One Tough Texan

by MJ Rodgers

  It was of him and Cade, just before Matt went off into military service. Matt’s arm was around his brother.

  Cade’s arm was around a half-starved hound he’d just rescued from the pound. For as long as Matt could remember, Cade’s heart had been as big as the whole outdoors. He took a deep breath before he reached for the telephone receiver.

  “Cade, how you been?” Matt asked.

  “Fair to meddling, Matt. I’m in Tulsa. Don’t mean to rush this’ none, but I got to get back to some doings here in just a minute. Liz said you had some questions about Jamie?”

  Matt had learned some things from their trip to Sweetspring. But there were other questions still weighing on his mind.

  “Did she ever mention this Tony Lagarrigue to you before this sudden urge to look him up?”

  “Not as I recall.”

  “What did she tell you about her growing-up years?”

  “Not nearly enough.”

  “What do you mean, Cade?”

  “Just what I said. Jamie kept a lot to herself for a long time. Too long. I guess she thought she had to. Her growing-up period was a painful time in her life. Poor kid.”

  Matt had thought of Jamie in a lot of ways, but “poor kid” was never a description that would have entered his mind.

  Yes, she’d had to endure difficulties when she was a youngster in Sweetspring. But the cool woman he’d watched stand up to Wrey Kleinman and fire a bullet into the windshield of that eighteen-wheeler had grown into one resilient, gutsy gal.

  “Cade, you’ve never talked about what broke up you and Jamie. Why?”

  “Because I’m not sure Jamie would want me to.”

  “She was the one who divorced you though, right?” Matt asked. “It wasn’t your idea?”

  “It wasn’t my idea.”

  “You weren’t playing around on her. I know you better than that.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “And she’s not the kind of woman to play around—”

  “No, she’s not, so stop fishing for the answer, Matt If you want to know, ask Jamie. If she wants to tell you, she will. Now, how’s the search going for this Tony?”

  “Not quite as smoothly as I hoped. You sure you want me to find him for her?”

  “It’s obvious she has some unfinished business with him,

  Matt. I want whatever she wants to make her happy. I’ll always want that.”

  Matt shook his head. Cade must be in a lot of pain over losing Jamie, but he was showing a lot of class about it. Matt knew if he were in Cade’s position, he’d never be able to do it.

  Matt suddenly realized that what with his military stint and then Cade’s marriage to Jamie, he’d missed out on a lot of his brother’s maturation. He was proud of Cade and the man he had become.

  “When you get back from this trip, give me a call, Cade. We need to do some catching up.”

  “Sounds like a winner to me. Why don’t you come on out to the ranch? Mama’s always complaining she never sees you enough.”

  “Then it’ll become a whole family thing. I thought we’d try for some time with just the two of us. We could catch a ball game somewhere.”

  “Well, sure. I’ll give you a holler. Hey, I gotta go now. They’re calling me for a seminar. Now you take care of my little Jamie for me, hear?”

  Matt hung up the phone with a heavy exhale. Take care of “my little Jamie.” Matt hadn’t missed the possessive pronoun in that sentence.

  He had to do right by his brother. And that meant he couldn’t let Jamie go to another P.I. He couldn’t trust her with anyone else.

  But could he trust himself with her?

  Damn. He put his head in his hands. Somehow, he had to keep his distance. He had to come through for Cade…and Jamie.

  Matt reached for the package Perry had sent over. He dumped the contents onto the desk. There were two tapes. He unraveled the sheet of typed paper that had been rubber-banded to the first tape.

  The call on the tape had been placed from a pay phone in Florida. It had come in Wednesday night about an hour after Matt had left the studio.

  Matt removed a tape recorder from his desk drawer. He slipped the first tape inside and pressed the play button. A man with a distinctive nasal tone was the first voice he heard.

  “This is that ‘Finder of Lost Loves’ show, right?”

  “Yes, sir. How may I help you?” Matt recognized Perry’s taped voice right away.

  “I watched the program tonight, and I think I know this Tony Lagarrigue guy.”

  “And your name, sir?”

  “What does it matter? I’d just like to learn a little more about the woman who’s looking for him.”

  “And why is that, sir?”

  “’Cause I think I might know him. If it is the guy I’m thinking of, I’d like to look him up, too.”

  “Where do you think you know him from, sir?”

  “That picture you ran looked just like a Tony Lagarrigue I went to school with. So who’s the looker who wants to find him?”

  “Her name is Jamie.”

  “What’s her last name?”

  “That’s confidential, sir.”

  “Where did this Jamie go to school?”

  “I’m not acquainted with all the details of the case, sir.”

  “Well, then let me talk to Jamie. She’s the one looking for Tony. She should know.”

  “I’m sorry, sir. Jamie’s not here right now.”

  “Well, then give me her telephone number.”

  “Where are you calling from, sir?”

  “Why are you asking?”

  “I’d like to take down your number so that I can have Jamie call you.”

  “Just give me her number.”

  “We are not allowed to give out the number of our program guests.”

  “She’s local to San Antonio though, right?”

  “I will be happy to check to see if I can find out that information for you, sir. What’s your name and telephone number?”

  “Oh, forget it. It probably wasn’t him, anyway.”

  The caller’s line abruptly ended in dial tone.

  Matt stopped the tape. The caller wasn’t a Texan. That was clear in his speech. Matt also got the distinct impression that he was more interested in Jamie than he was in Tony.

  No surprise there. A beautiful woman appears on camera looking for someone who kissed her fifteen years before. Hell, probably any guy watching was wishing it was him. Matt was just surprised the switchboard hadn’t gotten a dozen calls from men like this fixin’ to find out more about Jamie.

  He ejected the first tape and tossed it aside.

  The information sheet rubber-banded around the second tape had much more detail. The caller was a Wendy McConnell of Reno, Nevada. Perry had included her address along with the note that he had verified the number she had given to be hers. Ms. McConnell had called late on Thursday. Matt put the second tape into the recorder and pressed the play button.

  “I’m Wendy McConnell and I want to speak with Jamie.”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. McConnell, Jamie isn’t here right now,” Perry responded.

  “What do you mean she’s not there? It took my sister and me half a dozen calls each to finally locate someone with your number. You must get a hold of Jamie for me.”

  “Does this concern the person she’s looking for?”

  “Well, of course, it concerns Tony. Why else would I be calling? Tell her I recognized his picture. I know where he is.”

  “I’ll be happy to take down his location and get that information to Jamie.”

  “Oh, no. I know better than to entrust information like this to a man. I want to tell Jamie myself.”

  “All right, Ms. McConnell. I’ll ask her to call you.”

  Matt stopped the tape. Wendy McConnell might be confusing Tony’s face with someone else’s, but at the moment she was the only lead he had. Matt picked up the phone and punched in Jamie’s number.

  He had memo
rized it the day he looked at her check. Just as he had memorized everything else about her.

  She answered on the second ring. Matt identified himself and then hurried into his explanation before she could ask any questions.

  “We’ve gotten a call from a Ms. McConnell who says she recognizes Tony’s picture. Can you meet me at the studio in an hour?”

  A long, quiet pause blared at him from the other end of the line. Matt waited it out.

  “I thought you dropped the case?” Jamie said finally.

  “I was trying to get you to drop it.”

  “Why do you want me down at the studio? Can’t I just call her from here?”

  “I want to listen in on the call and tape it.”

  “And the reason for that?”

  “Should be obvious. Since you started looking for this Tony, you’ve been subjected to threats and an attempt has even been made against your life.”

  “We’ve no proof that eighteen-wheeler episode had anything to do with my looking for Tony.”

  “I don’t need proof.”

  “We should have reported the incident to the police. I wasn’t thinking straight yesterday.”

  “The proper authorities have been notified,” Matt said.

  “You told them? What did they say?”

  “That you should forget this Tony,” Matt said.

  Matt stopped to take a deep breath, knowing his voice was getting gruffer by the second. “You want to take that excellent advice, or do you want to come down to the studio and call Ms. McConnell?”

  Matt didn’t think he had a chance of convincing Jamie to take his first option. He was right. She didn’t hesitate in making her choice. “I’ll be there in an hour.”

  ALL DURING THE DRIVE to the studio, Jamie’s emotions had her on a roller-coaster ride. She was excited about what this Ms. McConnell might say. She was worried that it would be just another dead end. She was mad because Matt was still working on the case and she had to continue to be around him.

  And she was so damn happy that he was still working on the case and she had to continue to be around him.

  The thought of having to employ another private investigator had begun a slow drip of seeping depression into her veins all morning. She’d drunk three cups of coffee as she stared at the yellow pages. But she hadn’t called another P.I.

  Instead, she’d kept seeing Matt holding Wrey as he asked her with a worried frown if she was all right. She’d kept remembering his incredible, soul-claiming kiss. And she’d kept losing her breath.

  What might have happened had she not heard the helicopter overhead and pulled back? Would he have stopped with that kiss?

  Later, his words had said no, but at the time his body had…

  She was losing her breath again, and her hands were shaking on the wheel.

  You have to get a grip. He told you. He doesn’t feel anything for you. He was just proving a point.

  She forced herself to take a deep breath. Slowly she let it out. She was more disciplined than this. Resolutely she redirected her thoughts to Tony.

  For fifteen years, she had replayed her wonderful night with him. Sometimes, during the bad times, it was all that got her through the pain.

  So maybe the warmth of Tony’s kiss had been nothing more than a firefly compared to the solar flare she’d found beneath Matt’s lips. At least when Tony had kissed her, he meant it.

  Jamie pulled into the parking lot at the back of the studio. There was only one vehicle there-a Jeep Cherokee. When she rang at the back door, Perry opened it to greet her.

  “Come in, Ms. Bonner. Matt will be here shortly. You can use his office to make the call.” He led the way to Matt’s office and then swung open the door.

  Jamie was about to step inside when she stopped dead in her tracks, absolutely stunned.

  The desk drawers had been dumped unceremoniously on the floor. The steel file cabinet in the corner had been overturned on its side and its contents were spilled everywhere. Even the pictures on the wall had been taken off and smashed. Someone had obviously searched the office and none too gently.

  “What the hell?” she heard Perry say beside her.

  She knew the precise second Matt came up behind her. She hadn’t heard him. But she could feel his presence in the way her pulse suddenly leapt. She took a steadying breath and then turned slowly to look at his face.

  He was staring at the interior of his office, an expression containing both surprise and concern covering his rough features. He turned to Perry.

  “Check the rest of the studio and get a team down here. Quick.”

  Perry scurried away without question.

  “A team?” Jamie asked.

  “Forensic types.”

  “Oh, you mean the police.”

  “We should get out of here, Jamie. The longer we stay, the more we’ll contaminate the scene for them.”

  “Won’t the police want to talk to us?”

  Matt’s hand gently pressed at the small of Jamie’s back as he urged her to the rear door. The sudden intimacy of the contact actually made her knees weak.

  “There’s nothing we could tell them. Perry will handle it.”

  “What would someone be looking for in your office?”

  “Information. The only thing of monetary value in the studio is the equipment. It wasn’t touched.”

  “You don’t have an alarm system?”

  “Apparently, not a real good one. I have some recording equipment at my place. We’ll go there to make your call to Ms. McConnell. Follow me in your car.”

  When Jamie stepped out into the parking lot, she smiled to see Matt getting into the black Ford F350 one-ton truck parked next to her car. It looked like a tank to her, if she ever saw one.

  She followed Matt to a good-sized contemporary home on a big lot in a nice residential neighborhood a few minutes later. He pulled into the driveway. Jamie didn’t know of any bachelors who considered themselves settled enough to invest in a home. She parked her car at the curb and walked up to the door just in time for Matt to open it for her.

  The inside was as spacious as the outside, with light oak floors and an open beamed ceiling. He led her into a living room filled with sun tubes pouring in light from above. One whole wall was sliding-glass doors leading out to a lush backyard where the blue waters in a lap-sized swimming pool gleamed invitingly.

  Jamie’s voice climbed in surprise. “How long have you lived here?”

  “Mortgage company and I partnered up five years ago.”

  Jamie whirled around the living room, taking in the earthtone colors, the geometric patterns in the large Indian throw rug and the immense sofa that a body could really sprawl on.

  “So this is where you came to when you left the ranch. I’ve never known a bachelor who was this neat.”

  “Cleaning service deserves the accolades. Recording equipment is in the other room. I’ll be right back.”

  Within a minute he was back with the electronics and busied himself with the setup. He placed two phones side by side on the coffee table. One he connected to a recording machine on the right. Matt gestured Jamie to take a seat in front of the other.

  She didn’t miss the fact that he kept three feet between them when he sat on his edge of the couch.

  Matt picked up his phone and dialed the number. She heard the tones echoing into her receiver. Then the ringing. The call was picked up in the middle of the third ring.

  “Hello?” It was a woman’s voice.

  “This is Jamie from ‘Finder of Lost Loves’ in San Antonio. Is Ms. McConnell there?”

  “This is Wendy McConnell,” the woman said, excitement making her voice rise. “Oh, Jamie, I’m so glad you called. You must get here immediately. Tony’s straying.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I saw him with another woman this morning!”

  “Ms. McConnell—”

  “Please call me Wendy, dear. Ms. McConnell sounds so formal.”

  “Of
course, Wendy. How do you know Tony?”

  “Well, I don’t really know him. But I’ve seen him plenty of times. That’s why when that picture of him ‘flashed on the screen last Monday night, I knew right away he was your Tony.”

  “Where have you seen him?”

  “Right here in Reno. Me and Jerry-he’s my husbandwe step in to play the slot machines on our way grocery shopping. Not that we’re compulsive gamblers or anything like that. We set aside five dollars each in quarters to wager. It’s fun and we figure on losing it, so it doesn’t matter when we do. Although a couple of times we’ve actually won enough to finance our next few weeks. Anyway, win or lose, by eight o’clock we’re off to the grocery store, to do the week’s shopping.”

  “Wendy, I’m confused. When and where do you see Tony?”

  “Well, at the casinos, of course. He’s been in there off and on for years. First time I saw him I pointed him out to Jerry and remarked about how he was wearing the same sweater we’d bought for our nephew, Neal. Tony looked so handsome in it.”

  “Which casinos have you seen him in?”

  “Different ones. He was at the Flamingo Hilton this morning. And he was with a woman. She’s this big-busted brunette with sticks for legs. It upset me so much to see how she was hanging all over him. You have to get here right away.”

  “You feel certain it’s him?”

  “Absolutely. Come to dinner tonight. I can tell you all about what’s been going on then.”

  “Thank you, Wendy, but I’m not sure—”

  “Please, Jamie. It would be such a pleasure to have you here. Knowing that I’m the one bringing you together with your Tony is such a thrill for me. After dinner, I’ll show you the casino route Jerry and I take on the way to the grocery store. That way you’ll know where you’ll most likely see Tony.”

  “I’ll have to call you later to let you know if I can arrange it.”

  “I’ll give you my address, just in case. Have you got a pencil and paper?”

  Jamie didn’t bother writing the information down since the tape was picking it up. She thanked Wendy McConnell for her call and promised to get back to her just as soon as she had made a decision.

  “Please hurry,” Wendy said. “You’re much prettier than that brunette, but she’s a real predator, if you know what I mean.”