Betting on Hope

by Debra Clopton

  Tru had stayed near while they were inside, not commenting a lot, but being close. It meant a lot to her to have his support. The afternoon sunlight beamed blindingly brilliant but did nothing to lift her spirits. She hurt for Jenna despite understanding what the young girl had done.

  As they approached their vehicles, her own situation crowded in on her. Would she be exposed as a fraud soon? Would everything she worked so hard for be ruined?

  And all because of her father. A father who obviously saw no value in her other than what he could get from her.

  How pathetic was that?

  25

  Tru didn’t know what to do for Maggie. He knew she was hurting. She wasn’t saying anything and all during the time after she’d come out and told them that Jenna was giving up her baby, he’d wanted to take her in his arms and tell her it would be all right. She’d looked so stricken. As if her entire world had just come crashing down.

  He felt for the kid in the hospital room holding her baby and saying good-bye. He could only imagine how hard that must be for a girl who would have kept her child had circumstances been different. How many teens were out there going through the same choice each year? Girls who were choosing life for their child even if it wouldn’t be with them but with a family—like him—who couldn’t have their own child.

  The impact of what Jenna was doing for the Hansons wasn’t lost on him. He understood the beauty of the precious gift like others couldn’t.

  “Maggie, are you going to be okay?” he asked when they were alone in the parking lot. She locked her arms tightly as if to hold herself together.

  All she could do was shake her head and look away from him.

  He stepped in and wrapped his arms around her. She sank against him, burying her face in the crook of his neck, and cried. Her shoulders shook and eventually she released the tight grip she had on her arms and eased them around his waist and clung to him.

  He smoothed her hair and just held her, while his heart broke for her and for Jenna. “Let it out,” he urged, resting his cheek against her hair and wishing he could absorb the pain for her.

  “It’s not going to be all right,” she said between soft sobs. “She’s so much stronger than she thinks she is. I know.”

  “You would know what it is to be strong as a girl alone. Yes, you would. But she is being strong, Maggie. Strength isn’t always weighed the same. Can’t you see the strength it’s taking for her to make this decision? The unselfish strength?”

  Maggie pulled away and ran shaking fingertips beneath her mascara stained eyes. “I see it. I do. I just can’t accept it.”

  “And that’s fine, honey. It’s what Jenna can accept that matters right now.”

  Her eyes narrowed and she studied him as if she were trying to decide if he was the good guy or the bad guy. He stared into those gorgeous eyes. “I know I’m not saying what you want me to say. But I wouldn’t be any kind of friend to you if I just agreed with you all the time. Believe me, I hate having to see you mad and looking at me as if you’d just as soon I go away.”

  “I need to go,” she said, unlocking her car.

  He reached and opened the door for her. “You’re okay to drive?” he asked, knowing a little time alone might be the best thing for her.

  “I’m fine.”

  She climbed into her car and he watched as she backed out then drove away.

  She’d be better tomorrow. She’d think about it all, let it settle in and she’d think more positive about it.

  But as he strode toward his truck he couldn’t quite convince himself that it would be that easy.

  Maggie’s heart ached all night for Jenna, and her mind struggled with the blackmail that her father was trying to pull off. How could so much go wrong in such a short span of hours? Though she wanted to hide in bed and cry, she couldn’t. She didn’t have time for that. Her life was on the line here. Her column was being threatened in a way that she hadn’t anticipated until she’d started getting the letters.

  If she gave him the money, she knew that her dad would have her right where he wanted her. She couldn’t do that, and besides, she was far, far from rich. Her column enabled her to make a living, but that was it. She was very frugal—something good that came from her childhood life experiences. She had scrimped and saved in order to make a secure future for herself and had a little money in the bank. Her dad wasn’t going to be able to extort much from her before that was gone, and then what? He’d expose her secret anyway for money however he could get it. One way or the other, sooner or later the world would know she had once helped distract people while her father stole money from them, among a few other cons that he’d made her help him with. Who would want advice from someone like that? And then there was the fear that once this was out, Shane and the really ugly part of her life would come out.

  Tru had said life wasn’t fair and, boy, did she know it. She tossed and turned all night long. And oddly enough . . . she wanted to go and talk to Tru about all of it. Even though he’d disagreed with her about Jenna.

  She wanted his opinion. She knew it would be an honest one and there would be objectivity there that she needed desperately.

  She sipped her coffee at sunrise, trying to get rid of the foggy cobwebs that had taken over her mind. Talking to Tru would mean exposing everything. What would he think of her?

  It made her stomach ill, but before she’d finished the pot of coffee, she knew that Tru was the only one she trusted.

  The word alone spoke volumes. She’d come a long way in the five weeks that she’d been at the Four of Hearts.

  Instead of waiting until their usual six-thirty morning ride, Maggie got in her car and drove to his house up the hill from the stable. She couldn’t wait.

  She needed to talk before she lost her nerve.

  Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door. The sound of boots on hardwood could be heard as he walked to the door, and her nerves rattled with every step.

  “Maggie,” he said, surprise written all over his expression. “Is everything all right?”

  She took another deep breath. “No, Tru, I need to ask your opinion about something. I need to talk to you.”

  He swung the door wide. “Sure, come on in. I was just finishing up breakfast. Are you hungry?”

  “No. I don’t think I could eat, but thank you.”

  She entered his home and instantly was struck by how much it looked like him. Large and masculine, lots of tans and earth tones. But she was surprised to see the bold colors of red and peacock blue pillows used as highlight pieces. The walls had western paintings that she was almost certain were original art. Maybe at another time she would have crossed to the paintings to see if she knew the artist. But right now, she only followed him through the living area into the kitchen at the back of the house, a bright open room lit with sunshine. He pulled out a dark oak chair for her and went to fill a cup full of coffee even though she hadn’t asked.

  He knew she took it black with a teaspoon of sugar. She watched him stir it in, and her heart ached knowing that there might never be anything between them.

  But this was about facing things. And Maggie had decided it was time.

  “So let me get this straight,” Tru said, a few minutes after Maggie had sat down at his kitchen table. He stared at her as he fought to get his temper down below boiling point. For now.

  “This so-called parent was a thief and a liar all your life, causing you emotional pain and providing an unstable childhood. He taught you at an early age to be his decoy and accomplice—something he should be shot for. Then he goes to prison where he rightly belongs and leaves you to fend for yourself in the desperate situation with your mom?”

  “Well, yes,” Maggie said, looking and sounding about as embarrassed as a person could get. “But—I should have told someone.”

  “You were a kid, Maggie. A kid. And now he thinks you owe him something. That is about the most lowdown, sleazy . . .” Tru raked a hand through his hair and
, unable to remain seated, he strode to the window and stared out at the back pastures, trying to contain the anger burning through him like hot lava. Nope, it was no use. Swinging around, he stalked back to the table. “Maggie, yeah, I’m surprised to know you’ve changed your name. But as far as I’m concerned, Maggie Hope is your name. It’s who you were meant to be. You aren’t responsible for your parents. The readership of your column will not look at you as a fraud. They won’t look at you badly for what happened . . . and anyone who does is out of their mind.”

  “But I feel dirty. And there’s more.”

  Tru didn’t know if he could handle more. He was about to blow. “What? You can tell me anything. We’ll get this all sorted out.”

  “When I was on the streets, I met a guy who had a car and a rundown apartment. He seemed nice enough and he took me in. I was there for two days and he stopped at a convenience store, and while I was in the car he robbed the store and beat up the man behind the counter. I didn’t know it until he came back and got in the car and waved around the money he’d stolen. I ran away the minute he stopped at a light. He was too concerned with getting away to chase me. And I found out later on the news that he’d hurt the clerk. I didn’t know that until later. Thank goodness the man wasn’t hurt badly. He recovered, but it could have been so much worse.”

  Tru’s heart sank. Poor kid. “Aw, Maggie. I’m so sorry.”

  “I’ve never told anyone that, and it eats at me. I guess I should have turned myself in.”

  “You were getting a ride from a stranger. You didn’t know.”

  “I had information.”

  “Did they catch this Shane person?”

  “Yes, and I looked him up later and saw that he had a substantial record.”

  He pulled her from the chair. “Look at me, Maggie. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing. Do you have any idea where your dad is staying?”

  “No, Tru, I didn’t come here to have you go have a fight with him. I just came to ask your advice on how you would handle it and these other issues.”

  He smiled at her and cupped her face with his hands. “Honey, I’m about to show you how I’d handle it.”

  “But I can’t have you getting into trouble. What will your sponsors think?”

  “They’ll get over it. There’s not too many places a person can stay in Wishing Springs. I’m betting he’s at the Sweet Dreams Motel, which is pretty appropriate since it’s about to be lights out for him.”

  “Tru, you can’t go beat him up. You could get into a lot of trouble. There’s no telling what he’ll do.”

  He didn’t even hesitate. He pulled Maggie into his arms and looked fiercely into her startled eyes. “Maggie, I’ll be fine.” He kissed her then, swift and strong. Bad idea, maybe, but he was past thinking about that at the moment. “You stay here, I’ll be back in a little while.”

  He grabbed his hat off the hat rack by the back door and then yanked open the door and headed for his truck. He hadn’t been this mad since he’d learned his dad had hocked this ranch to the hilt. It had been too late then to confront his dad about that—but this . . . oh, it wasn’t too late. Not at all.

  Anger ate a hole in his good sense because this sorry excuse of a man was threatening the woman Tru loved. And he was about to find out just how a Texas cowboy took care of any threats to his woman.

  Blood pounding, Maggie followed Tru outside. “Tru, stop,” she called.

  “Stay put, Maggie,” he commanded and got in his truck and peeled out for town.

  Maggie stood there stunned, watching dust billow behind him.

  She couldn’t let him do this. She’d just wanted his advice. Wanted him to be the first to know the truth.

  She raced around the house and jumped into her little car. It started immediately and she peeled out. Pulling around in a wide arc, she headed down the lane in pursuit of Tru.

  He was long gone.

  Really? The man must have laid down hard on the gas pedal. Mind reeling, she drove as fast as her little car would carry her. “Why didn’t I keep my mouth shut?” she muttered. “Why?”

  She made it to town, but the motel was on the other side of town, so she had to drive down Main Street. This early in the morning there weren’t too many people out and she was thankful the little town had no red lights. By the time she whipped into the parking lot of the picturesque motel, she was madder than she’d been in a very long time.

  For one thing, her dad had no right to do this to her. For another, Tru had no right to deal with this like a barbarian.

  He was just coming out of the office with a confused looking Pebble following behind him in her floral pink housecoat and silk slippers. Tru didn’t stop as he marched straight around the edge of the motel office and stalked toward room number six.

  Pebble hurried to Maggie the instant she got out of her car. “Maggie, I’ve never seen Tru like this. What is going on?”

  Maggie took the wisp of a lady by the arms for a quick hug. “I can’t explain right now, but would you mind going in and calling the sheriff? I don’t want Tru to get hurt.”

  “Maggie, dear, I’ll go call, but I don’t think it’s Tru that’s in danger here.”

  “Still, please go call.”

  Before Maggie could reach him, her dad had swung open the door and without even pausing, Tru had grabbed him by the shirt collar and dragged him outside and pushed him up against the wall. Though her father was almost twenty years older than Tru, he was a tall man and solidly built. Still, Tru very nearly had his feet dangling off the ground.

  “W-who are you?” her father stuttered.

  “I’m not your defenseless daughter, that’s for certain,” Tru growled.

  Maggie wasn’t defenseless. But she certainly wasn’t Tru.

  “Now, this is the way it’s going to go down. I’d like nothing more than to bash in your face right now. But I’m not going to because I don’t want to disturb Miss Pebble’s other clientele. What I am going to do is haul you into the jailhouse and Maggie here is going to press charges against you for trying to blackmail her. Not sure how that’s going to look on your parole. Because my guess is you are on parole. Right?”

  “Right,” her dad said, his eyes going to slits. “But, the minute you do that I’m going to tell everyone who she really is. I’m going to ruin her. So you better think hard about what you’re about to do. She owes me for raising—”

  Maggie heard it all and that did it. She broke him off, “I don’t owe you anything. You’re my father and you’ll always be my father and that’s just the way it is. But owe you—ha. For what? A lousy childhood?”

  Tru growled and his grip grew tighter. “Seems to me you’re the one that owes her a decent childhood. A life where she didn’t have to run away in order to stay safe. Maybe now would be a good time to apologize for being a rotten dad, a failed human being, and a lowlife for the way you’re treating her right now.”

  Her dad didn’t say anything. Instead he struggled against Tru’s grasp, only to have Tru lift him higher on the wall. “Say it. Or I’m going to lose my patience.”

  She wanted to turn and run and not have to look at this. Not have the reality of where she’d come from made so clear once more. But she didn’t.

  The sirens could be heard now, and she knew that this was going to be the talk of the town. It would become public. No matter what—the world was about to know who she really was.

  Maggie Hope and all the good she’d tried to do was about to become the lead joke for many. And the object of sympathy for others.

  Her life as an ambassador of hope and encouragement was about to end.

  26

  Sirens blaring, the sheriff arrived. Jake Morgan took his job seriously. The rugged cowboy was also a friend of Tru’s. It was obvious as he climbed from his SUV that he knew Tru had things under control. Maggie realized he was also giving Tru the benefit of the doubt by not pulling him off of her dad.

  “Looks like there’s a bit of a p
roblem here,” he drawled, with the easy tone of a man who’d seen plenty of brawls before. “Tru, you want to speak first, seeing as you’ve got the upper hand?”

  “Hey, he’s the one manhandling me. Get me down from here,” her dad yelled.

  “Well, see, fact is, I know Tru here. And contrary to what you may believe, he’s a pretty levelheaded individual. So, I got to ask myself. Why does he have you dangling with your back up there on that wall?”

  There was nothing funny about this, but Maggie had to suddenly bite back the need to laugh. Thank goodness there were no photographers around. Her column had been picking up some national attention, as the network had been advertising the upcoming feature on a regular basis.

  In the end her dad was carried away to the sheriff’s office and Tru followed them. Maggie could barely face Pebble in her embarrassment.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said. The sweet lady wrapped her arm around Maggie and gave her a hug. “It would be nice if we could handpick who we’re related to. But for some reason the good Lord didn’t give us that option. This is not your fault.”

  Maggie’s eyes burned and she nodded. “I know. But that doesn’t make it any easier.” It hit Maggie that Jenna had handpicked her baby’s parents. And she’d picked them carefully. Thoughtfully. Lovingly.

  Pebble smiled. “And that still doesn’t make it your fault.”

  After that Maggie went straight to the barn and saddled Stardust. She realized that the place she felt the most peace these days was on her horse’s back.

  Tru spotted Maggie’s car at the barn and saw Stardust was missing. He saddled up a colt and headed out to find her. All he could think about was comforting her. How had she lived with this all these years? And to be the positive, hopeful person that she was, to have risen above what the world had thrown at her. She deserved the best and he knew he wasn’t right for her. But right now he couldn’t think of anything but being the one who made her life easier. The one who protected her. Supported her. Reassured her. Loved her.