Kate frowned. “What on earth could she possibly have said to you that upset you this much?”
When her sister didn’t answer, Kate put her cup down and reached for Jenny’s hand. “Honey? What is it? You can tell me.”
Without raising her head, Jenny took a long breath, gathered her resolve and spit it out. “She told me Langston wasn’t Mandy’s father.”
“She what?” Kate said in shock.
Jenny looked up, her eyes brimming with tears. “She said Daddy drove Mama to have a mental breakdown. In the hospital in Austin Mama met a man and they had an affair. Mandy is his child, not Daddy’s. Katie, what are we going to do? This will break Mandy’s heart.”
After a long moment of charged silence Kate said, “Okay, slow down. We’re not doing anything until you tell me everything Clara Wyler said to you, from the beginning.”
Kate listened as Jenny described her discussion with Clara. When she was finished Kate said, “Is that it? Is that everything?”
Jenny nodded. “Well,” Kate said firmly, “we’re not going to do a blessed thing. This is one old dog that can just lay there and sleep.”
“But are you sure that’s the right thing to do?” Jenny said. “We said we were done with family secrets. Wouldn’t it be better for Mandy to hear this from us than to learn about it on her own? Or worse yet, to find out that we knew and didn’t tell her?”
“All I can hear in my head is Baby Sister giving her statement to the deputy the night she shot Marino,” Kate said, her voice thick with emotion. “The way she said ‘all my Daddy’s guns are loaded.’ She was proud to be Langston’s daughter that night. We’re not taking that away from her. We’re just not.”
“I’m not sure,” Jenny said. “Mandy has to know how much we love her. I don’t give a damn who her biological father was, but this man Phillip might still be alive. You know her as well as I do; if he is alive, she would want to meet him.”
Kate sighed and leaned back, absent-mindedly rubbing her bad hand, a fact that was not lost on her sister. “I’m sorry, Katie,” Jenny said. “I wasn’t going to tell you. I knew it would upset you.”
“What? Oh.” Kate followed Jenny’s gaze. “It hurts all the time anyway, don’t worry about it. You couldn’t carry a story this heavy around by yourself. Don’t get it in your head I need to be coddled.”
“I’m not coddling you, Katie,” Jenny said. “We could just all use a rest from the family drama.”
“Well, I wouldn’t hold my breath on that happening any time soon,” Kate said ruefully. “Look, I really don’t know what we should do. Let’s just keep this between us for now and think about it for a little while. We let this horse out, we’ll never get it back in the barn.”
“Do you think there could be any legal consequences?” Jenny asked. “About the ranch and Daddy’s will?”
“Not as far as I’m concerned. And I’ve seen Mandy’s birth certificate,” Kate said. “I had to help her put all that stuff together for college. It says Langston is her father. Clara said this man Phillip never knew about her and all the rest of the people involved are dead.”
“Clara’s not dead,” Jenny pointed out.
“If she planned to tell anyone, she’d have done it long before now. Our Mama was her best friend. Clara’s not going to do anything to hurt Mandy or the Lockwood name.”
Jenny blew out an exasperated breath. “I am so sick and goddamned tired of hearing about the Lockwood name! What did Daddy ever do to uphold the family honor?” she demanded.
“For the most part he kept his dirty laundry private,” Kate said, her own voice taking on an edge. “I’m not saying he wasn’t a bastard, but none of the stuff we’re finding out was ever talked about on Main Street. That’s pretty damned hard to pull off in this town. Give him credit for that at least.”
“People were afraid to talk about Daddy and you know it,” Jenny said, her eyes flashing. “He had a track record for ruining lives. Ours included.”
“Now stop that,” Kate said. “Your life isn’t ruined and neither is mine, and God knows the two of us getting our backs up about Daddy won’t solve a damned thing. You show me anybody who lives and doesn’t get hurt in the process. People make mistakes, Jenny. Every casket lid that shuts closes on some kind of regret.”
“Are you seriously telling me you think Daddy regretted a damn thing he ever did?” Jenny asked hotly.
“He sure as hell regretted whatever happened the night Alice Browning died,” Kate said. “It broke his mind. The day we buried him you told me I had to let him go. You have to do the same thing, honey. You can’t let this keep eating at you. Josh told me about the nightmares.”
“Man needs to learn to keep his damned mouth shut,” Jenny muttered.
“No, he doesn’t,” Kate said. “You need to learn to talk to the people who love you.”
When Jenny didn’t answer, Kate said, “Look, I know this is the 21st century and most folks don’t think your name and your people matter, but it’s what we were raised on. It’s what Mandy was raised on. Our family has been on the Rocking L for six generations. Our great-grandmother stood down the Comanche right out there in that yard with a Colt in her hand and fire in her eye. Lockwood blood means something to us, and you can’t tell me it doesn’t.”
“No, damn it, I can’t,” Jenny said in a resigned voice. “It just irritates the hell out of me that it does matter.”
“You can’t rise above your raising, little gal,” Kate grinned.
“Thank you Langston Lockwood,” Jenny said, but there was begrudging amusement in her tone.
“You know as well as I do that Mandy has never believed she lived up to the family name,” Kate said seriously. “It’s always bothered her that she doesn’t look like us or think like us. We can’t tell her this without giving it a lot of consideration first, and we sure as hell can’t tell her before the wedding.”
“Okay,” Jenny said. “I hear you. I don’t like it, but I hear you.”
Clara Wyler waited until a quarter of five Friday afternoon to pick up the phone. A gruff voice on the other end of the line said, “County Clerk’s Office.”
“Mae Ella, come over here when you close up,” Clara ordered.
“What is the matter? Are you sick?”
“No,” Clara said. “I just need to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“One of the Lockwood girls came calling this week.”
“Dear Lord in heaven!” Mae Ella said with exasperation. “That Mandy is just impossible! It was bad enough when she started going to see Elizabeth. Now she’s coming to see you, too?”
“It wasn’t Mandy,” Clara said. “It was Jenny.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Ten minutes later Mae Ella used her key and opened the door of Clara’s apartment. Without any preamble she demanded, “Did you tell her everything?”
“No, I didn’t tell her everything,” Clara said indignantly, “but it’s only a matter of time before the two of them start putting it all together.”
Mae Ella sat down heavily on the sofa. “I cannot believe this is happening,” she said. “For the life of me I do not know what Elizabeth is thinking letting Mandy in that house. Lenore says she’s even allowed the girl to see her face.”
“How did that go?” Clara asked.
In spite of herself Mae Ella smiled, “The girl told Elizabeth her hair is pretty.”
“She’s a sweet little thing,” Clara said fondly. “Always has been. Just like her Mama. Elizabeth is lonely, Mae Ella. All this talk of weddings and such makes her feel young again.”
“And what’s that gonna get her but a truckload of bad memories?” Mae Ella groused.
“Mae Ella,” Clara said, “you’re my little sister and I love you, but damned if you’re not the sourest woman God put on the face of this earth sometimes.”
“We had this all settled, Clara,” Mae Ella said, “years ago. It’s been working all this time.”
“Honey, Elizabeth does have a say,” Clara pointed out. “It is still her life. I know you want to protect her. So do I. But we can’t make her do a blessed thing she doesn’t want to do.”
“Well, there’s only one good thing I can say about this whole mess,” Mae Ella huffed.
“What’s that?”
“That miserable son-of-a-bitch Langston Lockwood is dead.”
“Amen to that, sister. Amen to that.”
55
Late the next night Jenny sat alone in her studio after a long talk with Josh. He listened while she explained why she wanted to go up to Baxter’s Draw and then, with a crooked grin said, “What do you need to me to do, sugar?”
A slow smile spread over Jenny’s face at the memory of what happened next. When Josh decided to be understanding, he was really understanding. He was the one who always fell asleep afterwards, but she was wide awake. Leaning down she whispered in his ear, “I’m going to the studio for a little while.”
“You okay, sugar?” he mumbled.
“I’m fine, honey,” she said, kissing his temple. “Go back to sleep.”
She had just started working on wrapping up a client project when a Skype call from Jake popped up on her screen. She glanced at her watch, 11:00. “Hey,” she said when his face appeared in the call window. “How did you know I’d even be awake?”
“I just took a chance,” Jake said, giving her his trademark videoconference wave. “Remember, I can see your studio from my trailer. The lights are on in there all the time at this hour.”
“Busted,” she said. “Josh conks out like a light and I come back to work. What’s going on?”
“I’m flying back late Sunday,” he said. “I’m staying over in San Antonio through Monday morning and then I’ll be back at the ranch that afternoon. I, uh, I was just talking to Kate and, well, she looked like she was in pain. I’m worried about her. Is she taking her pills?”
Jenny looked up at the ranch house and saw the light on in the study. “I doubt it,” she sighed. “You know she doesn’t like to use them. The arm hurts more at night when she’s been moving around all day. She’s trying to get strong enough to carry it without the sling. She probably pushed too hard today. Best not to fuss at her.”
Jake fidgeted a little uncomfortably and then said, “Thing is, Jenny, I’d like to fuss over her.”
“Don’t let her hear you say that,” Jenny laughed.
“I’m serious,” Jake said. “I’ve been trying like hell to get Kate to notice I’m interested in her and I’m kinda striking out. I want to bring her a gift from Mexico City. I wandered around all afternoon looking at jewelry and stuff, but none of it seemed like her. You have any ideas?”
Jenny sighed. “Jake, you have no idea what a hard row you’re trying to hoe.”
“I’m just a simple college professor,” Jake laughed. “Could I get that in English?”
Tapping her pencil up and down for a minute as she gathered her thoughts, Jenny finally said, “You know Daddy was hard on Katie, right?”
Jake nodded.
“Well, she’s got pretty strong issues about letting any man control her.”
“I don’t want to control her,” Jake frowned. “I want to get to know her and, well, if she’ll let me, love her.”
Jenny looked at his sincere, open expression. “You’ve got it bad, don’t you?” she asked gently, almost laughing when he just blushed and nodded again. “Okay. So you’re going to have to be a patient man.”
“I can do that,” Jake said, “but, uh, how patient?”
“Be her friend first. You’ve already got a good start on that,” Jenny counseled. “Make her laugh. Show her that you’re consistent, reliable, predictable. Kate loves constancy. She thrives on routine. The only people she trusts are the ones she knows are going to be exactly who she expects them to be. She likes you, Jake, but getting her to really trust you may take a while. Don’t push.”
Jake sighed. “Okay. I get that.”
“Katie’s been by herself a long time, Jake,” she warned. “She’s used to it and she doesn’t like change. Don’t ever saw the bit in her mouth.”
“Do you people always have to talk in horse metaphors?” he groaned. “I have absolutely no idea what that means.”
“It means if you don’t want her to buck you right out of the saddle, let her have her own head. She’ll know the right way if you let her find it for herself.”
He pondered that for a minute. “Don’t oversteer or you’ll cause the wreck you’re trying to avoid.”
“Exactly.”
“And the gift?”
“Think about it, smart man,” Jenny grinned. “You’ll figure it out.”
When the screen went dark, Jenny sat back in her chair. As much as she liked the idea of Jake Martin and her sister together, Jenny wasn’t sure he’d be able to penetrate Kate’s self-protective reserve. Sometimes she thought Kate, for all her level-headedness and common sense was really the one most wounded by their upbringing. Her sister’s words echoed in Jenny’s mind, “You need to learn to talk to the people who love you.”
“Do you really talk to anyone, Katie?” Jenny whispered. She looked across the yard at the dim light in the study window knowing Kate was sitting in there reading by the glow of a kerosene lamp, one of her many old-fashioned, eccentric quirks. “You are going to burn this house down,” Jenny warned her archly on more than one occasion.
“Oh for God’s sake,” Kate said. “I’m not going to do any such of a thing. I don’t like electric light at night. It’s too loud.”
Jenny actually didn’t need an explanation for that. She knew exactly what Kate meant. She knew why her sister sat in that dim room with a kerosene lamp. Often on those nights alone in her New York condo, Jenny surrounded herself with candles, making the world quieter and smaller so she could stand her own thoughts.
Behind her a floorboard creaked, but Jenny didn’t look around. She knew that footfall by heart. She sighed as Josh’s arms came around her waist. He rested his head on her shoulder. “Whatcha doing, sugar?” he asked, his voice so deep from sleep that a little shiver passed through her.
“Thinking,” she said, putting her hands over his.
“You going up to be with Katie?” he asked.
“No,” Jenny said. “I’m coming back to bed to be with you.”
“Well now, that sounds like a plan,” he said.
“I love you, Josh,” she said softly. “Do you know that?”
“Of course I do, sugar. I love you, too.”
“I’m not easy, am I?”
“Is this a trick question, darling?”
Jenny laughed. “No. I was just thinking how damned complicated Lockwood women can be.”
“Well, I like my Lockwood woman just fine,” he said, tightening his arms around her. “You may not be easy, but you sure as hell do know how to get a man’s attention.”
Monday afternoon when Jake’s pickup pulled in the front gate of the Rocking L, Kate and Jenny were sitting on the front porch. They watched as Jake parked by his trailer, waving jauntily as he came striding across the yard.
“How was your flight?” Kate asked, when he opened the gate and came up the walk.
“Smooth as silk. We had Wi-Fi and there were no children on board,” he answered.
Kate held out her hand to shake his, but Jake offered her a leather-bound antique book instead. She took it, asking, “Something from your research?”
“No,” Jake said. “I was walking around Mexico City and found this great old bookstore. It’s a copy of Seneca’s letters, in English. The binding is so elegant and old world, I thought you might like it.”
Kate ran her fingers over the aged calfskin. “Thank you, Jake,” she said. “It’s beautiful. Seneca is one of my favorites.”
“He is?” Jake said, smiling happily, pleased with the success of his gift. “I didn’t know that. What’s your favorite quote?”
“‘I never co
me back home with quite the same moral character I went out with,’” Kate answered, “‘something or other becomes unsettled where I had achieved internal peace, someone or other of the things I had put to flight reappears on the scene.’”
“Why that passage?” Jake asked.
“Actually,” Jenny said, “the non-geek at this party can answer that. It’s because of something Daddy used to say, isn’t it, Katie?”
Jake groaned, realizing he had completely ignored Jenny. “Hi,” he said. “I’m sorry for not saying hello. Book nerd moment. We forget there’s life on earth.”
“No worries,” Jenny said, giving him a look that told him he’d done well choosing the gift. “And hello yourself.”
“Okay, Miss Smarty Pants,” Kate said. “Tell me why you think I like that quote.”
“Because it’s just like Daddy used to say,” Jenny replied, “you’re having a perfectly good day . . .”
“. . . and some son of a bitch goes and ruins it,’” the sisters finished in tandem.
They all laughed and Jake sat down in the empty chair beside Kate. “I see I have an institute,” he said, pointing at the new building beside his trailer.
“And an apartment,” Kate said. “Tell us about Mexico City and then we’ll go out and have a look.”
The artifacts Langston Lockwood kept hidden in Baxter’s Draw had caused a stir in the Mesoamerican archeological community. Based on the current scholarship and on Spanish records, so far no one could explain how the items came to be secreted in a cave in Central Texas. Jake’s research into the Mission Santa Cruz de San Saba was being taken seriously for the first time, however, and he had more offers of “help” than he could handle.
“Until now,” he said, “the biggest finds in this field of archeology have been fabled hidden cities. We’re definitely in a different category. I had one esteemed professor tell me this was as exciting for him as seeing King Solomon’s Mines for the first time and wanting to be Allan Quartermain . . .” Then, catching himself, he turned to Jenny and said, “That’s a . . . ”
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