The Texan's Return Page 5

  Meeting her gaze, Eli slowly shook his head. He cut his eyes toward the man in the bed. “I’m not finished yet.”

  “It’s okay.” Gus sighed, clearly exhausted from even this brief interaction. “You go ahead and go. I’m sure I’ll see you again.”

  Not if she could help it.

  Opening his eyes again, Gus pinned her with his gaze. “But first, I’d like a word with you in private.”

  While she searched for a way to decline without alerting Eli to the fact that something was wrong, Mac grabbed Eli’s hand and tugged him toward the door. “We’ll be just outside on the front porch,” he said. “Take all the time you need.” When he caught Hailey’s eye, she saw the entreaty there, the plea to remember this was his father and he was dying.

  She knew that. What she couldn’t forget was that this man had murdered her sister and destroyed everything she held dear.

  Swallowing hard, she steeled herself to get through the next minute.

  “Thank you for coming to see me,” Gus said, once everyone else had gone. “It means a lot to me, considering how you once believed the unthinkable. I hate that this happened again to another girl, but at least that forces people to see the truth. I can at least die happy knowing that you know I didn’t kill your sister.”

  Throat tight, she stared. She could picture June’s reaction here, something incoherently vindictive or violent or both. She felt a bit like she was letting her mother down, but for whatever reason she couldn’t bring herself to do anything more than listen.

  Apparently taking her silence for acquiescence, Gus continued. “Mac has promised to get the case reopened. Now that the police know someone else killed this latest girl, they should be willing to take a look at Brenda’s murder, too. It’s about time the real murderer is brought to justice. I’m hoping he can clear my name before I die.”

  Two things struck her. One, Gus’s father truly believed what he said. And two, was it possible he had a point? All along, he’d maintained his innocence, claiming the police were railroading him into a conviction, with trumped-up evidence and no real proof.

  If this was true—and she wasn’t certain it was—Gus Morrison had spent ten years in prison for a crime he hadn’t committed. What a bitter pill to swallow if that was the case. To have been robbed of ten years of your now-too-short life for nothing.

  “He missed you, you know,” Gus continued on, the raspy thread of his voice wearing thin.

  This comment startled her, making her blink. “Who?” she asked, even though she knew.

  “Mac. He never forgot you. I think he might still carry a torch for you.” Gus’s eyes drifted closed again. “If everything works out, please take care of my son after I’m gone. He won’t have anyone else.”

  Since she couldn’t in a million years agree to a promise like that, she stood silently, staring down at the man who for the past decade she’d regarded as a monster. What if he was telling the truth? What if—and this might be a huge stretch—he wasn’t actually the one who’d killed Brenda and torn two families and an entire town apart?

  Even as she had this thought, she clenched her jaw and shook her head. Enough of this foolishness. Mac and Gus returning to Legacy had done nothing but dredge up the past. Their presence had brought pain and uncertainty right back to the surface.

  Gus’s eyes drifted closed. Even though she hadn’t responded, she took this as her cue to exit. Moving noiselessly, she went to the door. Outside, Mac and Eli sat on the top step of the porch. They both looked up as she approached.

  “Ready to go?” she asked her brother, keeping her tone light and avoiding Mac’s gaze.

  “Can’t I stay a little longer?” Eli pleaded. “Mac’s promised to teach me how to hit a baseball. You know I’ve always wanted to play in Little League. If he helps me practice, I might get better at it.”

  She swallowed, trying not to let herself feel guilty. Every single year since Eli had been old enough, he’d begged to join Little League. Unfortunately, they barely had enough money to buy food to feed the family. They simply couldn’t afford it, so every year she’d had to tell him no. Undeterred, he’d ask the next year. As if things had changed. She guessed since he was so young, he didn’t understand.

  “I can drive him home after,” Mac added quietly. The afternoon sun lit up his dark hair with gold, shadowing his craggy face and reminding her how she’d used to find his raw masculinity beautiful. Despite the tingle in her veins every time she got near him, she needed to make sure all that stayed in the past.

  Tears stinging the back of her eyes, she shook her head, steeling herself at Eli’s disappointed look. “Not today. Come on, Eli, let’s get going. I’m sure you have homework you need to do.”

  Right about now, June would be staggering into the kitchen, rummaging around for something to eat. Their mother would go on a major binge if she found out about today. Of course, as her addiction to alcohol got steadily worse, June seized the slightest excuse to lose herself in drink.

  Eli hesitated, disappointment and resignation plain on his young, freckled face. But he finally got up and went to get his bike.

  “Let me help put that in your backseat,” Mac said.

  Refusing to look at him, she nodded. Once the bike had been secured and Eli buckled in, she started the car and drove off without even saying goodbye to the man standing on the porch, watching them go.

  Chapter 4

  What had he expected, a miracle? Mac knew better, but when his father had asked to talk to Hailey, hope had risen in him so fast he nearly drowned in it.

  But Hailey had emerged unchanged, at least as far as he could tell. She’d always been stubborn; in the old days he’d found it charming and amusing and often teased her about it.

  Bless Eli for giving them this opportunity. Mac had been wracking his brain trying to figure out a way to get Hailey over here to talk to his dad. Now, thanks to one headstrong eleven-year-old, the chance had fallen into his lap. And while he wasn’t sure what his father had said to Hailey, at least he’d gotten the opportunity to say it.

  He glanced at his watch. He might as well shower and call it a day. Too late to do much more. This morning he’d gotten started on repairing the roof. Luckily, in the ten years since graduating high school, he’d become a jack-of-all-trades. He’d gone to work for a local custom home builder in Huntsville and had learned a myriad of skills. Everything from carpentry to tile to roofing. In a pinch, he could also do basic electrical and plumbing, too, though he wasn’t licensed or certified. The skills would serve him well while he worked to fix up the old family house.

  Since right now, with the need to look after his father, he wasn’t able to work, he knew he’d have to be thrifty. Luckily, he’d been socking away most of his money in the hopes of starting his own construction company. While he still wanted to do this someday, for now it was good to have a backup in a pinch. Most important, he would be there for his father. No amount of money could ever make him regret that. He’d missed out on ten years while his dad was in prison. Damned if he’d miss out on this.

  While he took his second shower of the day, he replayed Eli’s words over and over in his mind. Hailey wasn’t happy. The family needed money.

  And Mac needed help with his father.

  It would be a win-win. He’d get to spend more time with Hailey, she’d get some financial assistance, and maybe she’d even come to accept the truth of his father’s innocence. Especially if he could help the police find the real killer.

  And if he was hoping for the moon and the sun and the stars, maybe Hailey could find her way back to loving Mac again.

  Feeling more positive than he had in days, he grabbed his phone and made the call. He couldn’t ask her on the phone—this was something he wanted to do in person. But he didn’t want to show up at her house unannounced either.

/>   * * *

  “I liked Mac. He was really nice,” Eli enthused on the way home from Mac’s. Either he didn’t understand he shouldn’t have done what he had, or his gushing was meant to hide it.

  She shot him a quelling look, but since he bounced up and down in his seat, she doubted he saw it. “Eli, you know you aren’t supposed to go anywhere after school without discussing it with me first.”

  His restless movements stilled. “I know,” he said quietly. Then he lifted his chin and met her gaze. “I had to, though. We talked about it, all three of us. I wanted to meet him.”

  “Why?”

  He looked down, then out the window, anywhere but directly at her. When he spoke again, he spoke in a voice so small she could barely hear him. “I wanted to see if he’d be your boyfriend again. We—Tom, Tara and me—decided that would be a good thing.”

  Dumbfounded, she couldn’t figure out their logic. “And why would that be?” she asked.

  His sigh sounded much too old for his eleven years. “Because we want you to be happy again. You know, like you were in those pictures from when you were young.”

  Any other time, his choice of phrase would have made her smile. She guessed at his age, twenty-seven must seem old. “I am happy,” she told him. “I don’t understand why you’d think I’m not.”

  He shrugged. “I dunno.” Which meant he was done trying to explain himself. Either way, she knew just how to fix this mess. She couldn’t have Eli going off to the other side of town and visiting with strangers.

  When they pulled into her long drive and parked in front of the garage, she took a deep breath. “Don’t go far,” she ordered, the instant they stopped. With his hand already on the door handle, Eli froze.

  “In fact, I want you to go and find your brother and sister. I need to see all three of you in the kitchen. It’s family meeting time.”

  Waiting in the kitchen, Hailey saw no sign of her mother. If June had already made her normal afternoon raid for snacks, she saw no sign of it. Usually June would leave open cookie or chip bags scattered around on the counter and table. Despite Hailey’s attempts to get her to eat healthy, they could barely afford junk food. Healthy food was, unfortunately, often way too expensive for their meager budget.

  As the kids shuffled in, she noticed them all looking around for signs of June. The relief she saw in their faces mirrored her own, which made her feel sad.

  “Sit,” she ordered, pointing at the kitchen table. “We need to talk.”

  Eli sat. A moment later the twins did the same.

  “Now tell me who thought it would be a good idea to send an eleven-year-old over to a stranger’s house. Especially with everything that’s been going on.”

  “I didn’t think he’d really do it,” Tara protested. “It was a dumb idea, and I thought we were all just talking.”

  “Uh-huh. But you, Tom.” She speared him with a glance. “You knew, right?”

  “No. Not really,” he protested. Then, as she continued to eye him, he swallowed and finally nodded. “As soon as he rode off on his bike, I knew it was the wrong thing to do. That’s why I told you.”

  Eli crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at his brother. “Tattletale.”

  “Enough of that.” Hailey kept her voice sharp, though she wanted to smile. Including Tara in a look, she pulled out a chair. “Now I want to know where you got the idea that I’m not happy.”

  Still silent, Tara began studying her hands, ignoring the way both her brothers looked in her direction.

  “Tara?” Softening her voice, Hailey reached out and cupped her younger sister’s chin. “Honey? Why do you think I’m unhappy?”

  Tara bit her lip as she raised her gaze. “Not unhappy, not really. It’s just...”

  “You looked different then,” Eli put in.

  “Yeah.” Even Tom had a comment.

  “Different how?” Hailey looked from one to the other.

  “I don’t know. Just...happier. Brighter, even. Like you glowed.” Having said that, Tara returned her attention back to her fingernails.

  Brighter. Happier. In love. Hailey blinked. “I’m fine,” she said firmly. “And while I really appreciate everyone thinking of me, in the future, please, discuss with me any other schemes you might come up with, okay?”

  All three of them nodded.

  “Good. Now that you understand, wash up and get ready for dinner. After we eat, I want everyone to make sure their homework is done, okay?”

  Again, the kids nodded in unison.

  For the evening meal she made hamburger meat and pasta again. Not the healthiest choice, but an inexpensive one that all the kids liked. June didn’t put in an appearance at all, so they ate without her. Hailey resisted the urge to go check on her, aware that right now she couldn’t handle finding her mother passed out, drunk.

  As a treat, she’d bought ice cream. Once they’d finished, she got each of them a single scoop and watched their young faces light up.

  After, everyone brought their homework out to work on at the kitchen table, at Hailey’s insistence. Truth be told, she enjoyed this feeling of togetherness, of family. She only hoped their mother didn’t do something to ruin it.

  Her cell phone rang. As she glanced at the number, her heart skipped a beat. Mac. She actually considered not answering, or sending the call to voice mail, but in the end she said hello.

  “Would it be all right if I came over?” Mac asked. “I have something important I need to discuss with you.”

  Nonplussed, she swallowed. Suddenly, she realized she badly wanted to see him. Not good. “When?”

  “Now.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at the three avid faces shamelessly attempting to eavesdrop. “Now isn’t a good time.”

  “Then how about later? In an hour? I just need a few minutes of your time.”

  There were several ways she could answer that. If June saw him, that alone might be enough to set her off and on a two-day bender. And of course the kids, playing at matchmaking, would have reason to think they’d been successful.

  Yet despite all this, she realized she craved him, with an intensity so powerful, it hurt.

  She had to be strong. Too much was at stake. “I don’t think today is good at all.”

  Silence. Then he sighed. “I just need five minutes, Hailey. Five quick minutes. I can meet you somewhere, or come there, or you can stop by here. Please. This is important.”

  It must be, for him to push so hard. “Fine,” she said, relenting. “Five minutes. Now. I’ll meet you at the end of my driveway.” That way there was zero chance that June would see him. And the kids, despite their attempts to listen in, wouldn’t be able to watch.

  “Give me fifteen minutes to get there,” he said. “And, Hailey?”

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you.” He ended the call.

  Dropping her phone into her back pocket, Hailey looked up to find all three of her siblings openly staring at her.

  “Well?” Tara demanded, barely able to contain her excitement. “Was that Mac? Do you have a date?”

  The quelling look Hailey shot her should have been intimidating. Instead, Tara grinned. “You do, don’t you?”

  “Not a date,” she clarified. “A meeting. He says it will take five minutes. He wants to talk to me about something. Probably about Eli showing up over there uninvited and unannounced.”

  Eli shook his head. “No, I doubt it’s about me. If he wanted to say something about my visit, he could have done it over the phone. It’s got to be more personal than that if he needs to say it to your face.”

  What? Now Hailey stared. How had Eli gotten to be eleven going on thirty? Sometimes he acted older and wiser than both of the fourteen-year-old twins combined.

  “You’re ri
ght!” Tara jumped up. “He probably wants to ask you out on a date.”

  “I doubt that.” Hailey was quick to respond. “And once again, that’s also something he could do over the phone.” She made a show out of checking her watch. “I’d better get going. He’s on his way over here right now.”

  “Here?” Tara squeaked. “We get to actually see him, in person?”

  Oh, geez. “No. Settle down. I’m meeting him at the end of the driveway. To talk. Alone.” She met each of their gazes. “Got that?”

  One by one, each kid slowly nodded. Satisfied, Hailey headed to the bathroom to check her reflection in the mirror. She excused this little bit of vanity, refusing to think about it. Then, with one last warning glare at Tom, Tara and Eli, she headed out to walk down the driveway and meet Mac.

  * * *

  Unaccountably nervous, Mac made it to her place in record time. He considered himself lucky he hadn’t received a speeding ticket. She wasn’t there yet, which was good. Parking at the end of her driveway, he got out and sat on the tailgate of his truck. Though it had been a different pickup, he and Hailey had spent a lot of time sitting on tailgates. Football parties at school, summer bonfires out near the lake. Then, she’d nestled close to him, fitting so perfectly under his arm. He wished he’d been able to capture those moments somewhere other than his memory.

  They’d been perfect for each other. He couldn’t help but believe they were meant to be together. All he needed to do was help Hailey see that.

  Waiting, his heartbeat slowed, resuming its normal steady rhythm. The pine trees lining the curving drive formed a picturesque canopy while the setting sun sent golden fingers of light through their branches, dappling the pavement with flecks of gilt.

  A moment later, he saw her, strolling down her driveway toward him, and his pulse picked up again. Hailey. Everything else ceased to exist as he focused on her.

  She still walked with the loose-limbed saunter, her quiet confidence sexy, though she didn’t realize it. She wore her long blond hair in a ponytail, which swung jauntily with every step she took.