“So what is with you and Tyson hanging around? I’m with Smyth. The Morgans and the Walkers don’t mix.”
Eric removed his hat and ran his hand over his hair. He brushed off the rim and set it back on his head. “My mom was a Morgan.”
“Oh. Don’t think I knew that. So you and Tyson are cousins?”
Eric chuckled. “Thought so. As it pans out my mother had another son.”
“Makes this interesting.”
“She left Tyson with Elias Morgan and left. He didn’t know.”
“Sounds like your world has been turned upside down this week since your grandfather died.”
Eric nodded in agreement, though that was certainly an understatement.
“I might have been able to get a jump on all of this had you told me about the animals and the vandalism. The fact that Byron Walker lost the land in a poker game would have helped too. It gives motive.”
“Sure it does. It looks like someone on our side would be more apt to doing this than on the Morgan’s. They stand to get my home and half our land.”
Douglas nodded. “You’re right. It does sound peculiar.”
“You see why I might be a bit tight lipped.”
“I can’t help you if I don’t have all the facts. Right now I have a case of a stolen car and burglary. It seems a little deeper than that doesn’t it?”
“I guess I’d keep your ear to the pavement and let me know if other funny things start happening.”
“Smyth is going to be all over this, you know. I think he’s already got you pegged for something. Morgan too.”
“I’m sure he does. He always has.”
Douglas dropped his shoulders. “He’s an ass. He’s pulled me over three times for failure to stop at a stop sign.”
He couldn’t help it. Eric grinned at that. “Just keep an eye on this place. I’ll have Susan and Bethany with me. I’ll let you know if anything else happens.”
“You swear it?” I can’t do my job if I don’t know anything.”
“You’ll be one of the first to know.”
Douglas accepted that with a grunt as he pulled his keys from his pocket. “On a lighter note, why does Bethany dislike me so much?”
“You gave her a ticket.”
“She broke the law.”
“I guess she holds grudges.”
Douglas walked around his car and opened the door. “Do you think she’d go out with me?”
“Your timing sucks.”
Douglas gave the roof of the cruiser two solid slaps. “Story of my life,” he said as he climbed in and drove away.
Eric took the path to the house slowly. It made him ill to think someone had been in there. Someone had touched her things. He was very afraid that if he found out who had violated Susan’s space, and if he did it again, he just might kill him.
Susan walked down the staircase with a suitcase in her hand. “I’m almost done packing.”
“We can come by tomorrow and get more things,” he offered.
“I’d rather make just one trip. Bethany’s just finishing up. Do you have a computer?” she asked.
“I use the one at my parent’s house. Why?”
“A lot of my documents were stored on an online server. Regardless of what’s going on, I’ve been hired for a job in three days and I need to plan for it—especially if we’re going to use it to get information.”
He didn’t like the thought of her doing the catering job either, but she was right, they’d have a captive audience.
“It’s been a long day. I just want to get home. Is your car drivable?”
Susan shook her head. “No. I’ll have to have the dash put back together.”
“One of Bethany’s brothers can do that. He’s an expert. I’ll get you anywhere you need to go. I can hang out at my parent’s house tonight for a little bit so you can use the computer too.”
The smile that crossed her lips warmed him. He admired how she could keep her cool in almost any situation.
“I’d appreciate that. How do you think Glenda would feel about me using her kitchen to prepare for the dinner at the Morgan’s?”
“Are you going to let her help?”
“I wouldn’t expect her to.”
“That’s not what I asked. I asked if you were going to let her help. Maybe I should reword that. She’s going to want to help you.”
A blush formed on her cheeks and it absolutely made his heart flutter. “I’d think that was very sweet. Of course I’d let her help me.”
He lifted his hand to her cheek. “She really does like you.”
“I’m glad. Because I know she thinks I’m good enough for you.”
And that right there was reason enough to make sure Susan Q. Hayes stuck around for the rest of his life.
“What does the Q. stand for?”
She answered with a laugh and turned her attention to Bethany as she pulled her suitcase down the stairs and another box of items.
Eric looked up at her and cringed. “I thought you moved here with just what you had.”
“This is it. I won’t let it get in your way. I promise.”
Eric wrinkled up his nose. Just the thought of two more people in his house was beginning to give him an anxiety attack.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Glenda must have been waiting for the day Eric brought Susan back to her house.
When he’d called her to tell them they were headed out she’d actually broken down in tears.
“I’m so glad you two mended everything.”
As they walked into the house she’d wrapped her arms around Susan so tightly Eric thought she’d nearly squeezed the breath out of her.
“I made some banana bread,” she began as she led Susan toward the kitchen. “I’m sure it’s not as good as something you would make, but I wanted to try it. I have some water on for tea too. Would you like some?”
“That would be very nice, thank you.”
Glenda shifted her look to Bethany. “How about you? Cup of tea? Some banana bread?”
Bethany smiled. “Yes. Thank you.”
Eric watched his stepmother continue walking. “What about me?”
“Your father is in his office. Why don’t you go see what he’s up to?”
Eric let his shoulders drop. He’d been replaced by the two women. This would take some getting used to. He was finding that he enjoyed Glenda’s fussing over him. Just being dismissed to the other room, well, maybe he’d have to discuss that with her.
A moment later he heard the three women giggle over something, as if they’d forgotten he were even nearby. That was certainly a sign to dismiss himself to his father’s office.
His father had his head resting in his hands, elbows on the desk. This was a sign that he was stressed and Eric didn’t see this side of his father very often.
“Hey,” he said softly as he entered the office.
His father quickly raised his head and sat up tall in his chair. “Oh, hi. Didn’t know you were coming over.”
“Susan needed to use the computer.”
His father nodded slowly, then gathered the papers on his desk, almost as if he were hiding them from Eric.
“Russ says that you had some excitement, again. Tires slashed?”
“And Susan’s car stolen and her house broken into.” Eric sat down in front of his father’s desk. “They sliced Lydia Morgan’s tires too.”
His father let out a deflated breath. “That’s horrible.”
Eric watched his father fidget with the items on his desk. “You knew about Tyson, didn’t you?”
His father didn’t answer right away. He took the stack of papers he’d piled together, opened a drawer on his desk, and laid them inside. Shutting the drawer, he finally looked up at Eric.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me about him?”
“He didn’t know the truth. It was an argument I’d had with Elias years ago.”
“I don’t understa
nd how she could have just left him. Forgotten about him.”
His father shook his head. “She never forgot about him. He was two when she had you. She went through a very bad case of postpartum with you. For a time she was even hospitalized.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“There was no need for you to know.” His father wrung his hands together. “Eric, I’m glad that the memories you have of her are wonderful. She had a brilliant side to her despite all the darkness.”
“I don’t remember the darkness.”
“Because I tried to keep you from it,” he said. “The only joy she had in life was you and redecorating this house.”
That was exactly what Eric remembered.
Everett leaned back in his chair and tucked his hands behind his head. “Elias wanted to raise you too. I wouldn’t have that. You were my flesh and blood. He vowed to never speak to us again. He didn’t want to know you, I think it hurt too much.”
“You let me think she was fine all these years? Does Glenda know all of this?”
His father nodded and he could feel the hole his mother left in his heart expand.
“Eric, don’t hate her. She was a confused woman. Her depression paralyzed her. She compensated with medication. It’s a real disease.”
“Did you love her?”
His father looked him in the eyes and waited a beat. “For a brief time I think I tried. She didn’t want to be loved, Eric. If she did she’d have stayed with Tyson and Elias.”
He heard Glenda’s laugh from the other room and he closed his eyes. Could he actually feel the swelling of his heart when he realized he’d spited her for so long and she’d loved him unconditionally?
There was no way in hell he was going to cry in front of his father over this. It was a lot to take in. So his mother wasn’t who he’d made her to be. There were probably millions of adults who found that to be true in adulthood; why should he be any different?
Glenda was going to get a huge bouquet of roses in the morning from her eldest son. Things were going to be different, he promised himself. He’d make things right with Tyson too. They’d done okay up to this point, but they certainly could be better to each other.
He’d taken the conversation into a different direction than he’d anticipated. They’d been talking about tires and stolen cars. Eric still needed those answers too.
Eric leaned in on the desk with his elbows. “What’s going on with the Morgans?” He changed the subject back to the destruction going on. “Bryon loses the property over his gambling losses and now someone is out to destroy the land? Animals are dead. The cemetery is vandalized. Cars are targeted. Not just ours but the Morgans’ too. What’s going on?”
Worry creased his father’s eyes. “I don’t know. Elias invited me over for dinner this week to discuss plans, but that was all before this started to happen. I don’t understand it. And I’m very afraid someone is going to get hurt.”
“Not if I can help it.” Eric scooted the chair closer to the desk. “Breaking confidentiality, Susan is catering that dinner. She’s serving.”
“That’s nice,” he said with a genuine smile.
“I don’t like it, but we’ll be able to gather information. Lydia was able to get hold of some of the guest list and Dwight Peterson and his grandson Shooter are on it.”
Another nod from his father told him he knew who they were. “Oil.”
“You think that’s what this is about?”
“Yes. But it doesn’t make sense to destroy the property over it. Especially if the deal is to sell him oil rights.”
“Is that what’s going on? He’s selling the oil rights?”
His father looked down and bit his lip.
“You already know all of this,” Eric drew out slowly.
“Some things need to be done in silence so that my brother doesn’t get a hold of the information. Can you imagine what would happen then?”
“So he loses the land and now there’s oil there? We lose everything?”
“Not if we let Morgan move your mother. He’ll cut us in.”
Eric sat back in his chair. “That’s what this is all about? She’s a bargaining chip?”
“It’s all I had.”
“So you’re saving us?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit. “So who’s messing with us? And why, if it’s the Morgans, are they sabotaging their own property? To make it look like we’re not the only ones?”
“I don’t know what all of that’s about. Eric, I think there’s more going on here than you know about.”
“Then tell me.”
“That’s all I know. Listen, we have to get this deal with Peterson to make this work. To keep up in the lifestyle we’re accustomed to and to support this family. If someone keeps messing with the land then we’re all going to be out looking for work.”
Eric stood. “They’re getting too close for comfort. And so help me if they touch Susan or Bethany, or even Lydia, I’ll go after them. I swear it.”
His father stood. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I’m not the one messing with a Walker.”
~*~
Thanks to Glenda, Susan had retrieved her menus and somehow picked up a sous chef. She smiled when she thought about the opportunity to bond with Glenda. It made her relationship with Eric that much stronger, she thought.
She watched him pace around the bed as he readied himself to climb into it. Something was on his mind. He’d been in a hurry to leave his parents’ house. He’d been curt with Bethany about her staying in the house and letting him know where she was at all times of the day.
“Are you okay?” she finally asked.
“No. No I’m not okay. My father knows that Elias is selling off the oil rights.” He raked his hands through his hair. “To get a cut he offered to move my mother.”
Susan climbed out of bed and stood, watching him. “So then if this is a done deal, why is someone destroying the properties?”
“I don’t know. I don’t understand any of this. But you’re going to keep an eye on things at the dinner. Tyson and Lydia will be there. Bethany and I will nearby. Douglas can be involved too, he already is.”
“So now we’re all C.I.A.?”
That caused him to chuckle. “Yeah, I guess we are.”
“Well, I never thought my culinary career would take me in this direction.”
His stance eased as he walked toward her and gathered her in his arms. “You’re the kind of woman that always stands by her man, aren’t you?”
“Of course.”
“I believe in your dreams, Susan. I want to see great things happen for you.”
“They will. Everything takes time.”
His smile was wide now and she pulled back to look at him. “What are you thinking?”
“Just of the future,” he said as he placed his hands on her waist and walked her back toward the bed. Easily, he laid her backward on to the mattress and eased himself down next to her. “Will you be here for the future?”
“If it’s my decision, then yes, I will be.”
“Then that’s what I’m thinking,” he said before he moved atop of her and took control of her mouth with the heat and need of his.
~*~
The sun rose, the smell of coffee filled the house, and the laughter of women woke Eric. It had been the first peaceful night’s sleep he’d had in a week.
He could hear the mooing of cattle. No cars had driven away in the night. No phones had rung either.
There had just been peace.
Eric took his time pulling on his clothes before he stumbled his way to the kitchen to Susan and Bethany. They both had their hair high on their heads in some kind of knot where hairs poked out. Their skin was glistened in sweat and their cheeks full of color.
“What have you gals been up to?” he asked as he pushed through to get a mug of coffee and take the first sip before anyone answered.
> “I finally got her to do a full yoga workout,” Bethany beamed as she said it. “She needs to do more to keep her flexibility.”
He only grumbled in answer.
Susan leaned up against the counter. His favorite mug from a truck stop in Texas was wrapped between her hands.
“So how is this all going to work? I have class. I have a meeting with Lydia, in town, at a coffee shop,” she added as if there were no compromises. “I can still hear cattle, so I know you have a job to do. How do we go on with our lives?”
He took another sip of his coffee, burning his tongue in the process. He turned his gaze to his cousin. “What are you doing today?”
“As she’s my boss I guess I do what she needs me to do.”
“I’m going to call your brother Jake and have him look at Susan’s car. If anyone can fix it, it’s him.”
He watched as her face contorted into a controlled grin. “Fine.”
“Why don’t you drive her to class? When I know Jake is at the house, and only then, you can head over there.” He looked back at Susan. “What time are you meeting Lydia?”
“Three.”
“You’ll pick her up from class,” he instructed Bethany. “Both of you go to the meeting. We already know all about it. I’m not going to worry about any confidentiality crap. Then straight home.”
“Yes, Dad,” Susan smirked behind her cup.
“I don’t care if they wreck my cars,” he started his rant that burned through him. “I’m extremely pissed that they took my horse from me, my cattle, and ruined my business. But I would die if anything happened to either of you.”
Her eyes softened as she moved closer to him. “That’s why I love you.” She pressed her lips to his and then quickly backed away, rubbing them. “You need a shave.”
He needed a long hot shower too, to wash away the guilt he was feeling over not escorting them all over town.
But the truth was, he couldn’t hover over them forever. There was going to need to be a line drawn in the sand where they didn’t feel suffocated. It was hard, but he knew he needed to respect that or he’d be no better than her ex-husband.
Walker Pride (The Walker Family Book 1) Page 20
