by Lori Ryan
Shane raised his eyebrows at Cade but didn’t say a word. Guess it was time to get ready for company.
Chapter Six
Laura shifted in the navy blue seat of the greyhound bus. It had taken far too many hours of sitting still to get to the hill country of Texas. There hadn’t been a flight to Austin for eight hours, and even though Josh volunteered to sit with her in the airport, she had needed to do this on her own. She wanted to find the inner strength to leave without leaning on Josh any more than she already had.
But she’d still felt as though every person who passed her as she waited in the airport was sent by the Kensingtons—to take her back. She held her breath countless times when a stranger seemed to look at her with knowing eyes, and had nearly run in a panic when one man walked right up to her and asked the time.
Josh dropped her at the airport, and she’d had to pass through security alone. At the time, Laura felt an irrational panic, as if she’d cut her final lifeline, her tether to safety. Once she finally boarded the plane, she’d been sick to her stomach for most of the flight, and now the never-ending bus ride between the airport and the ranch wasn’t making her feel any better. What had started out as a comfortable seat, now felt like a torture device designed to tie her back in knots and put her legs to sleep.
She had been cursed with an overly sensitive nose since the early weeks of her pregnancy, and that made the ride difficult to deal with. So many people in a confined space led to a mixture of odors that was unpleasant, at best. She nibbled crackers and got off the bus at each stop for a few gulps of air that was fresher than on board. She felt as if she would need to walk and move and stretch for days before she’d be ready to sit down again.
The discomfort took her mind off the fact that she didn’t know the people she was headed to see and had no idea what to expect. Dr. Samuels—no, Josh, he’d told her to call him Josh—had told her these people were like family; they’d take her in without question and she would be safe and welcomed there. That didn’t change the fact that Laura hated the idea of simply showing up on someone’s doorstep and for another handout. Taking money from Josh had been hard enough. Letting complete strangers take her in would be even harder to swallow.
It had been whipped into Laura as a little girl that handouts were not to be accepted, regardless of the need—but she had to think of her unborn child. Right now, there were no other options. She couldn’t keep her baby safe and escape the overwhelming power of the Kensington family if she’d remained in their sphere of influence. So here she was, about to be delivered to Texas Hill Country.
An hour later, Laura stepped off the bus carrying the small backpack Josh had bought for her. He had loaded it with a few pairs of pants and shirts from Walmart along with toiletries. She’d cleaned herself up in the Austin Airport, but after four hours on a bus, she felt wrinkled and mussed beyond repair.
Laura looked across the street as the bus pulled out with a small whirlwind of orange dust in its wake. It had let her off just where Josh said it would at Jansen’s Feed Store. She swallowed the last bit of pride she had left, lifted her eyes, and crossed the road. This was for her child, and for her child, she could do anything. Even if it meant asking complete strangers for a handout.
A small bell announced her arrival in the feed store, and a few older gentlemen looked up from a table at the back of the room where they played cards. No one showed any sign that they recognized who she was, so her current rumpled condition must have hidden the fact that she was Laura Kensington—a woman most would recognize from news reports on the famous family. When her father-in-law was alive, his status as a United States senator and the family’s lengthy history of public service had kept them front and center in tabloids as well as legitimate news sources.
The current generation, Laura’s husband and his brother, Justin, had found the limelight for different reasons—because of their antics as playboys in their early twenties rather than through service. Both had shunned careers in politics. Patrick had started his real estate development business with his business partner, Alec, but Justin had dismissed the business world altogether. He had traveled the world at the expense of a trust fund large enough for him to continue on for decades in that manner, if he chose.
“Help you, miss?”
Laura turned to see a man on her right with a long gray beard. He wore a cap with a large fish on it and peered at her through wire-rimmed glasses.
“Yes, I’m looking for Tom Jansen. Can you please tell me where I might find him?” Laura asked. She hated this. Despised the idea of walking in off the street and asking for a ride the way Josh had told her to. He said they’d think nothing of it, but it didn’t seem right to her.
She felt his eyes take her in from head to toe. It wasn’t a leering look or inappropriate in any way. It was the way a local takes in someone who clearly isn’t from the area. When his eyes made it back to her face, they were kind and warm.
“You got him. What can I do fer ya?”
“I…uh… Josh Samuels told me I might be able to find a ride out to the Bishop Ranch if I came in here.” Laura looked toward the road where the bus had dropped her moments before. “I just came in by bus, and I don’t have a way out to the ranch. I wasn’t sure exactly when I’d arrive, so…” Laura pressed her lips shut, aware that she was babbling. Nothing was coming out as gracefully as she’d have liked.
The man in front of her appeared to think nothing of someone walking in off the street and asking for a ride. He simply smiled and turned to the group of men playing cards.
“Seth, you heading out toward May Bishop’s place? Young lady here needs a ride,” he called to one of the men.
A man who looked as though he’d spent the last forty years tanning his hide in the Texas sun threw down his cards and put a well-worn Stetson hat on his head. “You bet. Headed that way right now,” he said. He smiled at her, but she sensed he would have stayed to play cards all day if she hadn’t walked in and forced a change of his plans.
“Oh, I don’t want to cause you any trouble. Are you sure you’re ready to leave?” Laura asked, but the man was already talking a mile a minute about how he was headed that way and could he take her bag for her and “is this all you have? Just this little bag?” The situation was surreal, to say the least.
Laura gave a weak smile to Tom Jansen and followed Seth out to a beat-up truck parked in front of the feed store. The back was piled high with sacks of feed and a wooden crate filled with assorted tools, packages, and a small tray of plants.
Seth held the passenger door for her. Laura braced herself, knowing he’d touch an elbow or arm to help her into the truck. She knew from experience that the slightest touch would send a wave of nausea and fear through her, but if she anticipated it ahead of time and focused on it, she could cover any flinching. Laura gritted her teeth and held herself still while he helped her into the truck.
Seth walked around to the other side and settled himself next to her, then began a stream of chatter that didn’t seem to require any response from her.
“Visiting May and her boys? Hmmm. You’ll love it out at the ranch. First time you’ve been here, I’d guess. I would’ve seen ya if you’d been out here before. I make the trip to Jansen’s twice a week, to keep up with what’s going on. My wife, Joelle—you’ll meet her soon if you stay for long—she can’t get around much nowadays so she stays up at the house. I bring back all the news from town when I come out. She likes to hear what everyone’s up to.”
As Seth talked, Laura wondered how wise it was to come here. The way he spoke, it seemed as though everyone in a fifty-mile radius would know she was here within ten minutes. What on earth had she done, putting her trust in a stranger and taking his word that coming here to Texas, of all places, was the right thing to do?
She’d done what she had to do, that’s what she’d done. She’d have to go to the Bishop Ranch and then decide if it was the right place to be. She still had nearly six hundred dollars aft
er buying a one-way ticket from Connecticut to Austin and paying her bus fare out to Evers, Texas. It wasn’t nearly the amount she’d received when she sold her jewelry, but getting to that money was too risky for now.
Laura watched the road and tried to listen as Seth talked next to her, but she didn’t process much of what he was saying. It seemed they were miles from nowhere, surrounded by fields dotted with cattle and barbed-wire fences. Seth slowed and turned at a wide wrought-iron gate anchored on either side by pillars of white stone. A looming sign over the entrance featured scrolled ironwork with large Iron Bs on either end with a horse in the center.
It struck Laura as odd that the stone pillars were connected to wire fencing around the rest of the land, but that looked like the way it was done out here—ornate entrances flanked by nothing but strands of wire.
“Well, this is it. I’ll take you on up to the main house where May’ll be. Cade’s probably out in the barns working with those animals he’s always taking in, and Shane’ll be in town. I expect you’ll want time to visit with May and get settled in before you see the rest of the family,” Seth said as he drove down a long dirt road with trees on both sides and green fields beyond.
Laura nodded as he talked and didn’t let on that she had no idea who Cade or Shane were and that Josh had only told her to ask for May. Laura was good at acting. She’d been acting for the last three years so it came pretty easy now. Seth probably assumed she knew all the Bishops well if she was coming for a visit, and she couldn’t blame him for that.
A large red barn stood off to the left, looking a lot larger and brighter than she’d expected. When Laura thought of barns, she pictured faded rust-colored paint, run down in appearance, and sided with weather-beaten wood. This barn looked new and modern.
Seth must have read her mind. “They put that new barn in about two years ago. Nothing but state of the art for Cade’s rescues,” he said with a laugh, but Laura didn’t know what he meant. She offered a small smile anyway.
They continued up the dirt road and she saw a paved walkway running alongside the road. She apparently had a lot to learn about ranches. She never would have imagined a paved walkway on a ranch.
As the house came into view—a large house made of the same white stone as the pillars out front—she noticed a large white wraparound porch. A small woman came out leaning heavily on a cane. On the porch sat a wheelchair, perhaps explaining the paved walkway. The woman waved, and a warm smile took over her open face.
For reasons she couldn’t explain, Laura was relieved. At that moment, she felt as though everything might be all right after all. As though she hadn’t just lived a nightmare, had her world upended, and gone on the run. Somehow, in this older woman’s smile, Laura found a sliver of peace.
Chapter Seven
Cade watched Shane unfold himself from the sensible sedan he’d parked in front of the barn. Cade thought a man who was six-two should have a bigger car, but Shane just wanted a sensible, well-made, moderately-priced car. It seemed silly not to get something bigger he’d fit in comfortably, and that didn’t make him look like a sardine crammed into a tin can.
Cade had called Shane as soon as he saw Seth drop off their mysterious visitor, but when his brother started in with questions about her, he regretted making the call.
“Did you see her? What did she look like?” Shane asked as he approached.
“Couldn’t really see anything. Seth dropped her off up at the house and must have said ‘hi’ to Mama before he drove off. That was it,” Cade said with a shrug.
“You didn’t see anything else?” Shane asked, squinting against the glare of the sun. “Do you think she’s a friend of Uncle Josh’s daughter? Was she young? Old?”
Cade laughed and kept walking. “I think you can relax, Shane. She hardly looked like a crazed killer, and I doubt Uncle Josh would send a con artist Mama’s way. What’s got you so worked up about this?”
“Heck, I don’t know. I just worry about Mama nowadays. I know she likes setting up scholarship funds and helping everyone out, but I wish she’d do it anonymously. It’s like sticking a huge billboard out on the road that says: ‘I’ve got money, and you can take advantage of me if you want.’ It makes her vulnerable to all kinds of people.”
Cade shook his head at his brother as they took the porch steps two at a time together. “I think law school made you bitter and pessimistic, brother.”
A scowl was the only answer he got before they were at the door, looking through the inset window at the woman who had arrived less than half an hour before.
Cade hadn’t expected anyone like the petite blonde woman who sat at his mother’s kitchen table, hands wrapped around a mug as if she needed its heat. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but he knew she wasn’t it. She had long white-blonde hair that fell over her shoulders in a silky wave. Her eyes were brown, but darkened in shadow as if she needed to sleep for several days to make up for deprivation or stress. There was something hauntingly familiar about her, but the image was too vague for him to figure it out.
As he watched through the window, her beauty was plain for any to see, but it was her body language that caught his attention. She looked ready to flee at any moment. Her eyes froze on him and Shane when she saw them through the glass. Sure enough, she stood and braced herself as soon as Cade turned the door handle to walk into the kitchen. What she was braced against, he didn’t know.
Cade saw her tense, but also thought he saw a conscious effort to relax her body seconds later, as if she had practiced shielding her internal state for some time now.
“Hey, Mama. We saw our guest had arrived and thought we’d come say hello.” Cade removed his hat and nodded at the woman watching him with wary eyes.
“Boys, this is Laura. Laura, these are my boys. You’ll see Cade here on the ranch every day. Shane lives in town and works in his office there, but you’ll see him here every few days as well.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” came her quiet response. She was dignified, almost regal, as if she’d been trained how to hold herself, how to engage with people. How to put on the right show for those who watched.
Laura sat down again. Apparently, she had decided not to run but Cade couldn’t help noticing the way she slid her backpack closer to her.
“How do you know our Uncle Josh?” Shane dug right into the questions as he always did, earning frowns from Mama and an eye roll from Cade.
“Will you excuse us a minute, Laura? Shane, in the den.” May Bishop didn’t request that her son join her, and she didn’t wait for his response. It was an order. She walked into the adjoining room and Cade knew she expected Shane to follow. Cade went along, as well, sensing Laura wouldn’t feel comfortable being left alone with him so soon after meeting him.
Cade shut the door behind them to keep the conversation from Laura’s ears, but he imagined she would guess they were arguing anyway.
“Shane, I won’t say this again. That woman is welcome in my home and you won’t make her feel otherwise. Do you understand me?”
“Mama, you don’t know anything about her. She looks like trouble’s chasing hot on her tail, and we need to know what kind of trouble that is.”
May let out a huff of laughter but there was censure rather than humor in it. “You saw all that from one glance at that poor woman?”
Cade stared out the window at the long dusty drive that led to the house, waiting for his mother and brother to hash things out. He had only spent thirty seconds with the woman, same as Shane, but he could also see she was running scared. It seemed clear that the woman wouldn’t be here if she didn’t need help. And, hiding out didn’t necessarily mean she’d done anything to deserve trouble coming her way. He wasn’t as inclined as Shane to give her the third degree, although he did wish he could figure out why she looked so familiar.
“She’ll tell us why she’s here in good time, but until then you’ll treat her with respect, Shane. And, you will not question her, you hear?”
Cade didn’t wait to hear Shane’s response. Laura must have heard their conversation, because the front door slammed and Cade saw their beautiful houseguest hurrying down the walkway he’d paved for Mama, backpack slung over her shoulder, blond hair swinging out behind her.
“We’ve got a runner,” Cade said as he shoved away from the window and headed for the front door. Shane caught up to him, but Mama only made it as far as the front porch. She’d need her wheelchair or help from one of them to make it any further.
“Wait here, Shane,” Cade said as he moved to catch up to the woman. Shane didn’t listen, of course. He chased down their guest, and Cade saw what was about to happen a split second too late. Much too late to stop it.
Cade knew Shane meant her no harm. He only meant to talk to her, but Shane didn’t see the things Cade did. Shane didn’t realize this wasn’t a woman you could touch casually in that way, at least not when she felt threatened and wanted to leave. Before Cade could stop his brother, Shane reached out to grab her arm.
What he saw next was predictable to him, but it broke his heart just the same. The woman dropped to the ground, crouched over, hands on her head to ward off blows she didn’t realize would never come while she was safe on their ranch. Crouched to protect herself from whatever she imagined was about to come. The sight was heart wrenching.
Shane stood over her, looking stricken, and Cade could hear Mama’s concerned questions from the porch behind him. Cade moved alongside Shane. “Go on back up to the house,” he said quietly, calmly. “Help Mama get lunch on the table. We’ll be up soon.”
Shane didn’t argue this time. His face was a mask of stunned mollification as he turned back toward the porch and left Cade and Laura alone.
