Outcast (The Friessen Legacy Series, Book 2), A Western Romance

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  “Mama, Andy said we have to go.”

  Her mama never glanced her way, just applied enough black mascara to make her already lush lashes even longer. “Andy is just like his hotheaded daddy. He was just blowing off steam. He’ll have forgotten all about it. So don’t you worry none. Now I’m gonna be late.” She dashed out of the bathroom and up to her room. Diana could hear her rustling in the upstairs closet and knew she was choosing her clothes for tonight, another tight skirt and silky tank top.

  Nina wandered into the kitchen just out of bed, wearing only a tight t-shirt still stinking of the previous night’s good time.

  “Nina, you heard Andy, what he said. We have to leave. Please help me pack. Help me convince Mama.”

  Nina flicked a lock of Diana’s tangled curls over her shoulder, then yanked open the fridge, pulling out the only carton of milk and guzzling down the last right from the carton, leaving nothing for Louisa.

  “Andy was just mad, is all. He’s like most guys, shooting off his mouth, but when it comes time to do something, he won’t. He’s just needing himself a little fun. So I think what I’ll do is go meet up with Andy and see if I can’t get myself an arrangement like Mama has with his daddy. You heard Mama talk about how a man like Todd satisfies her like no other. I’d like to see if it runs in the family. Anyway, all the girls talk. Once you’ve been with Andy, you’ll want no other.”

  Diana turned away, her back aching from holding Louisa. She patted Louisa’s back and put her down, not wanting Nina to see the burning jealousy, because then she too would move in for the kill. So much like Mama—once she knew your weakness, she took pleasure in causing you pain. But the fact was that Nina didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of catching any part of Andy Friessen but his disdain. And it’d be quite a scene to watch when she did get turned down flat. Nina wouldn’t let it keep her down. She’d brush it off and move on to the next boy. But Andy would always be a challenge, and Nina did love a challenge.

  Diana was worried because she’d seen the contempt in Andy’s eyes. He wasn’t just blowing steam. He’d meant everything, especially the part about them being worthless. He’d condemned her along with Faye and Nina, and she was still ashamed of something she hadn’t done, the sins of her mother. Damn you, Mama, and you too, Mr. Todd, Diana thought. She wondered what game he was playing in not going home. Most likely he had found someone younger and prettier to replace her mama. Her mama was resourceful, though. She’d find some other guy to hook up with, but he wouldn’t have the money and power of Todd Friessen. Diana couldn’t help wondering which woman had kept Todd out all night, or whether he had now returned home.

  Diana hated this responsibility, all this worry. She had never been allowed to be just a child. She had a grownup’s worries, but she was also too young. She couldn’t just take Louisa and disappear. She was too young to get a job to support them. So she was stuck here with her mama and Nina, running this house and raising Louisa. This house was all she’d ever known, and it terrified her now to leave this familiar place, because whatever else was out there could be far worse.

  After she fed Louisa dinner, she bathed her and put her to bed. All day she’d worried about what Andy said. She relived the fire and scorn in his eyes, and she cried. Both Nina and Faye had gone out like they did every night, Nina driving the clunky old Topaz her mother used to drive. Diana lay in her narrow bed, and she listened. Nina was first to arrive home. Then, an hour later, Mama. Maybe they were right, after all. Maybe Mama had once again met with Todd, and everything would go back to the way it was.

  She must have dozed off, because a loud crash had her bolting straight up in bed, and a bright light flicked on. She was yanked from bed by rough hands, and Louisa was screaming in the background. She was dragged downstairs to the door, where she could see headlights filling the weed-and-dirt yard and what appeared to be several people moving back and forth. She was shoved out the door, where she stumbled down the steps, landing in the rocks and scraping her knee and head when she landed face first in the dirt. Her thin nightgown rode up her thighs, and she scrambled to pull it down. Louisa landed beside her, screaming, her dark eyes wide and terrified. Diana grabbed her and held her tight. Mama was shrieking like a banshee as two of the sheriff’s deputies hauled her out of the house wearing nothing but a lacy black slip. Nina was crying in a skimpy t-shirt that barely covered her bum. And that was when Diana heard him: Andy.

  “I told you to be gone.” He was standing beside a truck with his arms crossed, headlights from another vehicle behind him. Mama raced over to him and grabbed his arm, crying.

  “Please, Andy, don’t do this. My girls and I have no place to go. How can you throw out a single mom, with my youngest not quite right?”

  But Andy had no sympathy. He pushed Faye, and she tumbled in the dirt, giving everyone an eyeful, but then most of the men in the county had seen it already. “Empty it. I want nothing left in there before I torch it,” Andy yelled.

  Diana was numb as she watched the scene. At least a half dozen men tossed clothes, dishes, and furniture out. The kitchen table was hefted and tossed in the dirt, and one leg splintered off. Books, trinkets, linen, towels, everything they owned lay in disarray all over the yard. To anyone else, it appeared like junk, but it was all they had. Diana tried to put Louisa down as she hurried to grab clothes, blankets. But Louisa shrieked and grabbed her legs every time she moved, dropping to the ground like a lead weight as she held on.

  “Mama, please help me load everything in the Jeep,” Diana cried. She shook her mother’s arm as she lay crying in the dirt. But her mother’s hand shot out and backhanded her, splitting her lip and sending her tumbling.

  “Don’t you ever tell me what to do. This is all your fault. If it wasn’t for you and that idiot kid, I’d be off living the good life. Guys take one look at you kids and they go running.”

  Diana leapt up, not feeling the extra cuts. She was numb from this nightmare. “Nina, please help me load up everything.”

  But Nina was rummaging through everything, picking out her clothes, her things, dumping whatever didn’t belong to her back on the ground.

  “Nina, we need to hurry. If you just grab an armload of everything and dump it into the back of Mama’s Jeep, we can sort it out later. That way you’ll know we got all your things.” Diana knew that was the only way to get Nina to help her, and she did. But it was slow for Diana, as each time she had to pry Louisa’s arms from her leg to gather an armload. She worked hard and had to move fast to keep Louisa from latching on to her. But Louisa pumped her skinny little legs, her voice hoarse from her wailing, the snot and tears soaking her face. Diana left the broken dishes and salvaged what she could, slicing her hand. She stepped on something sharp but didn’t stop to look at how deep the cuts were. She just reached down and pulled the shard of glass out, feeling the warm blood ooze from her foot.

  A deputy handed her his handkerchief. “You’re bleeding,” he said, and he dabbed her lip where her mama had split it, then crouched down and wrapped the cloth around her foot.

  ***

  Andy was furious as he watched his men stand around, leering at Faye and the Claremont girls. Even Diana was just a kid, but here in the moonlight, illuminated by all twelve of the vehicles’ headlights, she appeared seductive. With that hair and those eyes, she resembled Faye, that piece of trash who had turned his family upside down.

  His dad had never come home last night. Unfortunately, his mama had just returned from their Tahoe lake house two nights earlier and didn’t waste any time getting into it with Dad, who’d been out carousing with Faye every night while she’d been gone. Todd was discreet, though—always had been. And Andy’s mother made no secret of the fact that she had no intention of ever allowing his dad in her bed. That was just who Caroline was. She pushed, she whined, she complained about everything until, once again, she became everyone’s center of attention. She was a drama queen, but more like an ice queen, as his father had shouted at
her just last evening before he stormed out to meet Faye, as he always did.

  But his dad always came home, no matter whom he slept with. Last night, he hadn’t, and Caroline was beside herself with fear of the talk in town and where he could be. Had he finally left her? No, he’d never leave without talking with Andy. He loved his only child more than his whores, and he loved them a lot. Something must have happened, and Andy was still furious this morning. The younger girl knew something and had spoken the truth about when her mama had come home. But it was the way Faye had treated Diana while trying to protect her own worthless hide that upset Andy. She was hiding something, and she didn’t give a crap about those kids, especially the youngest one, who was retarded or something and always being toted around by the middle girl.

  No, Faye was lying about something. He had seen the fear flash for a second in her eyes. And when he had burst into the sheriff’s office, he demanded they haul Faye in and plant her in a cell until she told what she knew of his dad. The sheriff had said he couldn’t do that because as far as they knew, his dad had found himself a new plaything and was off for a few days of rest and relaxation. Andy, of course, knew that wasn’t true. Either way, he wanted to throw out this piece of trash and get her as far away from his dad as possible. One less temptress to put in his path.

  When Andy had almost been run off the road by Faye in her fancy Jeep, he saw red. She had been pulling out of the local bar and was racing down the road toward his land, his dad’s land, to that shack that was the old homestead, with the rotted floorboards and broken plumbing. It was a slum that should have been burned down years ago, but the trashy Claremonts were still on the land. Andy had demanded that the sheriff throw them out, and this time the sheriff had no choice. With Todd not around, Andy had a lot of say—the Friessens owned the sheriff and his deputies. Todd always backed Andy up, and the sheriff was smart enough to know that. But Andy also knew the sheriff would be relieved to have Faye out of the area. She was like a bitch in heat who had all the guys on her, married or not, likes pigs in mud. Maybe, with one less whore and her offspring around, this town and the guys in it could become respectable again.

  Diana was too naïve to notice how the sheer fabric of her nightgown formed a silhouette in the spotlights, outlining rounded nipples just beginning to form, her buttocks when she turned, her slender thighs and where they joined. Her body was becoming that of a woman. Her long, tangled red hair draped down her back over her shoulders. With her oval face and high cheekbones, her age wasn’t apparent as she dashed around. What they saw was an uncanny resemblance to Faye, who had the ability to strut across any room and bring every man to full arousal.

  ***

  Diana glanced only once at Andy, his anger and disdain for them still very obvious. He clenched his fists and shook his head, and his hard jaw tightened. He stood in a half circle with the other men, watching as the girls scurried to gather their belongings. Even Faye now tossed things in the Jeep, though she was barefoot and was still in that skimpy negligee.

  When Diana gazed up at Andy for the last time, his mouth hardened, and he snarled. “You’re nothing but trash. The best thing to happen to this county will be when every Claremont is wiped out of here.”

  She froze beside him, weighed down by the whimpering child in her arms. She didn’t look at him.

  “Your mother’s a drunken whore, your sister’s a slut, and you’re nothing but a worthless Claremont. Get out of this county, and don’t ever come back.” Andy Friessen turned to the sheriff. “Burn it,” he said.

  Chapter 6

  “What the hell, lady?” he yelled, slamming his fist against the fancy silver SUV that had nearly run him over. But then, Jed hadn’t been watching where he was going after getting his brother’s package—actually, the package was from his brother’s sweet new wife, Emily, and it was filled with the homemade blackberry jam that Jed loved. He’d damn near had a heart attack when he stepped into the crosswalk in downtown North Lakewood and met the blaring horn and screeching brakes of a careless driver. He cursed his luck as he gazed at the shattered jars of sweet blackberry jam oozing all over the filthy street.

  He stormed to the driver’s window, which was opened by the prettiest redhead he’d ever seen. She held a cell phone, and Jed was pretty sure he knew what the careless woman was doing.

  “See the corner and those white lines? It’s called a crosswalk. Just where the hell did you get your driver’s license, anyway?” Jed was beyond irritated as he yanked off his hat and batted at his dusty, worn jeans. He didn’t miss the hardened glare of the blue-eyed beauty as the window slid up and she drove away, rolling over the rest of the package and speeding around the corner.

  He threw his hat and stomped in a circle around the shattered jars.

  “Jed, everything all right?” Mr. Heckle, the owner of the hardware store, hobbled out. He was an aging, gray-haired gentleman who had been born and raised just outside North Lakewood. “Do you want me to call the sheriff? I can, you know. Saw what that crazy woman did, almost running you down and all.”

  “No. It’s fine, but if I could borrow a dustpan and broom, I’d be much obliged. Better clean up this mess.”

  As he swept up the shattered glass jars and brown paper wrapping, dumping it all in the garbage, he felt his irritation at that arrogant woman crank up a notch. He loved Emily’s jam, and he’d been dreaming—actually, salivating—since she promised to send a batch his way. Normally, he could let it go when someone pissed him off. But this… After waiting like a little kid at Christmas for Emily’s sweet treat, it was a disappointment that he struggled unsuccessfully to forget, considering he would have to do without the sweet berries spread over his morning toast.

  ***

  Diana Fulton, formerly Claremont, drove through North Lakewood. Fifteen years of curiosity had become her companion, and she felt a need to right the past. But when she’d almost run down that hunky cowboy in the crosswalk, she panicked. Fear was hissing in her ear, warning her she was playing with fire by coming back. So she had done something she’d never done before, driving away instead of apologizing for her carelessness. She was afraid of how people would react to her, if they’d remember who she was, but nothing looked familiar as she passed a new shopping mall at the edge of town, driving down the only major road in North Lakewood until she passed the post office, saw the same familiar businesses and old brick stores side by side. Cars were parked in the same angled parking. Some things had changed, though. There were new storefronts with a fresh coat of paint, new awnings, new flowerpots. But men still lingered around the barbershop, and couples still chatted outside stores, gossiping about whatever or whoever was the flavor of the week. This familiarity made the piercing ache in her chest expand until it hurt to breathe, because this was the only home she’d ever known.

  After she had nearly run down the cowboy and stilled her shaking hands, she’d pulled into the local library and parked beside a gray minivan, reliving Andy’s last words as she’d done over and over for the past fifteen years. You’re worthless. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t true, because she’d lived and breathed it, the pain sneaking up and hitting her at any time during the day. Now, as she struggled to breathe, she felt ice plunging through her veins as she remembered that horrible night. Following Mama in her shiny Jeep, she had ridden with Nina, Louisa on her lap and their meager possessions crammed inside the car. They stopped on the side of the road just outside North Lakewood, exhausted, and slept for a few hours. Louisa whimpered in her sleep.

  It wasn’t long before the sheriff caught up with them and sent them on their way. This time they drove on to Portland, where Mama stopped at the first seedy motel and checked them in. The next afternoon, Mama dressed in her tight skirt and heels and headed out, leaving Nina, Diana, and Louisa, promising to return with more of Louisa’s medicine. But she never did. Two days later, Louisa’s eyes rolled back and she fell, knocking her head on the side of a chair, her tiny body convulsing over and over.
Diana stayed with her and screamed at Nina to get help. To her credit, she raced to the front desk, and the manager on duty called an ambulance. Paramedics and police arrived, taking Louisa to the hospital. Social services arrived for Nina and Diana. They took one look at the two girls and the seedy motel, and both were placed in care. She knew Nina was relieved and was sent to live with a family in Portland, but Diana was beside herself when she was separated from Louisa. The social worker was in her late fifties and, to Diana, was the first adult who really listened to her. She took her to visit Louisa, who never regained consciousness from the seizure. Whether it was that her brain was deprived of oxygen or that her head hit the chair too hard, they’d never know, but eight days later, Louisa passed away in her sleep. Diana was placed with a kindly older couple, the Fultons, who were sympathetic to her loss and provided her the stability she never had. They had no other children.

  Nina finished high school, and the day she turned eighteen, she loaded up her car and headed for California. Diana never heard from her again. Diana stayed with the Fultons, and on her seventeenth birthday, they adopted her, which was the greatest gift Diana had ever been given. She was wanted. They showed her love and respect and never once shouldered her with the burdens of an adult. She was part of their family. She kept her head down and avoided all the boys’ advances, focusing on school and graduating at the top of her class to earn a scholarship to the University of Oregon to study law. In her first year, Mr. and Mrs. Fulton were killed on the 217 freeway when a young man driving a sports car cut them off, causing a five-car pileup. The young man was the only one to walk away without a scratch. The Fultons never even made it to the hospital.

  Diana grieved, alone once again. The Fultons had left her a small life insurance policy and their house, which was paid for. Diana sold the house and everything in it and rented a small bachelor pad close to the university, burying herself in her studies and finishing law school at the top of her class, passing the bar exam the first time around. She was determined to protect the rights of children and those without a voice. As she sat in her SUV, now shaking and flooded by memories, she knew that what Andy had done fifteen years ago was an abuse of power and had been just as illegal then as it was now.