His Forever Texas Rose

by Stella Bagwell

  “How much gold did you find?” Chandler asked.

  “I’d say maybe five or six hundred dollars’ worth. Give or take a little. When I get a chance, I’ll take the stuff to an assay office and find out the actual value of it.”

  By now the two men had reached the truck. After they both climbed inside and buckled their seat belts, Chandler looked over at him.

  “Didn’t Nicci find any gold?”

  Trey started the engine. “Two pieces. But she gave it to me. For my ranch savings.” He reversed the truck, then turned it onto the highway. “Doc, would you call Nicci a wealthy woman?”

  Chandler thoughtfully rubbed his chin. “I couldn’t say for sure. I’ve heard Ros say that Nicci’s parents have plenty of money, but whether they share their wealth with Nicci is another matter. Or whether Nicci would accept it, would be hard to say. She doesn’t live like she has an abundance of money. And she does need to work to support herself. Why do you ask?”

  Feeling a bit foolish, he shrugged. “I just wondered, that’s all.”

  As the truck picked up speed, Chandler settled comfortably back in the seat. “I think what you’re really wondering is how long she’s going to continue to make her home around here. Right?”

  Trey cast him a sheepish look. “Well, it’s a reasonable question. She’s different from us. And she still has strings attached to Fort Worth. Sometimes I get the feeling those strings are always tugging on her.”

  Chandler frowned. “She’s trying to break them. Especially the strings her mother has thrown around her. Although, to Nicci, they probably feel more like chains than strings.”

  “What do you mean? What’s the problem with her mother? She one of those smothering sorts?”

  Chandler shook his head. “She needs to tell you all about that. Not me. Besides, I only know bits of the situation—and that’s only because Ros has told me.”

  Other than mentioning the marriage proposal, Nicci had not shared all that much about her life back in Texas, and Trey was reluctant to push her for information. Especially when she wasn’t pressing him for details about his own past.

  “She’s told me that before she moved out here, she worked for a travel agency, that she studied business in college and that she had a boyfriend who wanted to marry her but she turned him down.”

  He could feel Chandler eyeing him with curiosity. “What have you told her about yourself?”

  Trey’s chuckle was a mocking sound. “Now Doc, you know I’m an open book. Besides, me and Nicci are just friends. That’s all a guy like me can be to a woman like her. I don’t want to have a serious girlfriend. Dating a woman now and then is enough for me.”

  Rolling his eyes in Trey’s direction, Chandler quipped, “Is that so?”

  Trey glowered back at him. “Heck yes, it’s so! And you know it. Don’t try to act like you’ve forgotten the messes I got into ten years ago when I tried to be more than friends with a woman. First with Rhonda and then with Lacey.” Pressing harder on the accelerator, he fixed his eyes on the broken white line separating the two lanes of traffic. “You would think I learned my lesson with Rhonda when I got the idea that she actually wanted to be my wife. But after she left for greener pastures, I licked my wounds and tried my luck with Lacey. When she walked away, that was enough for me.”

  Chandler’s only response to that was a tired grunt.

  Trey frowned at him. “I know what you’re thinking. That I shouldn’t blame either one of them. Well, you’re right. Both of those women could see I was never going to be anything special. That I could never give a wife the things she needed or wanted.”

  Chandler let out a caustic laugh. “Oh sure. Even a one-eyed woman could see you couldn’t give her a sixty-foot yacht, and a three-story house with a kidney-shaped swimming pool, or a four-car garage filled with a pair of Maseratis and a couple of Corvette convertibles. She’d probably be expecting you to have enough money in the bank to travel the world, too. No. I don’t expect you could give a woman those things. So it’s best that Rhonda and Lacey saw you for the loser you are and moved on.”

  Trey snorted. “All right, poke fun at me. I don’t care. At least I know my limitations.”

  Chandler scowled at him. “Damn it, Trey, that’s your problem, right there! You look at your limitations instead of the blessings you’ve been given and the assets you have. But you know what? I think for the first time in your life a woman has come along who sees the real Trey Lasseter and what he stands for.”

  “You mean Nicci? Well yes, I expect she does. That’s why we’re just friends. I make her smile and laugh. That’s all.”

  “Take it from me, Trey. A woman prefers to laugh instead of cry. If I don’t make Ros laugh at least a couple times during the day, then I start worrying. I know I’m not doing something right.”

  The idea of Chandler not keeping Roslyn happy was ridiculous. The woman was crazy in love with him and he with her. And they had the children to prove it.

  “When it comes to your family, you know what you’re doing. It’s different for you than it is for me. You had a great dad. He worshipped his children and his wife. My dad—well, he tried. But being married and having a kid just wasn’t his thing. He’s better off single. And I’m a chip off the old block.”

  From the corner of his eye, Trey could see Chandler shaking his head. “You’re wrong, Trey. You don’t want to be like your father. That’s why you didn’t go with him to Montana all those years ago when your parents divorced. It’s why you’re still here and not up there with him. You view life differently than him.”

  Chandler had that much right. Trey loved his father, but he didn’t want to live out his life in a bunkhouse with a crew of men who didn’t care if they ever had a home or family of their own.

  “Maybe so,” Trey said, then hoping to direct their conversation elsewhere, he asked, “Has anything new been happening with solving your father’s murder case? Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t have said murder. But I don’t know what else to call it.”

  “No need to be sorry. Naming it something else won’t make it any less ugly.” Heaving out a breath, Chandler turned his gaze toward the passenger window. “The situation is in a holding pattern right now. There’s not much going on with the case. Joe and Connor are still waiting for Ginny Patterson to set up a meeting with them. Apparently, she has an abusive husband and doesn’t want him to know about it.”

  Joseph Hollister was Chandler’s younger brother and had worked more than a decade as a deputy sheriff for Yavapai County. Over the years, Connor Murphy, his friend and fellow deputy, had been helping Joseph dig into the cause of Joel Hollister’s death. Together, the two deputies had recently discovered a major lead in the form of a woman named Ginny Patterson.

  “You really believe this Ginny woman has important information about your dad’s death?” Trey asked.

  Lifting his hat a few inches off his head, Chandler raked a hand through his hair as though he wanted to plow the whole situation out of his brain.

  “She has to be the key. From what we can gather from the personal notes of the late Sheriff Maddox, Dad was spotted with this woman several times at the Phoenix livestock auction. Mom even found an old day planner of Dad’s where he’d penciled in a reminder to meet her, but the meeting didn’t take place. He was killed the day before. Joe and Connor learned that shortly afterward she suddenly quit her job at the auction barn. And from what my brother says, she was a poor woman then and is still living in poverty.”

  “Could be coincidence about the meeting and quitting the job,” Trey said.

  “Could be. But it’s too coincidental for me to swallow.”

  Trey thought about that for a moment before he asked, “Does your brother, Joe, and his partner, Connor, think this woman could’ve killed Joel? Or helped someone commit the crime? Frankly, Doc, what would be the motive? If the woman needed mo
ney, kidnapping for ransom would’ve been more logical.”

  “You’re right. And that could’ve been the initial plan,” Chandler said. “We all have our theories on the matter.”

  Trey shook his head. “Well, I don’t know that I’d have the patience to wait around on this woman to decide when and where she wants to talk. What if she gets it in her head to run? Your link would go missing.”

  “She hasn’t run in all these years since Dad died. Not likely she will now. Besides, we’ve waited this long for the truth. We can wait a little longer.”

  Trey glanced at him. “I’m not anything close to being a lawman or private investigator, but am I stupid to think she could use the phone? Maybe somewhere away from her husband? What’s wrong with that form of communication?”

  “There’s too much that needs to be discussed. And Uncle Gil says you have to be face-to-face when you interrogate someone. To read the nuances in expressions—that sort of thing. Anyway, they need to see firsthand that they’re actually speaking with Ginny Patterson.”

  “That’s true. And your dad’s brother was a detective for the Phoenix Police Department for, what, thirty years or more? He ought to know.”

  “Yes. Uncle Gil has been a godsend to the family in more ways than one,” Chandler admitted. “Especially for Mom. Before he moved back to Three Rivers, she’d really sunk into a dark place.”

  Trey said, “I never noticed Maureen acting like she was in a funk. But then, anytime I’m ever on the ranch, she’s always working—helping the hands do something, or helping Holt with the yearlings. But now that I think about it, she has seemed a lot more chipper since Gil come home.”

  “Come home.” Chandler thoughtfully repeated the words. “Funny how natural it seems to have Uncle Gil around now. I’ll be honest, Trey, in the beginning I wasn’t sure how I felt about Mom falling in love again—especially with Dad’s brother. Actually, thinking of her with any man, other than Dad, seemed weird to me. But Dad is gone and life goes on. Mom deserves to have love in her life again.”

  The highway was cutting through a plateau of red rock and shell. Scrubby pines and twisted juniper clung to the steep cliffs, while ahead of them, a line of bald mountains rose above the desert floor. Even though Trey had seen this area thousands of times, he never grew tired of traveling this particular highway. Today, however, he wasn’t noticing the beauty of the landscape. Chandler had given him too much to think about.

  “Yeah,” he said pensively. “Like Granny. She deserves to be loved, too. Here lately, I’ve had to remind myself of that.”

  Chandler looked at him. “Why? Does Virgie have a fella now?”

  “I think it’s more like he has her,” Trey said wryly. “He’s asked her to marry him and she hasn’t turned him down. That tells me she’s thinking hard about this guy.”

  “Hmm. Sounds serious. Do you know him?”

  A few days ago, Chandler’s question would’ve drawn a curse word from Trey. But something had happened to him since his visit with Virgie. And his changed attitude had everything to do with Nicole; he could admit that much. She was making him look at everything and everyone around him in a different way. Did that mean he might be falling in love with her? No! Not that. She’d just made him a bit more open-minded, that’s all, he assured himself.

  “I know him. You do, too. It’s Harley Hutchison. The farmer who raises melons over by Aguila.”

  Trey expected Chandler to turn a shocked look on him. Instead, he merely nodded.

  “Last time I saw Harley was when he brought that nanny with a ruptured teat to the clinic,” Chandler recalled. “I kept her for a few days of treatment. Nice guy. You ought to be really happy for Virgie.”

  “I’m trying to warm up to the idea,” Trey conceded, then asked, “You don’t think he’s too young or, uh, too much of a man for Granny?”

  Chandler laughed. “If Virgie doesn’t think he’s too young and Harley doesn’t think she’s too old, then more power to them. That’s what I say.” Stretching his arm across the back of the seat, he turned so that he was looking at Trey head-on. “Your problem is that you’ve never been in love.”

  “Damn it, I don’t—”

  “No. Don’t start reminding me of Rhonda or Lacey again. You weren’t in love with either of those women. If you had really been in love, you would’ve gone through hell and high water to make it work. But you didn’t.”

  “Hellfire! You think I deliberately chased those women away?”

  Chandler groaned. “No. But you didn’t make much effort to keep either of them around, did you? Let me tell you, Trey, when you do finally fall in love, you’re going to know it. Because nothing else in the world will matter except having her in your life. And you’ll do whatever you have to do to make sure that happens.”

  Trey could admit, at least to himself, that he wanted Nicole’s company. But he couldn’t imagine having her in his life on a permanent basis. What would it be like to wake up with her lying next to him? How would it feel to see her sleepy eyes open and rest lovingly on his face?

  The questions caused a lump to form in his throat. When it finally eased enough for him to speak, he said, “Aw, Doc, you know me. I’m a confirmed bachelor. I need my space. I need to be able to go to the Fandango anytime I get ready.”

  “Fandango, hell,” Chandler muttered. “That’ll keep you warm in your old age.”

  Trey fixed his gaze on the highway and didn’t say another word until they reached the Bar 40.

  * * *

  Hours later, the waiting room at Hollister Animal Clinic was finally empty, and Nicole was organizing the work on her desk as the clock wound down to closing time. With two minutes to go, the phone rang and she didn’t hesitate to answer.

  After the client gave her a brief explanation of what she needed, Nicole said, “Doctor Hollister reserves Thursday mornings for feline spaying and neutering, Mrs. Roberts. I have one vacancy left for this coming Thursday if you—” The woman interrupted with a frantic protest, forcing Nicole to pause. At the same time the woman’s voice was rattling in her ear, she sensed a presence behind her and swiveled her chair just enough to see Loretta giving her a look that said she was thanking her lucky stars she was a bookkeeper instead of a receptionist.

  Giving her coworker a grin, Nicole rolled her eyes helplessly before focusing her attention back on the caller. “Yes, on occasion Doctor Hollister will make exceptions. I can ask him and get back to you tomorrow,” Nicole suggested. “Presently, he’s out on a house call and won’t be back before closing hours.”

  Thankfully, the woman agreed, and after Nicole had carefully jotted down her name and number, she hung up the phone, then turned her chair so that she was facing Loretta head-on.

  The young woman had dark green eyes and vibrant red hair that curled upon her shoulders. Several inches taller than Nicole, she had a statuesque build that curved in all the right places. Nicole was still wondering why the woman didn’t have a fiancé or even a steady boyfriend, but apparently from what Nicole could gather, Loretta preferred living a solitary life.

  “Everyone thinks they should be an exception to the rule, right?” she asked.

  Nicole chuckled. “Not everyone. But probably the majority. At least the woman was very nice about it. And she did have a legitimate reason for needing another day besides Thursday.”

  Loretta leaned her hip against the edge of Nicole’s desk. “Nicci, you’re too nice for your own good. No matter how hard you try, you can’t make everyone happy. Although, I’ll have to say you’ve made Trey one happy fellow,” she added slyly.

  The mention of Trey’s name caused Nicole’s heart to break into a tap dance against her rib cage. “What are you talking about? Trey is always a happy guy. Since I’ve started work here, I’ve never seen him unhappy.”

  “That’s my point,” Loretta said, then laughed at the confused look o
n Nicole’s face. “Oh, Nicci, I’m teasing. Well, kind of teasing,” she admitted. “I ran into Trey yesterday in the break room. He was telling me you’ve turned into a regular little miner.”

  “Oh. He did? Well, he’s exaggerating. I struggled trying to get the hang of swirling the water out of the pan without losing all the gravel,” Nicole told her.

  Loretta shook her head. “You must’ve done something right. You found gold. Do you have any idea how long I tried before I found a few flakes? Probably twenty trips.”

  Nicole hadn’t said much to her coworkers about her and Trey’s panning expedition last Sunday. For one thing, she figured the women wouldn’t be thinking of the prospecting trip in terms of searching for gold. All of them, including Roslyn, would be thinking of romance.

  Well, your friends would be right, wouldn’t they, Nicci? Spending that time with Trey had been about being near him, savoring each touch and kiss he’d given her, rather than digging for a golden treasure.

  “We had good luck. But actually, it was even nicer to be enjoying the outdoors. I didn’t do much of that in Fort Worth,” she said. “Honestly, I was mostly an indoor girl.”

  Loretta nodded. “Roslyn has told us before about her life back in Texas. She said you two made trips to the malls and theaters and concerts—things like that. It sounds exciting. Especially when you compare it to scooping up gravel out of a creek bed.”

  Nicole closed her appointment book and switched off a lamp sitting on one corner of the desk. “Not really, Loretta. I’ve had more fun since I moved here than I’ve had in a long, long time.”

  Loretta fixed her with a pointed look. “Is that because of Trey?”

  She’d not expected the woman to ask her such a blunt question, and for a moment she floundered as she wondered how to answer. Finally, she decided on the truth.

  “Yes, I suppose it is.” The soft note in her voice revealed the emotions he evoked in her, and though she tried to clear them away with a little cough, she knew Loretta had already heard them.