by Sable Hunter
With shaking hands, Lance put the damning photograph back in its place.
He wouldn’t be leaving a note.
Lance had slept with the enemy and there was nothing to say.
Not even goodbye.
* * *
When Tricia opened her eyes, she stretched, loving the fact that she was a bit sore in places she’d never been sore before. Her body felt well-loved and she owed it all to the most wonderful man in the world. Turning on her side, she buried her face in the pillow where he’d laid his head. She inhaled deeply and smiled, his scent had lingered and she wished he had too. Oh well, someday soon they’d wake up together.
Languid and satisfied, she took her time getting up from the bed, burrowing on Lance’s side of the bed and remembering the way he’d made her feel. “I love him!” she squealed to the empty room. “I love him so much!” He would call today, she knew he would.
When she finally tore herself away from the bed, Tricia stood at the mirror and checked to see how different she looked. There had to be differences, she was a new woman. Being with Lance had changed her, she felt cherished and…worthy. But she saw no changes in her appearance, she was the same big-eyed waif as always. She didn’t understand why Lance was drawn to her, but she was eternally grateful he saw something in her that no else seemed to see.
As she readied herself for the day, Tricia was sure her feet never touched the ground.
…By quitting time, Tricia was convinced her phone was out of order. She’d checked the faulty instrument every ten minutes and even shook it a few times.
Lance hadn’t called.
She knew he was working, but she’d expected him to check on her at lunch or when he took a break or something.
“Oh, hush and quit being so needy. The man has a job!” she told herself.
Still, a few minutes later, she was checking it again. Now, she wished they had set up messaging, he might have more time to text than call. The next time she saw him, Tricia would ask about it.
After all, they were dating.
By bedtime, Tricia knew something was off. What was wrong, she didn’t know. Walking the floor, she stared at the uncooperative cell phone. Old habits die hard, she was raised to believe that girls didn’t call guys. She’d always read that it was best to play hard-to-get, that only desperate women ran after a man.
But…what if he was hurt? Or sick? Would anyone even call her to let her know?
As she paced back and forth in her house, Tricia felt ill with worry. Desperate to make sure he was okay, she finally yielded to temptation and called him.
One ring. Two. Three. Voice mail. Leave a message.
“Lance, this is Tricia. I…” She stammered and stopped. Deep breath. “I just called to make sure you’re okay.” Big pause. “Call me if you get a chance…and want to.”
Disconnect.
…Lance stared at the phone as it stopped buzzing. Just seeing Tricia’s name displayed on the read-out hurt like hell. There was no way he’d listen to the message she left, hearing her voice as she told him more lies would hurt like hell. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” He threw the phone across the room and watched it fall to the floor.
Grabbing his hat, he stormed out the door of his cabin. If he could walk far enough, maybe he could leave this nightmare behind. After he’d covered about a quarter mile, he leaned against a tree and just tried to breathe. Lance felt like his guts had been ripped out. How stupid he’d been! He’d had his heart set on her and now it was all over. The dreams he’d built up in his mind about Tricia shattered like so much cracked glass.
He wondered what she was thinking. She had no way of knowing he’d seen that damn photograph. Did she think he wouldn’t find out? Did she think it wouldn’t make any difference to him if he did? The memory of her standing beside the woman who’d decimated his family plagued his every waking thought. And the fact that she’d been standing beneath the entrance to Shenandoah, proudly displaying the sign, burned like salt being rubbed in a wound.
After standing out in the dark for hours, Lance made his way back to the foreman’s cabin. He opened the door and stood there, gazing about the place he called home. Everything was borrowed. Everything belonged to someone else. He owned a few pots, his clothes, and his pick-up truck. For a while, for a few hours, he’d felt rich. Being with Tricia had felt so right.
Now, he felt poorer than the poorest beggar.
Slamming the door, he wished he could forget last night ever happened.
CHAPTER SIX
“Tricia! Tricia! Are you listening to me?”
Tricia shook her head, trying to concentrate. “I’m sorry, Cassie. I didn’t sleep well last night.” She rubbed her eyes and studied the array of candles and wax creations Cassie Malone had brought for her to check out. “I think these will sell well. I especially like this Cowboy Vanilla one and this Ocean Breeze scent. How many cases can you spare?”
“I can get you as much as you want,” Cassie promised, excited to have made a sell. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look awfully pale.”
Tricia nodded. “Yea, I’m fine. I might be coming down with a migraine, I used to have those years ago.” She wiped her eyes wearily. Half of another day had gone by and she still hadn’t heard a word from Lance.
Once she and Cassie were done with business, she begged off on going to the diner for a celebratory coffee. “I’ll call you soon, but I think I might close early and lie down before this headache takes hold.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to the doctor?” Cassie offered with concern.
“No, I’ll be fine,” Tricia assured her. “I have an appointment in a few days.” Mainly, she just wanted to be alone. She needed to get to the bottom of this.
If Lance wouldn’t talk to her, maybe his sister would. Locking the door of her shop, Tricia flipped the Open sign over to Closed. On shaky legs, she went upstairs, curled up on a corner of the couch and called Skye.
When she answered, Tricia felt a bolt of panic shoot through her.
“Tricia, is that you?”
“Yes, it is.” She did her best to make her voice sound normal. “How’s Blue Dawn?”
“Oh, she’s wonderful, Tricia. I can’t stop looking at her. She’s such a miracle.”
“I’m so happy for you. I know Noah and Lance were thrilled to make this possible.”
At the mention of her brother’s name, Skye grew quiet.
Tricia felt very uncomfortable. She took a deep breath and just plunged in. “Skye, I was wondering if you could tell me if Lance is okay. I…haven’t heard from him since we were together Sunday night.”
Skye let out a long sigh. “I don’t know what’s going on with Lance, Tricia. When I asked him how your date went, he just shrugged and said it didn’t work out.”
It didn’t work out?
It didn’t work out?
Tricia felt her heart shrivel up in her chest. What did that mean? Why hadn’t she realized it didn’t work out?
“I see.” She didn’t know what else to say. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t either, Tricia. I’m so sorry.”
“Yea, me too. Take care.”
She hung up the phone and cried.
…Buzz! Buzz!
Tricia jerked awake. Glancing at the illuminated face of the digital clock on her desk, she saw it was still a few minutes before midnight. Not bothering to turn on a light, she clasped her aching head with one hand and grabbed the phone with the other. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins like a drug. “Lance? Lance, is that you?”
“No, Tricia, it’s Isaac, the baby’s coming! Meet us at the hospital!”
Jumping up from the couch, Tricia was met with a wave of dizziness. Her stomach rolled and she had to make a mad dash to the bathroom. Kneeling by the toilet, she emptied her stomach of its bitter contents. Fitting, she thought. Her whole life had turned bitter.
She stayed there for a bit, trying to pull herself together. Avery needed
her. Her best friend was about to give birth and Tricia would be there. Her personal problems could wait.
As she rose to go through the motions of getting ready, Tricia did her best to keep her mind a blank. All she wanted to do was get through the night.
Without thinking about it too much, she decided to drive. No other symptoms had materialized after the wreck and she was tired of expecting them to. Climbing into the loaner van, she fastened her seatbelt, started the engine and took off to the hospital. The drive wouldn’t be a long one, Avery had decided to have her baby locally instead of traveling to Austin as others were known to do. The facilities in Kerrville were state of the art, thanks in great part to the generous donations of the McCoy clan.
Once she thought of the McCoys, her thoughts went right to Lance. Would he be there? She had no way of knowing.
She hoped he would be and she hoped he wouldn’t be.
If he was there, how would she face him? How could she face the future without seeing him? “Oh, God, why did I fall in love with him?”
To admit such a thing after only one date was probably foolishness. He was older, a confirmed bachelor, a gorgeous man who could have any woman he wanted. Well, he’d had her – and he’d moved on.
Lesson learned.
When she arrived at the hospital, she was not alone. McCoys were everywhere. Libby and Jessie came to meet her. “Isn’t this exciting?” Libby beamed. “Isaac is in with Avery now. We’re all waiting impatiently.” She pulled Tricia into the merry group and Jacob offered her coffee.
“Thanks, I need some.”
“Did you think to bring any balloons or flowers?” Noah asked. “We’d rather buy from you than the hospital florist.”
Tricia groaned. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about it and there certainly wouldn’t have been a charge.” She rubbed her head. “I’ve been out of it. Migraine.” If this was the type of godmother she was going to be, she might as well hang up her hoe.
“No problem.” Skye interjected, coming to sit by her on the green vinyl couch. “Are you all right?”
“Yea, sure. Where’s Blue?” Tricia tried to keep a straight face, crying would be humiliating. Glancing around at Avery’s family, she wondered who all knew about her and Lance. Not that there was a lot to know… Their affair, or whatever it was, had been over before it started.
“Oh, she’s at home with Lilibet Saucier. She’s watching the whole McCoy brood.” Skye smiled. “All-knowing Cady arranged for her to be there right about the time Avery’s water broke.”
“Oh, good.” She nodded. Hearing Cady’s name reminded Tricia of her palm reading. If this was the storm she’d been referring to, Cady had hit the nail on the head. Some storms were devastating, sometimes they were impossible to survive.
“He’s not here, he’s not coming, if you’re worried,” Skye offered.
Tricia groaned. “He’s not coming because he knew I’d be here.” Great. She ducked her head and pulled on the hem of her shirt. “I wonder if Kerrville is big enough for the both of us?” With a wry chuckle, she shrugged her shoulders. “And the weird part is, I don’t even know what I did wrong. Everything was wonderful and when I woke up, he was gone.”
“Tricia!” Isaac called from the waiting room door. “Avery wants you.”
Skye patted Tricia’s shoulder as she rose. “Okay, be right there.” With gratitude, she escaped the presence of the others. They might not all be talking about her, but she felt as if they were. Her imagination was working overtime.
“Hurry, hurry,” Isaac beckoned to her, his face filled with both elation and worry. “It won’t be long now. I think she wants to squeeze your hand awhile.” He held his up. “She almost smashed a couple of my fingers.”
“I’m sure any injury will be worth it in the long run,” she assured him with a grin. Tricia put aside her worries and sorrows to concentrate on her friend’s blessed event.
In the delivery room, she found Avery looking anxious. “Where have you been?” she bellowed.
“I think she’s talking to you,” Isaac pushed Tricia forward. “I’m putting you in the direct line of fire.”
“I was in the waiting room, sweetie.” She took Avery’s hand. “How are you feeling?”
“How am I feeling?” She shook her finger at Isaac. “I feel like I’m trying to push a watermelon through a knothole! If you even think about coming at me without a condom again I’ll have you clipped!”
Isaac covered his business with two cupped hands. “I thought you wanted a bunch of kids.”
“I changed my mind!” she yelled, but the yell ended in a whimper. “It hurts!”
Isaac raced to her. “Do you want something for the pain?”
“I didn’t want to take anything!” Avery panted. “I wanted to do this myself.”
“You don’t have to do anything by yourself, sweetheart.” Isaac kissed her damp cheek. “We’re here with you.”
“That’s right,” Tricia squeezed her hand. “Just hold tight. We’ll be with you every minute.”
“There’s no shame in taking something for the pain,” Isaac assured her. No one wants you to suffer when you don’t have to.”
Avery looked up into her husband’s face. “You think it will be okay?”
“I do.”
“Tricia, call the nurse, tell them to send up some really good drugs.”
Tricia laughed. “I’m on it.”
In a few minutes, Avery had calmed down and was following her doctor’s orders. “Push!”
Tricia and Isaac stood a few feet back, near enough so she would know they were there, but not in the way. Avery, like the trooper she was, endured contractions long enough and strong enough to make everyone in the room shudder. Soon, it all payed off. The lusty cry of a newborn exploded in the room.
“It’s a boy!” The doctor announced. “A big, strapping, nine-pound baby boy!”
Isaac came forward, accepting the squirming, red-faced infant, cradling him in his arms.
“Oh, he’s beautiful, Avery,” Tricia exclaimed, when she drew close enough to see. “He’s got your eyes and mouth.”
“He’s got my equipment!” Isaac proclaimed with pride.
As soon as the nurses cleaned Avery up a bit, Tricia went to her friend. “You did so good. He’s perfect.”
Avery smiled and sighed, her eyes heavy. “Sebastian David. I want to name him Sebastian David. We’ll call him David, but I want to name him for Isaac’s dad.”
Isaac kissed his wife, laying their son at her breast. “I love it. David’s a strong name. Meet Sebastian David McCoy.”
“If you want to go make your big announcement and pass out your cigars, I’ll stay with them,” Tricia offered.
“Is that okay?” he asked Avery. “Can I go let them all know?”
“Yes! Go! Tell them they can come see us in just a few minutes.” Avery said, her eyes on her new baby. “I need to put on some lipstick. He’s so beautiful, I want to be beautiful too.”
“Oh, you’re more than just beautiful,” Isaac assured her. “You’re perfect.” He kissed his wife and son. “Both of you are perfect.”
For the next hour, Tricia remained near, but out of the way. She made sure Avery had everything she needed, even going down and buying several overpriced balloon bouquets and flower arrangements from the hospital gift shop. She even purchased a wreath to display on the door that said, It’s a boy! Sebastian David, 9 lbs, 21 inches.
As all the excitement caught up with Avery, she began to fade. “I think you need to rest,” Tricia told her. Family members were beginning to leave and the nurse had carried the baby back to the nursery.
“Yea, I’m sort of tired,” Avery said with a happy sigh.
“I wonder why?” Tricia teased her. “I’m so proud of you.”
Avery looked from Tricia to her Isaac who hadn’t left her side since he’d returned from informing the family of his son’s birth. “I’m so lucky to have you. My best friend and my Badass
. And now everything is complete. I have a beautiful baby boy. What more do I need?”
“Just a good long nap.” Tricia kissed Avery’s cheek. “I’ll check on you tomorrow.” Glancing at her watch, she corrected herself. “Today. It’s almost six-thirty in the morning.”
After slipping out, she ventured down the hall, her eyes on the floor, playing an old game she used to play when she would spend so much time in hospitals as a child. If she was careful, she could make the trek and keep every footfall within a square tile. Stepping on a crack brought bad luck. Lord knows, she didn’t need any more of that.
“Sebastian David is a good name. I know old Mr. McCoy would be proud of that if he were here to see it.”
Lance.
Tricia almost tripped over one of those cracks. She’d know that voice anywhere. Glancing up, she saw that he was talking with Joseph near the front lobby. He wasn’t supposed to be here! Her heart began to flutter and the urge to turn tail and run in the other direction hit her like a tsunami. Only her pride forced her forward. She squared her shoulders and tried to put a little steel into her backbone. There was no use hiding, she had to run into him sometime. He stood sideways to her, so she knew he could see her out of his peripheral vision. Would he acknowledge her? Could they talk this out? Would he tell her how she had offended him? As she drew nearer, Tricia caught Cady’s eye. Lance cut his eyes toward her and Tricia stopped. “Lance?”
Abruptly, he turned his back to Tricia and just kept on talking to Joseph.
Tricia felt humiliated. Mortified. She felt about one inch tall. Hugging herself, she began to walk faster.
“Tricia! Tricia!”
Cady followed and caught up to Tricia just on the other side of the automatic doors.
“I can’t talk right now, Cady. I need to get home.”
God, she couldn’t handle any more of this right now.
“Just let me say one thing.” Cady grasped her arm, conveying peace and comfort with her touch. “Storms never last forever.”