Waiting for Devon

by Dee Stewart

  “They took off hours ago, Mr. Barrington. Never said where.” The ranch hand hammered a post. “I swear none of us are clear why Sun Rise went on a rampage, galloping across the pasture at breakneck speed and bursting through the fence. Maybe a rattlesnake spooked him.”

  “Maybe.” Locating and corralling the frightened thoroughbred had taken up a good portion of Reed’s morning. He’d needed the help of three other ranch hands to get control of Sun Rise when they’d found him several miles off the property.

  As he worked alongside his men, concern for Devon fueled Reed’s annoyance with Harry and Smitty. He’d wanted to linger with her in bed, but he knew she had obligations at the clinic, and he had his own responsibilities at the stable. Her silence bothered him. Reed had called and texted her several times throughout the day, but she hadn’t responded. Even when swamped with patients, she always made time to return his messages. A tiny knot of fear wormed its way into his gut. After he finished this task, he would head up to the main house for dinner, and if Devon wasn’t there, he’d drag her out of the clinic.

  Hot, sweaty, and tired, Reed entered the main house through the back entrance by the pool. Later tonight, he would like to swim with Devon under moonlit skies and make love with her. He couldn’t wait to feel her warm, supple body beneath his again and hear her moan his name followed by sweet words of love. His erotic visions of her in his bed teased him as he took a shower, and Reed decided a quick romp with Devon before dinner would be an excellent way to start their evening.

  He finished his shower, dressed, and headed toward Devon’s bedroom. Reed knocked once on the door. “Hey, Doc, it’s me.”

  With a wide smile on his face, he pushed open the door. Shock and confusion collided in him when he stepped inside the empty room. Every trace of Devon was gone. Even the bed had been stripped of its linens. Only her sweet scent remained to tease him. Before he knew what hit him, Reed’s knees buckled beneath him and he dropped onto the floor. Complete silence engulfed him.

  As the reality of the bare room crept into his consciousness, Reed screamed in rage and pain, the worst pain he’d ever felt. It decimated his soul. Scrambling to his feet, he tore out of the bedroom and fled downstairs.

  Skidding to a halt in the dining room, he faced his distraught sister, his downtrodden brother, and his disappointed father. Reed strode toward Shane. Before anyone could guess his intent, he grabbed his brother by the collar and lifted him out of the highbacked chair. He drew back his fist and threw a punch, connecting with Shane’s nose. An uppercut to the jaw sent Shane sprawling backward.

  Reed leaned over him. “Where’s Devon?” he demanded, his voice low and menacing. “What the hell did you do to her, Shane? Aside from making a fool of her? I overheard you confessing your undying love for Alana yesterday in your office.” At the incredulous look on Shane’s face, he continued, “Yeah, that’s right. I heard every word. You led Devon on, forcing her to give up her life in San Francisco for you. I told her everything. And guess what? She chose me. Devon loves me, not you. Now, where is she?”

  Blair burst into tears, and Jasper stared at his eldest son with deep regret.

  “Son, you need to sit down.”

  “No, I don’t. I need to know what’s happened to Devon. She hasn’t answered her cell phone all day.” Reed gazed at Blair. “Did she move out?”

  Unable to speak, Blair shook her head.

  “Reed, sit down,” Jasper repeated. “You need to hear the truth.”

  He sank into a chair. His gut churned with a sudden sickness.

  In a matter-of-fact tone, Jasper related the details of the charade to Reed. Each word pierced him and ripped his heart into shreds. The light and joy in his soul flickered and died, leaving nothing but a deep, searing hatred that filled the blackness.

  Reed’s eyes pinned his brother with a terrible coldness. “You disgust me, Shane. The only person you ever think about is yourself.” Pain tore through him and robbed him of his breath. “But her…her I loathe. She made me believe in her. Foolishly made me believe I could have a future with her. Dr. Devon Brooks is nothing but a filthy liar.”

  Blair gasped. “Don’t speak about Devon like that, Reed! None of this was her fault.”

  “The hell it wasn’t. She had a choice, Blair. She could have told the truth.”

  “She did. She told me the whole story a while ago.”

  Reed’s entire body turned cold. “So, you knew? I guess the joke really is on me.”

  “Devon left this letter for you, son,” Jasper interjected and passed an envelope to him. “Perhaps you should read it.”

  Reed looked at his name scrawled in Devon’s familiar handwriting and tore the letter into tiny pieces. They floated to the floor as he stomped from the dining room.

  Uncontrollable rage consumed him. For years he’d denied himself the pleasure of loving someone. Fear of being loved only for his money, family name, and position in society prevented him from trusting women. Once bitten, twice shy was his philosophy. With Devon, though, he’d caved. One look from those big brown eyes and he couldn’t resist her. Tired of being alone, Reed allowed himself to dream of a future that included a wife and a home and a family. To learn the woman he’d given his entire heart and soul to was nothing more than a charlatan destroyed him.

  He would never forgive her.

  Reed lost all semblance of reason. Down in the stable, he threw bales of hay, roaring in fury. He tossed saddles and bridles and grooming tools. Swinging a rake like a bat at the stalls, he frightened the horses and the ranch hands who heard the commotion. When Reed ripped holes in the stalls, a couple of the stronger horses broke through and galloped out of the stable. The ranch hands raced after them.

  Catching sight of Harry and Smitty, who gawked at him with their mouths wide open, Reed swore at them. “Get the fuck out of my sight!” He brandished the rake.

  “What’s wrong, Boss?” Harry ventured.

  “You have exactly two seconds to do as I say before I lose what’s left of my mind!”

  Harry and Smitty held up their hands and backed out of the stable. “We’re going, we’re going.”

  When his fury somewhat abated, Reed saddled Sun Rise and took off at a fast gallop. He rode recklessly, pushing Sun Rise to his limit, until neither could go any further. Reed slipped from Sun Rise’s back and sank to the ground. Spent physically and emotionally, he pounded the earth beneath him and cried for the first time since his mother’s death.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Eager to see his ex-wife, Jack watched for Devon as the passengers on her flight disembarked and made their way into the terminal. When he didn’t catch sight of her, he called her cell phone. It went straight to voicemail. He waited until he saw the flight attendants strolling through the terminal before he started to become concerned.

  Approaching a ticket counter, he asked the clerk to check the flight’s manifest. “My wife was supposed to be on that plane,” he fibbed. “And she’s not answering her cell phone.”

  “Let me look, sir. What’s her name?”

  “Dr. Devon Brooks.”

  A moment later, she shook her head. “I’m sorry. Your wife didn’t make the flight.”

  “Will you check other flights coming in today and tomorrow? I’m worried about her.”

  “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m not allowed to share that information with you.”

  “Of course not. Thanks for nothing,” he muttered as he walked away.

  For the next hour Jack called Devon every minute and left frantic messages for her. He begged her to call him, and if for some reason she didn’t want to speak to him, he asked her to at least send a text to let him know she was all right. He sent texts, too, and apologized for sounding like a crazy stalker.

  Jack: Please call or text. I’m worried about you.

  When she didn’t respond, Jack grew desperate and contacted his former sister-in-law.

  “Emmaline, it’s Jack. Please don’t hang up. This is about
Devon.”

  “She’s no longer your concern,” Emmaline reminded him in a cold tone of voice.

  “Listen to me. Devon called me earlier this morning. She said she was flying home from Dallas and asked me to pick her up here at the airport. I’m worried because she wasn’t on the plane, and she’s not answering her cell phone.”

  “I don’t believe a word you just said, Jack.”

  “Hold on. I’ll prove I’m not lying.” He sent Emmaline a screenshot of his call log. “Now do you believe me? What’s going on? Why is Devon leaving Dallas?”

  “Before I say anything, let me try to call her.”

  Impatient while he waited for Emmaline to come back on the line, Jack paced. A sick sensation formed in the pit of his stomach. Though he had hurt and abandoned Devon in her greatest hour of need, he had never stopped loving her. It took him awhile to come to that realization, and now all he wanted was the opportunity to win her heart again.

  “Jack, she’s not picking up. I called Caleb and he hasn’t heard from her either.”

  “For the love of God, tell me what you know.”

  “Devon got caught up in a bizarre situation. She’s in Dallas pretending to be Shane Barrington’s fiancée. You’ve heard of him?”

  “What the hell? She’s pretending to be the multi-millionaire playboy’s fiancée? Devon would never do something like that. I saw her with him. She looked in love to me.”

  “Shane begged her to play along, and within an hour of meeting his father, she was let go from the hospital. Linhart valued Jasper Barrington’s two-million-dollar donation more than he valued Devon.”

  “I don’t believe this.”

  “Shane convinced her it would only be for two weeks, a month at the most, before he would be able to convince his father to give him control of Barrington Industries. Obviously, it didn’t work out that way. It hasn’t been all bad, though. She opened Barrington-Brooks, a free clinic, there in Dallas.”

  “Yes. I know. That’s where I met them. At least she was able to do something worthwhile,” Jack muttered. “Look, I’m booking the earliest flight I can get to Dallas. Devon’s in trouble. I feel it in my gut. In the meantime, keep trying to reach her, and if you hear from her, call me, okay?”

  “All right.” Emmaline paused. “Your heroics won’t exonerate you, Jack. Not in any of our eyes.”

  “Fair enough. I behaved like a jerk. I get it. Right now, though, my only priority is making sure Devon is safe.”

  “I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” Emmaline promised and ended the call.

  Jack cursed to himself when a clerk at the ticket counter informed him that all the early flights to Dallas the next day were filled to capacity, but he secured a seat on one leaving at noon. To occupy his time, he went back to the hospital and spent a restless shift treating patients and calling Devon to no avail. He also bugged Emmaline and Caleb several times and anyone else who knew his ex-wife. No one had heard a word from her. By the time his flight lifted off the following day, he’d worked himself into a nervous wreck.

  The intense Texas heat and humidity hit Jack full force as he exited the Dallas airport terminal and hailed a taxi. He slid into the backseat with his duffel bag. Sweat rolled down his face and back. His short-sleeved shirt clung to his skin.

  “Where can I take you?” the driver asked in a typical Texan drawl.

  Jack figured he would start searching for Devon at the most obvious place first. “Take me to the Barrington-Brooks free clinic. Do you know it?”

  “Sure do. Been there once myself. My brother won’t take his family anywhere else even though he makes a good living and has health insurance provided by his employer. He swears Dr. Brooks is the best doctor in Dallas. And fair and honest, too. She only charges my brother his normal co-pay. When he tried to offer more, she wouldn’t accept it.”

  Jack’s heart twisted in his chest. His ex-wife always put her patients above everything else. She practiced medicine for the sheer love of helping those in pain or need, not for her own financial gain. What devil in the guise of grief possessed him to destroy his marriage? To destroy Devon’s love for him?

  I will not abandon Devon again.

  The cab driver turned onto Third Street. It bustled with construction activity. To his left, Jack noticed a three-story steel structure identified as the future home of the Barrington-Brooks job training and education center. He wondered why Devon was leaving projects close to her heart behind her. Jack guessed Jasper Barrington figured out the scheme his son devised to assume control of the company and kicked Devon to the curb. A hot flush crept into his face at the idea of someone mistreating his ex-wife. After what he’d done to her, she deserved better.

  As the taxi rolled to a stop in front of the clinic, Jack saw people milling on the sidewalk. When he handed the driver his fare, the latter asked, “Do you want me to wait for you?”

  Jack shook his head. “I don’t know what my plans will be after I see Dr. Brooks.” He grabbed his duffel bag and entered the clinic.

  Inside, a crowd waited to see Devon. Every available chair was filled, and people lined the walls. From the expressions on their faces, Jack could see they were upset. Near the receptionist’s desk, two women were engaged in a heated discussion. A beautiful blonde spoke in flawless Spanish to another woman, who held a baby in her arms. Next to her a little girl bawled.

  Understanding Spanish himself, Jack followed their conversation, and when the blonde mentioned Devon’s name, he interrupted them. “Excuse me. Do you know Devon?”

  Both women turned to face him. Their eyebrows shot up as they seemed to recognize him.

  Jack held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Dr. Jack Taylor, Devon’s ex-husband.”

  At the word doctor, an expectant hush fell over the crowd of patients.

  The lovely Hispanic woman slapped his hand away and spewed a string of expletives at him in Spanish. Her daughter covered her ears. “Mami!”

  Although she refused to shake his hand, the blonde offered a polite, “I’m not going to say it’s nice to meet you. We know who you are.”

  If these women were friends of Devon, Jack assumed she would have told them about him. “And you are?”

  The blonde answered, “I’m Blair Barrington. This is Inez Rodriguez.”

  “Barrington, huh? Any relation to the SOB who dragged Devon into playing his fiancée?”

  Blair and Inez glanced at each other in surprise.

  “What, didn’t you know about the scam?”

  “Oh, we know the whole story,” Blair assured him. “We’re just surprised that you know. I’m the SOB’s sister, by the way. Did Devon tell you? Is that why you’re here?”

  “No, she didn’t tell me. I heard it from her sister, Emmaline. I’m here because Devon is missing. She called me yesterday and asked me to pick her up from the airport. She never made it to San Francisco. No one has seen or heard from her in over twenty-four hours now.”

  “Dios mio!” Inez exclaimed in a soft voice. She addressed Blair. “Where do you think she is?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s not like Devon to disappear without letting anyone know her whereabouts.”

  Jack glanced around the waiting room. Dozens of pairs of eyes silently pleaded with him. He knew what Devon would want him to do. Treat these patients before searching for her. “Look, we need to clear this waiting room. Let’s triage these patients, then focus on finding Devon. Is there somewhere I can put my duffel bag?”

  Blair led him to Devon’s office. Nostalgia hit Jack hard when he saw her white lab coat hanging on a peg behind the door. Her familiar scent assailed him. He prayed he would find her alive.

  When Blair brought the first patient into an examination room, Jack asked, “Do you work here?” She seemed to know her way around the clinic and commanded it with an air of authority.

  “I do. Devon and I opened it together. When she decided to leave, my father promised he’d find a doctor to replace her, but so far we haven�
��t had any luck. A physician’s assistant came in this morning for a few hours.”

  “There’s a lot we need to discuss. I can’t wait to get my hands on your brother.”

  “Which one?” Blair returned with an arched eyebrow.

  “You have another brother? What did he do to Devon?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “So Devon hinted when she called me. Let me do my job here first, then we’ll talk.”

  Inez left soon after Jack started treating patients, and Blair promised to keep in touch with news about Devon. Working together quickly and efficiently, Blair and Jack sent the last patient out the door at six-thirty. Blair locked the clinic, and Jack followed her to her car.

  He settled into the passenger’s seat. “So talk. What’s the deal with your other brother?”

  “Reed. Here’s the short version. He and Devon fell in love and…”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Jack interrupted with a snort. “She came to Dallas pretending to be engaged to one brother, Shane, isn’t that his name, but fell in love with the other? Reed?”

  “That’s it in a nutshell.”

  “I don’t believe this. Does Reed know the truth?”

  “Unfortunately, yes.”

  “I guess he didn’t take it well?”

  “You guessed correctly.”

  A stab of jealousy hit Jack. He always knew there was a possibility Devon could fall in love with someone else, but it hurt to hear it. Though that begged his next few questions. “What happened when Reed confronted her with it? Or did she confess to him on her own? Did he reject her, or did your father toss her out of his home?”

  Blair glanced sideways at him. “None of the above. When Devon realized the extent of her love for Reed, and his for her, she went to my father and confessed the whole story. He already knew, of course, before Shane and Devon even left San Francisco. Anyway, Devon knew Reed would never forgive her for deceiving him, so she decided to leave. She said goodbye to me in a letter, and wrote one to Reed, too. He ripped up his without reading it. My father was the last person to see her.”