by Linda Ford
His hands came down on her shoulders, and she yelped.
“Heed my advice, Jane. Keep what you’ve learned to yourself, and no one gets hurt.”
Pivoting away, he swept out of the barn and disappeared into the night, leaving her with an impossible decision to make.
Chapter Twenty
“Please say you’ll accept my invitation, Tom. We have lots to catch up on.”
Patricia Vinson had cornered him at the base of the church steps right after service. Willowy and blessed with golden-haired beauty, she did nothing to hide her interest. Quite the opposite. She stood so close he could practically see down her throat each time she laughed. She did that a lot—laughed at nothing in particular.
Tucking his hands behind his back to avoid more of her “accidental” grazes, he strove for a regretful tone. “Thanks for thinking of me, Patricia, but I can’t today. I have other plans.”
At least, he hoped so. The idea to invite Jane to lunch had popped into his head during the ride to town. He couldn’t stop replaying Friday’s conversation. Now that he’d had time to assess matters rationally, he was aware he’d come down on her too hard.
Scanning the churchyard, he spotted her in the shade of a dogwood tree. She was alone. And watching him and Patricia with pinched features.
When the blonde’s cool palm cupped his cheek, urging him to return his attention to her, he fought a surge of annoyance. The woman was far too forward.
“How about next Sunday?” she said. “I’ll prepare whatever you’d like.”
Removing her hand, he tried to be civil. “I don’t think so. I spend most of my Sundays with the O’Malleys. Thanks, anyway.”
With that, he left her to make his way through the dispersing crowd to Jane’s side, checking first to make sure Clara was still with her friends beside the building.
Jane’s appearance concerned him. Normally neat as a pin, there was a crease in the bodice of her butter-colored dress and her cameo brooch was pinned on crooked. Most disturbing was her hair. Like the day of her nonwedding, the shiny locks streamed down her back and curved over her shoulders, not a pin or ribbon in sight. Most unusual.
When he reached her, he noted the dark circles under her eyes. “Jane. Are you okay?”
Hands clasped tightly at her waist, she nodded jerkily. “We need to talk.”
“I agree. Will you join Clara and me for lunch? It’s nothing fancy, mind you—”
“No.”
“You have plans?”
“No, I—I just can’t.” Her gaze darted around the yard to where folks were preparing to leave. “Listen, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s no reason to mention my charade to Jessica. I was no doubt mistaken about what I saw.”
Tom wasn’t stupid. He might not be an expert on women, but he wasn’t blind. Something had occurred between Friday afternoon and today to make her change her mind. Something had spooked her, and he intended on discovering what that was.
“Are you afraid to face Jess’s wrath? I will gladly be there to offer support when you tell her, if that’s what you want.”
Her chin came up. “I’d own up to my actions in a heartbeat if I thought it would accomplish anything. But it won’t. Let’s just forget it.”
She made to brush past him. He curved a hand about her upper arm, halting her escape.
“Let me go, Tom.”
Her eyes were huge in her face. The pleading in her tone knocked him for a loop. There was more to this than mere reluctance to admit to poor choices.
“What happens if Lee mentions the picnic Jessica never went on?”
She went as white as a sheet. “I suppose I’ll deal with that when and if it happens. Hopefully it won’t.”
Concern and frustration at equal levels, Tom was tempted to toss her over his shoulder, whisk her away to a remote location and refuse to take her home until she told him the truth.
She stiffened in his hold. He followed her line of sight to the church entrance, where Jessica and Lee were shaking hands with the reverend.
Prying his fingers loose, Jane didn’t look at him as she sidled away. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Returning his attention to the couple, he was unprepared for the blistering heat that pooled in his gut. Lee’s bright smile had vanished, his brooding focus on Jane’s retreating form. Jessica couldn’t see it as she was still conversing with the reverend. But Tom could.
Mystery solved.
Collecting Clara, he rode out to Sam and Mary O’Malley’s farm. Josh, holding a sleepy Victoria, was about to enter the main house when he arrived. Spying Tom, he transferred his daughter to Kate’s arms.
Tom set the brake. “Got a minute?”
“I’ve got as much time as you need.” Josh rounded the wagon and waited for him to descend. He glanced at Clara. “Would you like Kate to take her inside? Food’s likely already on the table.”
“That would probably be best.”
With a wide smile, Kate beckoned and ushered her inside. As soon as the door closed behind them, Josh gestured to the orchard. “Walk with me.”
He fell into step beside his old friend and tried to decide the best place to start. He supposed the logical point was the dance. As he related the sequence of events, the other man’s scowl deepened the closer they got to the orderly rows of apple trees.
“I don’t know what Jane was thinking.” Ripping his Stetson from his head, Josh whacked it against his thigh. “We have to get Jessica away from him.”
“That won’t be easy.” Tom stopped short, taking no notice of the branches poking into his shoulder blades. Fingernails biting into his palms, he struggled to maintain his equanimity. The object of his ire wasn’t around to release it on. “Lee discovered Jane’s pretense and coerced her into keeping his secret.”
“She told you that?”
“Didn’t have to.” Her pale, strained countenance flashed in his memory. “She was rattled. I’m going to talk to her. Based on Jessica’s upbeat manner today, Jane hasn’t confessed yet.”
“If Jane refuses, I’ll talk to Jess myself. She can’t remain with him.”
His voice was tight with displeasure.
“Agreed.” Tom said. “Are you interested in joining me in a bit of surveillance?”
“I most certainly am. Lee Cavanaugh will be made to pay for what he’s put my cousins through.”
*
Jane’s pencil scraped across the page, not fast enough to keep up with the words bursting to break free. Jessica hadn’t questioned her desire to slip away for a couple of hours. There was nothing unusual about a solitary sojourn in the woods behind their home. What was unusual was the Colt Cloverleaf revolver strapped to her calf. Lee’s warning still fresh in her mind, she hadn’t felt comfortable coming out here without protection.
One more thing her sister wasn’t aware of.
Engrossed in her writing, she didn’t immediately register Tom’s presence. Who knew how long he’d been standing there before he nudged her boot with his.
“Hey there.”
Her pencil slid from her grasp and toppled into the clover. “Hi.”
Normally, the sight of his handsome face lifted her spirits. Not this time. Not now that she was deceiving him again, something she’d promised never to do.
Better to lie to him than to put him or Clara in danger.
Sinking onto the boulder jutting over the rippling, crystalline stream behind him, he pointed to the book on her lap. “How many of those have you filled up?”
“I haven’t counted.”
She hadn’t tossed a single one, however. They were stored in the hayloft. Three trunks full. Jane liked to think of her future children and grandchildren reading them some day after she’d gone…an intimate glimpse into her ordinary life.
“Did you pen an account of Lee’s clandestine visit in there?”
His unwavering scrutiny, while free of accusation, demanded the truth.
Skirting that truth did n
ot come easy. “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”
“You underestimate me, Jane. Fail to acknowledge how well I know you.” Movements fluid for such a tall man, he was soon sitting beside her on the mossy bed, his muscular leg pressing against hers and upper body angled toward her.
“You don’t know everything about me.”
“I know you’d go to any lengths necessary to safeguard the ones you love.” His voice deepened. “When did he confront you?”
Averting her face, she belatedly closed the book and stuffed it in her satchel.
“Ignoring me won’t make me go away,” he said without heat. “I’ll keep you here until nightfall if need be.”
He meant what he said. She could see it in the unyielding line of his jaw, the determined set of his chin.
“Why can’t you accept that I was mistaken?” she demanded.
Lifting his hand, he very gently smoothed his thumb over her trembling lips. Jane sat immobile, dread and fascination warring with each other. If only she could snap her fingers and wish away her problems, then she could sit here and bask in his closeness, let his soft-as-velvet voice wrap her in a cocoon of safety.
“You’re frightened.” Taking in her unbound hair, he smoothed a section of it over her shoulder. “Anyone can see you aren’t yourself.”
The tender caress was her undoing. She’d slept very little in the nearly forty-eight hours since Lee’s visit. Light-headed from lack of sleep and appetite, she’d barely made it to church that morning. Dread of seeing Lee, combined with the prospect of lying to the man she loved, had left her feeling weak and sick to her stomach.
She was not cut out for subterfuge.
“I caught him watching you this morning. When did he figure it out?”
“I—” The words clogged in her throat. “I never should’ve started this. How stupid could I be to think I could pull this off? I’m not a professional. He is. He’s had everyone fooled, my sister most of all. What am I going to do, Tom?”
She glimpsed his frown a second before he pulled her against his chest, arms holding her fast. She resisted at first. What had she done to deserve his compassion? Nothing but lie to him. But his reassuring heat and latent strength, the rhythmic movements of his fingers through her hair, had her surrendering to his ministrations.
“I don’t want you to worry.” His breath stirred the strands near her ear. “We’ll figure this out.”
Beneath her cheek, his heart beat slow and steady. “He’s dangerous, Tom.” Plucking at his sleeve, she spoke quietly. “He said that turning him and his associate in wouldn’t accomplish much. Others in their organization will take their place. Unscrupulous men who will repay our actions.”
He left off stroking her hair to rub circles on her lower back. “Josh and I have a plan.”
Pushing upward, but not leaving his embrace, she met his intense perusal. “He knows?”
“When I saw Lee’s reaction to you today, I knew he’d figured out what you’d done. Because the danger involves our family, Josh and I are going to gather a bit more information before going to the sheriff.” He stopped, brows knitting in confusion. “Why are you smiling? Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I happen to adore your smile. Just not sure what I said to earn it.”
“You said our family.”
His mouth tipped up in a rueful grin. “Yeah, I guess I did.” He tucked her closer. “I do consider myself a part of the O’Malley clan. You, your sisters and cousins mean the world to me.”
Family. Friend. It was the most she could hope for. Tom would never discover her biggest lie of all.
“I—”
“Jane? Are you here…” Emerging from the underbrush, Jessica stopped short, eyes going wide at the sight of them. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
Jane reluctantly pulled out of his arms. He seemed equally loath to release her.
Lithely gaining his footing, he helped her up, surprising her when he briefly cupped her cheek. “I believe you and your sister have some important things to discuss. Want me to stay?”
“Thank you, but no.”
“I’ll wait for you at your house.”
Mouth going dry, she nodded. “Okay.”
He left the way her sister had come.
Jessica picked her way over exposed roots, her brows quirked, the set of her mouth a tad smug. “I seemed to have interrupted something. What’s going on, Jane?”
“We have to talk. And you’re not going to like what I have to say.”
“About you and Tom?”
“This has nothing to do with us. It’s about Lee.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“I don’t believe you.”
The ache inside Jane grew as she watched her twin grapple with what she’d told her. Perched at the tree base, she hugged her knees to her chest as Jessica paced in fits and starts along the bank, her anguish like a roiling black cloud hovering over her.
“Lee is loyal, hardworking and trustworthy. I would know it if the man was a liar and a criminal. I would know it in here.” She thumped her chest, eyes blazing.
“I know this isn’t easy to accept—” Jane ventured.
“There’s nothing to accept! You’re wrong. You’ve misconstrued things.” Stomping over, she jammed a finger at her. “You’re jealous of what Lee and I have. You’ve pined for Tom Leighton half your life, and since you can’t have the man you love, you set out to destroy my happiness.”
“That’s not true.” The outrageous accusation stung. “You don’t know me if you think I’d do something that low. I was trying to protect you, Jess! Bootlegging is a serious offense. If the regulators are called in and they think you’ve been protecting him, you could be charged with a crime.”
“I thought I knew you.” The pain and betrayal twisting her features was like a dagger plunging into Jane’s heart. “I still can’t fathom that you pretended to be me. How would you feel if I did that with Tom?”
“Like clawing your eyes out.” Shoving to her feet, she held her arms out at her sides. “So go ahead. Have at it. I deserve whatever you mete out.”
Her lip curled. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Jane’s shoulders drooped. This rift, the one she had created, was killing her. They’d had their share of arguments and petty disagreements, but this had driven a wedge between them she wasn’t sure could ever be healed.
“I’m sorry, Jess. So very sorry. When I saw Lee’s activities first at the dance, and later at the café, all I could think about was you. I had to find out.”
“I won’t believe it until I’ve heard it from Lee’s mouth.”
Jane gripped Jessica’s elbows. “You can’t tell him you know. He warned me not to say anything.”
“I’m not leaving him. I love him.”
The vulnerable light in Jess’s eyes ate at her. “For what it’s worth, I believe he truly cares about you.”
Throat working, Jess wrenched free and presented Jane with her back. “Your secret is safe. For now. But I won’t stay quiet forever.”
*
“Jane? Are you listening?”
A hand passed in front of her face, and she shifted her focus from the little girls playing pretend tea party in the parlor across the hall to Caroline’s slightly irritated visage.
“I’m sorry. What were you saying?”
“I was asking when you’d like to get started on the decorations. We’ve a lot to accomplish before the celebration.”
China clinked amid the female-dominated conversation in Caroline’s parents’ home. One of the largest in Gatlinburg, it was used for numerous gatherings, the Independence Day planning committee being one of them. Jane and Jessica had taken part for three years now.
At the thought of her twin, Jane’s stomach did that uncomfortable tightening thing again.
“We can work in the evenings and on Saturdays until I leave for my aunt’s.”
Caroline worried her lip, blue eyes clouding. “I wish you weren’t goi
ng. It’s all because of him.”
Her friend hadn’t been thrilled about Tom’s return and even less thrilled when Jane had agreed to watch Clara.
“A change of scenery will do me good.”
“Not a permanent one, right?” She caught her hand. “I couldn’t stand it if you left for good.”
Jane’s response was interrupted by Caroline’s mother, Louise. An elegant, reserved woman who was involved in many of the town’s activities, she and her daughter had a strained relationship.
“Jane, dear. Where is Jessica? I’d assumed she would be helping to coordinate the games again this year.”
She squeezed the dainty cup between her hands. “She couldn’t make it today, but I’m certain she plans to help.”
Louise patted her shoulder. “Glad to hear it. Tell her to come and see me at her earliest convenience.”
“I will.”
She wasn’t sure if her twin would give her an opportunity to speak. Jessica had frozen her out, had refused to even listen to her these past few days.
You have only yourself to blame for that, an inner voice prodded.
“Caroline, you should’ve worn the lavender dress as I suggested. That drab color doesn’t complement your skin,” Louise said.
She bristled. “I happen to like this color, Mother.”
The woman’s mouth pursed in displeasure. Jane knew if guests hadn’t been within earshot, she would’ve launched into a lengthy speech about respecting one’s parents. She commiserated with her friend, wished things were different.
As Louise was gliding away, the doorbell buzzed, and she changed direction.
“No matter what I do, she’s never happy.” She rolled her eyes.
“Enough about me. Are you and your sis having a spat? I noticed she didn’t look your way once at church the other day.”
“Know why you’re such a dear friend, Car?”
Her fine blond brows wrinkled. “Why?”
“Because you know me so well. And because you respect my frequent need for privacy.”
“So there is something going on, but you don’t wish to speak about it.”
“Precisely.”
“That is an irritating trait in a friend, you know that?” She sighed dramatically.
