Tell Me No Lies

by Branton, Rachel

  “What was that?” Julian asked. “Is someone here?”

  “Probably the horse,” my mother said.

  “Sounds like it came from up there.”

  I held very still, except for the thundering of my heart. A line of sweat trickled down from my hairline. Did I have the strength to resist him?

  “Well, go take a look if you like,” my mother said, sounding amused. “But you’ll ruin those pants.”

  “Not worth it. I need to see my father right away. He knows some people in Kingman.”

  Their voices faded as they left the barn. I slumped on the loft floor, my body going completely limp. Saved by Julian’s expensive trousers. Maybe I’d send him another pair once I received my inheritance.

  I lay there without moving, allowing my heart rate to return to normal. I knew I should get up and go find Gage, but I couldn’t make my muscles move. It had been too close for comfort. Yet a part of me wanted to stroll up to the house, to go into my bedroom and take a nice, relaxing bath with my own bath products. Have my hair and nails done. Sleep in my own bed. To not worry about Gage and especially my reaction to him.

  “Tessa?”

  My muscles tensed again.

  “I know you’re in here somewhere.”

  Steps on the ladder.

  “Oh, there you are.”

  I was lying on my back, and I lifted my chin up, tilting back my head to see Gage looming over me. “Hi,” I said. He looked odd upside down, but then I guess anyone would.

  “I figured you came to see Serenity. I saw your mother and Julian leaving. Guess they didn’t see you.”

  I forced myself into a sitting position, and Gage returned to being himself instead of odd-looking. “Something like that.”

  “No regrets?”

  I had regrets, but none of them were any of his business. “No.”

  He offered me a hand, and I took it. Suddenly I was in his arms, and we were kissing right there in the loft. Fire ran through my veins.

  No, that was all in my mind. A delicious daydream. Gage was actually going down the ladder, completely oblivious to my fantasy. I was in big trouble. Falling fast. What if there was no one to catch me?

  “Careful,” Gage said, reaching out to steady me. “A broken ankle is the last thing you need right now.”

  The last thing I needed was him touching me. I jumped off the ladder and hurried over to Serenity. “I’ll see you soon, girl. The vet is coming to take care of you.” I smoothed her neck and gave her a hug.

  “Vet? Is something wrong?”

  “She hurt her leg, but our vet is really good, and they’re fixing the fence where it gouged her.”

  “The things we learn when we hide in barns,” he said dryly.

  I laughed. “You can say that again.”

  “Oh? What else did you learn?” He peered out the door before giving me the all-clear signal. We hurried out and around to the cover of the trees.

  “I learned that maybe my mother isn’t the person I’ve always believed.” That maybe some slight chance remained for us to develop a real relationship. But I didn’t tell him that part. It was too personal.

  To my surprise and relief, Gage had pulled his Jeep out of the garage instead of his bike. In the backseat I spied a large duffel bag and a laptop. “Yay! Air conditioning,” I said, wiping beads of perspiration from my forehead.

  He chuckled. “Since it seems we’re going to be gone longer than I expected, I’m taking a few more things back. Mia will kill me if I don’t go to church with her tomorrow.”

  I was surprised that he’d risk being recognized, but apparently Mia’s wrath was more frightening. “I wish I could get some of my clothes,” I said.

  He frowned. “We could stop by your house.”

  I shook my head.

  “What are you afraid of?”

  The question stung because it was so accurate. “Bigamy,” I retorted.

  He laughed. “Not going to happen while I’m here, but have it your way. We should hurry. My assistant is probably waiting.”

  My anger vanished almost instantly. I wasn’t angry at him, anyway, but at myself for being unable to walk into my parents’ house and pack a proper suitcase. In fact, I had one nearly packed already, full of honeymoon clothes, including evening gowns for the Paris night life that I might never see now. I wasn’t even going to think about the belongings I’d already moved to the apartment Julian and I were to have shared.

  In downtown Flagstaff, Gage stopped at a large building with the name Trenton Mining across the front. In the parking lot around the back, a tall man lounged in a beat-up red convertible. I fell in love at first sight. With the car, not the man, though he wasn’t too shabby himself. He had blond hair like Julian’s, but his was curly and playful. Messy. He had nice, even features and soulful brown eyes that lit up when he saw me.

  “Hey,” he said, nodding at Gage, his eyes never leaving mine. Obviously, he was waiting for an introduction. I was curious if Gage would say I was his wife or if he’d keep our temporary situation to himself.

  “Tessa, this is Jeff,” Gage said. “Jeff, Tessa.” He left it at that, and I felt a strange sadness and more than a little resentment, which I knew I had no right to feel.

  “I love your car,” I said, flirting with Jeff to cover my feelings.

  “I’d love to give you a ride.”

  Gage was frowning, a deep line between his brows. Ah, so not as disconnected as he pretended. I hooked my arm around his, rubbing a hand on his arm. He tensed at my touch, like a wire humming with electricity. “I’d love too, but you know how Gage is. Rather possessive.”

  Jeff blinked in surprise. “I didn’t know that about him. Course, I’ve never seen any of his dates. Didn’t know he was dating, actually.”

  I laid my head against Gage’s shoulder. “Guess he had to find the right woman.”

  “I’m not possessive,” Gage said, but he didn’t move away.

  “Okay. Then I’ll go for a ride with Jeff.” I released Gage and started to get into the convertible.

  “We have a long ride ahead,” Gage grumbled. “And Jeff has samples to test.” He tossed his pack at Jeff, who caught it expertly.

  “Another time then,” I said.

  “Sure.” Jeff grinned and winked at me.

  Gage glowered, but we ignored him.

  “Any particular instructions?” Jeff asked.

  “Just run the whole gamut.”

  “Okay.” Jeff nodded at me. “Nice to meet you. Hope to see you around.”

  “Me, too.”

  He left, and I turned to find Gage glaring at me. “What?” I said. “It’s not as if I’m really your wife. You certainly didn’t introduce me as such.”

  He relaxed, a mocking smile coming to his face. “I see. So that’s why you’re acting like this.”

  “I’m not acting. He’s cute.”

  “You wouldn’t like him.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because he’s married and very much in love. He was trying to pull my chain, that’s all.”

  My bubble burst. “Take me home—I mean to Mia’s.”

  He opened the Jeep door. We drove in silence for a long time, and then he said, “I’m sorry.”

  I didn’t know what for. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Just because my heart was having issues didn’t mean he had to be sorry. Maybe all the girls he kissed fell for him. “I’m sorry, too,” I said.

  He smiled, and my insides felt queasy. I wanted to tell him to pull over so I could throw up, but instead I sighed and closed my eyes. Exhaustion caught up to me with a vengeance. Normally, I couldn’t sleep in moving cars because I was obsessed with making sure the driver didn’t fall asleep, but before I knew it my eyes were drooping.

  Leave it to me to feel the safest in the company of a convicted murderer.

  Then again, who better to trust than a man who would sacrifice six years of his life to protect his little sister?

  * * *

 
; Hours later as we pulled into Mia’s driveway, my cell phone rang. I peeked at the caller ID and saw the number of my grandfather’s attorney. I climbed out of the Jeep, stretching my free arm and stifling a yawn. “Hello?” I said.

  “Tessa, it’s Mark Carson.”

  “What’s up?” I waved at Gage and started toward the backyard for a little privacy. The late afternoon sun beat mercilessly down on my head.

  “Those wedding papers you sent have something odd about them. I’m sending someone over to talk to the place where the ceremony was performed. I’ll have it worked out soon, I’m sure, but there is going to be a delay of a day or two while I track everything down. I know you wanted your funds right away, but this can’t be helped. And I may need more information, depending on what we find there.”

  “What exactly is the problem?”

  “The papers you sent don’t contain an official record, and that’s what we need. Don’t worry. I’ll get it worked out.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

  “Well, you’re paying for it. At least your trust fund is, since I’m authorized to deduct my services from the account if they’re related to my position as executor.”

  A bit of unamusing lawyer humor, I supposed. “Of course. I’m glad you’re rushing it through.”

  “I liked your grandfather. I’ve revisited the terms of the trust since we last talked, and the only other issue remains is the contesting clause, which, incidentally, my notes say your grandfather only put in because your parents insisted on it, presumably for your safety. If your parents plan to make an issue of it, given their attitude toward your husband, there would be a six-month waiting period as we interview everyone in your family and in your husband’s to make sure the marriage is legitimate.”

  Six months? Guilt ate at me. Why had I been so rash?

  No, it was the right thing to do—for Lily’s sake. “What happens to the money if they do contest and they win? Not that they would, of course. I’m just curious.” I wanted to ask about jail time, but that might be a little too obvious.

  “The funds would revert to your parents, if they’re living, or to Lily if they weren’t.”

  Great. That meant my parents had more incentive to contest my marriage. “No one’s contesting, are they?”

  “Not so far. But your mother asked about the clause when I talked to her last, so you might prepare yourself for opposition. Though if she won, there might be jail time involved for you, so I’m not sure she’d want to risk that. Besides, I can’t image why she’d think you’d trade one marriage for another unless you really meant it. I mean, either way, you were getting married.” Mark laughed, but I didn’t find it funny at all. Jail time. Great. I knew my parents could use the money to help secure their business, but would they go that far? They might feel justified if I’d managed to blow their deal with Julian’s father.

  “Have there been any more inquiries about my trust fund?” I asked.

  “No.”

  “Good.”

  When we eventually hung up, I stared into the horizon above the chicken coop without seeing anything. A little hand touched mine, and I looked down to see Dylan.

  “I like watching them, too,” he said.

  I smiled. “I never knew chickens could be such great pets.”

  “I wasn’t talking about the chickens. I thought you were looking at those clouds over there.” He pointed.

  “Oh, I love clouds. That one over there looks like a cake, don’t you think? Too bad they aren’t close enough to give us some shade.”

  “That one looks like your wedding dress.”

  I stared at him. “What do you mean?”

  “It came while you were gone. That and some pictures. Didn’t you know? They’re in your room.”

  I hurried to the house to find both the wedding dress and the blue dress I’d worn to dinner in Las Vegas hanging in the guest closet. A thin album of wedding pictures lay on the bed. I looked through them, unsure what to think. There we were, looking confident and in love. Printed, Avery’s picture looked a lot better than on my laptop screen.

  “I thought you might like to keep them,” Gage said behind me. I turned to find him grinning at my shock. “The dresses, I mean. A keepsake. Besides, you looked lovely in them, and you can wear the blue one to church, though now I’m thinking it might be a little too dressy.”

  I was not going to cry at his sweetness. I was not. It was a scam, all of it. I was paying him to do a job, nothing more. I let anger sweep away the hurtful sweetness.

  “I suppose you think this will be on my bill,” I said. “But I didn’t order them, so they’ll come out of your payment. You can keep them, of course.” I regretted the words the instant I spoke, but it was too late.

  His smile vanished, and his face darkened. “Money. Is that all you ever think about?”

  “You’re one to talk,” I retorted. “You married me for forty-five thousand dollars.”

  He took a step forward, hands clenched at his sides, his face as hard as granite. “Hey, you came up with that. I don’t want your money—I never have. I was doing you a favor, that’s all.”

  “But—”

  “If we’re talking money, you’re the one who married to get it.” He snorted with disgust. “I stepped in only to make sure you didn’t end up with some psycho like the one who followed you from the dance club in Vegas, which could have easily happened.”

  “Why’d you even bother? Huh?” I clenched my own fists and didn’t back down when he took another step toward me.

  “Because I’m a nice guy.”

  Or maybe he was the one who had someone call Mark to ask about my trust fund. “My grandfather meant that money for me. For Lily. If he were here, I know he’d give it to us.”

  “So what’s wrong with working for what you need? Not everyone has a trust fund, you know. You think that’s what your grandfather would have wanted—for you to fake a marriage to get money?”

  “You don’t know anything!” I stood on my toes and shouted in his face. I was so angry, I wanted to strangle him.

  “I know you didn’t love Julian, or you would have fought for him—or at least confronted him. And I know that Lily would never have wanted you to throw away your future to a stranger.”

  I hated him. I hated him more than I’d hated anyone. Because he was right. I shouldn’t have run away. I shouldn’t have fallen into this mockery of a marriage. I’d taken what had seemed to be the easy way out because I’d been so hurt and worried and confused, but it had been a stupid idea from the beginning. Tears started down my cheeks.

  “Look, Tessa,” he said, reaching out to me. His words were gentle now, the hard accusatory tone gone from his voice.

  I slapped his hands away. “Don’t touch me.” Because if he took me into his arms, I didn’t think I’d ever want to leave, and he was only helping me out as a friend. I was a charity case. I had to remember that. He wasn’t in this for anything but to be a nice guy. He’d certainly made it clear he had no intention of ever having a real family. If I allowed myself to feel something more for him, I would only set myself up for more pain.

  I stomped past him out of the room. In the kitchen, Mia was cooking again—probably dinner. To my surprise, she had the radio on, turned up high, the speakers facing down so vibrations leaked through the floor. She was swaying by the sink, in perfect rhythm. She didn’t notice me as I passed through, grabbing a set of keys from the table that I recognized as Gage’s. She did see me as I slipped out the door, and she called out, but whatever she said was lost in the sounds of the drums.

  I didn’t want to talk to her. I didn’t want anything but to get away. Run.

  Would Gage report the Jeep stolen? I didn’t think so. Could a wife be accused of stealing a husband’s vehicle?

  I had no idea where I was going. I drove until the tears stopped and a layer of hardness reformed around my heart. I could think clearly again.

  Why had the dresses so upset me?


  I knew why. Because I wanted them. I wanted to read into them more than they represented. I wanted to remember forever the way I’d felt when Gage had kissed me that first time after the wedding. The feeling between us when we had stayed up practically the entire night playing cards. How he’d brought me breakfast.

  I wanted it to be real.

  I pulled over and let my head smack into the steering wheel. Lifting it, I let it bang several more times as though the action would knock some sense into my head. Was I crazy? Yes. There could be no other answer.

  I was falling in love with Gage Braxton, and I had to stop.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Without realizing it, I’d ended up at the police station, one of the few places I recognized in the small town. My subconscious search for order in my chaotic new world. One idea that kept repeating itself in my mind was that Gage had said he’d never marry for real, never put his children through what he’d endured, never pass on the criminal legacy of shame.

  Would he still feel the same if he was cleared?

  That was why I’d come to the police station. Because I’d never felt this way about anyone, and if I didn’t do something, we wouldn’t have a chance.

  Though what made me think Ridge Harrison, the police officer, would be here on a Saturday afternoon, I didn’t know. Except that he didn’t seem the type to be a Monday through Friday regular but rather a man who would work on a mystery until it was solved. At least that’s what I was banking on. If not, I’d have someone call him for me. I could at least tell him someone was snooping into my business. Was it connected? I didn’t know how it couldn’t be.

  Sure enough, Ridge was in and came to meet me with a big smile. “So, to what do I owe this pleasure?” I noticed he didn’t ask me back but kept me standing in the lobby, glancing behind me every time someone opened the outside door.

  “I’ve come to talk about my husband’s case.” The words fell off my tongue without hesitation, which made my nerves stretch even tighter. I was as bad as a schoolgirl with her first crush.