After Tex

by Sherryl Woods

  “I have to second that,” Kenny said. “There’s no time to rehearse, no time to work on blocking. The cameras aren’t following you the way they should, because the men don’t know what you’re doing next and, frankly, I don’t think you do, either. They’ve pulled long hours before, but it’s obvious you haven’t, Megan. You’re on camera and the burden for carrying the show falls on you. We can’t disguise the toll it’s taking.”

  “We’ll just have to work harder on preproduction,” Todd said. “Megan can do the actual tapings with her eyes closed, as long as she’s been fully prepped going in. With these last shows we didn’t have time to get all the material to her in advance. We were all flying by the seat of our pants.”

  “That should help some,” Micah said. “Megan, will you be back in New York next week? Can you budget at least an extra half day for the tapings? That should help, right, Kenny?”

  “It’ll help,” he agreed. “The studio time and the crew will cost us, though.”

  Megan felt the pressure begin to build. Her head was throbbing. “Todd will see to it when he firms up my schedule,” she said tightly. “Okay?”

  “Got it,” Todd agreed.

  After Micah and Kenny got off the line, she told Todd, “Schedule a meeting with Peter, while you’re at it.”

  “Lunch? Dinner?”

  She hesitated, then said, “In my office. Tell him to bring figures for every aspect of the company—profit, loss, et cetera. I’ll need the material if I’m going to look at long-range options.”

  “Done.”

  Todd was beginning to sound more confident. Megan wished she felt half so sure of herself. It was evident, though, that things couldn’t go on as they had been. Her years of hard work were going to go straight down the tubes unless she got on top of things fast. She could no longer ignore the fact that something was going to have to change if she intended to keep her media empire thriving.

  “Todd, schedule me to fly to New York on Saturday. I want a full day’s rest there before we get to work on Monday. Have every last segment for the tapings mapped out and sent over to the apartment so I can go over them on Sunday. We’ll do two shows Monday, three on Tuesday, three on Wednesday and two on Thursday. Book the studio and the crews for all four days. Can we make it happen?”

  “Absolutely,” Todd assured her. “All it’ll take is money.”

  “Right now, that’s the least of my concerns,” she assured him.

  “What about the magazine? It’s been pretty much running on autopilot so far, but that can’t go on forever. People will start getting nervous. And what about that meeting with your book publisher? Aren’t the photos and copy for your next book due soon?”

  “Schedule any meetings required for Friday. I’ll fly back to Wyoming late Friday night.”

  “Megan…”

  “What?”

  “About that discussion we had earlier,” he began with obvious reluctance.

  “Yes.”

  “If it will help, I’ll fly back to Wyoming with you.”

  She was too exhausted to gloat. “Thanks. Book yourself onto the same flight.”

  “Just tell me one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You aren’t going to relocate everything to Wyoming permanently, are you?”

  She sighed heavily. “I honestly don’t know, Todd. I just don’t know.”

  Now it was his turn to sigh. “I’ll see you this weekend. I’ll bring over everything you need first thing Sunday morning.”

  “With bagels and cappuccino?” she asked.

  “Of course.”

  “Thank you.” Maybe her life wasn’t spinning as wildly out of control as it seemed. Bagels and cappuccino on Sunday morning sounded so familiar, so ordinary. For one day, at least, maybe she could pretend that nothing had changed, that her life was exactly as it had been before Tex had died.

  Unfortunately, it was impossible to ignore the fact that thanks to Tex, the time was also fast approaching when she was going to have to make some very tough decisions.

  Armed with photos that he had taken of Janie Morgan’s house, Jake wandered casually into Josh Wilson’s office on Friday morning. The Realtor’s expression brightened at the sight of him. He rushed over to vigorously pump Jake’s hand.

  “Good to see you, son. You looking to buy something else?”

  “Could be,” Jake said, wondering if Josh would be half so congenial a few minutes from now. “But that’s not what brings me by this morning.”

  Josh gestured toward a chair. “Sit. Can I get you a cup of coffee?”

  “No, thanks.”

  “So, if you haven’t spotted another piece of property, what can I do for you?”

  Jake handed him the photos. “Take a look at these. I believe you’re familiar with the property.”

  Josh paled as he examined the picture on top, the one of three overflowing buckets standing in the foyer of Janie Morgan’s house as drips cascaded from the ceiling.

  “Where’d you get these?” he demanded indignantly.

  “Took ’em myself, just last night during that cloudburst,” Jake responded. “Check out the rest.”

  Perspiration beaded on Josh’s forehead as he examined the photos one by one. “The place could use a little work,” he conceded. “Of course, I’ve been giving Janie a break on the rent, so it’s hard to do repairs with the little I’ve been taking in on the place.”

  He was playing for sympathy with the wrong man. Jake had no intention of cutting him any slack. He was finally getting to say and do what he’d wanted to years ago when Josh had played games with his mother.

  “Is that so?” he said wryly.

  “You know how it is, Jake. Some tenants expect a palace, but they don’t want to pay for it.”

  “How about a place that’s been kept up? Is that asking too much?”

  “Like I said, the rent’s low. It’s understood, then, that the tenant takes care of repairs.”

  Jake pulled a sheet out of his pocket. “Funny, I’ve been over this lease you signed. It doesn’t say anything about that in here. In fact, it says just the opposite—that the landlord is responsible for maintaining the property and appliances in good condition.”

  It was apparent Josh still intended to try to brazen it out. There wasn’t the least little sign of remorse in his expression. “If things were so bad, why didn’t Janie complain to me?”

  “She did,” Jake said, pulling out copies of a half-dozen letters she had written asking that the repairs be done. “On more than one occasion, it seems.”

  Josh ignored the copies and went to his files. “Must not have gotten them,” he muttered as he pulled a file folder from a drawer. He opened it. There wasn’t so much as a rent receipt inside. “See? Nothing.”

  “How convenient. The postal service in Whispering Wind must not be what it used to be.”

  Josh’s gaze narrowed. “What’s your interest in this, son? Why isn’t Janie here herself?”

  “She got tired of getting nowhere,” Jake said quietly, then leveled a gaze straight into the Realtor’s eyes. “So she hired me.”

  Josh bristled. “Hired you? Hired you to do what?”

  “Sue you, if need be.” He regarded Josh blandly. “I’m sure it won’t come to that, right, Josh?”

  “You can’t sue me,” Josh protested.

  “Watch me,” Jake said with deadly calm. “Unless, of course, you agree to see that these repairs are started no later than this time tomorrow. Otherwise, by the time I’m done with you, Janie Morgan will own that house and have a healthy chunk of upkeep money to go right along with it.”

  Josh Wilson looked stunned. “You can’t be serious.”

  Jake smiled, pleased with his morning’s work. “Oh, but I am.”

  “Where’s Janie going to get money to pay a lawyer?”

  “She doesn’t need any. This case is on the house.”

  “Why’s that? The two of you got something going? She’s—
”

  Before Josh could finish the thought, Jake had him pinned against the wall. “Don’t even go there, you lousy, no-good creep. I know the games you tried to pull with my mother to get her to work off any repairs she asked for. If you even hint that there’s anything inappropriate going on between Janie Morgan and me, I will have you in court on slander charges so fast it’ll make your head swim. You’ll have so many legal bills, it’ll make these repairs seem like pocket change.”

  He released Josh and watched in satisfaction as the low-down weasel sank into the chair behind his desk, clearly shaken.

  “Are we clear?” Jake asked.

  “Very clear,” Josh said, the vein in his temple pulsing wildly.

  “Shall we expect a contractor over there tomorrow?”

  “I might not be able to get one there that fast,” Josh hedged. “Besides, it’s Saturday.”

  “Do your best,” Jake suggested. “You know every contractor and repairman around here. I’m sure you can manage it, if you want to badly enough.”

  Outside, Jake drew in a deep breath of fresh air. He needed to clear his lungs of the stench inside that office, a mix of fear and flat-out meanness.

  As he walked down the street to his own office, Janie stepped outside her beauty salon and watched him approach.

  “Well?” she asked. “Did you see him?”

  Jake nodded. “I’m pretty sure you can expect somebody to come by tomorrow to get started on the repairs. If nobody’s there by nine, let me know.”

  Relief spread over her face. “How will I ever thank you, Jake?”

  “Don’t thank me. That was more fun than just about anything I’ve done since I got my law degree.”

  In fact, it had been so much fun he felt like celebrating. Rather than going inside to shuffle around a few meaningless papers to appear busy, he hopped in his car and headed straight for the ranch. Maybe he could persuade Meggie to play hooky from all her faxes and e-mails and go riding with him.

  But when he reached the ranch, he discovered that Megan had already gone riding.

  “She left not more than a half hour ago,” Mrs. Gomez told him. “She said she needed to clear her head. She took along a lunch. If you wait, I will fix something for you, as well. It is a lovely day for a picnic, Sí?”

  As Jake waited impatiently, she made him a thick ham sandwich, added a small bag of chips, a can of soda and a large package of brownies.

  “Megan would not take dessert,” she explained as she handed him the bag. “She is too thin. Perhaps you can get her to eat a little something sweet.”

  “She turned down your brownies? They were always her favorite.”

  “Still warm from the oven,” she grumbled, as if she couldn’t believe it, either.

  He pressed a kiss to the housekeeper’s weathered cheek. “She’ll have two. I’ll see to it.”

  “She needs someone to look after her,” Mrs. Gomez said, her expression sly.

  “Have you told her that?” he asked. He could just imagine how Megan would react to such a suggestion.

  “More than once.”

  “And?”

  “She tells me she can take care of herself, that I am being a foolish old lady, but I see what I see.”

  Jake had seen it, too, this driving need Megan had to prove she could cope with everything. That had always been her way, fostered, of course, by Tex. She would collapse if she didn’t slow down.

  He squeezed Mrs. Gomez’s hand. “Don’t worry. She’ll be fine.”

  “She is leaving for New York tomorrow for another week. Did you know that? That assistant of hers made the arrangements today. I took the message. Tess will be brokenhearted when she hears. Her parent night at school is next week and there will be no one to go with her.”

  “Does Megan know?”

  “I do not believe the child has told her. I think she is afraid of asking, afraid of being turned down. She says only that it is dumb, that she does not care if Megan attends, but I can see the hurt and disappointment in Tess’s eyes.”

  “If Megan can’t change her plans, I’ll go with Tess,” he promised. “She won’t be alone.”

  “Why would she be alone at parents night?” an unfamiliar voice inquired from the doorway.

  Staring past him, Mrs. Gomez turned pale. Jake pivoted slowly to face a woman with Tess’s huge eyes, a thick mane of strawberry blond hair and jeans so tight it was a wonder she could breathe.

  “Don’t mind me,” she said. “The door was open, so I just came on in.” She gestured toward the suitcase at her feet. “I figured I’d be welcome in my own baby girl’s home.”

  Jake stepped forward. “So you’re Tess’s mother.”

  “Flo Olson in the flesh,” she said. “And if anyone’s going with my girl to that parent thing at school, it’ll be me. It’ll be just the right thing to show that her mama is back.”

  “I don’t think so,” Jake said softly. “Nor will you be staying here. Not in this house and, if you’re wise, not in this town.”

  “Now why would that be?” she asked, clearly undaunted.

  “Mrs. Gomez, do you have those papers I left here?” Jake asked.

  The housekeeper nodded and reached into a drawer. She handed them to Jake, who passed them on to Tess’s mother.

  She took them reluctantly. “What’re these?” she asked, without bothering to open them.

  “Copies of a restraining order forbidding you to get anywhere near Tess,” Jake said. “As soon as I call the sheriff and let him know where he can find you, you’ll be formally served with them.”

  The woman stared at him incredulously. “You can’t do this. I’m her mama. You can’t keep me from spending time with my own flesh and blood.”

  “You gave up all rights to that title when you signed her over to Tex.”

  “I was under—what do you call it?—duress. I wasn’t in my right mind, what with Tex pressuring me and all.”

  “Sorry,” Jake said. “There are witnesses who will say that you brought Tess here out of the blue, that you knew exactly what you were doing when you signed those papers, and that you did it not just willingly, but eagerly.”

  “Who will say that? Her?” she demanded, gesturing toward Mrs. Gomez. “Of course, she’d say whatever Tex wanted. He was paying her.”

  “Not just Mrs. Gomez,” Jake corrected mildly. “Tess. The judge will listen to her.”

  “She’s a kid. It was a very traumatic time for her.”

  “I’m astonished that you recognize that, since you walked away without a backward glance,” he said. “Not so much as a postcard in all these months, as I understand it. Not until you’d heard about Tex’s death, of course, and figured there might be something in it for you.”

  He picked up her suitcase, tucked his other hand under her elbow and steered her toward the door. She stumbled a little in her high heels, but Jake never slowed. “It’s time for you to go. I don’t want you anywhere near here when Tess gets home from school.”

  She scowled up at him, but she backed down. “I’ll go now, but I’ll be back. You can count on that. And I will see my daughter. You can take that to the bank, too. A girl belongs with her mama.”

  “You should have thought of that before you abandoned her,” Jake said.

  Outside, Jake noted the car waiting for her with the motor running and a man lounging behind the wheel. If Tess had been here, would they have grabbed her and tried to hold her for ransom? It was a sure bet they weren’t here because of any sudden onset of motherly concern. Jake wouldn’t have been surprised by any stunt the woman pulled. That meant someone was going to have to keep close tabs on Tess without her being aware of it. He didn’t want her scared to death.

  As soon as the car had driven off, he went back into the kitchen where Mrs. Gomez waited, looking mad enough to tear the woman apart with her bare hands.

  “You do not need to say it,” she said. “I will go into town and pick Tess up after school. She should not be alone on th
e bus.”

  “And I’ll call the school and make sure they know that Tess is not to be allowed to leave with anyone other than you, me or Megan. I’ll touch base with Bryce, too, and let him know the tag number on that car. Then I’ll ride out and find Megan. She’s going to have to cancel that trip to New York.”

  Mrs. Gomez looked worried. “But her work,” she protested. “How can she?”

  “Right now, Tess has to be our number one priority,” he said firmly. He just prayed that Megan would see it that way, too.

  16

  “Tess is okay, isn’t she?” Megan demanded when Jake found her and broke the news about their visitor. Alarmed by the thought of Flo Olson being anywhere near Tess, she jumped to her feet and started toward her horse. “We’ve got to go. We should pick her up at school right now.”

  “Mrs. Gomez has gone,” Jake reassured her, taking her hand firmly in his. “And I’ve spoken to the principal and her teacher. Tess won’t be allowed to leave with anyone except one of us. We can eat our lunch before we go back.”

  Megan sighed, her panic easing. “I was hoping that woman had changed her mind. It’s been a couple of weeks since she called. I thought she’d gotten the message after you talked to her. Maybe she gets it now that you’ve told her about the restraining order.”

  “I’d been hoping that she’d never show up in the first place, but obviously she was just taking her time getting here from wherever she’s been the last few months. I doubt that a mere restraining order will intimidate her, not with all those dollar signs gleaming in her eyes.”

  “Does Bryce know?”

  “I called him before I saddled up and rode out looking for you. Everything’s covered for now.”

  “Good. What do we do next?”

  “We keep a close eye on Tess.” He kept his gaze fixed intently on Megan.

  “Of course.”

  “That means it would be best if you didn’t go to New York next week,” he explained quietly.

  The suggestion stunned her, though it shouldn’t have. Megan sank down on a sun-drenched boulder beside the creek. She knew Jake was right, that she had no business being away from the ranch while there was any danger to Tess. Tex’s lectures on duty and obligation resounded in her head.