by K. N. Casper
Brad’s eyes brightened when he saw his friends, but he looked sheepish when he saw the adults behind them.
“Thank you for finding me,” he said to Ethan. “I didn’t mean to—”
“You’re okay.” Ethan rested his hand on Brad’s shoulder. “That’s all that matters.”
Kayla leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek and told him how glad she was that he was all right.
“Luella insisted I tell you she’s making your favorite chocolate chip cookies,” Boyd said with a grin. “So you better get well quick, before somebody else eats them.”
“My dad—”
“Don’t worry about him,” Ethan told the boy. “He won’t be bothering you anymore. I promise.”
Brad fought back tears, probably not wanting to admit just how afraid of him he was.
While the children visited, Ethan and Kayla slipped out of the room with the doctor.
“When will you be discharging him?” Kayla asked.
“We need to keep him under observation overnight,” Lou replied. “Unless something unforeseen develops, though, we should be able to release him in the morning.” Another page sent her running.
Kayla spoke up. “Since Leona’s letting Heather spend tonight with us, why don’t I call her and ask if she’ll extend it for a few days. If she says yes—and I bet she will, considering all the packing she has to do—I’ll ask her if Dad and I can take Brad home with us tomorrow. He’ll just be an extra burden for her. It’ll also make it harder for Brad’s father to get to him.”
Ethan grinned. “Smart lady. That’s even better than my plan.”
“Which was?”
“To ask Dr. Hernandez to keep him here for a few more days.”
“Why would she do that? There’s no medical justification—”
He held up their joined hands. “To give us enough time to get married and apply for permanent custody of him.”
“Married?”
“You asked me to marry you, and now I’m giving you my final answer. It’s yes. If you still want me, that is.”
“Of course I do—” she blurted out, then broke off when she realized what she was saying. “But—”
“There is one thing, though,” he said, his lips close to her mouth. “I don’t want a marriage of convenience, Kayla. I want to be with you for the rest of my life.”
“I...I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes. Say you’ll marry me.” He gazed into her eyes. “I’ve tried to fight my feelings, Kayla, but it’s no use. I’m in love with you.”
Her face split into a conspiratorial grin. “While we’re at the courthouse getting a marriage license, we better file for a restraining order, too.”
“A restraining order?” To keep him away from her? Surely...
She stared at him, grinning mischievously, then laughed, clearly enjoying his discomfort.
“Against Child Protective Services,” she explained, “forbidding them from taking Brad or Heather out of the county or my...our house until the matter of their adoption is finalized.”
Ethan pulled her into his arms. “You’re brilliant.” He kissed her. A real kiss, one that would have led to many more if they hadn’t been standing in the middle of the hallway of a public hospital.
* * *
“IS HE REALLY ALL RIGHT?” Leona asked over the phone.
Kayla thought she heard the huskiness that goes with tears in the question. “The others are with him now. He’s fine. A bit sunburned, and his stump is a mess, but the doc assures us it’ll heal and he’ll be fine as soon as he can be fitted with a new foot.”
“I’m glad you’re there for him. I should be,” Leona admitted, “but Randy’s still in Chicago checking out housing, so I’m all by myself. And piling all the kids into the car to take them into San Antonio—”
“You’ve got your hands full. Thanks for letting Heather stay overnight with us. Megan is ecstatic. Would you mind if she stayed a couple of days?”
“I don’t see why not. It’ll actually be easier with her away.”
“Then I’d like to ask you one other favor, if I may.”
“Anything.”
“They’ll be releasing Brad tomorrow morning. Would it be all right if we took him home with us, too? Dad and I can keep both of them a few days, at least until your husband gets back. I don’t know if you were counting on him to help with your packing, but he wouldn’t be able to do much with just one foot, and at least he won’t be in your way.”
There was a brief pause, then a little laugh. “You’re going to try to keep them, aren’t you?”
Kayla hesitated, not sure she should admit it.
Leona laughed again. “Good. They deserve better.” There was a note of regret in the statement, making Kayla wonder how much it was costing the childless woman. After another moment of silence, she said, “Keep them both with you as long as you want.”
“Thank you,” Kayla said, her eyes misting over.
“Might be a good way for you to decide if you really want to take on the job full-time,” Leona added. “Randy and I won’t be leaving for another two weeks at least, maybe longer, if he can’t find us a decent place. After that... Well, you seem more than capable of fighting your own battles. Oh, be sure to stop by and I’ll give you some of their clothes.”
“Thank you, Leona,” Kayla said sincerely.
“No need to thank me. Just the opposite. You’re helping me, remember?”
The announcement that Brad and Heather would be staying at Megan’s house for a while had the kids jumping with joy. The following morning Brad was released on crutches, after being given an appointment to be fitted for a new prosthesis as soon as his stump healed. He would also start a new round of physical therapy to make sure he could use it properly.
They drove home in Ethan’s pickup, he and Kayla up front, the three children in the backseat. They sang at the top of their lungs all the way to Homestead.
Boyd was waiting for them when they arrived. He and Carter had spent the morning moving extra beds from Ethan’s place to Kayla’s. She’d been using the tiny fourth bedroom as her office. For the time being at least, her computer desk and file cabinets had to be crammed into her bedroom. Megan and Heather would share Megan’s bedroom, and Brad would have his own room, a luxury he’d never had before.
The children were chattering away at the kitchen table, and Boyd was grilling cheese sandwiches, when Ethan invited Kayla into the backyard.
The sun was shining. A soft, warm breeze wafted across the covered patio. He took her in his arms and gazed down into her blue eyes.
“I love you, Kayla.”
She snuggled against him. “I love you, too.”
“I don’t deserve you,” he confessed. “I’ll always be grateful—”
“Shh—” She covered his lips with a fingertip. “I don’t want gratitude,” she whispered. “Just give me your love. That’s enough.”
He kissed her then. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy of you, he vowed.
EPILOGUE
Three months later
KAYLA WAS WALKING alongside a little girl with spina bifida on a pony Ethan had bought a few weeks earlier when she saw the sheriff’s car pull up. Wade got out, strolled in his loose-limbed way over to the fence and leaned his elbows on the top rail. He’d been best man at the wedding performed by Noah six weeks earlier.
She smiled at the memory of the sun streaming through the stained glass windows and the pipe organ making the marble floor vibrate under her feet as she’d marched down the aisle on her father’s arm. The room filled with the wonderful scent of beeswax candles. The gathering had been small, but that lent to the intimacy of the ceremony that united her with Ethan Ritter for the rest of their lives.
She motioned to one of the many volunteers Noah had recruited to take her place and wandered over to the fence.
Wade tilted his head to the three handicapped children riding in a large circle in the m
iddle of the area. Each had a volunteer on both sides guiding and encouraging them.
“They look happy,” he said. “You’re doing a great job with them.”
“It’s one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever done. Couldn’t do it without all the volunteers Noah has recruited, though.”
They stood watching in silence for several minutes. Eventually Ethan broke away from the deaf boy he was coaching and joined them.
“What brings you out here?” he asked.
“Just thought you might like a progress report.”
“About Tolly?” Kayla asked.
Wade nodded.
The fingerprints on the herbicide Kayla had found turned out to be those of Tolliver Craddock, the maintenance man at Megan’s school. He’d been a suspect in a robbery a few years back, so his fingerprints were on file. The sheriff had arrested him on charges of felonious mischief and grand theft and thrown him into jail.
The evidence against the forty-year-old handyman had been overwhelming. Wade had been able to trace the sale of the herbicide to a nursery in San Antonio. The store owner had identified Craddock in a lineup as the person who had purchased it. Craddock had denied it, of course, but his fingerprints were the only ones found on the plastic jugs. The case against him was solid, yet it still lacked closure.
Why had he done it? And how had a janitor gotten the cash to buy over a thousand dollars’ worth of expensive herbicide? Clearly the guy hadn’t done this on his own. He had no motive to target Kayla or her vineyard. But Craddock had steadfastly refused to say who’d hired him.
“He has a new lawyer,” the sheriff said.
He’d been represented by a public defender at the arraignment. “Who?” Ethan asked.
“A high-priced mouthpiece from Austin by the name of Raoul Dermody. He put up a bond for Craddock this morning. We had to release him a couple of hours ago.”
Ethan made a growling sound.
“Who’s Raoul Dermody?” Kayla asked a moment later. “Never heard of him.”
“You probably never heard of Johnnie Cochran before the O.J. case, either.”
Ethan shrugged. “And your point is?”
“Craddock’s a loser who couldn’t afford Dermody in the first place. In the second, Dermody doesn’t normally take on lowlifes like him as clients. Yet now, all of a sudden, Craddock has the resources to post a bond for a fifty-thousand-dollar bail. It all confirms my suspicion that someone else was behind the poisoning.”
“So what do you reckon will happen now?”
“Craddock’s crime isn’t all that serious. No one was hurt. No one threatened. No weapon or illegal substances were involved. My guess is that Dermody will either get him off with a suspended sentence or if he is sent to prison it’ll be for a minimum time, and there’ll be a tidy sum waiting for him in a checking account somewhere when he’s released. Unless the D.A. is willing to play hardball.”
“How do you mean?” Ethan asked.
The lawman hesitated for a moment. “When we checked Craddock’s workshop in the basement of the school, we found something curious, a caged cat.”
“To catch mice?” Kayla paused. “But why keep it in a cage?”
“Maybe he just kept it caged during the day, when kids are around,” Ethan speculated, “and let it out at night.”
Wade shook his head. “There’s a school policy against having any animals in the school, and there’s every indication he never released it. We checked his vacuum cleaner. It was full of cat hair.”
“Then why—” Kayla frowned. “Wait. You’re not suggesting... Megan...”
The sheriff nodded. “We examined her desk in the classroom. The back corners of it, out of sight, were filled with cat hair and dander.”
Kayla clasped Ethan’s hand. “That explains why she got so sick when I kept her home. She’d just opened the workbook she’d brought from school.”
Ethan’s face went rigid. “So her attack wasn’t from pecan tassels,” he said through clenched teeth.
Wade turned to Kayla. “You recently had her tested. Did pecan tassels show up?”
“Yes, but not nearly as strongly as we’d expected. But this...this explains a lot.”
“Help me out here,” Ethan said, his brow furrowed.
Kayla looked up at him. “Megan is highly allergic to cats, and she’s moderately allergic to pecan tassels. The combination, however, has the potential to be lethal. Almost was.”
Ethan muttered a vicious word and took a deep breath. “He nearly killed her.”
“And that’s where the D.A. comes in,” Wade told him. “He’s considering bringing a charge of attempted murder against Craddock as a way of putting pressure on him to reveal the person he’s working for.”
“Only considering? Why isn’t he doing it?” Ethan nearly shouted.
“Because it’ll be a tough charge to make stick, especially with a mouthpiece like Raoul Dermody representing him. Proving Craddock knew Megan was allergic to cats is easy, the evidence stands for itself, but proving he knew she was allergic to pecan tassels and that the combination was likely to be deadly is a whole ’nother matter.”
After a moment’s pause, Ethan grudgingly nodded. “So what’s the plan?”
“Wait. Dermody has asked for a trial delay, probably hoping the state will lose interest and drop the charges. In the meantime, there’s no reason we can’t let this information slip out, make Craddock sweat a little.”
“Or skip town.”
“There’s that possibility, of course. On the other hand, Craddock isn’t a genius. I don’t think it’ll be very hard finding him if he does decide to bolt, and come to think of it, what have we lost if he does disappear for a while? He’s not the real target of our investigation or the real culprit, just a handy patsy.”
Letting anyone get away wasn’t appealing, but Wade had a valid point. “Any ideas who might be paying the bill?” Ethan asked.
Again the sheriff shook his head. “The man with the most clout around here is still the senator.”
“There are rumors he’s going blind,” Ethan said. “Any truth to them?”
“Macular degeneration is what I’m hearing. I doubt he’ll be running for office again, which may be making him all the more desperate to get this land. A permanent legacy he can pass on to his kids.”
“My dad felt that way once,” Ethan muttered.
Kayla reached over and covered his hand with hers.
“Anything more on the adoptions?” Wade asked her.
“Both Brad’s parents have relinquished their parental rights. As a matter of fact his father is back in prison for drug violations and will probably remain there for a long time. His mother decided to leave the state, so it looks like clear sailing for both Heather and Brad.”
Wade nodded. “I’m glad for them and for you. If you need character witnesses, just say the word. There’s a town full of folks who’re very proud of both of you.”
Kayla smiled. “Thanks. That’s nice to know.”
Wade left and the last of the special-needs children went home. Megan, Heather and Brad were helping Carter bring horses in from the pasture for the night.
“Where’s your dad?” Ethan asked.
“He took Luella over to the old house to show her his bachelor pad.”
Ethan smiled. “I think he really likes her cookies.”
Kayla laughed. “Are you saying the way to a man’s heart is still through his stomach?”
“It was your macaroni and cheese that did it for me.”
“And all this time I thought it was my thermos of coffee.”
His grin widened. “Yeah, that, too.”
The world was at peace, at least for the time being.
Kayla and Ethan went to the kitchen for bottled water from the refrigerator, but before they got that far, he pulled her into his arms.
“Have I told you recently that I love you?”
“I don’t know,” she said, feigning deep thought. “See
ms to me it’s been several hours.”
“Much too long.” He kissed her lips lightly. “I love you, Kayla Ritter.”
“I love you, too, Ethan Ritter.”
He tightened his hold and kissed her more deeply.
“Umm,” she muttered, when they finally broke apart. “Shouldn’t you be checking on the horses?”
“They can wait,” he whispered in her ear and pulled her closer.
* * * * *
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ISBN: 9781460312971
Copyright © 2013 by Kenneth Casper
Originally published as AS BIG AS TEXAS
Copyright © 2005 by Kenneth Casper
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.