“And just how quickly do you see that happening?”
Nate hesitated. They both were old enough to know that there was no easy answer to that question. And that Perci would have to go home, eventually. “I don’t honestly know. She could be here for quite a while.”
“Then you’ll need to figure out what to do next, won’t you?”
16.
HE JUST COULDN’T STAY away. Clive had found himself following the girl and that damned Masterson when they’d left the market. They had a kid with them. A girl he didn’t recognize. Had to be one of those damned Tylers, though.
Nothing but a bunch of trouble, that family. They always had been.
Clive had had more than his fair share of trouble with the Tylers.
Masterson took her inside. She had the kid on her hip. They looked perfect, damn them. Their lives were going to go so damned smooth, while he had to spend the rest of his grieving his boy.
It wasn’t right.
Clive stayed on the outskirts of that Masterson property, just thinking. Remembering. He remembered every interaction he’d had with any of those Tyler girls, starting with the night Jay had gotten too carried away over that quieter twin.
That was the night that had changed everything. Clive should have handled it differently. Maybe if he had treated those girls a bit better, they would have been willing to help his son more when Jay had needed it most.
But it wasn’t Clive’s fault. It wasn’t. And what he’d done those nights alongside the road had been to protect Jay. To protect his son.
He thought about going back to town, to that vet’s office, and finding her.
Seeing what was so special about her that his son had died because of it.
But he didn’t.
Not because he was a coward or anything. But that husband of hers would just complicate things in a way Clive didn’t want to mess with now.
He knew Perci better. She would be the one most likely to give him the answers he needed. If he decided to ask those questions. He had enough experience with her to know just how to scare the shit out of her, if he needed to.
And she’d leave that doctor eventually, anyway. She wouldn’t have that Masterson around to protect her forever.
Clive could ask her exactly what was burning in his head.
If he wanted to.
Clive wasn’t certain that he did. It didn’t matter, after all. What was done was done.
Jay was dead.
Nothing Clive did was going to change that.
17.
IVY DIDN’T WANT HER to leave, but Phoebe was good at getting children to trust her. Her sister always had been. When Phoebe and Joel finally had children of their own, Perci’s nieces or nephews would be extremely lucky. Just like Perci and her own siblings had been. Phoebe was very much like Perci’s mother had been.
Still, leaving Ivy when she’d been crying like that had been harder than Perci would have ever expected. She’d felt like she’d abandoned the little girl.
Which was ridiculous.
Phoebe was probably going to be better at dealing with Ivy than Perci ever would be.
Her immediate supervisor was waiting when she walked in. “There you are. Heard you had some serious excitement a few days ago. How’s little Ivy doing?”
Perci smiled, but knew it wasn’t a good one. Visions of Ivy crying for her the entire day kept running through Perci’s head. “She’s doing ok. She had a tough time when I left her with my sister, but...I can’t take any more time off right now. Not if I want my brothers to be able to eat.”
Tiff patted her on the shoulder. “I know. It gets easier with time. Leaving your little ones behind. Every working mother goes through it.”
“But I’m not her mother. I’m just...babysitting her for now.”
“That’s what you say now. How’s Dr. Nate doing with her? I can’t say I ever thought he’d be the one to take a child home like this. But then again, maybe I do. There’s a goodness in that man.”
“Hmmm. I suppose.” What was she supposed to say to that? Everyone in the hospital knew how she and Nate felt about each other. But how she felt about that man had changed drastically over the past two days. Seeing him with Ivy, as gentle as he’d been...and the way he’d looked at her when Perci would least expect it...
“Where is he?”
Tiff grinned. “In his office. His mother is here. Giving him fits again. Apparently she wants to start working here again. In our department.”
Perci hid a wince. Rhea had been there yesterday afternoon when Perci had woken from her nap. “I see.”
“You’re working the ER today. We had to do some switching around. Jackie’s kids both have the flu. And T.J.’s car wouldn’t start. Supposedly.”
“Gotcha.” Routine would help. Get her right back to where she was supposed to be. No more playing house with Ivy and Nate Masterson.
At least for a little while.
Perci closed her eyes when Tiff stepped away, and pulled in a deep breath. She resisted the urge to text Phoebe again to check on Ivy.
It would be best just to get everything back to normal again.
Somehow. As soon as this was finished with Ivy, she had her own family to take care of. Responsibilities that would not wait forever.
Her dad needed her to do just that. The boys needed her to do just that, too. She couldn’t...be distracted by Nate Masterson and Ivy forever.
She just couldn’t.
18.
HE HADN’T WANTED TO come to the ER. Not the Masterson County one, anyway. But Clive knew that if he’d made too big of a fuss, Maria would figure it out. And he didn’t need the questions.
As luck would have it, the Tyler girl was working the ER when he was wheeled in. The scratch on his leg wasn’t too bad, but there was no way in hell he wanted her touching him. He pulled on Maria’s sleeve. “Get me another nurse. I don’t want that Tyler woman near me.”
Maria’s surprise was written in her big, dark eyes. Then they cleared, as if she understood. “Of course, honey.”
The hospital ER wasn’t big, and it was curtained off for exam bays. It needed a good updating, but he had to admit the man running the hospital was doing a damned fine job of it.
Except with Jay.
No doubt that Masterson doctor had deliberately left his boy to die like that. Revenge. For that girl. That twin to this one. They’d both been there; had probably seized the opportunity to get back at Clive for all those nights on the highway. “Damned bitch.”
“Clive!” Maria’s tone held her surprise, and no wonder. Clive did his best not to ever curse in front of her. Maria was old-fashioned like that. It had taken him over a year just to get her clothes off.
“It’s the truth. Damned Tylers are the reason my boy is dead. I’ll never forget that.”
“Are they? Jay went after her sister, Clive. No sense lying to yourself about it. What happened was a tragedy. No doubt. But not one those sweet girls caused. Everyone knows that. Let’s get your leg taken care of.”
He sat there and seethed.
Even Maria believed the lies then.
He’d never felt so damned alone in his life.
That didn’t change when Maria called Clint to come get him so she could go on in to work at that bookstore in town. The one owned by that cousin of the Tylers.
Tylers were just everywhere now.
It sure shocked the hell out of him when that boy showed up to do just that.
The boy wheeled him out to the old ranch truck Clint had driven for years and told Clive to stay put. Clint wasn’t happy about picking him up, no doubt.
Clive supposed he should be thankful Clint was there at all. “Where’s the baby?”
“With the new...housekeeper.”
“Finally got someone out there?” Rumor was his wife’s boy had been having some trouble getting a woman to stay out there in that heap of a ranch house, caring for that baby of his. Hell, he couldn’t blame them. That place nee
ded some serious work. Work Clint couldn’t afford.
He doubted Clint was paying the housekeeper even a living wage, considering what Clint made with the highway patrol.
What kind of help could Clint get for that baby with no damned money to pay for it? Probably not good, that was what.
Clive winced. He could help the boy out with some cash, he supposed.
He had nothing else to do with the small amount of savings he’d built over the years.
It had been intended for Jay someday. When his boy had been mature enough to deserve it.
He supposed giving it to his stepson for Paula’s grandbaby was good enough as any reason. She’d have wanted the best for that girl.
He’d call his lawyer in the morning. Have it taken care of. If nothing else, he’d set it up in an account for that baby.
Clint hesitated. “I got a new woman out there now. I’m not sure she’ll work out. Let’s get you home. I don’t like leaving Violet with a stranger if I can help it.”
“Don’t coddle her.” He had Jay, and he knew it. Maybe if he had been as tough on Jay as he had been on Clint, things would have turned out differently. “Make her tough. So she can survive in this world better than your brother did.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure Violet survives just fine. In my own way.”
Clive did what the boy told him to do, when Clint went back inside to retrieve Clive’s wallet and belt he’d left inside. He should have done it earlier, gotten his things himself, but Clive had insisted the boy get him away from that Tyler girl and that Masterson boyfriend of hers—who had stood in the midst of that damned hospital and glowered right at him. Big-ass brute, that was for sure.
That Masterson had it out for him, and Clive knew it.
Probably because of that girl who had been nothing but trouble for Clive for the last three years.
Her car was right there. Next to Clint’s truck.
Clive had no trouble recognizing it. He’d watched for it weekly for years.
Whenever he’d been bored out there as sheriff and out late for whatever reason, he’d go find her. Have a little fun. Just to keep his skills sharp. He’d only ticketed her twice, but he must have pulled her over dozens of times. There at the end, she’d not say a word to him. Just look at him with that blue eyes of hers. Not fighting. Just freezing him out. Taking it.
So he’d leave the rest of her family alone.
It had been like a little secret deal the two of them had had going between them for all that time.
Yes, he’d known Perci Tyler for years.
Since that night Jay had first done something stupid with that Tyler girl and changed everything.
Hell, half of his entertainment had come from pulling that nurse over, first when she was a student, and then after. Just to remind her that he could still make trouble for her.
That had ended when he’d retired to work his ranch after losing the election to that damned Joel Masterson a little over a year and a half ago.
Mastersons.
Those bastards had ruined everything. Taken everything from him. And now Masterson was getting that pretty girl, just like his brother had gotten the twin Jay had wanted.
Everything was ruined.
He hadn’t felt so damned impotent in a long damned time.
Clive pushed the wheelchair toward the rear of the car. It took him only seconds to pour the contents of the extra-large coffee Maria had bought him down the gas tank of that little car.
It would cause some damage. No doubt about that. He amused himself for a moment, imagining the little car going over the shoulder at Wreck Road Curve, just like her mama’s had.
It still left him feeling about as useless as teats on a warthog. Completely without purpose for the rest of his life.
19.
NATE DIDN’T GET ON her case even once. He almost seemed to be avoiding her. Until he came out of his office about five minutes before she was to clock out, his mother at his side. The look of exhaustion on his face told its own story.
And the irritation.
She felt for him in that moment. His mother still terrified her. Tiff had told her the older woman had been in Nate’s office most of the day. Going over his files. Questioning.
Nate wouldn’t have liked that, even if it was by his mother. She suspected it was because it was his mother.
He called her over, then leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I’m going to be here for a few more hours, I think. Unless you can come up with something to get me out of her clutches. I’ll give you everything I own including my soul, if you will. Including my ranch.”
“Trying to trick me, Masterson?” Her words lacked the heat they would have even a week ago. Now she just felt...compassion. He just looked beyond exhausted.
“Something like that.”
“I’m going to head out to get Ivy. I’m sure she’s ok, Phoebe texted that she was, but I don’t want to leave her for too long today. Not the first day.” After what had happened with Phoebe and Joel, Joel had insisted they all start carrying cell phones. They’d found the money with help from their father’s business partner in Texas. The man had invested in their ranch, and it had been the boost they’d needed. He was shipping his own particular brand of feed up from his ranch in Texas. It had saved them enough to afford a few luxuries, like cell phones and better internet than what they’d had before.
Perci no longer had to work sixty hour weeks, unless she wanted to.
“Call me when you get home...back to my house, I mean.”
“I will.”
He surprised her when he tugged her jacket up over her shoulders a bit straighter. “Be careful. I’ll see you and Ivy when I get home, sweetheart.”
His volume had dropped, become intimate. Just for her. She looked into his green eyes and just knew the man was temptation in itself.
If she wasn’t careful, he was going to change everything.
Perci clocked out and hurried across the parking lot. It had started to rain an hour ago. The jacket Nate had adjusted was waterproof. She shouldn’t get too wet. She’d get to her father’s place, get Ivy, then head home.
She’d made it halfway to her car before what she’d thought had sunken in. Her home. Her home was with her father, not Nate Masterson. What had the man done, tricked her or something?
No. It had to be because of Ivy. Nothing else made sense.
She cursed slightly when she saw the door over her gas tank had flopped open again. She needed to get that fixed somehow.
It seemed like she had spent all of her spare cash on this darned car lately.
It had been her mother’s years ago. It was about all she had left of her mother. Pip had her mother’s diamond earrings. Phoebe had her engagement ring to pass down one day. Pan had the necklace her father had given her mother on their twentieth wedding anniversary. Perci had a small bracelet that had been her mother’s graduation present from her parents. Her mother had given it to her when she’d graduated her nursing program, shortly before her mother had died.
That bracelet and her mother’s car were hers. She was going to drive that car until it fell apart around her.
She stepped on something next to her tire. A coffee cup. She grabbed it, walked it to the trash can nearby, then hurried back to her car—out of the rain.
When the engine refused to turn over, she cursed. Perci knew what had most likely happened. The seal on her tank wasn’t great. Rain had probably leaked right into her gas tank. She had no idea what to do with water in the tank.
It was no doubt going to be right back to the mechanic’s. She tried again, then again one more time.
Finally, it started.
With her fingers crossed that it would hold out until she got to the ranch, she pulled out of the parking lot.
Fifteen minutes later and she knew it was more than just a little water in her tank. Something was seriously going on.
Every time she accelerated, the car jolted.
When she rounded the curve where her mother had died and the car sputtered, it was all Perci could do to keep it on the road.
Her front end went off into the shallowest part of the ditch—ten feet from the worst part of the road.
Ten feet from where her mother had been hurt.
The crosses on the hill above her cast rain-drenched shadows on the pavement below.
Perci carefully avoided standing in those shadows while she dialed the only number she could remember.
Her fingers hit speed dial for him instinctively. Nate.
She wanted Nate. She knew he would come for her without question.
After she disconnected, she was finally able to ask herself why.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have an answer.
20.
THE IDEA THAT SHE COULD have been hurt had him feeling more than a little raw. As did the knowledge that she had only called him because she had been on her way to pick up Ivy. He wanted her to call him for anything she needed.
When he pulled up behind her car, she was standing out next to it. Her red hair hung down her back in a soggy mess. Tyler blue eyes met his. Nate fought the urge to scoop her up and just hold her close for a minute or five hundred. “I’m beginning to think this car is cursed.”
“It’s past its prime. I don’t doubt it.” He didn’t say anything more. Perci couldn’t afford a new car, and he knew it. He knew exactly how much she made on the hour—and he knew where most of it went. Groceries. Bills.
To support her family. Even now that her sisters had married his brothers, they all still pitched in to support their family. He’d made certain, along with Levi, that her car was in the best shape he could make it when his youngest brother had offered to give it a tune-up for her. She didn’t know that Nate had helped, but he had. He’d even purchased half the parts for it himself. For her. “What happened?”
“I’m not certain. A belt, I think. But it’s the one that runs beneath everything, and I can’t see out here.”
Denying the Devil Page 6
