Lone Star Winter

by Diana Palmer

  “Some help you are,” Libby muttered at his retreating back.

  “I don’t like the idea of that gas can,” Jordan said, ignoring her statement. “You can’t stay awake twenty-four hours a day. If Janet is really desperate enough to set fire to the house trying to get her hands on the insurance money, neither you nor Curt is going to be safe here.”

  “Hayes is getting us some protection,” she replied coolly.

  “I know that. But even deputies have to use the bathroom occasionally,” he said flatly. “Why won’t you come home with me?”

  She lifted her chin. “This is my place, mine and Curt’s. We’re not running anymore.”

  He sighed. “I admire your courage, Libby. But it’s misplaced this time.”

  She turned away. “I’ve got a lot to do, Jordan. Thanks anyway.”

  He caught her small waist from behind and held her just in front of him. His warm breath stirred the hair at the back of her head. “I was afraid.”

  “Of…what?” she asked, startled.

  His big hands contracted. “You’re very young, even for a woman your age,” he said stiffly. “Young women are constantly changing.”

  She turned in his hold, curious. She looked up at him without understanding. “What has that got to do with anything?”

  He reached out and traced her mouth with his thumb. He looked unusually solemn. “You really don’t know, do you?” he asked quietly. “That’s part of the problem.”

  “You aren’t making any sense.”

  “I am. You’re just not hearing what I’m saying.” He bent and kissed her softly beside her ear, drawing away almost at once. “Never mind. You’ll figure it out one day. Meanwhile, I’m going to do a better job of looking after you.”

  “I can—”

  He interrupted at once. “If you say ‘look after myself,’ so help me, I’ll…!”

  She glared at him.

  He glared back.

  “You’re up against someone formidable, whoever it is,” he continued. “I’m not letting anything happen to you, Libby.”

  “Fat lot you cared before,” she muttered.

  He sighed heavily. “Yes, I know. I’ll eat crow without catsup if it will help you trust me again.”

  “Julie’s very pretty,” she said reluctantly.

  “She isn’t a patch on you, butterfly,” he said quietly.

  She hesitated. But she wasn’t giving in easily. He’d hurt her. No way was she going to run headfirst into his arms the first time he opened them.

  She watched him suspiciously.

  His broad chest rose and fell. “Okay. We’ll do it your way. I’ll see you at Shea’s.”

  “You’re the enemy,” she pointed out. “You’re not on Calhoun’s team.”

  He shrugged. “A man can change sides, can’t he?” he mused. “Meanwhile, if you need me, I’ll be at the house. If you call, I’ll come running.”

  She nodded slowly. “All right.”

  He smiled at her.

  Curt came back in. He was as cool to Jordan as his sister. The older man shrugged and left without another word.

  “Now he’s changed sides again,” Libby told Curt when Jordan was gone.

  “Jordan’s feeling his age, Libby,” Curt told her. “And some comments were made by his cowboys about that kiss they saw.”

  Her eyebrows arched. “What?”

  He sighed. “I never had the heart to tell you. But one of the older hands said Jordan was trying to rob the cradle. It enraged Jordan. But it made him think, too. He knows how sheltered you’ve been. I think he was trying to protect you.”

  “From what?”

  “Maybe from a relationship he didn’t think you were ready for,” he replied. “Julie was handy, he’d dated her a time or two, and she swarmed all over him just about the time he was drawing back from you. I expect he was flattered by her attention and being invited into that highbrow social set that shut out his mother after she was disinherited because she married his father. The local society women just turned their backs on her. She was never invited anywhere ever again. Jordan felt it keenly, that some of his playmates weren’t allowed to invite him to their houses.”

  “I didn’t know it was so hard on him. He’s only told me bits and pieces about his upbringing.”

  “He doesn’t advertise it,” he added. “She gave up everything to marry his father. She worked as a housekeeper in one of the motels owned by her father’s best friend. It was a rough upbringing for Jordan.”

  “I can imagine.” She sighed, unable to prevent her heart from thawing.

  Shea’s was filled to capacity on Saturday evening. Cash Grier got a lot of attention because he brought Tippy with him. She looked good despite her ordeals, except for the small indications of healing cuts on her lovely face. She was weak and still not totally recovered and it showed. Nevertheless, she was still the most beautiful woman in the room. But she had eyes only for Cash and that showed, too.

  When they got on the dance floor together, Libby was embarrassed to find herself staring wistfully at them. Tippy melted into Cash’s tall body as if she’d found heaven. He looked that way, as well. They clung together to the sound of an old love song. And when she looked up at him, he actually stopped dancing and just stared at her.

  “They make a nice couple,” Jordan said from behind her.

  She glanced up at him. He looked odd. His dark eyes were quiet, intent on her uplifted face.

  “Yes, they do,” she replied. “They seem to fit together very well.”

  He nodded. “Dance with me,” he said in a deep voice, and drew her into his arms.

  She hesitated, but only for a few seconds. She’d built dreams on those kisses they’d shared and she thought it was all over. But the way he was holding her made her knees weak. His big hand covered hers against his chest and pressed it hard into the warm muscle.

  “I’ve been an idiot,” he said at her ear.

  “What do you mean?” she wondered aloud, drugged by his closeness.

  “I shouldn’t have backed off,” he replied quietly. “I got cold feet at the very worst time.”

  “Jordan…”

  “…mind if I cut in?” Hayes Carson asked with a grin.

  Jordan stopped, his mind still in limbo. “We were talking,” he began.

  “Plenty of time for that later. Shall we, Libby?” he asked, and moved right in front of Jordan. He danced Libby away before she had a chance to stop him.

  “Now that’s what I call a jealous man,” Hayes murmured dryly, glancing over her shoulder at Jordan. “No need to ask about the lay of the land.”

  “Jordan doesn’t feel that way about me,” Libby protested.

  “He doesn’t?”

  She averted her eyes to the crowded dance floor. “He isn’t a marrying man.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  She glanced up at Hayes, who was still grinning.

  She flushed at the look in his eyes.

  Across the room, Jordan Powell saw that flush and had to restrain himself from going over there and tearing Libby out of Hayes’s embrace.

  “What the devil are you doing here?” Calhoun Ballenger asked abruptly.

  Jordan glanced at him wryly. “Not much,” he murmured. “But I came to ask if you needed another willing ally. I’ve, uh, changed camps.”

  Calhoun’s eyebrows went up almost to his blond hairline.

  “I do like to be on the winning side,” Jordan drawled.

  Calhoun burst out laughing. “Well, you’re not a bad diplomat, I guess,” he confessed, holding out his hand. “Welcome aboard.”

  “My pleasure.”

  Jordan contrived to drive Libby and Curt home, but he was careful to let Curt go into the ranch house before he cut off the engine and turned to Libby.

  “There’s been some news,” he said carefully.

  “About Janet?” she exclaimed.

  “About Julie,” he corrected. He toyed with a strand of her hair in the dim light
of the car interior. “One of Grier’s men saw her with a known drug dealer earlier today. She’s put her neck in a noose and she doesn’t even know it.”

  “She uses, doesn’t she?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Her behavior is erratic. She must.”

  “I’m sorry. You liked her…”

  He bent and kissed her hungrily, pulling her across his lap to wrap her up in his warm, strong arms. “I like you,” he whispered against her mouth. “More than I ever dreamed I could!”

  She wanted to ask questions, but she couldn’t kiss him and breathe at the same time. She gave up and ran her arms up around his neck. She relaxed into his close embrace and kissed him back until her mouth grew sore and swollen.

  He sighed into her throat as he held her and rocked her in his arms in the warm darkness.

  “Libby, I think we should start going out together.”

  She blinked. “You and me?”

  He nodded. “You and me.” He drew back and looked down at her possessively. “I could give up liver and onions, if I had to. But I can’t give you up.”

  “Listen, I don’t have affairs…”

  He kissed her into silence. “Neither do I. So I guess maybe we won’t sleep together after all.”

  “But if we go out together…” she said worriedly.

  He grinned. “You have enough self-restraint for both of us, I’m sure,” he drawled. “You can keep me honest.”

  She drew back a little and noted the position of his big lean hands under her blouse. She looked at him intently.

  He cleared his throat and drew his hands out from under the blouse. “Every man is entitled to one little slip. Right?” His eyes were twinkling.

  She laughed. “Okay.”

  He touched her mouth with his one last time. “In that case, you’d better rush inside before I forget to be honest.”

  “Thanks for bringing us home.”

  “My pleasure. Lock the doors,” he added seriously. “And I’m only a phone call away if you need me. You call me,” he emphasized. “Not Hayes Carson. Got that?”

  “And since when did I become your personal property?” she asked haughtily.

  “Since the minute you let me put my hands under your blouse,” he shot right back, laughing. “Think about it.”

  She got out of the vehicle, dizzy and with her head swimming. In one night, everything had changed.

  “Don’t worry,” he added gently, leaning out the window. “I have enough restraint for both of us!”

  Before she could answer him, he gunned the engine and took off down the road.

  Chapter Ten

  For the next few days, Jordan was at Libby’s house more than at his own. He smoothed over hard feelings with her brother and became a household fixture. Libby and Curt filed the insurance claim, paid off the mortgage, and started repurchasing cattle for the small ranch.

  Janet was found a couple of days later at a motel just outside San Antonio, with a man. He turned out to be the so-called attorney who’d phoned and tried to get Libby and Curt out of their home. She was arrested and charged with murder in the death of Violet’s father. There was DNA evidence taken from the dead man’s clothing and the motel room that was directly linked to Janet. It placed her at the motel the night Mr. Hardy died. When she realized the trouble she was in, she tried to make a deal for a reduced sentence. She agreed to confess to the murder in return for a life sentence without hope of parole. But she denied having a gas can. She swore that she never had plans to burn down Riddle Collins’s house with his children in it. Nobody paid her much attention. She’d told so many lies.

  It was a different story for Julie Merrill. She continued to make trouble, and not only for Calhoun Ballenger. She was determined that Jordan wasn’t going to desert her for little Libby Collins. She had a plan. Two days before the hearing to decide the fate of the police officers who’d arrested her father— Saturday, she put it into practice.

  She phoned Libby at work and apologized profusely for all the trouble she’d caused.

  “I never meant to be such a pain in the neck,” she assured Libby. “I want to make it up to you. You get off at one on Saturdays, don’t you? Suppose you come over here for lunch?”

  “To your house?” Libby replied warily.

  “Yes. I’ve had our cook make something special,” she purred. “And I can tell you my side of the story. Will you?”

  Dubious, Libby hesitated.

  “Surely you aren’t afraid of me?” Julie drawled. “I mean, what could I do to you, even if I had something terrible in mind?”

  “You don’t need to feed me,” Libby replied cautiously. “I don’t hold grudges.”

  “You’ll come, then,” Julie persisted. “Today at one. Will you?”

  It was against her better judgment. But it wasn’t a bad idea to keep a feud going, especially now that Jordan seemed really interested in her.

  “Okay,” Libby said finally. “I’ll be there at one.”

  “Thanks!” Julie said huskily. “You don’t know how much I appreciate it! Uh, I don’t guess you’d like to bring your brother, too?” she added suddenly.

  Libby frowned. “Curt’s driving a cattle truck for Duke Wright up to San Antonio today.”

  “Well, then, another time, perhaps! I’ll see you at one.” Julie hung up, with a bright and happy note in her voice.

  Libby frowned. Was she stupid to go to the woman’s home? But why would Julie risk harming her now, with the primary election so close? It was the following Tuesday.

  She phoned Jordan. “Guess what just happened?” she asked.

  “You’ve realized how irresistible I am and you’re rushing over to seduce me?” he teased. “Shall I turn down the covers on my bed?”

  “Stop that,” she muttered. “I’m serious.”

  “So am I!”

  “Jordan,” she laughed. “Julie just called to apologize. She invited me to lunch.”

  “Did she?” he asked. “Are you going?”

  “I thought I might.” She hesitated. “Don’t you think it’s a good idea, to mend fences, I mean?”

  “I don’t know, Libby,” he replied seriously. “She’s been erratic and out of control lately. I don’t think it’s a good idea. I’d rather you didn’t.”

  “Are you afraid she might tell me something about you that I don’t know?” she returned, suspicious.

  He sighed. “No. It’s not that. She wasn’t happy when I broke off with her. I don’t trust her.”

  “What can she do to me in broad daylight?” she laughed. “Shoot me?”

  “Of course not,” he scoffed.

  “Then stop worrying. She only wants to apologize.”

  “You be careful,” he returned. “And phone me when you get home. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “How about a movie tonight?” he added. “There’s a new mystery at the theater. You can even have popcorn.”

  “That sounds nice,” she said, feeling warm and secure.

  “I’ll pick you up about six.”

  “I’ll be ready. See you then.”

  She hung up and pondered over his misgivings. Surely he was overreacting. He was probably afraid Julie might make up a convincing lie about how intimate they’d been. Or perhaps she might be telling the truth. She only knew that she had to find out why Julie wanted to see her in person. She was going.

  But something niggled at the back of her mind when she drove toward Julie’s palatial home on the Jacobs River. Julie might have wanted to invite Libby over to apologize, but why would she want Curt to come, too? She didn’t even know Curt.

  Libby’s foot lifted off the accelerator. Her home was next door to Jordan’s. Julie was furious that Jordan had broken off with her. If the house was gone, Libby and Curt would have to move away again, as they had before…!

  Libby turned the truck around in the middle of the road and sped toward her house. She wished she had a cell phone. There was no way to call for help. But she
was absolutely certain what was about to happen. And she knew immediately that her stepmother hadn’t been responsible for that gas can on the porch.

  The question was, who had Julie convinced to set that fire for her? Or would she be crazy enough to try and do it herself?

  Libby sped faster down the road. If only there had been state police, a sheriff’s deputy, a policeman watching. She was speeding. It was the only time in her life she’d ever wanted to be caught!

  But there were no flashing lights, no sirens. She was going to have to try and stop the perpetrator all by herself. She wasn’t a big woman. She had no illusions about being able to tackle a grown man. She didn’t even have a weapon. Wait. There was a tire tool in the boot! At least, she could threaten with it.

  She turned into the road that led to the house. There was no smoke visible anywhere and no sign of any traffic. For the first time, she realized that she could be chasing make-believe villains. Why would she think that Julie Merrill would try to burn her house down? Maybe the strain of the past weeks was making her hysterical after all.

  She pulled up in front of the house and got out, grabbing the tire tool out of the back. It wouldn’t hurt to look around, now that she was here.

  She moved around the side of the house, her heart beating wildly. Her palms were so sweaty that she had to get a better grip on the tire tool. She walked past the chimney, to the corner, and peered around. Her heart stopped.

  There was a man there. A young, dark man. He had a can of gasoline. He was muttering to himself as he sloshed it on the back porch and the steps.

  Libby closed her eyes and prayed for strength. There was nobody to help her. She had to do this alone.

  She walked around the corner with the tire tool raised. “That’s enough, you varmint! You’re trespassing on private property and you’re going to jail. The police are right behind me!”

  Startled, the man dropped the gas can and stared wild-eyed at Libby.

  Sensing an advantage, she started to run toward him, yelling at the top of her lungs.

  To her amazement, he started running down a path behind the house, with Libby right on his heels, still yelling.

  Then something happened that was utterly in the realm of fantasy. She heard an engine behind her. An accomplice, she wondered, almost panicking.