A sound invaded his mind. He pulled back a few inches and glanced over her shoulder. “Uncle Ben,” he whispered to Tory.
His uncle grinned. “Maybe I should go back to bed.”
“No. If I’m going to figure out what’s going on here, I need to rest.” Cade released his hold on Tory and already missed her touch.
“Me too. I’m sure Michelle is asleep by now.” Tory pushed off the couch. “Good night, Cade, Ben.”
When Tory left the room, his uncle assessed Cade. “Hmm. Are you two mending fences?”
“No—yes.”
Uncle Ben laughed. “Well, which is it?”
“I can’t answer for Tory, but all I want to do is put the past behind us. It’s not important anymore. It wasn’t my fault, and it wasn’t her fault we weren’t together.”
His uncle peered at the two mugs. “Is there any coffee left?”
“Yes, but it’s decaf.”
“That’s worthless. Coffee is meant to have caffeine.”
Cade picked up the cups and started for the kitchen. “See you in a few hours.”
When he walked down the short hall, he paused at Tory’s door. He needed to shove down all the reemerging emotions concerning Tory. His first and only priority was keeping her and Michelle alive.
* * *
“I won! I won!” Michelle pumped her arm in the air.
“She’s never learned to win gracefully,” Tory said with a chuckle as the four of them sat at the kitchen table in the cabin late Sunday morning, playing cribbage.
“What’s the point of playing if you aren’t gonna try and win?” Her daughter pulled the rubber band from her ponytail and shook her hair free. “Can we go for a walk since we’re at a secret location? Bella needs to get outside. She told me today. Pretty please.” Michelle rubbed the dog behind her ears.
“Yes, I’d like to stretch my legs,” Tory said, staring out the window at the thick woods surrounding the place about two hundred yards off the highway. Unless someone had followed them here, which Cade had made sure hadn’t happened, they would be safe. She was beginning to understand what Michelle had been going through the past week.
“No.” Cade boxed up the board game. “Not a good idea.”
“Why? I don’t even know where we are.” Michelle set her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her cupped hand.
“And that’s the way I want it to stay.” Cade rose and went to the coffeepot and refilled his mug.
“That’s not fair. You left yesterday.” Michelle flounced to the refrigerator and took a soft drink out. “I don’t have a punching bag here to use. I can’t talk to my friends. I’m bored.”
“You’re enjoying that—” Cade pointed at the can her daughter held “—because I did go get some food to eat. And believe me I went out of my way not to be recognized.”
Even to the point of using an old truck parked in the detached garage behind the cabin rather than the SUV. “Michelle, this should be over soon. Be patient.”
Ben stood. “I can put you through a series of exercises that will leave you exhausted. How about it? I’m over sixty years old, but I’ll be able to outlast you.”
“No way, old man.” A grin teased her daughter’s mouth.
“You’re on, girlie.”
When the two left the kitchen with Bella following, Tory raised her empty mug. “I’d like a refill.”
Cade brought the pot to the table and poured coffee into her cup.
“It looks like Ben has figured out Michelle.”
“So I need to challenge her.”
“She’s very competitive. She got that from her father.”
“Which one?”
“Both,” she mouthed.
Cade chuckled. “Yep, you’re right, and I should have known that.”
“I really wish we could go for a walk.”
“I know. Sitting around waiting for something to happen isn’t fun.” Cade placed his chair kitty-corner with hers. “I thought we were gonna have another teenage moment.”
“Oh, don’t think it won’t happen. Michelle’s mood can change like this.” Tory snapped her fingers. “I wasn’t like that when I was her age.”
Cade looked down at the table, avoiding Tory’s eyes.
“What?”
“Remember that time you stormed out of the dance because I was dancing with your best friend, and you’re the one who suggested it?”
“A fast dance, not a slow one.”
“Oh, you should have clarified that.”
“I’ll remember the next time we’re at a dance.”
“Our circumstances are much different now. We aren’t a couple.”
“Thanks for pointing out the obvious.” She walked to the sink and put her mug in it. Why had what he’d said upset her?
He came up behind her and clasped her arms, then whispered into her ear, “Do you want that to change?”
Did she? Could she expose herself to being hurt by him again? She realized in that moment she’d never had to worry about her heart being torn apart while married to Derek because she hadn’t felt the same way about him as she had for Cade. Her love for Derek was a different kind of love—maybe a better one. Or rather, safer one.
Tory swept around to face Cade, her back pressed against the counter. He was too near, and yet his very presence comforted her. So many mixed feelings bombarded her. “The only thing I can focus on right now is staying alive and keeping Michelle safe physically and emotionally.”
“I want the same thing. She’s my daughter too,” he said in a low voice.
A gasp behind Cade sent a shaft of fear rushing through Tory. She and Cade turned around.
There stood Michelle.
EIGHT
The stunned look and pale cast to his daughter’s skin accompanied by a blank stare quickly evolved into anger. Michelle glared at Cade. “I am not your daughter.” She raced from the kitchen.
Uncle Ben’s yell to stop propelled Tory and Cade into action. The front door slammed closed. Cade made it to the exit first, his hand on the knob.
Tory grabbed Cade’s arm. “I’m going after her.”
“No, you aren’t.”
“I’m her mother.” She tried to wedge herself between him and the door.
He planted his body in her way, his arms crossed. “You’re the one who has someone after her. It’s too dangerous.”
Uncle Ben approached. “Both of you. Get out of the way. What happened?”
“Michelle overheard Cade say he was her father.”
His uncle whistled. “Neither one of you should go after her. I will. Step away from the door.”
Cade realized his uncle was right. His and Tory’s presence would only cause her to flee faster. He moved away while Tory stared at Uncle Ben a few more seconds before doing the same.
Immediately after his uncle left the cabin, he moved to the living room window to watch.
Tory came up beside him. “You shouldn’t have said that.”
“I didn’t know she was behind me and had such good hearing. I’m sorry this happened.”
“I don’t think you are. You want her to know you’re her father.”
“Not if she’s going to flip out.”
“You just changed everything she thought was true.”
“No, I didn’t. You’re the one who let everyone think Derek was Michelle’s father. Her whole life has been based on a lie you condoned fifteen years ago because you were afraid of what people would say and think.” Locked away for so long, the words spilled out of him. He’d thought he’d dealt with those feelings and accepted what had happened.
But he’d been wrong.
Tears glistened in her eyes. She glared at him, much like Mich
elle had.
“I shouldn’t have said that,” he murmured, realizing it was too late for them. He’d made a big mistake coming home.
Tory spun toward the window, keeping her gaze trained on the landscape out front.
Cade strode to the door and opened it to watch from the entrance. He needed space. He needed this case over.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Uncle Ben with his arm around Michelle walking toward the cabin. Thank You, Lord. Any suggestions how I handle this mess?
Cade sidestepped to allow the two of them inside. Michelle kept her head down, her shoulders hunched. As he closed the door, she shrugged away from Uncle Ben and stormed toward her bedroom.
“Michelle.” Tory took several paces toward her daughter. “Let me explain.”
Michelle halted, her arms ramrod straight at her sides. Her back to them, she said, “There is nothing to explain. You lied to me for fourteen years.” She charged into the corridor, disappearing. A door slammed shut so loudly a nearby picture shook on the wall.
Tory didn’t say anything for a long moment, then she faced Uncle Ben. “What did she say?”
“She asked me if it was true, and I told her yes.”
“Anything else?”
“No, she just listened to me tell her she needed to talk to both of you. When I told her she wasn’t safe outside the cabin and we needed to go back inside, she followed me without a word. She didn’t yell, cry—anything.”
“Thanks, Ben, for going to get her. You’re right. She would have run from me.” Tory’s shoulders sagged like Michelle’s as though she’d been defeated.
“I’m going into the kitchen to fix us something for lunch. You two need to talk.” Uncle Ben hurried out of the room.
Cade wanted to be in Michelle’s life but not like this. He would take that remark back in an instant, if he could. “Is there anything I can do?”
“You’ve done enough. I created this problem, and I need to deal with it—alone.” Tory started for her bedroom she shared with Michelle, stopped and changed her direction. She followed Uncle Ben into the kitchen.
The least he could do was give Tory space. This would be a good time to go outside and walk the perimeter. He knew there was no such thing as a 100 percent safe house. Outside in the clearing, he took a deep breath of the fresh air, relishing the scent of earth and pine trees. The sun beamed as though God was smiling down upon him. All he could hope was that Michelle and Tory would talk to him before this assignment was over. Not dealing with the problem wouldn’t make it go away. He’d learned that when he’d tried to ignore his emotional well-being after returning to the States from the Middle East.
He needed to put himself into Michelle’s shoes and understand the pain his words had caused. He’d ripped the fabric of what she’d thought was true into two pieces. Helplessness blanketed him and smothered any hope he’d had of being in his daughter’s life.
As he circled the cabin, his attention focused on his surroundings, he noted anywhere someone could hide and watch the place. Only a few but even one was too many.
Tory seemed to think with the testimony of Carlos Dietz tomorrow, the danger would be over. And she might be right, especially if Mederos was after her because she knew where Carlos was being kept. But until they caught the person behind the incidents, he couldn’t rest.
* * *
Later that evening Ben entered the kitchen with the tray of food he took Michelle for dinner. Tory sat at one end of the table while Cade was at the other. She glanced up from her notes of what she would ask Carlos tomorrow.
Ben took a seat between them. “I’ve given up our room to Michelle, Cade. When we aren’t on guard tonight, we can sleep on the couch in the living room.”
Tory put her pad down. “No, I can’t let you do that. This has gone on long enough. You both need your rest.”
“I’ll be fine,” Cade murmured, then returned to a file he was going through.
Ben raked his hand through his thinning hair. “Tory, you haven’t asked my opinion about this situation, but I’m gonna give it to you anyway. Give Michelle the space she needs to calm down. Most of her anger is directed at you. She still hopes this could be a mistake.”
Her nerves shredded, Tory gritted her teeth. This situation couldn’t get any worse. “Well, it isn’t. She’ll have to learn to accept it.” Her stomach knotted in a jumble of conflicting emotions from helplessness to frustration to fury. If there was such a thing as do-overs, she wouldn’t have made the choices she had. Her father hadn’t been well and the news she was going to have a baby out of wedlock would have crushed him. Ben was probably right, but she hated going into court tomorrow with this looming between her and Michelle. She needed to focus on the trial. She needed to nail the questioning of the star witness or this would all be for nothing.
Tory shoved her chair back and bolted to her feet. “I’ll be in the living room until you want to go to sleep, Ben.”
She drilled her glare into the top of Cade’s head, still bent over a file. His uncle nodded at her. She left the room and settled on the couch, her legal pad in her lap. But the words melded all together. And when she finally read her list of points to make, they blended into one big tangle in her mind. Like her life.
She looked at her hands. They were shaking. She fisted them, but that didn’t stop their trembling. Her well-ordered life was falling apart around her. When she first heard Cade was returning to El Rio to take over Ranger Eastman’s duties, in her gut she’d known something like this was a possibility. That was why she had kept her distance from him for his first three weeks although she had consulted with the previous Texas Ranger a couple of times a month.
When Derek had asked her to marry him and let him be the father of her child, she’d thought her problems were over. But in reality they had only begun.
Lord, please forgive me for what I did fifteen years ago. Living a lie wasn’t the best idea for any of them. Now she had to face the consequences of her bad decisions and actions.
* * *
“Cade, get up.”
The urgent words dragged Cade from a much-needed sleep. He popped one eyelid open to find Uncle Ben bending over him.
“Michelle’s missing.”
“Again?”
“She’s not in the cabin, and the alarm system has been turned off.”
Cade shot up on the couch. “What time is it?”
“Six.” His uncle straightened. “I even peeked into Tory’s room, hoping Michelle went to see her mom. She didn’t.”
“Is Tory up?” Cade swung his legs off the sofa, using the time to clear the sleep from the corners of his mind. He had to focus on the problem at hand. “I’ll go outside and look around. I wouldn’t put it past her to get some fresh air now while it’s still semi-dark.”
“I hope so. I could see Michelle thinking the dark would conceal her from the bad guys.”
Cade put on his boots. “How did you find out Michelle was gone?”
“When I was in the hallway, I noticed the door to that bedroom was ajar. It wasn’t the last time I walked through the cabin. I wasn’t too worried until I saw the alarm system was off. She was mighty angry last night. I think she left of her own free will, but even if she did, she’s in danger.”
Tory rushed into the living room, wearing the same clothes as yesterday. “We’ve got to find her before someone else does. Did you check to see if she took her cell phone? Knowing my daughter, she’d probably call Emma or Jodie. When she’s upset, she can be on the phone for hours talking or texting.”
Cade rose and went to a drawer in the cabinet. “She didn’t take it. I have the batteries in a different place. It does look like someone has been in the drawer. They aren’t in the same arrangement I had them.” He grabbed his jacket and headed for the only door into the house. “To
ry, call her friends on the landline. See if she’s contacted them.”
When he stepped outside, Cade panned the area, trying to determine which way she might have gone. They were five miles from El Rio, but there were a mini-mart and diner less than a mile from the cabin. Or was she out in the woods somewhere? If she came into the living room and risked him waking up to get her phone, then that most likely meant she wanted to talk to her friends.
Tory opened the front door and stuck her head out. “She called Emma all upset about forty minutes ago. Emma was asleep so it went to voice mail.”
“Did you get the number where she called from?”
“Yes.” Tory recited the number. “I’m not familiar with that one.”
“Call Paul and have him trace it. I’m scouting around the cabin and a little into the woods.”
“I’ll help.”
“No. You need to get ready for the trial. I’ll find our daughter. Lock this door.”
Cade spent the next twenty minutes checking the cabin’s surroundings. With each moment that passed, his gut tightened until it was a rock weighing him down. It was difficult enough to protect a person, but when she didn’t want it, it made the job triple hard.
Please, Lord. Help me find my daughter.
He hoped the trial and need to be with Tory and Michelle ended today with the testimony of Carlos Dietz. But he had a feeling deep down there was more to what was going on. Without concrete proof they were safe, he couldn’t walk away. He wasn’t even sure he could when they were out of danger. But Michelle’s action clearly indicated she wanted nothing to do with him.
I’ll cross that bridge when I have to.
Cade returned to the cabin and pounded on the door.
Uncle Ben answered. “She was at the mini-mart near here. I tried calling the number. No one answered.”
“I’m taking the pickup and will bring her home. If I’m not back in half an hour, have Tory call Paul and the judge.”
Tory peeked around his uncle. “I’m coming with you.”
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