Buch lesen: «Lone Star Hero»

To my sisters Tracye Ward and Amanda Warren—you have become amazing women and great mothers. I know our parents would be proud. Always to Fred Navarro, husband extraordinaire.

Acknowledgments

There are so many people that made my dream of being a writer become reality.

First to the gifted writers at San Antonio Romance Authors for sharing their time and talents, especially Linda Carroll-Bradd, who taught me what POV meant and how to use it.

Joni, Marilyn, Sasha and Storm, thank you for listening and reading.

To Jodi Thomas and Alexandra Sokolof, two of the most talented and giving people I know.

To the best agent ever, Pam Hopkins.

To the remarkable Emily Rodmell, thank you for giving me the opportunity to share Clear Water, Texas, with the world. My stories are better because of your insight and knowledge.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

The blue and red lights flashed. Polished cowboy boots stepped out of the looming SUV. Each step stirred pale dust into the dry air. She didn’t need to look at his face to know who had pulled her over. Ever since her return to Clear Water, Texas, she had done her best to avoid this state trooper.

Jake Torres made it too easy to doubt her resolve to be independent. After a disastrous marriage with one hometown boy, she couldn’t contemplate a relationship with another, even if he had been her best friend once upon a time.

Now her ex-friend was going to give her a ticket on Valentine’s Day. Great. Another memento to add to this wonderful day.

Turning away from the rearview mirror, she glanced at the box of pink penguin cupcakes. They had taken her twice as long to decorate as she’d planned.

“Mom! We’re going to be late!” Ashley, her seven-year-old daughter, cried from the backseat.

She closed her eyes for a moment to control the burning acid in her stomach.

More money gone. She didn’t even have enough to buy her daughter the lollipop Valentine cards she wanted. With a quick check in the mirror, she noticed Ashley going through the handmade cards. A weak smile eased some of the tension as she thought of the fun they’d had while cutting and gluing scrap pieces of construction paper. Even Seth, her preteen son, had made a couple of glittery masterpieces.

An unwanted memory surfaced. The sparkly red heart she had created as an eleven-year-old. She could see Jake’s fingers take the Valentine card made just for him. She’d held her breath watching him read the question she had so carefully printed. Looking up at her, he had smiled and laughed at her. “Vickie, you’re crazy.”

“Vickie?” A baritone voice of the grown version of her childhood crush brought her back to the present. He now stood in his state trooper uniform and looked at her as if he still doubted her sanity.

“Officer Torres.” She replied in her most professional voice.

He leaned in a bit and looked past her. “Hi, Ashley. You’re looking pretty today.”

“Thank you. We’re going to the horse club’s Valentine’s party.”

He smiled and nodded before looking back at her. Well, she assumed he looked at her. With the dark aviators, all she saw was her own reflection. Not pretty.

“License and insurance?”

She handed him the documents. He always looked so good in cowboy hats. She made sure not to gaze at him. Instead, she focused on the empty country road stretched out in front of her. The outline of the hills surrounding them hid any sign of civilization.

A silver truck sped by and honked. Vickie scooted farther down in her seat and looked to her right. The Black Angus heifers went on with their eating. Her father’s cattle couldn’t care less about her problems.

“How is Seth doing?” Jake pulled her attention back to him.

Her knuckles went white around her worn and cracked steering wheel. Just two months ago, her son snuck out, making plans to run away and ended up in the shallow river in the dark. Her heart still stopped whenever she thought how close she came to losing her son. The image of his still form loaded into the ambulance burned forever in her mind.

“Last week the doctor released him for all regular activities. He’s a hundred percent recovered, physically anyway.” She took a breath and looked up. “Thank you for being there, for searching for him and helping me hold it together.” It had been the worst night of her life, and Jake had stayed by her side until they found Seth. He drove her to the ambulance and helped her stay calm when it felt as if she was going to fall to pieces.

He paused and brought his face back to her. “I’m glad I was there. Vickie, you know if you ever need anything you can call me.”

Yeah, that was Jake, everyone’s hero. Giving her a speeding ticket, probably for her own good. “You wouldn’t consider just giving me a warning, would you?” She tried to smile, but visions of her measly savings dwindling even further made it difficult.

“The sun’s almost down. It’s hard to see deer, and in your small car that can be dangerous. Just the other day...” His voice dropped off as he looked back to his new handheld scanner. “Um...Vickie?”

That didn’t sound good. “Yes?”

“Are you aware you have a warrant out for your arrest?”

“What?” Her voice squeaked as it caught in her throat. “Oh, no! I had a ticket somewhere in East Texas. I didn’t...oh, then Tommy and Seth...” She covered her face with her cold, clammy hands. You will not cry, Victoria Maria Lawson. You will not cry.

“Mommy?”

“Vickie, take a breath. It’s okay. You have a way to pay it, right? You can ask your father.” He took the dark shades off. “As soon as you pay it in full they’ll remove the warrant.”

“I’m not asking Daddy. I just forgot about it.” Did she have enough in her savings? Was she ever going to get to the point where she put more in than she withdrew? She looked in the rearview mirror. Ashley’s big eyes were even wider. “It’s okay, sweetheart.” She glanced up at Jake. “I have Ash...”

“Vickie. I don’t want to arrest you, but you have to pay it. Call your dad. He’ll help you.”

“I have the money. I’m not asking Daddy to save me. I completely forgot... How could I...?” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. How did she let this happen? With Seth’s near-death excursion and Tommy getting remarried she just...

“Mommy, are we still going to the horse club meeting?”

Oh, Ashley. “I don...”

“Vickie, take her to the party.” He lowered his chin and stared at her a moment before speaking again. “I’ll follow. Ashley can go into the exhibit hall and you can take care of the ticket over the phone.”

His thoughts were hidden behind the depth of his dark eyes. The intense gaze made her want to hide.

“Take it slow. Being late is not the worst thing that can happen.” He glanced down. “You need new tires. These are bald, and your inspection sticker needs to be renewed.” He took a step back.

She managed to nod. “Thank you. I can pay it. I just forgot.” He didn’t get it. She grew up relying on her parents then Tommy. She refused to ask them for help. She had to do this on her own.

She turned the key. Click... Click. No! She tried again. Nothing. Come on. Please start.

One more try. The engine started. Yes! So much for a grand exit. It didn’t purr, not like the Mercedes she drove just two years ago. She reminded herself to be grateful for a car she bought with her own money. Pulling back onto the country road, she headed to the arena on the edge of town.

* * *

Back in the SUV, Jake turned off the flashing light. With a heavy sigh, he started the engine.

He spent years ignored by Vickie. He should be used to it by now. Nevertheless, seeing her so battered by life hurt him in a way he suspected he’d never get over.

After checking the empty road for traffic, he pulled out to follow her. He’d pay the ticket himself if it would keep him from having to arrest her. He imagined she’d never forgive him for putting her in jail in front of her daughter.

Vickie would never forgive him for helping her, either. Describing her as stubborn was like calling the Texas sun in August a little warm.

Just a couple of months ago her son had been airlifted to San Antonio after almost drowning. He thought they had connected that night and she would be more open to reviving their old friendship.

Going by the Mercantile where she worked, he tried talking to her, but she managed to be in the back of the store whenever he stopped by.

Vickie made it clear that he had no place in her life.

He finally got to see her face-to-face, only to have to threaten to arrest her. Not the impression he wanted to make.

Easing into the parking spot next to Vickie’s small vehicle, Jake put the Explorer in park in front of the sixty-year-old county building. The windows of the wood exhibit hall shimmered with pink and red metallic ribbons.

A couple of faces appeared through the streamers followed quickly by three girls rushing outside. “Ashley! Where have you been? You volunteered to decorate.”

The oldest one, Rachel Levi, the pastor’s daughter, stopped at the edge of the concrete slab and looked at Vickie instead of the younger girls. “Mrs. Lawson, is Seth with you?”

“No, sweetheart, he’s with his grandfather.” Vickie reached over and pulled the cupcakes out.

Ashley stood with her box of cards. “He’s grounded. But he made a card for you.”

“Really?” A smile lit up her face. The preteen turned to Vickie. “He’s still grounded because we snuck out?”

“No, Rachel, he has a whole new set of reasons.”

Her lips drawn, the girl looked uncomfortable. She had been with Seth the night he ran away and had pulled his unconscious body out of the river.

“Is your father here tonight?” Vickie asked.

Rachel nodded. “Daddy still doesn’t allow me anywhere without him.”

Jake looked at his watch. If Vickie was going to get her fines paid today, she needed to make those calls before the office closed.

He moved forward to take the cupcakes from her. “Come on, girls, let’s get these inside. Ms. Lawson has some calls to make before the party starts.”

Ashley and Celeste, Rachel’s little sister, skipped to his side, holding hands. “Celeste, my mom made penguin cupcakes,” Ashley said.

Rachel went in, shoulders slumped, but the other girls hopped around him.

“Oh, Ashley, these are the cutest cupcakes ever.” Mia De La Cruz, one of Ashley’s friends, held the door open for them.

At the far end of the room, women were setting the tables with food and drinks. He knew everyone. To his left Pastor John and Adrian De La Cruz kicked balloons out of their way as they walked toward him.

Adrian, a carpenter and roper Jake hung out with, slapped him on the back. “So you giving Ms. Lawson and her cupcakes a police escort?”

He smiled. “Looks that way, doesn’t it? So where do these guys go?”

“I’ll take them, Officer Torres.” Rachel took the box from him and headed across the open floor.

Tables covered in more pink and red lined the walls. They left the center open for games and dancing. He spent many nights in his youth at the 4-H meetings and parties with Adrian and Vickie. “So now you’re one of the 4-H parents?”

Adrian laughed. “That’s me, dad of the Valentine’s party. Happens a lot faster than you realize. Are you staying to help?”

“No, I just followed Vickie. I’m heading out, still on duty.”

“Daddy!” Mia, Adrian’s ten-year-old daughter, ran toward them. “Ms. Ortega is looking for the oranges and Hula-Hoops. Did you bring them in?”

“Yeah, I’ve got ’em.” With another slap on Jake’s back, Adrian followed his daughter to the group of mothers.

John gave him a quick goodbye and headed to his daughters.

Jake used to wonder what it would be like to have his own family. One part of him loved the thought of being the dad that helped at the 4-H events and rodeos, watching his own kids participate and compete. The other part knew he had no business being anyone’s father or husband. The knowledge didn’t seem to stop him from dreaming, though.

Vickie peeked around the door, scanning the area until she spotted him. She waved him over then disappeared outside.

For some insane reason, he smiled as he followed her through the door. Tomorrow she’d go back to ignoring him, but for now he had her full attention.

Chapter Two

Vickie stood at her backyard fire pit alone, watching the dancing flames, the day finally over. She’d paid her ticket and left the party as soon as she could. Tomorrow would have been her thirteenth wedding anniversary. With the ugly emotions surfacing, it was a good thing Ashley went home with Mia, and Seth had stayed the night at her parents’ house.

She had not had a second to herself in two months and tonight she needed some alone time. A fitting end to her worst Valentine’s Day ever.

Well, maybe not the worst. Three years ago today, she found out her husband had been involved with his campaign manager, a woman she trusted. A woman that had sat at her dinner table and played with her kids. An anniversary gift she’d never forget.

She had worked so hard at being the good wife to a man that didn’t care about being a good husband or father. It was all about image for Tommy.

Dousing the fire pit with diesel, Vickie watched the flames dance high into the Texas night sky. Hands on her hips, she looked up, following the tongues of orange as they curled and danced toward the stars.

For a moment, she focused on the silhouetted hills surrounding her father’s ranch. She grew up counting the trees along the riverbank. Their smell always gave her comfort, but not tonight.

Tonight she needed to do something to purge the remaining traces of bitterness and feeling of helplessness. Maybe a good cry. She snorted. Her mother would disapprove.

Crying didn’t solve anything, just made a person look weak. Opening the elaborate cover of her wedding album, she looked at the engagement picture. That girl looked like a stranger to her now. She was made up in the image of her mother.

Tommy smiled at the camera, one arm wrapped around her waist. Her hand flat against his shirt, showing off the large diamond. She tossed the grinning groom into the blaze and stared as his face distorted before vanishing into ashes.

She couldn’t think of one single day in the last two years she had even missed Tommy and his hypercritical demands. Finding out about the other woman was her breaking point. He blamed her, telling her he couldn’t love her.

Being a wife and mother was all she ever wanted. She didn’t seem to be winning in that department, either. She rolled her head back and closed her tired eyes.

A grown woman with an eleven-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter to raise and not a marketable skill in sight.

Her mother lectured her for the past twelve years about being the good wife, even after the divorce. People in her family did not get divorced.

Against all evidence, Elizabeth Lawson hung on to the dream that Tommy would come back and beg her forgiveness, becoming the model family man. Vickie knew it was beyond over. She failed at marriage and had messed up the perfect family history. Her mother would have to find a way to deal.

The one thing she would not be, could not be, was a failure at being a mom. Her kids needed her more than ever since Tommy’s disappearing act.

She tore out another photo, her mother fussing over the intricate pile of hair the hairdresser had created around the bridal veil. Miles of perfectly preserved white lace and tiny beaded pearls surrounded Vickie along with all her mother’s plans and expectations.

Seth needed her to be strong. She knew the divorce and his father’s abandonment hurt him beyond words.

Flipping the heavy page, she ripped out another photo. Into the fire the kiss went. Running down the steps of the church...gone.

The three-foot wedding cake...history.

The breeze blew smoke into her face. Vickie’s chest and throat started to burn as tears finally escaped, one after another. Her eyesight blurred as she watched each picture vanish in the multicolored inferno.

Headlights made their way down the long drive. She gritted her teeth. Why couldn’t her mother just leave her alone in her misery? Using the bottom of her oversize T-shirt, Vickie wiped her face.

The car door opened and closed.

“Vickie?” A strong, masculine voice surprised her. She hung her head. Much worse than her mother, the ex-best friend that almost arrested her today. Officer Jake Torres.

“I could see the flames from the highway. You know the county is in the middle of a burn ban.” He walked straight toward her.

She pretended not to notice his wide shoulders or powerful legs. He was a walking cliché of a Texas Ranger. “Officer Torres, I would think you had better things to do than bother women—” A leftover sob escaped her chest. She swallowed it back down “—on their own property. Is this an arrestable offense also?”

He sat on his heels, hunched next to her as he picked up a picture that had fallen in the dirt. “Wedding pictures?”

She stared at the fire, hoping he would leave. She didn’t want to share her humiliation with anyone, especially her childhood crush. Every girl at school had giggled whenever Jake walked by. He had been her best friend but completely out of reach.

He thrust his chin to the box at her feet. “In honor of your anniversary?”

She turned to him in shock. “You remembered my wedding date? Tommy never did.” She should look away. Please, just go away before I start to think I could rely on you. “You weren’t even there.”

This time he broke eye contact first. “Yeah, I...um... I had to be somewhere else.”

Why didn’t you take me with you? “You had to run off and save the world.”

He reached out and touched her arm. His dark hand stood in contrast to her pale skin.

“Vickie, are you all right? Has Tommy done something?” She jerked her arm back. Don’t let him think you need a friend, Victoria Maria. She turned her face away from him and focused on the fire. “I’m fine. This is not about Tommy. He’s in Florida planning his new future, and I’m here with the kids. That’s all I need.” Please leave before I do something stupid like cry in front of you.

He pulled his hand back and stood. “You’re a good mother. Listen, I know you’ve had a couple of rough years, but you have people that are here for you if you need anything.”

The problem with that was she needed to learn to take care of herself. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she focused on the popping of the fire. Maybe if she ignored him, he’d go away.

* * *

Looking around, he spotted the green water hose, neatly curled up like a snake. With a turn of the old knob, he had the water running full blast. Stretching the hose from the old barn to the pit, he started smothering the flames. Jake scanned the area for any wayward embers.

Vickie burst from her chair almost eye to eye with him, even barefoot. He always liked her height. He frowned. Was that the problem? His mother was always trying to match him up with short women.

“Hey! That’s my fire. Just because you wear a uniform now doesn’t mean you...”

“Victoria, it’s so dry, the smallest spark could turn your father’s ranch into an inferno.”

Standing, she crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at him.

He smiled.

The hostility in her glare was so much better than the defeated look he saw earlier.

With a deep sigh, she looked away and ran her fingers through her dark blond mane. “I’m sorry.”

Tonight her hair hung loose, looking wild as the flames reflected off the long strands. He loved it down. Most of the time, she kept it styled and starched. He had to lean in a bit to hear what she muttered.

“I don’t know why I say the things I do. It just pops in my head and out of my mouth.” She turned her face back to him. Her eyelashes glistened with moisture. “I’m so tired of fighting. Seth and I had another argument earlier today.”

Jake concentrated on putting out the flames. He could control this fire for her. He had no idea how to help her with the rest of her life. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Talk to him, explain what’s going on. Believe me, sons are very forgiving of their mothers.”

He shoveled some dirt from the nearby mound into the pit. The last of the flames died out, separating them with a column of thick smoke.

She flopped back down in the camping chair. “I’m sure he’d be much happier without me as his mother.” She closed her eyes. “I can’t blame him. I don’t want to be around me, either.”

“Seth loves you. He’s just angry and confused right now. Give him some time.” He coiled the hose. Standing a good ten feet away, he could still see her shivering as she huddled into a ball.

With the fire out, all the heat vanished, leaving the cold breeze and smoke between them.

He didn’t want to leave, but he had to get going.

A few steps and he was next to her. He slipped off his jacket and laid it over her thin T-shirt. Sitting on his heels next to the camouflaged chair, his hand resting on the canvas arm, as close to her as possible without touching, he said, “Listen, Vickie, I know it’s been a tough couple of years, but life will get better.”

“Thanks.” Her tight-lipped answer gave him the first clue that their friendly discussion had ended about as fast as it had started.

He stood. “Call me if you need anything.” Like the hardheaded idiot he was, he waited. After a few extensive minutes loaded with nothing but his own breathing, Jake stepped back. “Good night, Victoria.” Another pause, just to make sure she had nothing else to say.

With a locked jaw, he walked to his patrol car. He forced himself to look straight ahead, no turning back, not one glance over his shoulder. No, she had made it clear over the years she didn’t need him. So why did he think tonight would be any different?

* * *

Vickie watched as each step took Jake farther away from her. She bit her lip as her fingernails cut into her palms. The urge to call him ripped at her throat. He slipped into his black SUV and reversed out of her drive. A new type of sadness wrapped itself around her heart. She hadn’t felt so alone with him next to her.

Thick smoke rose from the fire pit. She wanted to throw her whole album into the now-soggy, mud-filled hole, but it was a part of her children’s history. A part of her history—the good, bad and ugly.

Instead of dwelling on old hurts, she knew her time would be better spent focusing on the good and reading her Bible. Two months ago, holding her unconscious son’s cold hand, she prayed for God’s forgiveness, wise words and a new heart.

She had released the bitterness and anger; now she needed to put that new life into action. So many people deserved apologies from her. Where did she start?

* * *

Vickie walked back into her little single-wide trailer. For a second the thin walls of the narrow trailer closed in on her. It had been their temporary home for almost two years now. A stark difference to the three-thousand-square-foot home they had in San Antonio.

That life was gone, along with the money and the delusion of a happy ever after.

Snuggling deeper into the sturdy jacket, Jake’s warmth and scent surrounded her—outdoors and leather.

On the faux-wood coffee table sat the Bible her father handed her when she signed the divorce papers. All he ever said about the whole mess was, “Stay focused on your faith. The Lord has you.”

Why didn’t God give her a man of faith like her dad?

She let the pages fall open. She had marked Jeremiah 16:19 on the night she sat in the waiting room when her son had almost died. “‘The Lord is my strength and my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.’” Her soft words helped fill the emptiness.

Jake had given her that verse on the way to the ambulance. God would be her refuge. She moved to the last door in the tiny hall. Her son was hurting. She grew up with two sisters and had no idea how to deal with an eleven-year-old boy that wanted his father.

He’d gotten so angry when she told him he wouldn’t be going to Tommy’s wedding. He blamed her for everything, the divorce, his father’s leaving, his trouble with Rachel.

She protected the children from the worst of the betrayals, but she was losing her son.

Tommy wanted to focus on his new bride without the kids around. Her fingers gripped the edges of the cherished Bible. Of course, he made her tell the kids.

Leaning her forehead against the handmade warning sign taped to his door, she softly prayed. “God, please lift me up to be the kind of mother my children need. Cover Seth and Ashley in your love.”

The trailer filled with heavy silence. She laid a hand against the plastic trim to support her now-weak legs. “I love Seth and Ashley so much. Thank you for the gift of being their mother.” She waited for a heartbeat...two... “Help me use the right words with them to heal any hurts.”

The phone rang. Instead of answering, she moved to the freezer and pulled out the vanilla ice cream.

“Victoria Maria, it’s your mother.” Her mother’s sweet Texas drawl was leftover from her Dallas debutante days.

She was getting better at ignoring it.

“I need to talk to you about Seth.” Her mother continued. “I know you’re in that trailer.”

Vickie could hear the disgust in her mother’s tone. Each time she came to the house, her mother looked around the room as if she had found a roach running across the toes of her high-heeled shoes. Vickie closed her eyes and waited.

“Victoria Maria Miller, pick up.”

Elizabeth Marie Lawson never screamed, shouted or yelled, but she had a voice of steel and she expected to be obeyed.

With a heavy sigh, Vickie picked up the landline with one hand and used the other to fill her mouth with ice cream.

She knew it was a petty form of rebellion, but it felt good to answer while still chewing.