Never Let You Down: The Connaghers, Book 4 (11 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Waving at Jeb, Virginia watched him drive off before she headed inside. To his credit, he’d offered to walk her in and share whatever fallout she’d have from Miss Belle, but she’d sent him on his way. For one thing, her mother wasn’t going to give her what for. Rather, she was going to be in her most annoying full-blown gloating mode. She’d rather take gloating any day than Miss Belle’s secret meddling.

Virginia stepped inside and shut the door behind her. For a moment, she closed her eyes and just breathed, feeling the house around her.

She’d lived in this house her entire adult life. Raised three children here. Loved and lost her husband. She closed her eyes and his voice echoed in her mind.
What’s for dinner, Princess?
The children’s laughter and their endless squabbles as they grew up, first fighting over toys and then over who got to borrow the truck. Turning, she opened her eyes and made herself look at everything. It was like a time capsule, everything stuck in the past more than ten years.

Ty’s moth-eaten chair that only the dog would lie on. If another spring poked through, even Daisy would abandon it. A pair of his boots were still waiting by the back door, as if she expected him to come in any moment. She’d picked them up and swept underneath them for twelve years instead of donating them to someone who could use them. Although now the leather was dry and so rotted that they needed to just go into the trash.

Their bedroom was even worse. His clothes were still in his dresser. Well,
in
the dresser wasn’t exactly right. The man couldn’t be bothered to open a drawer, when he could just stack up his favorite jeans and socks on top. Every year the kids would get him a new, beautiful long-sleeved Western shirt, and he’d hang it up in the closet to admire it. But he’d never wear it. He even wore Carhartt work shirts to church. She picked up the last shirt he’d tossed on the dresser and lifted it to her nose, even though she knew it didn’t smell like him any longer. His beat-up old hat fell off the dresser, so she bent down and picked it up. The band was slightly stretched out where he always stashed his spare cigarette, empty and waiting. As she’d been empty and waiting all these years.

She heard a light step approach but didn’t turn around. She pulled the cigarette she’d found at Jeb’s house out of her clutch and slipped it into place. “Did you have something to do with this?”

“You know better than that,” Miss Belle replied. Her solemn tone made Virginia turn to see her face. “I don’t joke or mess around when it comes to the dead.”

She sat down on the edge of her bed, holding the hat in her hands. “He came to see me again.”

Miss Belle came over to sit beside her. “I’m glad.”

Virginia looked about the room, but her eyes were blurred. “Why did you let me mope so long?”

“Oh honey.” Miss Belle wrapped an arm around her and tipped her head to lay hers against Virginia’s. “I have the ability to sense things that most people never see or understand. Sometimes it’s a gift, but other times it’s a curse. I could see that you were suffering and I knew the cause, but there wasn’t anything I could do to help you through it. All I could do was pray and wait for you to call if you needed me. I knew you were strong enough to make it through, even though your days were black and grim for so long. I knew Jebadiah was in the wings just waiting for the chance to step out on stage and join you, but nothing I could say or do would help you find your way to him any quicker. It had to be you and him, working your way there. I just never thought it would take quite so many years.”

“I’ve got a lot to make up for.” Virginia blew out a sigh. “A lot of messes to clean up around here.”

“You do indeed.” Miss Belle sharpened her voice and stood up in a flurry of pink skirts. “You’ve got enough liquor in the cabinet to supply the Colonel’s entire regiment.”

Virginia rolled her eyes, even though she completely agreed. “I suppose you’re too old to help me clear this place out and prepare for a new start?”

“I’ll never be too old for anything, dear.” She looked back over her shoulder with a lecherous wink that made Virginia snort. “Besides, you’ve got three daughters and four strapping sons to put to work around here. They’ll be more than happy to cart out your alcohol collection along with some of their daddy’s treasures. In fact, I already started while you were out.”

Virginia took a deep breath, trying to hold on to her temper. Figures, the one time she asked for help, Miss Belle had just jumped in and tackled the project without her. “What did you do?”

“Conn and Rae were headed into Dallas to stay a few days with Victor, so I sent them down with a nice wine selection to help them have a good time.”

That wasn’t too bad. She’d been afraid Miss Belle had hired a Dumpster and a team of a hundred men to haul off all of Ty’s tack or some other atrocity like that. “Next you’ll be sending the mailman off with a bottle of Jack Daniels.”

“Oh, no, dear old Uncle Jack will be going home with me. The mailman can have that nasty Southern Comfort.” Turning around, she came back toward the bed, reaching into her pocket. “I think you misplaced this. I found it on the floor at the bottom of that nightmare in your closet.”

She dropped a necklace into Virginia’s hand.

A shell necklace? She didn’t remember getting it anywhere. It was a simple white shell on a rustic piece of twine. She turned it over and her heart gave a little flutter that took her breath. Inside, someone had scratched V + J.

About a thousand years ago, she’d skipped school to go with Jeb and a bunch of his friends to Galveston for a day on the shore. They’d found buckets of shells just like this one, and a few days later, he’d given her this shell necklace right before his high school graduation. She’d worn it that day but never looked inside it. Then she’d tossed it in a box of trinkets and forgotten all about it. Even then, he’d been trying to tell her how he felt. She just hadn’t bothered to look.

She closed her fingers around the shell.
Oh, Jeb.

“You couldn’t even think about sneaking into my beloved Cadillac without me knowing about it, so do you honestly think I didn’t know that you skipped school?” Decades had passed, but Virginia still felt heat flushing her chest. Because if Miss Belle had known about skipping school that day, then she sure didn’t want to think about how much she picked up from last night.

Laughing, Miss Belle skipped through the door and hollered Colonel Healy’s favorite saying. “You’re wasting daylight!” Then she popped her head back in briefly to whisper, “Well done, my girl. You certainly won that bet handily. You definitely take after me in that regard, if I do say so myself.”

Virginia buried her blazing face in her hands and groaned.
I can’t wait until she goes back to Missouri. At least then I won’t have nightmares about her listening in on my love life.

Dropping her hands to her lap, the glint of gold on her finger caught and held her gaze. They’d never had much money in the beginning. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Daddy had given her a hefty wedding present of fifty thousand dollars, but she’d just put it in the bank for the kids’ college educations. Then of course there’d been her inheritance when Colonel Healy passed. Again, it’d just sat in a fund, gaining interest. Tyrell had no interest in acquiring money, beyond making sure he could supply for his family’s wants and needs.

The wedding ring he’d slipped on her hand was just a simple gold band, the same as the ring she’d given him as she’d sworn to honor and cherish him forever, and probably not much smaller than his. She never took it off, not even when helping a mare deliver a foal. The damned thing might not even slide off now, worn down into a permanent ring in her flesh.

But it was time for new beginnings. Jeb had bought her a ring once upon a time, and Ty himself had told her Jeb would finally ask for her hand. She couldn’t be wearing her old wedding band if and when he asked.

She tried to slide the old band off, but it wouldn’t budge over her knuckle, which was always a little swollen from all the banging up she tended to do working around the ranch. She strode into the bathroom and used a little soap and water to finally work the ring off. Her skin was pale and white, dented from decades of wear. Her finger looked misshapen and deformed, like her too-skinny arm.

She took a deep breath, trying to figure out what she was feeling. Surprisingly, no guilt. Ty had already made sure she didn’t harbor any regrets. No grief, because she’d paid that price in tears and aching loneliness for years. She raised her gaze to her face in the mirror, surprised to see how bright her eyes looked. Not lined and weary with dark bags after a rough night of tossing and turning. Certainly not bloodshot after finishing off another bottle.

For the first time in a long, long time, she actually felt…

Hope. Light. Like she’d set aside an incredibly heavy burden after trudging along on the weary road for so long she’d forgotten what it felt like to walk carefree and normal.

Tears pooled in her eyes, but not from sadness. Not this time.

Returning to the bedroom, she pressed a gentle kiss to the old ring and then slipped it into the hatband of Ty’s favorite hat, right beside the cigarette.
He’ll always keep it safe for me.

Chapter Sixteen

The Lady Always Gets Her Man
by Chris Waters

Reduced to card tricks any circus hack could do with his eyes closed, Ransom sat at the poker table crammed with bystanders—no players—and tried not to grind his teeth to dust. He’d gone through the saloon regulars in an hour, even though he’d let them all win their modest little bets. He wasn’t here for money or the thrill of the game.

All he wanted was Victorious Raynes.

She walked into the saloon on the sheriff’s arm. She smiled and let him seat her first, chatting lightly as though she didn’t have a care in the world. To everyone else, she might look fine, but Ransom knew her too well to buy that act. She was scared. Scared real bad. And nothing, absolutely nothing in this world, pissed him off more.

He’d seen her beaten by her drunken father. Practically starving to death while her mother slaved to keep her and the baby from freezing in their falling down one-room shack. She’d grown up into an incredibly gorgeous wild young thing that had learned to fight dirty at an early age to keep greedy men from taking what wasn’t theirs. She’d gotten on a mustang that had thrown—and killed—its last rider and ridden it to a standstill. She’d stood down stagecoach robbers, lust-crazed drunks and hungry wolves without ever missing a beat.

But smiling and talking with the sheriff, she couldn’t keep her hands still. Her fingers checked her bun, no doubt making sure the small blade or long hairpin she’d stashed was still there (she’d learned that trick from him). Then she tugged on each sleeve of her gown. Long and tight with lace falling over the backs of her hands, the sleeves likely concealed a blade tucked up each forearm. She twirled the pink parasol that dangled from her wrist, though she didn’t pop it open.

However, the most glaring tell of all: she lightly touched the hollow at the base of her throat. He knew what was hidden beneath the prim neckline of her gown. A simple silver cross that had been her grandmother’s. The only thing Tori treasured and the one small possession she kept from her previous life like a talisman.

Was her scam starting to fall apart at the seams? Was she scared the sheriff was going to arrest her? What? What had happened to bring such a confident, deadly woman to such fear?

Until he stood up and headed toward her table, he didn’t know. Then her wide, dark green eyes latched on to him and he actually stumbled.

Me. She’s scared of me.

“Mr. Savage.” Sheriff Brazen didn’t miss much, even if he seemed oblivious to his lady’s unease. “Did you already clear out all those poor saps?”

“No sir,” he replied automatically, his words flat and dead. How could she even think he’d betray her like that? They’d sparred at the store, sure, but he’d never put her in harm’s way. Never. He’d let the sheriff haul him off to jail this very moment if that meant she’d ride away free. She had to know that. Surely she wasn’t afraid he’d come for the money she’d stolen out of his saddlebags. Money didn’t mean a damned thing to him. He could recoup his losses in a single high-stakes poker game if the need arose. “Halltown hasn’t been too lucky for me.”

“That’s a shame.” The sheriff’s wide smile belied his words. “I figured as much. High rollers don’t last long here. Much better games in St. Louis, New Orleans or San Francisco. Now that’s the place to be, so I’ve heard. Money flowing through the streets like water.”

Ransom nodded, trying not to stare at her, but he felt like a damned fool standing here helpless while she practically quaked with dread. Silently, she sipped a sherry and didn’t even look at him.

Sherry, for God’s sake. The woman could drink hard liquor better than he could. It was as crazy as seeing her sip tea with a bunch of ladies they would have sneered at and made fun of as teenagers. As crazy as the proper gown she wore that concealed her glorious body.

“Say,” Sheriff Brazen drawled out even slower than usual, as though putting a great amount of thought and effort into his words. “Since you’re still here, I was meaning to ask you something. If I saw you again.”

“Yes, Sheriff?”

“Do you know Miss Raynes from somewhere?”

She didn’t say a word, didn’t move a muscle. In fact, Ransom was pretty sure she wasn’t even breathing. “Why do you ask?” He stalled for time, trying to read her body language. Had she told a big windy about where she might have run into him? He had no idea how much of her past she’d shared with the sheriff. Surely the man realized she wasn’t completely respectable if she was willing to dine in a saloon. Certainly none of the other ladies would be caught dead in here, even if the floozies weren’t flaunting their wares.

“Curiosity.” His cold blue eyes studied him, cataloging every move, measuring and weighing his tells. “A feeling in my gut.”

Careful. This game has the highest stakes of all.
“Perhaps you’d better see the doc for that.”

Sheriff Brazen smiled but his eyes didn’t change, still guarded and intent. “My gut’s rarely wrong.”

“I don’t rightly recall. Miss Raynes, did I ever make your acquaintance before today?”

“Not that I recall,” she said dully.

“There you go,” Ransom said.

“I want to hear it from you.” Brazen leaned back in his chair, his palms spread out on his thighs. Easy reach for his gun, though he’d never get the pistol pulled in time.

Holding the sheriff’s gaze, Ransom leaned forward slightly, using every ounce of will and intent to project his words with as much sincerity as possible. “I never made Miss Raynes’s acquaintance.”

The sheriff nodded slowly. “All right.”

“Is that all you wanted to know?”

“When are you leaving town?”

“I’ve already paid for the hotel’s best room this evening, so unless a game gets interesting, most likely tomorrow.”

The sheriff reached into his pocket and pulled out a few bills. “Here’s a refund. Why don’t you get on that fiery horse and ride on out of my town this very night.”

“I see.” Ransom didn’t bother picking up the bills. He risked another glance at Victorious, but she still hadn’t moved other than the slow, steady sipping from her crystal glass. “Is that what you want, Miss Raynes?”

“Why would you ask her if you didn’t know her?”

“Curiosity,” Ransom replied, not looking away from her. “I have a soft spot for damsels in distress. If the lady…”

She turned her head and met his gaze, her eyes flat and cold. “I’m no damsel in distress, Mr. Savage. Please don’t risk the sheriff’s wrath on my account.”

Ransom inclined his head. “As the lady wishes.”

Sheriff Brazen stood and offered him his hand. “I appreciate you being so amiable, Mr. Savage.”

This time their handshake was brief and to the point. The sheriff had already won and he knew it. “I’ve got a great respect for the law, Sheriff.”

“So where’re you headed?”

Ransom strode toward the door, fighting the urge to take one last look at Victorious all the way. “I think I’ll head on over to San Antonio. Then I can catch a ride over to New Orleans. I’ve got a mean craving for some good jambalaya.”

She didn’t even say goodbye. As the door swung shut, he tried not to give up all hope. If Victorious remembered half the things they’d learned and shared together over the years, she’d know exactly where to find him if she needed his help.

And it sure wasn’t going to be stuffing his face in New Orleans.