Lonestar Secrets

by Colleen Coble

  "Jack found out today that I have MS."

  Allie's mouth gaped. "You've never told him? Oh, Shannon." Her voice was reproachful.

  "I know, I know. I meant to tell him this week. I've been so stupid, Allie. I . . . I wanted him to start to feel something for me, and I thought if he knew everything about my past, about my illness, he'd never love me." She rubbed her hands together. "There's more though. You've never asked about the girls' father."

  "I thought when you wanted to talk about it, you would."

  That would be never. Shannon sighed and took a sip of coffee. "Tucker Larue showed up at my uncle's ranch when we were there Friday. He told Jack he was their father."

  "Tucker?" Allie grimaced.

  "I know, it seems strange. He wasn't always so out for himself." Shannon lifted her shoulders. "Anyway, Jack was furious and told me he wanted all the secrets out. I should have told him about my MS then, but the time didn't seem right. I was so stupid!"

  Allie took Shannon's hand. "I'm so sorry. How are you feeling?"

  "Okay, but the stress has kicked up my symptoms a little."

  "There's a really good naturopath in Alpine. I think you should go up there and see her. I know an MS patient she treated, and you can't even tell my friend has it now."

  "Really? I'm willing to try anything. Make me an appointment and I'll go."

  Allie nodded and continued to stare at Shannon. "I assume Jack was mad when he found out?"

  Shannon winced at the memory of his white face. "Furious. And I can't blame him. I forced him into marriage and didn't tell him the whole story. I was stupid and selfish. I've faced worse than a disease. It's not going to lick me, and we would have been okay without him."

  "You married to make sure Kylie was taken care of, right? Surely he can understand that." Allie stood and began to carry the dishes to the sink. Her huge bulk swayed.

  Shannon gathered the rest of the dishes and began to put them in the dishwasher. "I was beginning to hope there was a future for me and Jack that was more than ... than I'd first thought."

  Allie leaned her weight against the counter and stared up at Shannon. "You're in love with him," she said.

  "He's about as easy to love as a horse fly." Shannon wanted to turn away from the probing blue eyes of her friend. "We're still strangers. I did hope that we could be friends."

  A smile played about Allie's lips. "I know the signs, my friend. I tried to ignore my feelings for Rick for way too long. You can deny it all you want, but the evidence is clear."

  "Clear as black water." Shannon tried to laugh off Allie's words, but they sank deep, down to her soul.

  She had tried to talk herself out of her initial realization that she loved Jack. She could admire his tenderness with the girls and his commitment to his first wife without being in love with him. It was fine to watch his broad shoulders across the paddock and see his gentleness with the mustangs without allowing it to go any further. Noticing his strength and unswerving integrity didn't mean she had given her heart with no hope of retrieval.

  Did it?

  Her throat closed. Was there anything more pathetic than being in love with a man who despised her?

  "Your emotions are right on your face," Allie said. "It's okay to love him. He's your husband, after all. When I married Rick, I thought it was for Betsy's sake and would be temporary, but Rick realized our vows were sacred. He decided to love me in action and hoped the feelings would come later. They did."

  Shannon had never witnessed a happier union than Rick and Allie's. Maybe there was hope for her and Jack after all. "Jack doesn't love me. He's still in love with Blair."

  "Fight for him, Shannon." Allie's gaze locked with Shannon's. "He might not love you right now, but show him love and respect anyway. Once he gets to know you better, he can't help but love you. Anyone would."

  "You're prejudiced." Shannon smiled weakly. "I don't know if I can do this. Or even if I want to do it. I've had a lot of rejection in my life. I'm not sure I can face a rejection that would hurt so much."

  "No pain, no gain," Allie said. "I know that sounds flippant, but it's life, girl. Would you trade the joy you've had with Kylie to avoid the pain that's gone along with it?"

  "No," Shannon said. "Not in a million years."

  "Then try. Shower Jack with love and respect and see what happens."

  Shannon's pulse gave a jump at the thought of going out on a limb that way. "I'll think about it," was all she could manage to say.

  DRIYING ROME UNDER THE STARS, THE ROMANTIC IDEALS ALLIE HAD talked about seemed easy to put into action. Jack was an easy man to respect and love. Facing the reality of his aloof expression was something else. The girls were in bed when she got home, and he sat watching the sports replays on the news.

  When she passed the door to the den, he called to her. "Shannon, you won't believe what the sheriff said. Come here a minute." He leaped from his leather chair when she came into the room. "You'll need to sit down."

  He was scaring her. "What's wrong?" She shook him off when he tried to push her into a chair.

  "I think it might all be over. It was your cousin Curt all along."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "Sheriff Borland was driving past your uncle's place and saw a light inside the house. He shut off his cruiser by the road and walked onto the property, found Curt on the porch with a box of papers. Curt tried to talk his way out and said you'd given him permission to be there, but he dropped the box and Borland found old stocks inside. When he started to call you, Curt objected. The sheriff didn't like his manner but let him go. Borland kept the stocks though. He checked them out and they're worth a tidy sum. He wants to know if you authorized Curt to take stocks from the house. I told him no, so he's going to pick Curt up for questioning"

  "So that's what Curt's been after. But why? He has plenty of money."

  Jack shook his head. "Not so much. He's on the verge of bankruptcy. He lost an important case about six months ago, and his practice has tanked. It's over, Shannon. He's been behind all this."

  "But what about Mary Beth?"

  "Borland is sure he can get Curt to sing"

  A thought began to hover. "Maybe if I take the stocks to the guy who's been assaulting me, he'll let Mary Beth go. This might be what he's been looking for."

  "You're not in danger anymore. Or the girls."

  Shannon stepped closer. Her arms came up around his waist, and she clung to him. Did his lips just brush her hair? She hugged him tighter, words of love hovering on her lips.

  But no. He would never believe it. She had to show it, like Allie said. Dropping her arms, she stepped away and directed a full-wattage smile his way. He nearly reeled when she did. "I'm glad I heard it from you," she whispered. She turned toward the door. "I want to talk to Curt and get those stocks."

  "I'll come with you." He got up from the sofa and followed her. He called his intentions to Enrica.

  Shannon tried her phone after piling into Jack's truck. Jack pulled out onto the main road. "Stupid thing is dead again," she muttered.

  Jack fished his cell phone out of his pocket. "Here, use mine. Who are you calling?"

  "Mary Beth's phone." She was going to take charge of this situation and put an end to it. She plugged her phone in to charge, then punched in the number and listened to it ring. When she got Mary Beth's voice mail, she left a message for the captor saying she had what he wanted.

  Jack parked his truck in front of the sheriff's office, a single-story stucco building that was showing signs of weathering on the corners. Shannon let Jack explain what they wanted while she thought about how to handle Curt. What did she even feel about what he'd done?

  Acceptance. That's what this sense of peace was all about. All the property should have belonged to Curt anyway. She'd tell him he could have it all, but she had to take the stocks to his partners so Mary Beth could go free. She followed Jack and the deputy back to the cells and faced Curt through the bars.

&n
bsp; He sat on a bunk with his head in his hands. He leaped to his feet when he saw her. "Shannon, you've got to tell them I wasn't doing anything wrong."

  "I'm going to," she said. "I'm not pressing charges. But why didn't you just tell me what you wanted, Curt? I would have let you have anything you wanted. Or wouldn't your partners let you?"

  "What partners?" He shook his head. "If you're talking about that crazy idea of Borland's that I had something to do with a kidnapping and some attacks on you, it's not true."

  She didn't want to believe him. "I'm going to take the stocks to your partners, and you can go free. I'm also going to sign over the ranch to you."

  He gave a harsh laugh. "That place isn't worth the kerosene to burn it down. I don't want it. But I need the stocks."

  She shook her head and walked away, ignoring his shouts. Jack pointed out the sheriff's office, and she stopped long enough to take possession of the box of stocks and tell him she wasn't pressing charges.

  When she stepped outside, she stopped in her tracks at the sight of Verna talking with reporters. She and Jack exchanged glances, then approached the tangle of media. "What's going on?" she asked.

  Verna's gaze was direct. "I'm telling the truth, Shannon. All of it. I can't sleep, can't eat, can't even take pleasure in my garden. People ha-have been saying wrong things about you and Jack. I'm not standing for it anymore."

  Shannon's eyes welled, and she blinked back the tears. "Thank you, Verna." Jack murmured his thanks, too, and ignoring the shouted questions from the media, they pressed past the crush of people to his truck.

  By the time they reached the vehicle, her cell phone was ringing. She and Jack locked gazes. "It's Mary Beth's cell phone," she said. "He's returning my call." Her pulse was thumping loudly in her ears, and she unplugged the phone, then flipped it open. Jack bent his head to listen in.

  The man's voice came through the phone. "You ready to play ball? Where do you want to meet?"

  "I want to know that Mary Beth is okay first."

  "You're in no position to call the shots, lady. No money and the woman goes bye-bye."

  "Look, I have the stocks right here in my hand. I'll turn them over to you, but not without Mary Beth."

  "Stocks? What stocks? Is this some kind of scam?"

  "You ... you aren't after my uncle's stocks?" Confusion swept over her.

  "We want our eight million," he snapped. "Not some stupid stocks. Don't get cute with me. It's not good for your health. Or the broad's."

  The phone went dead. Shannon closed it and stared at Jack. "Eight million dollars," she said, her voice awed. "I don't understand."

  "Maybe it's something to do with that number on the chip. We'll have to wait and see what Rick's friend finds out."

  Shannon's earlier elation drained away. She had no idea what to do next. About anything.

  24

  SUNDAY AFTERNOON AFTER CHURCH, AS HE DROVE THE TRUCK ALONG THE deserted road, Jack passed a pinon that was as twisted by the wind as he was by his emotions. He glanced at Shannon from the corner of his eye on the way. She wore a cute little pink dress that showed off her tanned arms. Very froufrou and unlike her normal attire of jeans and T-shirt.

  He was too aware of her: the long curtain of silken hair, the way she chewed on her lower lip when she was thinking, the strength of the love she showed the girls even Faith, who didn't respond. After her secrets, he wanted to pretend she was nothing more than a guest in the house, but all week, it seemed as though she was going out of her way to be appealing.

  "Let's play Candy Land after lunch," Shannon said.

  "Daddy said he'd take us horseback riding," Faith said. "Just me and Kylie. Not you."

  Shannon's smile faded, and she turned her head, but not so fast that Jack missed the liquid sheen of her eyes. "We'd like you to come with us," he said, then wished he hadn't.

  "You can take the girls and have fun," she said. "I've got a book I've been wanting to read."

  "Mommy has to go," Kylie said. "You're being mean, Faith."

  Faith had been taking a big sister's leadership role. Jack watched in the rearview mirror to see how she would take her younger sister's assertive tone.

  "My mommy is in heaven." Faith frowned, then turned to look out the window without saying anything.

  Jack studied her in the mirror. Having her mother back had been her dream since Blair died, but Faith was unable to accept the love Shannon extended. He wasn't sure how to get to the root of the problem. Maybe have a talk with Faith. Or maybe Blair's parents, though he suspected it would take more than that. They hadn't seen her since Faith found out the truth.

  Was Faith jealous of his relationship such as it was with Shannon? Jealous of Kylie? Maybe Faith wanted her own mother, not someone else's. Still, the two girls had become inseparable, so that didn't seem likely.

  Jack parked the truck. "Everyone get changed. I'll have Enrica pack us a lunch. Take your swimsuits too." The girls unsnapped their seat belts and slid out of their booster seats in the back. He got out to open the door for them. They jumped from the backseat and raced to the house.

  Shannon stopped, her hand poised on the door handle. "Swimsuits?"

  "There's a great pool this time of year in the back canyon. It will be cold though." He grinned when she shivered.

  "I know the place," she said. "You three go on "

  "The girls would be disappointed to leave you behind." She was still shaking her head, and the words "I want you to come too" slipped out of his mouth.

  The sway of her head stopped. Her gaze examined his. "You do?"

  "Yes. Very much." He let her see into his soul a bit before he broke the connection and looked away. He hadn't wanted to trust her again, but his wall had developed a hairline crack. Much of her distrust was his fault, so he didn't have much of a right to beef. The more he'd thought about it, the more he'd realized he wouldn't have told her he was sick either.

  "I'll get changed." Her voice was resigned as she got out of the truck and jogged up the walk to the house.

  Was she afraid to be with him, or did she hate the canyon? It could be a spooky place, and legends abounded of lost gold, evil spirits, and flash floods.

  While the family changed, he got the horses and ponies saddled. Faith's pony, Topsy, billowed out her stomach when he laid the saddle on her back. "Oh no, you don't," he murmured. He kneed her hard and she let the air escape. Faith hated to see him do that, but if he let the pony get by with it, the saddle would slide down the minute Topsy exhaled. Faith would be on the ground and maybe dragged.

  His three girls came out of the house. The realization he thought of them like that made his smile freeze in place. The children were so like Shannon too. Maybe that was where these stray emotions came from. He couldn't help but be somewhat attached to her when his daughters were so similar.

  Psychobabble, that's all it was. He was trying to rationalize something that couldn't be explained. He managed a smile. "Ready?"

  The girls squealed and ran to the ponies. Shannon brushed past him closely enough for him to catch the scent of her hair. He watched her hips sway as she walked to her horse. Every woman should look as good in jeans as she did. Spending the day with her was trouble.

  He mounted Rascal and led his family over hardpan past sagebrush, yucca, and prickly pear. A gentle wind blew back his hair and filled his nose with the scent of the desert sage, creosote, and clean air. He couldn't remember when he'd been so contented.

  He slanted a glance at Shannon. She rode in the saddle like she'd been born there, her knees guiding the mare, her head up and surveying all they passed. Her tan cowboy hat framed her beautiful face.

  He'd fallen in love with her.

  THE CLEAR MOUNTAIN POOL WAS AS CLOSE TO PARADISE AS SHE WAS LIKELY to get this side of heaven. Shannon dangled her feet in the cold water and shivered when the breeze touched her bare skin. Almost before the shiver began, Jack dropped a towel around her bare shoulders.

  She glanced up. He
was smiling, and the expression in his eyes drew her. She shook off the notion that he was expressing anything other than kindness. "Thanks."

  "If you want to get out of that wet suit and get dressed, there's a cave back there. I checked it for critters, and it's clear."

  The girls still swam and shrieked in the cold water. The pool was only three feet deep, perfect for the children. "I'll wait until the girls are ready to change." She felt great and had for the last two days. Enrica had begun pushing some homeopathic concoctions down her as well as doing acupressure treatments. Shannon hoped it was working.

  He sat beside her and dropped his bare feet back into the water. Her pulse was too erratic to dare a glance his way. "Have you talked to Tucker about our offer?"

  "Not yet. I'm letting him sweat a little." The warmth in his voice had turned as cold as the water.

  Shannon paddled her feet in the cold water. "My parents used to bring me here. Up that path and around on the other side of the mountain is the cave I told you about," she said in a low voice.

  "The treasure?"

  She nodded. "If you tunneled through the rock right behind us, the Spanish artifacts and gold would be right there, heaped on rock shelves like the day it was hidden. I've never seen anything like it."

  Jack turned a speculative glance behind him. "You trying to see if I'll break? I won't. Your secrets are safe with me. I wouldn't go looking for that treasure unless you wanted me to. And I don't think that's ever going to happen."

  He put his arm around her and she leaned into his embrace. Maybe fell would be a more appropriate way to put it, since the shock of his gesture stole her strength. His cold skin was starting to warm in the heat of the sun. If she dared, she'd tip up her head and invite a kiss, but she didn't want to press her luck.

  Jack gave her a squeeze, then removed his arm. "I think I'll get dressed." He rose and moved away from the spring.