“Actually, it’ll just be you. Soon as I get showered, I’m heading to San Saba. I’m helping Ray haul some cattle to the Waco auction in the morning.”
“Oh. Okay.” What would she do with herself for an entire night? She hadn’t been alone since Levi was born. Maybe she’d drive to Killeen and catch a movie. A real, grown-up movie. A chick flick, even. She settled back in the truck seat. Yes, a night alone might be just what she needed.
But by the time they got to the house and she’d showered, the soreness had set in and she didn’t want to do anything but lie on the couch.
Picking up the television remote, she flipped through the three channels. The rumble of an engine caused her to hit the mute button. Had her dad forgotten something? She walked out to the porch.
It wasn’t a Ford truck, but a gray Dodge Durango. Sabrina swallowed. It pulled to a stop by the gate and Tony got out.
He leaned against his vehicle. “Any chance I could convince you to have dinner with me tonight?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Sorry. I’m exhausted. No way am I getting dressed and going anywhere.”
Reaching into the open window of his SUV, he held up a white paper sack. “Too exhausted for the best hamburger in the world?”
“You brought me Storm’s?” It was embarrassing how excited she was over a burger from the Lampasas drive-in. She met him at the gate and he followed her into the house.
Neither of them spoke as they spread the meal out on the table.
“Where is everyone?” Tony dumped the fries on the paper plate she handed him.
“Dad is helping a friend haul cattle and Levi is staying the night at Bradley’s.” She shoved a handful of fries into her mouth. “I can’t believe I’ve been back in Salt Creek for a month and this is the first time I’ve had a Storms burger.”
Laughing, he pulled a drink from a second bag. “I even brought you a frosted Coke.”
Unwrapping her burger, she lifted the top bun. Her hand paused and she gave him a puzzled look.
“No tomatoes.” Tony handed her a ketchup packet.
“You remembered?”
“I remember lots of things.”
She ignored the implications and devoured her burger, pausing just long enough to take a sip of her drink. “No place makes burgers like Storms.”
“And I didn’t even know it existed until I was sixteen. How sad is that?”
Sabrina cocked her head. “I was the first one to bring you there.” That had been the first night he had kissed her. Did he remember that, too?
His golden gaze dropped to her mouth. Oh, yes. He most certainly remembered. She licked her lips.
He reached across the table to pluck one of her fries off the napkin. “I like this. Sitting and talking like friends. Does this mean you don’t hate me anymore?”
“I’m tired of hating you.”
“I’m glad.” He swallowed the last bite of his burger.
Tell him. The annoying voice in the back of her mind was determined not to let her have any peace. “The newspaper article said you got shot. What happened?”
He rolled his eyes. “That stupid article is a pain in the neck.”
“Was it true?”
“Parts of it.” He shrugged.
Her knee bounced under the table. Just spit it out.
Tony didn’t seem to notice her nervousness. “I could use a female chaperone for the girls. Interested?”
It seemed like yesterday when they’d lain on the banks of the Sulphur Creek and enjoyed their own fireworks. She shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ve already got plans.”
* * *
HER WORDS SURPRISED HIM. Plans? With who? None of his business. Still, it didn’t stop the bile from burning his throat. “I see.”
She studied him for a moment. “Why do you spend so much time with the kids at the home? Most of the people in town want to shut the home down.”
“That’s why I do it.”
“Where will it leave them when you go back to San Antonio?” Her brown eyes bored right through him.
Guilt hit him like a ton of bricks. “I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure they’ll be okay before I leave.” And you.
Her eyes widened. “And when will that be?”
“Right after Spring Ho.” Why did he feel like he was about to walk away from her again? “If I can get my doctor to give me the all clear, that is.”
“I’m curious.” Sabrina sat back down in her chair. “Where have you been the last ten years? How did you end up becoming a policeman?”
She was trying to have a conversation with him. This was new. He didn’t question why. “I’ve been everywhere, really. The construction job in Lousiana only lasted about six months, so I traveled a lot. After about a year, I ended up in Dallas.” He leaned his elbows on the edge of the table. “While I was there, my boss offered extra incentives for volunteer work, so I started helping with the Boys and Girls Club and found out I was really good at relating to teenage boys.”
“When did you decide to become a cop?”
“While I was in Dallas.” The memory of that day was forever etched into his memory. “I’d got real close to some of the kids. They were growing up on the streets, just like I did. I felt a kinship with them. Then cops came to the construction site one day. They needed someone to identify a kid’s body and they’d heard I was friends with him.”
A strange look crossed her face. “Tony. I’m so sorry.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Retaliation for refusing to sell drugs for the local dealer. I signed up for the police academy the same day.”
“You love your job.”
It wasn’t a question. He nodded. “I do. And I’m good at it.”
Sadness flickered in her eyes. “You could get killed.”
“I could get killed walking across the street. If I get killed taking down a drug dealer or as retaliation for arresting a gang member, at least I will have died for something. I’m okay with that.”
“But what about the people who care about you?”
Tony’s heart sang. She was worried about him. After all this time, she still cared about him. Now, if he could just get her to admit it. “My grandparents will be taken care of if I die. I don’t have anyone else.”
He held his breath, waiting for her to deny it. For her to say that she still cared about him, despite having loving someone else. The thought sobered him. Not only had she loved someone else, she’d had a child with him. He’d let her down and she’d moved on.
He stood up. “I better go. I promised some of the kids I’d stop by for a basketball game.”
She wrinkled her brow. “I thought you were injured?”
“I can handle it.”
* * *
TONY WAS STILL on a high from his dinner with Sabrina when he pulled into the parking lot next to the basketball courts and got out.
Kyle waved him over. “Glad you made it.” He turned to the players. “Tony’s going to join us.”
A collective laugh came from the group. “You think you can keep up, old man?” one of them asked, grinning.
Tony snatched the ball from his arms and launched it across the court to the hoop. When it effortlessly swished through the net he shrugged his shoulders at the boys, who gaped at him. “I’ll try.”
“He’s on my team,” a tall, lanky redheaded boy called out. “I’m Scott,” he held his hand out to him.
“Tony.” He shook the outstretched hand. “Let’s play.”
An hour later, sweat dripped down Tony’s forehead. His lungs burned, but he’d been able to keep up with the teenagers. Had it really been two months ago since he’d been lying in a hospital bed? If Mr. Chan had used a higher-caliber gun, the bullet would’
ve penetrated his lungs instead of deflecting off a rib. Still, breathing wasn’t as easy as it should be, even if he was out of shape.
“Where’re you from, man?” one of the boys, Jacob, asked during a break.
Tony shrugged. “Everywhere. I moved a lot.”
“Ah.” Jacob nodded knowingly. “Military brat like me?”
“Foster home brat,” Tony corrected.
Kyle asked, “How many?”
Tony tossed Jacob the ball. “About ten. Come on, kid, you’re down by four.” He sensed that the boys had a lot more to say, especially Jacob and Scott, the ones who weren’t from the home. But if he wanted to gain the boys trust, he needed to approach it the right way. Slow and steady.
At the end of the game, Tony’s team lost by six points, but he gained some measure of respect from the teens. It felt good to be around boys that age again, helping them out. It felt right.
They’d played for almost an hour and not once had Tony seen anyone checking on the kids. The basketball courts were just two blocks from the home, but they still should’ve had an adult with them. Where was the evening supervisor?
A shiny black truck pulled into the parking lot and its engine stopped. Tony waited for someone to get out but no one emerged from it.
“Good game.” Kyle slapped Tony on the back and kept his hand on his shoulder.
Tony watched him glance at the truck several times. Was the truck waiting on Kyle? A few seconds later, the loud engine roared to life and the truck squealed out of the parking lot, disappearing on the dirt road going to the top of Little Mountain.
He was pretty sure the truck didn’t continue around to the road going down the other side. With mufflers like that, it could be heard for miles.
Kyle bent down to tie his shoes. “I’ll see you later, Tony.”
Tony nodded and turned back to the rest of the boys while keeping Kyle in his sights. As he expected, Kyle headed up the mountain road instead of walking toward the home.
Kyle’s departure seemed to be a signal to the rest of the boys. Within a few moments, Tony was alone on the court with Scott and Jacob. “Does Kyle take off like that a lot?”
“Yeah,” Jacob said. “Nick shows up and Kyle disappears.”
“What do you think they’re up to?”
Scott shrugged. “Not sure. But whatever it is, it ain’t good.”
Jacob nodded. “There’ll be trouble in town tomorrow, for sure.”
The leading comment sent Tony’s cop senses into full alert. “What do you mean?”
“When Nick and Kyle get together, something always gets broken, stolen or disappears.” Scott twirled the basketball on one finger. “My dad’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.”
“Your dad?”
Scott pointed at his red hair. “Can’t you tell? Jarrod Butler’s my dad. You’re coming to my house for dinner.”
Tony laughed. “I should’ve recognized you. Your dad talks about you a lot.”
“Don’t believe anything he says. See ya.”
He’d missed bantering with the boys he worked with in San Antonio. Until tonight, he hadn’t thought he would find that feeling anywhere else.
CHAPTER NINE
“WOULD YOU LIKE anything else?” A feminine voice pulled Tony from his fog.
He gave Marissa a slight smile. “No, thank you. Everything was really good.”
“Really?” She arched one eyebrow at him. “You hardly touched anything.”
Tony frowned. He’d hoped that she wouldn’t notice. His stomach rolled at the sight of the table. He hadn’t had an appetite all day. “Sorry. I’m just not very hungry right now. I think I may be coming down with a stomach bug.”
Scott leaned over and plucked another taco from the platter. “Does this mean I can have the rest?”
Jarrod rolled his eyes. “How can you still be hungry?”
The teenager grinned. “I’m a growing boy.”
Jarrod laughed. “After you finish, you and Bradley can do the dishes.”
Tony watched the interaction between father and son. He’d never known his father and he envied their relationship. “Y’all are great together.”
“It wasn’t always like that.” Jarrod opened the French doors leading to the patio. “When he first came to live with me, we couldn’t see eye to eye on anything. It was rough.”
The room spun a little when Tony stood up to follow him. He gripped the edge of the table for a minute. The room settled and he went out to the patio with Jarrod. “What do you mean? When he first came to live with you?”
Jarrod cocked his head toward Tony. “I thought you knew. Scott is from my first marriage.”
“You were married before?”
“Yeah.” Jarrod nodded. “Right after high school. We thought we were grown-up enough to understand what marriage was. All we really did was play house for a little while. It wasn’t as much fun when you don’t have enough money to pay the bills or put food on the table.”
“How old was Scott when you divorced?”
“Two.” Jarrod rested one hand on his knee. “When I couldn’t handle it anymore, I took off. I’m not proud of it, but that’s what I did. I left a note.” He shook his head. “He was twelve when his mom was killed in a car accident and social services brought him to me.”
Tony understood the turmoil that Scott had gone through. To lose his mother and be sent to live with someone he barely knew. Someone who was supposed to be his father. “It must’ve been tough on him.”
“You don’t know the half of it.” Jarrod sighed. “I’d been a failure as a husband and an even bigger failure as a father. So I pretended that part of my life never happened. Other than the child support check I sent every month, I didn’t have a kid. You can imagine Marissa’s surprise when my twelve-year-old son showed up at the door.”
“Marissa didn’t know?” Tony found that hard to believe. The couple shared everything.
“I had been too ashamed to tell her about my past before then. I spent so much time hiding from it, it almost cost me my son and my second marriage.”
Tony shook his head. “So what happened?”
“You could say Marissa and I had a come-to-Jesus meeting.” Jarrod chuckled. “It took a while, but we were finally able to heal and become a family.”
“I had no idea.”
Jarrod opened an ice chest and pulled out a couple of beers. He settled into the lawn chair next to Tony. “Scott said you played basketball with them last night. Did you get any impressions of the kids?”
Tony opened his bottle and took a swig. “I’m still watching Kyle. He’s pretty much a loner from what I can see at the home. What do you know about Nick Johnson?”
“Didn’t take you long to figure out that one.” Jarrod shook his head. “The kid is nothing but trouble. He gives Scott a clear berth, probably because I’m a cop, but he’s been known to rough kids up. You think he’s involved in something besides being meaner than a possum trapped in a wood shed?”
“I’m not sure. What about the people who work at the home? Anyone there who could use the kids to move merchandise?”
Jarrod nodded knowingly. “You and I think a lot alike.” He disappeared into the house and returned with a clipboard.
Tony looked over the papers. Time sheets for all the employees at Little Mountain for the past six months. “What are the highlighted dates for?”
“Yellow for nights that vandalism or thefts were reported in town. Pink for reports of drugs in town.”
“Rachel Johnson is the campus monitor every time a yellow highlight appears. Have you checked her out?”
“So far, she’s clean.”
“Any relationship to the rest of the Johnsons?”
“Nick’s stepmother.”
> Tony shook his head. “A lot of coincidences. I’m only here one more week. What do you want me to do?”
“Just what you’re doing. Observe what you see on the inside. The relationship between some of these boys and Rachel.”
“You think Travis is involved?”
Jarrod shook his head. “My bet is on someone inside the home using the boys for runners. But not Travis. He’s stupid, but he’s no criminal.”
The bottle slipped out of Tony’s hand and shattered on the concrete. He wiggled his fingers but he couldn’t feel them. His entire arm had gone numb. Man. He’d really overdone it tonight. He slid off the chair and scooped up pieces of glass. “I’m sorry.”
“Happens all the time. You okay? You’re looking a little pale.”
Tony rubbed his shoulder. He didn’t feel okay. “I think I may have overdone it playing basketball last night. I should go.”
“Need me to drive you home?”
Tony waved him off. “No. I didn’t have but a few sips. I’m good.”
“Maybe so, but if you’re getting sick, I can give you a hand.”
Once again, Tony waved him off. He’d be fine with some rest. He was sure. Mostly.
* * *
THE TEMPTING AROMA of bacon made Tony’s stomach growl. Last night, the pain in his chest had caused the nausea that had kept him from enjoying his evening with the Butlers. He hoped he hadn’t insulted Marissa by not eating much.
There was a lot he admired about Jarrod. The man had everything Tony had once wanted. A wife who adored him, two great kids, respect in the community and a job he loved. Family. Respect. Job. The trifecta of happiness. Tony sighed. He’d given up his chance for a family when he walked away from Sabrina. As a police officer, he’d earned respect among his coworkers and the community he served. But being around Sabrina reminded him that there was more to life than just his job. No matter how much he loved it.
He rolled out of bed, ignoring the sharp stabbing sensation in his chest. He shuffled down the hall and sank onto a dining room chair. “Morning.”
Papa’s eyes narrowed at him over his newspaper. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”
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