by Lexi Blake
“I need you to stay calm, son. I know you’re angry, but you need to talk to your mother and figure out how she wants this handled.” Ian seemed intent on being the voice of reason.
“You saw how she handled it.” Like she always did.
“She went with him?” Dillon’s eyes closed as if a pain had suddenly come over his body. “She left with him?”
“Of course she did.” It was what his mother did. She placated the beast.
“That’s not what I saw,” Ian insisted. “I saw a woman who didn’t want her family argument to be talked about for the next ten years. She wasn’t happy to see him. She was just trying to make the best of a bad situation. She’ll talk to him when they’ve got some privacy.”
“You don’t know my mother.” His heart ached. Not only had his mother reverted to form, but Brittany had turned away from him.
Maybe she was right to do it. Hector was back in town. He poisoned everything he touched, and that included Marcus. It wouldn’t matter that he would have nothing to do with the man. Hector would find a way to ruin everything Marcus wanted and loved. He would find a way to twist it so it turned on Marcus. Even Brittany.
Dillon turned to him. “No, Ian’s right. Your mother was trying to avoid a scene.”
“Well, she failed. She tripped and dear old dad just railed at her and forced her up. It was horrible and everyone saw it. He was pulling her along. It had nothing to do with clumsiness.”
“I know that and so does most of this town,” Dillon insisted. “Look, your mother has changed over the last few months. She’s grown and she’s so much stronger than she was. She’s been happy. I don’t think she’s going to throw that away now.”
“The minute he walked in, she gave up.” He knew his mother.
“No, she tried to keep the peace.” Ian put a hand on his shoulder. “She was in the middle of her office. She couldn’t have it out with him. You need to have some faith in her.”
Was Ian right? His mother had changed in the last few months. She’d blossomed and his world had been better for it. She’d taken charge of her life when there was no longer a husband around to ruin it for her. She’d smiled more and laughed more in the past couple of months than in all the years of his childhood.
Surely she wouldn’t throw that away.
His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. “I hope so. I should probably get home.”
He pulled it out of his jeans.
“I’ll go with you. I don’t like the thought of him being alone with her.” Dillon took a deep breath. “I definitely think we should head over to the house.”
It was a text from Brittany. He swiped his finger across the screen to read it.
I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to cause a scene with my grandmother. Let’s try to meet up later. In private.
In private. In secret. So her parents didn’t know. It made his gut ache, but he understood.
His father was a monster. Who wanted to have that stain on them? He certainly didn’t want it on his Brittany. She was too sweet to ever expose her to his father.
How had things seemed to be coming together this morning? How had he woken up and smiled and known that his world was going the right way for once? He’d had the ranch and his girl. He’d made plans to build a house he might one day share with her.
In an instant it had all changed and now he stared down at his phone.
“Are you going to call her?” Ian asked. “Because I do think we should get over to your house as soon as we can.”
“We need to support your mom,” Dillon said, conviction in his voice.
He turned the phone off. He wasn’t going to call her. Not today. “Let’s go.”
He started toward his car, ready to face the monster from his childhood.
Chapter Six
“I’m so happy to have you back, Daddy.” Dakota practically bounced in her seat.
At least one person in the world was happy to have him back. Hector made the turn that would take them home. Just a few moments more and he might be able to get his wife alone. He had a lot to say to her. “I’m very happy to see you, too, baby girl. I’ve missed you.”
He looked in the rearview mirror and caught sight of his wife. He’d stared at her through the glass door of Tate Johnson’s campaign office for a few moments before he’d gone in, and just briefly, she’d looked as pretty as she had on the day they married. She’d been smiling and laughing and he’d remembered why he’d asked her to be his wife.
Then he realized she’d been smiling for that bastard Dillon Murphy and his gut had clenched. Murphy had stood in there with Hector’s children all around him and acted like he belonged there.
“Are you going to tell us why you left?” Dakota asked, her voice small.
His girl. She was Daddy’s little girl. The only one of his kids Joanne hadn’t managed to turn away from him. She’d been up to her old tricks the minute they’d left the building. He’d tried to take her hand and the clumsy bitch had fallen. He’d started to think she did it on purpose. She’d managed it just as Marcus had come out, and naturally his son thought the worst of him.
That’s what his mother had taught him to think.
It was time to take control of his family again.
“I’ll talk about it when the time is right, but for now I want to enjoy being back together with my favorite girl.” He looked back at Joanne. It was good for her to know that she wasn’t his favorite. She needed to know her place, and it looked like he would have to teach her all over again. “The first thing I need to do is try to get my job back. I have a family to take care of. I’m sure we’re behind on bills.”
“No, we’re not. I’ve taken care of most of it and Marcus helped with the rest,” Joanne said quietly.
“And just what have you been doing that you managed that?”
Dakota piped up. “She got a job. It’s kind of weird and I don’t get why she’s the one to do it, but they paid her better than the flower shop. She worked for Marylee Rush before that whole family lost its mind and then Tate hired her.”
Had Tate Johnson been fucking around with his wife? He couldn’t imagine anything she was actually good at, but she was passably pretty and some men would pay for it. “What exactly did you do for Tate?”
“Silly stuff, from what I can tell. She folds a lot of pamphlets with his face on them,” Dakota said as he turned into their driveway.
“I’m his campaign manager.” Joanne didn’t move as he put the car in park.
It was completely ridiculous. His wife couldn’t manage the house much less some politician’s campaign. “I just bet you are. You should understand we’re going to have a discussion about that. I don’t like you working for some other man.”
“I had to have a job. I had to make more money. You didn’t leave us with any.”
“Well, you pushed him out,” Dakota said. “What did you expect him to do? Should he keep on sending you all his money even after you were awful to him?”
“Could we please have this argument inside?” Joanne asked. “People are watching.”
He looked around and she was right. There were a couple of their neighbors out in the yard, staring at the car. Likely they’d been notified by their friends, who’d seen them in the town square.
Dakota opened her door. “Old biddies. They need to get a life.”
Hector got out. There was a time and place for everything and his wife had been making a spectacle of herself far too often it seemed to him. It was time she understood that he was back and he was in charge.
She’d let Dakota run wild while he was gone. He blamed her for Dakota getting involved in that mess. If she hadn’t been out playing around at her so called job, maybe she would have noticed that Dakota was being taken advantage of. He got out and grabbed his bag, all the while feeling eyes on him.
Joanne had done this. She’d brought the gossips down on their head with her whining and her uselessness, and maybe she’d done it with her faithlessness.
If he found out she’d been sleeping around, he might strangle her himself. What the hell good was a faithless woman?
Joanne emerged from the back seat. She wouldn’t look him in the eye. “Why don’t we go inside?”
“Why don’t you tell me why you were with Dillon Murphy?”
Her cheeks flushed. “I wasn’t with him. He gave me a ride into town and then he helped me move some furniture that was too heavy for me to move.”
A ride into town? “Since when is the town’s law enforcement a taxi service? Did you call him?”
“Please, can we go inside?”
He growled his frustration. She always had to have things her way. He strode up and Dakota was unlocking the door. He followed her inside.
His house. The one he’d purchased. It was good to be home. He’d spent months and month in hellholes and all because that bastard Dillon Murphy had run him out of town.
Did Joanne know what her friend had done? Were they still only friends or had Murphy managed to convince her to be something more. Joanne was weak. She could be led. Most women could, as evidenced by his own sweet daughter’s troubles.
“Now we’re inside. Do you want to explain what you were doing with the sheriff?”
Joanne closed the door behind her. “I told you. He was only helping me with moving the furniture.”
“He comes by all the time, Daddy,” Dakota said. “It’s annoying. He was here this morning for breakfast.”
He felt his rage rise.
“He was just passing by. He’s checked in on me since you left.” Joanne’s voice pleaded with him. “It’s nothing.”
He couldn’t hit her in front of Dakota, but he could feel his fist clenching. It had been too long since she’d felt his power. Dakota wasn’t the only one who was running wild. He was going to change that. “It doesn’t sound like nothing. It sounds like you’ve been having a very good time in my absence.”
She looked up at him. “Of course not. It’s been hard and you didn’t bother to tell me you were leaving.”
“I don’t owe you any explanations.” Had she really wondered? She wasn’t a good liar. He could always see straight through her, which made him pause now. “In fact, I’m pretty sure you know exactly why I left.”
She shook her head. “I have no idea. Why would I know that?”
“It was probably because you’re so clumsy.” Dakota sat down on the sofa. “It’s annoying. I know I’ve often thought I need a vacation from how annoying Mom can be.”
“Why don’t you grab a beer for me, sweetheart?” If he could get Joanne alone for a few moments, he would show her how he felt.
Dakota rolled her eyes. “Mom doesn’t let Marcus have any beer. No one gets to have fun when she’s in charge.”
Marcus allowed her to tell him what he could and couldn’t do? His boy was a pansy ass and he wanted to know who the man was who’d pretended to be his father. He’d gotten in between him and Marcus when his boy had finally shown some proof he might be a man.
“Hector, I have no idea why you left. You didn’t tell me,” Joanne argued. She managed to keep her tone quiet, but he knew stubbornness when he heard it. “You just walked out. I had to get a job. I had to try to keep our house. Why would you think I knew why you left?”
He stared at her for a moment, assessing her. She didn’t know what Murphy had done? It seemed that was the truth. Murphy had left her out.
Perhaps his fist wasn’t his only weapon.
“Ugh,” Dakota said. “Here he comes again. I told you he’s here all the time. I think he’s friends with Marcus or something. I just don’t know why anyone would want to be friends with a sheriff.”
Sure enough he looked out the front window and Dillon Murphy was walking up to his porch. He was followed by Marcus and that other ass.
The gang was all here. Maybe it was time to let Joanne know what had really been going on.
* * * *
Ginny knocked on Francine Hoffman’s door and prayed the nurse was home. What kind of hours did she work? She might be at the hospital at this time of day.
She couldn’t risk going to the hospital. Someone might see her and then the talk would start up. They would wonder if something was wrong with the baby.
The Rushes would use anything they could against her. Her hands were shaking as she went to knock again.
Before she could manage it, the door opened and Francine was there, looking crisp and clean in her scrubs, her hair back as though she was getting ready for work. Her brown eyes sparkled as she smiled. “Well, hello, Ginny. I wasn’t expecting you.”
Ginny nodded. “I’m so sorry. I should have called, but I had to talk to you.”
Francine sobered, seeming to sense that something was wrong. She opened the door, allowing Ginny to enter. “Of course. Is there something wrong with the baby? Do we need to get you to the hospital?”
Ginny walked into Francine’s house. It was tidy, but lived in. The whole place had warmth to it. “I’m fine. Little Bit’s fine, too. For now. I have to ask you if you’ve gotten the tests back yet.”
She wasn’t giving up hope. Not until she had it completely confirmed. A few weeks back she’d asked Francine to run a paternity test on Little Bit. It hadn’t been easy, but they’d done it, and they’d managed to keep it quiet.
She had to know if Jacob was the father. If the test came back negative, well, then she would know who her baby’s dad was and she might have a fight on her hands.
Francine offered her a seat. “I told you it’s going to take some time to get the results back. I had to send it out of state for testing and I had to pull some strings even then. We don’t want it leaked to the press that you’re getting a paternity test done.”
That was the last thing she wanted. If she never had press attention again for the rest of her life, it would be far too soon. “I’m sorry. I’m just very eager to see the results.”
Francine studied her for a moment. “Honey, what’s going on? It’s easy to see you’re upset.”
She was beyond upset. She was barely keeping it together, but she had to because there was no way she was causing more gossip. “I’m fine, just anxious about the results.”
Francine leaned forward, putting a hand on her arm. “Did something happen?”
She hated the way the world went blurry. She needed to be strong.
“Come on, Ginny,” Francine cajoled. “If something’s happened, you need to talk about it.”
“It’s about the senator. I don’t want to put you in any more of a bad position than I already have.”
She shook her head. “I might be friends with Payton, but I’m friends with you, too. What we discuss won’t leave here. I certainly haven’t told her anything about the tests we’ve run. Those are for you and the results are strictly for you. You can choose or not choose to share them with whoever you like. This is your body and your baby, Ginny. And that means you have to take care of yourself right now. Stress is bad for your system. You need to talk about it. If not with me, then someone else.”
She didn’t have anyone else. She couldn’t burden her sister any more than she already had and her best friend no longer spoke to her. She missed Brittany so much, but it was another relationship she’d screwed up. “I think the senator might come after my baby.”
Francine sighed and sat back. “Is that all? Sweetheart, there’s not a man alive who is less paternal than Sebastian Rush. Don’t get me wrong. He’s not terrible to the children he has, but he also didn’t exactly raise them. That was left to Payton. He’s certainly not going to sue you for custody of another child. Believe me. Brittany and Jeffry have only ever been stage pieces for that man. He brings them out when the occasion calls for him to look like a family man.”
“I know that.” She’d heard it from Brittany many times. Her father only really saw her and Jeffry as a way to show the world he was a good family man.
“Then relax because you should know he’s not going to run around
parading his love child in front of the press.” She sent a sympathetic look Ginny’s way.
There had been no love between the two of them, just a young girl seeking affection and wanting to feel like a woman for once. “He thinks if he takes care of his bastard child, maybe the voters will forgive him.”
Francine paled. “No. He wouldn’t. Marylee wouldn’t allow it. I know Payton would never take that child from you.”
“They might not have a choice in the matter, and I think Marylee might if she thought it would rehab her son’s image.”
“I don’t see how it could do that. I should think he would want to hide it, keep quiet so people would stop talking about it.”
“Will they? Will they ever stop talking about it?” Ginny felt so tired. “Or will the gossips keep finding reasons to bring it up? They’ll talk about it again when my baby is born. It’ll come up with every man I ever date. When the senator runs for reelection, the story will make the rounds again. I don’t think it will ever really go away.”
“I know it seems like it won’t. But people really do forget. In a few months, the senator will go back to Austin and he’ll get back to work. You’ll settle down and raise your baby and life will go on.”
“Until the next election cycle. I’ll always be brought up when he’s running for office. He’s an ambitious man. I don’t think he’ll be happy in his current position forever. He’s going to want more.” She’d been savaged by the local and state press. What would she do on a national stage? How would she ever be able to survive it?
What if he decided to run for president?
Francine shook her head. “I guess I hadn’t thought about it that way. I think you’re going to have to keep your head down and hope for the best. You have to worry about your baby now. Everything else is a bridge you’ll cross when you come to it.”
A bridge that could fall out from under her and send her into the canyon below. “Everything would change if the test proved Jacob is my baby’s father.”
“You know the likelihood of that is very slim. Jacob’s injuries left him with little to no chance of ever fathering a child. I could go into all the medical reasons for it but that’s the truth.”
