After Tex

by Sherryl Woods

  “You’re going to tell her no matter what, aren’t you?” Tess demanded. “Geez-oh-flip, nobody around here’s any good at all at keeping secrets. What about professional ethics?”

  “I can only tell her if you say it’s okay,” Jake agreed. “It’s up to you.”

  “But that’s the only way I’m getting ice cream, right?”

  He nodded.

  “Okay, fine. Blab your heart out.” She turned and marched off.

  Jake turned to follow. Megan regarded him impatiently, but eventually fell into step beside him.

  “I’m not going to like this, am I?” she asked with weary resignation.

  “On a scale of one to ten, compared to some of the other things you’ve heard in the past few days, this can’t be more than a two.”

  “I’m so relieved.”

  “Don’t worry, Meggie, I’ve handled it. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”

  “Why does that make me even more nervous?”

  “Because you have control issues?” he suggested.

  “Oh, go to hell,” she retorted, and snapped her mouth shut. She didn’t say another word to him until after the awestruck waitress had begged for an autograph, chattered endlessly about Megan’s TV show and then—finally—taken their orders. Sundaes with double hot fudge prevailed.

  “Well?” Megan asked, turning her attention back to them. “You might as well get it over with. What happened earlier?”

  After a glance at Tess, Jake gave her a quick overview of the encounter with Mrs. Perkins, Lyle and the sheriff.

  “Why, that pompous old witch,” Megan declared, with every bit as much indignation as Tess had displayed earlier. “I’ll have a thing or two to say to her when we’re finished here. As for Lyle, I never liked him and it seems as if time hasn’t improved his judgment or his temper.”

  Tess regarded her with wide-eyed amazement. “You’re going to take on Mrs. Perkins?”

  “Well, of course I will,” Megan said emphatically. “Nobody messes with an O’Rourke.”

  Jake settled back onto the bench beside her. “Go, girl,” he murmured, delighted by her reaction, by the quick rush to Tess’s defense.

  There’d been a time when she’d been equally protective of him, when she’d stood defiantly beside him in the face of all sorts of accusations, a good many of them trumped up by the envious Lyle.

  But when the most serious charge of all had been made, when he’d been accused of rustling Tex’s cattle, she’d failed him. He’d guessed that years of silent doubts had added up at last. Even with him understanding that, the pain of her turning on him had been worse than sitting in a jail cell in which he didn’t belong.

  She turned and met his gaze. “So, how did you happen to be so handy just when Tess needed an attorney?”

  “My office is next door to the general store.”

  Megan grinned. “Was that an in-your-face decision aimed at Mrs. Perkins?”

  He shrugged. “Could have been,” he conceded, though no one beside Meggie had guessed it.

  “Wasn’t that the old barbershop?”

  Jake nodded. “When Pete died, the space sat empty for a year. When I got back to town, it seemed to make sense to set up my practice right on Main Street.”

  “Were you able to get the smell of that awful shaving cologne out of the place?” she asked, nose wrinkling in disgust. “You used to be able to smell it half a block away.”

  “I think it’s gone. Want to check it out?” The invitation was casual enough, but his tone turned it into a challenge. He could see her struggling with herself—stubborn resistance versus innate curiosity.

  “Sure. Why not?” she said eventually.

  Her response proved that the old Meggie hadn’t gotten entirely lost in all the glitter and glamour of her new life. He took hope at that.

  “You coming, Tess?” he asked as he stood.

  “Geez, I’m surprised you remembered I was still here. The two of you have been making goo-goo eyes at each other ever since we sat down.”

  Jake laughed. “What do you know about goo-goo eyes?”

  “I used to watch a lot of old movies after Tex went to bed,” she said. “You learn things.”

  “None of them good, from what I’ve heard coming out of your mouth,” he admonished. “Maybe you ought to switch to reruns of The Brady Bunch.”

  “Oh, yuck,” Tess said. “Were those people for real?”

  “Real, no. But they were trying to make a family work,” Jake responded. “It might give you some ideas.” He glanced at Megan. “You, too.”

  Megan frowned at him. “If I conclude we need family counseling, I don’t think you or the Bradys are the people I’ll turn to.”

  “It was just a thought.” He headed for the register to pay their bill, then went outside to join Tess and Megan on the sidewalk. “This way, ladies.”

  “Not just yet,” Megan said, her gaze focused on the general store. “I think I’ll drop in and pay a visit to Mrs. Perkins.”

  “You’re really going to tell her off?” Tess asked, clearly still skeptical.

  “Let’s just say she won’t be messing with you again anytime soon,” Megan declared. Shoulders squared as if she were going off to battle, she marched straight into the store.

  “Well, come on,” Tess said, grabbing Jake’s hand and tugging. “I’ve got to see this.”

  They entered the store with its crowded shelves and wide-plank wooden floor just in time to hear Mrs. Perkins greet Megan with enthusiasm.

  “It’s been too many years, young lady. We thought you’d forgotten all about us,” the woman said. “I’m real sorry it had to be under these circumstances that you finally came back. Your granddaddy was a good man. I always thought he’d have been better off if he’d had a woman out there at that ranch to look after him and a son to take over for him in his later years, but after your grandmama died he didn’t seem inclined to marry again.”

  Obviously she’d had herself and Lyle in mind for the positions, Jake concluded. Tex had been wise enough to avoid all the snares she’d laid for him.

  Mrs. Perkins glanced over and caught sight of Jake and Tess. Her lips turned down. “Of course, I suppose he was otherwise occupied, if you know what I mean.”

  Megan smiled innocently. “No, I’m afraid I don’t. What do you mean?”

  “You know,” she said, jerking a shoulder toward Tess. “Her mother. Everyone in town knows all about that.”

  “Which would explain why you chose to accuse Tess of shoplifting, I suppose,” Megan said. “Because you disapprove of my grandfather’s relationship with her mother. Or were you jealous, Mrs. Perkins?”

  The older woman looked shocked. “Why, Megan, how can you ask such a thing?”

  “Well, after your husband died, you did bring an awful lot of meals out to the house, even though you knew we had Mrs. Gomez there to cook for us,” Megan pointed out. “Everyone knew what that meant.”

  Mrs. Perkins cheeks were stained with pink. “Young lady, do you have any idea who you’re talking to?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I believe I do,” Megan said politely. “And in the future, I hope you’ll remember with whom you’re messing when you make unfounded accusations against a member of my family.” She smiled, locking eyes with Lyle, too, as he wandered over to join them. “I’m sure you’ll both want to apologize to Tess for the mistake you made this morning. Tess, come on over here. Mrs. Perkins has something she’d like to say.” She fixed her gaze on the woman. “Don’t you, Mrs. Perkins?”

  “Why, yes, I suppose I do,” she said, clearly flustered. “I was mistaken this morning, and for that I am truly sorry. Lyle’s sorry, too, aren’t you, son?”

  Lyle scowled, but at a sharp look from his mother, he nodded. “Whatever.”

  “Gee, thanks,” Tess said, clearly unmoved.

  “It was lovely to see you again, Mrs. Perkins,” Megan said without much sincerity. “You, too, Lyle. Tess, shall we go?”

&nbs
p; As the two of them walked toward Jake, he heard Mrs. Perkins mutter, “Well, I never…”

  “Mama, she’s just turned into a rich bitch. Forget about her,” Lyle said. “She always was a stuck-up thing. Folks around here will bring her down a peg or two. You’ll see.”

  Jake chuckled at the exchange. “I don’t think she’ll be selling Megan’s World on her magazine rack anytime soon,” he observed as they left the store.

  “I’m sure our circulation director will bear up under the loss,” Megan said, then grinned. “That felt good.”

  “You were awesome,” Tess declared. “She looked like she’d been hit by a truck.”

  “Don’t go getting any ideas,” Megan said sternly. “You don’t get to run around putting people in their place. That’s my job.”

  “Hey, whatever floats your boat,” Tess agreed. “I ain’t interested in picking fights with people who are twice my size. She started this one.”

  “And now it’s finished,” Jake reminded her sternly. He eyed Megan as well. “Right?”

  She beamed. “Whatever you say, Counselor.”

  Suddenly, he couldn’t help wondering if Whispering Wind was prepared for a native daughter to come blasting through and upset more than a hundred years of status quo. For that matter, was he ready to have the nice, dull life he’d carved out for himself turned inside out?

  Glancing at Megan, who was looking mighty pleased with herself, he concluded it was too late now to turn back.

  7

  Megan had enjoyed putting Mrs. Perkins in her place just a little too much. Only part of that scene had been for Tess’s benefit, and she doubted there was anyone in the room who hadn’t known that. Megan had said what she’d longed to declare years ago on Jake’s behalf. Then she’d been too cautious, too young to be rude to an adult, no matter how deserving they were of a sincere put-down.

  Back then she’d also been intimidated by Lyle. He’d been tall for his age and heavyset. Because his mama thought the sun rose and set with him, he’d believed he could get away with anything, and he usually had. He’d been the worst sort of bully, picking out his targets with impunity. Megan hadn’t wanted to be one of them and not only because she hadn’t wanted Jake to be drawn into a fight with him in her defense. She hadn’t liked the glint in Lyle’s eyes when he watched her. She’d found it unnerving, without fully understanding why until she was older. By then, she had known enough to avoid him.

  Mrs. Perkins and Lyle hadn’t been the only people in town who’d looked down on Jake and made his life hell. A lot of fine, churchgoing people had made judgments and found him lacking just because of what his mother had done for a living. None had stopped to think that Lettie Landers might have reformed if anyone in town had ever given her a break, hired her to do some other kind of a job to put food on their table after Jake’s daddy walked out on them.

  Megan had always thought it remarkable that Jake had turned out as well as he had, living in that tumbledown shack that was all his mama could afford after spending most of her money on booze. Megan distinctly remembered how Jake had spent his first paycheck from Tex all those years ago. He’d bought wood and nails and gallons of paint and made all the repairs the house had needed, repairs that should have been made by Josh Wilson, their sleazy landlord.

  But the change had been only cosmetic. Inside the house, his mother had still been in an alcoholic stupor. Seeing Jake’s disappointment at that, Megan knew he’d been hoping his work would set his mother on a fresh path.

  Now, standing on the sidewalk in front of what had once been Pete’s barbershop, she was stunned by the difference he’d made to the old frame structure. The barbershop pole remained as a whimsical touch, but the wood glistened with bright white paint. The trim was a businesslike black. The wide window—once dingy from customers smoking—gleamed in the late morning sun, and discreet gold lettering in one corner announced that the building held the offices of Jake Landers, Attorney-at-Law.

  “I’m impressed,” she told him. “Pete wouldn’t recognize the place.”

  “Wait till you see inside,” Tess enthused. “He’s got these big, ol’ western paintings on the wall, just like they came from a John Wayne movie or something.”

  “Lead the way,” Megan told them, curious to see what Jake’s taste was like.

  As Tess had suggested, there was a western theme to the decor, but it had been done tastefully. She recognized immediately that the oils were by the finest western artists and that the bronze on his credenza was an original Remington. Obviously Jake had done very well for himself over the last decade or so.

  “Is your secretary out to lunch?” she asked, glancing around the empty outer office.

  “I haven’t gotten around to hiring one yet. Didn’t seem much point since I’m hardly ever here.”

  “Why not?”

  “I haven’t been actively pursuing clients. Other than your grandfather’s estate, my caseload is zero.”

  Her gaze narrowed. “Your choice?”

  “Yes, darlin’. I’m taking it easy by choice,” he assured her. “Don’t go getting your dander up on my behalf now. The town’s not snubbing me the way it once did. Tex hiring me saw to that.”

  “Good.”

  “Would you go out there and whup a few of them, if I asked you to?” he inquired, his expression amused.

  “Oh, something tells me you’re perfectly capable of fighting your own battles these days.”

  “Too bad. I was kind of looking forward to seeing you in action again.”

  His intense gaze settled on her in a way that suggested the kind of action he had in mind wasn’t some battle of wits with the local townsfolk. Megan turned away rather than deal with the feelings his look stirred inside her. She reached haphazardly for the first thing she saw, the bronze.

  “This is beautiful.”

  “You admired it once before,” Jake said, moving to stand close beside her.

  “I did? When?”

  “We were on our class trip to Denver. We walked past a gallery. It was in the window. You couldn’t take your eyes off it. I told you I’d get it for you one of these days. I doubt you believed me, but I remembered.”

  “But how?” she murmured. “It had to have been years before you could afford it.”

  “I bought it six months ago,” he confirmed.

  “From the same gallery? Surely it wasn’t still there after all this time. Museums and collectors snap up Remingtons as soon as they come on the market.”

  “No. It was in a private collection. I persuaded the owner to part with it.”

  She forced her gaze to his. “Why?” she asked, as tension shimmered between them.

  “I wanted to own it.”

  “Why, Jake?” she persisted, not entirely sure why she wanted him to say the words.

  “Because you liked it,” he said finally. “And because the promise I’d made meant something to me.”

  Megan swallowed hard. The cool bronze seemed to heat beneath her touch. She was pretty sure her skin was turning just as hot. Finally she forced herself to turn away, to place the bronze on the credenza.

  “I need to get back to the ranch,” she said, her breath hitching in the most annoying way. She glanced around. “Where’s Tess?”

  “She went outside a few minutes ago. I suspect she wanted to give us some privacy.”

  “Do you actually think she’s that sensitive? More likely, she was just bored watching us make goo-goo eyes.”

  He stepped in closer. “Is that what we’ve been doing, Meggie? Making goo-goo eyes?”

  She swallowed hard and shook her head. “Not me.”

  “Me, either,” he claimed.

  But his head lowered just the same, and when his mouth met hers, her lips parted on a sigh. No one in the universe could kiss quite like Jake, soft and slow and gentle with a hint of urgency and heat. Megan’s breath caught in her throat. Her senses swam. She reached out and grabbed on to the first thing she found—Jake—to steady h
erself.

  It wasn’t supposed to be like this, not after all this time. There wasn’t supposed to be a curl of heat, a shimmer of desire. But the fire was there, and the yearning, and the amazing, shocking sense of being exactly where she belonged. In the end, that was what terrified her and had her shoving hard against Jake’s chest to put some much-needed distance between them.

  “No,” she said, intending a shout, but managing little more than a whisper.

  Jake’s grin was lazily insolent. “Some things never change, do they, Meggie?”

  “Everything’s changed,” she insisted, fighting the oddest sensation of panic.

  He shrugged. “If you say so.”

  Feigning composure was second nature to her. She forced a cool little smile. “Thank you for the ice cream and for coming to Tess’s defense,” she said primly.

  His grin returned. “Anytime.”

  Megan dragged her attention away from his face—from that sneaky, clever mouth—and turned to the door. She’d almost managed a clean getaway when he spoke.

  “Have dinner with me, Meggie.”

  “I don’t think so,” she said, without even taking a second to think it over. Of course, he put his own interpretation on her response.

  “Scared?” he suggested.

  “Of course not.”

  “Look me in the eye and say that.”

  The man did have an ego, that was certain. She faced him squarely. “You don’t scare me, Jake Landers.” She managed it without so much as a blink, without any telltale tremor in her voice. Covering her nerves on camera served her well.

  “Then why not have dinner with me?” he persisted. “A couple of old friends catching up. What’s the big deal?”

  It shouldn’t have been a big deal, Megan agreed to herself. If it had been Peggy asking, for instance, it would have been just fine. But it was Jake and that meant it was very, very dangerous. He had more than dinner on his mind. He’d made that clear minutes ago.

  “I’m sorry. I doubt I’ll have the time.”

  “You’re not planning on sticking around, then?”

  Too late, she realized the trap he’d set. She could hardly claim that she’d be jetting off to New York without him reiterating the terms of Tex’s will.