by Diana Palmer
‘‘If,’’ he added coldly, ‘‘you change clothes first. I am not being seen in public with you in that rig!’’
Two
Meredith wished she felt up to a fight. Her long blond hair was down in her face, her grey eyes were sparking fire. But she was sick to her stomach and bruised. She would rather have gone to bed if these stubborn men would just have let her alone. But her face could have broken or shattered bones. She knew that. She grimaced, hoping her insurance would cover a second ‘‘accident’’ in as many months.
When the unit arrived, Meredith turned away from the sight of her raging father being carried off and closed the door. Probably it wasn’t surprising to the neighbors anymore, it happened so often. But she hated having everyone know.
‘‘I’ll get dressed,’’ she said in a subdued tone.
Rey watched her go and then shoved his hands into his pockets and looked around the room. It was shabby. The only bright things in it were books—hundreds of them, in bookcases and boxes and stacked on tables and chairs. Odd, he thought. They were apparently short of cash, judging by the worn old furniture and bare floor. There was only a very small television and a portable stereo. He glanced at the CD case and was surprised to find classical music dominating the discs. What a peculiar family. Why have so many books and so little else? He wondered where the woman’s mother was. Had she left the father, and was that why he drank? It would have explained a lot. He knew about missing parents, especially missing mothers—his had left the family while the five Hart boys were young, without a backward glance.
Minutes later, Meredith came back, and except for the bruised face, he might not have recognized her. She was wearing a beige sweater set, with a tweed coat over it. Her blond hair was in a neat bun and her face devoid of makeup. She wore flat-heeled shoes and carried a purse that looked new.
‘‘Here’s your brother’s cell phone and his wallet,’’ she said, handing it to him. ‘‘I forgot to give them to Officer Sanders.’’
He glared at them and put them in his pocket. He wondered if she’d have given them back at all if he hadn’t come here. He didn’t trust her, regardless of what the policeman had said. ‘‘Let’s go,’’ he said stiffly. ‘‘The car’s outside.’’
She hesitated, but only for a minute. She wasn’t going to be able to avoid a checkup. She knew the problems that negligence could cause. Even a relatively minor problem could become major.
Unexpectedly Rey opened the car door for her. She slid in, surprised to find herself in a new luxury car. She fastened her seat belt. His brother, Simon Hart, was state attorney general. Rey owned a ranch. She remembered how his injured brother, Leo, had been dressed last night, and her eyes went to Rey’s expensive hat and boots and silk shirt. Of course, they were a wealthy family. Considering her state of dress—or undress—the night before, she could understand his misgivings about her character.
She sat wearily beside him, the ice-filled cloth still in her hand. She held it to the side of her face that was bruised and hoped that it would spare her some of the swelling. She didn’t need a doctor to tell her that it was a bad blow. The pain was almost unbearable.
‘‘I took a hit to the face a few years ago in a brawl,’’ he volunteered in his deep, slow drawl. ‘‘It hurt like hell. I imagine your face does, too.’’
She swallowed, touched by the faint concern. Tears threatened, but she never cried now. It was a weakness she couldn’t afford.
He glanced at her, puzzled. ‘‘Nothing to say?’’
She managed to get her voice under control. ‘‘Thank you for taking me to the hospital,’’ she said huskily.
‘‘Do you usually dress like that when you go out at night?’’ he asked belatedly.
‘‘I told you. There was…a Halloween party,’’ she said. It hurt to talk. ‘‘It was the only costume I had.’’
‘‘Do you like parties?’’ he asked sarcastically.
‘‘My first one…in almost four years,’’ she managed to say. ‘‘Please…hurts…to talk.’’
He glanced at her and then was quiet. He didn’t like her. He didn’t trust her. Why was he taking care of her? There was something unexpectedly vulnerable about her. But she had spirit.
He walked her into the emergency room. She filled out forms and was ushered back into a treatment cubicle while Rey sat in the waiting room between a squalling toddler and a man coughing his head off. He wasn’t used to illness. He’d never seen much of it, and he didn’t know how to cope with it. Accidents, sure, he was a good hand in an emergency, and there were plenty on a ranch. But he hated hospitals.
Meredith came back a good thirty minutes later with a prescription and a frown.
‘‘What did he say?’’ he asked conversationally.
She shrugged. ‘‘He gave me something…for pain,’’ she said, waving the prescription.
‘‘They sent me to a plastic surgeon,’’ he volunteered as they went through the automatic door.
She didn’t speak.
‘‘I had a shattered bone in my cheek that they couldn’t repair,’’ he persisted.
‘‘I’m not…going…to any damned…plastic surgeon!’’
His eyebrows arched. ‘‘Your face could be distorted.’’
‘‘So what?’’ she muttered, wincing because it really did hurt to speak. ‘‘It’s not…much of a face, anyway.’’
He scowled. She wasn’t pretty, but her face had attractive features. Her nose was straight and elegant, she had high cheekbones. Her mouth was like a little bow, perfect. Her eyes, big and grey, fascinated him.
‘‘You should go,’’ he said.
She ignored him. ‘‘Can you…drive me by the pharmacy?’’
‘‘Sure.’’
She gave him directions and he waited while she had the prescription filled. He drove her back to her house and left her there reluctantly.
‘‘I’ll be at the hospital with Leo if you need anything,’’ he said as if it pained him to say it.
“I don’t need any help. Thanks,” she added stiffly.
His eyebrows arched. ‘‘You remind me of me,’’ he murmured, and a thin smile touched his lips—a kind one. ‘‘Proud as Lucifer.’’
‘‘I get by. I really am…sorry about your brother. Will he be all right?’’ she asked at her door.
He nodded. ‘‘They want to keep him for two or three days. He’ll want to thank you.’’
‘‘No need. I would have done it for anyone.’’
He sighed. She was going to look bad for a long time, with her face in that condition. She’d been beaten and he felt responsible, God knew why. He took a breath. ‘‘I’m sorry I had you arrested,’’ he said reluctantly.
She pursed her lips. ‘‘I’ll bet…that hurt.’’
‘‘What?’’
‘‘You don’t apologize much, do you?’’ she asked, as if she knew.
He scowled down at her, puzzled.
She turned away. ‘‘No sweat. I’ll live. So long.’’
She went in and closed the door. Rey, who’d done without companionship for a number of years, suddenly felt alone. He didn’t like the feeling, so he shoved it out of his mind and drove back to the hospital. He wouldn’t see her again, anyway.
Leo came back to himself with a vengeance late that afternoon. He had Rey lever the head of his bed up and he ate dinner with pure enjoyment.
‘‘It’s not bad,’’ Leo murmured between mouthfuls. ‘‘But I wish I had a biscuit.’’
‘‘Me, too,’’ Rey said on a sigh. ‘‘I guess we could buy a restaurant, as a last resort,’’ he added dejectedly. ‘‘One that serves breakfast.’’
‘‘Who was that woman who came in with me?’’ he asked Rey.
‘‘You remember her?’’ Rey was surprised.
‘‘She looked like an angel,’’ he mused, smiling. ‘‘Blond and big-eyed and all heart. She held my hand and sat down on the sidewalk in the cold and talked to me until the ambulance got
there.’’
‘‘You were unconscious.’’
‘‘Not all the time. She even came in with me on the ambulance,’’ he said. ‘‘She kept telling me I was going to be all right. I remember her voice.’’ He smiled. ‘‘Her name was Meredith.’’
Rey’s heart jumped. He felt uneasy. Leo usually didn’t pay much attention to strange women. ‘‘Meredith Johns,’’ he agreed.
‘‘Is she married?’’ Leo asked at once.
Rey felt threatened; it irritated him. ‘‘I don’t know,’’ he said.
‘‘Do you think you could find somebody who knows how to get in touch with her?’’ his brother persisted. ‘‘ want to thank her for saving me.’’
Rey got up from the chair where he’d been sitting and walked to the darkened window, peering out through the blinds while he played for time. ‘‘She lives near the place where you were attacked,’’ he said finally, unable to lie.
‘‘What does she do for a living?’’
‘‘I don’t know,’’ Rey said, feeling uncomfortable. He couldn’t get her father’s accusing remarks out of his mind. She’d said she was dressed up for a party, she’d even found someone to give her an alibi, but Rey didn’t completely believe her. What if that whole defense was a lie? What if she was some sort of prostitute? He didn’t want his brother getting mixed up with a woman like that. He didn’t trust women, especially strange women. Then he remembered her poor, bruised face and he felt bad about his suspicions.
‘‘I’ll ask one of the nurses,’’ Leo said abruptly.
‘‘No need,’’ Rey told him. He turned back around with his hands in his pockets. ‘‘If you’re determined, I’ll go get her in the morning and bring her in to see you.’’
‘‘Why not tonight?’’
Rey let out an impatient breath. ‘‘Her father roughed her up because she got home late last night. I took her to the emergency room this morning before I came back here.’’
Leo’s eyes narrowed and went cold. ‘‘Her father beat her? And you took her back home to him?’’ he said angrily.
‘‘He wasn’t there. They took him off to jail,’’ he said. His face hardened even more. ‘‘She’ll have a hell of a bruise. They said she couldn’t go back to work for a few weeks.’’ He moved one shoulder restlessly. ‘‘Considering the way they live, I don’t know how she’ll manage,’’ he added reluctantly. ‘‘They don’t seem to have much. Apparently the old man doesn’t work and she’s the only one bringing home any money.’’ He didn’t volunteer his opinion of how she made it.
Leo leaned back against the pillows. His big frame was without its usual vibrance. His dark eyes were dull, and his lean face was drawn. His blond-streaked brown hair was unkempt, and looked odd in the back where they’d had to shave it to put stitches in. It was a reminder of how tricky head wounds were. Leo was very lucky not to have brain damage. Rey thought about the assailants and his eyes blazed.
‘‘I’m going to phone Simon tonight,’’ he told Leo. ‘‘I’m sure the local police will do all they can to catch the guys who waylaid you, but they’ll work even harder if they get a call from the state attorney general.’’
‘‘There you go again, pulling strings,’’ Leo mused.
‘‘It’s for a good cause.’’
‘‘Did you find my wallet and my cell phone?’’ Leo asked.
‘‘The woman had them. They’re in my pocket.’’
‘‘Good. I didn’t think she had anything to do with mugging me. Don’t forget your promise to bring Meredith here in the morning,’’ he said.
Now it was ‘‘Meredith.’’ Rey didn’t like the whole idea of having Leo around the woman, but he didn’t have a legitimate reason for keeping her from Leo’s side. It would sound even more suspicious if Rey started throwing out sarcastic remarks about her. Leo did love to pull his chain.
‘‘Okay,’’ he said reluctantly.
‘‘Good man,’’ Leo replied with a wan grin. ‘‘Nothing like family to look after you.’’
‘‘Next time, watch your back instead of daydreaming about forage grasses,’’ Rey said firmly. Then he leaned forward in the chair. ‘‘So, tell me what sort of grasses the Cattleman’s Association is advocating.’’
Rey got a hotel room near the hospital, so that he could have a bath and get some rest. The night staff had the phone number, so they could call him immediately if he was needed.
He phoned Simon before he went to bed.
‘‘Leo’s been mugged?’’ Simon exclaimed. ‘‘And you didn’t call me last night?’’
That tone was still intimidating, even though Rey was thirty-one. Simon was the eldest of the five brothers, and the bossiest, next to Cag.
‘‘I was too upset to phone anybody,’’ Rey returned, ‘‘and too busy trying to handle…another problem that cropped up. He’s all right. Honest. I didn’t find out until the early hours of the morning, and it’s been a long day. He was already out of danger before it occurred to me that I needed to let you know.’’
‘‘All right,’’ Simon said, sounding as if he was more relaxed. ‘‘Do they have a suspect?’’
‘‘No. I thought we did, but it turned out to be a dead end,’’ he added, without going into details about Meredith Johns. ‘‘There were two of them, and they haven’t been caught. It’s a miracle he wasn’t killed, and that they were stopped in time before they robbed him. You might give the local police chief a call. Just to let him know we’re all interested in solving the case.’’
‘‘You want me to use my influence for personal gain?’’ Simon drawled.
‘‘Hell, yes, I do!’’ Rey shot back. ‘‘This is our brother, for God’s sake! If a big, strong man like Leo can get mugged in a residential neighborhood, so can anybody else! It doesn’t say a lot for the security in this area.’’
‘‘No, it doesn’t,’’ Simon agreed. ‘‘I’ll point that out to the police commissioner, first thing tomorrow. Then I’ll run down to Jacobsville and get Cag and Corrigan and we’ll be right up to see about Leo.’’
Rey chuckled. It was the first bit of humor he’d felt so far. The five brothers rarely went so far as to gang up on people, but considering the size and reputation of them, they got results when they did. This was an emergency, anyway. They could have lost a brother. The perpetrators had to be caught.
‘‘They should be home by now,’’ Rey replied. ‘‘I couldn’t phone them because they were showing those Japanese businessmen around the ranch and the town.’’
‘‘I’ll see how much luck they had. Japan is very careful about its import beef. The fact that we run organically raised cattle will certainly go in our favor,’’ Simon said.
‘‘Yes, it will. Get some sleep. And don’t worry about Leo. He’s fine. I’d never have left the hospital if I’d had one doubt about that.’’
‘‘I’ll stop worrying.’’
‘‘Give my love to Tira and the boys,’’ Rey added.
‘‘I’ll do that. See you tomorrow.’’
Rey hung up, thinking about Simon and his family. Tira was redheaded and gorgeous, and the boys favored both of them, although they had Simon’s dark eyes and hair. Corrigan and Dorie had a boy and a girl. Cag and Tess had just a boy, but they were talking about how nice a daughter would be. Meanwhile, Rey and Leo enjoyed being uncles, but had no interest in joining the ranks of the married.
If it wasn’t for those biscuits, Rey thought miserably. It was going to be expensive to have the local café make biscuits for them every day until they employed a new biscuit maker, but if they got desperate enough, and offered enough of an incentive, they could probably manage it.
Turning his attention elsewhere, Rey gave a thought to poor Leo with his stitches and his headache, and another to Meredith Johns’s bruised face. Tomorrow, he’d have to deal with Leo’s request to see her, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. He wished he knew why.
Rey went to Meredith Johns’s house the next morning after h
e’d had breakfast. It took her a minute or two to answer the door, and for an instant, he thought that perhaps she might not be in any condition to answer it. She’d been badly bruised.
But she opened the door and peered up at him bravely, even though she looked like a refugee from a bar brawl. Her left eye was swollen shut completely now.
‘‘Leo wants to see you,’’ he said easily, noticing how the top of her blond head only came to his shoulder. She wasn’t tall. Even bruised, her face had a beautiful complexion. Her mouth was pretty. He shook himself mentally. ‘‘He wants to thank you for what you did. He remembers that you rode in on the ambulance with him. You didn’t tell me that,’’ he added with faint accusation.
‘‘I wasn’t thinking,’’ she said. ‘‘I was worried about what would happen when I came home late.’’
‘‘Have you heard any more about your father this morning?’’ he asked grimly.
‘‘They’re going to charge him with simple battery,’’ she said heavily. ‘‘I can’t afford a lawyer. He’ll have a public defender and he’ll probably have to stay in jail for a few weeks.’’ She looked up at him. ‘‘It will be a godsend, you know, because he’ll dry out completely.’’
He hated the compassion he felt. ‘‘Did your mother leave him?’’ he asked.
She averted her face. She couldn’t bear to talk about it yet. ‘‘In a way,’’ she said huskily. ‘‘Are you going to drive me?’’ she added, glancing at him over her shoulder. ‘‘The bus doesn’t run for another thirty minutes.’’
‘‘Sure,’’ he agreed.
‘‘Then I’ll get my jacket and purse.’’
She went into another room and came back quickly, leading the way out the door. ‘‘Is he conscious now?’’
‘‘Very,’’ he murmured dryly. ‘‘When I left him, he was telling a nurse what she could do with the wash basin, and how far.’’
She chuckled. ‘‘He didn’t seem like that kind of man,’’ she murmured. ‘‘I had him figured for a gentleman, not a renegade.’’
‘‘We’re all that kind of man,’’ he replied.