Christmas at Colts Creek

by Delores Fossen

  I’m the reason Layla’s dead.

  He certainly hadn’t explained what he’d meant by that, and she hadn’t wanted to ask Velma Sue or Margo. It felt too much like the gossip she was coming to loathe. But Janessa had a hard time believing that Brody was actually responsible.

  “What will you do with this room, this house?” Teagan asked, going to the desk.

  “To be determined.” Janessa was still taking things day by day in case Sophia changed her mind and left. She joined Teagan at the desk. “For now, though, we could pack up the computers and any of the files that are connected to the ranch and take them to Brody’s office. Don’t lift anything heavy, though,” Janessa reminded her.

  Janessa started to unhook the desktop computer, leaving the laptop for Teagan. Instead of boxing the desktop, though, Janessa took the various pieces down the hall and set them outside the closed door of Brody’s office. She wasn’t sure if he was in there, but once she hauled down some of the files, she would knock and let him know what she was doing.

  Hopefully, she could talk to him, too.

  She wanted to know about Layla, but she also just wanted to see him. And yes, maybe kiss him again. She missed him and hated that the photo someone had sent his mother had stirred up such bad memories for both of them.

  Sophia certainly hadn’t dodged her when Janessa had asked her if she’d sent Darcia a photo of her daughter. “No, why would I?” had been her mother’s response. One that Janessa had expected and believed. Even if Sophia was the sort to torment people, there was no reason for her to aim that torment at Brody’s mom.

  Janessa set the monitor and keyboard outside Brody’s office and went back to Abe’s to help Teagan with the files. But she wasn’t alone. Rowan was there.

  “Oh, hey,” the boy greeted Janessa. “I didn’t like just come in or anything. One of the housekeepers let me in.”

  “It’s all right,” Janessa assured him. “It’s good to see you.”

  “Good to see you, too. My mom dropped me off so I could check on some of the horses.” He looked at his phone. “In about twenty minutes, I’m hitching a ride to school with one of the hands who’s dropping off his kid. I figured I’d come in and check on you.”

  Since Rowan was yet someone else she needed to talk to, she was glad he’d come. However, what she wouldn’t bring up was Layla, though she really wanted to know who’d sent Darcia that picture. And why.

  “I think it’d be a good idea for you to back off on doing the research,” she told him. Even though Brody had asked her not to mention this, Janessa definitely didn’t want to add any more pain for Darcia, and the research had high potential for stirring up bad memories.

  Rowan nodded, and his sigh let her know that while he might not be happy about the backing off, he knew it was the right thing to do.

  “I didn’t want to leave it all for you,” Rowan explained. “I mean, since he was your dad and all, and I figured it’d be hard for you to keep reading about him. But your mom said she’d help so that kind of makes up for me dropping out.”

  Janessa pulled back her shoulders. “My mom told you she’d help me with the Society research?”

  Rowan nodded and then shrugged as if it weren’t a big deal. “I saw her in town yesterday, and when I said I was going to have to tell you I wouldn’t be able to do the research after all, she said not to worry, that she’d help you with it.”

  Janessa tried to think of some ulterior motive why Sophia would have done that, and she came up with zilch. There was no reason whatsoever for her to jump into finding facts about a man she despised. Well, unless Sophia was planning on gloating over the bad stuff they’d no doubt find about Abe.

  “I can move that,” Rowan volunteered when Janessa lifted one of the file boxes that Teagan had packed.

  “Thanks. I appreciate it. Just put it outside your brother’s office for now.”

  Rowan stepped out, just as Brody stepped in. The air in Janessa’s lungs backed up a little. Man, oh, man, did he have her number. Of course, it was a number he likely didn’t want, but neither of them seemed to be doing a halfway decent job of nipping this attraction in the bud.

  “Uh, I’ll see if Rowan needs any help,” Teagan said, and she hurried as much as she could out of the room.

  The girl had no doubt made a swift exit because she’d picked up on the sudden change in the air. Or maybe she’d heard about the scorcher kiss between Brody and her at the festival and figured to give them some time alone. Either way, Janessa welcomed it because like with Rowan, she had some things to say to Brody, as well.

  Janessa started with a blanket apology. “I’m sorry.”

  He stared at her a moment. “About?”

  She felt like squirming. Janessa had hoped that he would help her out here so that she didn’t jump into something he didn’t want to talk about. His sister. His mother. The kiss. Anything and everything else going on. But at least Janessa had a smidge of good news to add.

  “My mother didn’t send a picture or anything to Darcia,” Janessa told him.

  “I didn’t figure she had. I’m guessing it was some kind of stupid prank.”

  That was a better theory than anything she’d come up with. Still, she’d considered one possible long shot.

  “Maybe it was Riggs,” she threw out there. “I know that sounds far-fetched, but you stepped in to get him off the ranch, and he could resent it. He might figure a way to get back at you is to take a jab at your mother.”

  Brody stayed quiet a moment, obviously processing that. “Has Riggs taken any kind of jabs at you? Because you also stepped in to get him to leave.”

  “True, but he’d see you as the bigger threat. Plus, I don’t have any obvious things to jab. So what if he were to send me something bad about Abe? I don’t have the to-the-bone kind of grief for him that you and your mother have for your sister.”

  There. She’d given him the opening if he wanted to talk about his sister, but Brody didn’t exactly jump on that opening. He took several moments.

  “Layla’s birthday is coming up. That’s always a tough time for my mom. For all of us,” he amended. “Getting that picture obviously didn’t help.”

  “No,” she agreed. “But you can let Darcia know that Rowan won’t be doing the research. That might make her feel better.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably for the best, given what’s happened,” he muttered.

  She paused, studied him. “Will Darcia go to Millie’s party at Once Upon a Time?”

  “Probably. Why?” he asked.

  “Because I was thinking of going,” Janessa admitted, “but I won’t if you believe it’ll spoil her evening. I know there’s gossip about tension between Darcia and me,” she added.

  “There’s gossip about everything. Always will be. Go to the party if you want. I’ll give my mother a heads-up that you might be there.”

  She opened her mouth, intending to thank him, but that wasn’t what came out. “Do you want to go?”

  He leveled those amazing eyes on her. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

  Janessa decided to woman-up. It was the quickest way to get the chance to try out that amazing mouth of his again. “Yes.”

  His expression didn’t change much, but she got the feeling that he was fighting back a smile. Or maybe that was a grimace. “All right, but I’ll likely have Rowan with me.”

  “Great. Because I’ll have Margo and Teagan with me.”

  “And me,” someone said from the doorway. “Millie asked me to come, too.”

  It was her mother.

  Sophia was smiling when she came in. “Sounds like a fun evening,” she said, “unless you don’t want me tagging along.”

  “No, it’s fine. The more the merrier,” Brody muttered with absolutely no enthusiasm whatsoever.

  “Oh, I’m having some of the stuff
in here moved to your office,” Janessa told him when he headed for the door. “But if there’s anything else you want, you should just take it.”

  He stopped, made a sweeping glance around the room before his gaze paused on her. Instant heat. Instant hope of those kisses after all. Well, once they were away from her mother, that is.

  “I’ll let you know,” Brody said in a drawl as slow and easy as good sex, and he walked out.

  “Correct me if I’m wrong,” Sophia remarked after Brody was gone, “but you’re not doing a whole lot of resisting when it comes to Brody.”

  “No, I’m not,” Janessa verified. “Are you resisting when it comes to Curt Dayton?”

  “Of course not,” her mother answered without pausing a beat. “But I’m not risking a broken heart with Curt. You are with Brody.”

  Yes, she was. A crushed, stomped-on broken heart. And yet she was still going for it. A holiday fling at Colts Creek was worth it.

  She hoped.

  Rowan and Teagan peered in through the doorway. “I’ve got to head to school now,” the boy said, “but if you need anything else moved, I can do it later today.”

  “Thank you,” Janessa told him as he headed off.

  “I need to get changed for the doctor’s appointment,” Teagan reminded her, leaving, too. Janessa suspected the girl had done that to give Sophia and her some alone time.

  “Someone sent me a picture,” Sophia said, getting Janessa’s attention off alone time, Brody, sex and broken hearts.

  Frowning, Janessa asked, “What kind of picture?”

  Sophia took a five-by-seven brown envelope from her purse. “It was addressed to me at the inn, and the postmark is from Dallas.” She pulled out the photo and handed it to Janessa.

  It was a black-and-white shot of a man and a woman. Their arms were wrapped around each other. Their bodies pressed together. It was obviously wintertime because they were wearing coats, and the woman had on a knit hat. She was turned so that the camera only caught part of her face, and the image was fuzzy. Well, it was fuzzy there anyway. The man’s mouth was on the woman’s neck, and his face was crystal clear.

  Abe.

  A young Abe at that. Janessa guessed he was in his late twenties. Since that would have been about the time he was married to her mother, she had a closer look at the woman. Not Sophia. At least Janessa didn’t believe it was, but it was hard to tell.

  “According to the date on the back, it was taken the month after Abe and I got married,” Sophia supplied.

  Janessa’s head whipped up so she could study her mother’s expression. Not hurt. Not even any anger. But, yes, the handwritten date on the back was indeed when she would have been married to Abe.

  “The person who sent this could have written that to upset you,” Janessa pointed out. “The picture might have been taken before you even met Abe.”

  “No,” Sophia said, and then she sighed. “This isn’t the first time someone has sent me this particular photo. I got a copy of it years ago, right before I left Abe.” She paused, cleared her throat. “He cheated on me.”

  Janessa just stared at her. Trying to process that. And suddenly things got a whole lot clearer. “This is why you divorced him.”

  “That’s why I divorced him,” Sophia verified. She glanced away, brushing at some nonexistent lint on her top. “Needless to say, I was crushed. I have firsthand knowledge of broken hearts, betrayal, etc.”

  Sophia had clearly gone for a nonchalant it-no-longer-matters tone with her explanation, but she failed. Janessa saw and heard the emotion. Yes, her mother did know all about broken hearts.

  “Who’s the woman?” Janessa asked.

  Sophia shook her head. “I don’t know. When I got the first one, I went to Abe, showed it to him and he denied having an affair. In fact, he accused me of having one.” Now, there was some anger. The really-pissed-off kind of anger. “I was four months pregnant, and he said he’d insist on having a DNA test done to prove the baby wasn’t my lover’s.” Her mouth tightened, her eyes went to slits. “I left that day.”

  Yes, that would have definitely sent Sophia packing, and Janessa couldn’t blame her. It would have been beyond heart crushing to have her husband accuse her that way. Especially if he was the one who was having an affair.

  Janessa looked at the picture again while she tried to figure out who would have sent this to her mother. And why? Why dredge up all of these old memories?

  Since the woman’s face and body weren’t visible, Janessa studied her hat. Nothing descript about it. But she was wearing a bracelet that had some kind of stone set in metal.

  “Did you try to find out who the woman is?” Janessa pressed.

  “No. I figured, whoever she was, she was welcome to my lying, cheating son-of-a-bitch husband. And speaking of the SOB,” Sophia said, taking another envelope out of her purse. “These are some details about how I met the SOB, how he proposed, yada yada. I figured you could use it for the research.”

  “Thanks.” Janessa took it, but her attention was still on the photo. “Since this was taken before I was born, maybe Velma Sue would know who the woman is.”

  “You’re right, but I don’t know why it would matter after all this time.” Sophia used her hand to mime a bridge and water flowing under it.

  “It might tell us who sent you the photo,” Janessa reminded her. “Because I don’t think the sender has good intentions. This was meant to stir up old bad feelings. Maybe feelings that would cause you to leave town in a hurry so that we can’t fulfill Abe’s will.”

  Judging from her mother’s shrug, Sophia had already considered that. “It’d take more than an old picture to do that. I told you I’d stay, and I will.”

  Yes, but the sender might not realize just how fast and hard Sophia could dig in her heels.

  With the picture in hand, they headed to the kitchen where they found Velma Sue at the breakfast table with Margo. They were sipping coffee while Margo ogled—yes, ogled—two cowboys by the corral. After getting a quick glimpse of them, Janessa decided the ogling was justified since one of them was Brody.

  After a quick good morning, Janessa handed Velma Sue the photo. “Someone sent this to my mom. Do you have any idea who the woman is?”

  Velma Sue slipped on the reading glasses that dangled from a string necklace and took the picture. Studying it, she shook her head. “I’m bettin’ Abe didn’t know somebody took that. If he had, he would have pitched a fit about it.”

  Since the shot was grainy, Janessa suspected it’d been taken from a distance and then enlarged. So, yes, it was possible that Abe hadn’t had a clue that he was being photographed.

  Margo stood and went around the table to stand behind Velma Sue. The woman smirked. “Yep, he would have pitched a fit all right. That was taken a while back,” she added with her attention still on the picture.

  “At least thirty-three years ago,” Sophia supplied. “Someone sent me a copy of it right before I left the ranch.”

  Both Velma Sue and Margo looked at Sophia, and Margo muttered a curse that had Velma Sue scolding her. “Abe cheated.” She cursed some more, got another scolding. “He accused me of cheating. I didn’t,” Margo quickly added, “but Abe was convinced I had.”

  “Same here,” Sophia admitted. “We’ll have to get together sometime and compare notes,” she said with a dry smile.

  Margo smiled, too, and had another look at the picture. Her forehead bunched up. “Hey, I recognize that.” She tapped the bracelet. “I sure as heck do. She used to wear it all the time.”

  “Who?” Janessa asked.

  Margo’s smile vanished, and her gaze drifted out to the corral. To Brody. “I think the woman in the picture is Darcia.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  BRODY FIGURED THE timing for this was lousy, but he’d put it off long enough. Not intentionally put it off. He�
��d just been busy with the ranch. And with other things. But he needed to talk to his mother before she heard gossip about it from someone else.

  He rang his mother’s doorbell and didn’t have to wait long before she opened the door. She was hopping around on one foot while she was putting a shoe on the other. Dressy shoes, a reminder that she was no doubt getting ready for Millie’s party.

  “Is something wrong?” Darcia immediately asked. “Is Rowan okay?”

  It occurred to him then that he almost certainly had a serious look on his face, and since Darcia usually jumped to a worst-case scenario when it came to her kids, Brody tried to relax. Hard to do, though, considering why he’d come.

  “Rowan’s fine,” he assured her. “And nothing’s wrong.”

  Brody stepped in and noticed that she’d already done her makeup and hair, signals that Janessa, Margo, Teagan and Sophia had likely done the same. He’d need to be meeting them at the ranch house so they could all drive over in one of the ranch’s big SUVs.

  “Are you here to tell me you’ll be taking Janessa to the party?” Darcia asked.

  He shook his head. “But I am taking her and three others.” Brody paused. “Sophia will be one of them.”

  “I see.” Darcia went a little stiff. “She called me and said she hadn’t sent me the picture of Layla.”

  He waited to see if that was all Sophia had volunteered. Apparently, it was because his mother didn’t add more.

  “I believe her,” Brody said. And that was about as good of a lead-in as he was going to get. “In fact, someone sent Sophia a picture, too.”

  Since there was a generous amount of surprise in her eyes, it confirmed that Sophia hadn’t mentioned it. Brody took a copy of the photo from the envelope he was holding. A copy that Janessa had given him, and he handed it to his mother.

  “Someone sent this to Sophia twice,” he explained. “The first came right before she left Abe, and then a second one arrived a couple of days ago.”

  He couldn’t help but notice her fingers tremble a little when she took the picture, and Brody kept his attention pinned to her face. Looking for any signal that she recognized herself in the shot.