A County Girl's Heart

by Dena Blake

  Rebecca lifted her shoulders and smiled at Mike before he went down the steps to his rig.

  “Are you sure?” Rebecca turned to Kat, lightly touching the purple area spreading on each side of Kat’s nose.

  “I’m sure,” Kat said, pushing her hand away. “She was going to kill me.”

  Rebecca’s face was blank, and then she took Kat into her arms. “Thank God Dani was here.”

  Kat stared across the yard at DJ talking to the police and took in a deep, ragged breath. The sudden emptiness in her chest shocked her, and she felt queasy. “I need to go inside and lie down.” She clamped her eyes closed to hold back the tears stinging them.

  “That’s probably a good idea.” Rebecca helped her up from the rocker and inside the door.

  Kat stopped in the doorway and turned to look at DJ once more. “Would you check on her?”

  “Sure.” Rebecca peeked over her shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

  DJ had just finished giving her statement to the police when she glanced over to the house and saw Rebecca helping Kat inside. She swung around, grabbed the fence, and let her head drop between her outstretched arms. She wanted to go to her, but she couldn’t stomach the shock she’d seen in her eyes earlier.

  “Hey,” Rebecca said as she rubbed her hand across the middle of DJ’s back.

  DJ raised her head. “Hey.”

  She took DJ’s hands from the fence and assessed the broken skin on her knuckles. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.” DJ turned and took off to her car.

  Rebecca kept stride next to her before she took hold of her arm. “Why are you leaving?” Her face wrinkled with confusion.

  “She doesn’t want me here.” DJ looked up at the house. Kat was standing just inside the screen door with her arms wrapped across her chest.

  “I don’t think you can assume that. You just prevented her from being killed, didn’t you?”

  A jolt of pure terror shot through her. “Is she all right?”

  “She might have a broken nose, but other than that, she’s okay. You can’t just run away from this like every other relationship you’ve had. She’s my sister, Dani. You owe me more than that.” Her tone was low and demanding.

  DJ stopped suddenly, and anger bubbled in her chest. “I’m going to ignore that remark.”

  Rebecca blew out a short breath. “I’m sorry. I’m upset.”

  “Join the club.”

  Rebecca followed DJ to her car. “I’ll stay here with Kat tonight.”

  DJ focused on the house. Kat stood at the window now. “Good. She needs someone with her.”

  “Why are you so sure that someone isn’t you?”

  DJ shook her head. “I made a deal with your mother, Rebecca. One that Kat will hate me for.”

  Rebecca narrowed her eyes. “What kind of a deal?”

  “Don’t worry. It’s a deal I can’t go through with now.” Now that I love her. DJ shook her head and continued to the car. “It doesn’t change the fact that I made it, just the same.”

  “She’ll get over it, Dani, but you need to work out your own issues.”

  DJ stopped short. “Let it alone, Rebecca.”

  Rebecca put herself between the car and DJ. “Your dad’s dead, Dani. You can’t keep punishing yourself for something you had no control over.”

  She stared into DJ’s eyes as though she could see right into her soul. DJ put her hands to her face, trying to conceal the tears she couldn’t hold back any longer. “I didn’t think the day I left would be the last time I saw him.” She shook her head. “I didn’t know what I was doing. I was too young and stupid to realize he was trying to do what he thought was best for me.” The regret was suffocating her. If she could rewind time, DJ would change every minute she’d lost with her father.

  Rebecca took DJ’s hands in hers. “Why haven’t you been to see your mother?”

  DJ closed her eyes and choked out a cough, clearing the emotion knotted in her throat. “It’s hard, Rebecca. You have no idea.”

  “Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from doing the things you thought you couldn’t. You really don’t want to lose any more time with your mom.” Rebecca wrapped her arms around DJ. “Or Kat.” She forced DJ to look at her. “No regrets, remember?”

  “I already have plenty of those.” DJ shrugged and dropped into her car. “Tell her I’m sorry.” She looked straight ahead, threw the car into gear, and fishtailed in the gravel as she drove off.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Kat entered the lobby of the Montgomery Building. She was ridiculously nervous about what was to come in Austin today: the board meeting, going up against her mother, and most of all, the possibility of seeing DJ again.

  She’d kept in contact with both Rebecca and her mother throughout the past month but hadn’t tried to contact DJ. Nor had DJ tried to contact her. After Virgil was released from the hospital, it didn’t take long for Kat to make her peace with him, but she was still trying to work out her issues with her mother.

  As she passed the security desk, Kat gave the guard a wave, then entered the elevator. She pressed the button for the twenty-fifth floor and hoped to avoid running into DJ on her way to Rebecca’s office.

  After exiting the elevator and heading down the hallway, she heard DJ’s voice and quickly ducked just inside the door to Rebecca’s office. She shivered. The butterflies fluttering in her stomach had suddenly turning into seagulls avoiding a storm at sea.

  Through the small crack she’d left in the doorway, Kat could see DJ at the end of the hallway talking to a small red-haired woman. DJ’s presence was all business, and it seemed to fit her well. Just one more affirmation that she’d done the right thing. Kat was acutely aware of the muscular body beneath the midnight-blue Theory pants and jacket. Kat didn’t need to see DJ’s legs to know they were gorgeous. She closed her eyes, trying to purge the image from her mind.

  “Hey, sis. Who we spying on?” Rebecca whispered behind her, and Kat slammed the door shut.

  “DJ’s down the hall,” she said as she crossed the room and slung her suit bag over the chair. She’d planned to change into her jeans after the board meeting.

  Rebecca pressed her lips together. “You can’t avoid her forever.”

  “I know. It’s just safer to see her when other people are present.” Kat noticed the stack of folders on the edge of Rebecca’s desk.

  “Safer for whom, Dani or you?”

  “Both.” Kat had had a lot of time to think in the past month, but her feelings hadn’t changed. She’d only become more in love with DJ. “Are these for the board meeting?” She took a folder off the top of the stack and thumbed through it.

  “Don’t change the subject.” Rebecca sat in her chair and crossed her legs.

  Kat dropped the folder onto the stack, then turned and walked across the room to the coffeepot on the table. After pouring herself the usual mixture of half cream and half coffee, she slid down onto the couch and sat quietly sipping the mocha-colored mixture.

  “How can you drink that? It can’t taste like coffee.” Rebecca followed her over and poured herself a cup.

  “I don’t like coffee. I only drink it for the caffeine.” She took another sip and scrunched her nose in response to the bitter taste.

  Rebecca chuckled, sitting down on the couch next to her. “Why don’t you just have a soda instead?”

  “Too much sugar makes me jumpy, and I don’t like diet.”

  “Same here.” Rebecca smiled, bringing her cup to her lips before setting it on the table in front of her. “Why won’t you talk to her?”

  Kat twisted a strand of hair between her fingers as the complicated thoughts clouded her mind. “Have you ever thought you had everything you could ever want in life and suddenly had it ripped away?” Her voice quivered unexpectedly.

  “No. I can’t say that I have.”

  “Well, I’ve had it happen twice now.” Kat’s voice cracked with a painful
sound of acceptance.

  “It doesn’t have to be that way, Kat,” Rebecca said softly.

  Kat squared her shoulders and pressed her lips together. She was not going to cry. “Her life is in Austin and mine is in Kerrville.”

  “Nobody says that has to change.” Rebecca’s voice rose sharply. “I’m sure the two of you can work something out, if you’d just compromise a little.”

  “She’d be working here most of the time, and I’d be at the ranch.” Kat’s stomach quivered, and she took in a deep breath. “I don’t think I can settle for just having her part-time.”

  “So it’s all or nothing? That’s crazy.” Rebecca’s cup rattled against the saucer as she dropped it onto the table. “People need lawyers in Kerrville too, you know.”

  Kat popped forward, trying to keep her composure. “I can’t ask DJ to change her entire life for me.”

  “Honestly, I think that’s all you’d have to do.” Rebecca took Kat’s hand to regain her attention. “You know she’d be there in a heartbeat.”

  “I don’t know that,” Kat said firmly, still feeling as though she were just an assignment, a job that produced a wonderful, momentary distraction in DJ’s life.

  “She loves you.”

  “Stop.” Kat shook her head. She’d been over it a thousand times these past few weeks, trying time after time to find a way to make it work. “This is hard enough already. Please just leave it alone.” She threw herself into the couch, kneading her forehead with her fingers. “I’m sorry, Bec.”

  Rebecca frowned and raised her cup to her lips. Kat knew this discussion was far from over, but she was thankful Rebecca was letting it lie for now.

  “You look very nice today. Red certainly seems to be your color.” Rebecca reached over and touched the silk lapel of Kat’s Chanel suit. “It brings out the blue in your eyes.”

  Kat blinked rapidly, halting the tears threatening to spill out. “Thanks.” She let the corner of her lip curve up slightly as she tugged on the bottom of her skirt to flatten the creases. The suit wasn’t at all in Kat’s budget. It had cost much more than she’d anticipated, but she wanted to make an impression at the board meeting today.

  “So how’s everything at the ranch?”

  “Good. We finally finished building the new stable.”

  “That didn’t take long, did it?”

  “It would’ve been done a lot sooner if we’d had better weather. Nothing like a few tornadoes to slow down construction.” Kat touched the tip of her nose lightly, a habit she’d acquired after the injury to remind herself how miserable her life had become.

  “Does it still hurt?” Rebecca asked.

  “It’s tender.” It’d been almost a month to the day since Victoria attacked her at the ranch. Kat’s nose had healed well. Luckily it hadn’t been broken. Her self-confidence, on the other hand, had been irreversibly damaged.

  “At least you won’t have to worry about Victoria anymore.”

  “That’s true.” Kat crossed her arms to avoid the shiver threatening to quake through her. “Funny how her men were so willing to turn on her to save their own hides.” Knowing she wouldn’t have to see Victoria ever again had put Kat’s mind at ease for the time being. She’d been indicted for murder, along with fraud and embezzlement, and the district attorney had assured Kat they wouldn’t need to add assault charges to convict her.

  “How’s Virgil? I’m sure taking care of him has been a full-time job.”

  “Let’s just say it’s been a challenge.” Kat smiled and let out a sigh. “If Arizona were here, she’d already have him up and riding again.”

  “Tell me about Arizona,” Rebecca said, shifting in her seat. “I’ve always wondered what kind of love could be so strong it would possess you to give up the finer things in life.”

  A feeling of contentment washed over Kat, and she let her gaze wander the room. “It’s hard to describe, Bec. She was the love of my life.”

  “I always knew you had a crush on her when we were kids, but I thought that was because you wanted to be like her. Did you ever have an interest in boys?” Rebecca cocked her head slightly.

  “No, never boys. There were a few other girls.” Kat smiled shyly. “But that’s exactly what they were, girls.”

  “I can’t believe I never saw that.” Rebecca scooted closer. “So when did things change between you and Arizona?”

  “The summer after I graduated from college.”

  “What? How?”

  “Something was just different. She didn’t seem to be as comfortable around me as she was in the past. Our usual banter just wasn’t there.” Kat’s smile widened. “After all, she’d politely rejected me hundreds of times before.” She laughed. “I thought that maybe she was mad at me or something. Then as we got further into the summer, things seemed to return to normal. So I just shrugged it off as my own insecurity.”

  “And?”

  Kat sipped her coffee and laughed. “And you sure are nosy.”

  “Your life was always more interesting than mine.”

  “Not always.” Kat slid the cup onto the table in front of her.

  Rebecca smiled widely. “You might as well tell me. I’m going to pry it out of you sooner or later.”

  Kat shook her head and rolled her eyes. “We were out riding one afternoon. She’d managed to avoid my advances once again.” Her face warmed and she shifted, throwing her arm across the top of the couch. “I was totally flirting with her, glancing over my shoulder, giving her my sexiest look, when a snake slithered across the trail. Before I could get a handle on the horse, it bucked me.”

  “My God. Were you all right?”

  Kat nodded. “The fall dazed me. When my head cleared, Arizona was hovering over me with this frantic look on her face. Then she kissed me and…” She gave a soft smile. “That’s when it all started.” She bit her bottom lip. “We made love for the first time that day.”

  “Really?” Rebecca’s eyes widened. “Right there?”

  “Well, not right there on the trail.” Kat stilled for a moment as the memory washed through her as though it had only just happened. She took a deep breath and smiled. “Needless to say, she was pretty ecstatic I wasn’t hurt, and I was enormously grateful there were snakes in the world after that.” She stroked the inside of her wedding band with her thumb and re-filed the memory into the archives of her heart.

  “I’m so sorry you lost her, Kat.” Rebecca stared at the thin gold band on Kat’s finger. “You know you’re going to have to take that off someday.”

  “I know.” But not today. Kat looked at the band as she twisted it on her finger. It had been her safety net for far too long. She abruptly flipped her hair out of her face and let her hand fall to her lap before shifting into the corner of the couch. “Enough about me. How have things been for you?”

  “Some of the board members have been a little testy with me lately. Too bad we didn’t have any of those tornadoes here.” Rebecca gave a wild-eyed gesture, prompting an abrupt laugh from Kat. Rebecca leaned forward, clutched her stomach, and laughed along with Kat. “Sometimes, I think I might be better off if one of those twisters sucked me up into it.”

  “You and me both.” Kat nodded. “So what happened with Mark?”

  “In exchange for his testimony, he received a suspended sentence.” She tried to disguise her regret. “He can’t practice law in Texas anymore.”

  “I’m sorry, Bec.”

  Rebecca shook her head. “Dani was right about him all along. I guess I deluded myself into thinking he wanted me more than my money.”

  “He probably did at first, but Daddy was pretty persuasive when he wanted to be. Money does funny things to people.”

  “It sure does.”

  Rebecca seemed sad, and Kat didn’t have the slightest idea how to fix it, so she just nodded and pressed her lips together into a thin smile. “What time does the board meeting start?”

  “Ten sharp.” Rebecca reached for the coffeepot and refil
led both of their cups. “I’m looking forward to a weekend away. Do you want to go straight to the ranch after the meeting or have lunch here in town?”

  “We can have lunch at the ranch. Virgil’s a pretty good cook.”

  “Virgil. Hmm.” Rebecca twisted her face into a grimace. “I still can’t believe he’s our father.”

  “Come on, Bec. You promised.” Kat had answered all the questions about Virgil that Rebecca had thrown at her over the past few weeks, and now it was time the two of them came together to finish the evaluation.

  Her hands flew up. “I know. I said I’d try, and I will.”

  “He’s really not such a bad guy, once you get to know him.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that.” Rebecca lifted her cup and drank one last sip of coffee. “Finish up. We need to drive out to the estate and pick up Mother before the meeting.”

  Kat rolled her eyes and groaned. “If you insist.” She didn’t know if she was up to dealing with her mother today, but there really wasn’t any day she was up for that.

  * * *

  Maggie met Kat and Rebecca with hugs at the door as they came in. “It’s so wonderful to see you girls together again.”

  “Is the old matriarch up yet?” Rebecca asked with a grin.

  “Oh, yes. She’s been up for hours waiting for the two of you. I was hoping you’d come for breakfast.”

  “You know I could never resist your cooking, Maggie.” Kat smiled. “If I had stayed in Austin, I’m sure I’d be at least twenty pounds heavier.”

  Maggie took Kat’s hand and assessed her. “If you ask me, you could use a few more pounds on that skinny little body of yours.”

  “Maybe one or two.” Kat smiled.

  “I made French toast with butter and powdered sugar, just the way you like it.” Maggie’s voice rose sweetly.

  Kat gave Maggie’s hand a light squeeze. “You’re going to spoil me, Maggie.”

  Elizabeth appeared at the top of the stairs and began to descend them slowly. “Good morning, girls.”

  “Good morning, Mother.” Rebecca started up the steps to her. “Why aren’t you using the elevator?”