by Diana Palmer
“So what?” she muttered, wincing because it really did hurt to speak. “It’s not…much of a face, anyway.”
He scowled. She wasn’t pretty, but her face had attractive features. Her nose was straight and elegant, she had high cheekbones. Her mouth was like a little bow, perfect. Her eyes, big and gray, fascinated him.
“You should go,” he said.
She ignored him. “Can you…drive me by the pharmacy?”
“Sure.”
She gave him directions and he waited while she had the prescription filled. He drove her back to her house and left her there reluctantly.
“I’ll be at the hospital with Leo if you need anything,” he said as if it pained him to say it.
“I don’t need any help. Thanks,” she added stiffly.
His eyebrows arched. “You remind me of me,” he murmured, and a thin smile touched his lips—a kind one. “Proud as Lucifer.”
“I get by. I really am…sorry about your brother. Will he be all right?” she asked at her door.
He nodded. “They want to keep him for two or three days. He’ll want to thank you.”
“No need. I would have done it for anyone.”
He sighed. She was going to look bad for a long time, with her face in that condition. She’d been beaten and he felt responsible, God knew why. He took a breath. “I’m sorry I had you arrested,” he said reluctantly.
She pursed her lips. “I’ll bet…that hurt.”
“What?”
“You don’t apologize much, do you?” she asked, as if she knew.
He scowled down at her, puzzled.
She turned away. “No sweat. I’ll live. So long.”
She went in and closed the door. Rey, who’d done without companionship for a number of years, suddenly felt alone. He didn’t like the feeling, so he shoved it out of his mind and drove back to the hospital. He wouldn’t see her again, anyway.
* * *
Leo came back to himself with a vengeance late that afternoon. He had Rey lever the head of his bed up and he ate dinner with pure enjoyment.
“It’s not bad,” Leo murmured between mouthfuls. “But I wish I had a biscuit.”
“Me, too,” Rey said on a sigh. “I guess we could buy a restaurant, as a last resort,” he added dejectedly. “One that serves breakfast.”
“Who was that woman who came in with me?” he asked Rey.
“You remember her?” Rey was surprised.
“She looked like an angel,” he mused, smiling. “Blonde and big-eyed and all heart. She held my hand and sat down on the sidewalk in the cold and talked to me until the ambulance got there.”
“You were unconscious.”
“Not all the time. She even came in with me on the ambulance,” he said. “She kept telling me I was going to be all right. I remember her voice.” He smiled. “Her name was Meredith.”
Rey’s heart jumped. He felt uneasy. Leo usually didn’t pay much attention to strange women. “Meredith Johns,” he agreed.
“Is she married?” Leo asked at once.
Rey felt threatened; it irritated him. “I don’t know,” he said.
“Do you think you could find somebody who knows how to get in touch with her?” his brother persisted. “I want to thank her for saving me.”
Rey got up from the chair where he’d been sitting and walked to the darkened window, peering out through the blinds while he played for time. “She lives near the place where you were attacked,” he said finally, unable to lie.
“What does she do for a living?”
“I don’t know,” Rey said, feeling uncomfortable. He couldn’t get her father’s accusing remarks out of his mind. She’d said she was dressed up for a party, she’d even found someone to give her an alibi, but Rey didn’t completely believe her. What if that whole defense was a lie? What if she was some sort of prostitute? He didn’t want his brother getting mixed up with a woman like that. He didn’t trust women, especially strange women. Then he remembered her poor, bruised face and he felt bad about his suspicions.
“I’ll ask one of the nurses,” Leo said abruptly.
“No need,” Rey told him. He turned back around with his hands in his pockets. “If you’re determined, I’ll go get her in the morning and bring her in to see you.”
“Why not tonight?”
Rey let out an impatient breath. “Her father roughed her up because she got home late last night. I took her to the emergency room this morning before I came back here.”
Leo’s eyes narrowed and went cold. “Her father beat her? And you took her back home to him?” he said angrily.
“He wasn’t there. They took him off to jail,” he said. His face hardened even more. “She’ll have a hell of a bruise. They said she couldn’t go back to work for a few weeks.” He moved one shoulder restlessly. “Considering the way they live, I don’t know how she’ll manage,” he added reluctantly. “They don’t seem to have much. Apparently the old man doesn’t work and she’s the only one bringing home any money.” He didn’t volunteer his opinion of how she made it.
Leo leaned back against the pillows. His big frame was without its usual vibrance. His dark eyes were dull, and his lean face was drawn. His blond-streaked brown hair was unkempt, and looked odd in the back where they’d had to shave it to put stitches in. It was a reminder of how tricky head wounds were. Leo was very lucky not to have brain damage. Rey thought about the assailants and his eyes blazed.
“I’m going to phone Simon tonight,” he told Leo. “I’m sure the local police will do all they can to catch the guys who waylaid you, but they’ll work even harder if they get a call from the state attorney general.”
“There you go again, pulling strings,” Leo mused.
“It’s for a good cause.”
“Did you find my wallet and my cell phone?” Leo asked.
“The woman had them. They’re in my pocket.”
“Good. I didn’t think she had anything to do with mugging me. Don’t forget your promise to bring Meredith here in the morning,” he said.
Now it was “Meredith.” Rey didn’t like the whole idea of having Leo around the woman, but he didn’t have a legitimate reason for keeping her from Leo’s side. It would sound even more suspicious if Rey started throwing out sarcastic remarks about her. Leo did love to pull his chain.
“Okay,” he said reluctantly.
“Good man,” Leo replied with a wan grin. “Nothing like family to look after you.”
“Next time, watch your back instead of daydreaming about forage grasses,” Rey said firmly. Then he leaned forward in the chair. “So, tell me what sort of grasses the Cattleman’s Association is advocating.”
* * *
Rey got a hotel room near the hospital, so that he could have a bath and get some rest. The night staff had the phone number, so they could call him immediately if he was needed.
He phoned Simon before he went to bed.
“Leo’s been mugged?” Simon exclaimed. “And you didn’t call me last night?”
That tone was still intimidating, even though Rey was thirty-one. Simon was the eldest of the five brothers, and the bossiest, next to Cag.
“I was too upset to phone anybody,” Rey returned, “and too busy trying to handle…another problem that cropped up. He’s all right. Honest. I didn’t find out until the early hours of the morning, and it’s been a long day. He was already out of danger before it occurred to me that I needed to let you know.”
“All right,” Simon said, sounding as if he was more relaxed. “Do they have a suspect?”
“No. I thought we did, but it turned out to be a dead end,” he added, without going into details about Meredith Johns. “There were two of them, and they haven’t been caught. It’s a miracle he wasn’t killed, and that they were stopped in time before they robbed him. You might give the local police chief a call. Just to let him know we’re all interested in solving the case.”
“You want me to use my influence for pers
onal gain?” Simon drawled.
“Hell, yes, I do!” Rey shot back. “This is our brother, for God’s sake! If a big, strong man like Leo can get mugged in a residential neighborhood, so can anybody else! It doesn’t say a lot for the security in this area.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Simon agreed. “I’ll point that out to the police commissioner, first thing tomorrow. Then I’ll run down to Jacobsville and get Cag and Corrigan and we’ll be right up to see about Leo.”
Rey chuckled. It was the first bit of humor he’d felt so far. The five brothers rarely went so far as to gang up on people, but considering the size and reputation of them, they got results when they did. This was an emergency, anyway. They could have lost a brother. The perpetrators had to be caught.
“They should be home by now,” Rey replied. “I couldn’t phone them because they were showing those Japanese businessmen around the ranch and the town.”
“I’ll see how much luck they had. Japan is very careful about its import beef. The fact that we run organically raised cattle will certainly go in our favor,” Simon said.
“Yes, it will. Get some sleep. And don’t worry about Leo. He’s fine. I’d never have left the hospital if I’d had one doubt about that.”
“I’ll stop worrying.”
“Give my love to Tira and the boys,” Rey added.
“I’ll do that. See you tomorrow.”
Rey hung up, thinking about Simon and his family. Tira was redheaded and gorgeous, and the boys favored both of them, although they had Simon’s dark eyes and hair. Corrigan and Dorie had a boy and a girl. Cag and Tess had just a boy, but they were talking about how nice a daughter would be. Meanwhile, Rey and Leo enjoyed being uncles, but had no interest in joining the ranks of the married.
If it wasn’t for those biscuits, Rey thought miserably. It was going to be expensive to have the local café make biscuits for them every day until they employed a new biscuit maker, but if they got desperate enough, and offered enough of an incentive, they could probably manage it.
Turning his attention elsewhere, Rey gave a thought to poor Leo with his stitches and his headache, and another to Meredith Johns’s bruised face. Tomorrow, he’d have to deal with Leo’s request to see her, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. He wished he knew why.
* * *
Rey went to Meredith Johns’s house the next morning after he’d had breakfast. It took her a minute or two to answer the door, and for an instant, he thought that perhaps she might not be in any condition to answer it. She’d been badly bruised.
But she opened the door and peered up at him bravely, even though she looked like a refugee from a bar brawl. Her left eye was swollen shut completely now.
“Leo wants to see you,” he said easily, noticing how the top of her blond head only came to his shoulder. She wasn’t tall. Even bruised, her face had a beautiful complexion. Her mouth was pretty. He shook himself mentally. “He wants to thank you for what you did. He remembers that you rode in on the ambulance with him. You didn’t tell me that,” he added with faint accusation.
“I wasn’t thinking,” she said. “I was worried about what would happen when I came home late.”
“Have you heard any more about your father this morning?” he asked grimly.
“They’re going to charge him with simple battery,” she said heavily. “I can’t afford a lawyer. He’ll have a public defender and he’ll probably have to stay in jail for a few weeks.” She looked up at him. “It will be a godsend, you know, because he’ll dry out completely.”
He hated the compassion he felt. “Did your mother leave him?” he asked.
She averted her face. She couldn’t bear to talk about it yet. “In a way,” she said huskily. “Are you going to drive me?” she added, glancing at him over her shoulder. “The bus doesn’t run for another thirty minutes.”
“Sure,” he agreed.
“Then I’ll get my jacket and purse.”
She went into another room and came back quickly, leading the way out the door. “Is he conscious now?”
“Very,” he murmured dryly. “When I left him, he was telling a nurse what she could do with the wash basin, and how far.”
She chuckled. “He didn’t seem like that kind of man,” she murmured. “I had him figured for a gentleman, not a renegade.”
“We’re all that kind of man,” he replied.
“All?”
He led her to the car and put her into the passenger seat. “There are five of us. The other three are coming up this morning to have a talk with the police.”
“I remember. You said that your brother was the attorney general.”
“He is,” he replied. “We tend to stick together.”
Her eyes went to his hands on the steering wheel. He had nice hands, very lean and strong with neat, clean fingernails. He was a tough-looking man, like a cowboy.
“How’s your face?” he asked unexpectedly.
She shrugged. “It still hurts. It will for a while, but I’ll be fine.”
“You should see that plastic surgeon.”
“Why?” she asked heavily. “My insurance won’t pay for cosmetic surgery, and there’s not much chance that they can do any major repair on tiny shattered bones.”
“You’re not a doctor. Stop giving yourself medical advice.”
She stared at him for a long moment and started to speak, then lost the opportunity when he pulled up in the hospital parking lot, cut off the engine and got out.
Rey waited for her and led her up to the floor where his brother’s room was located.
Leo wasn’t alone. Three other men were with him, one big and dark and missing an arm, the other lean and light-eyed and handsome, and a third big one with black eyes and a threatening face towering over both the others.
“That’s Cag,” Rey indicated the black-eyed man. “Corrigan,” he nodded toward the light-eyed man, “and that’s Simon,” he finished, smiling at the one-armed man. “This is Meredith Johns. She rescued Leo.”
“Nice to see you and know who you are,” Leo said, alert now and interested as his dark eyes swept over the neat woman just inside the door. “Miss Johns, I presume?”
She smiled self-consciously, because everybody was looking at her bruised face. “Yes,” she said.
Simon Hart frowned when he got a good look at her. “What the hell happened to you?” he demanded.
“Her father,” Rey said for her. “She got in late and he beat her up.”
Leo looked suddenly as intimidating as the other three. “Where is he?” he asked.
“In jail,” Meredith said heavily. “For several weeks, at least, and he’ll have time to dry out.”
“Good.” Leo looked toward Simon. “Maybe you can find a way to get him into rehab before he gets out.”
“I’ll look into it,” Simon said at once.
“And some counseling wouldn’t come amiss,” Rey put his two cents worth in.
“I’ll see about that, too,” Simon replied. “Nice to meet you, Miss Johns. We’re all grateful for what you did for Leo.”
“You’re all very welcome,” she replied. She clutched her purse, intimidated by the group of brothers.
“Come here,” Leo said, holding out his hand. “They’re big and they look tough, but they’re really marshmallows. You don’t have to feel threatened. I’ll protect you.”
“She doesn’t need protecting from us!” Rey snapped.
The others gaped at him. It wasn’t like Rey to act that way.
He cleared his throat. He didn’t want them asking themselves embarrassing questions about his attitude. He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Sorry. I didn’t sleep much last night,” he explained.
Meredith went to stand beside Leo, who took one of her small, cold hands in his and looked up at her with interest.
“Have you seen a doctor?” he asked.
“Your brother took me to the emergency room yesterday,” she said.
“Rey. His name’
s Reynard, but he’s called Rey,” Leo informed her.
She smiled. “You look much better today. Head hurt?”
“A bit, but my vision’s clear and I’m not disoriented,” he said, quoting the doctor. “I have a good prognosis.”
“That’s nice to hear. You were in pretty bad shape.”
“I’d have been in a lot worse shape, but for you,” Leo said. “I hear that you can’t work out in public for a while, until your face heals,” he added. “Can you cook?”
She blinked. “Of course,” she said at once.
“Can you make bread?”
She frowned. “Bread?”
“More specifically, biscuits,” he added, and had the oddest expression on his face.
She shifted her purse in the hand he wasn’t holding. “Well, yes, those and rolls and loaf bread,” she said, as if everybody could do it.
Leo shot a glance at Rey, who was just staring at him without daring to say a word. He knew what was coming, and he couldn’t decide how he felt about it. He didn’t want to think about it.
“How would you like a brief stay in Jacobsville, Texas, in a big sprawling ranch house where your only job would be to make biscuits every morning?” Leo asked with his best smile.
Rey and the other brothers were staring at her, waiting. She wondered why. And Rey was frowning, as if he didn’t like the idea at all. Probably he still secretly thought she was a hooker. He couldn’t seem to credit her with any sense of decency.
She thought about his attitude for a few seconds, and decided that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take the job, and show him that you really couldn’t judge a book by its cover. It wouldn’t hurt that arrogant cowboy to be taken down a step or two, and she was just the girl who could do it.
She smiled. It hurt her face, but what was a little pain for a good cause? She turned back to Leo. “Mr. Hart, I think I’d like that job very much!”
CHAPTER THREE
“Good for you!” Leo exclaimed, animated and smiling. “You won’t be sorry, Meredith. Honest.”
She smiled back at him. He was nice, like a big brother. She liked him already. “I can do housekeeping, too,” she told him. “I’ll earn my keep.”
