If his words were meant to brush aside what had just happened, they’d done the complete opposite. Right now she wanted little more than to kiss him again. Wasn’t that just asking for trouble?
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Reluctantly, Dale let go of Hannah’s hand. He didn’t even have the right to do that. Hell, after only knowing Hannah a few days he barely had the right to talk to her. And considering the mess he was in, waiting for somebody else to come up with the evidence to keep him from a life in witness protection after testifying, was enough reason to not even become casual friends. Even if that much was already too late.
They were halfway through dinner before Dale realized that having DJ show up for supper every night was not the norm. And according to Aunt Eileen, showing up early for supper was very unusual. He couldn’t blame the guy for wanting to keep an eye on the situation himself. It was, after all, the people he loved most in the world who were at risk having Dale in their home.
Sean Farraday swallowed his last bite of pie. “What time is Brooks coming by tonight?”
“He’s not.” Aunt Eileen stood from the table, picking up her plate. “Nora is coming for today’s bloodwork. She should be here soon.”
“Today’s only the third day,” Dale picked up his empty plate, “and I’m already feeling like a pin cushion.”
“I’m sure you are, but it’s the only way to tell when you’re well enough to leave.”
Dale flashed the family matriarch a teasing grin. “Trying to get rid of me already?”
Flustered, Aunt Eileen’s eyes widened and her jaw went slack until she realized he was teasing her. Rolling her eyes, she whacked him lightly across the elbow. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like. But if riding out on that contraption all the way to China is what you want to do, then being pricked every day is the only way to do it.”
Carrying his dish to the sink, DJ looked to Dale. “What did Brooks have to say about yesterday’s blood test results?”
“Not much really.” Without thinking, Dale turned on the water and began rinsing off dishes. “We’re waiting for my Warfarin levels to be high enough that I no longer need the Heparin injections. As of yesterday’s blood test, we’re not there yet. But he gave no indication of how much longer it might be.”
Hannah opened the dishwasher door to load the rinsed dishes.
A plate in either hand, Aunt Eileen turned and smiled. “Isn’t this a lovely sight. Busy people cleaning up the dinner dishes, and I’m not one of them.”
Looking up from the dishwasher, Hannah waived an arm at her aunt. “You go watch something on TV or play cards with Uncle Sean. The rest of us can handle the kitchen tonight.”
For a short second her aunt looked as though she was going to object, but she merely handed the dishes off to Hannah and marched slowly to the den.
While DJ brought more dishes over from the table, Finn put the leftovers in glass containers to stack in the fridge, Dale filled the empty pots with warm soapy water to soak, and Hannah reached for the old radio that had sat on the kitchen shelf for as long as she could remember. Immediately one of her favorite country songs came on, and she sang along softly, almost mumbling the lyrics.
“You have a pretty voice.” Dale turned off the faucet to better hear her.
DJ placed the last empty dishes into the sink. By the time he’d returned to the table with a sponge he was humming along with Hannah. “That’s a catchy tune. What’s the name?”
“Not sure.” Hannah shrugged. “I like the chorus where it goes If you were mine I’d always be there.”
“Sort of gets in your head and won’t let go.” DJ paused, listening.
Finn put the last food container into the fridge, and standing beside his brother, focused on the song. “Definitely one of those songs I can see myself humming for the next few weeks. Who sings it?”
“Some new group.” Hannah stuffed the dish rag over one of the cabinet handles. “Their name is Tow the Line.”
Finn and DJ froze in place. Only the startled look in their eyes implied something was not right. Immediately, DJ whipped out his phone and began tapping away.
“Is something wrong?” Hannah asked.
DJ swiped the phone once and again, and then letting out a heavy sigh lifted the phone face out for Finn to see. “It’s her. Do you think Ethan knows?”
“Ethan?” Hannah inched around her cousins to look at the face of the phone. Nothing struck her at first glance. Certainly nothing that her cousin finishing out his time in the Marines in California would need to know. “I don’t get it. What am I looking at?”
“I had to dig a little, but one of the backup singers is Fancy Langdon.”
“And?”
“She’s Brittany’s mother.”
Hannah had to think a minute. Why did this matter? “Is this a big deal?”
Finn shrugged and looked at his brother. “What do you think?”
“I honestly don’t know.” DJ looked at the screen again. “But I think we’d better talk to Ethan.”
Dale stepped up next to DJ as well. “Anything I can help with?”
“Nothing you can do that I couldn’t do.”
Hannah looked from Dale to DJ, thinking what an odd come back. “Is there something you two aren’t telling me?”
DJ pinched his brow. “When is Grace coming home?”
“Saturday morning. Why?”
“No reason. Just curious.” DJ ran his hands along the back of his neck.
Not that Hannah believed DJ’s answer for a minute, but she was even less inclined to believe him when he shifted gears by calling Brooks for an update and stepped outside.
Hannah looked to Finn. “Is he upset about Fancy or Grace?”
Her cousin shook his head and even though he wasn’t asked, Dale smiled and shrugged.
An odd reaction for someone who shouldn’t know anything. Or did he?
****
With the kitchen cleaned up and DJ on the porch still, Dale decided a little fresh air was in order. “I think I’ll go outside and stretch my legs.”
Finn nodded, but eyes squinting, Hannah looked suspiciously through the window at DJ and back to him before nodding as well.
“I see. Uh huh. All right.” DJ pinched his brow again. “We’ll have to play this by ear. Thank you, bro.”
“Not good news?”
“That all depends. Brooks is pleased with your progress in general.”
“I detect a but coming.”
DJ nodded. “He’s projecting you’ll need a few extra days here.”
Dale dropped into the nearest rocker. “I’m sure I can get the shots somewhere else.”
“Too risky.” DJ shook his head.
“Not really. Nobody knows I threw a clot and am on Heparin.”
DJ blew out a sigh. “Have you heard anything more from the DA?”
“Nothing you want to hear.”
“Well,” DJ looked his friend in the eye and sighed, “if nothing’s changed, all we can do is wait and see how long we can keep this thing quiet.”
A part of him knew DJ was right. Odds were pretty slim anyone was looking for him, and even if they were, a cattle ranch wouldn’t be the first place to look regardless if his old partner was the chief of police. But another part wanted to get as far away as possible from these nice people to avoid any chance of bringing harm down on them. Especially one. “You sure?”
“I’m not sure of a blessed thing, but it’s what we’re going to do for now.” DJ turned to open the screen door. “Coming?”
“No. It’s been a long day. I think I’ll just sit here for a short while.”
With a nod, DJ stepped inside and the screen door slammed shut behind him.
One thing that Dale loved about the West Texas sunset and being this far away from a big city was the splattering of bright stars in the sky. Staring off in the distance, watching the sun kiss the horizon and waiting for darkness to fall, he felt a
rushing pressure against his leg.
Another clot was the first thing to cross his mind, but before he had time to process the options, he felt the nudge and tap at his knee and looked down. “Well, how are you today?”
A soft grumble that wasn’t quite a whine and wasn’t quite a bark came from the furry pup.
“You’re a talker, are you?” He scratched under the puppy’s chin. “Guess you may have a bit of husky in you too.”
The puppy circled his leg and then nudged Dale’s hand with his nose.
“Wonder where Mama is?” Continuing to scratch the puppy behind his ears, he scanned the area for the mother. “Guess you’re on your own tonight.” He was going to have to remember to ask the family what this fellow’s name was, and if there were more to the litter.
The fuzzy guy curled up beside Dale’s foot, resting his chin across his boots and thoroughly enjoying the scratch. “I bet you will give me all of two or three hours to stop doing this, won’t you?” Dale wasn’t completely sure, but he thought the dog opened one eye and looked up at him before flopping back down again.
Enjoying the relaxed moment with the puppy nearly as much as the little dog clearly was, Dale was startled by the sound of his cell phone. Usually he was the one to check in with the DA and no one else had the number. The unexpected call had him on alert. Not that he expected his enemies to have found him here at the ranch, but just the same he stood and walked to the edge of the porch, scanning the distance left to right and across the other way as he answered the phone. “Yes?”
“Thought you might like to know,” the DA said easily, “the henchmen who witnessed Joe pull the trigger is in ICU.”
“Apparently he was expendable.”
“A loose end perhaps. Either way, we’ve got double guards on duty. If he wakes up and we dangle the WITSEC carrot, we might flip him.”
Disappearing into witness protection would most likely be the only way for that guy to stay alive if the mob wanted him dead. “What are his chances of waking up?”
“50-50. If you believe in prayer, start praying.”
That was something he had a lot of practice at. “Thanks for the update.”
“Dale?” Her voice lowered slightly. “I won’t let you down.”
“Back at you.” Disconnecting the call, he slipped the phone into his breast pocket. Hopefully this time, luck and a prayer would be enough.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Unless she was dealing with a student, waiting patiently was not one of Hannah’s strengths. She’d waited in the den with the rest of the family for nearly half an hour for Dale to come back inside and finally gave up with any pretense of watching whatever show was on television. With some lame excuse about heading for the barn, she made her way outside.
At first glance she didn’t see Dale on the porch or on the path and wondered if he was in the barn. Then she spotted movement to the right of the path. Hands in his pockets, his back to her, Dale stared off in the distance.
Having grown up with two older brothers, she understood the concept of man cave. Usually when one of her brothers was upset, or one of her cousins, they’d withdraw into something they love to do on their own. For all she knew this was one of those times for Dale. But something deep inside wouldn’t allow her to turn around and go back into the house alone. Instead, she carefully went down the steps and across the path. She’d only made it halfway when he turned around to face her.
“I was hoping that was you.”
Six little words and she had to bite back the urge to grin like a fool. “Wasn’t sure if I should interrupt.”
“Watching the sunset and the stars. Something that’s always better with company.” He flashed a sweet smile that almost made her knees wobble. “Everything is so peaceful here.”
“You mean nothing like life in the city?” The man was so tight lipped about his recent life, all this secretiveness was starting to unnerve her.
“Something like that.” He turned his attention forward once again. “What do you dream of?”
Once again, he’d deflected her inquiries. Why did she bother trying? On a silent sigh, she gave in to his line of questioning. “You mean when I sleep, or when I think about winning the lottery
The comment drew a chuckle from him and a glance in her direction. “Okay, one dream—win the lottery. When you think of the rest of your life, what do you picture?”
“That’s a tough question.” She had to pause a moment. “I guess I always thought in short term goals. Finish school, finish my hours, get my license, find steady work.” This time she looked off into the distance a second before turning back to face him. “Long term—to make a difference. To help my students have a better life. Help those people who have fallen through the cracks.”
“The Clarks of this world?” he asked.
“Yes and no. Don’t get me wrong, I want very badly to help Clark. But there are some people out there who don’t have mothers and fathers with good insurance or solid bank accounts. There are men and women, and sadly children, who have been hurt and broken and maybe even abandoned. If not physically then emotionally. And there are some who are drowning in their own despair. It’s those people who need folks like my cousin Connor, his wife, Grace, me, and anybody else who will stand with them.”
Smiling at her, Dale tipped his head slightly as though that would make him see her more clearly. “You really are amazing. I thought that the first time I watched you work with the horses, the way you are with your family, and today with your students. You’re quite the woman.”
Her family always told her things like that. Of course any guy in college anxious to get into her pants had showered her with flattery, but these complements came with no strings other than friendship. “There’s nothing special about me.”
“You are so very wrong about that. You are beautiful inside and out.”
Heat rose to her cheeks. She needed to redirect the conversation. “What about you? What are your dreams?”
“Until recently I didn’t think I had dreams anymore.”
She waited briefly for him to say something else but decided he needed a little prompting. “Something has changed?”
“Maybe.” He shifted around to face her fully. “Looks like I’m going to be staying on longer than we thought.”
A flash of exhilaration at a chance to spend more time together fizzled out at the thought of why. “Is something wrong?”
“No. I just need more time for the medicine to kick in so I won’t need the shots anymore.”
Was it terribly wrong for her to be happy the medicine was taking too long to work? “Will you be staying here or going back to the B&B?”
“Here.” He reached down and took hold of her hand. “Do you mind?”
She shook her head. She liked being this near, and the feel of her hand in his. Probably more than she should.
“You know enough about me to know my life right now is… complicated. There are things I’d like to share, but I can’t. Still, I want you to know—you—this place,” he waved his arm towards the house, “and this family are very special. I’ll treasure you all always.”
A sick feeling twisted in the pit of her stomach. “That sounds terribly ominous.” Whatever the hell he was hiding and whatever connection it was that he and DJ had, her gut told her none of it was good.
****
“Looks to me like those two are getting awfully friendly.” Eileen rinsed her glass and set it in the dishwasher. She’d been watching Hannah and Dale carefully all evening. Something had shifted today. She couldn’t put her finger on it. At one point she thought there was more distance between them and the next thing there appeared to be more familiarity. Neither made sense.
“This was so much easier when the dog was around,” she muttered to herself.
Sean came to stand beside her and lifted the lid on the pie plate. “I wouldn’t worry about them. Hannah’s got a good head on her shoulders. She knows he’s not going to be sticking
around long.”
Except it wasn’t Hannah’s head that Eileen was worried about. “Do you know what exactly is going on between DJ and Dale?”
Sean’s jaw tensed. After all these years, she easily recognized when he was torn inside.
“You’ve made a promise,” she said softly.
“I have.” The way he studied her, she knew he was thinking about breaking that promise.
“DJ told you why he’s hiding out here?”
Sean hesitated, but nodded.
“It’s serious? Strike that. Stupid question. Is it dangerous?”
Her brother-in-law pressed his lips tightly then blew out a sigh. “Not now, but it could be. The less details we know, the better for everyone, especially Dale. That’s the only reason I would agree not to share with you or the children.”
For Sean Farraday to keep a secret from his entire family, that secret had to be something big. She glanced out the window at the two people walking back to the house. Lord how she hoped whatever everybody was hiding wasn’t something that would break Hannah’s heart.
****
“It’s all settled.” Catherine caught up with Dale and Hannah near the back porch. “I’ve been working on it almost nonstop since Clark agreed to participate.”
“The games?” Hannah asked.
Holding up a folder, Catherine grinned like the Cheshire cat. “Everything. We’re registered for the events in Houston. I’ve blocked out a long weekend in three weeks for our local event.”
“You’ve been busy.”
Stepping onto the porch, Catherine pulled a few pages from the file. “I’ve worked on flyers, sign-up sheets, marketing plans.” She shoved the pages back in the folder. “It just came together so easily. I talked to Grace over the phone and she’s already rolling with it. Your cousin is amazing. She’s rattling off newspapers, TV interviews, you name it. We are going to get great publicity.”
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