“No.”
Gideon got to his feet. “It was a pleasure seeing you again, Mr. Mason. Now, if you’ll excuse us, my wife and son are waiting for us so we can start sightseeing in Fort Davis.”
“That place is full of history. You’ll enjoy it.”
“We’re looking forward to it.”
“Don’t get up, Mr. Mason,” Dana said. “We’ll see ourselves out. Is there anything we can do for you before we leave?”
“Now that you’ve visited me, not a thing.”
“Take care.”
She fairly ran all the way out to the car. When Gideon got in his side, she took one look at him and broke down in tears. “Poor Mr. Mason. Do you have any idea how much I hated lying to him?”
“I didn’t like it any better, but his grandson is up to no good. Until the police have completed their investigation, it’s wisest to let Ralph keep his dreams. One day, when things are different, he’ll need consoling. Then you can be his friend.”
She backed out of the driveway and headed for town. “I know you’re right, but it’s so terrible to think of Glen, taking advantage of his grandfather’s immobility and bad eyesight.”
“The very fact that he has no regard for the old gentleman reveals Glen’s sick nature.”
“Jace didn’t trust him from day one.”
“I had a bad feeling about him when we moved you in the trailer, but I kept quiet because you were so happy to be in Cloud Rim. Knowing your father gave you his gun was the only reason I didn’t urge you to stay at the motel until you found another place.”
“Thank heaven you didn’t,” she blurted. “If I’d lived anywhere else, I might never have met Jace.”
Gideon smiled at her. “It always comes down to Jace. You have a serious case of lovesickitis.”
She chuckled. “I know I’m pathetic. I try hard not to let it show around Jace. Last night I came close to begging him not to leave.”
“I’m sure he didn’t want to go.”
“Maybe he did…” Her voice trailed off.
“Perhaps he wanted to be begged.”
“No. That turns a man off faster than anything.”
“It depends on who’s doing the begging.”
“Maybe if I knew he loved me, I’d get brave.”
“How many days has it been?”
“Nine. Well, eight, if you don’t count the first day. I didn’t know his name then.”
Gideon burst out laughing. Pretty soon she joined him. By the time they reached the motel she was in better spirits. Gideon had a way of making everything all right.
JACE HAD BARELY ARRIVED in Fort Davis to start his deliveries when he saw that Pat was ringing him. There’d been no sign of the plane last night. With Gideon’s help they’d covered a lot of ground. If he didn’t get some good news pretty soon…
“Pat? What’s up?”
“How would you like an early Christmas present?”
On cue his adrenaline kicked in. “You already know the answer to that question.”
“I’m still waiting for word on Burdick, but we got a match on Glen’s prints. He’s being sought as a prison escapee by the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office in Atlanta, Georgia, for armed robbery, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, kidnapping, feticide.”
Feticide? Jace’s eyes closed tightly for a moment.
“These are his aliases—Mason Sherwood, Mason Sturges, Glen Sturges, Glen Sherwood, Sherwood Mason. He was last seen wearing a dark buzz, no facial hair.”
Jace took a shuddering breath. “Call in all the officers Tom will give us now.”
“I’ve already taken care of it.”
“Tonight Gideon and I will finish our search. If nothing shows up, we’ll close in on him tomorrow morning and put him away. Do me a favor and phone me again around five-fifteen. I’ll be at dinner with Dana and her friends. When I answer, I’ll pretend that you’re my boss at IPS and I have to go in to the office.”
“I’ll do it. Talk to you then.”
For the next forty-five minutes Jace worked like a madman so he wouldn’t think about that jerk having anything to do with Dana. As soon as he’d heard about Glen using a rifle to break down the trailer door, he knew in his gut the pervert had plans to kidnap her.
No way.
This was Jace’s last run with IPS. Anxious to get to Cloud Rim and finish the job, he didn’t realize four people were waiting by his van until he walked out of the Overland Trail Museum and Pokey ran up to him, sniffing at his legs.
He lifted his head to meet a pair of translucent gray eyes smiling at him with their own special luster. After what he’d found out about Glen, he didn’t care if he had an audience. Like a heat-seeking missile, he started toward her.
Dana must have felt the same way, because she ran straight into his arms. “Gideon spotted your van. I was hoping we might see you.”
“Some dreams do come true,” he whispered against her cheek, then pressed a hard kiss to her mouth.
“Long time no see.” Gideon’s teasing remark brought Jace’s head around. “Such a hard worker deserves a break. Step to the rear of my car and you can have the drink of your choice from the cooler.”
Attuned as he was to the other man at this point, Jace realized it was no casual offer. He looked down at Dana. “What would you like?”
“A lemonade?”
He squeezed her shoulder before joining Gideon, who’d opened the trunk.
“Here’s your root beer, Kevin.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“You bet. Will you please take this cream soda to Heidi?”
“Sure.”
Gideon’s eyes swerved to Jace. “What will it be for you?”
“Two lemonades.”
“I hope we’ve got two in here.”
They both started searching around in the ice. “In ten minutes I’ll find a rest room and call you on your cell phone,” Gideon whispered.
Something important had happened or he wouldn’t have gone to this much trouble to be certain Jace would get his call.
“It looks like you packed half a dozen. Thanks.” Jace walked over to Dana, who was standing next to Heidi. He handed her a drink, then slid his arm around her waist.
In a second, Gideon joined them holding a Coke. His gaze flicked to Jace. “We knew you couldn’t take time out for lunch, but we figured you could spare five minutes for this.”
“I could go to lunch with you. There’s nothing I’d like more. But I’d rather finish early to be with you guys.”
“Is there a good steak house in Alpine?”
“If that’s what you’re in the mood for, I know of two places,” Jace said.
“How soon will you be able to join us?”
“Four-thirty?”
“Then we’ll meet you at four-thirty in front of your apartment.”
“I know where it is,” Dana asserted.
Everyone chuckled before Gideon said, “Perfect.”
“Come and say goodbye to me,” Jace murmured against her temple. They walked to the front of his van. “I’m counting the hours.”
“So am I.”
“Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“I will now that I’ve seen you.”
“If you had any idea how much I’d like to kiss you senseless right this second…”
“I dare you to say that to me tonight.”
“You are a little witch. Tonight you won’t need to dare me, and that’s a promise.” He brushed his lips against hers before climbing in the van.
With a wave of his hand, he pulled away from the museum and headed toward the highway leading to Cloud Rim. Gideon was the only reason he could leave Dana right now and feel good about it.
Not long after he began the climb out of Fort Davis his cell phone rang. It had been exactly ten minutes. He picked up.
“Gideon?”
“I’ve got incredible news. Just listen.”
Jace almost lost control of the van as Gideon told him e
verything that had transpired at Ralph Mason’s house.
“That barn has to be it!”
“Everything seems to fit.”
“I’ve got some news of my own. It came in from Pat Hardy a little while ago.” In the next breath Jace told him about Glen’s criminal record.
Gideon whistled. “That’s one of the breaks you were looking for. If we find that plane, you’ve got them.”
“Even if we don’t find it, we’ve still got Glen.”
“Amen. See you later.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“IS THAT YOU, Glen?”
Who else would it be. “I’m home, Grandad!”
“You’re early.”
Damn that speed trap to hell! There must have been ten cars pulled over outside Alpine. By the time the officer wrote him a ticket, he’d lost track of the van.
After he stopped at a pay phone to look up the address of IPS, he drove by the place. There were three trucks parked in the back. No sign of the black Sentra. Where the hell was Dana?
“Mr. Jorgenson said I’d been doing a good job. He let me come home an hour early because it’s the weekend.”
“Good for you. I told Dana I was proud of the way you’ve been handling yourself lately.”
He stopped in his tracks. “When did you see Dana?”
“She and her friend Gideon dropped by this morning. Come in the living room and I’ll tell you about our visit. I like her better every time I see her.”
Bristling with fury, he marched through to the front of the house. “Are you talking about the man who helped her move in the trailer?”
“That’s the one. She brought the rent, but I found out it’s not for her.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s hired a person to work at the observatory so she doesn’t have to run the whole place herself. A graduate student is going to be renting the trailer from now on.”
The conniving little bitch. “I told her she’d been working too hard. I’m glad she listened to me and decided to get some help. That means we’ll have more time together in the evenings.”
“I think you’re winning her over. Last night her friends from California helped her move into an apartment in town. She said she could entertain there better. Sounds like she’s thinking it would be a nice starter place for you two.”
“Yup.”
“After we eat, I’d like you to go over to the trailer and give it a good housecleaning so she won’t have to. It’ll be a nice surprise for her when she gets home from Fort Davis with her friends.”
Glen tossed his head back. “I knew they were coming some time this weekend. We were going to show them the sights. She probably came by the grocery store while I was around back stacking boxes. Dana knows Mr. Jorgenson doesn’t approve of my talking to her on the job. I figure when she couldn’t see me, she left.”
“I’m sorry you missed each other.”
“If I hurry and get the trailer cleaned now, could I take the truck to Fort Davis later? It won’t be hard to find her.”
“You can try, but don’t be too disappointed if you don’t catch up with her.”
“What do you mean?”
“She said something about visiting Big Bend Park. I don’t know if her friends will come back to the motel tonight, or just go on from Fort Davis.”
“There’s an easy way to find out. I’ll drive over to the motel and ask if they’re still registered. If they are, that’ll save me a trip down the mountain. Do you want meatballs and pasta, or chicken and rice for dinner?”
“The meatballs sound good.”
“Do you want some watermelon to go with it?”
“That sounds good. You’re getting to be a real expert at picking out produce. The melons you’ve been bringing home are as sweet and juicy as anything I’ve tasted in a long time.”
While his grandfather was still chatting away, Glen started to leave the room.
“When you were just a little fellow, you loved watermelon. Those picnics your grandmother made were really something, but you’d always go for the fruit first.
“Is that right.”
“Just this morning I was telling Dana about the good times we all used to have out on the property. I let her know that with some work, the barn could be converted into a real nice house.”
Glen froze.
“Thanks, Grandad.”
“You bet. Anything I can do to help. Like I said, someone else will grab her if you don’t.”
“There’s no way I’ll let her marry anybody else.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
A few minutes later he brought a tray to his grandfather. “I’ll go clean the trailer now, then I’ll drive over to the motel.”
“Hope you catch up with her.”
“Don’t worry. I will.”
He left the house and climbed in the truck. He figured he could do this alone, but it would be better if he had Lewis’s help.
“THIS PLACE MAKES a great steak. How’s yours, darling?”
Heidi nodded to her husband because she was in the middle of swallowing a bite.
“What about you, sport?”
“I prefer hamburgers, but this is pretty good. I’ll save the bone for Pokey.”
Dana was so happy to be with Jace, she had no idea what the food tasted like.
His arm tightened around her. “I ate here the first night I came to Alpine. But I must admit, the best restaurant in West Texas is your kitchen. Those tacos were to die for.”
“I’m not surprised.” Heidi finally spoke. “Her mom is probably the greatest coo—”
Dana didn’t hear the rest because Jace’s cell phone rang.
“Excuse me, everyone.”
He edged away from Dana to answer it. As soon as she heard him say now, her heart took a plunge.
“What is it?” she asked when he’d hung up.
His penetrating eyes searched hers for a moment. She could tell that whatever it was he had to say, she wasn’t going to like it.
Not now, she groaned inside.
The evening was still young. She’d been counting the hours until they could be alone. A whole weekend lay ahead of them.
“I have to run over to the office. It appears the regular driver is back. My boss says the regional manager of IPS wants to discuss my new assignment.”
No!
Swallowing her anguish, she said, “Does this mean you’ll be leaving Alpine?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“You warned me.” Dana fought to hold back the tears. “How long do you think you’ll be?”
“You never can tell. Maybe you’d better drive back to Cloud Rim with your friends.”
“We’ll take care of her.”
“Thanks, Gideon.” He turned back to her. “I’ll call you the minute I know anything. If it’s not too late, I’ll drive up and join you.”
She struggled for breath. No matter how he couched his words, she sensed she wouldn’t be seeing him for the rest of the night.
It killed her that he hadn’t asked her to go with him. But no matter what Gideon had said about the right woman being able to beg, she didn’t have the temerity. They hadn’t spent enough time together for her to feel that confident with him.
He pushed himself away from the table and stood up. “Sorry I have to bow out like this. Just so you know, I’ve already given my credit card number to the waitress. This dinner is on me.”
In a lightning move he leaned over to kiss Dana’s neck. “I’ll phone you as soon as I can. I swear it.”
She believed him. He always followed through. But she could feel him distancing himself from her. Not just physically, but emotionally. It looked as if he was still holding to his pattern.
Dana couldn’t watch him walk away. It was too painful.
“After dessert, can we go to that new movie Jace said was playing?”
“You know what, Kevin?” Gideon said. “I think Heidi is tired from so much walking around Fort Dav
is. What do you say we all trek back to Cloud Rim and I’ll take you to that Sylvester Stallone film.”
“I thought you didn’t like him.”
Gideon smiled at his son. “I said a lot of the police stunts were phony, but I think he’s an entertaining actor.”
As it turned out, everyone was too full to order dessert. They ended up leaving a few minutes after Jace. Dana never remembered the ride home.
When they arrived, Heidi insisted Dana keep her and Pokey company while Kevin and his father went to the movie. The second they disappeared out the door, Dana broke down sobbing.
After a little while she pulled herself together and sat up on the bed, where Heidi was propped with her back against the headboard.
“I’m sorry.” She wiped her eyes. “I used to do this to you in prison. The minute I saw you through the glass, I’d break down and force you to sit there while I poured out my grief.
“You must be so sick of me and my problems you could scream. I wouldn’t blame you if you gathered up your family tonight and drove away for good.”
Heidi stared at her for a long time. “Remember what your doctor told you in counseling? That because of what happened to you, you’d have a tendency at first to turn every concern that came along into a soul-destroying catastrophe?”
Dana remembered. “It’s called having issues with loss.”
“You haven’t lost Jace.”
“You’re right. To lose something implies ownership. I don’t own Jace. His dead wife does.”
“Dana—”
“No, Heidi,” she cut in on her. “When he told me he was being reassigned, I felt that he was relieved.”
Heidi shook her head. “I don’t believe it.”
“That’s because you love me and want to shield me from pain, but it’s true. He can’t commit to anyone. Seven years of being single is mute testimony.”
She got up from the bed. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to go off the deep end. After the miracle of gaining my freedom from prison, that would be unconscionable to me, to you and God.
“Let’s face it. I’ll never forget Jace.”
“I can see why.”
Dana averted her eyes. “What I am going to do is concentrate on the work I came here for. If I can be thankful for one thing about our brief association, he got me away from Glen by finding me an apartment with people I can trust.”
Beneath A Texas Sky (Harlequin Super Romance) Page 17