The Texan's Return

by Karen Whiddon

  “Visitation. That’s true. But I was able to get a hold of a cell phone. They don’t know I’m calling you, but if they find out, surely they wouldn’t object. How could they fault a mother wanting to phone home to check on my kids?”

  Something...a trace of nervousness in her mother’s voice, put Hailey on alert. She’d gotten a hold of a cell phone? How? And why? June wouldn’t dare ask for liquor, right? Still, she had to have a powerful reason to phone her. In the past, June had never worried about the kids at all. Why would she? Hailey took excellent care of them. “We’re all fine. Now tell me why you really called.”

  The little fake trill of laughter from June was another telltale sign. “Well, I heard from Aaron.”

  “Your ex-husband, Aaron?”

  Another little laugh. “Your adoptive father, Aaron. And you know good and well that we never actually divorced. I still love him, and I’d like to have him back in my life. In our lives.”

  Reeling, all Hailey could do was shake her head. “Mom, he never sent a dime of support for his three kids.”

  “Is money all you think about?” June chided. “He had a valid reason.”

  “Really? I’d love to hear it.”

  “He’s been in prison.”

  Though she knew she probably shouldn’t, Hailey said the first thing that came to her head. “Now there’s a shocker. What’d he do, rob a bank?”

  Silence. When June spoke again, she sounded genuinely hurt. “He was always good to all of you kids. I don’t know why you’d say such a thing.”

  Was June reinventing history? Even back when he’d lived with them, Aaron had been a low-level criminal. He’d worked for a foundation company, and stole as much as he could without anyone noticing. He’d loved to brag about stealing cars and selling them to chop shops for cash.

  However, June knew all this. Hailey saw no reason to repeat it. “What’d he do, Mom?”

  June sighed. “He was driving drunk and almost killed someone. With all that was going on at home, he didn’t want to call and bring any more trouble into our lives. He went to prison. Now, he’s done his time and wants his family back.”

  Over her dead body. Still, Hailey knew if what her mother said was true, Aaron probably had every right to his kids, at least the ones he’d physically sired. Especially since her mother was in rehab.

  “He’s not a bad man,” June continued. “He’s just had his issues like I do. While he was in prison, he got clean and sober. You can’t hold that against him.”

  Hailey didn’t know what to think or how to respond. When she finally did speak, she could only say what was in her heart. “I won’t let Tom, Tara and Eli be hurt.”

  “Hailey! He’d never hurt them. They’re his children. He loves them.”

  Sure he did. “All that time and not one card, one letter or one phone call? That doesn’t sound like someone who missed their kids to me.”

  “He was ashamed.” Now June’s voice was sad and tired. “You’ve had a lot of responsibility thrust on you since you were seventeen. Maybe now you can take a step back and enjoy your life.”

  As if. There was no way Hailey planned to abandon her siblings to a father they barely remembered. Eli had been so young, he wouldn’t even recognize Aaron. In fact, Hailey doubted Tom and Tara would either.

  “How about we leave that up to them? If the kids want to meet Aaron, then fine. If not, he needs to stay away until we can give them time to get used to the idea of having a father again.”

  When June spoke again, a thread of steel rang in her tone. “That’s a great idea, but it won’t work in this situation. Aaron has nowhere to go. The house is still in his name, so he’ll be moving into my old bedroom. His parole officer has already approved it. You’re going to have to adjust, Hailey. I’m sorry.”

  She hung up before Hailey could respond.

  For the first time in her life, Hailey contemplated throwing her phone against the wall. Of course, being the practical soul she was, she didn’t. After all, she couldn’t afford to buy another.

  So Aaron would be moving back in. Damned if Hailey would be supporting him, too. Or cooking for him. Her mood dark, she wondered when her stepfather would be showing up. Hopefully, she’d have time to prepare the kids.

  As fate would have it, she didn’t. As she left her room to head to the twins’, the front doorbell rang, making her jump.

  Her first thought was not to answer it, but Eli opened his door and came flying out into the hall. He stopped when he saw his oldest sister.

  “Are you going to get it?” he asked. The excitement in his high-pitched voice made her realize how seldom they got visitors. She nodded, praying it wouldn’t be Aaron. But then, who else could it be? Reluctantly, she pulled open the door. Her stomach twisted. Yep. Aaron.

  Shorter than she remembered, the tanned skin she recalled now pale, Aaron flashed her an uncertain smile. “Hailey?”

  Swallowing hard, she nodded. “I just got off the phone with Mom.”

  “I’m so glad she got help.” He sounded earnest; she’d give him points for that. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, clearly waiting for her to ask him inside the house.

  She studied him, still uneasy. Dressed in clean, if faded, clothing, he looked relatively normal. Not like the villain she’d built up in her mind for years. At least he had a valid excuse for not visiting or paying child support. She might not understand why he hadn’t attempted to contact anyone and explain, but she supposed that was between him and June.

  Eli, apparently remembering the stranger-danger she’d drilled into him, remained hidden behind her.

  “I’d really like a little more time,” Hailey said. “Mom just sort of sprung this on me, and I haven’t had a chance even to talk to the kids. Could you possibly come back in a couple of days?”

  Unsmiling, he shook his head. “I have nowhere else to go. All I own are the clothes on my back. As soon as I can, I’ll get a job and help out. This is my home, Hailey. Please, don’t forget that. I really want everyone to get along.”

  Resigned and hopefully hiding her resentment, Hailey stepped aside and gestured. “Come on in.”

  Eli waited until Aaron had stepped inside and the door had closed before walking up to stand in front of him. “Hello,” he said, sticking out his hand politely. “I’m Eli.”

  Expression part shocked, part amazed, Aaron shook the little boy’s hand. “I’m Aaron. I used to live here, a long time ago. Back when you were a baby.” He took a deep, shaky breath. “I can’t believe how much you’ve grown.”

  “You used to live here?” Eli looked to Hailey for confirmation.

  She might as well get this over with. “Eli, go find your brother and sister. Tell them we have a visitor.”

  “But—”

  “No arguments.” She pointed. “Go now.”

  Eli sped off, taking the stairs two steps at a time.

  She turned back to face Aaron, trying to squelch her resentment. “I’d rather tell them all at once. No one knew what happened to you.” She couldn’t keep the disdain from her voice.

  “Did they ever ask about me?”

  Heaven help her, she actually felt a twinge of pity. “When they were younger. We just said you’d moved away.”

  He nodded. “I guess I deserved that. For the first few years, I was so angry. Losing Brenda, seeing the pain your mother was in and then almost killing someone with my car...” Expression grim, he shook his head. “It wasn’t until later when I fully understood how much I’d truly lost.”

  Though she still felt agitated, some of her trepidation eased. Aaron seemed exactly what her mother had said he was. Maybe she’d been wrong to make a snap judgment. Maybe she needed to give him a chance.

  A moment later, Tom and Eli thundered down the stairs, Tara following more slow
ly. When they entered the room, they were uncharacteristically silent, eyeing Aaron with interest.

  “He says he used to live here,” Eli said loudly.

  The twins swiveled to look at Hailey for confirmation. Since she couldn’t see any other way around it, she knew she had to tell them the truth. “Kids, this is your father, Aaron. Aaron, meet your children.”

  Chapter 11

  After Detective Logan left, Gus’s exuberance quickly turned to exhaustion. “He’s a good guy, Mac,” Gus said. “I really think he might be the one to figure out who the real killer is. Especially since the FBI is going to be helping.”

  His father’s eyes were already drifting closed. Mack fluffed his pillow and helped him lie back down. “I hope so, Dad. Get some rest.”

  Wandering outside, Mac considered calling Hailey. Though Detective Logan had said the media hadn’t yet been informed, Mac knew how this small town worked. Once the parents had been notified, the news would spread like wildfire. With two of her siblings attending the same school, Hailey might have heard already, and, even more important, she or the twins could have known the murdered girl. Right now, the idea of taking her on a date seemed ludicrous.

  He took a deep breath and called her. After a couple of rings, her voice mail picked up. He left a message asking her to return his call, before wandering back into the house.

  Gus had turned on the evening news. “Looks like Logan wasn’t able to keep a lid on the story,” he said, pointing toward the TV. “Of course, that’s an FBI spokesman who made the statement. The reporter is wrapping it up now. Listen.”

  “Police—in conjunction with the FBI—are investigating every possible lead. But people in the town want to know why Gus Morrison, convicted of killing Brenda Green ten years ago, was released from prison. His return to town coincided with another murder, ten years ago to the day. And now another young life has been snuffed out.”

  Feeling sick, Mac glanced at his father. Silent tears streamed down the older man’s cheeks. “Dad,” Mac began.

  But there was more, and Gus shushed him with a gesture.

  “Police have stated that Gus Morrison is terminally ill and too weak to have killed the second victim. They’ve turned their attention to his son, Mac Morrison, who returned to the tiny east Texas town of Legacy with his father.”

  Mac couldn’t help it—he gasped out loud. Holy hell.

  “There you have it,” Gus said, his voice defeated. He swiped at his face with the back of his hand. “It wasn’t enough to convict one innocent man. Now they’re after you.”

  “Don’t worry.” Reaching out, Mac squeezed his dad’s too-thin shoulder. “I didn’t do it. They won’t have anything to say otherwise.”

  “Really?” His dad coughed, trying to clear his throat. This took him several attempts, during which Mac waited, his chest aching for his father.

  Finally, Gus took a swallow of water and continued. “One reporter already used the phrase, ‘like father, like son.’ That’d be my worst nightmare,” he whispered.

  “Mine, too.”

  Gus’s eyed widened. “There’s no way they could do to you what they did to me. No way. Our family doesn’t have that much bad luck.”

  “Luck doesn’t have anything to do with it, I’m afraid. There’s a serial killer out there. I don’t know why he started killing again as soon as we came back to town, but I’m sure the police are working on it. Detective Logan certainly is.”

  His cell phone rang. “Hailey,” he said. “I’ve got to take this.” He walked outside to the front porch before answering.

  “Have you heard?” Voice shaky, Hailey could barely hide her panic. “This time, the murdered girl is fifteen. My sister knows her from school. Tara’s beside herself. I got a call from the detective in charge of the case himself, assuring me that he has this under control.”

  “Detective Logan?”

  “That’s him.”

  “Yeah, he stopped by here a little while ago. He claimed they were not going to release information to the press, but it was on the evening news.”

  “That’s where I saw it. It doesn’t sound under control to me,” Hailey said.

  As usual, the sound of Hailey’s voice felt like cool water on fevered skin. His fears receded enough for him to be able to think. “I’m wondering if they even have a suspect. Beside me, that is.” Might as well put it all out there in the open.

  “I heard that foolish reporter. But they can’t be serious, can they?” The shock in her voice felt gratifying. “They can’t think you had anything to do with this?”

  He considered keeping the hateful words to himself, but they were etched too deeply on his soul. “Like father, like son,” he repeated bitterly. “Or so I’ve been told. Trudy Blevins stopped by a few weeks ago.”

  The deafening silence made him reconsider. He wondered if her silence was because Hailey still believed his father might be responsible for her sister’s death.

  “That’s wrong,” she finally said. “You’d never do anything like that.”

  Relief flooded through him. “Thank you for that,” he said quietly. “Right before you called, I’d just finished watching the news with my father.”

  “That must have been rough. How’d he take it?”

  “Not well.” He swallowed.

  “Things aren’t too great over here either.” The quaver in her voice, so unlike her, had him tensing up again. “Aaron’s back. My mother got a hold of a cell phone and called to tell me not only are they still married, but his name is still on the deed to our house. He’s moved back in.”

  Stunned, at first Mac wasn’t sure how to react. “Where has he been for the last ten years?”

  She told him everything her mother had told her. When she’d finished, she let him have a moment for everything to sink in before continuing. “The kids are all in shock. As for myself, I’m resentful and angry and afraid to leave him alone in the house. He’s acting like he has every right to be there, but I’m not comfortable at all.”

  “Not comfortable how?” What little he remembered about Hailey’s adoptive stepfather wasn’t good. The guy had been kind of shady, a small-time, petty criminal. He actually wasn’t surprised to learn that Aaron had gone to prison.

  “I don’t know.” She sounded annoyed. “I guess I got used to thinking of this place as my house. Now he’s taking over, acting like it’s been his all along. He seems to think he can just walk in, and we can all become one happy family. The kids are hiding up in their rooms. It’s awful.”

  “Mac.” Gus called him from inside.

  “My dad needs me. Are you going to be all right?”

  “I think so.” She sighed. “What a crazy mess. It makes me wish we could all just pack up and get in the car and drive as far away from here as we could.”

  Gratified that she’d included him, he smiled. “I know the feeling. Call or text me if you need anything, okay?”

  She promised she would and ended the call.

  Only after he’d put his phone in his pocket did he realize he’d forgotten to ask her about going on a date. Ah well, it was probably for the best. The timing couldn’t be worse.

  * * *

  Since Hailey didn’t work at Mac’s on weekends, with everything at home in upheaval, she knew it would be a long two days. She decided to keep the kids busy—take them into town, maybe pretend to shop at the mall or go to the budget matinee.

  Friday night, while Aaron hogged the TV to watch some crime drama, she gathered all three in her room and told them her plan.

  “I’d rather hang out at Sarah’s house,” Tara immediately protested. Since her friend had been killed, she’d been subdued and clingy with her friends, always wanting to be with one of them.

  “No.” Hailey didn’t even have to consider. “I want y
ou with me—all of you. I need to know everyone is safe, especially now.”

  Chastised, Tara nodded. “Sorry.”

  Tom and Eli exchanged glances and shrugged. “Cool. A movie sounds better than the mall.”

  “Unless you have money for video games,” Eli put in. He grimaced when Hailey shook her head no.

  “All right, then. That’s our plan. Y’all meet me in the kitchen at ten. Make sure you eat breakfast. We’ll leave right after that.”

  The next morning, Hailey rose at her usual time and went downstairs to make a breakfast casserole. She’d learned how to stretch six eggs by mixing in milk, onions, a couple handfuls of hash browns and some seasonings. She’d just popped it into the oven and poured herself some coffee when Aaron wandered into the kitchen, hair still wet from his shower.

  “Mornin’,” he said, smiling. “I hope you don’t mind if I have some cereal or oatmeal or something. As soon as I find work, I’ll restock your cupboard.”

  She started to say okay, but relented. After all, she wasn’t a petty person. “I just put a breakfast casserole in the oven. When June was here, it was enough to feed all five of us. If you don’t mind waiting, you’re welcome to have her portion.”

  Clearly surprised, he blinked. “That would be great. Thank you.”

  Pouring himself a cup of coffee, he took a seat at the kitchen table. “I’m looking forward to spending time with the kids now that I’m home. I was thinking about taking them to the park or maybe the lake today. I’ll need to use your mother’s car. What do you think?”

  She had to struggle to hide her dismay. While she appreciated the consideration he showed by asking her opinion, she didn’t know what he’d do when she told them she and her siblings already had plans. Would he ask to tag along? Or worse, tell her he was their father and they were coming with him in her mother’s car?

  Watching her, he shook his head. “I understand how you must be feeling,” he began.

  “Do you?” This time, her cool tone left no doubt what she thought of that comment.

  “Yes. You’ve been struggling, trying to raise three young ’uns when you’re just a youngster yourself. I have no doubt it’s been hard, and I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you or your mother at all.”