The Texan's Return Read online

  Some of the hot air left June. Uncrossing her arms, she rubbed her palms together. “True. But, honey, you’re letting yourself in for a world of hurt.”

  It had been so long since her mother had called her honey—or any endearment—that Hailey was momentarily speechless. When she found her voice, she pushed past the absurd ache. “It’ll be fine. Since I work for him now, seeing him is unavoidable. We’ve decided we’re only going to be friends.”

  June snorted at that. “I saw how he used to look at you. I doubt that boy could ever only be friends.”

  “That was then, this is now. He’s not a boy, he’s a man.” Taking her mother’s arm, Hailey steered her back toward the house. This close, she could smell the alcohol from the night before. “How about you let me fix you some breakfast?”

  Allowing herself to be directed, June sniffed. “I could go for a cup of coffee,” she allowed. “And maybe a few pieces of toast. I’m not sure my stomach could handle much more than that.”

  “Maybe just a couple of eggs, too, hmm?” Once she had June seated at the kitchen table, Hailey got her the coffee, cream and sweetener, before cooking up fried eggs and toast. When she slid the plate in front of her mother, the older woman leaned over and inhaled the scent.

  “I don’t know...” Her complexion appeared to have turned slightly green. “This might be too much.”

  “Well, why don’t you just try a bite or two?” Hailey began. But June jumped up from the table, knocking over her coffee in her haste, and ran for the bathroom. A moment later, the sound of violent retching echoed down the hall.

  If this kept up much longer, June was going to drink herself into the grave. Though she’d tried without success in the past, Hailey knew she had to keep on her mother and see if she could convince her she needed to get help.

  * * *

  All the way home, Mac thought about Hailey’s situation. When she’d said her mother had a drinking problem, he hadn’t really understood the impact on Hailey and her siblings. That is, until her mother had appeared, stinking of alcohol and stale cigarettes and looking like she hadn’t slept in days. Her sallow skin and bloodshot eyes made her appear way older than he knew she actually was. He wondered if June Green was capable of functioning much at all. Probably not, since Hailey had explained she took care of the kids and the house as well as her mother.

  Had June ever considered rehab? Or, if that wasn’t possible, joining AA? He’d have to be careful mentioning this to Hailey. In fact, he decided he’d wait and let her bring it up first.

  When Hailey arrived twenty minutes later, he made himself scarce. Dolores with hospice would be there around eleven. That was when he and Hailey would head into town to talk to Detective Logan.

  Since Mac didn’t want to get all sweaty, he spent most of the morning working in the shade, installing a new outdoor ceiling fan on the covered back patio. The old one had been in horrible shape, so he’d removed it and headed to the local Home Depot store to purchase another.

  The work was simple but engrossing. When he saw Dolores’s gray Buick pull into the yard, he was surprised how quickly time had gone by.

  Heading into the kitchen, he washed his hands and gulped down a glass of water. In the other room, he heard Hailey greeting Dolores and then Gus cracking a joke.

  Hailey’s smile faltered when Mac walked into the room. He hated that. If he had one wish, he’d hope the sight of him would always bring her happiness. Maybe someday.

  “I’ll take over from here,” Dolores said, her cheerful voice making Hailey smile.

  “Are you ready?” Mac sidled up next to Hailey, trying to keep his voice low. He didn’t want Gus to know what they were doing until after the fact, and only then if they were able to accomplish anything.

  She blinked. “Sure. Let me get my purse.”

  “We’ll be back in a couple hours,” Mac told Dolores. “I’m taking Dad’s helper out for lunch.”

  Dolores grinned. “Sounds great. I’ve got to help Mr. Gus here take a bath and a few other things. Take your time.”

  Grumbling, Gus seconded her statement. “Buy that sweet girl something good, you hear me?” he told Mac. “She deserves it for taking such great care of me.”

  Mac nodded, taking Hailey’s arm and helping her out the door. They were halfway to his truck before she pulled her arm free. “Are we really going to lunch?”

  “I don’t see why not. After we visit the police station, we can eat. I was hoping you could recommend someplace good. All the restaurants I remember from before seem to be gone.”

  Clearly preoccupied, she flashed him half a smile before climbing up in his truck. Though the year and make had changed, he couldn’t help but flash back to the many times she’d done exactly that. Though instead of buckling in her seat, she’d scooted over on the bench seat to ride right next to him. He actually found himself regretting that they no longer made bench seats in the newer pickups.

  At the sideways look Hailey gave him, he would have thought she’d read his mind.

  “Let’s run by and see if we can catch Detective Logan. After we talk to him, we’ll grab a bite.”

  She nodded. “Okay. I’ve been wanting to try that Mexican restaurant on Main Street.”

  Driving downtown felt like a trip back in time. When he’d first pulled into Legacy after a decade away, he’d been stunned to see how little the place had changed. Sure, most of the restaurant names were different, one or two of the stores had been replaced with something else, but by and large Main Street was like a snapshot into the past. With newer cars, of course.

  When they pulled into the police station and parked, Hailey fidgeted with her seat belt.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Nothing, really,” she began, and then shook her head. “I’m just dreading going in there. They’ll probably think I’ve gone crazy.”

  “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” Though it killed him to say it, he meant every word. He’d never want Hailey to feel as if he’d forced her to do anything.

  She frowned. “Oh, I want to. It’s just going to be unpleasant, that’s all. But I’ll survive.”

  More relieved than she could ever know, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be right there with you. Let’s go and get this over with.”

  “I might want a margarita afterward,” she said, smiling. He felt the force of that smile all the way to his heart.

  Side by side, they walked up the sidewalk. The single-story, painted brick building could have been a police station in any town, any state. It had that homogenous look from the fifties or sixties, which was when he’d guess it had been built.

  Inside, the worn linoleum and light-colored wood reception desk came from the same era.

  “Can I help you?” An older woman, her gray hair chopped in a hair style close to a crew cut, glared at him.

  “Hey, Ruth Ann,” Hailey said, smiling. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

  “Hailey Green.” Ruth looked from her to Mac and back again. “What can I help you with?”

  “We’re here to see Detective Logan. Is he in?” Hailey continued to use a sweet, friendly tone. Meanwhile, Mac tried to relax. He’d tensed up the second they’d stepped inside the door. Even though he’d always been a law-abiding citizen, what had happened to his father had given him a bone-deep distrust of law enforcement.

  Ruth’s brown eyes widened as she again scoped out Mac. “Let me go get him,” she said, her abrupt tone and rigid spine letting them both know she disapproved.

  “Wow,” Hailey whispered, after Ruth disappeared into the back. “I wonder what’s going through her head right now.”

  “Nothing pleasant, I’m sure,” he whispered back, flashing a quick grin.

  A moment later, Ruth Ann reappeared. “He’ll see you no
w,” she announced. “Right this way.”

  As they followed her into the busy squad room, the bustling noise died down somewhat as people stared. Officers and civilians alike. Mac could well imagine how the tongues would wag around town this evening.

  Hailey shot him a glance that plainly said I told you so, one corner of her mouth quirking in the beginning of a smile. He smiled back, broadly, in order to make sure everyone watching saw it.

  Detective Logan stood when they entered his office. He wore thick glasses and had his dark hair cut in military style. “Hailey Green,” he said, holding out his hand. “It’s been a long time.”

  After shaking his hand, Hailey introduced him to Mac. They shook also.

  “What can I help you with?” the detective asked, his gaze on Mac.

  Hailey spoke. “I’d like you to consider reopening my sister’s murder case.”

  “Why?” Swiveling his head to look at her, he didn’t miss a beat. “That case is closed. We got a conviction.”

  “Because I think it’s related to the latest murder,” Hailey continued. Mac admired her courage. “And it’s entirely possible you got the wrong man.”

  Now Detective Logan looked back at Mac, his gaze decidedly unfriendly. “Did he put you up to this?” he asked Hailey. “Because if he did—”

  “I’m a grown woman,” she interrupted smoothly. “I can assure you I’m fully capable of making my own decisions. So no, he didn’t put me up to anything.”

  “Then why’s he here?”

  Now Mac spoke. “I’m here because I promised my father I’d do my best to clear his name before he passes away. And he’s dying. I’m also here because I’m worried if you don’t find the actual killer, another young girl will lose her life.”

  “Is that a threat?” the detective barked.

  Mac exchanged a glance with Hailey. “I don’t follow,” Mac finally said. Though actually, he did. The Detective had made a veiled reference to the possibility that he still considered Mac a suspect.

  “I fail to see the need to reopen the case,” the police officer reiterated, effectively dodging Mac’s question.

  “Then who is your superior?” Chin up, Hailey stared the other man down. “I’m a family member and I’m making a request.”

  “And I’m taking your request under consideration.”

  If Detective Logan wasn’t backing down, neither was Hailey. Mac watched, full of admiration as she shook her head. “I don’t feel like you are. If I have to, I’ll contact the other girl’s family and tell them my suspicions. And the press. Just think what a field day they’ll have with that. Especially when everyone learns you outright refused to even review the old case for similarities.”

  “We already have,” the detective told her quietly. “I have people working on that as we speak.” He shot Mac a warning look. “But that doesn’t mean your father will be exonerated.”

  “Unless you catch Lola Lundgren’s killer and he confesses to both murders,” Mac said. “I get it. Thank you for your time.”

  On the way to the door, Hailey kept her face expressionless. Outside, she grinned. “So they have already reopened the case. I don’t get why he wouldn’t just say that from the beginning.”

  “He might just be saying that to get you to back off,” Mac pointed out, his tone dark.

  “Yeah, I know.” Waiting until he hit the remote to unlock the truck door, she climbed in. “I’ve just got to figure out a way to find out. I might be taking that all to his supervisor after all.”

  More grateful than he could express, he started the engine. “Are you ready for lunch? We’ve got plenty of time, since visiting the police station didn’t take nearly as long as I expected.”

  “When do we have to be back?” she asked, her expression pensive.

  “Dolores said a couple of hours. She has a lot to do today with Dad.”

  “How about we go for a drive, and then grab a bite to eat?”

  Hands on the steering wheel, he froze. “A drive? Where’d you want to go?”

  Before she even spoke, he knew.

  “Up by the lake,” she said. “I haven’t been up there in ages. It’d be nice to climb the rocks and sit and look at the water. Maybe fish.”

  The way they’d used to. Blinking, he realized he was tired of living in the past. He wanted to focus on the here and now, where there was still the possibility of a future.

  “Sure.” He kept his tone easy. “It’ll be nice to get away from everything for a while.”

  Since most people were at work in the middle of the day, they only passed a few other cars on the way to the lake. The summer houses were still mostly closed up, since the influx of people didn’t really begin until after Memorial Day.

  He pulled up to the bluff where they’d always gone, satisfied to see it, too, remained unchanged by time. They got out at the same time and climbed the rock, all without exchanging a single word. When they reached the top, she settled into her old place and he to his, so close their hips and knees bumped.

  Just like old times, he wanted to say, but when he turned his head to look at her, the words caught in his throat. Teenage Hailey had been pretty, but this Hailey, adult Hailey, glowed with a special kind of beauty.

  Despite the glittering water of the lake below, he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her.

  When she glanced up and caught his staring, he didn’t look away. He couldn’t.

  “Mac?” She reached up and cupped the side of his face with her hand. Turning his head ever so slightly, he breathed a kiss into her palm.

  The sound she made—a low, throaty hum of pleasure—sent his pulse leaping.

  He didn’t know who moved first, didn’t actually care. They came together, both certain. The kiss, urgent, moist and hot, made his entire body burn as if a blaze of lightning had seared them together.

  With her curling into his side, he wanted to tear away the clothes that separated his skin from hers. Instead, he slid his hand down the curve of her hip, across her thighs and stroked her through her jeans. Even with the barrier of denim, he could feel the heat of her desire.

  “I want,” she began, boldly cupping the swell of his own arousal, “I want you to make love to me.”

  His younger self wouldn’t have even hesitated, not caring about the fact that anyone could come across them and see. Even now, as aroused as Mac was at that moment, he almost said the hell with it.

  “Not here,” he choked out. “Too risky.”

  To his disbelief, a sensual smile curved her mouth. “You’re probably right. In your truck or in the woods?”

  Though he’d kick himself later, he had to know. “Hailey? What are you doing?”

  Her expression clouded. “Never mind,” she said briskly, her gaze already gone distant. “Let’s go get lunch. I’m starving.”

  Jumping to her feet, she climbed down from the rock as nimbly as any teenager, and hurried toward his truck.

  Since his arousal made moving a bit more difficult, he followed much more slowly. When he reached the truck, he used his remote to unlock the doors, and Hailey climbed inside so fast one would have thought a swarm of bees chased her.

  His chest tight, he walked around to the driver’s side and got in. Instead of starting the truck, he turned to face her. “What’s going on, Hailey?”

  When she looked at him, he saw pain and bewilderment and, yes, anger in her eyes. She swallowed hard. “I thought you wanted me the same way I want you. Clearly, I was wrong. I should have listened when you said you wanted to be friends.”

  “I do want you,” he told her. “More than you can ever believe. But as weird as this sounds, I want it to mean something.”

  She made a strangled sound. “You’re a guy. You’re not supposed to say things like that.”

  “
I mean it.” Unable to resist, he leaned over and pressed his mouth against the hollow in her throat, where her heart beat so frantically. “You and I were meant to be together. I want you, Hailey. But not just for a one-time thing, not for an hour, or a day.”

  “Stop.” Leaning away, she held up a hand as if to ward him off. “Please, don’t say things like that. I have my own life and you have yours. Too much time has passed, too much craziness. I can’t be what you want. Not now, maybe not ever.” Her attempt at a careless shrug fell flat.

  “I see,” he said. Oddly enough, he did. “But I don’t understand why you wanted...”

  Her skin bloomed red. “You don’t?” Bitterness darkened her tone. “I’m guessing for you, it isn’t possible that I might want to be touched, that I might need to be desired. I remember how great the sex was between the two of us, Mac. It’s been a long time since anyone’s touched me. How is it wrong that I want the person touching me to be you?”

  Shocked, he saw she was on the verge of tears. Somehow, in trying to do the right thing, she’d managed to make him feel like an utter ass.

  “I want to be the person touching you. The only person,” he said fiercely. “On your terms, I promise.” Because in that moment, he realized he’d be whatever she wanted him to be, and for however long, as long as he could be with her.

  Chapter 9

  Hailey’s efforts to regain her composure weren’t working. For one thing, she could feel the blush turning her face a vivid scarlet. For another, her absolute, bone-deep humiliation had her eyes filling with tears.

  If she cried in front of him, she’d never be able to look herself in the mirror again. She’d offered him all that she had to give, and he’d turned her down, wanting it to mean something more than she was capable of right now. How could she come back from that?

  If he pitied her, so help her God, she’d get out of his truck and walk the seven miles back to town on foot.

  And then, and then he’d said the one thing that could guarantee to break her heart. The one desire she couldn’t have and didn’t dare dream of. That he wanted a permanent relationship with her. As if, despite all that life had thrown at them in the years they’d been apart, they could pick right back up where they’d left off.