A Cowgirl at Heart

by Christine Lynxwiler

  “Apparently the woman had recently married and hadn’t changed her gun registration yet. But after some more research, her married name finally came across the fax machine today.” He hesitated. “Melanie Stone.” He looked at Andrew. “I sent back a request for more information. But I’m guessing this isn’t a coincidence, is it?”

  Andrew slowly shook his head. “Melanie was my wife,” he said dully.

  CHAPTER 32

  “What?” Elyse couldn’t process that information. Why had she assumed Andrew’s wife had died of cancer? Or even a car accident? She hadn’t asked because she hadn’t wanted to pry or intrude on his grief.

  Andrew looked at her. “We’d been married three weeks. We were supposed to go away that weekend with her friends from work. Everyone knew it. But I got a chance to display my paintings in a big art show that Saturday. I begged her to change her plans and go with me to the show. Or go on with her friends and let me go to my show and join her later. But she was so stubbornly against me pursuing my art that she wanted to make me sorry by staying home.” His eyes had no tears, but the borders were red. “It worked. Someone broke in—no doubt someone who knew she was going to be gone—and killed her when she interrupted the robbery.” He shook his head and wiped his hand across his face. “I’ve been sorry ever since.”

  “So you came here looking for her murderer?” Jack asked his first question.

  Elyse just stared at him. That couldn’t be right. Andrew, tired of being a reporter to satisfy his dad, had come here to paint houses.

  Andrew nodded. “Right after the murder, I was the main suspect. But I hadn’t done it, so I was determined to find out who did. I put out thousands of faxes to pawn shops with the missing jewelry information.” He fidgeted with his keys. “The police eventually took me off the suspect list, but I’ve spent the last three years chasing false leads and making enemies of just about every Texas law enforcement agency there is. Last August I got a call from a pawn shop owner over on Fourth Street here in Shady Grove. A man had brought in a necklace that matched the description of Melanie’s stolen necklace. He had a security video of the man and a possible address.”

  “Zeke,” Elyse whispered. Every accident that had brought her and Andrew together had been a contrived move on his part to catch his wife’s killer.

  Andrew nodded. “I parked my camper at the river and painted all the houses in the neighborhood dirt cheap.”

  She suddenly remembered part of Zeke and Andrew’s conversation on the porch that first day. “But Zeke wouldn’t let you paint Maxine’s.”

  “Right. So I had to satisfy myself with going by it several times a day, watching to see if he went to the pawn shop anymore or made any moves that seemed illegal or suspicious.”

  “Which is how you found me.”

  “Thank God,” Andrew said. “It is.”

  She snorted. “Yeah, because that gave you the perfect opportunity to move yourself in here and keep an eye on me—the girl whose vehicle Zeke had stolen. And even after the Jeep was found, I was still good bait, considering all those awful threats he made to me.” How could she, of all people, have fallen for a con?

  He flinched and reached for her hand.

  She pulled it away and caught a glimpse of Jack’s face. He looked as if he wished he were anywhere but here. Join the crowd, she thought angrily.

  “You were never bait.” Andrew’s voice cracked.

  “I’m just going to step outside.” Jack pushed to his feet. “We can talk out there in a minute.”

  “You don’t have to leave,” Elyse said, standing, too. “I’m going.” Before she got the words out, the door had slammed behind Jack, and she was alone in the house with the man who had made her love him and then betrayed her.

  “Elyse, I was going to tell you. But I was afraid it would scare you to find out that Zeke was probably a murderer.”

  “Oh.” She snorted. “I get it. Your motives were strictly altruistic. You just wanted what was best for me.”

  He shook his head. “It was one of those secrets that took on a life of its own. There never seemed like a good time to tell you.”

  “That’s funny. I can think of dozens of times that would have been better than me finding out this way.”

  He ducked his head and scuffed her floor with the toe of his boot. “Me, too.” He looked back up at her. “I’m so, so sorry. I know it’s hard to even think about forgiving me—”

  “I’ll never forgive you. You used me.” Her voice shook, and she couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. “I’m crying because I’m angry,” she spat out. “Not because of losing you. This was all just a big con to you.”

  He looked as if she’d slapped him. “No, it wasn’t. In the beginning, I did partly want to stay close to you so I could find Zeke. In the very beginning. But within just a few days—by the time I moved my camper out here, my only thought besides protecting you was being with you as much as possible. And that had nothing to do with Zeke.”

  His lies almost got to her. But she knew from painful experience how con men operated. “I’m going into the den. Lock the door behind you when you leave.”

  “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

  Her heart ached, but she ignored it. She shook her head. “We don’t have anything to talk about. Ever.” With that, she walked away from the man who, just an hour earlier, she’d been stupid enough to think she loved.

  ***

  Andrew stopped and talked to Jack a little more. The sheriff seemed satisfied with his explanation. “Good luck,” he muttered before he got into the car and left.

  Andrew watched him drive away then walked on up to the main house before he lost his nerve. He didn’t know what he must have looked like, but a rowdy board game came to a screeching halt when he walked in.

  “Where’s Elyse?” Matthew said, his expression already darkening.

  Andrew stared around the room at Jonathan and Lynda McCord, Crystal and Jeremy with little Beka, Aaron and Bree, Luke, Matthew, Kaleigh, and Chance. How had he grown to love this family so much in such a short time?

  “Where is she, man?” Luke growled and pushed to his feet.

  Andrew told them the whole story, grateful to get it over with at once. Thankfully, they let him talk without interrupting. “I’m not proud of what I’ve done, but it quit being about revenge, or even clearing my name, a long time ago and started being about protecting Elyse.” He shook his head. “I know she’ll never believe that though. And I can’t stand the thought of her being alone over there—” His voice broke, and he blinked hard at the grandfather clock beside him before he looked back at them. He drew the line at crying in front of Elyse’s brothers. He’d save that for when he was alone in the camper. “I can’t do what she wants and disappear. But I’ll move my camper back down to the river campground early in the morning and keep an eye on her from a distance.” He looked at Matthew. “If Zeke isn’t apprehended by the time the office is completely painted, then I’ll go quietly and leave it to y’all to protect her.”

  “Go where?” Jonathan asked.

  Andrew shrugged. “If Elyse isn’t there, it really doesn’t matter. Merry Christmas.” He turned and walked out to the camper. He didn’t bother turning the lights on, but just sat in the darkness on the little couch and gave in to the heartache. Out the window, he watched Crystal, Bree, Kaleigh, and Lynda walk by going toward Elyse’s. At least she wouldn’t be alone.

  ***

  Elyse pulled the gray hoodie from the hook by the door where Andrew had left it on Christmas Day. Three weeks ago. How many times since then had she put it on? Every night when her customers were gone and the house was quiet, she made herself wait until the pain was so bad she couldn’t stand it; then she’d walk in here and get it. But on Saturdays, like today, she couldn’t make it through the morning without it.

  She nuzzled her nose against the fabric as she slipped into it. Any lingering smell of Andrew’s soap and shampoo was almost gone. Shouldn’t the same be
true of his memory? What was wrong with her that she could be conned and then let her heart break over it?

  As soon as she sank into her chair, the dogs came and gathered around her. She invited Nikki up onto her lap, and Missy, Majesty, and Pal moved closer to her. Majesty put her chin on Elyse’s leg and pressed down, her big eyes looking up at her master questioningly. “I’m sorry, baby,” Elyse whispered. “These are hard times. But we’ll get through it.”

  Missy barked once, stood, then sat again. Elyse sighed. What Missy needed, Elyse couldn’t give. She was taking care of their basic needs—food, water, exercise. But the dogs knew something wasn’t right, and they always surrounded her when she put on the hoodie as if they were protecting her from her pain or at least sharing it with her. Nikki licked her under her chin.

  “No,” Elyse said halfheartedly. She hadn’t been out of the house except for church since Christmas. She knew her family was worried. She’d taken a break from 4-H meetings, ostensibly to help Matthew get their office space ready to open in February. But she’d done little toward the decisions. She couldn’t seem to care.

  The doorbell rang, and she pushed to her feet. Probably Crystal or her mom. They’d been taking turns coming by, just to check on her.

  She shuffled down the hall and opened the door.

  Matthew stared at her. “You look awful.”

  “Thanks, bro.” She stepped back and let him in. “Nice of you to stop by and cheer me up.”

  “I stopped by to get you. We’re going into town to pick out the bathroom fixtures.”

  “Whatever you choose is fine with me.”

  “I have no idea what I’m doing, and this is supposed to be half your place, too.”

  She wanted to argue, but she knew she was being unfair. And from the determined gleam in his eye, she had a feeling he was ready to fight to get her to go. The last thing she wanted was a confrontation. She slipped off the hoodie and ignored Matthew’s gaze on her while she hung it up. “Give me ten minutes to get ready.”

  “I’ll be in the truck.”

  She put on her jeans and a brown sweatshirt, ran a brush through her hair, smeared on a little lip gloss, and went.

  Thankfully, on the way, Matthew refrained from trying to make conversation.

  She forced herself to block the future from her mind and just concentrate on this minute. By doing that, she was able to help choose faucets, mirrors, and lights for the bathrooms.

  As she was signing the invoice, Matthew came over to the counter. “I’m going to run pick up something I need. Meet you at the truck.”

  She nodded absently. The cashier took the invoice and handed her a yellow copy. She turned around and almost bumped into Andrew. Her heart stopped for a second then wrenched painfully. “When I get my hands on him,” she muttered under her breath. Matthew had sold her out.

  “Elyse, I’m sorry. I just need to talk to you for a minute.”

  “Where’s Matthew?” If he’d left her here without a ride, she was writing him out of her will. She barely let herself glance at Andrew’s face. The pain she felt seemed to be reflected there. But con men were notoriously good for reflecting your own emotions back to you.

  “He’s on the other side of the store. He’ll meet you in the truck. This isn’t his fault. I begged him for just a second with you.”

  “He called and told you we were coming here?” Odd how things had flip-flopped. A couple of months ago, Andrew was one of the few people she felt comfortable around. Now she’d rather star in her own reality show than face him.

  Andrew shifted from foot to foot. “I see Luke every day and Matthew almost every day. I knew you had to pick out faucets. I could have just shown up here and pretended to bump into you, but I didn’t want to deceive you.”

  Elyse bit back a retort about it being a little too late for that. She took a deep breath and counted to five. “Andrew, will you do me a favor?”

  “Anything,” he said softly, his eyes tender like she’d seen them so many times before.

  She bit her lip until it hurt. “Leave me alone.” She brushed past him and hurried out to the truck.

  ***

  Elyse clutched the half gallon of black walnut ice cream and knocked on the door of the tiny log cabin. She’d stopped in Newport at Kroger’s and bought it on an impulse. But now that she was here, she decided maybe grief over losing Andrew had made her go crazy.

  The door swung open, and Luis’s mouth dropped open. “Elyse. What are you doing here?”

  She shoved the ice cream into his hands and tugged Andrew’s gray hoodie tighter around her.

  Luis glanced down at the ice cream, and when he looked back up at her, his dark eyes were filled with amazement. “Is black walnut still your favorite?”

  She shrugged. “I haven’t eaten any since that day...”

  Pain flashed across his face. “I don’t suppose I have either.” He stepped back. “Won’t you come in?”

  She considered bolting for the Jeep. But she’d driven all this way. And brought ice cream. She stepped inside and looked around. The cabin was small but neat. “Nice place.”

  “Thanks.” He held up the ice cream. “Could you eat some if I get us a couple of bowls?”

  “Sure.” Her legs shook a little as she followed him into the kitchen. “Mama and Daddy say you work in the prison ministry.”

  He pulled two bowls from the cabinet and snagged two small spoons and one big one from a drawer. “That’s right.”

  “That must be exciting.” Small talk was excruciating. But big talk would be worse, so she’d keep it up.

  “Most of the time it’s very rewarding.” He set the bowls on the table. “I know I can never make up for what I did.” He opened the carton of ice cream, and the sweet smell of black walnut filled the room. “But giving hope to the hopeless helps me to live with the unchangeable past.” He carefully dipped out two equal portions. “You can choose.”

  “You taught me that. When one person splits it, the other gets to choose.”

  “Glad to know I taught you something that wasn’t bad. I’m just so sorry....” Luis wasn’t good at small talk. He kept wanting to rush into big talk.

  Of course, she’d brought it on with her reminiscing. What was wrong with her? She’d only wanted to make peace and get out. She picked up her spoon. It was the ice cream. She shouldn’t have brought it. But her mouth watered as she took the first bite. She still loved it. After all these years and everything that had happened. It might not be her favorite anymore, but she still loved it.

  She ate it quickly, nervously, then let the spoon clatter into the bowl.

  Luis was already finished. Just watching her as if he couldn’t believe she was there.

  “Where did you get the guns?”

  Confusion creased his brow. “What?”

  “The guns. The ones you and ... the ones y’all had when you came out the door that day. Where did they come from?”

  He frowned. “Someone caught on to our con and called security. The first guard said the cops were on their way and he was going to need us to stay until they got there.” He scraped his empty bowl with his spoon. “I didn’t think I could do that. Nothing seemed worse than the possibility of going to jail. So I watched for my chance. And when the time came, I took his gun.”

  “And shot him in the leg?”

  “While he and I were struggling—me to get it out of his holster, him to keep it in—the gun went off and shot him in the leg.” He stood and rinsed his bowl at the sink. Then he turned back around. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure I pulled the trigger. I deserved to go to prison, anyway, after all the things I’d done.”

  All these years and he couldn’t spin a better tale of innocence than that?

  “When he fell down, clutching his leg, I finally got the gun.” He glanced at her and sat back down at the table. Then stood up again. “Your mom was furious at me. But when the other guard rounded the corner, I aimed the gun at him. He quickly put his weapo
n on the floor and kicked it to your mom, just like I told him to. Talking her into touching it was another thing.”

  “So she picked up the second guard’s gun?” That made more sense than anything she’d ever imagined.

  He nodded. “We backed up to the front door, not realizing there were cops behind us.” His voice was as raspy as paper.

  “You dropped your gun.” Elyse stared at him. She couldn’t believe after all these years she was getting answers. And even odder, she had a feeling they were the truth. “Why did she raise hers?”

  His eyes were haunted as he looked back into the painful past. “She was just raising her hands. I know she forgot she had a gun in one.”