Once and Always (Women of Character) (24 page)

Anna put her arms around herself.
"If you go down there like a bull you'll scare Danny off and we might
never find out what happened, if he even remembers everything."

Tyler hesitated a moment and Anna
hoped that he'd see reason, but he shook his head. "Let me do it my
way." He strode back down the path toward the front of the house.

"Tyler."

Anna quickly covered all her
tools, then turned and followed Tyler to the barn. When she reached the paddock
area, she didn't see Tyler or Danny. With uneasiness gripping her, she hoped
that Danny had already left and Tyler hadn't found him.

Running into the barn, she found
Tony cleaning tack. "Tony, have you seen Danny or Tyler?"

Tony, his eyes wide with concern,
put aside the bridle he was cleaning. "They're both out back. Is something
wrong?"

"I hope not." Anna
turned to leave.

"Maybe I'd better come with
you."

Anna stepped around the side of
the barn and drew in a startled breath when a horse and rider trotted past her.

"I'm sorry―sorry!"
Danny yelled.

Anna saw the flash of his red hair
as he rode past her on horseback, toward the woods, his words hanging in the
air. She looked away from him toward the back of the barn and suddenly she saw
Tyler on one knee in the dirt as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Tyler!" She ran to him,
knelt by his side and gently probed the back of his skull. He jerked his head
back from her touch.

"You've got a bump as big as
an egg." Worried about possible concussion, she looked at his eyes.
"Are you dizzy? Do you feel nauseous?"

"No." He gripped the
wooden post beside him and that's when Anna saw the wildflowers that had been
trampled in the dirt.

Anna put her hands on his arms and
helped him stand. "Did Danny hit you?" she asked, puzzled. Even as
she said the words she didn't think it could be possible.

"No."

"Boss, are you okay?"
Tony asked, coming up behind them.

"I'm fine." Tyler
brushed the dirt off his knees. He looked at her. "You were right,"
he said harshly. "I went about this all wrong. Danny panicked when I
insisted on answers and like you saw he rode out of here like a bat out of
hell. He'd picked you flowers," he added, "but they got trampled when
he took off."

"If it wasn't Danny, how'd
you get hurt?"

"I thought I latched the gate
but it swung out and whacked me on the back of the head. I think Danny saw me
on the ground and thought he was responsible, but it was my own fault. I tried
to calm him down but it was too late."

Anna was relieved he wasn't
seriously hurt. "You scared him," she said accusingly.

"I should have backed off but
I could see he knew something and I couldn't let it go." He hit the flat
of his hand against the fence rail.

"I'll saddle up a horse and
go after him," Tony said. "I'll bring back the mare he took."

"Don't bother." Tyler
rubbed his head. "If Danny doesn't want to be found, you can search ‘til
hell freezes over and you won't find him. He knows these woods too well. It was
more my fault."

"All right, Boss," Tony
said. "I'll be in the barn if you need me."

When Tony left, Tyler said
abruptly, "Maybe I'll stop by Danny's mother's house and explain what
happened."

She put a restraining hand on his
arm. "No, let me handle this. If Danny sees you there he might really take
off. I'll give her a call later to make sure he gets home okay." Danny
might be the size of an adult, but sometimes he reminded her of a nine-year-old
boy.

Tyler looked grim. "I should
have left it alone."

"Yes, you should have."
Anna wondered if Danny was okay.

"Maybe you can talk to
him."

"I understand your urgency
for the truth, Tyler, but I have to protect Danny too."

He snapped his head around.
"Like you protected Martin?"

Anna narrowed her eyes. "Am I
supposed to abandon the people I care about when things don't go your
way?" Angrily, she added, "When Danny's ready he'll come back. He's
never let me down. I trust him."

"I have to wonder what else
Danny knows? I get the idea he's protecting you but he cares about you too much
to say anything." He stared at her hard. "Is there anything else I
should know?"

"What do you mean?" she
asked stiffly.

"You never told me why Danny
had to take you to the hospital that week Martin died. Did Martin beat you up
or something when he found out about us?"

"No! He never touched
me."

"Tell me," he demanded.

Suddenly, Anna wanted to be done
with the secrets. "I was pregnant! I'd fainted and Danny took me to the
hospital. He thought I was dead."

Tyler stepped back as if she'd
slapped him. "A child?" His voice came out strangled. "You were
pregnant and you didn't tell me?"

"No." She'd been so
afraid, insecure.

"Jesus, I can't believe you
never told me."

"Dammit, Tyler, you were
gone!"

"You found out after I
left?"

Anna looked away. "I knew
before." She pressed her lips together. "I had a miscarriage."

Tyler swung away from her, as if
it was all too much. Anna understood his pain, his confusion, she'd gone
through the same thing years before and the sense of loss still lingered today.
"I'm sorry, Tyler."

"Me too."

Anna winced at his swift
departure, then looked back toward the woods where Danny had fled, but the area
was empty and she knew Danny wouldn't return today. Regret ate at her for the
mistakes they'd both made. . .the mistakes they were still making.

Tyler would never willingly hurt
anyone, yet he'd frightened Danny with his intensity. Again, it was brought
home to her how important finding out the truth was to him. The past wouldn't
let go, it haunted them all.

Ω

Tyler jumped in his truck and
backed out of the driveway. He could see Annie in the mirror as he drove away.
They'd conceived a child and she'd never bothered to tell him. Anger rode him
all the way to town and he wondered how he could believe a word she said when
she'd kept something so important from him.

As for scaring Danny off, Tyler
felt pretty disgusted with himself. He'd never gotten anywhere letting his
temper guide him, and he'd certainly proven that point again. It was like he'd
reverted to that hot-tempered kid again, ramming his way through life with no
real control.

Tyler drove into town and by the
time he pulled into the rutted parking lot at O'Kelly's bar he'd pretty much
cooled off. As he watched the flow of people in and out, he thought back to
when he was thirteen. How many times had Mike O'Kelly snuck beers out the side
door to him and other thirteen year-olds? Now, Mike O'Kelly was in the state
penitentiary doing two years for burglary. As Tyler entered the bar, he thought
that maybe he hadn't done so bad after all. He could have ended up like Mike.

As he breathed in the smoky air
and stale beer smell, Tyler conceded that O'Kelly's hadn't changed in the time
he'd been gone. He spotted Starla O'Kelly at the end of the bar at the same
time she saw him.

"Tyler!" Starla rushed
toward him, hands outstretched. Tyler pulled her close and gave her a hug,
smoothing back her dark hair as it swung into his face.

"Starla, it's good to see
you."

She pulled back, a big smile on
her face. "Tyler, I was wondering how long it would take you to come
around. I was just telling Bob that I heard you were back."

"I've been busy," he
said quietly, noticing several heads turning his way. The place seemed to be
nearly full.

"Everybody's talking about
the work you've been doing out there at the Barlow place."

Tyler gave her a half smile and
made no attempt to lower his voice. "Small town gossip never changes, does
it?"

She swiped a dishtowel at him.
"You know the answer to that, and you also know it blows away when the
next bit of news comes along."

"You'll be able to see for
yourself how the ranch is shaping up," he remarked idly. "We've got a
big open house coming up. Public invited."

"Well, that sounds like
fun." She moved back behind the bar. "So what brings you into
town?"

He shrugged, glancing around as he
dropped onto a barstool. "Just riding around. Came by the corner and
thought I'd drop in to see if anything changed."

"In this place?" She
laughed and placed a draft beer in front of him.

Tyler stared at the thin line of
foam topping his beer. "How's your brother?"

"Mike? Still doing
time." Starla leaned over the bar toward him and lowered her voice.
"I was surprised when I heard you were back. You're lucky you got away
from here when you did. Some of us aren't so lucky."

"Are you thinking maybe I
should have stayed away?" He met the curious stares around him one-by-one.
"Nobody really knows what happened six years ago. I for one want to know
what happened."

"If people are willing to let
it go," Starla said, "maybe you should too. Sometimes you have to
compromise. If you stir things and blacken the Barlow name, you might get the
short end of the stick."

He stood and took a deep swallow
of his beer. "I'm well acquainted with that stick. So you're saying people
don't care about the truth?"

She shook her head and smiled at
him sadly. "I'm not saying that at all, but I guess you'll do what you
need to do, Tyler."

"I usually do." Tyler
walked away from the bar and stopped in front of the jukebox, staring blindly
at the music selection.

"Tyler Stanton," said a
gravelly voice behind him.

Tyler turned. A man somewhere in
his sixties stood behind him, topping him easily by six inches. He wore a heavy
black mustache and was dressed in jeans, T-shirt and a dusty denim jacket.

"Hi, I'm Cole Benton. I've
heard talk that you're taking on horses for training at the Double B."
Cole took a deep swallow of his beer and eyed Tyler over the glass rim.
"Just like old times, eh?"

Tyler straightened his back.
"Not exactly. I'm leasing the ranch from Anna Barlow."

Cole indicated the pool table
behind them. "Care to play a game?"

Tyler shrugged. "Sure."
He put down two quarters. "Let's rack them up."

"I might have some work for
you. Are you as good as Grant?" Cole asked conversationally as he racked
the balls and chose his stick.

Tyler leaned his hip against the
side of the pool table. He'd never claim such an honor. "My dad taught me
all I know."

Cole nodded with satisfaction and
Tyler saw a trace of a smile under that bushy mustache. "Good. Then you
should do well." He took the first shot and managed to drop two balls into
pockets, then missed on the third shot. Cole turned to Tyler. "I've got
the small ones. Your turn."

Three games later Tyler had won
five dollars but lost ten. After sinking the eight ball on the third game, he
conceded defeat. "I'll have to get myself a table so I can practice. I'm
rusty."

Starla came to stand beside Cole
and she laughed. "Tyler Stanton, I remember a time you'd hustle pool for
beer shots."

Tyler grimaced. "Yeah, well,
those days are over. I don't hustle anything anymore."

"Just as well," she
said, "You were never very good at it."

Tyler felt as if there was a
sudden hush in the barroom. "Thanks," he said dryly. Finishing his
beer, Tyler handed Cole a business card. "Give me a call when you're ready
to talk. It's been nice meeting you Cole." He saluted Starla and gave her
a grin. "Starla, see you the next time around." As he walked out the
door Tyler nodded at people sitting at the bar and at the tables, wondering
idly if the talk would now center around him, raising new speculation about his
family and what had happened six years ago. What the hell, he told himself. He
wasn't hiding. People might as well know he was going to be right out there,
dragging in business if he had to, and if he tweaked a couple sensitive hairs
by digging into the past, so be it. In that moment, he had an insight as to how
Annie felt when conversations stopped around her and people stared.

Tyler drove through the quiet
streets, all the way to the other end of Marsh Plains. He parked outside the
cemetery gates, wondering if he'd have to climb the fence to get inside, but
the gate was still unlocked. He found his father's plot easily enough, and
stood in the cooling night air, staring at the stone in the meager light. The
wreath he'd placed there a few short weeks ago had already begun to wilt, but
he noticed someone had planted flowers beside the stone. Even in the failing
light he could tell they were a flaming red, like the flowers Annie had put in
stone planters all over the ranch. He knelt down to touch the flowers. Who else
but Annie would take the time to care? She had always been a caring person, but
why hadn't she told him she was pregnant?

Tyler looked up at the stars, wondering what his father
thought about being back home and he hoped he was finally happy. Tyler thought
if he could get his dad's name cleared, maybe then he'd find his own brand of
peace. He didn't want to hurt anyone by digging around in the past, but he had
to get to the truth and he couldn't let it go, no matter what truth turned up.

Three days later on
a hot, sunny day, Anna walked toward the back pasture lots where she knew Tyler
would be baling hay. She passed the barns and the field where the horses grazed
and tilted her head back to let the late morning sun fall on her face. She and
Tyler hadn't spoken much since the day Danny ran off and she'd told him about
the miscarriage. Today she intended to bring him lunch so they could talk.
Someone had to make the first overture and she knew it had to be her.

Since the fire she'd stayed away
from the fields when the hay was cut, there was just too much pain, but today,
courage seemed to be holding her hand.