Lonestar Angel (8 page)

“You must be Eden,” she said. “Here’s your coffee, strong and laced with lots of real cream, just as you like it.”

Eden accepted the mug filled to the brim. “Who told you that?”

“Clay.”

“He’s here?”

“Was,” the woman corrected. “He and Rick took off for town. Rick wanted the doctor to take another look at the snake wound.”

Eden took a gulp of coffee. It was perfect. “Clay seemed okay? He and Rick were out all night looking for the intruder.” She glanced around and made sure the girls were occupied.

“The sheriff came too.” Rita turned back to the stove, a mammoth affair that had eight burners. Four of them held skillets with pancakes sizzling in them.

“You’re the cook?”

The young woman nodded. “Rita Mitchell. I feed this wild bunch.” She ruffled Lacie’s hair, and the child hung on to her leg and looked up with clear adoration.

Eden could tell she and Rita were going to be friends. Was everyone in this area so welcoming? “Is Allie gone too?”

Rita nodded. “She had a planning meeting for a missions conference at church. The ladies are coming here for lunch, so you’ll get a chance to meet everyone before Sunday.”

Eden guided the girls to the table, then returned to seize plates of pancakes. “Is that real maple syrup?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t feed my girls anything but the best.” The young woman carried more plates to the table. “Eat up, honey. We need to get some meat on your bones. You a model or something?”

Eden’s cheeks heated. “I’m a nurse.”

Madeline touched Rita’s braid when the young woman sat beside her. “Could you braid my hair like that? Then we would be twins.”

“I sure can, honey. Or maybe Mrs. Larson can. She’s probably better at it than me.”

Eden smiled. “I’m not very good at braids. Maybe you could teach me as well.”

“Where are you from, Mrs. Larson?”

“Please call me Eden. I’m from Indiana. A little town called Wabash.”

“First electrically lighted city in the world.”

“How’d you know that?”

Rita shrugged. “My cousin lives in Peru, just down the road a piece.”

“Usually no one has ever heard of Wabash.”

“The Wabash-Erie Canal. Wabash Cannonball. Lots of interesting things in the area.”

Eden took a bite of pancake dripping with syrup. It was magnificent. “You’re quite the history buff.”

“I’m working on a historical romance set in Indiana. I’ve been reading up on the area.”

“You’re an author?”

“Well, not yet. Someday I’ll be just as famous as Nora Roberts. Most folks think I’m just a dreamer, but they’ll see when my first book is on the shelves.”

Eden grinned. “Somehow I believe you can do anything you set your mind to do.”

Rita’s smile was brighter than the sunbeams gleaming on the stainless sink. “We’re going to get along swell, Eden. I’m glad you’re here.”

“So am I,” Eden said, realizing she meant it. This place was so different from Indiana. The harsh landscape of red rocks and cacti. The sharp scent of creosote and sage in the air. The blue bowl of sky that went on forever. It was a little scary and exhilarating at the same time.

The girls finished breakfast and went off to watch their morning allotment of
Dora the Explorer
on TV. Eden helped Rita and her assistant, Tepin, a Hispanic woman of about thirty, clear the table.

“What do you know of the girls?” Eden asked Rita.

“They’re sweethearts, aren’t they?”

“They’re wonderful. I love them already.” Eden smiled. “Any of their families come to visit since they’ve been here?”

Rita turned on the hot water and dumped Dawn detergent into the sink. “Nope. We don’t let them come until the kids have been here at least a week, preferably two. Visits too soon only make them more homesick.”

Eden handed her a stack of dishes. “What did you think of that snake showing up last night?”

Rita dumped them into the soapy water. “I think it was blown out of proportion. Snakes get in all the time. One of the hazards of living in the desert.” She shrugged. “I saw one in the bushes outside my window just two days ago.”

Maybe no one had told her about the note. Eden opened her mouth to tell her, then closed it again. “Any new employees on the ranch right now?”

“Got several new ones. Tepin here. Sam’s a new hand. You. I guess not everyone wants to live in the desert.”

Before Eden could ask more questions, she saw Clay’s truck pull up outside. “Clay’s back. I think I’ll go see how he’s feeling,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

He should have spent the night in bed, not roaming the rocky hilltops. Clay rubbed his bleary eyes and parked the truck. His leg ached, but he’d popped ibuprofen all night, and the pain was somewhat better this morning. He’d let Rick out down by the barn.

When Clay exited the truck, he turned toward the house and saw Eden running toward him. The sight of her brought him a surge of energy. The morning sun turned her auburn hair to fire. He had to grin at her pumps, so out of place with the jagged rocks of the landscape.

She stopped three feet from him and tucked her hair behind her ears to reveal gleaming diamond earrings. “Find anything?”

“Not much. Just some tire tracks behind the barn, but Rick had no idea how long they might have been there.”

“You’re pale. You should be in bed.”

“I’m fine, really. How are the girls?”

“Watching cartoons. Then we’re supposed to take them on a hike.” She made a face. “But if you’re not up to it . . .” Her eyes were hopeful.

He grinned. “I think we need to teach you to ride first. But you’d need to change into jeans and boots.”

She lifted her chin. “Not going to happen.”

“You look great in anything, you know.”

She flushed. “Want some breakfast? I think there are pancakes left.”

“Don’t change the subject. What’s it going to take to get past that wall, Eden? When you left me, I didn’t know you much better than the day we met.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She turned toward the house, but he caught her arm. “I’d really like to know the woman past the pretty face and gorgeous hair. What do you want out of life? Who are you, really?”

Her green eyes flashed. “I’m exactly who I seem. It’s not my fault if you wanted some kind of wife who hiked the mountains with you. I never pretended to be GI Jane.”

“I don’t want to change you, but I just want to know you. You were always this perfect woman at the pinnacle of her career. Intelligent and beautiful, but remote. Never rattled for a moment.”

“Well, once we find Brianna, you never have to be disappointed in me,” she said.

Did her voice quiver? He’d like to think that just once he’d gotten past her defenses. “I was never disappointed in you.”

She met his gaze. “Our relationship is over, Clay. All I want is to find my daughter.”

“When Brianna was born, I thought your guard was finally starting to slip,” he said, tightening his grip on her arm when she tried to pull free. “You were crazy about her.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I wish I hadn’t given up on her.”

“You’re too hard on yourself. No one is perfect.”

“Except you.” Her tears vanished. “The protector and defender of the free world.”

“You say that like it’s an insult.”

“You like being the tough guy who never sheds a tear.”

Only because he had wanted to be strong for her. “You think I have no feelings?”

“Do you? You went off quite happily to South America when duty called.”

If only she’d seen his internal struggle. But he hadn’t allowed it. “The search here in the States was at a dead end.” And he’d hoped to find some clue to their daughter’s fate.

“I asked you not to go.”

She’d done more than that. She’d said if he left, their marriage would be over. And she’d followed through. He received the divorce papers a month after he left. Why
had
he left? Without Brianna to hold them together, he wasn’t sure how to make the marriage work. But was it because he couldn’t bear to see her leave him? Just the way his mother had done when she left with her lover, without a backward glance at her kids.

He shied away at the thought of his mother. “I had to go, Angel.”

She succeeded in pulling her arm free. “I hate that nickname!”

“It suits you.” He lifted a brow rather than tell her what it meant to him. “I dare you to change into jeans and boots.”

She brushed at an imaginary speck of dust on her shirt. “You know perfectly well I don’t own any boots. Or jeans.”

“I’ll buy you some.”

“I’d rather not be beholden to you.”

“Where do we go from here?” he asked her. “We both want Brianna when we find her. We’ve carefully avoided the topic of what happens next.”

She gave a shrug. “I suppose we act civilized like everyone else. I’ll take custody of her and you can have her every other weekend.”

Just what he didn’t want. “I don’t think so. I want her with me. You can have her every other weekend.”

“I’m her mother!”

“And I’m the father who never gave up looking for her.” The minute he spoke, he wished he could call back the words.

She swallowed hard. “How did you know, Clay? I’m her mother and I believed she was dead. Why didn’t you give up too?”

“I can’t explain it.”

It had been an intuition deep inside. She thought he had no feelings. The truth was, he had more than he could handle most times. The older he got, the harder it became to maintain his tough-guy, careless facade. He’d accused her of hiding behind a mask. Wasn’t he just as bad?

He turned her toward the house. “Let’s get chow. My belly is gnawing on my backbone.”

When they reached the kitchen, Rita turned with her smile increasing in wattage. “Clay, I kept some pancakes warm for you.”

He blinked at the way she batted her lashes. Like she was a Southern belle. Who did she remind him of? That gal who played Heidi maybe. Beside him, he felt Eden tense. She’d always thought friendly women were coming on to him. He wasn’t sure where her insecurity came from.

Putting his hand on Eden’s shoulder, he guided her to the table. “I could eat a horse.”

“I could make you some bacon too,” Rita said. She set the stack in front of him, then turned toward the refrigerator.

“No need. These pancakes are plenty.”

Rita pulled out a chair across from him and Eden. “Allie said you are a photojournalist. How romantic.”

He glanced away from her sappy smile. “Don’t let us interrupt your work,” he told Rita.

“I can take a break. So you’ve been to lots of other countries?”

“A few.” He shoveled in the food and passed the syrup to Eden.

Allie’s voice came from the living room. “Rita, could you come here a moment?”

Rita heaved a sigh and got up. “Call if you want anything more to eat. I’ll be happy to fix it.” She directed one last smile his way, then stepped out of the kitchen.

“Before you say anything, she’s just being friendly,” Clay said.

“A little
too
friendly,” Eden said. “But I think maybe it’s just her way. She was friendly to me too.”

He relaxed. “Glad you could see that.”

“Besides, we’re here only to find Brianna. I have no real hold on you.”

That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. As far as he was concerned, she could grab hold with both hands and never let go.

8

Y
OU SHOULDN’T HAVE BROUGHT HER HERE
. E
DEN HAD BEEN PUZZLING OVER THE CRYPTIC
message all day. What possible reason could the kidnapper—or anyone—have for not wanting her here? Was it possible someone intended to harm Clay but didn’t want to hurt her? If that was the case, then could that person be someone she knew? Someone who cared about her? The police said a kidnapper was often someone known to the family. In fact, Clay and Eden were suspected for a time of harming Brianna. But detectives interrogated all their acquaintances at great length and filed charges against no one.