“Are you going to be there, too?” Jenny had already told her parents they’d been invited to supper at her best friend’s. She’d assumed it would just be the eight of them—Ari, her men, Jenny’s parents, and those two Montanans she was dating, who were staying there.
In response, Laci nodded, winked, and then headed back to the bar.
Jenny turned back to her parents and shrugged. “I thought it was going to be a small, casual supper tonight. It’ll still be casual, but maybe a bit bigger than I thought.”
“Well, we’re delighted to meet as many of your friends as we possibly can,” her mother said.
“We both like knowing you have good friends and live in a strong, tight-knit community.”
There was something about the way her father said those words that made her skin prickle. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something was definitely up with them.
That sense only amplified as the day progressed. They spent a good hour and a half at the Lusty Historical Society Museum. Jenny was gratified that her mother and Anna Jessop hit it off on first meet. Her father was fascinated by the photos and the stories they told. He was positively enthused seeing the photos of one of his personal heroes—Bat Masterson—along with that other famous lawman, Wyatt Earp, sitting with the founders of Lusty. There were several shots of the famous duo, and Mrs. Jessop told the tale of the founding of Lusty.
Her father took the time to look at every piece of every exhibit. But it was when he was taking in the display case devoted to the beginning of the Jessop-Kendall branch of the family that he went still—as if he was looking at something astounding.
“Would you like to see it up close, Mr. Collins?”
Anna’s question clearly shocked her father. “Jason, please. You’d let me hold it?”
She just nodded and then pulled a small key ring out of her pocket. She unlocked the case, reached in, and took out one of the gold coins that formed a part of the permanent exhibit.
Her father cradled the coin in his palm like the precious relic he clearly believed it to be. “This is a moment for me. I’ve done research most of my adult life, in my spare time. There are so many theories about the lost Confederate gold. I’ve followed clues and leads that have taken me as far north as the Great Lakes. I would love to know who found this, and where.”
“I can tell you that it was a part of the quest that brought Amanda Dupree from Virginia. Well, that, and needing to escape a banker who was upset she’d revealed him as a thief. This coin represents a much larger treasure that Amanda, along with Warren Jessop and Adam Kendall, discovered. I’ll see if there’s anything more, storywise, I can pass on to you. I can’t promise, you understand.”
Her father looked at Anna Jessop for a long moment. He handed back the coin and nodded. “Yes, of course, I do understand. I’m grateful, and you have my word that this will be just between us.”
Jenny had seen the gold pieces in the cabinet and had read that they, along with a few other artifacts, were from the “quest” Amanda Dupree had embarked upon shortly after arriving in Lusty from Virginia.
When the tour of the museum was over, Jenny took her parents to Lusty Appetites. She’d told her mother on a visit home about Tracy’s wonderful cream puffs. It really was her lucky day because Tracy, totally recovered now from the stomach ailment that had her down for more than a week, was back at work and back making magic in Kelsey’s kitchen.
“This has been a very illuminating experience,” her father said. He took a bite of his pastry, and she wondered that his eyes didn’t roll all the way back in his head. There were two things Jason Collins enjoyed more than almost anything else—his historical research and pastries. She felt like a particularly good daughter because she’d seen to it he’d enjoyed some of both that day.
She thought back on their visit to the museum. Jenny couldn’t imagine the furor that might ensue if word of what she thought those gold coins represented—the long ago discovery of the fabled lost Confederate gold—got out. She decided then and there she would pretend she hadn’t overheard and understood the quiet conversation her dad and Mrs. Jessop had shared.
Lusty had been damn good to her, and Jenny was determined to return the favor.
* * * *
Parker Benedict had been worried about this dinner party because Jenny had become increasingly tense over the last couple of days. So far, though, things appeared to be fine.
“I’m sure that must have been some shock to you at the time,” Jason Collins said to Jackson. Parker’s cousin had just shared the story of why he’d left the NFL. He remembered that time as if it had been just last year. Jackson had been tackled badly in training camp, and because it had been a head injury, he’d been required to be examined by a doctor.
Though the concussion had been slight, the doctor’s warning had been clear. The next bad hit could cripple, or kill him. Jackson had left the sport he loved, and his twin, Cord, had, too.
“Such a difficult decision to make in your prime,” Jason continued. “But you seem to have made the adjustment.”
They were sitting around the dining room table at Ari, Jackson, and Cord’s house. Parker paid attention to the conversation for a couple of reasons.
The first and most important reason was that Jenny had confessed last night that she was nervous about her parents’ visit, and yet, she hadn’t been able to explain why. She’d claimed her parents were great, and she loved them, but he’d been a little skeptical.
No one can blame me for feeling that way. I think the Benedicts of Montana wrote the book on dysfunctional families. He wondered, for just a moment, how long it would take him before he stopped thinking, automatically, that all familial relationships were screwed up. Probably not as long as it would otherwise, if he wasn’t in Lusty.
However, listening to the way the Collinses interacted with not only Jenny but everyone else, he could see now that she’d spoken the truth. He liked her parents, and that was a good thing.
“It was all of that,” Jackson said. “But we came here, and then we met Ari.” Jackson brought his wife’s hand to his lips and kissed it. “No contest at all. I gained far more than I lost.”
“We both did,” Cord said.
Jason looked around the table. Jesse, Barry, Shar, and baby Patrick, as well as his cousins Trace, Lucas, and their wife Laci, along with Addison with her two husbands made for a lot of Benedicts at one meal. The food had been delicious and the conversation wide-ranging and engaging.
Parker wondered what was on Jason’s mind because he looked at his wife for a long moment. Her nod was slight, but Parker caught it. So, too, did Jenny. She was sitting between him and Dale, and he felt her tense.
Jason turned his attention to her just then. “Sweetheart, you’re too perceptive by half. Your mother and I know you’ve been on tenterhooks all day. You’ve probably been worried since we called last week and told you we wanted to visit. We were going to wait until we were alone, just the three of us, to talk to you about something, but this is better. It’s a personal matter, yes, but I can feel the honest friendship in this room.”
Jenny paled. Parker and Dale, sitting on either side of her, each took one of her hands. “Are you or Mom sick?”
“No, baby, nothing like that. And it may turn out to be nothing but…” Jason stopped talking and looked at Camille.
“But it might be something, and you need to know.” She looked around the table. “You all know Jenny was adopted.” There were murmurings of assent around the table.
Parker knew Jenny was open about her past and proud of her parents, of having been adopted. That had been clear to him and Dale since the first time she ever talked about them.
“Jason and I had been trying to have a baby for a long time before we had tests done and discovered we couldn’t. My best friend, Linda Welsh, is a nurse at Montgomery-Freeborn hospital in Dallas. She’s worked there for years, and she was on duty the day that Jenny and her birth mother were brought i
n.” Camille sat forward at the table, her hands clasped together. Jason laid his hand on her back. It was the kind of thing a man did to comfort his wife and lend her some of his strength.
Jenny gripped Parker’s hand tighter. He moved subtly closer to her. It didn’t surprise him in the least that Dale, on her other side, did the same thing.
“It was clear there was nothing anyone could do for the injured young woman. Linda stayed with Jenny’s birth mother. She regained consciousness just before she died. She said her name was Mandy, and she begged Linda to take care of her baby. To see to it she found a good home for her. Linda asked her what her last name was—the woman hadn’t been carrying any identification. She said ‘Smith’. Linda questioned her on that, but Mandy shook her head and said it didn’t matter. And then she said something that frightened Linda, and me, when she shared it a few hours later. She said, ‘Don’t let my family have Marissa Jayne. They’ll kill her just like they’ve killed me.’ Linda tried to get her to explain, but she slipped into a coma, and then, a few minutes later, she was gone.
“At the time, I worked with the department of children’s services. Linda contacted me. I was able to check recent birth records and found a registration for a Marissa Jayne Smith, mother named Mandy. So, between us, we saw to it that the records showed that a Mandy Smith had died claiming no family, except for her infant daughter, who she asked Linda to care for. The other nurses present, who’d done their best to help the young woman, overheard the request, except they hadn’t caught the baby’s name.”
“You and Aunt Linda…circumvented the adoption process?” Jenny seemed to be having a hard time wrapping her head around what her mother was saying.
“I fell in love with you at first sight—as did your father. And, we were all afraid for you,” Camille said. “Linda said your birth mother was clearly terrified of her family. We didn’t know what she’d meant, and there was no time, really, to wait and see. We didn’t know if maybe whoever had struck Mandy had done so deliberately, and would come looking for you. So, we acted quickly…we falsified the adoption papers, and I immediately resigned from my job, without telling my supervisor anything. They didn’t know I now had a daughter. But in the end, as it turned out, no one came looking for you.” Camille closed her eyes then opened them again. “No one asked about you—until three months ago. Linda just found out the day I called you that someone had been asking about that accident and looking into the old files. A private investigator.”
“What do you mean…asking?” Jenny looked at Ari, and then she turned to look at him and then Dale. “Like…they were trying to find me?”
“Linda doesn’t know for certain. You know that she’s Director of Nursing now. She only learned of the inquiry by happenstance, when a colleague mentioned a private investigator had been asking questions. Linda couldn’t dig too deeply or ask too many questions without raising suspicion.”
“Your mother and I wanted you to know. To be aware, in case someone comes here, looking for you. Though I don’t know if anyone will. And I don’t know for certain if that person would be a danger to you, or not. If they would cause trouble for us because our adoption of you didn’t go through proper channels.”
“So, you have no idea if someone means Jenny harm. Just that they’re looking for her.” Parker kept his hand holding Jenny’s and his gaze on her parents.
“I know this is a mess,” Camille said. She looked at her daughter. “One of the reasons we wanted to come here was to meet your friends, to see your support group, face to face. You’re not alone, and that’s the biggest blessing of all.”
“Though I don’t know if anything can be done about this situation if someone does come here,” Jason said.
“Of course, something can be done.” Jackson looked at Parker then turned to address Jenny. “You know the way things are here, right?”
“Adam keeps a close eye on security,” Jenny said.
“Adam? I don’t think we’ve met him,” Camille said.
“Adam Kendall. He’s the sheriff. Long before we came to live here,” Jackson said, addressing Jenny’s parents, “Adam started keeping track of strangers who came to town. A few incidents had occurred when people’s lives had been at risk, so it seemed a wise thing to do. We witnessed this town’s response up close and personal when Ari was in danger. Everything is going to be okay.”
“I know there may be consequences to be faced, for the actions I took all those years ago.” Camille’s words, quiet yet certain, touched all of them. Jason slipped his arm around his wife.
“What actions?” Jackson asked.
“You’ve lost us.” Cord did a credible job of looking confused.
“Adopting a baby that had been left, orphaned and all alone in the world?” Trace said.
“A poor little baby girl with no one in the world to care for her and then giving that baby a loving family?” Addison looked around the table. Every Benedict Parker was related to did a damn fine job of appearing completely guileless.
Then everyone looked at the Collinses. They seemed to understand the message they’d just been sent.
“I…we don’t know what to say.” Jason tucked his wife in closer. Tears shimmered in his eyes. The man was clearly too choked up to say anything else.
“We’re all family, here,” Ari said.
“And this is Lusty.” Shar smiled.
“And Lusty takes care of her own.” Laci raised her coffee cup in a toast.
Jenny looked around the table. Parker read love and gratitude on her face. He squeezed her hand gently. When she turned to him, he nodded.
There really wasn’t anything more to say. The family had just pretty much said it all, and he and Dale were with them one hundred percent.
Chapter Eight
The house, upper middle class, was set in a suburban Dallas neighborhood comprised of like-aged homes—April figured no more than thirty years old, max. The yards on this particular street showed well-tended neatness. Dotted with flower beds and trees, these yards whispered home. A harried executive could wend his way through Dallas’s busy, rush-hour traffic, through the ever-present stop lights and hold-ups, and the occasional blared car horn, until eventually arriving in this neighborhood, driving down this street, pulling his vehicle into the driveway and probably on into the garage. These yards surrounded houses that provided a necessary escape, a sanctuary against the frantic busyness of American urban life. Inside the walls of these homes, one could completely forget there was such a thing as urban sprawl.
This particular house had a live oak in the front yard, and the grass was trimmed, lush green, and devoid of weeds. The outside of the house appeared to have been recently painted, and April Bixby took a moment to appreciate the planting beneath the wide picture window.
Mrs. Collins has a good hand with antique roses. April immediately identified the flower because her mother had several of the beautiful, demanding bushes outside a very similar house, a few hours away in Austin.
A quick visual scan told April there were no toys such as skateboards, bicycles, or Tonka trucks laying about in any of the front yards close by. She was certain the lack spoke more to the fact there were likely few if any young children in the neighborhood rather than whether or not the people here practiced a kind of ruthless tidiness.
No car appeared parked in the Collinses driveway, but there was a garage, and the family vehicle could be in there. April was capable of snooping to see what she could see but thought it unnecessary. She’d done her homework and was pretty certain this was the right house. Whether or not anyone was home, she’d discover shortly.
She rang the bell, waited a minute, then rang it again. In her peripheral vision she could see the front picture window sufficiently. The curtain didn’t flutter. No one was peeking out at her. Yet the sense she was being watched skittered down her spine.
She rang the bell again and took a half a step back.
“They’re not home, dear.”
April turned her head to the right. An elderly woman, sitting on the porch next door, had her attention fixed on her, her expression holding a trace of curiosity. April sorted through her repertoire of approaches, made a choice, and then smiled.
“Well, that would be my luck. I haven’t visited Camille and Jason in ages. I was hoping to find out where Jenny is.” She put on her girl-next-door persona. The girl-next-door was a little naïve and would tell perfect strangers all manner of things. “We met in college and kept in touch for a couple of years. But then I got a job and moved up north for a spell, and we lost touch.”
“Well bless your heart for coming back to Texas, child.”
April, who was from Pennsylvania originally, grinned wider. Her accent sounded Texan, born and bred. “Yes, ma’am. I decided the money just wasn’t worth it.”
“You and Jenny have a lot in common. She went to work for that big company in Houston and then decided the same thing. They paid well enough, I reckon, but she didn’t like the pace—or the tone—of the staff there.”
“I’m not surprised. She’s too sweet to be swallowed up by a soulless corporation.”
The elderly woman nodded. “She is indeed. She got herself a job, a couple of years back, outside of Waco, at one of those chain restaurant places. She also picked up part-time work at another restaurant, a roadhouse. She told me last month when she came to visit that she’d left the chain when she was promoted to full time at the roadhouse. Says she really likes the woman who owns the place and the people who live in the small town close by.” Then the lady laughed. “She told me she got herself a nice little apartment in that small town close to her work. When she told me the name of that town, I just laughed and laughed because Jenny’s so sweet and doesn’t sound like she’d belong in such a town with such a name.”
April worked hard at appearing patient. She absolutely refused to let her eyes go wide as the woman kept talking—clearly the older version of the girl next door. She seriously hoped to be rewarded with some information that would help her out even more than she had been already.
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