Slim doubted he was the only one to flinch. Slapping his hands to his knees, Slim stood. "Well, I believe it's time to get reacquainted with my little princess," he announced with more bravado than he felt. He looked squarely at Edna, "May I walk you home, honey?"
Edna nodded. "Just know this, Eddy, I won't assist you in this. If Tiara is still at Meadows, I'll be going directly to my room. You brought her here for a purpose, and she should know what it is, even if a part of that objective has backfired."
"Yes, backfired badly," Sarah said, anger strong in her tone. "As in blunder, boo-boo, big ass mistake."
"Sarah," Craig said softly, taking her hand in his own. Sarah looked at their joined hands. "I kinda suspect Tiara's daddy is aware of the situation. I think we should leave him to it, preferably without more synonyms." Slim thought he caught a smile on her lips, as she nodded agreement.
As Craig and Sarah rose from the couch, Slim moved next to Edna. He extended his hand to Craig. "Sure wish we'd met under better circumstances, young man."
"Craig. Name's Craig Walters, and I work for you daughter." Slim nodded, surprised when Craig added, "Sure hope you get this mended 'cause I don't care to have my boss, who's also my friend, hurt. Jayce may be a new friend, but I'm not too happy about what you've done to her, either. You need to make this right, sir."
"That is my intention, Craig."
"All right, then. I have some sightseeing to do with this incredible woman," Craig escorted Sarah to the front door. "Think you need to get along with it."
Slim turned to Edna. "Ready to go home?"
"Ready to face Tiara?" Edna asked with a sympathetic smile.
"No, but I think it's long overdue."
"You'll feel better when you've got it over and behind us."
"I don't know, honey," Slim said, shaking his head. "Why do I get this gut feeling I'm about to put a Band-Aid where I should be applying a tourniquet?"
Chapter Twenty-two
TIARA HAD CLEANED up and placed all the biscuits into miscellaneous plastic-ware she'd located in the cupboard. She sat sullenly at the table staring into her mug of neglected coffee. When she heard someone enter through the kitchen's screen door, Tiara turned around to see Edna walking in. Tiara jumped up and rushed over to give Edna a hug. "Thank goodness you're home, Aunt Edna. I've upset Jayce and don't know what I did."
Edna patted her back and pulled from the embrace. "I know, honey. Come to my room when you're done, and we'll talk about it."
"I've already finished. Oh yeah, I used some of your containers to put the stuff up in."
Shaking her head, Edna nudged Tiara back a step to shift them away from the door. That's when Tiara noticed the person behind her, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Papa Slim?"
"Hey, there, princess," he replied hesitantly, as if uncertain of her welcome.
With a reassuring squeeze to her shoulder, Edna said, "I'll be upstairs."
Tiara focused on her father as Edna left the kitchen, her steady tread sounding on the stairs. Other than more grey hair, he looked exactly as she remembered him from a decade ago. So much time had passed, and Tiara's brain reminded her of his abandonment. Her instinct was to close the distance and lock him in her arms. She didn't know what to do. The little girl in her won. Closing the distance, Tiara flung her arms around her father. "Damn it, Dad, where have you been? I've messed up so much without you."
"I'm here now. We'll fix this." His tears dampened the side of her cheek. "I'm sorry, princess, that I left this go on so long."
She pulled away, giving a watery chuckle, as she scowled at him. "Don't let it happen again." Tiara returned to the kitchen chair, pointing to a chair beside hers. "We need to talk. You know I'm very mad at you, right?"
He nodded gloomily. "You have every right to be angry."
"According to Jayce, not entirely as much as I thought I did. Look, Dad, I need to understand some stuff to fix what I've messed up with Jayce."
"Is that what you really want, Princess, to fix things with Jayce?"
"I'd at least like to keep our friendship, yes." She frowned. "Where were you?"
"Edna's bunkhouse," he said and his face flushed.
Tiara was hurt. "You've been here the whole time?"
"Got here the morning Majestic did." Slim straightened in his chair. "Look, Princess--"
"Yeah, I'm hurt you didn't come see me, first thing. But, I need answers not excuses, right now. You said you won Majestic." Tiara paused. "No, that's not important, either." She didn't want to bring up Angie, but there really wasn't a way to avoid the topic forever. "Angie said you didn't want anything to do with me, and that's why you never came around or asked me to spend the summers or holidays."
"That is purely a lie. I've always wanted you with me at the Acres," Slim said, his voice rattled with sadness.
"Jayce mentioned Angie had a legal document preventing either of you from coming near me. I'm sorry about that, by the way. I never knew. And I certainly didn't know she was destroying all our letters to each other, either."
Slim inhaled deeply. "Truth told, Princess, your mother had a lot of problems. Unfortunately, by the time I figured it out, it was too late. Our divorce never finalized, so some of her rights were always as my wife. One being I couldn't exactly fight over custody issues. You also need to realize it was a different time. Nowadays, dads are getting a better deal with rights, even if they aren't always the better parent."
"Then how did she get the protection order?" Tiara asked.
"Convinced the court we were separated and working through counseling." He frowned. "Tiara, I may not have physically been around, and I'm sorrier about that than you can know, but I paid your mother's bills, and I had people who understood the situation, help me get word about you and what your needs may have been." He nodded sadly. "Maybe not the emotional needs, Princess, but, well, there were limitations to my involvement. I was terrified of upsetting your mother too much, as I suspected she turned that bitterness on you."
He hit that nail on the head, certainly. Angie had done that very thing. She was surprised, however, that he had been as involved as he had been. Tiara knew part of her wasn't forgiving him completely, but she felt better. There would still need to be venting and healing time. Nothing could change the past, just her perception of it, and she realized she needed to do that. "What do you do for money, if not gamble?"
"I'm an investor. I started with venture capital when I was with Angie, now I mostly stick with investment counseling and mutual fund portfolios." He shrugged. "So, in a manner of speaking, I do gamble, first with my own money, now with other peoples." Slim scooted closer and leaned his elbows on the table. "As for winning Majestic, I own him outright. When I said I won him, I was also being vague. Majestic's previous owner wanted to keep him at the ranch to stud. I wanted to bring him here to rest, maybe give Jayce a chance to work with him. That was gambling because it was determined with a coin toss."
She smiled at her father. Jayce seemed to know about her father's profession, and did spend time with him, as he thought of her first when it came to the horse. How much involvement did she have in Slim's plan to get her to Silver Waters? "Dad, did Jayce know about your contrivance to get me here?"
Shock replaced his smile. "No, honey, she certainly did not. Edna only learned of it after I'd set the plan into motion. Neither one can be held accountable. This was all my doing."
"But I don't understand why?"
"I wanted to see if you'd come." He cleared his throat. "Also, I know Jayce has had it bad for you for a long while. When that cop started visiting, I didn't want Jayce to give up the chance you'd come back. So, I helped the situation along."
That was a surprising turn of events. Once she realized who Sarah was, Tiara didn't take chasing Juanita seriously; but, Jayce hadn't mentioned a female cop. Immediately, her heart tightened with jealousy. But she would be leaving Silver Waters, returning to her business and a life elsewhere. She should give Jayce her
chance at happiness.
Slim didn't appear to see her distress. He continued with his explanation. "It wasn't just for Jayce, though. I'm being selfish, here. Princess, I proposed to Edna and she won't have me until I make things right by you. I don't expect you to come back, but I want you to be part of our future life together." He shook his head. "I'm not sure what transpired between you and Jayce, but it wouldn't have happened if I'd left things alone."
Left Jayce to her cop and a happily-ever-after? Tiara shivered. "Well, Papa Slim, I'm kinda thinking the rift between Jayce and me is my doing, not yours. I also suspect your fiancé will have a better understanding of what happened with Jayce."
"Are you upset about my upcoming wedding?"
Tiara and he stood simultaneously, and she gave him a heartfelt hug. "It's long overdue, Dad, and I couldn't be happier. I hope you realize what an incredible woman you're getting." He broke out in the loopiest, dopiest grin she'd ever seen on anyone. "Guess you do realize. Right now, I need that wonderful woman's advice." She turned away and then she remembered Elmo. "So I don't really have to worry about the little gangster and his henchman?"
Slim burst into laughter. "No, Elmo's an actor friend who owed me a favor. The henchman is his brother. Both are harmless."
Just remembering the pair sent a strange niggling disquiet through her. "I hope you're right." Tiara didn't know why, but intuition told her she hadn't seen the last of Elmo and his huge brother. The feeling left her feeling strangely apprehensive.
SARAH'S STOMACH TWISTED in knots as she sat in the driver's seat, not ready to leave the car. It had been a long time since she'd been back to the family farmhouse, and usually Jayce came along with her. Now it felt simultaneously disturbing and right to have Craig with her. Oddly, to her at least, the idea that she could easily fall for the younger man, disturbed her. Craig seemed older on some levels. She did recognize he easily lapsed into immature behavior a bit too readily. However, overall, he came across as truly caring, a good listener, and an honestly kindhearted man. She smiled, and he was a great kisser. If anyone mentioned her recent breakup, since meeting and kissing Craig, she'd have to reply, "Johnny who?"
Right now, she had another thing to be grateful for since her time together with Craig. He was the only one, other than Jayce, to catch the nuances in her reactions and changes in her emotions.
As if to confirm her thoughts, Craig reached across and took her right hand into his left hand. "We can do this another time."
Much as she wanted to do that very thing, Sarah knew she'd eventually need to face the house, pleased with his genuine concern. "No, I need to get over this."
"There's plenty of time. I realize this is painful for you."
Sarah looked over at him. The idea of going into her childhood home, the memories of parents who gave all they had for her, proved terribly daunting. However, those memories were such wonderful ones, and she wanted to keep them. Only Jayce knew, so far, that Sarah had been considering giving up her Hollywood life, leaving Juanita Juarez behind forever and settling down in Silver Waters. Jayce was extremely supportive of her desires and dreams. Sarah had thought Johnny would learn to want those things, too, and was glad she'd found out the truth before she moved forward with that particular plan. If she followed through with her retirement, Sarah would need to make modifications to the house, which hadn't been upgraded in twenty years or more. "I'm glad you're here for this."
Craig returned her stare seriously. "For recommendations on renovations?"
She flashed a wry grin. "That, too. Mostly because you seem to really care about and understand how difficult this is for me."
He squeezed her hand. "And you know I'm here for Sarah, not Juanita?"
"Yeah, I believe I do."
"Good, because I mean it." Craig shifted in the passenger seat so he faced her. "I'll understand if you can't go in the house yet. You wanna call me a couple months from now, I'll be here for you then, too, for you as long as you want or need me to be."
The honesty in his eyes was almost her undoing. Before she could give in to a bout of tears, she pulled the keys from the ignition, pushed open her door and exited the car. Craig did likewise. Sarah located the house key on the ring as she made her way up the stairs to the porch, and stood in front of the door. They both stepped in when she'd pushed the front door open wide.
Since Edna and Jayce had a cleaning service regularly come to the house, Sarah hadn't been surprised by the lingering smell of cleaning fluids. The pictures of various stages of Sarah's life hung up on almost every available wall space, from the entryway and curving up both sides of the walls along the staircase.
The furniture in the living room remained the same she'd reclined in while watching television, doing her homework because she didn't like being alone in her room. The room where her mother constantly slapped the bottom of her feet when she'd placed them on the coffee table, knowing it was against the house rules. Sarah and her parents had all the usual angst and arguments, but they'd always gotten over them quickly. Her childhood home more often rang with laughter and loving teasing. Sarah was loved. She thought of how blessed she had been, knowing others like Tiara, may not have had the same experiences.
As she took Craig through the house reciting memories when the moment inspired them, Sarah wondered, what were Craig's thoughts about her home? When she and Jayce were growing up, even when they dated, Sarah hadn't been a nester like Jayce. She wanted a career, the fortune and the fame. Now that she'd had it, Sarah couldn't help wanting the same things Jayce longed for. And she needed to find someone who wanted what she did? Could Craig be that man? Was he simply viewing the house as a project? He was still young. Did Craig think or care about raising a family?
"This would be an awesome home for raising kids," Craig said.
"Not usually something a guy your age would admit."
"I'm not like most guys, Sarah, I hope someday you'll get that. Actually, I had a fantastic childhood, and I can't wait to share that with someone special."
Sarah said. "I'm surprised you aren't settled down then."
"Are you kidding? That's a commitment that requires a unique person with a like mind." He shook his head. "I want a relationship like my parents had, compatible and fulfilling in all ways. I refuse to settle for just anyone." Craig waggled his eyebrows. "Still waiting for the right woman to have the light bulb go on over her head." He stared at her. "I refuse to take marriage lightly--no matter who she is."
Craig could be the keeper, but so soon after Johnny, was she ready to find out? She wondered if the last comment had been specifically aimed at her, or if she were reading more into the situation because of her own thoughts along that same path. A path Sarah needed to get off before she landed herself into trouble she wasn't prepared to handle.
"Okay, handsome handyman, tell me your thoughts on renovating my home."
Chapter Twenty-three
TIARA LEFT THE kitchen and went to find Edna. At the top of the stairs, she heard movement, knowing Edna's room was at the end of the hall and to the right she headed in that direction. On the left side of the hallway an open door drew her attention. It was the master bedroom, from the size of it, and the décor broadcasted Jayce's personality like a bullhorn. Impulsively, Tiara entered the room drawn to objects on the dresser. The top held a hairbrush, a glass bowl with change, and the wooden horse Tiara had carved that fateful day in the old barn. With a trembling hand, Tiara picked up the carving immediately noting the shiny spots of dirt worn smooth from years of being rubbed. Tiara noticed the brown spot staining the wood and she recognized it as the blood from when she'd cut herself. That spot was also shiny from years of rubbing.
"I never understood the significance of the horse, until the day I tried to remove it from the dresser." Tiara turned toward Edna, who stood in the doorway staring at the wooden carving she held. "I didn't know where she had picked it up, no idea of the significance, only that she had it all dirty. How healthy could that be?" Ed
na smiled crookedly in memory. "Jayce walked into her room just as I was picking it up, rushed over and yanked it from my hand, demanding that I never touch it again. 'Touch or take anything from my room, Aunt Edna, but this, this is the only part of Red I may ever have.' " Edna blinked, focusing on Tiara now. "And I never touched it again. To my memory, no one has."
"It's not great workmanship, and I wasn't very good at it."
"It's beautiful, a part of you that Jayce was able to hold and cherish. It meant the world to her." Edna moved all the way into the room and stood beside Tiara. "When Jayce gets sad, which luckily isn't very often, she holds the carving and gets terribly quiet, focusing internally. After a while, she's worked through whatever has upset her and is able to move on. Her own personal therapy totem."
Tiara indicated the bloodstain. "She caught me carving this in dad's barn. I was alarmed, not expecting to get caught whittling. I thought my carving would instigate some wisecrack from her, and I ended up nicking myself." The memory brought tears to her eyes as she stared down at the carving. "That was the first time Jayce kissed me. But then she ran away."
Edna nodded. "She told me about that. She said at that moment she knew."
Tiara gave a wry grin. "Knew what?"
"It's not my place to say," Edna said, shaking her head. "Let's focus on this morning. Can you tell me what happened? Why you think you did something wrong?"
"I wish I knew. One minute we're joking and laughing, teasing about mending fences, and Jayce got weird on me. I thought we'd come to a truce, but Jayce indicated wanting more." Tiara got up and paced, reluctant to get too personal with Jayce's aunt. After all, Edna had a duty to defend her niece. Tiara didn't want to put her in the position to need to do so, but she herself needed to understand whether things were more desperate than she imagined them to be. "I can't stay in Silver Waters, Aunt Edna. I have a life, and it's not here. Not anymore. I wish you could all see and accept it."
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