He’d been here one night and already he was interrupting their lives. “I’m sorry I woke you.”
Abuela took one of his hands in hers, her calloused fingers running over his knuckles. “You try to get some sleep.”
Outside the window, an owl hooted in the darkness. He peered out the window. He didn’t feel at all tired, but he lay down on the bed, anyway. Placing the ice on his shoulder, he closed his eyes.
He’d spent much of his life trying to control the chaos around him. But here, in this small town, things moved at their own pace. His teenaged self had hated it. Now it was exactly what he needed. Too bad he couldn’t stay.
The rattle of dishes woke him up. He didn’t remember falling asleep. The rich aroma of warm bread drifted down the hall. Abuela must be making tortillas.
He slipped a pair of sweatpants on and made his way to the living room. Nothing had changed since the first time he saw it all those years ago. The flower pattern on the sofa had faded, but his grandmother’s afghans and doilies covered up the worn places. Papa’s recliner sat in the corner, facing the ancient cabinet television taking up most of the space on the far wall.
He smiled. “Does that thing still work?”
Papa looked up from the newspaper. “Yes. Do you want to watch something? We still only get the three channels.”
No cable TV. No satellite. No cell phones. Yep. It was like he’d stepped back in history. If only he could go back in time. So many things would be different now. Starting with Sabrina.
“No, thanks.” The crumpling sound of the newspaper page being turned drew his attention. And he froze. From across the room, he could clearly read the headline on the front page of the open paper. “Hero Cop Has Roots in Lampasas County.”
“Can I see the paper for a minute?” Tony crossed the room and sat on the couch across from his grandfather.
Without waiting for a reply, he took
the paper and scanned through the article. His name jumped out at him, followed by a story hailing him as a hero for jumping in front of a bullet to save a young man’s life. It failed to mention that the young man he’d taken a bullet for was the same one trying to rob the store. “How did the newspaper get this information?”
Abuela appeared, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Me. A reporter came by and wanted to know if you were the cop.”
“So you gave them a story?” He rubbed his hands on his legs. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why not?” She lifted her chin. “I’m proud of my grandson and I don’t care who knows it.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. It wasn’t her fault. The last thing he wanted to do was worry her, but she had to know. “Abuela, sometimes I work with dangerous people. If they ever wanted to retaliate for any reason, this article could lead them right to you two.”
Her mouth opened but nothing came out. After a moment, she turned to her husband. “Did you know about this, Antonio?”
Papa shrugged and stood up. “No. Not until I got to San Antonio and talked to his captain.”
“How dangerous?” Her eyes darted back and forth between Papa and Tony. “Should we be worried?”
This was exactly what Tony wanted to avoid. He set the paper down. “I chase drug dealers and I work with kids from gangs. All small, local operations and I’ve managed to stay under the radar, but if I get promoted to detective, it may not stay that way.”
Abuela’s brow creased. She pressed her lips together and turned to her husband. “You call his captain and tell him he’s not coming back. He’s staying here.”
“You can’t protect him from everything, Elaina. He’s a grown man and makes his own decisions.”
“That’s what you said about Teresa and look how that turned out.” Her voice had risen an octave.
Tony held his breath at the mention of his mother’s name, waiting for the explosion. He’d lived with his grandparents for four years in his late teens, but it had only taken a few months to learn not to ignite Abuela’s anger.
Papa pulled her into his arms and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, immediately defusing the tiny woman’s temper. Only Papa could calm her down as fast as she riled up.
Tony swallowed. He’d once had someone who affected him the same way. How much trouble had he avoided because Sabrina had talked sense into him? He’d believed they would be as happy as his grandparents.
Until she’d ruined it by believing in him enough to sacrifice her future.
CHAPTER TWO
FOR OVER A WEEK, Tony stalked his grandparents’ house, looking for something to keep himself busy. How was he going to make it six weeks without going nuts? Or driving everyone around him nuts? More than once Abuela scolded him for moving around too much.
Tony decided that when Papa came home for lunch, he’d insist on returning to the hardware store with him for the afternoon. Papa was probably still using the same old cash register he’d had when Tony was in high school. Abuela couldn’t complain about him sitting on a stool and checking people out. It’s not as if the tiny store would be swamped with customers.
The thought of getting out of the house for a while lightened his dark mood. He stuck his head into the kitchen. “Can I set the table?”
Abuela flipped some frying potatoes. “That’d be just fine.”
Tony slipped behind her and gathered plates from the cabinet. When he’d first come to live with his grandparents, he thought it was odd that Abuela cooked her biggest meal at noon. The evening meal was lighter, usually leftovers.
He’d just finished placing the condiments on the table when Papa came in. Like clockwork, he closed the store every day at noon to come home and eat what his grandparents called dinner. Breakfast. Dinner. Supper.
“How are things going at the store?” Tony waited for Papa to sit down before pulling his own chair out.
“Good.” Papa never elaborated on work. “Robert Davis came in this morning.”
Tony almost dropped his fork. Sabrina’s dad. His heart kicked into overdrive. “Why’re you telling me?”
“He heard you was in town and he doesn’t want you getting any ideas about going out there and bothering Sabrina.” Papa’s words were clipped.
That meant Sabrina was in town. Her memory had haunted him for ten years. No way he was going to pass up an opportunity to make things right. He swallowed. “Nice to see Robert’s opinion of me hasn’t changed much.”
The platter Papa was holding hit the table with a thud. His eyes were hard as flint. “It’s got nothing to do with you. Or Robert. Sabrina hasn’t had it easy. Her fiancé was killed in Afghanistan, leaving her to raise her son alone. Robert only just convinced her to move back home where he could help her.”
Fiancé? Son? His racing heart plummeted. She’d moved on with her life, just like he’d wanted her to. So why did it bother him so much? “He told you all this today?”
Abuela piped up. “We heard about Sabrina’s fiancé years ago.”
“Years? When did this happen?” And more importantly, why hadn’t they told him?
“Let me think.” She pressed her lips together. “I guess it was about the same time you started at the police academy.”
Tony leaned back. Eighteen months. It’d taken her all of eighteen months to get over him and love someone else.
He had hurt her. On purpose. It was the only way to keep her from giving up her scholarship to follow him to Louisiana. The kicker was that he’d only accepted a job out of state so he could earn enough money to follow her to the university in Houston. But when he got to Houston, he couldn’t find her. She wasn’t in any of the student directories and none of their mutual friends knew where she was. If they did, they wouldn’t tell him. Now he knew why.
He shot a glance at Papa. “Why did Robert feel it necessary to send me a warning?”
“You know why.”
Silence filled the room. Yes, he knew why. Until he came along, Sabrina Davis had been Salt Creek’s brightest star. And he’d tarnished her.
Papa stood up. “Might as well come to the store with me. I need to get some inventory done if we have to go to Lampasas tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, sir.” Tony picked up his plate along with Papa’s and carried them to the sink.
The ten-minute ride to town was quiet. Tony expected another lecture from Papa about staying away from Sabrina, but nothing was said. His cell phone chimed as Papa parked his small truck in front of the hardware store he’d owned for decades.
Tony looked at the number and grinned as he answered. “Hello, David.”
“Are you still playing sick?”
“You’re just jealous.”
“Six weeks paid leave? Who wouldn’t be?” David laughed. “How close are you to Lampasas?”
“Twenty-two miles. Why?”
“Ashley’s dad is turning sixty-five this weekend. We’re heading to Hamilton tomorrow and have to go right through Lampasas.”
“Okay...” Did David want to stop by and see him?
“I thought I’d bring your SUV to you.”
Having his Dodge Durango would give him some measure of freedom. “That’d be great. I have a doctor’s appointment at ten in the morning, so I’ll already be in town. What time should I meet you?”
* * *
SABRINA WAS DUSTING THE mantel over the large fireplace again. She’d spent the better part of the last week deep-cleaning Dad’s house. There wasn’t much more to be done. She picked up one of the photographs perched on the ledge. A smiling woman with blond hair and laughing brown eyes grinned at her.
The screen door slammed shut as Levi tromped in from outside. “Who’s that?”
She traced the picture lightly as Levi came to stand besi
de her. “My mom.”
“She looks like you.” He took the picture from her. After staring at it for a moment, he let out a sigh. “I bet it would’ve been nice to have a grandma.”
The admission caught her off guard. She’d never thought about how much Levi had missed out on. “She would’ve been the best grandma ever.” She ran a hand over his back. “I really miss her.”
“She died when you were twelve?”
“Yes. She had breast cancer.”
He frowned. “At least you had two parents for twelve years.”
She sucked in her breath. She’d told him this one lie his whole life. What choice did she have? “I never thought about it like that. I guess I was lucky, in a way. But knowing her for twelve years makes me miss her that much more.”
Levi shoved the picture back at her. “What you’re really saying is it’s a good thing my dad died before I was born. Since I never knew him, it shouldn’t bother me, right?”
“That’s not what I meant at all.” She rubbed her temples. Constantly walking on eggshells around him was exhausting. Would he ever get rid of the chip on his shoulder?
His left dimple deepened as he pressed his lips together. Sabrina knew that look. He was deciding if he wanted to go into battle. His gaze darted around the room and stopped on the picture she still clutched in her hands.
Levi’s breath escaped like a deflated balloon. “Grandpa wants to know if you’re ready to go.”
She sighed in relief. His acts of defiance had diminished in the last couple of weeks. Especially when her dad was in the room. Looked like the school counselor was right—all Levi needed was a positive male role model. Why couldn’t she be enough?
“Run out to the barn and tell Grandpa I’ll be ready in five minutes.” They needed groceries, and at least Lampasas, twenty-two miles from Salt Creek, was big enough that she probably wouldn’t see anyone she knew. And by anyone, she meant Tony.
In a flash, her son bolted down the worn dirt path to the barn. A few minutes later, Levi and her dad ambled back to the house.
Her Texas Rebel Page 2