Revenge (32 page)

He stopped the truck and killed the engine. Cody stirred but didn't open his eyes, not even when Jenner opened the cab door and hopped to the ground. Using the pickup for support, he edged around the truck, leaned a jean-clad hip against the fender and gazed down the cliff face to the swift waters of the creek.

Beth eased out of the truck and joined him. The sun was warm against her crown, the hood of the old Dodge hot and grimy with dust and dead insects.

“I haven't been here,” Jenner said, “not since it happened.” He rubbed the back of his neck impatiently and his brow furrowed above the frames of his sunglasses. “You know, I was never close to the old man. In fact, I professed to hate his guts. I did everything I could to irritate the hell out of him.” He kicked at some loose gravel and the stones rolled off the shoulder and past a few dry blades of grass to tumble freely into the canyon. “I didn't like the way he treated people, especially me and my sister. Max—” Jenner shrugged “—he was Dad's favorite, and for years Max turned a blind eye on what the old man was doing. But he found out. Damn, did he find out.” Jenner turned his gaze up to the cloudless sky as if he could discover the answers to his questions in the vast heavens. “Even though my father was a liar and a cheat, even though he manipulated people, he didn't deserve to die. Not like this.”

She didn't know what to say. Did he want comfort? Or was he talking not so much to her as to himself? She reached forward, her fingers touching his bare arm where he'd rolled up his sleeve.

He didn't move, just glanced down at her small white hand resting against the bronzed skin and gold hair of his forearm. He lifted his head, and from behind his dark glasses, he stared straight at her, causing the pulse at her throat to throb. For a second, she thought he might draw her into his arms, might kiss her until the breath left her body, might hold her so close she could feel every hard contour of his muscles.

Her throat worked. His lips flattened and he turned away. “Come on. We're wastin' time.”

 

By the time they reached the ranch it was early afternoon. Trucks and cars, most covered in a haze of dust, were parked in the yard, and ranch hands could be seen working with the livestock.

Jenner guided his pickup into a vacant spot near the ga-rage. As he climbed out of the cab, he waved to a few of the men and stared at the rubble and ash still piled where Beth assumed the stables had once stood. Yellow tape, announcing a crime scene, was stretched around the charred concrete and blackened debris, while the odors of dust and ash mingled in the breeze with those of cattle and bleached grass.

Hundreds of heads of cattle had been herded into a series of pens surrounding a large barn. Calves bawled and men shouted as the animals were inoculated, their ears notched and tagged, before they were forced into a chute leading to another field.

“Cow,” Cody said, blinking and yawning as he woke up. Beth got out first, then set him on the ground.

“Many cows,” Beth corrected.

“Many cows, bulls, steers and calves. You want to see?” Jenner asked, starting to hobble toward the nearest fence.

“I don't know...” she said, regarding the beasts with their dusty red, black, gray and ocher hides. Most of the animals were huge, some had humps at their shoulders and wicked-looking horns sprouting from their heads. Flies swarmed and the smell of manure permeated the air.

“Lighten up, Beth,” Jenner called out as he limped swiftly toward the melee and left Beth in the shade of a solitary pine tree. “The boy's not made of glass.”

“I know, but—”
But he's all I've got, and if anything happened to him...
She released Cody's hand and he ran to keep up with the man on crutches. Beth felt something inside her die as she watched her son run so confidently to Jenner and reach for his hand.

Maybe Cody wasn't made of glass, but it seemed as if her heart was.

Grasshoppers flew out of his path and flies buzzed over his head and his sneakers were dustier than they'd ever been in his short life, but there was a joy about him that brought tears to her eyes. She was losing something by introducing Cody to Jenner. Until now, she'd been everything to her son—provider, mother, friend, the sun, the moon and the stars. But Cody was gaining something—something precious—if Jenner would accept him as his son.

Something inside her seemed to tear. She blinked hard and told herself she was being a fool. Didn't she want Cody to know his father? Didn't she want him to feel the warmth of a father's love—that special warmth she'd never known? Her throat was so thick she could barely breathe as she watched Jenner, balancing precariously on his crutches, lift Cody onto the third rail of the fence so he could rest his arms on the top rail and gain a better view. His little feet shifted, but Jenner's hand, tanned and weathered, was splayed firmly against the child's back, and Beth knew Jenner would fall himself before allowing any harm to come to Cody.

“Oh, God,” Beth whispered, “please let him be all right.”

As if in answer, Cody let out a whoop when a rangy calf drew close enough so that he could bend over the fence and pat the animal's head.

Beth bit back a warning for him to be careful when she saw Jenner's arm surround his son's waist. Her heart twisted at the sight. Father and son. Together. A picture she thought she'd never witness.

Jenner said something and Cody laughed so loud the calf started and backed away. A few men came over and Jenner talked to them, keeping his hand on Cody all the while. More than one interested glance was cast in her direction, but she couldn't hear their conversation over the noise of the herd.

Eventually the men went back to work and Jenner peeled a reluctant Cody from the fence. Together they walked back to the truck.

“I seen lots of cows!” Cody announced, obviously pleased with himself as he climbed into her arms and managed to smudge dirt all over her blouse.

“Did you?”

“Millions of 'em.”

Jenner chuckled, and together they headed toward the front door. “Brace yourself,” Jenner whispered to her as they reached the porch. “I'm not in good graces with my mother just now.”

“Oh, great.”

“Nor with my grandmother.”

“What are we doing here then?”

He slid her a glance. “Not getting cold feet, are ya? After all, this is your party.” He shoved open the door and stepped inside.

Sharp footsteps echoed through the rooms as Casey half ran down the hallway. “Where the hell have you been?” she said, her hazel eyes spitting fire. “Mom and Grandma are both fit to be tied...” Her voice trailed off as she realized that she wasn't alone with her brother. “Uh... well...I didn't mean... Damn it, I don't care, Jenner, you're—”

“Irresponsible and going to roast in hell. I know. Now, maybe you'd like to simmer down and meet these people. This is Beth Crandall and her son, Cody. My sister, Casey. As you probably noticed, she's the calm one in the family.”

“Very funny,” Casey muttered, her eyebrows drawing angrily together. Somehow she managed a smile when she shook Beth's hand. “I remember you. You were in the class ahead of me in school.”

“That's right.”

“And this is your little boy?” Casey grinned widely at Cody.

“Yes,” Beth said, her insides beginning to twist. “Cody.”

“Isn't he a doll?” All of Casey's anger with her brother seemed to fade as she reached out and grabbed Cody into her arms. “Well, what're you doin', big fella? Did you come out to the ranch to rope some steers or ride some broncs bareback?”

Cody didn't say a word, but his eyes rounded in wonder.

“Beth's here because Grandma wrote to her,” Jenner explained, his gaze locking with Beth's. She narrowed her eyes at him to warn him, but one side of his mouth twisted upward in a sarcastic smile.

“Grandma?” Casey repeated.

“Mmm. Seems she and Beth have quite a correspondence going.”

“Is that so? How do you know our grandmother?”

Bristling, Beth said, “She wrote and asked me to come back to Rimrock because she thought it would do Jenner a world of good to see me and Cody. We've known each other a few years.”

Storm clouds gathered in Casey's usually clear eyes. “Oh.” She slid a glance at Cody and her face suddenly paled.

“Beth's here to clear up a few things.”

Casey's throat worked and Beth felt her cheeks grow hot as embarrassment stole over her face. “That's right,” she admitted, wondering how much Jenner intended to confide in his sister.

“Jenner? Is that you?” Over the staccato tap of heels on hardwood, Virginia McKee's voice carried through the hall. She appeared suddenly through an archway and stopped dead in her tracks when her gaze landed on Beth. “Oh...well, I see you've brought a guest.” Her practiced smile fell perfectly into place, though she didn't seem pleased and her eyes remained frosty, even when she looked at her grandson for the first time. “Come in. Please.” She led them into a spacious sunken living room decorated with pine walls, rock fireplace and heavy furniture in shades of forest green and tan. Along the back wall, windows offered a view of a ridge of mountains reflecting in the clear waters of a lake. “Please, sit,” Virginia invited.

Jenner propped his crutches against the fireplace and settled onto the raised hearth. “I'd hoped Mavis would be around.”

“She's resting.”

“I am not!” Mavis's voice rang clearly through the living room as she entered. “What's going on—Oh!” Her gaze landed on Cody and Beth. “Well, it's about time you showed up around here.” Using her cane, she crossed the room and smiled at Cody. “So this is the boy. I believe it. Just look at him, Virginia. He's the spitting image of—”

“Mavis!” Virginia hissed. “I don't think this is the time or the place—”

“Sure it is. We all know what's going on here.”

“Not all of us,” Beth said quickly, holding on to her boy. “Cody—”

“Won't really understand what's going on, but it's time he did. That's what you want, isn't it, Mavis? You're lookin' to find yourself a great-grandson.” Jenner's words were harsh and cut to the quick.

The old lady took a seat in an armchair and sighed. “I told you why I wrote to Beth, Jenner, but it was only part of the truth. I thought that seeing the boy would be good for you, yes, and good for the entire family, but I also thought that it was time to right a wrong. Lord knows I loved Jonah. He was my only child and I adored him, but...I'm afraid his father and I spoiled him and let him believe that he could take everything he wanted from life. He was a good man. I believe that with all of my heart, but sometimes he made mistakes and he...” She sighed again and looked down at her hands, where age spots mottled the once-clear skin. “Well, I didn't think it was right when he broke up Max and Skye, twisting the truth as he did, but I didn't interfere.

“As for you and Beth, things were different. You weren't in love like Max and Skye, but you became involved and you fathered a child, a child you never knew about. Jonah thought it was for the best and I disagreed with him, but I couldn't dissuade him. Once again, I let him have his way. But now he's gone and I can't help thinking he made a terrible mistake.”

“That bastard!” Casey said.

Virginia's face turned the color of chalk. “He was your father and a good father and I won't have you speak ill of him, Casey Maureen McKee!”

“Enough, Mom,” Jenner cut in. “Casey's just surprised. We all know what kind of a man Jonah was.”

Mavis wound her fingers nervously over the handle of her cane. “He only did what he thought was best.”

“Best!” Jenner snorted disdainfully, but held his tongue. Leaning back against the smooth stones of the fireplace, his arms crossed over his chest, his jean-clad legs stretched out in front of him, he watched Beth through eyes opened at half mast, as if expecting her to say something, anything, that might somehow prove she was lying.

“This is all just conjecture,” Virginia said pointedly to Mavis, “and I don't think you should go around maligning your own son. Jonah, rest his soul, may have made mistakes in his life, but we all do, and we have no proof that the boy is Jenner's.”

“Beth is here because I insisted she come,” Mavis said, her mouth pursing.

“Why didn't she ever contact Jenner?” Virginia turned her attention to the woman who dared challenge her son.

Beth raised her chin up a notch. “He was already gone when I found out. Back on the rodeo circuit. He'd never tried to contact me since... since we were together, and afterward I heard rumors that he was engaged to Nora Bateman.”

“That was over,” Jenner said sharply.

“Not according to your father.”

Jenner swore roundly.

“I'll not have you speak that way about your father,” Virginia admonished, her eyes narrowing. “He was a good—”

“Stop kidding yourself, Mom! Open your eyes. Jonah P. McKee did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, to whomever he damn well pleased.”

“Jenner—”

“Jonah McKee was a lousy husband. Why you pretend that you didn't know that he ran around on you is beyond me.” Mavis gasped and Casey shook her head vigorously, trying silently to stop her brother's tirade, but Jenner wasn't finished. He was just beginning to warm to his subject. Pushing himself upright, he said, “As for his being a good father, Mom, he was a complete failure.”

Mavis let out a small groan of protest but didn't attempt to stop her grandson.