Justified

by Jay Crownover

  Pulling her close, I heard her whimper something incoherent in her sleep. Kissing the top of her head I told the darkness, “I’m going to ask you to stay.” I was. There was no time for fear or doubts—hers or mine. I didn’t need to be apart to figure out this was real. I wanted to start our lives together as soon as possible.

  I just had to be as brave as she was.

  Chapter 17

  Aspen

  You’re going to be careful today. Jethro Coleman is still out there, and we still don’t know what his agenda is.” Case’s tone was deadly serious, and the expression on his face was stern and unforgiving. He had his hand braced above my head on the wall behind me and was looming over me in such a way that was equally sexy and threatening.

  I had to lift up on my tiptoes so I could pat his bristly cheek with my palm. “I’m just going to the office for a few hours.” A cleaning crew had tackled most of the damage, and the front window had finally been replaced. It was time to get back in business. I had people relying on me for a paycheck, and others relying on me to help them out of a bad situation. I couldn’t ignore what I was meant to be doing any longer. Not even for Case. “You have one of your deputies patrolling Main Street, and I’ll make sure to keep the doors locked, and the blinds closed the whole time I’m there. You’re dropping me off and picking me up later on tonight. It’ll be fine.”

  “Unless it’s not.” His annoyed growl was actually adorable.

  I lifted up so I could press a kiss against his frown. “I can’t live my life afraid of my own shadow.” Not if we were going to figure out how to make a relationship work. There would always be an element of danger in our lives, considering his job and, on occasion, mine. It was better we faced the ramifications of those dangers head on rather than pretend like they weren’t always going to be there. “I’ll be careful and take the necessary precautions. Don’t worry about me, instead focus on the fact you get Hayes back home tonight.” Case asked me to come and have dinner with the both of them tonight, but I’d declined much to his annoyance. I gently reminded Case that his son hadn’t been home in over a week and probably wasn’t ready to share Case’s attention just yet. Though I greatly appreciated his desire to include me. It warmed me all the way down to my soul, the same way it had when we were younger.

  Case dipped his chin down and deepened the playful kiss I placed on his mouth. It was a nice way to face the day, even if I could feel his anger—and a hint of fear—in the possessive way his mouth moved over mine. When he pulled back, he said, “Gonna worry about you and not just because it’s my job, but because you matter to me. I can’t stand the thought of anything else bad happening to you.”

  God, how long had I been waiting to hear that? It felt like forever. I threw my arms around his neck and planted another, wet, noisy kiss on his fiercely frowning mouth. “And I’m going to worry about you, but we can’t let fear change who we are, or what we’re meant to do.” His bravery and his fearlessness were just a few of the reasons I’d always looked up to him.

  Case narrowed his eyes at me but grunted a reluctant agreement and let me pull him out the front door. I patted his cheek and followed him out to his SUV. The ride to my office was a fairly somber affair. Case was tense, and I was distracted, but I could barely contain my excitement when I saw the outside of my office building looking like it had before the damage. It was almost like a sign I finally had a little slice of my life back under my control.

  Case caught the hand not clutching my new briefcase and gave it a squeeze. I could see it stamped all over his face he wanted to walk me inside the building and stay with me until the sun went down, but to his credit, he simply dropped a tiny kiss on the back of my hand and grumbled, “Have a good first day back.”

  If I hadn’t been halfway in love with him already, the sweet sentiment from such a hard man would have shoved me over the tipping point. I flashed him a wink and hopped out of the SUV with more confidence than I actually felt. Being on the street in the middle of the day, even in a small town, knowing there was potentially someone out there who wanted to hurt me, was unsettling. I rushed to the front door, fumbling with my keys in the new lock. Once I was inside, I made sure the door was secure and waved to Case as he drove away, knowing he wasn’t going anywhere until he was sure I was locked inside.

  The entire office smelled like industrial air freshener with an underlying hint of pine, but none of the red paint or ugly slurs were left on the carpet or walls. Every surface gleamed, making the place look brand-new. I wasn’t ready for my secretary and paralegal to come back full-time just yet. I needed to get my ongoing cases in order and my schedule up-to-date before I jumped back into the deep end with both feet. I’d lost a couple of clients due to my sudden disappearance, and I couldn’t blame them for finding new representation. But I didn’t want my caseload to thin out any more than it had. The last thing I wanted was to appear unreliable. Not after working so hard to rebuild my reputation after leaving the protection of the Barlows’ established firm.

  I had no idea how many hours passed as I plowed through file after file. My eyes crossed as I changed meeting dates and filed for changes in court hearings. It was all monotonous and tedious work, but I found the rhythm calming and reassuring. It was lovely to be back in my element and walking on familiar ground.

  My stomach rumbled a couple hours later, and I realized most of the day had slipped by. Standing, I lifted my arms over my head and stretched. My spine popped all the way down, and the base of my neck ached. I lifted a hand to rub at the tight spot, nearly jumping out of my skin when there was a sudden pounding on the glass door at the front of my office space. Glancing at my phone, I didn’t see any missed calls, so I knew it wasn’t Case checking up on me, and it wasn’t my staff being overly eager. Cautiously I crept to the window next to my desk and used a finger to part the wooden slats of the blinds so I could peek outside, expecting to see either the husband or wife who ran the coffee shop across the street checking up on me. My jaw nearly hit the floor when I caught a glimpse of the familiar figure using her fist to bang noisily on my door.

  “Holy hell.” I breathed out the shocked exclamation and hurried around my desk. I rushed out into the reception area so I could pull the door open before my mother broke it down.

  Yes, my mother.

  I jerked the heavy door open with one hand and reached out to catch my mother’s flailing arm with the other. I pulled her into my office and shut the door with a bang behind her.

  “Mom. What on earth are you doing back in Loveless?” She hadn’t stepped foot in this town since she and my father left right after I moved away for college. Dad went from representing a Texas fracking company to being lead counsel for a Florida Fortune 500 CEO who ripped off his employees’ retirement funds. It really was no wonder the man had suffered a massive heart attack in his fifties. The stress of ruining the environment and lives had caught up with him.

  My mom wasn’t dressed for Texas weather. She had on too many layers, all of them dark and heavy. Her hair was already rebelling against the dry weather, and her normally flawless makeup was starting to melt and run. Her bag was designer and landed with a thud on the floor when she stomped into the room. She still looked more like she should be shopping on Fifth Avenue than standing in my office on Main Street. Sourly I wondered how much of her obviously expensive outfit I’d paid for.

  “My daughter’s home burned to the ground. Someone took a shot at her when she was leaving the hospital. One of her client’s husbands tried to run her off the road, and on top of all of that, you’re a divorcee. You’ve been impossible to talk to lately and totally unreasonable. I can’t believe you refused to loan me money the last time we spoke. Where else would I be, Aspen? I had to come see for myself what was going on with you.” She wrinkled her nose at me and lifted her hand to block the smell. “It smells awful in here.”

  “The office was vandalized.” I sighed and lifted my hands to my head, so I could tug on my hair. “Wai
t…” I narrowed my eyes at her. “How did you know the divorce was finally a done deal?” I cocked my head to the side. “And how did you know I was here in the office?” The only person who knew I was going back to work today was Case.

  My mother sniffed again and narrowed her eyes at me. “David called me and told me you strong-armed him into signing the paperwork finally. He was quite distraught. He also told me you’ve seemed to have moved on. Really, Aspen? Going from a Barlow to a Lawton? What on earth would possess you to downgrade like that?” She looked around the reception area with disdain. “Aren’t you going to offer me a cup of coffee or something? Have you forgotten all your manners already?” She huffed out an annoyed breath that made me grit my teeth.

  I bristled and turned my back on the woman who birthed me but did very little to raise me. She’d always treated me as more of a nuisance than as a child unless she needed money. I busied myself at the new Keurig so I didn’t say something I’d regret.

  “I can’t believe David had the nerve to call you.” What a worm.

  “I’m glad someone did. It’s not like you’ve bothered to keep me updated on your disaster of a life as of late.” The judgment in her tone was thick enough to cut with a knife.

  Sighing I turned and handed her the coffee. “I didn’t realize you were interested in what was going on in my life. Every time we talk it’s all about what you need, and you telling me what you think I’m doing wrong. I tried to explain for the last year that David and I were done, but you refused to believe it.” Or support me. I gritted my teeth in frustration. “I’m better off without David in my life, and Case is a wonderful man. He’s gone above and beyond for me. He literally took a bullet for me. I don’t know where things are going with us, but I’m happier with him than I ever was with David.” And that was even with all the chaos controlling my life at the moment. “You should’ve let me know you were coming. I’m sort of homeless at the moment. I’m not sure how long you plan on staying, but I don’t have the proper accommodations to put you up right now.”

  “I’m not staying for long.” She made a face as she sipped the coffee I handed her. I couldn’t tell if the distaste was over the drink or the thought of staying in Loveless any longer than necessary. “I’m only here to check on things.” I arched an eyebrow and reflexively crossed my arms over my chest. I wondered if by “things” she meant me…her child. “And I didn’t let you know I was coming, because you would have tried to talk me out of it.” After making another face, she motioned for me to come and take the cup of obviously inferior brew away from her.

  “Things have been up in the air since the shooting and after the fire. I’ve barely had time to breathe. It’s not that I don’t want to see you, there’s just a lot going on right now, and the timing isn’t the best. If you wanted to visit, we could’ve found a better time.” I wasn’t sure how she made all the terrible things I’d endured lately about her, but here we were. “I honestly didn’t know you were worried. You never said anything to me about being concerned how I was doing.” Motherly concern was not in her wheelhouse, but she’d made it clear she was horrified by my marriage ending.

  My mother sighed heavily and dramatically. “Really, Aspen, have you given any thought to what happens next? You’re not exactly young anymore, and you have…limitations. Have you completely given up on the idea of having a family of your own? Doesn’t that make you feel like a failure?” My mother lifted her eyebrows, and I felt the implications all the way down to my bones.

  I fought back a wince and forced myself to keep my voice calm. “No, Mom. I am not a failure in any way. There are so many different ways to build a family.”

  I was wondering if she really visited just so she could make me feel like garbage? What a waste, but not entirely unsurprising. She always went the extra mile to let me know I was a disappointment. My fingers flexed around the warm mug in my hand. The urge to toss it in her face was strong, but I refrained. “Let me finish up what I was working on and then we’ll figure out where you’re staying, and we can discuss why you’re really here.” She wanted money, as always. But I was done being her personal ATM machine. She was never going to be the mother I wanted, and it was time I stopped trying to buy her love and approval. My stomach growled again. “Maybe we can get something to eat. I’m starving.” Turning, I faltered midstep and asked again, “Mom? You never said how you knew I was at my office. I’ve been keeping a pretty low profile with everything going on. I haven’t been out and about much.”

  “Just a good guess. Your house is gone, where else would you be during the middle of the day?” She gave me a pointed look, which I found completely unnerving. Her appearance already had me off-center and out of sorts, but something about this visit felt off.

  “Did David tell you about my client’s husband trying to run me off the road?” I paused midstep and turned to look at her.

  My mother shrugged, not meeting my gaze as she moved toward her abandoned bag. “He must’ve. How else would I know about it?”

  “That’s weird. He was the one who made a deal with the man who tried to run me down. David’s a criminal attorney.” A bad one, but still he knew the law and how it worked. “Why would he be discussing the attack with you? He shouldn’t be admitting to anything.”

  My mother blinked at me slowly and a lead brick settled in my stomach. I lifted a hand to my mouth, trying to cover a gasp as a horrible realization blindsided me. “Did you tell him the only way to get me back was to try and scare me? Was this all your idea?”

  “Aspen…”

  I held a hand out in front of me. “No. Tell me you didn’t do this. You didn’t try and manipulate me into getting back with David because you were worried about money.” A dry, brittle laugh escaped. “He doesn’t have any. Did you know that? When we realized we weren’t going to have a baby the traditional way, he decided it was okay to spend it all on hookers and drugs. Not to mention what he lost gambling. He’s broke. In the end, he was a terrible husband.”

  My mother shook her head and pulled her purse to her chest. “I know he had no money. I’m not stupid.”

  “Then what’s going on, Mom? Why are you really here? What do you want?” I backed up a step, watching her warily. A shiver was sliding up and down my spine. I wished I hadn’t left my cell phone on my desk in the other room. I wanted to call Case. It was never comfortable being alone in a room with my mother, but this was the first time I felt unsafe.

  She sighed again, eyes cold as winter as she assessed me. “You know things have been difficult for me financially since your father passed away.”

  I jolted a little at the admission. “Because you married an idiot and you let him handle your finances. You shouldn’t have let your new husband blow through everything Dad left you.” I was done playing nice. “What do your money troubles have to do with me? I send you money whenever you ask.” And it wasn’t pocket change.

  She shook her head slightly, mouth pulled tight. “Yes, but now I need more than you would ever be willing to give. And you turned me down last time I asked.” She cleared her throat. “There’s a loan shark involved now. Playing the stock market wasn’t enough anymore. He kept risking more and more, believing there was a way to break even. If we don’t find the money, my husband is going to end up dead, and then they’ll come after me.”

  I opened my mouth and closed it repeatedly, sure I resembled a fish. The shock was making me stupid. “So you encouraged David to hire someone to scare me back to him, knowing he didn’t have the money to give you even if it worked? Why?”

  She didn’t say anything, so I went to push past her toward the front door. “I’m going to find Case.” I was already angry David had gotten away with mostly a slap on the wrist. Even though she was my mother, I was going to let Case deal with her. I felt like the top of my head was going to explode I was so angry. I couldn’t believe I’d given this woman everything she’d asked for all these years, for her to manipulate and hurt me this way.

>   She caught my arm as I went to move by her, but I shook her loose. “Let go of me. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. You can explain yourself to the sheriff.” And knowing Case, it wasn’t going to be a pretty scene.

  My mother’s next words froze me in my tracks. “I needed everyone to focus on David and his connection to Jed, so no one would question why Jethro Coleman was trying to kill you.” She said it so matter-of-factly she might have been describing the weather outside.

  How did she even know that? I sucked in a breath and whispered, “Why is Jethro trying to kill me?” It was the million-dollar question, and I never would have suspected my mother was the one with the answer to it.

  Her next words made me bitterly regret not walking out the door when I had the chance. Curiosity really did kill the cat, or rather the attorney in this instance. I should’ve run when I had the chance.

  “Because I hired him to. I need the money from your life insurance policy. It will save my husband’s life and provide just enough for us to start over somewhere. Jethro was taking too long though. I told him to forget about it. I decided to finish the job instead.”

  I was shoved roughly against the wall behind me. Surpised by the violence and my mother’s strength, I watched with unnaturally wide eyes as my mother pulled a wicked-looking handgun out of her designer bag and pointed it right at the center of my chest. I put a shaking hand to my thundering heart and gaped at the woman who’d brought me into the world. The one who apparently wanted to take me out of it as well. “I’d say I’m sorry things have to end this way, but I think we both know it would be disingenuous.”