Texas-Sized Trouble

by Delores Fossen

  God, it crushed her heart to think of Tessie drunk like that. It crushed her even more to think of what Tessie must have been feeling to try to drown her troubles with booze. Even if Tessie had done this as some kind of thrill or because of peer pressure and not because of all the anger, it still wasn’t acceptable. And Eve had to do something about that.

  Sometimes being a parent sucked.

  “You want me to finish up feeding Aiden?” Cassidy called down from the top of the stairs. Since Eve was in the family room, she couldn’t actually see her, but she had no trouble hearing her. “That way, you can get ready for Kellan’s visit and the drive to Austin.”

  Cassidy knew about both because Eve had blurted out everything to her the moment she’d gotten back from the Granger Ranch. But Eve had no intention of doing anything to get ready for Kellan. In fact, she’d like to avoid him altogether. She hated to put that visit on Cassidy, but she couldn’t sit there any longer while worrying about Tessie.

  “Yes, please,” Eve answered. “And when and if Kellan gets here, maybe you can try to find out if he lied about coming to Wrangler’s Creek to check out using the ranch hands as extras.”

  There was possibly something fishy about that, but then again, this was Kellan. He came up with a lot of dumb ideas, and he didn’t mind spreading those ideas to others.

  Whatever plan it turned out to be, Lawson wouldn’t take the bait, she was certain of that, but Kellan might be able to convince someone else in the area to go along with a scheme that might not be totally aboveboard.

  Once, Kellan had invested in a coffee farm in South America that had turned out to be a brothel. Another time he’d talked his friends into putting up funds so a screenwriter-girlfriend could get her play into production. The girlfriend–con artist had left as soon as she had the money.

  Cassidy came in the family room, scooping up Aiden and kissing him at the same time. Aiden giggled, pinched and played with his toes some more, which meant Eve had been right to hand him off. The feeding could have gone on way too long, and she wanted to get to Austin so she could catch Tessie as soon as she finished her classes.

  “Wish me luck,” Eve said, getting her purse and keys from the foyer table.

  “You might need more than luck,” Cassidy grumbled. “Any idea what you’re going to say to Tessie?”

  “You mean other than ‘you’re grounded for the rest of your life’?” Eve groaned. “This was so much easier when she was a kid.”

  “Yeah. You probably can’t manage this with a gold-sticker chart.”

  No. And even though Eve didn’t want to consider it, she might lose Tessie for good. With that dismal fear running like wildfire through her head, she threw open the door and immediately spotted Lawson’s truck barreling up her driveway. He was going way too fast, as was the truck behind him.

  Roman’s.

  Her first thought was there’d been some kind of emergency. One that might involve Kellan. Maybe Lawson had punched him or something, but that probably wouldn’t have brought Roman here, chasing after him, and that’s clearly what Roman was doing.

  Her heart went straight to her throat.

  When Lawson stopped and got out of his truck, he was still in the “barreling” mode, but so was Roman. He braked to a noisy stop behind Lawson, and while calling out Lawson’s name, he tried to catch up with him before he made it to the door. Roman didn’t quite succeed at that. He was still a good five yards behind when Lawson stepped onto her porch.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  Though it was obvious Lawson had been in a hurry to get there, he had some trouble speaking. Probably because his jaw was clamped tight from the equally tight muscles in his face.

  “Tessie,” he growled, managing to get the word out.

  That didn’t help her heart in her throat, and Eve was about to ask him if something bad had happened to Tessie.

  And then she saw it in his eyes.

  Lawson knew.

  “Don’t do this,” Roman warned him when he bolted up the steps to the porch. He was out of breath and clearly very concerned. “Let’s just sit down and calmly talk this out.”

  “Fuck off,” Lawson snarled to him, and Eve suspected this was a continuation of a profanity-riddled conversation that had started at the Granger Ranch.

  “Kellan told you?” she asked Lawson.

  He didn’t confirm it with words, but she thought maybe his grunt-growl was of agreement. Eve would settle up with Kellan later, but for now, she obviously had a more pressing problem. Lawson looked ready to implode.

  Since she didn’t want Aiden to hear any of this, she stepped out onto the porch, shutting the door behind her. She went to the far end of the porch in case this turned to shouting. Judging from Lawson’s expression, she could expect it. That’s why she gathered her breath and just put it all out there.

  “Yes, Tessie’s your daughter, and yes, I was wrong to keep her from you. Yes, I have no excuse that’s going to help this situation, so if you want to yell at me, go ahead. I certainly deserve it.” Maybe all those yeses would help soothe that rage in his eyes.

  Eve had intended to stop talking, to give Lawson a chance to start the shouting, but the wave of emotion just swept right over her. Not just the secret of keeping his daughter from him but also the rift with Tessie.

  “I’ve made such a mess of things,” she went on. The blasted tears came, and even though she tried to blink them back, it didn’t help. “And now I’ve screwed up Tessie. That’s why she was drinking. Because of me. Because I suck at being a good mom and a good person.”

  Lawson still looked primed for a good yell, but he just stood there, glaring at her and cursing under his breath.

  “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think you’d want to know,” she went on. “You always made it clear that you never wanted kids. And things were so bad between us when I left. We were both grieving Brett’s death, blaming ourselves, and I just kept hearing the last words we said to each other.” Eve looked up at him. “You remember those words?”

  The muscles in his face didn’t exactly relax, but his shoulders dropped a little. “I wish to hell I’d never met you.”

  That was it verbatim, which meant it’d stuck with him over the years, too.

  “I know you said that in anger,” she continued. “I also know you had a right to say it because of Brett and because I was leaving. But those are the words I heard when I picked up the phone to call you and tell you I was pregnant. Needless to say, I didn’t make that call.”

  “You should have,” he snapped.

  Roman was poised on the steps as if waiting to see if he should intervene. Lawson’s snap caused him to go up a step, but Eve didn’t want him to come to her aid. She was feeling so low that she didn’t deserve anyone on her side right now.

  “Yes, I should have,” she agreed. “And plenty of times I wanted to do just that despite the words in my head. But the years went by, and I convinced myself that I had done the right thing. If you didn’t want to be a father as a teenager, then you probably wouldn’t have wanted to be one as an adult.”

  Eve sent an apologetic look Roman’s way because he’d gotten his high school girlfriend pregnant, and when she’d skipped out on him shortly after giving birth, Roman had ended up raising the boy on his own.

  “How the hell could you have managed to keep something like this a secret?” Lawson demanded.

  “Lies and secrets. Something I’m good at. The studio used body doubles and Photoshop to help cover it up. And the other actors and crew signed nondisclosure statements. Even with all that, though, no one was more surprised than I was when it stayed under wraps.”

  Lawson’s eyes narrowed. “I’m pretty sure I’ve got you beat in the surprised department. Does Tessie know?”

  Eve shook her head. “Well, she knows she’s not adopted, but she doesn
’t know you’re her father.”

  And she braced herself for Lawson to say that was soon going to change, that he was going to drive to Austin right now and tell Tessie everything. Of course, Lawson could take a different direction. He could repeat those words that had served him so well nearly eighteen years ago.

  I wish to hell I’d never met you.

  This time though, he wouldn’t be just saying them out of anger. But because they were true.

  She could see the hate in his eyes. At least she thought it was hate. Hard to tell because the tears were making her vision blurry. However, even blurry vision couldn’t stop her from seeing the limo driving toward the house.

  “Kellan,” she muttered. She definitely didn’t need this now.

  “Sorry, I left the gate open,” Roman explained. “I was in kind of a hurry to stop an impending apocalypse. Are you two going to play nice now, or do I need to stay awhile longer?”

  Eve could promise him that playing nice wasn’t something Lawson had in mind, but there was no need for Roman to put in any more time here. If Lawson got violent, it wouldn’t be with her. Kellan might be fair game though, but she had too much else on her mind to worry if his often smart-mouth was going to put him in the path of Lawson’s fist. Besides, she wasn’t exactly pleased that Kellan had been the one to spill her secret, not when it should have come from her.

  Oblivious to the shit-storm that was happening on the porch, Kellan was talking on the phone when he stepped from the limo.

  “I’ll get rid of him,” Roman volunteered.

  Eve was considering that when she heard him say something to the person on the other end of the phone line. “Don’t worry, Baby-Cakes, Jr. I’ll talk to her. That sort of thing is my specialty.”

  To the best of Eve’s knowledge, Kellan only called one person by that ridiculous name of Baby-Cakes, Jr.

  Tessie.

  Now it was Eve who did some barreling. She ran off the porch, going past Roman. “Why are you on the phone with Tessie?” she snapped.

  Kellan lifted his eyebrow as if the answer was obvious and that she was stupid for even asking, and he put the call on mute. “Tessie knows the cowboy told you about the drinking, and I’m here to try to smooth things over. Or at least I think that’s what she wants me to do. It’s hard to tell with all the crying. The girl knows how to turn on the waterworks.”

  Nothing in the world could have stopped Eve from snatching the phone from Kellan. “Tessie?” she said the moment she unmuted it. But that was the only thing she managed to say before Tessie interrupted her.

  “Mom, don’t overreact.” There was no chance of her not doing that, either. And yes, Tessie was crying. “I’m taking care of things. I don’t need or want you here.”

  That wasn’t something the mother of a teenager wanted to hear. “I’m coming to see you right now.”

  “No. Don’t. They won’t let you in.”

  Again, not something a mom wanted to hear. “What do you mean? Where are you?” This time, Tessie didn’t answer though Eve could hear some muffled chatter. “Where are you?” Eve practically shouted it into the phone.

  “Miss Cooper?” someone finally said. Definitely not Tessie.

  “Put my daughter back on the line,” Eve demanded.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t. Tessie’s not allowed any phone calls until she’s had her assessment.”

  “Assessment?” Lawson repeated, and that’s when Eve realized he was right behind her, listening to every word.

  “Yes,” the person verified. “Tessie’s just checked herself into rehab.”

  * * *

  EVE WAS CERTAIN that if she sat down, she was going to fly apart. No way could she keep seated, so she just paced across the floor of the waiting room of the Hope Sanctuary, the private rehab facility where Tessie was apparently now a patient.

  And Eve wasn’t pacing alone, either.

  Lawson was right there with her in the small twelve-by-twelve-foot area. Considering there were chairs and a reception desk behind security glass, that didn’t give them a lot of room to maneuver, and they kept running into each other.

  Literally.

  But the two times that had happened, Lawson had moved away from her as if she’d scalded him. An extreme reaction, considering he got routinely kicked, butted and stepped on by broncos and assorted cattle. Still, Eve couldn’t blame him. At the moment she wanted to get away from herself.

  Mercy, things were falling apart. Tessie was in here. In rehab! Lawson hated her, and the worst part about all of it was that it would likely get worse before there was any chance of things getting better. Both Tessie and Lawson had to heal, and God knew how long of a process that would be.

  Lawson’s phone buzzed, the sound cutting through the shuffling of their footsteps. “Dylan,” he muttered when he glanced at the screen, and he let the call go to voice mail. He probably wasn’t ready to try to explain any of this to members of his family.

  She checked the time. Lawson and she had been there nearly an hour. Way too long with no news. Of course, the drive there had been too long as well, especially since Lawson had insisted on making the trip with her. Eve hadn’t even bothered to try to dissuade him. Now that he knew he was Tessie’s father, he probably thought he had as much right to be here as she did.

  “Welcome to fatherhood,” Eve grumbled. She hadn’t meant to say that loud enough for Lawson to hear. It’d just slipped out, but it was a good sarcastic assessment of what was going on. And he heard it all right.

  He slowed his pacing enough to look at her. It was a glare, but like the other stink eye he’d been giving her, she deserved it.

  But she also deserved answers as to what was happening with her child.

  There was a sign on the counter next to the opaque glass surrounding the reception desk. A sign that warned Do Not Tap on the Glass. There were other warnings below that about not using a cell phone, no weapons and no loud conversations. Lawson and she had the last one down pat since they hadn’t spoken directly to each other, but Eve had already violated the cell-phone rule when she’d called Cassidy to check on Aiden.

  And she’d broken the glass-tap rule when they’d first arrived.

  That had earned her more stink eye, this time from the sour-faced receptionist-nurse who’d first had them fill out a contact info form and then had told them to wait, that the doctor or someone on their medical staff would be out shortly to talk to her. Since shortly had now turned into an hour, Eve tapped on the glass again. She’d barely managed to move her fingers away when the glass slid open, and the grouch puss stared at her. According to her name tag, she was Loralee McCarthy, but Eve had halfway expected it to be Nurse Ratched.

  “The doctor or someone on our medical staff will be out shortly to talk to you,” the woman said, repeating the exact words she’d used before.

  Nurse Ratched came through loud and clear in that tone, and the woman would have shut the glass right in Eve’s face if Lawson hadn’t caught onto it.

  “Get the doctor or someone who can answer our questions out here now,” he ordered.

  The woman opened her mouth as if to howl out a protest.

  “Now!” Lawson insisted, and he had bested Nurse Ratched with enough badass that the woman picked up her phone.

  “Can you see if Dr. Patel is done with the patient?” She paused. “Yes, that’s the one. Her actress mother keeps tapping on the glass.” She said actress as if it were navel lint.

  Eve couldn’t hear the response from the person on the other end of the line, but several seconds later, Loralee ended the call. “She’ll be right out.”

  “Tessie will be?” Eve asked.

  That got her an eye roll. “Dr. Patel. She’ll talk to you about your daughter.” Her gaze cut to Lawson. “Is he her father?”

  “No,” Lawson said as Eve fumbled around to get ou
t a yes. “I don’t think this is a good time for Tessie to find out,” he added in a whisper to Eve.

  It wasn’t a good time, but Eve wasn’t certain when that “good time” would magically appear. Still, she was appreciative that Lawson had put Tessie first in this.

  “It’s complicated,” Eve told Loralee, who was still waiting for an answer.

  The woman’s next eye roll let Eve know that she didn’t care. “Dr. Patel can only discuss things with the patient’s parents or legal guardian.”

  Lawson and Eve exchanged glances. “We’re the parents,” Eve said. And maybe that wouldn’t get back to Tessie before she’d had a chance to tell her in person.

  The door next to the reception area opened, and a tall, slim woman in a white coat greeted them with a thin smile. The kind of smile that was probably an attempt to reassure them that life as they knew it wasn’t about to end, but it was hard for Eve not to feel that way. Because it had.

  “Ms. Cooper,” she said and looked at Lawson.

  “Lawson Granger, Tessie’s father.” Lawson didn’t stutter on the last word, but Eve heard the hesitation. Eve didn’t resent it. She’d had nearly eighteen years to come to terms with being a parent. Lawson had had two hours.

  The woman made another of those attempted smiles. “I’m Dr. Patel. Come with me, please.”

  She motioned for them to follow her, and they went down a short hall to an office. Neither the hall nor the office looked especially big. For that matter, neither did the building. It wasn’t much larger than a two-story house.

  Lawson’s phone buzzed again with another call. Eve saw Dylan’s name on the screen again, but like the other one, Lawson let this one go to voice mail, too.

  “What happened to Tessie?” Eve asked the moment they were seated.

  Dr. Patel took her time answering. “Your daughter said I could share some things with you,” she said, emphasizing the some. “Since Tessie is still a minor, you can insist that I show you her medical records, which has a summary of her intake exam, but she’s asked that you not do that.”