“You okay, hon?” He asked in that honey-laced Texan drawl of his that could fool a brain-surgeon with his sincerity. “You sure had me worried.”
“Fine,” she choked out. “Just dandy.” Heart skittering, nausea rising, but not wanting to cause a scene in her new hometown, Hope forced the request, “Doc, can you excuse us a moment?”
“If you’re sure you’re all right?” The older man, balding and slight, shot her visitor a look mean enough to drop a t-rex. “It’s important you rest, not upset yourself.”
How she managed to flash a fake, reassuring smile was beyond her. “It’s okay. We won’t be long at all. Maybe you could find out about that teen for me?”
No sooner than Doc disappeared with a harrumph through the curtain did she jerk her arm free, sending a wrenching pain up her neck.
“Get off me! Stay away!” Wincing, Hope fought back the compelling urge to banish him from her presence. But she had to know. “Who told you I was here?”
Unruly suspicions snaked in her gut, hooking in her mind no matter how she denied them. Last night her brakes had failed. Today, Neil shows up out of the blue, flowers in hand?
Could he have cut her brakes as a sick way of forcing her to need him? But it didn’t make sense… For one, she’d driven the better part of the day, with only a few random stops in between, before crashing.
Besides, why would he? He certainly didn’t love her. To get his hands on an inheritance he considered pittance? They weren’t even married. What about wanting to “dispose” of her?
Surely, he hadn’t meant kill her… “I want to know how you found me. Pronto.”
To her chagrin, her ex avoided the subject entirely. “Baby, I was worried sick about you. I’ve been going crazy, don’t you know? Come on, what’s really the matter?”
“You! You’re what is the matter! I told you at the viewing when you had the nerve to show and I had you escorted out. We’re over,” she stressed the last word for emphasis, adding, “For good!”
“But why, babe?” he whined. “You just walked out on me, ditched your ring. Had Mary pack all your belongings. Don’t I deserve an explanation?”
“You were cheating. Don’t deny it.” Her misgivings about the accident—about him—inclined Hope not to reveal what else she overheard. If she were onto something—which was crazy to even suspect—she didn’t believe he deserved a heads-up. “I want an explanation. Now, please. Why—how—are you here?”
“Sug, that other girls meant nothing—”
Girls, plural?
“Again, who told you I was in an accident?”
“I just figured you’d come to Serenity Cove. You know, to check out that ranch your daddy left you. The school said you quit and I’ve been trying to track you down for days. Came across your car being towed to the junk yard as I rode into town and talked to the guy.”
To Hope, one detail stood out. Their conversations regarding the ranch had never gotten detailed—Neil hadn’t wanted to hear about some thirty-year old cabin, dock and mangy horses. She was certain she’d never provided him Circle C’s address or even the name Serenity Cove.
Still, she supposed there were plenty of ways he might’ve come across that information.
The bigger question, the scarier one—why was he here? What did he really want?
Again, her nightmare flickered and she winced. “It’s time for you to go, Neil.”
In her mind, Hope was certain her accident had nothing to do with the man before her.
But in her heart? What if?
“Baby, you’re just feeling emotional, losing your daddy like you did. Come on, now…”
“Neil.” Just saying his name was exhausting. “Just go.”
“We’re gonna talk this out, Sug—”
“Don’t call me Sug!” she burst out, nearly losing her temper. “Leave, Neil. Please.”
The deep, masculine clear of a throat cut him off. “I believe the lady asked you to be on your way.”
* * * *
Sometimes a man can just look at another and know. Sense the ill-will. The no-good heart of him or lack thereof.
Stepping into the small, screened space carrying a bundle of Hope’s belongings, Caleb’s gaze clashed with dark, infuriating challenge.
“Who are you?” the guy confronted, blocking Hope as if he owned her.
Stop it! Neil, please! Stop! Recalling the desperate edge to her slumberous murmurings, Caleb fought the urge to snatch the guy up and shake out some answers.
Coolly strolling to the foot of her bed, Caleb laid down the items he’d brought her. Purse, suitcase, sunglasses. “Not a guy you wanna bump toes with, I can guarantee you that.” He hitched a thumb to the open curtain. “Hope wants you to go. I suggest now.”
Caleb noted the despondent way her bruised face fell in her hand, the pinkish hue her pale skin flushed. “Can’t you just take a hint, Neil? Please let this be goodbye.”
She even had the grace to ask politely.
“The lady’s spoken.”
For a moment, something so dark and sinister it gave even Caleb a chill flashed in the man’s gaze.
“Fine.” With a smirk, he gave a caustic chuckle, brushing arms with Caleb on his way out. “Have it your way, Sug. Have it your way.”
A tense, awkward hush echoed the man’s footsteps as he departed the building. Caleb realized he was staring and staring hard, but at the moment, he didn’t quite care. The misery he glimpsed on her beautiful, delicate features screamed volumes.
Only when the outer door shut, assuring her visitor’s exit, did Caleb break the quiet.
“For someone who had no one to call, he sure did turn up quick.” Crooking a brow, he strode to the table where the flowers stood, giving them a lift and twirl. Peering inside to verify they hadn’t been bugged as well. Course at the moment, he couldn’t prove who had placed that device but all evidence pointed one direction. Told him something was off. Way off. “So that was Neil, huh? Seemed like somebody to me.”
“I’d really rather not talk about it.”
“Understandable, I suppose.” He plopped the flowers back down. “Just answer me this one thing. You suspect he’s been following you? Stalking you?”
“Because he showed up here this morning? I think he tracked me down, sure, but stalking would imply obsession. Trust me, I don’t incite that sorts of feelings in him.”
The way she spoke her last sentence came out as if she weren’t worthy of a man’s fixations. A lady as nice looking as her, boy was she ever wrong.
“Okay, then. Last night. Yesterday. Did you see him at any point before your accident?”
“No. This is the first I’ve seen him in at least a week, when he attempted to attend my father’s funeral. We broke up six days prior to that.”
“Any reason to suspect he might want to cause you harm?”
“I—” Noticeably hesitating, she drew a deep breath. “You said one question was all you’d ask. By my count, you’ve already asked two.”
That was enough answer for Caleb—as good as a “yes” in his opinion.
Later, he promised himself, he’d push her to open up. There was more to Hope Pearson and Neil Whoever and if it involved her safety, he needed to know. But mention of the tracking device could wait for now. She’d gone through enough for one day. “How you holding in there otherwise? Ready to head home?”
“Ready to get out of here. Doc’s seeing about a teen I can hire to help me around the house.”
“No, I’m not.” With a clipboard, Doc shuffled past the curtain, jerking his bald head Caleb’s direction. “McBryde here can handle the job just fine. Won’t you, boy?”
“What?” Her eyes flew wide. “No, I—”
It wasn’t news to Caleb—he’d just assumed the role was his. “Doc’s right. No reason to hire anyone. I’ll already be out at the ranch. You don’t have a problem with me looking in on you?”
“I—no, of course not.” Oddly though, Caleb thought he glim
psed unease in her gaze as Doc made several check marks. “But I don’t want to put you out. You’ve already been so kind, waiting until I woke, fetching my clothes, offering me a ride home—”
“It’s no trouble, truly.”
Clipboard and pen were thrust beneath her apprehensive expression. “Sign here, initial there and you’re all set,” Doc rattled off. “I’ll trust you not to be a difficult patient.”
Hope obeyed as she was told. “Really, though, I can afford to pay someone extra a few days. You don’t need to trouble yourself.”
“Thought you were on a tight budget?”
“I am. But Mr. McBryde—”
“Call me Caleb, since we’re going to be friends.” Pulling the sunglasses he’d scored from her visor from his front pocket—prescription ones he’d surmised—he passed them off to her. “Now get dressed. I have a surprise for you.”
Chapter Three
“Whoa! Wait—what are you doing? Mr. McBryde!”
“Caleb,” he reminded, swooping in. “And you need help, so don’t complain.”
Hope found herself swept off her injured foot and wrapped in Mr. McB—Caleb’s—strong embrace, arms darting around his neck for purchase as he loaded her from the town dock into a rowboat. “There you go. Bad judgment call, I s’pose. I wasn’t thinking about your ankle when I settled on this idea.”
The ease in which he lifted her made Hope feel as light and weightless as a little girl again. Very female against his male body.
“Fair warning next time might be nice.” Plunking to her seat with the swish of the boat, Hope grappled for balance and ignored the stiffness in her neck. The meds were helping enough to make it bearable, without knocking her silly or sleepy. “A girl appreciates a little heads-up when the ground’s going to disappear beneath her feet.”
“And chance you trying to go rogue on me? I know how you ladies today think. You can do everything on your own, right?”
“We can,” she wholeheartedly agreed, though somewhere deep inside herself she acknowledged that didn’t necessarily mean a woman always wanted to.
Indeed, at times it was nice to just suddenly go weightless.
The moment that renegade thought flitted through her mind, she banished it. Attaining her crutches and purse, she arranged them in the boat’s basin. “You’re right though. A breath of fresh air will do me wonderfully.”
She propped up her foot on the middle bench and inhaled a deep intake of the humid, country atmosphere. Home.
There were only two ways from Serenity Cove to her ranch, as Caleb had reminded upon exiting Doc’s office, her unsteady on crutches and he attentively at her side the entire two-minute walk to the docks. They could suffer a twenty-minute ride through windy, bumpy gravel roads or sail straight across the lake, which in his opinion was much faster and pleasurable.
Wholeheartedly, she agreed. Being outdoors felt like heaven compared to the sanitary scent of the medical center. Now if only she could banish all thoughts of Neil and his untimely appearance.
Insufferable jerk. Did he really think he could continue to play her? She’d given her roses to the Doc’s wife in lieu of crushing them in the trash. They were, after all, perfectly good roses and not to blame for Neil’s distasteful behavior.
“Here, Boss. You should probably put this on.” Caleb tossed a lifejacket her direction. The vessel lurched as he seated himself and gathered the oars, forgoing a preserver himself. In no time, he was paddling away from the dock with speed and swiftness as she hurried with her clasps. “No arguing it’s a beautiful day for a swim. Too bad you’re laid up.”
Hope tightened the strap good and firm. “Yes and too bad I can’t swim.”
“No kidding. That’s a pure shame. Myself, I do a lap across and back every morning to keep limber. If I don’t exercise regular, these scars tighten up on me.”
“All the way across?” It certainly wasn’t the biggest lake in Texas, nor was it the smallest.
“You bet.” With a wink, he pointed to a narrower expanse between shores nearby her ranch. Still. “Didn’t you ever want to try and learn how?”
Easiest thing in the world, the way he said it.
“Only every summer we spent here. I waded on the beach as far out as my hips and watched others but something about deep water has always scared me. It’s so dark and ominous…” She shuddered at the thought. “There’s fish and snakes…I’m terrified of snakes.”
“What about a pool?”
Through her sunglasses, Hope gazed out over the rippling water, smiling at the sight of the quaint, old-fashioned town they left behind and the picturesque white church that sat on a hill above. “Mom talked about me needing lessons but with Daddy traveling so much, there was never time for that sort of thing. I tried to learn as an adult but that ship had sailed.”
“If you moved around so much, what about school?”
“Mom home taught me.”
He made a sound as if considering that. “You’re daddy believed powerfully in spreading the word of God.”
“Yes. Powerful is the perfect word for his faith. Powerful and prevailing. I’m not sure there’ll ever be a man more committed to the Lord than my daddy.”
“Do I hear a hint of umbrage there?”
“Umbrage?” To hear him point it out—realizing her secret resentment was so blatant—stung. “Of course not.”
Feigning a smile—and lack of interest—Hope scanned the thick evergreen trees that lined much of the lake. Across the way some good distance, laughter and fun-sized screams could be heard from the people-packed manmade beach, complete with water slide that attracted visitors during the tourist season. In the distance, water skis buzzed about and boaters fished lazily.
“Gotta admit…” her newfound friend and employee just had to go and press further. “You surprised me back at Doc’s, not wanting to pray. A woman reared in Christ as you were, I thought—”
“Well, don’t.” She despised her tone the moment the words slipped out. “I simply wasn’t in the mood.”
A good reminder of why she intended to limit her exposure to this man. He was obviously the type who was comfortable about such things.
Spirituality. Faith. Prayer.
To Hope, it was just too sensitive of a topic. She felt awkward, out of place in contrast to his easy, transparent devotion.
“So you can’t swim, huh? Being the daughter of a rich man, I’d have figured you grew up with everything.”
“You’re not the first,” Hope blurted, quickly corralling thoughts of Neil. She wasn’t going there, not now and certainly not with Caleb. “My father’s preaching required a lot of travel and Mom believed in us sticking together. I certainly never wanted for love.”
“So it didn’t bother you not having a normal childhood? Being in the public eye? All that moving and missing out on real school? I’ll wager you never even played on a sports team.”
“It was for the Lord’s cause.” Did he not realize he was a practical stranger to be asking such questions? “Our family was called to duty.”
“That’s the right answer, of course.” As if their conversation were perfectly normal, not invasive as it felt to her, he paddled on with sure strokes that visibly flexed the strength of his upper arms. “I don’t know…not sure in your place I’d feel entirely that way. I mean, at least from a kid’s point of view. Being a teacher, you’d know something about that. Children’s worlds tend to be very small. We adults know better than to backseat God, of course.”
“Oh?”
“You know, our family was called to duty as well but of a different sense. The law as good as runs in McBryde blood. My daddy was a cop, his daddy before him. My uncle, three brothers and little sister too. And myself, as you know.” She didn’t miss the shift to his voice as he stated that. “Growing up, I always knew being a Ranger was my natural-born destiny. It never felt like a choice. More like poured in concrete. But it was fun and games, right? Running around with toy handcuffs and
a plastic gun, nabbing the bad guys. Somehow, I don’t imagine you were shaking your fists and reciting influential sermons for fun. Seems to me you’d just want to be a kid.”
Picturing that image, his natural understanding, made Hope smile. “Yeah, you’re right.” Good as it’d been, her childhood had been missing something. How she’d longed for a sister or brother. Fun. Silliness. Friendship. But it hadn’t all been so terrible. “Actually, most of my time was spent memorizing hymns. I couldn’t wait to join the adult choir and become their star singer.”
“Did you?”
Hope looked to him than away. “No. Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was fourteen and caring for her pretty much took over my life.”
That and praying…prayers that never came true.
After a while, she’d quit church. A hardness had settled in her that could not be softened.
“I’m sorry,” he offered in a deep, sincere tone. “It’s not too late, you know.”
“To what?”
“To join a choir.”
“Oh. Of course not.” Except the songs weren’t there any longer. The passion behind them.
Her mother had suffered.
To Hope, true faith had become akin to a fluttering butterfly, illusive and erroneous. Pretty in theory but if she caught it, it would only die in her hands.
The boat drifted to a slow stop, rocking in the waves. “Need a break,” he offered as explanation.
Hope wasn’t certain she bought that. Though his hands were marred by pink, recovering burns, something about the man spoke of unyielding strength and stamina. An inner staying power.
God’s strength, something in her whispered.
Several minutes passed, heralded by gentle swaying and brilliant sunshine. The moist scent of the water surrounding them.
“Sometimes,” he finally spoke, “when I need to feel God the most, I row out here. Just sit awhile, under the sunshine.”
Arching a brow, Hope acknowledged him with little encouragement. He went on anyway.
“Churches are great and all for hearing the word but to me, there no competing with the power of nature. His warmth beaming down, the easy caress of the wind.” He paused a moment, as if allowing time for the light to sink in, the breeze to tickle her senses. “You ever have a place where you can just feel God, Hope?”
Accident Waiting to Happen Page 3