Remember Texas

by Eve Gaddy

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  BY THE TIME JACK GOT HOME Cole was in bed asleep. Good thing, because he wasn’t ready yet to explain to his son what was going on. Hell, he didn’t understand it, how could he explain it to Cole?

  Ava loved him. She’d admitted it. But she wouldn’t marry him. Not only that, she wouldn’t even consider marriage. She’d had a total meltdown at the mere mention of the word. Her reaction made absolutely no sense to him.

  Even so, he shouldn’t have got angry, shouldn’t have said they were done. Because he wasn’t finished with her. He couldn’t be until he’d at least tried to convince her that they could work through whatever problems she thought were an obstacle to their marriage. Assuming he could get her to tell him what she thought those problems were, of course.

  Late the next afternoon he went to her house. She seemed surprised to see him but she let him in. She didn’t look as if she’d slept any better than he had. Her eyes were swollen and heavy-lidded, her complexion blotchy, as though she’d been crying. Knowing she’d cried made him feel bad and cheered him up at the same time. Why would she cry if she didn’t care?

  She didn’t say anything, just stood there biting her lip. Uncomfortable, he tucked his fingers in his pockets. “I’m sorry about last night.”

  Hope flared in her eyes. “I am too. I hate that we left things the way we did.”

  “Yeah, me too. Look, Ava, I realize I sprang this whole marriage idea on you kind of out of the blue. I should have realized you’d need time to think about it.”

  Her shoulders sagged. She looked weary, unbearably so. “I’m not going to change my mind, Jack. No matter how much time I have.”

  Don’t lose your temper again, he reminded himself. Convince her, don’t yell at her. “You can’t know that for sure. Give it some time.”

  “I do know. I’m sorry, Jack.”

  Incredulous, he stared at her as the tight grip he’d kept on his temper began to crumble. “So that’s it. You decide it’s over and bam, no second chances, no talking things over. Period, we’re over.”

  “I didn’t say we were over. That’s up to you. We can go on seeing each other if you want to, as long as you realize I won’t marry you.”

  “You expect me to just accept this and go on about my business. To go on seeing you and loving you, knowing we’re never going to move forward. Never have a future together? To make love to you knowing all that, as if it didn’t matter?” He knew he sounded angry. Damn it, he was angry.

  “No. That’s what I want, not what I expect,” she said quietly. “I expect you to tell me to go to hell. And to be finished with me, just like you said you were last night.”

  How could she look so calm when she was tearing out his heart and stomping on it? “Why are you doing this, Ava? At least tell me why.”

  “I have reasons. Very good reasons.”

  “Which you’re not going to share with me.”

  She shook her head. “There’s no point. It won’t help you to know them.”

  It hit him then, like a cement block dropped on his head. She’d made up her mind and nothing he did, nothing he said, would change it. So he could either accept their relationship with the limitations she set or they would have no relationship.

  The hell of it was, he didn’t know which would be worse to live with. Having that small part of her she chose to share or having nothing at all.

  BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON Ava and Jack had been out on the bay twice. They’d spoken a combined total of about sixteen words to each other. Ava knew she should be glad he’d accepted her decision and that in time he would get over her and they’d both go on with their lives. But she also knew that while he might get over her, she would never get over him.

  Still, there was nothing she could do now but go on with her work and bury herself in the study. Her work had sustained her through the years, it would do so again. Dolphins and dorsal fin images were a lot easier to deal with than people and failed love affairs.

  Cole had made a lot of progress with converting the analog files to digital in a few weeks, but his time spent in the dolphin tank had cut into his work for her, so there was still plenty to do. Ava found herself working longer and longer hours in an effort to give herself something to do besides obsess about Jack, second-guess everything she’d done or said before coming right back to the same conclusion. She’d done what she had to do. No other choice had been possible.

  She was in her office Thursday afternoon when there was a knock on her door. “Come in,” she said, hating the hopeful lurch her heart gave every time someone knocked. It wouldn’t be Jack. It never was.

  “Could I talk to you?” Cole asked from the doorway.

  “Sure. Come on in.”

  “I need to ask you something. Something, um, important.” He stood close to the door, looking uneasy, as if he was ready to bolt any minute.

  “Of course.” When he didn’t say anything, she prodded, “Is it about work?”

  He shook his head.

  “Would you like to sit down?”

  Again, he shook his head but he did take a couple of steps forward. His hands clenched as he stood there uncertainly. “It’s about my dad. About you and my dad.”

  He knew they’d broken up. Those were some of the few words she and Jack had exchanged Monday. Ava had asked, “Does Cole know?” and Jack had replied with “Yes.” Then Ava had asked, “Is he all right with it?” and Jack had simply stared at her, saying nothing.

  She’d got the message. If Jack was off-limits, so was his son.

  “What about your dad and me, Cole?”

  “He told me you broke up.” Hesitating, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked terribly uncomfortable. “He said he asked you to marry him and you said no. He didn’t tell me why you wouldn’t. He said it didn’t matter.”

  “It’s…complicated.”

  Cole raised earnest, beseeching eyes to hers. “He’s been real bummed about it. Way bummed. He doesn’t say much, but I can tell.”

  She had to swallow the lump in her throat to say, “I’m sorry. I didn’t— I don’t want to hurt him.”

  He gnawed on his lip, then said with a rush, “Is it because of me? Because you don’t want to raise someone else’s kid?”

  “Oh, Cole, no.” She got up and went to him, laying a hand on his arm. “Of course I didn’t break up with your father because of you. How can you think that?”

  “Because if it is…” he continued doggedly “…in about two-and-a-half years I won’t be around much. I’ll be going to college. I know that sounds like a long time, but I swear I’ll stay out of your way and—”

  “Cole, stop it.” Stop, before guilt completely destroyed her. “Please, don’t do this.” What was she supposed to say to a sixteen-year-old boy with his heart in his eyes? That he could even think for a moment he was at fault made her feel lower than algae on the bottom of an aquarium.

  “Sit down. Please.”

  He took a chair and she sat in the one next to it. “My decision had nothing to do with you. It’s not your fault in any way. I would feel honored to have you as a stepson. But your father and I, we just wouldn’t suit each other.” Which was a damn lie but needed to be said anyway.

  Cole said nothing, just looked at her with those young eyes that saw through so much. She went on, “I can’t marry your father, Cole. Not because of anything you’ve done, or anything he’s done. He’s a wonderful man. But I just…can’t marry him.”

  For a long moment, he still didn’t speak, he simply looked at her, his expression inscrutable. “Okay,” he finally said, then he got up and walked out. Like his father, he knew when to make an exit.

  Ava had the distinct impression Cole wasn’t buying a word she said. Wonderful. She’d not only hurt Jack and herself, now she’d hurt Cole. She was beginning to regret she’d ever set foot in Aransas City. Yes, finding her brothers had been a miracle, reconciling with her mother even more so. But she’d also found, and lost, the love of her life.
>
  She didn’t think it was a very good trade-off.

  “GOTTA TELL YOU MY FRIEND…” Mark said Friday night while sitting in Jack’s den flipping through channels on the TV “…you look like crap.” He took a sip of his beer and leaned back in his chair, waiting for a response.

  The only proper response Jack could think of was Up yours, but he didn’t bother to make it. “Don’t you have someplace else to be? Like your own house, hogging your own damn remote instead of mine?” He gave him a sour look and drank some of his own beer.

  “Nope. I’m fancy-free and all yours.” Mark flashed him a grin that made Jack grit his teeth. “Cat and the kiddos went to her mom’s. I got a reprieve because my wife wanted me to come over and find out the scoop from you.”

  “There is no scoop. Go home, Mark.”

  “Come on, Jack. I know you and Ava broke up. Cat got that much out of her before she clammed up. And both of you have been looking like you lost your last friend all week. Added to that, you two looked pretty cozy at Jay’s house on Saturday. So what gives?”

  “We broke up. Saturday night. End of story.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Since when did you become such a woman, wanting to talk all the time?” He took another sip, wishing he could get drunk but since Cole was out with his friends he knew he wouldn’t. One of the other kids was driving tonight, but Cole knew he could call his father if he had a problem. Therefore, Jack had to be responsible. Not that getting smashed would solve this problem anyway.

  “Since we’re talking about my sister…” Mark said. “I had the distinct impression you were totally gone over her.”

  “I was.” He drank again and set the can down. “I am. Not that it matters.”

  “It might. Ava doesn’t look too happy either.”

  Jack laughed bitterly. “I don’t know why. She’s the one who ended things.” Looking at Mark, he jabbed a finger in his direction. “Your sister makes no sense.”

  Mark spread his hands. “That’s a woman for you.”

  “Yeah.” He brooded a minute before saying, “She admitted she loved me.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded, still trying to figure that one out. “I asked her to marry me. Did you know that?”

  “No. She hasn’t said much besides that you two broke up and she didn’t want to talk about it.”

  “Now there’s a news flash,” he said sourly. “You know what she said when I asked her? No. She says she loves me but she absolutely refuses to marry me. Not only that, but she won’t tell me why. Just no, period. Now I ask you, does that make a lick of sense to you?”

  “Nope. But I don’t know her very well anymore. She’s had a whole life I know almost nothing about. I do know she’s divorced. Is that the reason?”

  “Who knows?” He rubbed his neck. “Maybe. But I don’t really think that’s it.”

  “Has she talked to you about the past?”

  “Some. She told me about your father, and why she left.” He shook his head, not wanting to think about that. “She’s talked to me about the people who took her in, how great they were, how much she loved them. And she told me a good bit about her career, her life since then. A little, not much, about her marriage.”

  “But nothing about the time between when she left home and when the Vincents found her, right?”

  “No, nothing. I think it must have been bad. Really bad. She told me she would never talk about it.”

  “She was fifteen years old, Jack. She spent over three months on the streets. It makes my blood run cold to think about what might have happened to her. Alone. Young, vulnerable. Prey for every sort of pervert who walked the streets.”

  You think I’m a saint but I’m the sinner, he remembered her saying. Was she referring to her time on the streets? What happened to her that was so traumatic she wouldn’t even speak of it?

  “You think this is all tied up with whatever happened to her during those three months?”

  Mark nodded. “Yeah, I do. Don’t you? Nothing else makes sense. Maybe if you could get her to tell you about it, then you might have a chance. She might open up to you. That’s part of the problem right there. Ava’s the most closed-off person I’ve ever known.”

  “She’s a loner,” Jack said. “Very much so.”

  His expression troubled, Mark looked at Jack. “Miranda wasn’t closed-off. Anything but, at least to me. But I don’t know the woman she’s become. She’s not a lot like the child I remember.”

  “You can’t force someone to talk if they don’t want to. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

  “Try again. Don’t give up on her. For her sake as much as yours.”

  “How do you know I’ll do any good? Until recently, you hadn’t seen her in more than twenty years. You said yourself you don’t really know her anymore.”

  Mark took a while to answer. “I want her to be happy, Jack. She deserves to be happy, and I think you’re the one who can help her.”

  “I’m supposed to keep after her even though she told me to forget about marriage? To forget any serious relationship. You want me just to lay myself out there to be crushed?”

  “Do you want her?”

  “Yeah. Damn it. I do.”

  “Then go after her.”

  Jack’s phone rang and he picked it up, glad for the distraction. Until he saw Caller ID. Aransas City Police Department. His mouth dried up as he stared at the display. Maybe it was a wrong number. Or they were calling to solicit donations. Yeah, right, at ten o’clock at night? “Jack Williams.”

  “Dad, it’s me.”

  “Why did the Aransas City Police Department come up on my caller ID?” Please, God, let this be a mistake.

  “I’m in jail, Dad. Can you come get me?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “DAD, ARE YOU THERE?”

  Jack found his voice, forced himself to repeat calmly. “You’re in jail.”

  “Well, uh, it’s like, I’m more at the jail. Not exactly in jail. They brought a whole bunch of us down here, but some of us were allowed to call our parents to come get us. So can you come down here and get me?”

  Trying to focus, he brushed aside the double-talk. Jail was jail, in his opinion. “You want to tell me why you’re not exactly in jail?”

  “Um, yeah, but can we talk about it when you get here? Other people are waiting to use the phone.”

  Because the cops had taken their cell phones, no doubt. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. And Cole, you’d better have a damn good explanation for this.” He hung up and looked at Mark, unable to think of a thing to say.

  Mark shook his head sympathetically. “That didn’t sound good.”

  “No. Not good at all.” He got up and went to the kitchen, with Mark following. “I have to go to the police station and get my son out of jail.”

  “Uh-oh.”

  “Of course, he’s not exactly in jail. Just at the jail. Whatever the hell that means.”

  “Sounds like he got carted down there but they didn’t charge him.”

  “I can hope, I guess.” Jack opened the door and they walked out. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Good luck,” Mark said.

  “Thanks. I have a feeling we’re going to need all we can get.”

  He wasn’t the only parent there. In fact, given the number of people standing in the central area as well as filling every spare corner of the small station house, he wondered if the cops had brought in the entire teenage population of Aransas City. Or at least the fifteen-to seventeen-year-old group, he thought, recognizing several of them.

  A redheaded police officer stood in the center of the group of adults, waving her hand in the air. “Okay, let me have your attention please. The sooner I do this the sooner you folks can collect your kids and go on home.”

  He recognized Maggie Barnes as the officer who had stopped him with a warning for speeding on his second day in town when he’d whizzed through without realizing the spee
d limit had changed. He had thought she was pretty and knew she was nice since she’d let him off with a warning instead of giving him the ticket he deserved. Intrigued, he did some investigating, discovered she was single and thought about asking her out. Then Ava had walked into his life and he hadn’t given another woman a thought since.

  “Here’s the situation,” Maggie said. “We got a tip that there were some goings-on down on the beach involving minors. Bunch of rowdies whooping it up and partying. Disturbing the peace. When we arrived, we discovered alcohol and drugs were involved as well.” She paused, but no one spoke. Afraid to, Jack suspected. He sure was.

  “We also found that about half or more of the kids didn’t know anything illegal was going on and were just there hanging out, listening to music and having a good time. But although we sorted things out at the beach, we don’t have enough officers to allow us to wait on the parents down there and book the rest of them down here as well. So we just brought the lot of them back to the station house.”

  “Maggie, are you saying you arrested all of them for something only a few did?” a man called out.

  “No sir, I’m not. That’s exactly what I’m not saying. The kids you’re here to pick up right now are the ones we believe weren’t doing anything more than having a good time. Nothing illegal. At least, that’s what we think.”

  Looking around at all of the parents, she paused to let that sink in. “Of course, some of them may know a little bit more than they’re letting on, and I don’t doubt some of them have had a sip or two of beer and maybe something else. But for the most part, these kids aren’t the ones we’re concerned with. So, they’re free to go.”

  A buzz of conversation broke out. Maggie let it go for a few moments, then she held up a hand for silence. “But since I’m one of the arresting officers and it’s at our discretion to book your sons and daughters if we have reason to believe they were doing something illegal, I’m going to give you some advice. If it was my kid, I’d be having a talk with him or her about illegal substances and the problems they can cause. Among other things, getting thrown in jail when you’re caught.”