A Texas Family

by Linda Warren

  Back then, they were kids and happy in their own way. They had Aunt Fran, their friends and each other. Their father was someone who yelled at them and, when they displeased him, gave them a sharp lash from his belt.

  Asa had a softer side, too, but he rarely showed it. He’d brought a puppy home one time for Jared and let him keep it in his room. Asa had fed it on occasion. Then there were times he’d take them to horse and cattle auctions, and he’d proudly tell people, “These are my boys.” He gave them money, trucks, anything they wanted. But he never gave them his love. At least, Carson never felt it. He was pretty sure Jared hadn’t, either.

  There was something about DNA, though. It bound people together, overlooked faults, accepted imperfections, and even if those three words were never spoken, instinctively they were understood.

  Carson skimmed another pebble across the creek. How did the Corbett family get so messed up? There wasn’t an answer.

  Glancing at his watch, he rose to his feet. He had to get his kids from school. They were the bright spot in his life. He would never let them down, and he made sure they felt his love every day.

  With one foot in the stirrup, he swung into the saddle and turned Jet toward home. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Jena. He’d rather take another lash from Pa’s belt than tell her she would never know what had happened to her baby.

  * * *

  JENA WAS RESTLESS and had to do something to let off some steam. She pulled the mower out of the shed and finished mowing the yard. After that, she used the Weedwacker to trim around the edges. There wasn’t a single blade of grass peeping up its head. The yard looked better. But it would look even better with flower beds.

  In the shed she found a hoe and started digging. She didn’t stop until she had a bed on each side of the porch. Her back and shoulders ached, so she thought she’d stop for the day. After the house was painted, she’d buy mulch and finish the beds.

  All day she’d forced herself not to think of Carson and their talk, but she’d looked at her watch about a hundred times. She’d given him until eight o’clock, and she intended to keep her word on that. Wiping sweat from her brow, she decided to take a break and sat on the porch. A light breeze fanned her heated skin.

  Carson had wanted to know why it had taken her so long to come back. Her reason was personal and private, and she would not share her life with him. Hilary and cousin Nan knew, but other than them she hadn’t told a soul, not even Blake.

  Realizing it was six o’clock, she went inside to fix supper for her mother. At least Hilary didn’t have to rush home for that. She made ham-and-cheese sandwiches, and her mother ate very little. She had a faraway look in her eyes as she picked the cheese off her sandwich.

  “Is Hilary still at school?” Norma asked.

  Jena was taken aback. Her mother had been fine all day. Now she seemed to be in another place.

  “Um...yes.” She followed Hil’s example and agreed with her.

  “I don’t like her walking home in the dark.”

  “Hilary’s fine, Mama. I’ll check on her later.”

  Her mother touched her arm. “You’re a good sister. Have you finished your homework?”

  “Um...yes.”

  Norma suddenly sat up straight, her head cocked to one side. “Did you hear that? Is that the sound of your dad’s truck?”

  “No, Mama. It’s just a noise on the highway.”

  “I don’t know.” Norma jumped up and went into the living room, peering out the window. “I don’t see anything.”

  Jena followed her. “It’s nothing.”

  “I’ll sit in my chair and wait.” Norma sank into her recliner. “If I holler, you get out of the house. I don’t want him beating on you again.”

  How many times had she heard those words? More than she wanted to remember. In that moment she realized her mother had spent most of her life listening for the sound of her husband’s truck. No wonder she was losing her mind. Without any happiness, the mind had found its own kind of peace.

  After putting ham and cheese back into the refrigerator, she slammed the door just a little too hard. Why did life have to be like this? As a kid she used to dream of a happy family with loving parents. She’d tell her dad about her day and he’d smile and encourage her. Reality was far removed from the fantasy. But when their grandmother had been alive, their life had been almost normal. Their dad had supper with them every night and he didn’t drink. At least not in Grandmother’s presence.

  After her death, life became a nightmare. Her father lost his job, and he was angry all the time. The drinking, arguing and fighting started. Life was never the same again.

  She cleaned the kitchen counter with a deep sigh. There had to be happy families somewhere. Maybe they only existed beyond the clouds in Hilary’s mural.

  To stop the depressing thoughts she went to take a bath. Afterward, she slipped on clean shorts and a tank top. She hadn’t brought many clothes, and it was a good thing Hilary had the washing machine. After putting a load on to wash, she checked on her mother. She was sound asleep in her chair. At peace.

  She went outside and sat on the porch, swinging her legs off the side the way she had as a child. It was after seven and Carson hadn’t come by or called. She’d wait until after eight and take it from there. She hadn’t called Blake today, and she’d wait on that, too. Right now her thoughts were on her child. Carson would come, she kept telling herself. He’d have news. But they’d parted on an angry note, so she shouldn’t expect much. Still, she kept hoping.

  The white constable car turned into the driveway and her heart raced. He was here. She ran her sweaty palms down her bare thighs and waited.

  He strolled toward her, and there was something in the way he moved. Was it dejection? Despair? She couldn’t decide. Either way, it wasn’t good.

  “Good evening, Ms. Brooks,” he said, his voice cordial yet hesitant.

  “Good evening,” she replied. “Have you talked to your father?” The words rushed out before she could stop them.

  “Yes.”

  “And?”

  “He admits to taking your baby.”

  Her heart skyrocketed. She hadn’t expected Asa to admit that so easily. “Oh” slipped from her throat.

  “Don’t get your hopes up,” he warned.

  “Why?”

  “He’s never going to tell you where that baby is.”

  “What?” She was confused.

  “Revenge, Ms. Brooks. The ultimate revenge. In his mind you took Jared from him, and in return he took your child. And since he can’t get Jared back, you’re not getting your child back, either. I’m sorry, but that’s just the way Asa is.”

  Her hands curled into fists. “How can he be that evil?”

  “Like I said, I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, but I’ve done what you asked. It’s out of my hands now. Call your lawyer and let him do what he can, but nothing on this earth will make Asa tell his secret. I know him well enough to know that.”

  “It’s illegal to steal someone’s baby,” she said with barely controlled anger.

  “Yes, and Asa will be arrested because he freely admits to everything, but in his condition very little will be done. He’ll probably be put into a home.”

  She fought the tears forming in her eyes. “I don’t understand any of this. Asa was so mean to Jared, and all he wanted to do was get away from his father. Now he’s acting like Jared was a son he loved dearly.”

  “In his heart I guess he did.”

  “He doesn’t have a heart,” she spat. “How can he keep a child from its mother? Jared’s child!”

  Carson shrugged. “I don’t profess to understand my father. He’s all the things you say he is, but that’s not going to change a thing. He will never tell you what happened. That sec
ret will die with him. I’m sorry for what he put you through, but for me this is over. There’s nothing else I can do.”

  She stood on unsteady legs. “It will never be over for me, Mr. Corbett.”

  “I understand that.”

  “Do you? Do you know what it’s like to have your baby forcefully taken from you? Do you know what it’s like to be in fear of your very life? Do you...?” Tears clogged her throat, and she had to stop.

  He stepped forward as if to console her.

  She flung out her arms. “Do not touch me. Ever.”

  “Ms. Bro...”

  Not able to take any more, she turned and ran into the house. Tears ran from her eyes, and her body shook violently. They would not break her. She would not give in to the pain. She sank onto the floor in the bedroom and stared at Hilary’s clouds and drifted away to a better place.

  * * *

  WHEN CARSON WAS in Afghanistan, he’d often wondered what it would feel like to be hit by a sniper’s bullet. Now he knew. It had to be similar to the paralyzing fear that controlled his body and his mind. And touched his soul.

  After Jared’s and Beth’s deaths, he’d felt a deep sadness and didn’t know how he was going to go on without them. They were a big part of his world and adjusting to a new life wasn’t easy, but he had his kids. Jena had nothing.

  Somehow he felt responsible for her pain because he’d delivered the bad news. That hopeless look on her face got to him, and he just wanted to comfort her in some way, but there was no comfort in the knowledge she would never see her child.

  He got into his car, cursing his father’s stubbornness and life’s cruelty. Maybe she could move on now and find happiness. That was, after Asa was arrested. Maybe that would bring her some peace. For him it would be another nightmare to get through.

  He and Beth had vowed to have a happy, loving family, and they had for a while. They were ecstatic when they found out she was pregnant with Trey. In her sixth month, they’d decided it would be better if she came home to Willow Creek to have the baby.

  Beth had called her mother, who’d said it wasn’t a good time to come home. After many years of marriage, Connie and Don Kirby were getting a divorce. Beth had packed and gone home anyway, trying to save her parents’ marriage. It hadn’t worked. Her father had already moved out, and her mother was planning to relocate to Maine to be with a truck driver she’d met at Mabel’s Café.

  Beth was devastated and Carson was so far away he couldn’t help her. That was when Asa had stepped in and invited Beth to live at the Bar C. Beth was one of the few people Asa liked, so Carson hadn’t worried about how his father would treat her. He doted on her, hiring a housekeeper and making sure Beth had everything she needed.

  Beth’s parents’ marriage was another statistic in the marriage game. Don moved to Oregon and started another family. Beth rarely heard from her father. He was in the hospital having knee surgery when Beth died. After that, he’d called several times, but Carson hadn’t heard from the man in years. Connie married the truck driver and lived in Maine. She’d returned to Willow Creek for the funeral but soon left. Carson hadn’t heard from her since.

  Even though both of their parents’ marriages had failed, he and Beth were determined to make theirs work. That was when he first thought about leaving the Marines. He and Beth needed to be together, especially since they were starting a family. Maybe Asa had mellowed and Carson could run the ranch now. So many maybes had filled his head, especially since Beth had told him that Asa continued to push Jared hard, and she feared he would leave and never come back. But then the unthinkable had happened. Jared was killed and life became a daily nightmare.

  He backed out of the Brookses’ driveway and turned toward home. Tonight after he put his kids to bed, he’d think about Jena and the pain she would endure for the rest of her life.

  Happiness was just an illusion, he decided. All one could do was hope for the best, and he wished that for Jena. He prayed she found peace, in whatever way she could.

  * * *

  “JENA.”

  Jena blinked at the light on her phone. She was still sitting on the floor in the bedroom, but now it was completely dark.

  Hilary flipped on the light. “What’s going on? The house was in complete darkness when I drove up. Mama’s in bed and I thought you were, too. Why are you sitting on the floor?”

  Jena gripped her phone. “What time is it?”

  “After ten.” Hil slid down beside her. “What’s wrong?”

  She told her sister what Carson had said.

  “That sorry old bastard. Someone needs to slap him.”

  “I got the feeling it doesn’t matter. You can slap him, jail him, kill him and Asa’s still not telling his secret. You see, it’s his last revenge on me. He doesn’t have his son because of me, or so he feels, and so I will never have my child.”

  “That’s insane.”

  “Yeah, but how do you reason with someone who’s insane?”

  “I don’t know, Jen-Jen. I’m so sorry.”

  She lifted the phone in her hand. “I’ve been sitting here trying to call Blake. I’ve punched his number about ten times, but I click off before it goes through.”

  “Why?”

  “Blake is a cutthroat lawyer, and if he comes here he can cause all kinds of trouble.”

  “That’s good. Maybe he can scare the truth out of Asa.”

  “And he can make the whole town hate us. You have a good relationship with everyone here, and I don’t want that to change. And I certainly don’t want anyone to upset Mama.”

  “So you’re going to give up?”

  “I will never give up. I just haven’t figured out what I’m going to do, but I’ve come to the conclusion I don’t need Blake. I can handle this on my own.”

  Hil’s mouth fell open. “You’re going to confront Asa?”

  “I’m not sure yet, but by morning I’ll have a plan. If Carson thinks I’m going to quietly leave town like before, then he’s in for a shock. One way or another I’m going to find my child.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  THE NEXT MORNING Carson drove into the parking spot for his office, which was part of the paved area for the convenience store and gas station next door. He didn’t need a lot of space. People rarely came to see him—when he got a call, he went to whoever was calling in a disturbance or a complaint.

  For years Willow Creek hadn’t had a constable’s office, but Asa had built the current building for Bernie about thirty years ago. Back then Asa was the law in Willow Creek, Texas. Bernie did exactly what Asa wanted him to.

  He spotted Ms. Brooks’s car parked to the side. What was she doing here? Reaching for his office keys from the center console, he opened the door and got out. When she saw him, she got out, as well.

  He tipped his hat. “Mornin’, Ms. Brooks.”

  “Morning.”

  Her eyes were sad and had that cried-out look. Once again, he felt sympathy for her situation. In jeans and a white knit top that barely came to her waistband, she managed to look incredibly sexy. And that was the last thing he should be noticing.

  “I’m not sure why you’re here,” he said to shift his mind in the right direction. “I told you last night there was nothing else I could do. I’ll fax my report to the sheriff, and he will take it from there.” He looked around. “Is your lawyer meeting you here?”

  “I want to talk to you.”

  “Oh...okay.” He walked toward the front door, wondering why she needed to talk. There wasn’t much left to discuss. But he didn’t mind talking if that was what she wanted. He just didn’t see the point.

  He unlocked his office door, flipped on the light and turned on the air conditioning. The room was stuffy from being closed up. Hooking his hat on a peg, he took a moment and then sat d
own. She’d already taken a seat in the chair across from his desk.

  When she didn’t say anything, he asked again, “Is your lawyer meeting you here?”

  “I’ve changed my mind about that.”

  “Why?” That surprised him. She’d been so adamant.

  “Blake would come into town with guns blazing, so to speak. His investigators would be relentless in getting answers.”

  “Isn’t that what you want?”

  “Yes, but my sister, Hilary, has a very good relationship with everyone here, and I don’t want to do anything to change that or to hurt her. And I really don’t want anyone to upset my mother.”

  “I’m not quite following you.”

  “I thought about this all night, and I’m not slinking out of town like I did before. But on the other hand I can’t cause any more stress for my family.”

  “So that leaves what?”

  She brushed at something on her jeans with a nervous hand. “Yesterday you said the cases had been closed quickly and there was still a lot of evidence out there.”

  “When I said that, you became very offended.”

  “I know, but now I’m thinking about it a little differently.”

  “How differently?”

  “I’d like to find what other evidence is out there. There has to be someone other than Asa who knows what happened that night.”

  He picked up a pencil and twirled it in his fingers, wondering how to phrase his next question. “I don’t want to upset you, but have you thought of the obvious?”

  She moved restlessly in her chair, and he knew she’d thought of every scenario concerning her baby...even though it was painful. “I don’t want to believe Asa could be that cruel. That evil.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

  He didn’t, either, but they had to look at the possibility, as he had for the past twenty-four hours. It was burned into his brain. Asa had wanted revenge, and Carson was so afraid he’d found the ultimate way to get it.

  “What do you expect from me, Ms. Brooks?”

  Her dark sad eyes found his, and he felt a catch in his throat at all the pain he saw there.