by Sable Hunter
Several sounds vied for Presley’s attention as she lay in Zane’s arms. A night bird called out for its mate, she didn’t know what kind it was, but it sounded peaceful. In the living room, the chime of the grandfather clock announced that it was four in the morning and all was well. But the sound that gave her the most comfort was the strong, solid beat of his heart beneath her cheek. She was trying to decide what to do. What would be best for them both? Should she walk away now? Should she stay and let him be the one to tell her to go? Covering her eyes with her hand, she struggled to decide.
*****
“We’ll be back to get you in two hours,” Zane had walked her to the door of the McCoy home. “I’m going to go back and pack for the trip tomorrow.” He kissed her on the cheek. “And thank you for going with me to The Vineyard; I am so grateful I have you to share good news with.”
“You are welcome. I had a wonderful time.” They had just arrived back at the ranch in time for her to get ready for the shower. She hadn’t made any concrete decisions about their situation. Maybe their time at the conference would give her some insight in what she should do. Hurting him was not an option, but putting him in an impossible situation wasn’t what she desired either. Last night, after she had finally drifted off to sleep, she had awakened crying with tears streaming down her cheeks. Zane had sat up and held her, asking her what was wrong, but she couldn’t tell him. Trembling in a cold sweat, she tried to remind herself that it hadn’t happened, it was just a nightmare. She had dreamed that Zane had gone through the operation and she had remained with him, but one day she had overheard him telling one of the McCoy brothers that he could barely stand to look at her face.
Standing on the porch, Presley watched the taillights until they were out of sight. What a bittersweet weekend this had turned out to be. Zane had made love to her twice more and she, greedily had cherished every moment. He was such an unexpected gift. Love, for her, had always been a scarce commodity. For years, she had longed to reconnect with her mother, but that didn’t look like it was ever going to happen.
Before Zane, she had been relatively satisfied with her solitary existence. Now that she had tasted paradise in his arms, how would she survive when it was over?
“Aren’t you going to come in?”
Presley turned and was surprised to find Libby standing there.
“Hello, Libby. It’s so good to see you. Am I late?” She hugged the woman who, unabashedly, hugged her right back.
“No, I ruined their surprise,” Libby ushered her into the warmth of the house. Baby decorations were everywhere and the sounds of women whispering and laughing drifted from the kitchen region. “Avery thought I was napping and I caught her and Jessie and Cady as they were blowing up balloons and hanging streamers. Just look at all of this blue.”
Presley held out her gift. “Zane and I got this for your boys. We hope you like it.”
Libby took the package and glanced up at Presley. Her eyes were brimming with tears. “I know I have to go on, but it’s hard. It’s so hard.” She lowered her voice to barely above a whisper. “The family has been amazing, so I put on a brave face, but I’m dying inside.”
There was no use saying she understood, because she didn’t. Even her turmoil over Zane’s eyesight and what that might mean to their relationship was nothing compared to what Libby was going through. “I’m so sorry,” she took Libby in her arms. “Zane checked with Vance and Roscoe today, they are still looking.”
“I’m not giving up,” Libby said almost ferociously. “Aron will come back to me; I have no doubt about that. And when he does, I’m going to kick his ass for putting me through this.”
Presley hadn’t meant to, but she couldn’t hold back a smile. When Aron did return, he might find more than he bargained for.
Despite the expected sadness, the shower was a success. Libby loved the presents and held everything up so all the girls could ooh and aah over it. Jessie lay on the couch, so near to giving birth that everyone waited on her hand and foot. She had to take Presley up to see the nursery that Noah and Jacob had prepared for her, it was a cowboy theme. “When we move into the new house, I am going to have the nursery just off of our bedroom. This one is a little far away for my taste.” She pointed at a suite just across the hall, but Presley understood. As they returned to the first floor, Presley let her mind wander. When she and Zane had their . . . She caught herself mid-thought. Oh, lord. If, she corrected herself, if she and Zane were to ever have a child, she would want to keep it close by, also.
Cady, who was also pregnant made copious notes of all the gifts and who had given them. She looked a little pale to Presley. “Do you feel okay?”
“Yes,” Cady assured her, “I feel fine. I’m just tired. The past few weeks have taken a toll on all of us.”
“Where are the men?” she asked, glancing at the clock. Zane would be here in a few minutes.
“Scattered,” Cady shared. “Noah is still gone. He has followed every lead that the investigators have unearthed,” she leaned close and dropped the level of her voice, “he even had to view some bodies, but thank God none of them were Aron. Does Zane know anything we don’t?” she looked at Presley with hope.
“He talks to someone every day – Noah, the authorities, the private investigators. Zane won’t give up as long as there is a shred of hope.” What she said was true; she had all the faith in the world in Zane. And as she sat and watched the McCoy women and their friends rally around Libby, strengthening her with their love and their laughter – Presley knew, she knew that she would stay with Zane as long as she could, until it was time for her to go.
*****
Canyon of the Eagles was located in the high country on beautiful Lake Buchanan. As they drove up the winding road to the entrance of the resort, Presley did see an eagle and before she thought, she exclaimed, “Look!”
Zane, always the tease, glanced out the window – on the wrong side – and said, slowly, “Wow.”
“Stop it,” she laughed. Presley caught Sherwood’s eye in the rearview mirror, he was smiling. “I saw an eagle.”
“Soon, I’ll be the birdwatcher in the family,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“I hope so,” she was sincere. As they drove through the gates, she began to tell Zane everything she had learned and describe to him all she was seeing. “Lake Buchanan is beautiful; it’s so blue and much bigger than I thought it would be. The resort itself is a nine hundred forty acre nature park. All of the facilities are green; in fact the owner is very involved in alternative energy. That’s one reason he is one of the sponsors. Oddly enough, the family’s name is McCoy. They are from Montana and moved into the area earlier in the year. Heath McCoy is the owner of the resort and his brother Jaxson owns a massive ranch that surrounds the resort and lake called Highlands.”
“More McCoys?” Zane scoffed. “I don’t think the world can handle any more of those arrogant rascals.”
“All of the buildings are patterned after Hill-Country homes with big porches. They are made from native stone and batten-board siding,” sidling up to him, she added with a giggle – “whatever that is, I’ve never heard of batten-board siding.” Unable to help herself, she curled into his side. “There are no televisions in the guest rooms.”
“Oh, no!” Zane exclaimed. “Whatever shall we do for entertainment?!”
At his outburst, Sherwood laughed out loud.
For the moment, life was very, very good.
*****
Honey Ross was the first person that Presley saw and she stiffened. “Hello, Miss Ross.”
“Do I know you?”
“I’m with Saucier & Barclay,” Presley explained evenly.
“Really?” she drawled.
A bark from Rex caused her to turn. “I’m over here,” she spoke loud enough for Zane to hear her, “Sweetheart,” she added taking just a bit of devilish satisfaction in Honey’s furious stare.
“Good thing he’s blind – isn’t it?”<
br />
Well, she guessed she deserved that, so Presley let Honey’s remark roll off her back.
Zane joined her. “I want you to come to the registration desk. The owner and his brothers are over there and I want you to tell me what they look like.”
“Why?” Presley was mystified.
“Because there’s something about their voices that is very familiar,” as they walked he went on to explain. “Genes influence the way our vocal folds work, which is what gives a voice its timbre and its tone. In other words, families share similar voices.” As they neared the front of the luxurious lobby, Presley could see three big men in cowboy attire looking at something on the desk.
“You know you’re the Daredevil, don’t you?” She compared him to the Superhero blind lawyer who lost his sight in a radioactive accident while his other senses were increased beyond normal human ability.
“I’ll show you my superpowers when we get to the bedroom,” he promised. “Now, get a good look at them and tell me what you see.”
Trying not to stare, she checked out the men in question. They were big, broad-shouldered with dark hair. The one behind the desk stood with hands on his hips and looked at the other two with a tolerant, bemused expression. “What am I going to do with you two?” he asked. “Jaxson, I don’t care what Philip told you, there’s no gold in that mine.”
Philip crossed his arms over his chest and stared at what had to be his brother. From the side, their faces looked almost identical. “You are an eternal pessimist, Heath. Why don’t you loosen up? Jaxson and I came to show you what I found. Do you want to see it? ”
“No one said anything about gold, Brother. What Philip found was the biggest vein of silver ever discovered in the great state of Texas.” He laid a big nugget of silver on the counter.
As the third one entered the conversation, it hit Presley what she was seeing. McCoys. These men looked enough like Jacob, Joseph and Isaac to be their brothers.
“Well?” Zane prompted.
“If they aren’t related to our McCoys, I’ll eat Rex’s harness,” Presley whispered. “The resemblance is uncanny.”
Zane turned her around, “I knew it. And the funny thing is, our McCoys don’t have any relatives, at least none they know about.”
A scuffle at the desk had them turning back to see what was going on. A uniformed man had arrived. “Philip McCoy?”
“I’m Philip.”
“What’s going on?” Zane asked. Other people were milling about and she was doing her best to look like they were checking out a pamphlet she had found on Vanishing Texas River Tours.
“A policeman of some kind has arrived. He’s pulling out a pair of handcuffs.”
“Philip McCoy, you are under arrest.”
“What the hell?” Heath came around the desk, ready to defend his brother.
“There must be some mistake.” Philip protested as the cop proceeded to put him in the cuffs.
“Damn, where’s a lawyer when you need one?” Jaxson fumed.
“We have a house full of them, find one!” Heath instructed as he attempted to delay the arresting officer.
Zane didn’t even hesitate; he stepped up. “My name is Zane Saucier and I’m a lawyer. What are the charges?”
“Murder, he’s under arrest for the murder of Dalton Smith.”
“Who?” Heath asked. “Do you know anyone named Dalton Smith?”
“Don’t speak to anyone until we’ve talked,” Zane instructed.
Heath laid a hand on his arm. “Are you a good attorney?”
“He’s the best in the state,” Presley assured him. “Bar-none.”
*****
Murder has a tendency to throw a wet blanket on the best laid plans, but the conference did go on. Zane met with the McCoys and after checking out his reputation, they were grateful to retain his services. Because of his involvement in the arrest of Philip McCoy, more of the work fell on Presley, but she was up to the task. Checking her watch, she saw that only a half hour remained before Zane’s first presentation. Honey Ross had already led the first session and according to several of the attendees, she had done a pretty good job. But to her dismay, the minutes ticked by and there was no Zane to be seen.
A full house had gathered in the conference room and conversation was abuzz. Zane’s topic was water management and it had sparked quite a bit of interest. She paced at the side of the room, knowing there was only one solution and it wasn’t going to be an easy one. The conference director was headed her way so she took a deep breath and readied herself.
“Where is Mr. Saucier?” the woman’s high-pitched voice was strained.
“He has been delayed with a client on an important case. I’ll cover for him.” Actually, Presley couldn’t believe she was doing this. Just months before, she would have rather bungee jumped off the Empire State Building rather than stand before a group of people and speak, especially others more experienced in the law than she could ever think about being. But in the last few days, she had realized what was important in life and a little discomfort didn’t amount to a hill of beans. She was doing this to help Zane and that was all that mattered.
As she stepped up to the podium, there was a lot of whispering. Many of the attendants had come specifically because Zane Saucier had been advertised as the key speaker. They deserved to get what they had paid for, but until he arrived, she had no choice. Luckily, she knew the topic backwards and forwards. All of his notes and slides were familiar to her; she had put them together herself. Taking a deep breath, she let her eyes rove the crowd. Some of the faces were familiar, big names in the world of law. And here she stood, a newly-hired first year associate, a veritable babe in the woods. Her clothes were decent, but inexpensive. Her hair was loose and casual, hanging below her waist. Her hands trembled as she brought the microphone closer to her lips. “Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentleman. I bring you greetings on behalf of Zane Saucier. He will be here at any moment, but until he comes, please allow me to introduce the topic of water management. Water is the new gold. Wars of the future will be fought over water. Our western states are on the verge of controversy over water reallocation. Cities like Las Vegas are clamoring to find alternative sources of water. Climate change has escalated a problem that has been growing for a hundred years. As population increases, the idea of water as an inalienable human right comes into sharp focus. We, as members of the justice community will be called upon to help make decisions on who will live and who will die.”
Zane stood at the back of the room. He knew he was running late, the meeting with his new client had gone on longer than he had planned. Zane had placed calls to Adam and to his regular PI to get the ball rolling on building a defense for Philip McCoy. From what he had learned so far, it was clear this would be one for the record books. A lost mine, Indian lore, an old feud and a jealous woman were just a few of the factors he had already uncovered. It was clear to him that McCoy was being framed, but now he had to prove it. Even more intriguing to him was the fact that the McCoy family he had just met could be related to his McCoys – and neither band of brothers was even aware of the possibility. All of that was interesting, but nothing he had learned in a long time was as amazing as listening to his Presley woo a roomful of stuffed shirts with her husky little voice and endearing lisp. As she took his thoughts and put her on unique spin on them, she held the entire room in the palm of her hand, because you could have heard a pin drop. He only wished he could see her in action.
“In the last six months, legal action has been taken against a man whose only crime was to dig ponds on his own property. Water management will be a critical factor in politics, in financial communities and civil rights.” Presley looked up from her notes and a movement from the far corner of the room caught her eye. “He’s here. Thank you for putting up with me, but the man you’ve come to hear has arrived – Zane Saucier.” The crowd clapped, not only for Zane, but for the woman who had so ably filled his shoes.
“Thank you,
Miss Love. I’m certainly glad you’re on my team.” Giving up the limelight was a relief to Presley, but it hadn’t been nearly as bad as she had feared. Standing to the side and watching the master at work, she realized why he was a legend in the courtroom. Zane knew how to work a crowd. His voice resonated, his body language was precise and the fact that he was a commanding presence only served to increase the impact of his message.
“Presley Love?”
A somewhat familiar voice broke into her thoughts. Turning, she looked into a face she hadn’t seen in three years. “Professor Maddow.” She couldn’t help but smile. “How are you?”
“No longer a professor, I started my own firm the year after you graduated. How are you?” To keep from disturbing Zane’s presentation, they stepped out into the hall.
“I’m well; it’s so good to see you. You were my favorite student, you know.”
Professor Charles Maddow was one of the bright spots in Presley’s law school experience. He had believed in her when very few others gave her any encouragement at all. “Thank you; you were my favorite teacher.” She couldn’t believe he was here. During his stint at UT, he had broken more hearts than a rock star. All of the female students had crushed on him. Presley hadn’t suffered from the malady; however, she had been too busy with her grandmother.
“So, you’re working with Zane Saucier?” As people passed by, Charles got plenty of attention. He looked nothing like Zane; instead, he was good looking in an iconic blonde surfer way.
“Yes,” she smiled. “He has given me a marvelous opportunity.” He had given her many things, but that was no one’s business but theirs. “I’m so glad to see you, how is your wife?” She remembered he had a wife and a small child.
“She’s great, and the kids are growing like weeds,” he said with a smile on his face as he stepped aside for a woman with three children to pass by.