Luz laughed. “No, and it’s too cold for ice cream.”
“Dad wants to speak to you,” Chloe announced. “Bye.”
“Hey, Luz.” Aaron’s voice, tinged with amusement, echoed in her ear. “Chloe has missed you.”
“Ditto. So you’re bringing her over tomorrow?”
“If you’ll have us.”
“Sure.”
“Luz, I talked to Mrs. Baker—she’s feeling great. They’re not sure what made her dizzy, but she’s fine now.”
“Okay. Ummm, good. I’m glad.” Luz wasn’t sure why he was mentioning Mrs. Baker, so she threw a lot of words back, hoping to give him what he wanted to hear.
“Would you have dinner with me Friday? I mean, a real dinner, somewhere noisy.”
“The diner’s noisy on Friday—”
“No. Follow the conversation, Luz,” he chided, teasing. “Mrs. Baker can babysit Chloe—she says she’s missed her. We can go have an adult dinner.”
“Oh.”
“Somewhere just noisy enough where we can finish the discussion we started the other night.”
She remembered. The interrupted chat about Lily. She shuddered. What could she say, really? Lily’s own mother, accidentally or deliberately, had let the child take a pill that almost killed her—a pill like Luz’s own migraine medicine. And had accused Luz of drugging her at school because she knew Brian was cheating on her once again.
“Aaron—”
“We’ve never really had a chance to talk, Luz. Don’t you think we should? I mean real, not will-we-be-interrupted kind of stuff?”
The man knew how to intrigue a woman. He probably didn’t mean the kind of will-we-be-interrupted stuff she would like to explore. But nothing would happen if she didn’t give it a chance.
“Sure, Aaron,” she agreed slowly. “See you tomorrow, then.”
He didn’t try to keep her on the line, just said goodnight and hung up.
But a tiny flicker of hope raced through her. She didn’t think Esmeralda was a threat anymore. Hope grew stronger, felt more like lust. She didn’t have to fight that fight. Now she only had to compete against memories. Maybe—just maybe—she could confront those and win.
• • •
Chloe and Rumbles clearly thought they belonged to each other. Their greeting lasted well beyond any time Chloe might have to ride. Darkness still came early, and Luz wished fervently for daylight savings to kick in and provide more time to get things done outside without artificial lights.
Ann’s addition was finished, and ready for use, and Chloe inspected it with great care before dusk fell.
“It’s so cool!” she decided. “But I don’t want Dr. Ann to have sick horses here. Or ponies. Couldn’t she just keep horses here for kids who don’t have any?”
She glared when her father laughed.
“Why not?” she demanded. “At school, they gave a kid a bike. Why doesn’t anyone give kids horses?”
“The world would be better,” Luz agreed. “But for now, I bet your dad wants you home thinking about school, not another horse to take care of.”
“Absolutely,” Aaron agreed. “Chloe will see you Saturday. And I—I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Chloe’s argument evaporated. “Daaad—”
He took a visible breath and nodded at Luz. “We’ll talk in the car, baby.”
They drove off, and as childish as it was, Luz crossed her fingers and watched until the SUV disappeared, hoping Chloe wouldn’t make her dad have second thoughts about an adults-only evening.
She made a thorough check of the area near her fence, walking from the mailbox almost to the end of the fence line. Thankfully, there hadn’t been another dog discarded—but the last one lingered like a nightmare, and she almost dreaded mornings coming.
But tomorrow…she couldn’t quit smiling. Telling Aaron about Lily suddenly felt liberating, explaining her love for the little girl. He’d understand why she’d said she wasn’t ready for a daughter yet. She took a few steps and stopped. Was she?
She could love Chloe like a daughter; she already loved—liked—her a lot. But was it enough to take a chance on losing again? She shook the thoughts away and headed around the house to the barn to check the animals a last time.
The horses were mostly dozing, and Rumbles was munching hay like the little glutton she was. Candy huffed when Luz didn’t offer anything else and the guinea hens stirred in annoyance over being disturbed. The cats weren’t around, but they seldom were out in the open after dark.
On the way back through the barn, she stopped by the little office, opening the door and flipping on the light just to be sure she hadn’t left anything lying around. She’d gotten bad about that recently.
A small ivory book lay on the desk. Chloe must have forgotten a diary or something, although she hadn’t seen her bring anything in.
She smiled as she went over to retrieve it. Kind of hard to watch Chloe constantly when her dad had shown up looking incredibly sexy in a torso-hugging long-sleeved sweater.
She picked the book up. It was more a journal than a diary, and not ivory—the cover had been white years ago. With fingers that didn’t cooperate, she slipped off a strap holding it closed and glanced at the first page.
Her mother’s neat, tiny handwriting jumped out at her.
Her heart hammered. She had never seen this book anywhere, even when she’d undertaken the difficult task of disposing of her mother’s belongings after her death. It hadn’t been here before—so someone had put it on the desk, knowing she’d see it.
She shuddered. While she and Aaron had been watching Chloe and ogling each other somebody had slipped in and left her mother’s journal, then disappeared.
The only person she could imagine coming and going so silently was Ross Thurmond. But why did he have her mother’s journal? And why had he returned it in secrecy?
Chapter Eighteen
Bright sunshine and warm temperatures had returned. No dead dogs left to taunt her for some sick reason she couldn’t decipher. And the promise of a romantic night with Aaron along San Antonio’s beautiful Riverwalk, made it impossible for Luz to stop smiling.
Aaron hadn’t characterized the date as romantic—he’d only talked about talking. Her smile broadened. Just sitting across from a table, watching his green eyes dance and the dimples come and go…romantic.
The kitten with no name scooted in front of her, and she stumbled, trying not to land on it.
“You’re a menace,” she muttered, and then grinned. “An evil menace! Bet Chloe will like your new name, Menace.”
The kitten changed course again, darting over her feet, running for her life from unseen danger.
Even though she almost tripped again, Luz laughed and patted herself on the back. At last the kitten had a name. Menace wasn’t abandoned any longer.
She glanced at her watch. Aaron told her he’d pick her up around five, so that he could spend a couple of hours with Chloe before leaving her with Mrs. Baker.
She’d agreed, and offered with a laugh to pick him up in her truck. He refused, citing the fact that the SUV was newer, had GPS so they wouldn’t get lost, and was sexier.
She’d teased him about that claim, but only briefly. Let him keep thinking that way.
Luz spent the rest of the morning walking around her barn, yard, and the small acreage her parents had owned, wondering how best to use it. She should put in a garden and grow vegetables, and maybe she should research kennel design. She didn’t think she’d have much call to house large animals, although she’d heard horrible stories of abandoned livestock.
Her phone buzzed, and she fished it out of her pocket. Ann’s office number, which surprised her.
“Hello?”
“Luz? This is Teri.” The young woman’s voice sounded frantic, and Luz’s breath stuck in her throat for a minute.
“Is Ann okay, Teri? The baby—”
“Ann’s not here. She had a doctor’s appointment.”
“Okay, then?”
“He called. That sick man called—Hermie called!”
“Calm down. What did he say?”
“That the doctor should go watch him kill his horse.” The receptionist’s voice ended in a choking sound, like a sob, but then she seemed to regain some composure. “He told me to call the doctor, that he’d wait, but Ann will be so upset—”
“Don’t call her. She probably has her phone off if she’s with the doctor anyway. Look, just call the sheriff.”
“I did. A semi hit a van on I-35. He and the deputies went to help until the state troopers get there.”
Damn.
“Look, Teri—tell the dispatcher to send someone out as soon as possible. I’ll drive over there and see if I can talk some sense into him.”
“You shouldn’t—”
“I have to. I’ll call when I get there. If I can’t do anything, I’ll leave.”
“But—”
“I have to go, Teri. It’ll take me fifteen or twenty minutes to get there as is.”
She hung up the phone and went for her keys. For a brief second, she thought of her mother’s pistol. But she was going to trespass on someone’s property. And she wasn’t sure she could shoot someone even if she had to. Grabbing the keys and checking to be sure she had her phone, she raced out the door, flung herself into the truck, and headed toward the ramshackle farm a couple of miles away.
• • •
Aaron paused outside the Country Critters Veterinary Clinic, peering in the window with a smile. He thought for a moment of stopping in and saying hello to Ann and her assistant, just to kill time. He glanced around, though. Ann’s truck wasn’t anywhere in sight. He waved at Teri, behind her desk, but to his surprise, she motioned him in with desperate hand gestures. “Teri? Everything okay?”
“No! Mr. Estes, I’m scared for Luz! And for the doctor, when she finds out—”
The fear in her voice slammed him in the chest. “What’s wrong?”
“That sicko called—that Hermie Clark! He wanted the doctor to go to his place—said he was going to kill his horse—”
Ann had witnessed that once before. He remembered the sickness in Luz’s face when she told him. The baby—
“How long ago did Ann leave?”
Teri shook her head. “No! Not Ann! She’s at the doctor in San Antonio. Luz said she was going to go stop him!”
No. He couldn’t see another woman he knew dead. He couldn’t—
He gulped in air. “Tell me how to get there.”
He listened to Teri’s brief, hurried directions. Between those and the GPS he should be able to find Luz.
“Don’t tell Ann if she calls you,” he shouted over his shoulder. “But call the police or something.”
He didn’t hear Teri’s answer because he was already throwing himself into the SUV.
• • •
The place was easier to find in the truck than on a horse, but then again she’d been in Rose Creek a little longer now. She swerved into a faint path worn through a dry pasture. Ahead of her she saw the decrepit farmhouse, one side perilously near collapse. To the right, the barn, equally in disrepair, with a tiny corral made of patched boards and poles that defied gravity to remain standing.
She threw the truck into the park and jumped out, her heart racing.
A little sorrel mare raced around the tiny enclosure, her panic clear. Even from the truck, she could see large welts from a whip cutting into the horse’s hide.
Luz shoved the truck into park and bolted out, shouting as she went. “Mr. Clark! Hermie! Hermie Clark!”
She climbed up on the fence, feeling it sag. No one was in the ring. Maybe she could scramble over the top and open the gate before Clark made his appearance.
But she was too late—the gate was on the opposite side, near the barn. And Hermie Clark came out, holding a bullwhip in his right hand and dragging a chain saw in his left.
Calm. Be calm. Teri will keep calling the sheriff. Someone will come…
Hermie entered the ramshackle pen, carefully closing the gate. He put the saw down, sent a chilling smile her way, and latched the gate.
“You’re not the doctor,” he said, speaking loudly enough to be sure that she could hear. He walked into the center of the ring; the mare changed direction and raced into the fence, then turned and circled in sheer terror.
“Shoulda left her tied up—she was scared. Couldn’t fight back much—hardly moved when I cut her.” He spit tobacco in a stream on the ground, wiped his mouth with a beefy, dirty hand. “She screamed pretty good when I stuck her with the knife.” And he laughed.
Tears stung Luz’s eyes, and her fingers dug into the old wood of the fence. She wondered if she could kick it down fast enough to let the mare out. She moved, shaking the slats, trying to gauge how well they’d hold up. This side was probably the strongest part of the fence, dammit!
“Mr. Clark, I’m Luz Wilkinson. Please don’t do this.”
He walked a few paces closer, effectively separating her from the panicked mare that stopped briefly, leaning against the fence on the barn side, sides heaving, her neck lathered and sweat darkening her flanks.
The eyes he turned on her again shone with craziness. “Wanted Dr. Ann to come like she did last time. Heard she’s gonna have a baby—ain’t that something?”
Luz shivered. Could this deranged man be a threat to Ann? The horse whinnied and started, and Clark swiveled toward her.
Luz clambered over the fence, hoping she could keep out of the whip’s reach and clear of the mare when Clark attacked her again.
She tried to keep her voice steady, to not show the fear or loathing she felt. “Mr. Clark, I was there last time, remember? I’d just come to town. My horse threw me.”
He turned back to her, and his thick lips pulled back in a smirk. “Oh. Yeah. I remember.” He nodded. “You helped Doc Ann back to her truck.”
He remembered them? They’d helped each other, Ann and she, holding each other up. Luz had stopped to throw up before they got back to the truck.
Not this time.
“Why, Hermie?” She tried to soften her voice. She’d had in-services on dealing with confrontational teens, but not on trying to get through to someone this sick.
Across the ring, the mare had paused again, sides heaving. She watched them nervously, her ears flicking back and forth, ready to bolt again.
If she could just keep Hermie focused on her instead of the mare…she sidled a few steps along the fence, ready to go back over if she had to, thinking maybe she could inch closer, then race over and throw the gate open.
“Need me some meat,” he leered, his eyes sweeping over her, his insinuation clear. And insulting.
She didn’t know if he’d reacted to Ann the same way; she’d gotten there too late that day.
Again she was thankful her friend hadn’t come—her practice was stressful enough without a madman’s crazy taunts. But she really wished the sheriff or a deputy would come.
She moved again and Hermie Clark chortled. “You think I don’t see you tryin’ to get to the gate? Bitch!”
He swirled suddenly and lashed out. The mare shied from the whip and lunged away, racing helplessly in circles again.
Luz could hear her own gasps of breath, and feel the acid rise in her throat. She wouldn’t lose it. She fought down the bile, the urge to puke, the sharp fear.
She was being stupid, and she knew it. She couldn’t walk away, and she knew that, too. For a faint moment, she wished she were home, counting the hours until dinner with Aaron. She almost snorted out loud. Dinner with Aaron was a luxury she couldn’t think about right now.
“I’ll buy her,” Luz offered. “Name your price. You can buy food.”
“Shoulda left her tied up,” he repeated in a flat, emotionless voice. “Easier to hurt ’em like that.”
“God, you’re sick.” She couldn’t bite the words back, but he laughed.
“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not
. You’re trespassin’, though—the law says you can kill trespassers to defend your property.”
“I’m not here to take anything.”
The whip cracked again, in front of the mare, who threw herself around and thundered straight at Luz. The horse was too near the fence to climb it, so Luz took a few steps toward the center of the pen—bringing her close to Hermie.
He laughed again, and she felt goose bumps break out on her arms.
The sudden sound of an approaching car startled them both.
“We got company,” Clark muttered, even before he turned to look.
Luz took her eyes off his and twisted to see—not the flashing lights she’d hoped for. Her eyes widened as the door of the SUV flew open and Aaron leaped out.
“Oh, look—it’s the man you been ballin’!”
“Aaron—stay back!” Luz implored as he climbed the fence. Three people and a horse in the tiny enclosure might make escape even more difficult. Aaron had never handled a panicked horse. She doubted he’d ever dealt with a man holding a whip and with a chainsaw at his feet, either.
She remembered her father working with chainsaws—unwieldy and unpredictable. Maybe he meant more to threaten than use. The memory of the other horse rose in her mind. He’d used the saw on her.
At least she’d handled horses…
The loud crack of the whip and Aaron’s cry of warning registered too late. The leather cut into Luz’s shoulder like a knife, knocking her to her knees.
“How’d that feel, girlie?” Clark asked, his eyes glittering.
“Touch her again and you’re dead,” Aaron said coldly, jumping off the top rail into the enclosure.
“You think, city boy?” The man spat at Aaron’s feet. He snapped the whip again, but this time in the air, inches away from Luz.
He turned his head toward Aaron. “You just come closer and see what I do to her,” he snarled.
Aaron stopped, his body tense, indecision in his eyes.
Luz rose slowly, and then flung herself at the whip, kicking Clark’s ankle in an attempt to trip him. He just cursed at her and shoved her back so hard that her legs buckled and she wound up on her knees. She thrust herself back as he lifted the whip and grabbed his wrist, willing him to not hit the mare again, but the man was all muscle and fury, and he shook loose and sent her reeling backwards. She caught a boot heel in the sod and fell again, her injured arm under her.
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