A Cowgirl at Heart

by Christine Lynxwiler

  CHAPTER 19

  Andrew needed to focus on the matter at hand and quit acting like a moonstruck schoolboy. “You really can do it.” He took a sip of his tea to gather his thoughts. “Were you shy before your—before you ended up in foster care?”

  She shook her head. “No. I might have had a tendency to be a little introverted, but I didn’t have a problem talking to people.”

  “So do you think your problem with talking to people now may stem from being afraid they’ll find out about your childhood?”

  “No!” She shook her head. “Not at all.”

  “So you don’t care if people know about your biological parents?”

  She took a long sip of her tea and picked a leaf off the tablecloth. She tossed it carefully toward the river below. When she looked up at him, her brown eyes were wide. “Okay, I do care. I definitely don’t want anyone to know about them. About my life before becoming a McCord. So maybe it could come from that some, I guess.”

  He admired her honesty. It was hard to look inside one’s heart and see the truth. And even harder to say it out loud. “At the risk of sounding like an amateur psychologist, what do you think would happen if people found out about your past? Worst case scenario?” He hoped this didn’t backfire. In his case, the answer would be disaster. The McCords, for example, certainly wouldn’t want a man who’d been suspected of murdering his wife painting their barn. Or taking their daughter to dinner.

  She shrugged. “They wouldn’t want anything to do with me?”

  “I know all about it, and I still want to be around you.”

  She gave a half laugh. “You’re different.”

  He couldn’t help but be glad she thought so. But this wasn’t about him. “Really, I’m not.”

  The waitress walked out to their table, her arms weighed down with two big fish plates. She smiled at them. “Enjoy,” she said as she walked away.

  Andrew said a prayer of thanksgiving for the food and decided it was time for a subject change. “That was brave of you following Nikki out to the cows.”

  Elyse chuckled as she dipped a hush puppy in tartar sauce. “I didn’t exactly stop to think.”

  “Sometimes that’s the best way.”

  “Yeah.” Her voice faltered. “For example, if I think too much about Zeke being outside my house last night, I might decide not to go home.”

  “I’m sorry that happened.” He felt as if he’d fallen down on his self-appointed job of protecting her.

  She shivered and pulled her jacket a little tighter around her. “Me, too. But it’s not your fault. I should have called someone when the dogs woke me up barking.”

  “Next time, call me.”

  She met his gaze. “I will.” She ate for a few minutes then put her fork down. “Why would Luis want to join in with Zeke against me?”

  Andrew wiped his mouth. “I can’t think of a reason.”

  “Unless he wants to con my family or me. Make us trust him by playing at being a hero.”

  Andrew didn’t know what to say. He really couldn’t figure out why Elyse’s biological dad had come back into the picture.

  She leaned forward. “So do you have a lot of brothers and sisters?”

  Andrew sat up straighter in his chair. “No. Just me.”

  “And your parents live in Texas?”

  “My dad does. My mom died when I was five.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

  He nodded. He knew she could relate. “Thanks.”

  “I guess you and your dad are really close?”

  He blurted out a nervous laugh. “Not so much. To be honest, we never have been, but since my wife died, we don’t see eye to eye on anything.”

  Elyse picked at her fish with her fork. “I’m sorry. And sorry if I was being nosy. I just needed to think about someone else’s family tonight.”

  “I don’t mind talking about it with you,” he said, surprised to find it was true. “My dad is a Texas Ranger. Just like my granddad before him.” He forced a grin. “I’m not.”

  “But he wanted you to be...”

  “He raised me to be. Put me in every class, gave me every training available to prepare me for a career in law enforcement.” He was amazed that after all he’d been through the past few years, it still hurt to talk about what a disappointment he was to his dad. “I went to college instead. Determined to make him proud some other way.”

  “Your art?”

  “I remember one time in high school my teacher entered several of my paintings in a local art show. I tried to get Dad to go.” He ran his finger around the rim of his tea glass and considered the amber liquid. “He said, ‘I wouldn’t walk across the road to look at a bunch of sissy paintings.’”

  She reached across the table and covered his hand with hers. His heart warmed at her touch.

  “Thanks.” He tried for a silly grin. “Between you and me, I think I always thought I might get famous someday and he’d have no choice but to at least look at my paintings. But in the meantime, I got a double major—art and journalism.”

  “You’re a writer?”

  “I was an investigative journalist.” He gave her a sideways glance. “Which seems kind of close to being in law enforcement, doesn’t it?”

  She nodded. “But not close enough for your dad?” She was sharp.

  “Nope. Not even close to close enough.”

  “You didn’t like being a journalist?”

  He shrugged, pushing back all the painful memories. “I’d rather paint houses.”

  “So here you are.”

  He paused. It wasn’t that simple. But tonight was about her. When the time was right, he’d fill in some of the gaps in his life story. “Yep. Here I am.”

  After the waitress brought the check, Andrew paid, and they walked over to lean on the deck rail and look down at the river.

  A few strands of Elyse’s hair blew across her face. She laughed as she pushed it away. “Thanks for finding this amazing place. I guess our brainstorming session didn’t accomplish much, but I had fun.”

  “I had fun, too,” Andrew said, glancing over at her, measuring his next words. “And I actually had an idea for you.”

  “Let’s hear it.”

  He kept his gaze on the river. “How many people in Shady Grove know about your childhood?”

  She frowned. “My family. And you.”

  “None of your friends?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “What if ... you chose one friend to tell about it? Someone you could trust? And then you report back and tell me what telling did to your friendship?”

  She didn’t say anything for a moment; then she gave a soft, strangled laugh. “You want me to experiment with one of my friendships and see if it self-destructs?”

  He shrugged. “If it does, it wasn’t much to begin with, was it?”

  “I don’t know.” She sighed. “I’m not trying to be uncooperative, but I just don’t know if this would even help at all.”

  He touched her arm. “You’ll never know until you try.”

  She kept her face turned away. “I’ll think about it.”

  “That’s all I’m asking.”

  ***

  As they walked to the truck, Elyse silently considered and rejected Andrew’s idea at least five times. She couldn’t possibly tell one of her friends. For one thing, how would she even do that? Just corner one of them and say, “Let me tell you the real truth about how I came to be in the McCord family?”

  He opened her door for her.

  “Thanks.” She climbed in, still thinking.

  “You think I’m crazy?” He slid into the driver’s seat and buckled up.

  Not crazy, maybe. But close. “I think you’re desperate to help me. And that’s really sweet.”

  As he pulled out onto River Road, in the distance, bright flashing blue lights illuminated the treetops.

  “Looks like somebody was having a little too much ‘fun’ down on the
river,” Andrew said.

  Elyse nodded. They passed the campground, and the lights were still in the distance. She realized exactly where they were and sat up straighter.

  Andrew tapped his brakes as they rounded the curve. Up ahead, four police cars lined Maxine’s driveway, blue lights flashing.

  Elyse gasped.

  He looked at her. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. Can we stop and see what’s going on?”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” He yanked the steering wheel and pulled the truck in next to the back cop car.

  Jack, in the front yard, was talking to two of his deputies, but he waved when he saw Andrew’s truck. Andrew rolled his window down, and in less than a minute, the sheriff walked over to them. “Attempted break-in,” he said tersely. “From the description, we’re 90 percent sure it was Zeke, trying to jimmy a window open. A neighbor was out walking his dog and called 911 from his cell phone. By the time we got here, he was gone.”

  Elyse’s shoulders tightened, and she frowned. “If he’s Maxine’s brother, wouldn’t he have a key?”

  Jack, leaning in Andrew’s window, raised his eyebrows. “If Zeke were your brother, would you give him a key?”

  “Good point.”

  “Besides, if he had a key, he probably left it behind when he ran off that day, and we locked the house up tight that evening after y’all got the dog.” Jack’s radio crackled. “I’d better get back. I’m going to have a deputy patrol your place tonight. Don’t be surprised if he drives up the lane a few times.”

  Elyse nodded, still on edge. “That would be great.”

  “Thanks,” Andrew said and shook Jack’s hand.

  When Jack walked away, Andrew looked over at her. “You want to sleep at your parents’ tonight?”

  “Daddy and I have already been through this discussion.” The idea was tempting, but her dogs needed her, and moving them was way too much trouble. “I’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll sleep with one eye open.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t worry about me. The deputy will be patrolling.”

  He put the truck in reverse and pulled back out onto the gravel road. “And I’ll be watching. If Zeke comes around, he should be the one who worries.”

  She grinned in the darkness, some of the tension leaving her. “I love it when you say things like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Never mind.” She leaned her head against the seat. She was just glad he was here.

  ***

  Andrew felt guilty for going into town to see Maxine without Elyse, but he really wanted a chance to talk to the woman alone. He hadn’t brought flowers this time. That just seemed too hypocritical. The sad part was he really did care about how she was doing. But he needed to know if she knew anything about the necklace Zeke pawned. He couldn’t help but wonder if the rest of Melanie’s jewelry was in Maxine’s house. Maybe that was why Zeke had tried to break in at his sister’s last night.

  As Andrew walked into the hospital, he silently reminded himself not to mention the break-in. And he’d need to be really subtle in his questioning about the jewelry.

  The nurses’ station on the left was a flurry of activity, but Miss No-Nonsense looked up when he walked by. “Hold it.”

  He turned around, his eyebrows raised. Had she discovered that he was a fraud?

  She walked over to him, and her eyes softened. “Maxine isn’t able to have visitors.”

  “What do you mean? Is she worse?”

  She glanced around as if to be sure no one was listening and half nodded. “Her nephew is on his way.”

  “Can I just peek in? Maybe say a word to her?”

  “She’s in ICU.”

  “Did her pneumonia come back?”

  “I really can’t answer that. Sorry.”

  He could see the answer in her eyes. No, it was something worse.

  CHAPTER 20

  The chapel door was on the right, and when Miss No-Nonsense had gone back to the nurses’ station, he slipped into the quiet room. To his relief, it was empty. Whatever was wrong, Maxine needed prayer. The woman had been through so much already. He sank onto the cushioned pew. Resting his hands on the back of the pew in front of him, he linked his fingers together and bowed his head. For the next several minutes, he pleaded with God on Maxine’s behalf.

  When he finished, he kept his head bowed. Lord, You know my struggles and my needs. I’m frustrated and my faith is weak. I’m sorry. Please forgive me and make me stronger....

  A few minutes later, he left the chapel and made his way out to his truck. He’d counted on Maxine giving him some information about the necklace. Or at least about Zeke and whether he’d ever spent time in Texas before his last prison stint. For now, he’d have to figure it out himself, some other way. Still thinking hard, he eased his truck out of the hospital parking lot and headed toward the McCords. The necklace he’d redeemed from the pawn shop looked like Melanie’s. But it wasn’t a one-of-a-kind piece. What if he wasn’t even in the right state?

  He considered that for a moment. What if he was after the wrong person? What if Zeke wasn’t Melanie’s murderer and was just a crazy man after Elyse? If Andrew knew that for sure, could he leave and not look back? He caught sight of himself in the rearview mirror, shaking his head. He couldn’t leave. He’d committed to painting the barn for Jonathan McCord, and right now he had no place better to go. He looked away from his reflection and kept his gaze on the road.

  His reluctance to leave Shady Grove was purely practical. Not in the least influenced by the presence of a certain brown-eyed brunette. And if he believed that, he scoffed to himself, he might as well believe that the necklace from the pawn shop was poor innocent Zeke’s only inheritance from his mother.

  ***

  It was three thirty, and Andrew had been painting the barn without stopping since midmorning. He hadn’t even taken a lunch break. Elyse was embarrassed that she knew this, but she did. Because in between each grooming appointment, she’d peeked out the window. And he was always there.

  Her mama had called and said she’d heard that Maxine had had a stroke early this morning. Andrew would want to know. If she was going out there to tell him, she might as well take him something to eat.

  She used the tuna salad left over from lunch and made him a sandwich. Then, just in case, she made a ham and cheese sandwich, too, and stuffed it into the insulated lunch box with a cold bottle of water. By the time she finished stirring up some homemade hot chocolate and poured it into a thermos, she was completely aggravated at herself. What was she doing? This wasn’t a Janette Oke book, and Andrew wasn’t her homesteader husband trying to raise a barn by himself. She seriously needed to get a grip on reality. She slapped the lunch box on the bar and poured herself a mug of hot chocolate. That was a grown man out there, and he surely had sense enough to eat lunch.

  She sank onto the bar stool and sipped her hot chocolate. And tapped her fingers on the counter. It was crazy to waste two sandwiches. She might as well offer them to him. If he didn’t want them, he could just tell her so. And she’d understand. Really.

  The first thing she noticed when she stepped outside was that he wasn’t painting the barn anymore. The second thing was that he was sitting outside his camper in one of the lawn chairs looking at his laptop. He waved as she approached and lowered his laptop screen.

  She waved the thermos, feeling increasingly foolish. “Hi.”

  “Elyse, good to see you.”

  “Thanks. Mama called awhile ago. She heard Maxine had a stroke. I don’t know how bad she is, but I think they moved her to ICU.”

  “Oh no.” He squinted into the sun as if processing the information. “I was in town this morning and stopped by to see her. I knew they’d moved her to ICU, but I didn’t know what had happened.”

  She stared at him. He’d gone to see Maxine without her? And he knew Maxine was worse but hadn’t stopped to tell her?

  He looked down at the ground. “
I’m sorry. I should have told you.”

  “Oh, that’s okay.” As she’d reminded herself earlier, it wasn’t as if they were married. She held up the soft-sided lunch box. “I brought you a couple of sandwiches.”

  His eyebrows raised. “How did you know I was about to starve to death?”