Lonestar Homecoming (10 page)

She launched the browser and surfed to the
San Diego Union-
Tribune
.There was nothing about the shooting on today's news, so she searched for Cid's name.Two articles appeared, and a sheen of perspiration broke out on her forehead. Her hand shook as her finger hovered over the mouse. Did she even want to read about him? She wet her lips and clicked the mouse to launch the article.

“Fiancée sought for information in shooting deaths,” the headline proclaimed.

Gracie gasped, and Michael glanced over at her. She managed a smile, but she wanted to burst into tears.The Feds couldn't think she had anything to do with the murders. She quickly scanned the article. The dead agents had been found outside her home, and she had been seen fleeing the site in a wedding dress.The Feds were looking for her and Cid. She wanted to lean her head against the keyboard and wail.

Should she call the police in San Diego? If she did, they might be able to track her phone signal. Maybe she could write them a letter and send it to one of her clients to post for her in San Diego. She rubbed her forehead.This was more than she could deal with.

Would she and Hope have to flee this haven too?

8

T
HE FAN ABOVE
M
ICHAEL'S HEAD BLEW WARM AIR INSTEAD OF COLD
. Wally Tatum's face grew more somber as Michael explained what was happening in his life.

The attorney scratched his chin. “So if the unthinkable happens and you're killed in the line of duty, the kids would be parceled out to foster care.”

Michael nodded. “I don't even like hearing you say that.”

“Anyone else you could ask to be their guardians?”

“There is no one,” he said. “I've got friends, but you don't saddle friends with two kids to raise.” Rick and Allie were busy helping disadvantaged kids, and they had their hands full. He couldn't ask this of them, not when he'd been out of touch with Rick until recently. And Allie was a new acquaintance.

“Army buddies?”

He shook his head. “They all have their own lives.”

“I get it.You're someone who doesn't like to ask for help,” he said. “Maybe you'd better be finding a wife.”

Wally had brought it up first, not him. “I grew up motherless myself. I sure don't want that for my kids.What if I remarried and my wife adopted the kids?” Gracie's sweet smile flashed through his mind.

Wally grinned. “You holding out on me, son? Who's the lucky woman?”

“Hardly lucky,” Michael said. “What if that happened? What about a new wife adopting them?”

“Then she'd be their legal mother. The state wouldn't take them either.”

Just as he'd thought when the crazy idea first occurred to him last night. “The best thing for me to do is stay alive,” he said with a grin.

“Might be easier said than done.You mentioned a price on your head.”

“I'm careful.”

“No matter how careful you are, it could happen. I always tell my clients to plan for the unthinkable.”

“Yeah, I guess I'd better do that.Thanks,Wally. Send me your bill.”

“Consider it a welcome-home gift.”Wally clapped him on the shoulder, then strolled to the exit.

Michael glanced at Gracie. She sat hunched in front of the computer. He watched her chew her lip and study the screen as though it held the answer to all her problems.

He walked toward her, and she glanced up. “Ready?” he asked.

She nodded and jumped to her feet.The screen was still up on her computer as he neared. She reached down to close the window, but he saw the San Diego newspaper logo before it blinked off. She was looking up news back in San Diego, maybe checking on old friends. He took her elbow and she jumped. His fingers tightened, and he steered her toward the children's department.The kids were still listening to the story.

“How much longer?” he asked a library aide.

She glanced up at the big clock on the wall. “Another half an hour unless you want to take them.”

“We'll let them stay.” It would give him time to talk to Gracie alone. “I need to talk to you.”

He guided her out the door. The creosote bushes by the front door gave off a pungent odor, and he saw her wrinkle her nose. He inhaled and let the aroma fill his lungs.The Chihuahuan Desert had a beauty found no other place.

Caesar greeted him with a woof and a concerned stare. The dog always knew when he was upset. Michael opened the truck door for her, then went around to his side.This probably wasn't going to go well.

The sun had already turned the cab into an oven, and he turned the air-conditioning to full blast. He swiped his forehead but knew the perspiration beading there had little to do with the heat.

“Everything okay?” Gracie's blue eyes held his gaze.

He liked looking at her. In spite of her problems, the stillness she pulled around herself calmed him. What he was about to suggest would help her, too, and that made it easier to bring up. “I've got a problem. I need your help.”

Her smile came, a sweet curve. “Michael, you saved my life. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you.”

He swallowed hard. “It's a lot to ask, Gracie.”

“Tell me.”

“I had a brother. Philip was two years younger than me.The Border Patrol was his life. He lived, ate, and slept his job.”

“Sounds like someone else I know.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. But I'm just doing my duty. Philip let his emotions get the best of him. He never could think things through dispassionately.”

“He sounds like someone I'd like.”

“He was a great guy.” His eyes misted.

Gracie touched his hand. “Was?”

“He busted a big movement of drugs coming into the country. In the confrontation, two men in the drug cartel were killed. Both were brothers of the kingpin, who swore revenge on Phil. One night when he was on his way home, someone ran him off a curve up on King Mountain. He went over the edge and into the canyon. His truck burst into flames.There was no body left to recover.”

He coughed at the lump that formed in his throat. Most days he never let himself imagine what Phil's final moments must have been like, knowing he was hurtling toward certain death. Clearing his throat, he forced himself back to the present. “It was a revenge killing.”

She put her hand over his. “I'm so sorry, Michael.” Her fingers tightened. “I know it hurts.”

Had he ever felt a hand so soft? Or seen eyes such a clear shade of blue? And why did she draw him so strongly? She was nearly a stranger. No, not nearly. She
was
a stranger. “I shouldn't trust you, Gracie, but I do.Why is that?”

Moisture glistened in her eyes, and she withdrew her hand. “I'm nothing special,” she muttered.

“Yes, you are.” He reached over and took her hand again. “I think we can help each other.”

Her eyes grew more tender. “I'd do anything I can to help you and your children, Michael.You rescued me when I had nowhere else to turn. I owe you.”

“It's okay if you say no to what I'm about to ask.” His voice faded away to nothing. Could he even choke out the words?

Her fingers tightened around his. “Ask me. I'll do anything.”

“Vargas isn't content to have killed my brother. He's put a price on my head as well.”

Her eyes dilated, and her lips parted.“Your kids have gone through so much.They can't lose you too.You should move far away where he can't find you.”

“I don't run from trouble,” he said.

“Maybe you should start!” The color leached from her cheeks, and her eyes seemed to fill her face.

“The thing is—if I die, my kids have no one.They'd go to foster care.”

“No!” she muttered fiercely. “I'd care for them, Michael. I wouldn't let that happen.”

It was the kind of reaction he'd hoped for. “Protective Services wouldn't let you without being approved.”

She bit her lip. “I see. I could seek approval.”

“I don't think it would be that easy, Gracie.You're trying to hide your identity.” He knew he'd scored a hit when she bit her lip and withdrew her hand.

“What can I do, then?”

“We can help each other.You need a new name for Hope. I need a mother for my kids. I don't want them to grow up motherless. I hated coming home to an empty house.”

Her hand crept to her mouth. “Wh-what are you saying?”

“I'm suggesting we marry.” He took possession of her hand again. “Separate bedrooms. I know we don't love each other, but I like you, Gracie.”

Her fingers squeezed his. “I like you, Michael. More than I should.”

He barely heard that last sentence, but it made him feel warm inside. “You're kind to the kids, and I think you will love them. I can love Hope too.”

“I love Jordan and Evan already,” she whispered.

“It's a good solution to our mutual problems. I can adopt Hope, and you can adopt my kids.”

“You'd adopt her? Legally? Why would you do that, Michael? Take on responsibility for us that way?”

“It's a risk for you too,” he reminded her. “You're taking on the care of two more kids, and not just temporarily.”

“This would be. . . permanent?”

“Well, yeah, isn't marriage usually permanent?” He tried to smile and failed. “I'll be good to you and Hope, Gracie.”

“I don't doubt that. It's just. . . I don't know what to do.”

He forced enthusiasm into his voice. “You and Hope can start a brand-new life.”

“We can enroll Hope as Hope Wayne instead of Lister. Get a different birth certificate,” she said.

“It's a good solution, I think.”

She quit trying to pull her hand away, but her eyes had widened. “It seems. . . extreme.”

“It is. But the circumstances we're in are extreme too.”

Her brows wrinkled. “I don't know, Michael.”

“Think about it. But think fast.We don't have a lot of time if we want to hide that you're both here.And I have to be at work every day. Something could happen to me at any time.”

“Why don't you quit, then? Get a different job.You don't have to be in the military or the Border Patrol.”

“The military is all I know.”

“You're smart.You could do anything.”

Her words bolstered his hope. “My dad was a major in the Air Force, and he raised us to serve our country. Besides,Vargas's men can find me no matter where I go.”

“But why? You've done nothing.”

“He wants revenge. It's that simple.”

“Why me?” she whispered. “You don't really know me.”

“I can see your good heart, Gracie.”

Those long lashes fluttered fiercely. “I'm not what you think.”

“No,” he agreed. “You're more.We make a good team.”

Her smile peeked out. “We do make a good team.”

“I hate to ask anyone for anything, but you need me as much as I need you.”

“Cid would never find us,” she said.

He nodded. “It's mutually beneficial, and that's something I can live with.” Better than a real marriage. He'd tried that once and failed. This seemed. . . safer somehow.

He saw the light come on in her expression, and she nodded. “Separate bedrooms?”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay.”

“I'll make the arrangements. I think we can do it today.The waiting period can be waived for me.”There was no good explanation for why his heart was beating so hard. At least no reason that he'd admit to.

T
WO WEEKS AGO
, G
RACIE WAS ABOUT TO MARRY ANOTHER MAN
. N
OW, HERE
she was in jeans and a white blouse, about to say, “I do,” to a man she barely knew. She must be crazy. No, not crazy. Desperate.

They'd dropped the kids off at Rick and Allie's. Michael thought it best to explain to them tonight when there would be time to deal with the questions. Her flip-flops slapped against the tile floor. The sound rose and bounced against the walls in a crescendo that brought a burst of red and gold to her vision.

Who ever heard of getting married in jeans and flip-flops? She glanced at Michael. Or jeans and a T-shirt? She wished for a nice summer dress and sandals at least. Michael strode along beside her with his shoulders squared like a man heading to the gallows with courage. Was that how he felt?

Michael's confident stride faltered as they neared the judge's chambers. “You're sure you're ready to do this?”

“I'd be lying if I said yes,” she whispered. “But I think it's the best thing for our kids. I'm just scared.”

“I'd rather face a sniper in the Iraqi desert,” he said, grinning.“I know we're not starting in a normal way, Gracie, but I'll be good to you.”

“You've already done more for me than any man I've met.”

“I'm not a stingy man, and anything I have is yours. Just love my kids, that's all I ask.”

“I already do,” she said, searching his face. “I won't spend your money recklessly.”

“Our money,” he corrected. “You'll have a checkbook and ATM card. Money means nothing to me. All that matters is my family.”

She could learn to love him. The realization made her knees sag. They could have it all—the family she'd always dreamed of. No, she didn't love him yet, but if she let herself . . .

He caught her by the hand. “You okay?”

“Ye-yes, I'm fine. Scared, like I said.” She would
not
allow her emotions to get tangled up. She'd been that route before. Love made her vulnerable. This was an arrangement to help them both. They would be friends, but nothing more.That's all he wanted. And all she wanted, too, of course.

“Let's do it, then.” He held open the door for her.

She entered into a cavernous room that smelled like it had been in existence for a hundred years. The ancient odor left the taste of something like tea on her tongue. The late-afternoon sun slanted through the window and touched the old but solid wood furniture. The black and white tile dated from another century. Faint music played.The delicate Chopin made her see pink crystals dancing in the air.A good sign maybe?