“Austin found him late Sunday night out in the south pasture.”
I was oh for two. I didn’t have a clue why Austin would have been on my daddy’s ranch, much less that far out in his fields. Now wasn’t the time to ask. “What happened?” It was like listening to someone else talk. I’d heard of people feeling as though they’d drifted outside their bodies and watched themselves; I’d just never experienced it…until now.
Her sobs had eased enough that I was able to understand her broken speech and cracked words. “He tried to save some cows that fell behind when they moved them to another pasture. He went alone.” My daddy knew better than that. It wasn’t safe. There had to be another explanation. “When Austin found him, he was still conscious. He’s not now.”
I shouldn’t still be stuck on the fact that Austin was involved, yet my mind couldn’t let go. That thought was easier to handle than the image of Daddy alone in a pasture in pain. “Why was Austin there?”
“Seriously?” Gone were the tears. They’d been replaced by sass and grunts. “That’s what you’re worried about? What about Daddy’s condition?” She huffed into the receiver. “Great day in the morning, Randi. You need to get your head on straight and get home.”
Great day in the morning? She’d turned into one of those old women in Mason Belle who did nothing other than get into people’s business. They called it concern; the rest of the world called it gossip.
I felt like I was eighteen again, and she was daring me to cross her. The last time I’d done that, things hadn’t ended well for any of us. Tamping my irritation at her tone and the fear crawling up my neck, I tried to focus. “Is he...” I wasn’t sure I could get the words out of my mouth. “Is he going to make it?”
Sarah sighed on the other end, and Eason stood abruptly. “I don’t know, Randi. You need to get home.”
There was no fighting this. I didn’t care what Daddy had said or done that caused me to leave Texas. It didn’t matter why Austin had been at Cross Acres. The only thing that mattered was getting back to Mason Belle.
* * *
I’d tried to stay at work yesterday, but after talking to Sarah, I was pretty much useless. Eason had brought me home about an hour after we’d gotten to the office, and he hadn’t let me out of his sight since. I drew the line when he followed me into the bathroom. I wasn’t suicidal. I was just a basket case. Worried about my daddy, dreading stepping foot in Mason Belle, fearful of what the next twenty-four hours would bring—it made for an emotional mess that Eason wasn’t accustomed to seeing.
The sound of the zipper on my suitcase echoed around me. There was finality around that noise. I wasn’t in the same room, nor were these the same circumstances, yet the low-frequency zing of metal combining with metal brought on the same anxiety as it had the day I’d left Texas. But Eason didn’t let me linger in it.
He grabbed the handle of my luggage and pulled it off the mattress. “Are you ready?”
I nodded, uncertain of what I had said yes to. With my inability to function, Eason had taken care of getting a taxi to pick us up, the flights to Texas, and transportation to Mason Belle once we got to Laredo. All I’d managed to accomplish were a few measly texts to my sister, a shower, and packing.
Eason took my hand and led me down the stairs. I wasn’t sure how he navigated the narrow steps with a suitcase on one side and me on the other, yet like everything else, he did it with refinement. I followed him out the front door, which he locked behind us. The driver appeared to have already loaded Eason’s luggage, and now, he waited at the back of the black Lincoln Town Car to take mine.
The large hand that had comforted and protected me for the last six years grazed my lower back to guide me into the vehicle. Once I was settled inside, Eason followed silently. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and my head rested in the nook of his neck.
Curled into his side, I murmured into the collar of his shirt. “You know you don’t have to go, right?”
His chest rumbled with forced laughter. “Of course, I do. You’re convinced the wolves are coming for you. I’d never forgive myself if anything happened.”
I pulled back to see that he understood. “I have no idea what kind of landmines I’m walking into, Eason. It’s not going to be pretty.”
“Hospitals don’t scare me, Miranda.”
I half snorted, and I could only imagine the heinous expression that lingered on my face. “It’s not the hospital I’m worried about.” With a humph, I threw my weary body against the seat.
He took my hand in his and stroked the top with his thumb. Any other time that would calm my worries. “If they didn’t love you, they wouldn’t have begged you to come home.”
“It’s not Sarah that bothers me.”
He puffed up and squared his shoulders, right before he let out a pfft. “Is it this Austin character?”
If I could glare holes into anyone, Eason would have two the size of quarters going straight through his forehead. As many years as we’d been friends, Austin’s name had only come up a handful of times—just often enough for Eason to recognize how potent it was.
“You realize I’m not exactly a small guy, right?”
It was the first time in twenty-four hours that I’d cracked a smile. “Last time I checked, neither was Austin.” I flattened the lapel of his sports coat. “And I can assure you, he won’t be in a suit if things come to blows.” The wink I sent Eason only served to rile him.
“You think a jacket will prevent me from taking care of you?” He shook his head. “My, my, Miranda. How little you’ve noticed over the years. Nothing, not even Austin, is going to hurt you on my watch.”
The weak grin that parted my lips didn’t make Eason happy. Those words were all too familiar. I dreaded the two men coming head to head and hoped I could prevent them from ever meeting. There was no reason either of us had to see Austin. I was going back to Texas for my sister and my dad. But if we happened to run into my old flame, I’d take whatever he dished out—I deserved anything he could give and more. And I wouldn’t let Eason interfere in whatever way Austin chose to deliver his message.
It hadn’t taken long to get through the airport, and once we were settled on the plane, I fell asleep on Eason’s arm, nestled in the comfort of first class. There were some benefits to traveling with a McNabb…other than beautiful man candy.
He didn’t even make a big deal out of the puddle of drool I left on his shoulder when we landed. Eason simply pulled his monogrammed handkerchief from his pocket and wiped it away before offering it to me to blot my mouth. By that time, I was already mid-swipe with my sleeve.
The chuckle next to me calmed my fears. It didn’t eliminate them, but at least I knew I wasn’t entering the lion’s den without a loaded gun. “I guess it’s a good thing you didn’t have on any lipstick.”
I pulled a compact from my purse to check my face. “Oh God, were you planning to tell me I looked like death warmed over?”
“I thought I just did.”
Glancing away from my mirror, I scowled at him. It had been years since I’d stepped foot in Texas. I didn’t want to even remotely resemble the girl I’d left behind when I got on that bus. Warpaint was a necessity.
While I reapplied my face, the plane taxied to the gate. And once we unbuckled, Eason stood to get his bag out of the overhead compartment. Where I’d expected time to crawl as I approached impending doom, it raced at the speed of light. The two of us had walked through the airport with our hands clasped together until we reached baggage claim. There, at the bottom of the escalator, stood a man in a nice, black suit holding an iPad with Eason’s name on it.
“Overkill much?” I asked and swatted at his arm.
He didn’t respond. He was too busy talking to the driver and moving us toward the conveyor. My eyes roamed wildly over the crowd. Laredo was a large city. The likelihood I would run into anyone I knew was almost none, yet my anxiety had kicked into overdrive. I was drowning in a sea of unfamiliar
faces. Their anonymity suffocated me.
My pits began to perspire, and I worried the sweat would show through my white blouse. I tried to lift my arms casually to air them out, and in the process, I ended up with my hand wrapped around the nape of my neck. Suddenly, the anxiety ratcheted into a sensation akin to bugs crawling over my skin, and I wondered what would come next, hallucinations or passing out.
When fingers secured my elbow, I jumped, startled by the unexpected visitor. Had my hair been long, it would have whipped Eason in the face when I jerked to see who had touched me.
His brow rose, and he stared at me for a moment longer than necessary. “Miranda?”
I dropped the death grip on my esophagus and waved my hand in the air. My face scrunched into an expression that indicated my current state was nothing to be alarmed over, when in fact, Eason might need to locate a strong sedative and a straitjacket. I was losing my marbles, and I hadn’t stepped foot into Mason Belle.
“You don’t look so good. Let’s get you some fresh air.”
My shoulders shook, and an overly dramatic rumble started in my chest, then bubbled up through my throat, and finally burst out of my mouth. Confused by my laughter, Eason’s eyes narrowed, while his lips pursed in thought. I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door with the driver leading the way. The instant the automatic doors opened and a wave of heat and humidity waffled us, he finally understood.
“Jesus. It’s like breathing water. How the hell do people survive here?” His handkerchief appeared out of nowhere, and now, he was the one blotting his face. Perspiration peppered his forehead and lingered under his nose.
“Wait for it.” Funny how so much changes when so many things stay the same.
He craned his neck to peer down at me, and his eyes flitted between the man we followed and me. “Wait for what?”
Three. Two. One—
“Hell no.” He quit blotting his face and started pulling off his jacket and then his dress shirt out of the waist of his slacks. “Sweat ran between my—” He stopped himself from spitting out the words. “You could have warned me.”
I shrugged. “I thought I just did.” Turnabout was fair play. “Around these parts, they call that swamp ass.” I laid on a thick Southern accent to illustrate my point and gave him a wink for good measure. I didn’t think he appreciated my humor.
Eason pushed his jacket toward me to hold and pawed at his skin under his shirt. And the moment we reached the vehicle, he started to undo the buttons. A striptease from a man who looked like this one would do nothing other than attract onlookers. Especially next to a limo.
“You ordered a limo?” I practically shrieked under my breath.
He merely nodded and kept working to free himself from the confines of wet, sticky cotton.
I stomped my foot. It hadn’t taken thirty minutes of being back in Texas for me to start acting like the brat I’d left here six years ago. “Are you trying to draw attention?”
“I’m not going to take off my shirt until we’re in the car. Calm down.”
At this point, the world seeing Eason’s bare chest was the least of my concerns. “I’m talking about the car, Eason!” Rock-hard abs, biceps of steel, and back muscles that would make Adonis jealous were a dime a dozen compared to the likes of this vehicle.
He slid into the back and talked to me through the open door. “There wasn’t a lot to choose from on short notice.”
Just to illustrate how absurd I believed this to be, I jutted my hip out and jammed my hand onto it in a show of defiance. “Somehow, I don’t believe there was nothing available in Laredo besides a Hummer that seats twelve.”
Eason leaned toward me, grabbed the hand on my cocked hip, and then pulled me in next to him. And as soon as my feet left the ground, the driver sealed us inside. I continued to gape at him, and he proceeded to strip like this was completely normal. He removed the last stitch of fabric from his body and then faced me. “What’s the big deal?”
Blink. Blink. Blink. Breathe. Blink. Deep breath.
“I had hoped to arrive with as little fanfare as possible. This”—I circled my hands in the air between us—“screams look at me!”
“I’m sure the residents of your hometown have seen a limo before, Miranda. You’re making something out of nothing.”
“Nope. People in Mason Belle don’t do limos. They wear cowboy boots and Wranglers. They drive huge trucks and ride fast horses. They do not rent over-the-top cars with drivers in suits to traipse down to the Piggly Wiggly for groceries.”
He tilted his head to the side, considering what I’d said. “What’s a Piggly Wiggly?”
I closed my eyes and slumped against the seat. This was pointless. It didn’t matter what I said. Depending on traffic, we’d roll through town in roughly an hour, and every head would turn. Gossip would start. And within ten minutes—if I were lucky—the entire town would know someone from “the city” had arrived. “Never mind.”
“Um, all right. Well, if we’re done discussing our transportation, can you give the driver the address?”
My lids lifted slowly to find the chauffeur facing us from the front, waiting for instructions. I gave him the location, settled back, and tried to quiet the voices that screamed in my head.
Eason wasn’t having any of it. “You weren’t kidding when you said you lived in the middle of nowhere.”
I peeked out the window, still trying to pretend he wasn’t talking.
“Are we going to come to civilization before we get wherever we’re going?”
My chest dropped with my exhalation, and I gave in. “You didn’t have to come.” My temples throbbed. I just wanted to go home…to New York. I didn’t want to do this any more than Eason did—probably less, actually. By the time I faced him, he’d managed to pull a T-shirt from the bag he had taken on the plane and drew it over his head. That was one less thing for me to worry about.
He rubbed my thigh like a father would a child who was cold. “Don’t take it like that. This is all so…desolate.” Suddenly, the ground went from green to black. Lush grass to grey ash. “And burned.”
Eason scanned the acres and acres of pastures destroyed by fire.
“It’s remote. But surely, you’ve been to small towns before. You travel all the time.” I chose to ignore the charred remains. I wasn’t ready to face that aspect of this trip.
“Yeah, somehow, I don’t think this experience is going to be quite like going to a tiny island near Fiji.”
I snorted. I couldn’t help it. I snapped my hand to cover my nose and mouth and the smile I tried to hide. Through my giggles, I confirmed, “You’re right. It’s nothing like blue lagoons and island princes.”
“One time, and you’re never going to let that go, are you? You weren’t even there. I never should have told you.”
“About the lagoon or the prince?”
He tossed his sweaty dress shirt at my head. “Both.”
Even if I’d wanted to—which I didn’t—I couldn’t have stopped myself. “Maybe you’ll fall for a lake and a cowboy. Or possibly a horse and water trough.” The stern expression that marred his gorgeous face only spurred me on. “A pig and slop. Cow and field?”
“You were a lot cuter when you were broody.”
“Was it the cow that tipped you over?” That was only funny to me. Eason McNabb had never been cow tipping. I’d bet money he’d never even heard of the pastime.
The driver agreed it was humorous. Even from this distance, I caught the twinkle in his eyes through the rearview mirror. Thankfully, Eason had missed it. Unfortunately, he missed it when he’d zeroed in on something far more sobering.
“That sign can’t be right.”
Mason Belle. Population 1809. After the natural disaster that had blown through here in the last few days, he was probably right. The number might be lower today than it was last week.
I only knew of three new people who’d been born and one who left. That meant seventeen other kids had jo
ined the community in six years. “They’ve had a baby boom. They’re up nineteen. It was seventeen ninety.”
Eason craned his head, keeping his focus on the city limit sign as we passed it. “Wow.” That one word held so much wonder. Like a child at an aquarium or an amusement park, his jaw hung slightly ajar as he stared in amazement. Or it might have been the acres of blackened fields that stunned him.
“Don’t blink. You might miss it.”
I cracked the window enough to let the smell of Texas in. It was more than that, though. Hay and livestock. The purest scent a small-town girl could ever inhale. Everything about it was perfection, except none of that floated into the car. Instead, we were assaulted by death and ashes…and then, the people came into view.
“What’s everyone staring at?”
I rolled my eyes, grateful he couldn’t see them and chastise me. “The parade rolling through town.” Sarcasm dripped from my lips.
Eason mashed the button on the door, and the window crept down.
“Are you insane?” I pulled on his arm. Leaning over him, I sent the glass in the opposite direction. “Now is not the time to stick your head out like a dog.”
He scoffed and again dropped the window. I died a thousand deaths when he stuck his hand out. While he smiled and waved at the gossip-hungry onlookers, I crouched as low in the seat as possible, hoping no one saw me. I didn’t have to endure it long. The entire town wasn’t more than five blocks. A feed and seed store and a tractor supply place were the only things left to ogle before the driver would enter Cross Acres. Everything on the left side of the road was charcoal. The right, beautiful Mason Belle.
And I held my breath the entire way.
The cast-iron gates were still as ornate, as was the landscaping at the entrance to Daddy’s ranch. The limo slowed to make the turn, and that’s when I rolled my window down completely. The smells, the sounds—my brain flooded with memories. Growing up, I had never imagined I’d leave this place. A week ago, I never thought I’d come back.
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