Unbridled

by Diana Palmer

  John, who was hearing this for the first time, was dumbfounded. “You didn’t tell me that,” he said.

  “We didn’t talk, Dad,” Tonio replied. He smiled. “You’re different now. I can tell you stuff that I couldn’t, before. I was afraid if I told you about David, and you found out he was in the wolves gang, you’d make me stay away from him. He was the only real friend I had, now that Jake’s so involved in stuff at school in Jacobsville.”

  “We can’t go back,” John said. “I don’t know what I’d have done. But whatever it was, it would have been to protect you.”

  “David’s going to be okay, isn’t he? And Tina, too? She was so sweet to me.”

  “I can’t find out much about them,” John replied. “But the US Marshals are involved. That pretty much means they’re being hidden and protected. If they turn state’s evidence, the Marshals can set them up in a whole new life, somewhere else.”

  “I want them to be safe. I’ll miss David.” He sighed, moving potatoes around on his plate. “I have Sunny, but she’s talking about moving to Houston.”

  John caught his breath. “She’s what?” he asked, horrified.

  “She says she wants to move away. I wish she’d change her mind. She’s the only real friend I have left, Dad. I really love her.”

  John felt worse than ever. Sunny was so hurt that she didn’t even want to stay in the same city with him. His pride was so low that it was even with his boots. He’d wounded her with his stupid outburst. He hadn’t even given her a chance to explain what really happened between her and Hollister. Then he’d compounded his sins by lying and telling her he just wanted a night in her bed, that he wasn’t serious.

  “I thought she was dating Hollister,” John said miserably. “They went to a nightclub together.”

  “It was just so she could tell him about that crooked cop Rado knew at SAPD,” Tonio replied. “She said they couldn’t do it anywhere else without Rado suspecting. But he knew anyway, so it was a waste of time.”

  John was miserable. “Hollister told me that.”

  “You ought to talk to Sunny,” Tonio said. “Maybe if you did, she wouldn’t want to go away.”

  “She won’t talk to me, Tonio,” John replied sadly. “I tried. If she even sees me, she goes the other way.”

  “She’s so sad lately,” the boy said. “She almost never smiles. It wasn’t like that before. She was so happy that she almost glowed. Like you,” he added. “I’m sorry I messed things up. If I’d known it was Sunny you were seeing, I’d have been over the moon. It’s all my fault.”

  “It’s not,” John said gently. “You didn’t know. And it wasn’t your fault, it was mine. I jumped to conclusions and said a lot of hurtful things that she can’t forget.”

  “She thinks she’s plain,” Tonio replied. “But she’s not. She’s beautiful. I take her roses,” he added with a grin. “She loves yellow ones.” His eyebrows arched. “Maybe if you took her roses, she’d forgive you.”

  “Think so?” He laughed. “I’m afraid it will take more than roses. But I’ll try. I promise. I’ll try.”

  “Okay, Dad.” Tonio finished his milk. “I’d better get on my homework.”

  That was surprising. He usually had to be nagged about it.

  Tonio saw his father’s expression and a mischievous look flared on his face. “I really want to get on the soccer team. Remember what you promised? I get my grades up and you buy me a nice uniform.”

  John laughed heartily. “I meant it, too.” He cocked his head. “Someday you and I will have a talk about how things really are here.”

  “What things?”

  “Not now. Later.”

  “Okay.”

  * * *

  John thought about what Tonio had said. Roses. It might work. On the other hand, Sunny was just as likely to throw them at him.

  He wondered why she wanted to leave town. It made no sense. And she was still in some danger from Rado. It wouldn’t be safe for her to get out of San Antonio. She’d listen to Hollister. Maybe he could persuade her. When time permitted, John was going to go and ask him to. He no longer had bad feelings toward the captain of detectives. As long as he didn’t want Sunny, John didn’t mind asking him for help.

  * * *

  Banks was grinning from ear to ear when John walked into his office. “We did it.”

  “Did what?”

  “We tied Rado to the DEA mole, tied him to the pharmaceutical company where the drug was produced and even convinced an eyewitness to the McCarthy murder to testify in court for a reduced sentence!”

  “Nice work,” John said heartily.

  “Yes, and he can thank me for all the extra hours I put in that I was barely compensated for,” Clancey called from the room she worked in, peering around the doorway at him.

  “I did thank you,” Banks shot back. “I let you leave five minutes early.”

  “Oh, gee, thanks, that’s so helpful on my poverty-level budget!”

  Banks made a face and waved her off. She made a face back before she closed the door.

  “Pest,” Banks muttered. “I asked for a male assistant. The lieutenant hates me.”

  “Any word about Rado’s whereabouts?” John added. “My son’s on the firing line. Rado told him things that he repeated to Hollister.”

  Banks was recalling what he knew, about the kid who’d ratted out Rado. “Tonio. He’s your son?” he asked, surprised.

  John nodded. “He’s my son. I’m very proud of him.”

  “So would I be,” was the reply. “You’ve got somebody watching him, I hope?”

  “One of Eb Scott’s men,” he said. “Chet Billings.”

  “Good shot,” Banks said. “We had a hostage case years ago. We borrowed Billings. He took out the perp with one bullet.”

  “He trained as a sniper in the Army. He still does jobs for Eb Scott,” John replied. “He’s good at surveillance as well. I feel safer having him on the payroll, even temporarily.”

  “I don’t think Rado will do much, to be honest,” Banks said. “He’s too busy trying to save himself from the needle. Ironic, isn’t it? If we can convict him for Melinda’s murder, he’s likely to get the death penalty. I know the DA plans to ask for it. Senator McCarthy is very pleased with our investigation. He said it will give him the first peace he’s known since she was killed. And it will certainly prove that she didn’t commit suicide.”

  “I’m happy for him,” John said. He sighed. “Now if things would just work out for me.”

  “You saved her life,” Banks reminded him. “That has to count for something.”

  He shrugged. “It won’t even get her to talk to me,” he said. “I smarted off when I thought she was dating Hollister and said some things she can’t forgive.”

  “So, life goes on,” Banks said philosophically.

  “So it does.”

  * * *

  John went back to work, downhearted and miserable. He loved his job, but it was no longer enough. He and Tonio were rebuilding their relationship. That was sweet. But he wanted Sunny. He needed her. He wished he could find some way to get back into her life. But it seemed hopeless. He’d never been so unhappy, not since Maria died.

  FIFTEEN

  Sunny was so sick that she didn’t think she could make it to work. She really had to see an obstetrician pretty soon. Hiding her head in the sand wasn’t going to make the baby go away. In fact, she didn’t want him to go away. She was fascinated with the changes in her body, the knowledge that she had a tiny baby growing inside her. It was wondrous. She was so grateful that the drug Rado had given her hadn’t caused her to lose it. That was a blessing. Probably a minor miracle as well.

  But she couldn’t stay in San Antonio. She’d filled out an online application for a children’s hospital in Houston and she’d given references.
It was a sad thing, but necessary. She was going to miss Tonio. She’d miss John, too, the playboy rat. She’d only been another conquest. She wondered if he’d settled his attentions on some new woman. Probably. Well, it didn’t matter to Sunny. She was going to start over, in a new city, with her baby. She’d been on her own for a long time. She could manage.

  She went into work and there was Tonio, in the canteen.

  “Hi,” she said.

  “Hi.” He frowned. “Sunny, you look awful!”

  She swallowed. “Some bug I caught, I guess. Oh, dear...” She left her coat and purse on the table and ran for the restroom.

  Tonio waited, worried, until she reappeared, wiping her mouth with a paper towel from the bathroom. She sat down, but she looked like death warmed over.

  “Sunny, you need to see a doctor,” he said gently.

  She swallowed down another bout of nausea. “I guess I do,” she replied. She smiled, but it was an effort. “How’s the hot chocolate?”

  “It’s not bad.”

  “I think I need something fizzy.” She got a dollar bill and went to the machine, fed it in and got a ginger ale. She sipped it slowly as she sat back down. It did help the nausea, just a little.

  Tonio was watching her closely. He was adding things up in his mind. His father had been with Sunny a lot. Tonio knew about pregnant women, because Adele had three children, all born since Tonio was in grammar school. Adele had thrown up a lot, and she’d look washed out like Sunny. What if Sunny was pregnant?

  His eyes widened as he stared at her. “Sunny,” he said gently, “is there a reason you’re throwing up? Is that why you want to move to Houston, so that nobody here will know you’re pregnant?”

  As a wild shot, it was genius. Sunny flushed and then she burst into tears. “Oh, Tonio, it’s such a mess,” she wept. She wiped at her eyes with the paper towel. “I did a stupid thing. Stupid! He didn’t want me. He was just out for a good time, he even said so. And here I am, like this, and I don’t know what to do... I hate him!” she added harshly.

  Tonio was grinning from ear to ear. He had to hide that smile, quickly, because she looked at him suspiciously.

  “Why are you smiling?” she wanted to know.

  “Sorry. I’m sorry about you. But I was thinking that I’m going to get to go out for soccer,” he said suddenly. “Just a stray thought.”

  “Oh.” She wiped her eyes. “You don’t tell anybody, okay?”

  “Don’t go to Houston,” he said.

  “I have to. I sent in an application already.” She wiped her eyes one last time and took one more sip of the ginger ale. “My mother would be so ashamed of me,” she said, and started crying again.

  “No, she wouldn’t,” Tonio said firmly. “People make mistakes.”

  “This is going to be one very large one, I’m afraid.”

  “Do you want it?”

  “More than anything in the world, despite everything,” she confessed. She managed a smile. “I’ll get through it somehow. But I have to leave San Antonio. I can’t explain. It’s just...complicated.”

  “Well, you’re not going right now, today, right?” he asked.

  “Not today,” she agreed.

  “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  She smiled. “You bet. You watch out for Rado,” she added gently.

  “You, too.”

  “I’m safe enough here. See you.”

  “See you.”

  She went to work and he pulled out his cell phone.

  * * *

  John was just finishing a report on a robbery he’d helped solve when he heard the tone for a text alert on his phone.

  He took it out of the holder, read the message and burst out with such a cry of joy that his coworkers gaped at him.

  He didn’t say a word. He grabbed his hat and coat and ran out the door.

  * * *

  Sunny was just going on break when a tall man in a shepherd’s coat and a Stetson suddenly came up to her, picked her up gently and started kissing her madly.

  “What do you think you’re—?!” was all she got out.

  He couldn’t stop. He’d never been so happy in his life. She belonged to him. He was never letting her go again.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked against her soft mouth. “Never mind, I know now. It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry.” He kissed her again, aware of curious, amused stares all around them from her coworkers. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Where do you want to get married? I’d prefer San Fernando, but I’ll compromise. Just so long as we get married.”

  She was certain that she’d gone mad and she was hearing voices. She held on tight, afraid that he might drop her. But of course he didn’t. He was so overjoyed that she was shocked. He didn’t seem like a man who was just playing with her.

  “I don’t understand,” she tried again.

  His mouth settled tenderly on her lips. “You’re pregnant,” he whispered. “I’m so happy. Oh, God, it’s like a miracle! You and a baby...!” He kissed her harder.

  She kissed him back. She was beginning to realize that he actually meant it. He was happy about the baby. He wasn’t going to push her away. “You want the baby?” she whispered softly, searching his black eyes.

  “Of course I want it!” he said huskily. He studied her hungrily. “I want you. I’m sorry I was so stupid. I was jealous of Hollister. I didn’t understand.” He kissed her again. “God, I’ve missed you! ¡Mi vida, mi alma, te quiero!”

  “You love me?” she faltered.

  “With all my heart. With all I am,” he breathed into her mouth. “You have to marry me.”

  She started to speak when the elevator opened and a tall man came into the room. He was a Texas Ranger, like the man beside him.

  “Sergeant?” Lieutenant Avery asked, because his subordinate was acting in a very odd manner. He was carrying a pretty blonde nurse and he looked...spellbound.

  John stared at him blankly for a minute, then he grinned. “We’re pregnant,” he said. “She’s going to marry me. You are, right?” he asked Sunny, who nodded, stunned.

  “Well!” the lieutenant replied.

  “We’ll need somebody to give her away,” John said, eyeing his boss. “Would you?”

  Avery chuckled at Sunny’s expression. “Sure. Just tell me where and when. But for the moment, Ruiz, you might put her down. We’ve got some people to interview. One of them’s here, in the ER. Your son said you were headed this way.”

  “My son. Oh, God, I have to text him back,” he said. He put Sunny down. “I’ll pick you up after work, okay? We can make plans. You can come down to the ranch with me.”

  “Plans. The ranch. Your son.” She just stared up at him blankly, her mind whirling.

  “Plans.” He kissed her one last time. “I’ll be here when you get off duty.”

  She watched him go blankly.

  “I suppose congratulations are in order,” Merrie York teased. “I’m so happy for you! For two reasons!” she added with a pointed glance at Sunny’s stomach.

  Sunny burst out laughing. “I guess congratulations are in order,” she said. She hugged Merrie, with tears of utter joy rolling down her flushed cheeks. “And I thought he was just playing, that he didn’t really want me! Oh, I’m so happy!”

  “I’m happy for you, sweetie,” Merrie replied. “He’s gorgeous.”

  “He truly is.”

  “But right now, we’d better get to work. Mayes is growling in our direction.” She indicated the stoic supervisor at her desk.

  Sunny made a face. “I’ll explain it all to her.”

  “Take her a cup of coffee before you do. It works wonders,” Merrie teased.

  * * *

  Sunny wondered who’d told John that she was pregnant. Merrie knew Ruiz, and she’d known about the morni
ng sickness that didn’t seem to happen just in the morning. But Merrie only knew Ruiz as a Ranger. Besides, she didn’t think Merrie would sell her out. And Tonio didn’t even know Ruiz.

  She gnawed on the question all through her shift, until she went downstairs with her coat and purse and found a radiant John waiting for her.

  He helped her into the coat, kissing her soft hair. “Let’s go home, sweetheart,” he whispered, and he led her out to the SUV.

  * * *

  She felt like treasure. He held her hand the whole way to Jacobsville and filled her in on Rado’s case. They’d tracked him down to Victoria, where he was hiding out with a cousin. Law enforcement officers from several agencies had surrounded the house and arrested him for capital murder.

  It was like a dream come true. With Rado and most of his gang out of the way, Sunny and especially Tonio would be safe. She’d have to tell John about her young friend. He’d like him, too.

  John pulled up in front of the massive house and Sunny just stared as he lifted her down to the ground.

  “It’s magnificent,” she said.

  “An old Spanish land grant,” he told her, holding her hand as he led her to the front door. “I also own property in Argentina. A lot of property. A thriving thoroughbred stud farm and thousands of acres surrounding it.”

  “My gosh!”

  He bent and kissed her tenderly. “One more surprise left,” he whispered. He opened the door.

  “Sunny!” Tonio exclaimed. He ran forward to hug her and hug her. “Is she going to marry you?” he asked his dad excitedly. “She likes yellow roses, I told you. If you bring her a big bouquet and a pint of hot chocolate, I know she’ll say yes!”

  Sunny was shell-shocked. “Tonio?” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

  “It’s my home,” he said with a smug grin. “That’s my dad,” he added, indicating the man beside her, who was also grinning.

  She felt her face going numb. “I need to...” she began, and fainted dead away.