“Wait a minute,” she said. “I have a little confession.” He raised his eyebrows. “My editor didn’t send me here because this was something I wanted to do,” she said quietly.
A frown wrinkled his forehead. She touched it with her fingers
“Just hear me out. I just want you to know the whole story so you understand what I’m trying to say.” He nodded slowly so she continued. “I did something, wrote a story against my editor’s wishes, that jeopardized my paper. He sent me here to appease the school. It was sort of a punishment. But I’ve never been so glad to have screwed up. This has been the best experience of my life, because of this ranch . . . the hard work . . . the people here.” She moved her arms out around her, looking toward the window. “Ellie . . . the guys . . . Penelope . . . and you.”
He stayed quiet, watching her intently.
“This is not my way of getting you to declare any feelings or trying to get you to tell me what the future holds. I’m right here, in the now with you. And I just wanted you to know that there’s no place I’d rather be right at this minute,” she breathed.
He put his hands on either side of her face and leaned in to kiss her gently, tenderly. “Thanks for telling me, but it doesn’t matter to me how you got here. What matters is that you are here.” She sighed with relief. “Now let’s get you dressed,” he continued. “Would you mind coming with me and Aunt Jana?”
“Are you sure?” she asked, taking his hand.
“I wouldn’t have asked,” he said.
***
Aunt Jana was in the kitchen looking through her purse for her car keys. She suddenly remembered that the mechanic had her car—and the keys—checking on an oil leak. She set her purse down and climbed the stairs back to the third floor and walked quietly to Everett’s room. She knew Paige was in there and didn’t want them to think she was listening to them. She put her ear to the door to see if it was okay to knock.
She had her hand up to knock when she heard Paige say, “Did you get the copy of the will?” She brought her hand back down and held her breath, squinting.
Everett responded. “No, but I did confirm its existence. I told him to keep it safe and I’d let him know if we needed him to bring it out. I’m not sure what Arlo was expecting to happen, but I’d bet my life that Aunt Jana has something to do with it. And if he felt the need to leave a copy with someone else, it seems like he thinks the lawyer may have something to do with it too. At the very least he didn’t trust Rick.”
Jana tiptoed back down the hall and to the stairs. Her heart beating fast, she pulled her phone from her purse and went to the library and shut the door behind her. When Rick’s voicemail picked up—as usual—she cursed, hung up, and pulled up Ian’s contact info.
She tried to tamp down any fear from her voice as Ian answered.
“We have a problem.”
***
Ian had relayed the problem to his dad and was sitting in his apartment, thinking. His blood boiled. He thought his dad would have done something, said more. But he had just told him to be patient and do nothing until after the funeral, until they had a plan. Ian sighed. His dad was wrong this time. Waiting too long could ruin everything.
Chapter Eighteen
Paige had never seen so much food in her life. It seemed the whole town had come to Arlo’s funeral . . . and brought a dish. She supposed this was where the term “comfort food” had come from. She was lying in Everett’s bed, listening to his breathing, thinking over the day. He was on his side facing her, his arm slung over her stomach. She had donned another of his shirts and leaned into it to smell him, smiling. She sighed.
“I’m never going to be able to wear that shirt again, am I?” she heard from the still form.
He raised up on his elbow and moved his hand to her cheek, tracing it with his finger. “That’s okay,” he said. “It looks much better on you.”
She turned her face to his and rolled to her side. “Everett, I am so sorry about Arlo. I know this is so hard for you. I don’t know if it’ll be like this for you, but the day after my mom’s funeral was worse than the funeral. Once all of the guests were gone, we were left to the silence of her absence. It was unbearable.”
He nodded.
“Let’s take him with us today and go for a ride on Penelope and Duke. Are you up for that?”
An hour later, they were sitting atop the horses on the same hill where Arlo had seen his last full moon.
They sat in a comfortable silence for several minutes, before Everett spoke. “When I was fifteen and had my heart broken for the first time, Arlo brought me up here and told me that there were many ways a heart could be broken and many ways it could be healed. He said to expect the moments that felt like I wanted to give up, but to remember that there would always be an end. A moment would come that would make it all seem worth it. Arlo was worth it.”
Tears filled Paige’s eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. She reached out for Everett’s hand and he took it, turning to her. “You are worth it.”
She smiled, “Everett—”
He interrupted her with a finger to her lips. “I don’t talk about how I feel much. Don’t interrupt or I might not be able to.” She nodded and he dropped his hand, looking away again and shifting in his saddle as if a bit uncomfortable. “It’s not just because I’m a tough Texas man. You know the saying ‘the bigger they are, the harder they fall?’ I felt like I’d fallen so hard all my life that I was determined nothing was worth the fall. I work my body hard so I don’t have to work hard inside. But you . . .” He looked at her now.
“You are not what I expected,” he continued. “You kept squirming through the cracks. I never wanted you to be here.” He pointed at his chest. “Women are hard enough to deal with, their tears, their needs. But a city slicker, even worse. I had no idea . . .”
She looked away, but he reached out to grab her chin and pull her eyes to his. “This is very hard for me because I have never said this to a woman.” Her eyes filled with tears again. He kissed them. “I love you,” he said softly and put his forehead to hers.
“Oh Everett,” she sighed. “I think I loved you the second I saw you standing next to Penelope.” She looked down at her beloved horse. “I thought I would fall in love when I was ready, when I could plan for it. But this . . . this has been overwhelming. I didn’t know love could be this strong, strong enough to make me want something I didn’t think I wanted.” She looked back at him. “I love you too, I love everything about you.”
To her surprise, he backed away, and then dismounted Duke. He walked toward her, reaching out his hand. She took it and he helped her off Penelope. He wrapped her in his arms and threw his hat to the ground, then pulled her hat off and dropped it next to his. He leaned his lips to her neck and she moved her arms around his. His hands moved to her back and under her—his—shirt. In seconds, he had it off her and on the ground next to the hats. Her skin heated up from the sun, from his touch, and she allowed him to remove her bra.
He dropped to his knees and kissed her stomach, his fingers finding the button on her jeans. Her fingers wound through his hair, and she lay her head back and moaned.
***
Aunt Jana stood in the doorway to Arlo’s room. The light was off and the shades were drawn. The sun’s muted glow in the windows cast a dim light into the dark room. Arlo’s presence had not yet vacated. Jana could feel him, smell him, even see him. She took a deep breath and turned on the light, squinting as her pupils adjusted.
She walked over to the bed and stripped off the sheets, casting them into a pile on the floor. She set the empty garbage bag she had brought with her onto the bed and sat. She looked around the room that no longer held a purpose, except as a home to a ghost, and sighed. Then she turned to the night stand and picked up the ash tray, emptying its contents into the bag. Next, she picked up Arlo’s cigarettes and lighter and started to toss them as well, but thought better and opened the pack and pulled one out. She put it in her mou
th and lit it, inhaling a memory of Arlo.
She was eight and being lifted onto a horse by him. He helped her pull her leg over the side of the saddle and put his hands on hers, to show her how tight to hold the reins. Then he backed away while she trotted around the enclosed pasture. “Uggh,” she thought. “Why does he need to show me that every single time? I know how to ride a horse.”
She took the horse around the perimeter twice and heard her mother giggle. She turned back to see Arlo press his lips to her neck. She wondered what he was whispering to her and decided that while he was distracted she would try standing up on the horse like she had seen at the circus. She pulled her little legs up to the saddle and leaned forward, pressing her toes into the leather. The movement sent her balance over the side of the horse, taking her with it. She wasn’t strong enough to hold onto the reins and fell on her side, hard. A sharp pain shot through her elbow and pushed tears from her eyes. She cried out.
“Jana!” she heard her father yell. His arms were around her in the next instant, cradling her. She cried out again when his embrace crushed her elbow. He held her at arm’s length and began checking her over, asking her where it hurt. She pointed to her elbow and he touched it, causing more tears.
“My baby, what’s happened to my baby?” she heard her mother cry as she reached them.
“Looks like a broken arm,” he said calmly. He wiped away Jana’s tears with his hand and kissed her on the check. “It’ll be okay, punkin,” he said to her. “We’ll take care of you.”
Jana stubbed out the cigarette and dropped the pack into the bag. She cleaned a few bloody tissues from the table and reached down to open the cabinet. A brown leather box she had never seen before sat there, its clasp worn down. Curious, she pulled it out and set it on the bed. On the top was etched “Arlo.” Inside she found several old black-and-white photos of an infant, a child, a teenager, a young woman—all of her.
A folded piece of paper opened into a certificate of achievement from her first rodeo. Also inside was a pair of tiny infant shoes, whose buttons had long since worn off. She picked up one and noticed a plastic bag sticking out. Inside the bag was a lock of baby-fine blond hair. And underneath was another photo of Arlo holding her, then a toddler, above his head, the largest of smiles on both of their faces.
Tears rimmed her eyes and spilled over, gently. She held the photo and lock of hair to her chest.
***
Jana was still sitting on Arlo’s bed in a daze when Paige and Everett returned to the house. They had made their way back to the third floor and were about to enter Everett’s room when he noticed the door to Arlo’s bedroom was ajar and the light was on. He walked to Arlo’s room and Paige followed.
He stuck his head in and saw Jana sitting on the bed and was about to back away when he heard a voice come from her that he had never heard before.
“Don’t leave, Everett. I need to talk with you.”
He pushed out a slow breath and stood before her, crossing his arms. Jana looked up and saw Paige standing by the door. She looked back at Everett and said. “Alone.”
He shook his head and beckoned to Paige. “She stays,” was all he said.
Jana’s shoulders dropped and she spoke softly. “Very well.” She put the contents of the box back inside and shut the lid, then turned back to them. “It’s no secret that Arlo—Daddy—and I have been at odds for a number of years. Much longer than you know, no doubt. I never wanted to marry Alfred—your father.” She nodded stiffly at Everett.
“Get to the point, Aunt Jana,” he growled.
“This is part of the point,” she argued. “I did everything he ever wanted, and still he chose you to be his heir. Like I said, I never wanted to marry Alfred, but I did grow to love him. So can you possibly understand the torture it was to look at you every day in this house after he died? Not only as a reminder of his death—you are the spittin’ image of him. You were also a reminder of her.”
Everett took a deep breath and nodded, his shoulders relaxing a little.
“Of course I hated you, hated everything about you, and Arlo just adored you, took pity on you. It was like you were the son I could never be. So I hated him, hated you.” Tears formed and she swiped at them. “Still, I stayed and did everything I could to get him to see me. And still, he showered everything on you. When Arlo got sick, he revised his will. His lawyer, Rick, told me. And he decided to leave the ranch to you. I certainly didn’t expect him to leave you out of the will, he loved you so. But the ranch? I was devastated. I had not worked all these years on this godforsaken lot of land and done everything that man every told me to do, to watch the ranch go to you.”
“He wrote you out of the will?” Paige asked,
Jana shot her eyes at Paige, as if just remembering she were in the room. “No, of course not, But the one thing that mattered most to him . . . the one thing I had put everything into . . . was being taken away from me.”
“So you got rid of the new will.” Everett stated.
She looked back up at him. “Rick’s idea and he said that the only way he’d help me was if I’d give part of everything to Ian. Leave the ranch to him when I passed.”
Everett took a deep breath and held it.
“And if something were to happen and the real will surfaced. You see, we suspected there was another copy. Arlo hinted as much. If that will showed up, Ian said he’d take care of you.”
“He’d take care of me? What does that mean?”
Jana shrugged. “I didn’t want to know and wouldn’t let him tell me. He wanted everything you had.” She looked at Paige. “Everything. He won’t let you leave, either of you, unless he gets everything he wants.”
Everett’s jaw flexed. “That’s never going to happen. Where is he now?”
Paige put her hand on his arm. “Everett, don’t—”
He put his hand on top of hers and looked her in the eye. “Nothing’s going to happen. I just need to set the record straight with him.”
“That’s not a good idea,” said Jana. “He’s not really a reasonable person, as I’m sure you know.”
Paige nodded and looked back at Everett.
“I’ll be okay,” he said, “but this needs to happen.” She backed away.
“Where is he?” he asked Jana again.
“Who knows?” She shrugged.
Everett moved Paige gently over and nearly ran from the room.
Chapter Nineteen
Ian sat on his bed, feeling slightly dizzy. His dad still hadn’t told him what they were going to do about Everett and Paige. He clenched his fists. The thought of Everett made his face hot and his heart race. That son of a bitch thought he was better than everyone else, lording himself over everyone at the ranch, like he was the one in charge.
At last he stood, kicked over an empty bottle, and then walked to his closet and pulled down a box from the top shelf. He set the box on the bed and removed the lid. He pulled out the revolver and the box of ammunition and loaded the six bullets in the cylinder, pocketing a few extra. He secured the gun in his belt and pulled his shirt over it. Then he shoved his phone in his back pocket, set his Stetson on top of his head, and walked out to his truck.
***
Ian parked behind the barn and cut the engine to his truck. He stood beside the cab and took a long pull from a bottle, then flung it aside. He peered around the side of the barn and spied Everett and Paige walking into the house, Everett’s hand at the small of Paige’s back. Ian checked his gun and quietly followed.
Inside the house, he crept up the stairs, listening to their voices fade as they reached the third floor landing. As Ian arrived at the third floor, he heard Jana’s voice, so quiet he almost couldn’t hear it, but it was enough to make him pause. Hearing the voices rise inside Arlo’s room and assuring himself that no one was in the hall, he crept up to Arlo’s door and stood close, listening to Aunt Jana betray his father.
“That’s not a good idea. He’s not really a reasonable
person, as I’m sure you know.”
“I’ll be okay, but this needs to happen.”
Ian stepped away from the door and further down the hall, waiting in the shadows until he heard Everett’s footsteps take the stairs two at a time, and then the front door slam and Everett’s truck roar to life. Then he stepped through Arlo’s bedroom door.
***
Paige watched Everett’s back disappear from the room, biting her lip. She looked to Aunt Jana who was staring at the shaded window as if she could see through it, her shoulders slumped, defeated. Paige wasn’t sure what to say, what to do, so she began walking to the door, intending to head downstairs to her room.
She stopped short, staring into the bloodshot eyes of Ian. His shoulders rose and fell dramatically with his breath. She backed up. Aunt Jana turned around and laughed.
“You’re a little late, Ian,” she said. “It’s all over. I’ve told them everything. We’re done here.”
He shot his eyes to her. “So I heard,” he said slowly, dangerously.
“Everett will be back any second now,” Paige said.
He looked back at her and laughed. “I just heard him pull away. I know he’s going to find me. We have a little time, the three of us, to figure some things out.” Paige backed up again and Aunt Jana stood.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, walking toward the door. “I’m going to call your father.”
He grabbed her arm and jerked her back around. She pulled her arm up to slap him. Suddenly there was a gun in his hand, and he hit her across the temple with it, sending her backwards. Paige screamed. Jana hit her head on the foot of the iron bed and fell to the side. Paige watched her collapse on the floor, where she stilled, and blood soon began to pool.
Paige backed up until her back was against the shades. She started to scream again when Ian’s gun came up to her forehead and he silenced her with his hand on her mouth. He laughed and brought his face closer to hers, whispering “Honey bee. I’m real sorry we didn’t get to spend some more time together, but you and I need to finish our business. Where’s the will?”
Dare To Love A Cowboy (Canton County Cowboys 2) Page 14
