Tell Me No Lies (17 page)

“Sorry, girl. I don’t have any sugar for you.”

I’d been hoping my mother had remembered to call Sinclair when I disappeared so he would come in earlier than we’d planned to care for my horse. Though Serenity had plenty of grazing in the field and water in her trough, I’d still worried. Obviously someone had been here, or she wouldn’t be in her stall in the middle of the day. But why was she locked up?

Wait. What was that on her leg? I bent down to look. She’d cut herself on something sharp, and it looked as though it needed medical attention.

“I don’t see how the animal could have hurt herself,” came a voice I recognized all too well.

Mother.

I eased away from Serenity and climbed the short ladder into the small hayloft to hide. I was still on the ladder when Sinclair came through. His eyes widened in surprise, but I held my finger to my lip and heaved myself the rest of the way up. I prayed that he wouldn’t say anything. I had missed my wedding, and the last thing I wanted now was to confront my mother on her own turf.

CHAPTER TEN

“I
shut her in the stall so she wouldn’t injure herself further,” Sinclair said to my mother. “I found the damage in the fence—probably some kids. It’ll need to be fixed. I can do that and call the vet for you.”

“Vet? It’s that bad?”

“Yes.”

“I see.” There was a little silence in which my mother was presumably examining the cut.

I peered through a small crack in the loft floor, curious to see my elegant mother with Serenity. To my knowledge, she hadn’t been out here since the day she’d given Serenity to me when I graduated from high school. She was stroking Serenity’s neck, who had her nose buried in her hand.

My mother was feeding Serenity sugar cubes? I wasn’t sure what to think, but a strange lump formed in my chest.

“Sinclair, please do call the vet,” my mother said. “And add the time you take fixing the fence to your hours so we can be sure to pay you. I appreciate you bringing this to my attention.”

“You’re welcome. She’s a sweet horse.”

“Yes, she is.” I couldn’t see my mother’s face, but she sounded peaceful.

“Well, I’ll get started.”

Sinclair left, and I felt an urge to call out to my mother. Crazy. She wouldn’t be pleased with anything I’d done. Truth was, I wasn’t all that pleased myself. I’d taken the coward’s way out by running away and not confronting Julian, but I still believed that if I’d talked to him, I would have made the biggest mistake in my life.

Now there was Gage. I wasn’t sure what I felt about him, but I wanted to find out. Besides, there was that little matter of how he kissed me. What if a miracle happened and things worked out between us? I’d live close. Maybe my mother and I could be friends. Start over.

This daydream was shattered by another familiar voice. “Mrs. Crawford?”

“Who’s there?” My mother’s hand disappeared from Serenity’s neck.

“Julian Willis.”

“What are you doing here? I told you I don’t know where she is.”

“I’ve done a little research. Braxton has a sister in Kingman, and they might have gone there.”

“On a honeymoon?”

“You know it’s not real. She doesn’t love that man.”

“Apparently, she doesn’t love you, either.”

“She’s just hurt.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“I take full responsibility. I even understand in a way. But if I can see her, I know I can make it work out.”

“That’s the very thing her father told me—that you would make it work out if we could find her. Maybe she did the right thing leaving like she did.” I was surprised to hear the faintest hint of approval in my mother’s voice, and I wondered if she’d wished her younger self had made the same decision. Would it have made a difference in our lives? I rarely saw my father, especially when I was young, and he’d had little to do with our upbringing. If I’d had a father who had played with us, asked us about school, who’d maybe attended one of Lily’s plays or my volleyball games, would it have made a difference? We were always on our best behavior on the rare occasions when he was home, and my desire to please him was one of the biggest reasons I’d gone to work for his company.

Not to mention one of the reasons I’d started dating Julian. A business merger for the company was all well and good, but a personal merger cemented the deal.

These thoughts flooded through my head, leaving as fast as they entered.

“I thought you approved of our marriage,” Julian said, a pout in his voice, but also a bit of warning.

“What if she’s in love with this Braxton character?”

Silence. Then Julian’s voice again. “He’s a convict. She doesn’t love him. She’s trying to make a point. Look, I love Tessa, and I won’t let her throw her life away. I’ll make this right.”

“Then you have my blessing.”

It was an odd exchange, and I didn’t understand any of it—my mother’s ambiguity, Julian’s insistence on his love for me. That wasn’t the Julian I knew. When someone hurt him, he became angry and withdrawn. When we had fought, I was always the one who had to initiate a resolution. The making up was good, but getting there took a lot of effort. Sometimes I was so tired of it. So utterly tired. Just once I would have liked to see him come after me and beg me to talk things out.

Well, I was through with that now. Maybe I’d never have to deal with Julian again. I shifted my weight, and my foot scraped against the floor of the loft, making a loud sound that echoed through the barn.

“What was that?” Julian asked. “Is someone here?”

“Probably the horse,” my mother said.

“Sounds like it came from up there.”

I held very still, except for the thundering of my heart. A line of sweat trickled down from my hairline. Did I have the strength to resist him?

“Well, go take a look if you like,” my mother said, sounding amused. “But you’ll ruin those pants.”

“Not worth it. I need to see my father right away. He knows some people in Kingman.”

Their voices faded as they left the barn. I slumped on the loft floor, my body going completely limp. Saved by Julian’s expensive trousers. Maybe I’d send him another pair once I received my inheritance.

I lay there without moving, allowing my heart rate to return to normal. I knew I should get up and go find Gage, but I couldn’t make my muscles move. It had been too close for comfort. Yet a part of me wanted to stroll up to the house, to go into my bedroom and take a nice, relaxing bath with my own bath products. Have my hair and nails done. Sleep in my own bed. To not worry about Gage and especially my reaction to him.

“Tessa?”

My muscles tensed again.

“I know you’re in here somewhere.”

Steps on the ladder.

“Oh, there you are.”

I was lying on my back, and I lifted my chin up, tilting back my head to see Gage looming over me. “Hi,” I said. He looked odd upside down, but then I guess anyone would.

“I figured you came to see Serenity. I saw your mother and Julian leaving. Guess they didn’t see you.”

I forced myself into a sitting position, and Gage returned to being himself instead of odd-looking. “Something like that.”

“No regrets?”

I had regrets, but none of them were any of his business. “No.”

He offered me a hand, and I took it. Suddenly I was in his arms, and we were kissing right there in the loft. Fire ran through my veins.

No, that was all in my mind. A delicious daydream. Gage was actually going down the ladder, completely oblivious to my fantasy. I was in big trouble. Falling fast. What if there was no one to catch me?

“Careful,” Gage said, reaching out to steady me. “A broken ankle is the last thing you need right now.”

The last thing I needed was him touching me. I jumped off the ladder and hurried over to Serenity. “I’ll see you soon, girl. The vet is coming to take care of you.” I smoothed her neck and gave her a hug.

“Vet? Is something wrong?”

“She hurt her leg, but our vet is really good, and they’re fixing the fence where it gouged her.”

“The things we learn when we hide in barns,” he said dryly.

I laughed. “You can say that again.”

“Oh? What else did you learn?” He peered out the door before giving me the all-clear signal. We hurried out and around to the cover of the trees.

“I learned that maybe my mother isn’t the person I’ve always believed.” That maybe some slight chance remained for us to develop a real relationship. But I didn’t tell him that part. It was too personal.

To my surprise and relief, Gage had pulled his Jeep out of the garage instead of his bike. In the backseat I spied a large duffel bag and a laptop. “Yay! Air conditioning,” I said, wiping beads of perspiration from my forehead.

He chuckled. “Since it seems we’re going to be gone longer than I expected, I’m taking a few more things back. Mia will kill me if I don’t go to church with her tomorrow.”

I was surprised that he’d risk being recognized, but apparently Mia’s wrath was more frightening. “I wish I could get some of my clothes,” I said.

He frowned. “We could stop by your house.”

I shook my head.

“What are you afraid of?”

The question stung because it was so accurate. “Bigamy,” I retorted.

He laughed. “Not going to happen while I’m here, but have it your way. We should hurry. My assistant is probably waiting.”

My anger vanished almost instantly. I wasn’t angry at him, anyway, but at myself for being unable to walk into my parents’ house and pack a proper suitcase. In fact, I had one nearly packed already, full of honeymoon clothes, including evening gowns for the Paris night life that I might never see now. I wasn’t even going to think about the belongings I’d already moved to the apartment Julian and I were to have shared.

In downtown Flagstaff, Gage stopped at a large building with the name Trenton Mining across the front. In the parking lot around the back, a tall man lounged in a beat-up red convertible. I fell in love at first sight. With the car, not the man, though he wasn’t too shabby himself. He had blond hair like Julian’s, but his was curly and playful. Messy. He had nice, even features and soulful brown eyes that lit up when he saw me.

“Hey,” he said, nodding at Gage, his eyes never leaving mine. Obviously, he was waiting for an introduction. I was curious if Gage would say I was his wife or if he’d keep our temporary situation to himself.

“Tessa, this is Jeff,” Gage said. “Jeff, Tessa.” He left it at that, and I felt a strange sadness and more than a little resentment, which I knew I had no right to feel.

“I love your car,” I said, flirting with Jeff to cover my feelings.

“I’d love to give you a ride.”

Gage was frowning, a deep line between his brows. Ah, so not as disconnected as he pretended. I hooked my arm around his, rubbing a hand on his arm. He tensed at my touch, like a wire humming with electricity. “I’d love too, but you know how Gage is. Rather possessive.”

Jeff blinked in surprise. “I didn’t know that about him. Course, I’ve never seen any of his dates. Didn’t know he was dating, actually.”

I laid my head against Gage’s shoulder. “Guess he had to find the right woman.”

“I’m not possessive,” Gage said, but he didn’t move away.

“Okay. Then I’ll go for a ride with Jeff.” I released Gage and started to get into the convertible.

“We have a long ride ahead,” Gage grumbled. “And Jeff has samples to test.” He tossed his pack at Jeff, who caught it expertly.

“Another time then,” I said.

“Sure.” Jeff grinned and winked at me.

Gage glowered, but we ignored him.

“Any particular instructions?” Jeff asked.

“Just run the whole gamut.”

“Okay.” Jeff nodded at me. “Nice to meet you. Hope to see you around.”

“Me, too.”

He left, and I turned to find Gage glaring at me. “What?” I said. “It’s not as if I’m really your wife. You certainly didn’t introduce me as such.”

He relaxed, a mocking smile coming to his face. “I see. So that’s why you’re acting like this.”

“I’m not acting. He’s cute.”

“You wouldn’t like him.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’s married and very much in love. He was trying to pull my chain, that’s all.”

My bubble burst. “Take me home—I mean to Mia’s.”

He opened the Jeep door. We drove in silence for a long time, and then he said, “I’m sorry.”

I didn’t know what for. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Just because my heart was having issues didn’t mean he had to be sorry. Maybe all the girls he kissed fell for him. “I’m sorry, too,” I said.

He smiled, and my insides felt queasy. I wanted to tell him to pull over so I could throw up, but instead I sighed and closed my eyes. Exhaustion caught up to me with a vengeance. Normally, I couldn’t sleep in moving cars because I was obsessed with making sure the driver didn’t fall asleep, but before I knew it my eyes were drooping.

Leave it to me to feel the safest in the company of a convicted murderer.

Then again, who better to trust than a man who would sacrifice six years of his life to protect his little sister?

* * *

Hours later as we pulled into Mia’s driveway, my cell phone rang. I peeked at the caller ID and saw the number of my grandfather’s attorney. I climbed out of the Jeep, stretching my free arm and stifling a yawn. “Hello?” I said.

“Tessa, it’s Mark Carson.”

“What’s up?” I waved at Gage and started toward the backyard for a little privacy. The late afternoon sun beat mercilessly down on my head.

“Those wedding papers you sent have something odd about them. I’m sending someone over to talk to the place where the ceremony was performed. I’ll have it worked out soon, I’m sure, but there is going to be a delay of a day or two while I track everything down. I know you wanted your funds right away, but this can’t be helped. And I may need more information, depending on what we find there.”

“What exactly is the problem?”

“The papers you sent don’t contain an official record, and that’s what we need. Don’t worry. I’ll get it worked out.”