Resisting Redemption Page 9

  She hadn’t even given Lisa time to say no. Sara Beth probably planned all of it, battery dying. Psh, whatever.

  At least Sara Beth had given Lisa the push she needed to call Mary. They hadn’t talked in forever. Not since that morning when Johnny had stopped by. She remembered it like it just happened.

  “Why are you suing us? You can make this all go away. Just tell them the truth. I didn’t do anything to you. I was always a gentleman!” Johnny’s red cheeks and clenched fists hadn’t frightened Lisa. No, for the first time since she’d started dating the calf-rider, he excited her. Sad that she needed him angry and threatening to do even that much.

  Lisa held her ground. She needed that money more than the Mayfair’s needed their good name. Nothing was going to get her out of that Podunk hole in the wall, if she couldn’t finish school and get a decent job somewhere else.

  Her attorney had advised her to not speak to the Mayfairs, so Lisa just stared Johnny down, not replying. Not making a sound.

  He stared at her a moment longer then spun on his finely polished boot and pounded down the stairs from her dorm-style apartment.

  Mary Caracus, towel drying her hair, meandered out of her room to stand beside Lisa. “What was that all about? You’re suing them?”

  Biting back tears because she hadn’t been able to talk to anyone about any of her plan, Lisa whirled to her roommate and nodded, smiling tightly.

  Mary worked Lisa’s answer around while studying the carpet. She glanced up. “He didn’t do anything, Lisa. You need to make this right.” Only a goody-two-shoes like Mary, a girl who’d had everything growing up – the stay-at-home mom, the nice three-story house, brand new clothes for school, confidence and pride in her last name, and a doting father who never let her miss him for long – Lisa’s father that wanted nothing more than to forget Lisa ever existed – would think that way.

  So decent.

  “No, there are things going on here that you just wouldn’t understand. Stay out of it.” But Lisa spoke without rancor. Mary would never have to know that they were sisters, she’d never have to know that the only reason Lisa was friends with her was because she liked the irritation in Devlyn’s eyes when she was around his angelic daughter.

  “Come on, Lisa. You’re better than this. Call him and tell him you’re going to drop the lawsuit. Make things right. I know you can do better.” Mary rested her hand on Lisa’s arm, earnest in her plea.

  Shaking her off, Lisa hardened her voice. Years of jealousy and impatience slashed her tone and she cut through the care in Mary’s voice. “Don’t tell me you know me. You don’t know anything about me. I’m not dropping any of it. If you don’t like it, you can leave.” She faced the windows, lifting her water and sipping.

  Mary never replied.

  She closed the door behind her as she left in her bathrobe.

  And Lisa had waited, and waited, but Mary had never returned. She’d left all her belongings and just… gone.

  Lisa fingered the edge of her phone and chewed on the side of her tongue. For once, she had to swallow her pride. Just this once. And do the right thing.

  She punched in Mary’s number.

  She’d never forgotten it.

  The other line rang and rang.

  Expecting it to go to voicemail, Lisa widened her eyes when Mary answered with a sleepy hello.

  “Mary, it’s me.” She didn’t add anything, just waited while Mary woke up to that simple collection of words.

  “Yes?” Oh, sis was playing hard to get, huh?

  Lisa understood and recognized that she shouldn’t get off easily from the issue she’d caused. “I need you.”

  “Need me where? Are you serious with this call, right now?” The sleep leapt from Mary’s voice and irritation drove it away. “I haven’t heard from you in —”

  “Well, I haven’t heard from you either. But that’s not what this is about. You need to get up here. I’m in Colby.” Lisa rushed on, overriding the huffing in Mary’s voice. “I’m going to text you directions. You need to get here as soon as you can. I have something you need to hear and some people for you to meet.”

  Mary sighed. “I don’t think that’s the best thing for me right now, Lisa. I have a lot going on. Mom’s sick again and well, I… I think I found someone who might not be afraid of me and my family name. He’s… well, he’s pretty special. I’m happy. I don’t need anything else now.”

  Lisa groaned. “Mary, quit trying to sound so dang perfect. Just get here. You won’t be gone long, I promise. Jeesh, you could make a trip for eggs take forever. I’m texting you. Just drive, okay?” She hung up, grinning like they’d just talked last night. Mary wasn’t even mad at Lisa.

  For the first time in, well, ever, Lisa was finally going to be able to tell her best-friend that they were actually sisters. Things would change of course. Mary would be rightfully mad at Lisa’s omitting the information for so long, but at least the lying would end.

  She could do with a little bit of honesty in her life for a while.

  ~~~

  Ringing the doorbell at Noland’s Ranch took more nerve than Lisa had. Her finger shook and she bit her tongue to keep from shouting a few choice curse words. She hadn’t heard from Ryan all weekend.

  Or Rosie.

  Or Sara Beth.

  Dang it, or even Mary.

  Had Lisa ridden off into the sunset or something? Did people think she disappeared? She stamped down her rising anger and ground her heel into the decking as she waited for someone to answer the door.

  Jesse called from inside. “Just a second. Handicap boy here.” Then he laughed, pulling open the door as much as his walker would allow. “I’m going to back up and then you need to get the door the rest of the way yourself.” He scooted his walker out of the way and grinned as Lisa came fully through the door. “Lisa! Hey. How are you?”

  Unable to stop herself from glancing around for Ryan, Lisa also couldn’t help the smile that Jesse brought out in her. “I’m good, big man. How are you?”

  “I’m good. I figured out how to kick a ball! It’s harder than it looks and it doesn’t go very far, but I did it. I kicked it.” He bobbled his head to some tune only he could hear.

  “That’s amazing! Let’s go in the kitchen. Today, we’re gonna talk about goals and how you see yourself.” Lisa patted his back when he groaned. “I know, but you know what? Even the best athletes have goals planned. I promise. You’ll be able to see just how far you’ve come once we write down where you want to be.”

  He laughed. “You sound like one of those fortune cookies at Missus Ping’s.”

  “I’ve been called worse.” She chuckled.

  At the table, Lisa pulled a notebook and some pencils from her bag. Crossing her arms, she waited for Jesse to settle in his seat. “Okay, so first, I wanted to tell you how proud of you I am. You handled that meeting with your mother like a professional. You were amazing and brave and your dad would be so proud of you.” She offered him a side-smile. “How do you feel about it? Is everything going okay in that head of yours?”

  Uncertainty turned down his lips. “I want to see her again, but I think it will hurt Dad’s feelings.”

  Lisa twisted her lips to the side and watched him for a moment. She didn’t rush it, because he might have more to add. But after a moment, she asked, “But how do you feel about everything?”

  Shrugging, Jesse rubbed the side of his nose. “I don’t know. Kind of like, why now? What brought her back? It’s been ten years. My condition hasn’t changed, so why now? Why not nine years ago or nine years from now?”

  Lisa leaned closer and rested her hand on his, squeezing softly. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, my father never showed any interest in me. Even when we were in the same house. I’m jealous that she’s interested in you. Better late than never, right?”

  He shrugged again, but raised his gaze to hers and wrinkled his nose. “She thinks I should try horse riding.”

  Great, Lisa
didn’t want to have anything in common with Wanda. If Ryan associated her with his ex, Lisa would never get past the awkward stage in their relationship where she’d gotten stuck. “Well, what does your dad think about it?”

  “We haven’t talked about it. We just kind of avoid each other and the whole topic.” He tapped the table a couple times than looked up, leaning toward Lisa and speaking with an urgency that reached out to her maternal side. “A part of me hopes she moves back so I can have parents again. But I don’t know what that’s like, so I don’t know for sure that’s what I want.”

  And the possibility that they might get back together slapped Lisa across the face. Why hadn’t she thought of that? And why wouldn’t they? They had a kid together. A kid that one of the parents had missed out on so much of his life.

  She shoved the paper closer to Jesse. “Let’s talk about those goals.”

  Jesse nodded and bent over the paper.

  All Lisa could do was hope her tears didn’t fall.

  Ryan

  Chapter 16

  Tuesday dawned bright and urgent. Ryan climbed from bed, intent on taking his frustrations out on the land.

  Lisa had nodded at him the night before when he’d walked by, but that was all. Nothing more. How was he supposed to get to know her better or even understand her at all, if she was going to play the hot-then-cold game?

  He didn’t understand her intentions. How could she have canceled with him then have her ex over? Too many things created a complex confusing web and if her smile didn’t tempt him to make her laugh, he’d ask for another therapist.

  But Jesse’s improvement was undeniable. And Jesse liked Lisa.

  And dang it, if Ryan didn’t like her too.

  A lot.

  Shrugging on an insulated flannel jacket, Ryan pulled his holster from the hook by the door above his boots. He didn’t take it out much, but when he needed extra protection that the whip couldn’t guarantee, the Colt was his weapon of choice. Checking to make sure the piece was loaded, he palmed the top of his hat and settled it on his head.

  He glanced back down the hall. For a split second he longed to stay at home for the day. Maybe hang out with Jesse, get his input on the whole Wanda thing and maybe even plot out some breeding schedules. Jesse could help, he had a knack for organizing things. But Ryan brushed the ideas away. He had too much to do. Jesse had schooling to catch up on.

  Stepping out into the foggy morning light, Ryan squinted in an attempt to bring the blurry landscape into focus.

  He spit into the grass as he stepped from the stairs. The fog was as confusing as his life right then. The metaphor wasn’t lost on him.

  ~~~

  His horse nickered softly from the fence post twenty feet away.

  Hammering the top fence rail to the sturdy post, Ryan checked behind him for any sign of danger. The last thing he needed was the bison killer to return and take Ryan from behind.

  The carcasses had been taken care of. Walking the perimeter would take most of the day, so Ryan started twenty feet from the culvert drain where Slate had discovered the dead animals.

  He yanked on the rail as he stood, confident that nothing short of a car barreling through would tear down that section of fence. Unwinding his horse’s reins from the post, Ryan whistled loud enough to just reach the horse and soft enough not to crack the quiet of the morning.

  Walking closer to the culvert area, Ryan stopped in shock.

  Blood-stained dirt rimmed the edges of the ditch. Late enough in the summer, the spring ran at little more than half its normal capacity which left more of the sides exposed. Where the bison had fallen or been dumped dirt had tumbled in on the sides, like small landslides which widened the ditch from its natural position. The trampling of the sides damaged the support for the fencing and it lay tangled and cracked in a drunken line, some dangling in the water.

  Fortunately, the water ran clear again with the bodies disposed of properly. Ryan couldn’t believe the waste in the action. Why would anyone murder animals? It just didn’t make sense.

  He bent more wire and straightened another post, using more nails.

  After securing the fence around the water, his next priority would be to check the rest of the fencing for any damage.

  Making the connection between Charlie and the deaths wasn’t a hard one. However, sealing the deal with certainty was more difficult because of the motivation behind it. Why would Charlie do something like that? Had their fight been bad enough, Charlie needed to exact revenge?

  Or did Charlie still love Lisa and he was just protecting his territory? Maybe it’s mine meant she’s mine?

  Ryan hadn’t asked Lisa about Charlie. He hadn’t had the courage. And now that Lisa wasn’t even acknowledging him, he might not get the chance.

  Boot prints circled the ditch and narrowed in closer to the location where the bison had been. Two sets ambled off toward the culvert, but one turned back at the mangled fence.

  The extra set drew Ryan’s focus and he led his horse along the top surface of the field to the lowest point of the broken fence to step over. Leaving his field, Ryan’s nervousness increased. Not only did boots lead away from the hole in the perimeter, but bison prints did as well.

  Down the slope to the shoulder of the road and then they disappeared at the edge of the pavement. Ryan mounted his horse and crossed the road.

  Discovering more prints on the other side, prints that stood out in the soft ground like they’d been drawn in, Ryan slipped from the saddle and squatted for a closer inspection of the markings.

  The dirt was soft and cool, but not damp. Hard telling when they’d passed by there. If he wasn’t careful, more would follow. He’d have to corral them into the smaller pasture on the north side of the property before fixing the fence.

  Scooping some of the loose earth into his hand, Ryan shook it in his palm, pondering the forest line and what the possible ramifications could be. He couldn’t afford to lose any more animals. He rode a fine line in the world of finances and this potential loss could suck the life out of any savings he would have not to mention create enough of a deficit he wouldn’t be able to meet his contractual obligations with bison head in the spring.

  Tossing the dirt toward the woods, Ryan grunted with the throw. He climbed back onto the saddle, wheeling the horse around and trotting the animal back into his field.

  Some of his herd had gotten away. Anxiety crept in to nest with his frustration over Lisa and anger with Wanda. Knots twisted in his gut.

  The fresh scent of pine and the promise of a warm day did little to cool his nerves. He didn’t have the man power on his own ranch to lead a search party. But the MacAllisters would help find the lost bison. That’s what neighbors did.

  He unwound his whip and snapped a couple practice cracks.

  Protecting his herd by rounding them into the secure pasture would be the first job.

  Second, would be calling for help.

  Third, would be locating his missing animals.

  And fourth? Finding the bastard that had done this and getting his vengeance.

  ~~~

  The sound of a small engine humming on his driveway pulled Ryan from the tack room of his barn. One final rub on the horse’s flank and Ryan exited his stall. With the large barn doors open, Ryan called out to the front yard. “Slate, Robbie, in here.” A few quarter-horses, all colored differently, ignored the noises Ryan made as he cleaned and stored the tack.

  A soft knock on the front door pulled his gaze.

  Wanda folded her arms and waited at the entrance, her silhouette svelte like she’d never had a son.

  Ryan narrowed his eyes. “What do you want?” Right then wasn’t the time to deal with her crap. He had too much going on and seeing her when he really wanted to see Lisa just poured vinegar on an already distasteful dish.

  “I’m here to see Jesse.” She twirled a strand of hair and slid her foot back and forth in front of her. A move she’d perfected to increase her
innocent portrayal. One he’d grown tired of.

  Jesse hadn’t mentioned a visit with her, but Ryan kept that to himself. He and Jesse hadn’t really discussed Wanda and the implications of her visit. “Don’t you have a job or a life to get back to? I don’t understand why you’re still here.”