Lonestar Angel (31 page)

Eden felt like wringing her hands. “I can’t bear to have her go back to her foster parents, Rick! Surely there’s something we can do.”

“Maybe Julia can expedite things,” Clay said.

“Of course!” Eden glanced at Allie. “Remember when she said I looked familiar to her? She figured it out. She’d seen the newspaper stories.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to ask her for help,” Allie said.

Eden rubbed her forehead. “We have to get this settled soon. We all deserve to be a family again.”

“Let’s get it done today,” Clay said. “Call the judge.”

Eden shrugged and pulled out her phone. “Okay.” She placed the call and Julia agreed to help. She told them to come to the clinic and submit a DNA sample at eight thirty, an hour away. This would soon be over.

Horses stomped their hooves in the red dirt. Their tack jingled and glittered in the hot sunshine. Clay squinted into the brilliant blue sky at the position of the sun. Nearly nine thirty. Sister Marjo would be coming soon.

He sensed someone behind him. Turning, he saw Eden moving toward the corral with Madeline by the hand. The little girl kept snatching her fingers from Eden’s until finally Eden didn’t try to grab them back. What was with the child? All the other girls adored Eden, but Madeline had never fully gotten over her pique of being disciplined. She would warm up for a few minutes, then fall back into her sullenness.

“Hi, girls,” he said. “I’m surprised to see you here, Maddie. I thought you didn’t like the horses.”

“So did I,” Eden said, stopping to catch her breath. “She decided she was going to try to pet one today.”

Madeline went to grab Clay’s hand. “But you have to come with me.”

“I won’t leave your side,” he promised.

He exchanged a puzzled glance with Eden. She’d tried her best to get Madeline to make up with her, but the child refused to so much as smile in Eden’s direction. He was a different story, though. She craved his attention.

He let her watch Allie’s daughter, Betsy, and the horse Bluebird for a few minutes. Betsy was riding around the barrels in the corral as she practiced for the kids’ rodeo coming up in two weeks. “She’s good,” he said.

Eden joined them at the fence. “Allie says she’s even better than Allie was at that age.”

Betsy cantered toward them when she completed the course. “Hi, Maddie,” she said. “You want to ride Bluebird? He won’t hurt you.”

Madeline shook her head and buried her face in Clay’s leg. He put his hand on her shoulder. “You said you were going to pet a horse today. How about I lift you up? I’ll hold you while you do it. That way you won’t be afraid.”

“No,” she said, her voice muffled. “I changed my mind.”

It wouldn’t do any good to try to force her. “Okay, honey. You can go with Miss Eden back to the ranch house.”

“Don’t want her. You take me.”

Eden’s eyes darkened, and he knew she was hurt by the child’s behavior. “Okay. But Miss Eden is coming with us.”

The three of them walked across the yard toward the house as an older blue truck hauling a horse trailer turned between the fence posts by the road. He stopped and watched the rust bucket approach. “There’s a horse in the back,” he said.

A young woman got out while the dust from the truck tires was still settling. She wore a petulant expression. Her boots were finely tooled leather, and the cowboy hat she wore looked new too. She stalked to the back of the trailer and threw open the door, then stood looking at them with her hands on her hips.

“Well?” she demanded. “Come get this old bag of bones.”

He had to pry Madeline’s hand loose from his. “Stay here,” he said, nudging her toward Eden.

When he reached the woman, he saw an old horse inside the trailer. Black. The animal’s head hung down and there were several sores on its legs. Flies buzzed around the broken skin. Poor thing. “Can I help you?” he asked the woman.

She gave him a haughty stare. “Isn’t this the place that takes horses?”

“You’re donating him to Bluebird?”

“It’s either that or the rendering plant.” She grabbed the animal’s reins roughly.

“Let me,” Clay said. When she shrugged and moved out of the way, he quieted the horse with a soft word and a gentle touch, then led it from the trailer to the gravel. People like this should never own an animal. He clamped his lips against the words he wanted to say.

“He’s all yours,” she said, striding toward the truck.

“You have a bill of sale or something?” he asked.

She stopped and turned. “You paying for him?”

“No, but I imagine Rick will need proof of ownership.”

Her avaricious expression changed to boredom. “I’ll sign off on him, then. Just don’t expect me to pay for his keep or anything.” She reached into the truck and pulled out a paper that she signed and handed over. “Been nice doing business with you.”

Clay watched her climb in the truck and pull away. Eden and Madeline joined him. “What a piece of work,” he said.

Eden hung back from the horse. “He’s been mistreated?”

“Yeah. Looks half starved. And he’s got welts on his back from a whip.”

“Can we turn her in?”

“I’ll have to ask Rick. She should be thrown in jail for cruelty to animals.” He glanced down at Madeline and found her staring in fascination at the horse. “I need to name it.” He checked the horse over.

Madeline kept her hands behind her back. “That lady was mean to him?”

“Yes. But he has a new home here. No one will be mean to him. We’ll make sure he gets lots of food and love. He might like a pat to let him know you like him.”

Tentatively, she held out her hand. The horse backed up a few steps, then put his head down. She gave his nose a quick pat. “He likes it!”

Clay grinned. “He sure does. I think you should name him. It’s a boy horse.”

“His name is Tornado,” Madeline said. “He’s the same color.”

She had a point. The horse was as black as yesterday’s storm. “Tornado it is. You’re going to have to take charge of him, Maddie. He needs a friend.”

She smiled and stepped closer. “Can I feed him?”

“I doubt he’d let anyone else do it. He knows a friend when he sees her.” And the horse did seem to know Maddie meant him no harm. He bumped his nose on the little girl’s shoulder, and she giggled, then patted him again.

She had a bright smile when she turned back toward the house. “I’m going to tell the other girls,” she said.

Clay watched her run up the steps and disappear into the house. “Want to pet him?” he asked Eden.

She hesitated, then touched the horse’s nose. Her eyes registered wonder. “It’s so soft. Will he bite?”

He shook his head. “He’s just glad someone cares.” His heart swelled as she murmured soft words to the poor animal. There was so much tenderness in her now that she was dropping her guard.

29

E
DEN PULLED THE SHEETS FROM THE BEDS IN THE BUNKHOUSE
. T
HOUGH LAUNDRY WASN
’
T
normally her job, she liked to help out Tepin by at least getting the stuff into a pile. Nancy and Omar were supposed to show up sometime this morning. Too much to do today.

She paused and glanced at the phone. God had been prompting her to call Kent lately. He deserved that much. She picked up the phone and dialed Kent’s cell phone number. When she got his secretary, she identified herself and was put through.

“Eden?”

Her stomach clenched at the eagerness in his voice. “I hope I’m not bothering you.”

“Never,” he said. “How’s it going down there?”

She wetted her lips. “Good, really good. Um, that’s why I’m calling. We’ve identified Brianna.”

“Wonderful news.” Caution entered his tone.

“The best,” she said. “Clay and I have been talking . . .”

“And you’re going to try to make it work,” he finished for her.

“Well, yes.” Would it be rubbing salt in the wound for her to tell him that she loved Clay?

“I could tell when you saw him that you still loved him. I’ve been expecting this, Eden. Don’t feel bad, honey. My heart is only cracked a little. It’s not broken.”

Inexplicable tears burned her eyes. “You’re a good man, Kent Huston.”

“Too bad there’s no demand for good men,” he said with a chuckle. “If you ever need anything, let me know. I’ll always be your friend.”

It was all she could do to say good-bye and hang up. Though the call had been difficult, she felt lighter, freer, as she went back to her tasks.

Her iPhone dinged and she glanced at the screen to read her text message.
On my way. Meet me in 10 minutes at your husband’s property. Be ready with the flash drive
.

Santiago was coming. He’d given her no time to prepare. Dropping the laundry, she called Julia and told her what was happening. The judge promised to mobilize the Border Patrol at the abandoned house as quickly as she could. Would it be enough? Eden suspected Santiago would show up with plenty of firepower.

She called his number. When he answered, she didn’t wait for him to put her off. “I can’t get to the property by then.”

“Ten minutes, Eden. I’m bringing the last picture I had. Be there with that flash drive or you won’t like the consequences.”

He ended the call. She ran to the door and scanned the yard for Clay. He was watching Rick and Buzz working with the girls on their horseback riding. When she shouted his name and gestured, he jogged from the back paddock to the bunkhouse.

“What’s wrong?” he asked when he reached her.

She tried to maintain her composure, but her pulse was knocking on her ribs. “Santiago wants to meet at your property. We only have ten minutes.”

“My house? How did he even know about it?”

“I have a feeling he’s much more powerful than we know. He’ll be there in ten minutes!”

He fell into step beside her. “That’s barely enough time to get there. Did you call Julia?”

She nodded and rushed toward the truck. “She’s supposed to be getting Border Patrol out there, but I’m not sure they’ll arrive in time to do anything.”

She stopped when a familiar silver Lexus rolled up the drive. “Oh no, not now. Mom is here. We don’t have time for this. You deal with her and I’ll tell Allie what’s going on.” She rushed for the house and told Allie they had to run an errand and would be back.

Clay was waiting in the truck when she got back. The Lexus was rolling away down the drive. It turned left at the road and accelerated away. “What did you tell her?”

“That we had an errand to run. I suggested she go get coffee in town.”

Eden climbed into the truck and fastened her seat belt. “I have a bad feeling about this. It’s much too rushed. Something is going to go wrong. Why couldn’t he just take the drive and leave us alone? He could trust us a little.”

“Calm down, honey.” He opened the compartment between them and withdrew a gun.

“Where’d you get that?” The sight of the black metal tightened her chest.

“I borrowed it from Rick.”

“Does he know what’s happening with my dad?”

“Yeah, I told him.”

“I wish you wouldn’t take that.”

His expression went grim. “We’re not going into this with no protection.”

She said no more but clutched the grip on the door as they sped toward their destination. She prayed as the truck barreled over the potholes.

The turnoff to the dead-end road was just ahead. Clay pulled the truck to the side of the road. “See that house?” he said, indicating a low-slung ranch home. It was stucco and had a swing set in the side yard. “I want you to wait there for me.”

She stared at him, unable to believe he would even ask her to leave. “I’m going with you.”

“Eden, I don’t have time to argue with you. I want you to wait here for me. Please. I can’t have you walking into a dangerous situation. Brianna needs a mother.”

“She needs a father too!”

He set his jaw. “And what happens to her if your father shows up with guns blazing and wipes us both out just to make sure we don’t do something with any copies we’ve made? She’ll stay in foster care, that’s what. And I’m not ready for that to happen.”