The Texan's Bride (16 page)

In his mind he knew Jessie wasn’t coming home, but in his heart, he would never
ever
give up hope.

On Christmas Day he sat in the living room, staring at the tree. He talked to Aunt Etta, Chance and Kid and they begged him to come to High Five, but he wasn’t in the mood to celebrate anything.

Myra came for lunch with her parents and she gnawed on him, too.

“Cadde, the tree is dying. I’ll get Papa to take it out.”

“Don’t you dare.” His stern voice stopped her in the doorway.

“You have to snap out of it.” She walked back into the room. “Go upstairs, shower and shave.”

He looked at her. “How come you haven’t found Jessie?”

“The investigator is working on it, but it’s a big holiday and a lot of people are off, including the investigator.”

“Can’t you twist his arm? Aren’t you the fire and brimstone lawyer?”

She heaved a breath and he could see she wanted to say more than she did. “I got a court order to search airline records. We’ll probably know something tomorrow.”

“Fine.”

Cadde leaned his head back on the sofa. This Christ
mas was going to be different—special. It certainly was different, all because of him and the traits he’d inherited from his father. If he’d just told Jessie how he felt, they would be together. They’d be sad because of the baby, but they would have dealt with it as husband and wife. Now Jessie was gone and he felt responsible, inadequate and angry.

Kid arrived in the late afternoon with a piece of coconut pie in his hand.

“What are you doing here?”

“Aunt Etta sent your favorite pie.”

“Thanks, but I’m not hungry.”

Kid placed the pie on the coffee table, sat on the sofa beside Cadde and propped his boots on the table.

Nothing was said for a few minutes.

“You do know that tree is almost dead?” Kid remarked. “You haven’t watered it.” Kid swung his feet to the floor. “I’ll throw it into the back of my truck and get rid of it.”

“Don’t touch it.”

“Come on, Cadde, you’re killing me here.” Kid flung out his arms. “Do something. Don’t just sit there and stare at that tree.”

“Go away, Kid.”

Kid got to his feet. “I’m not going anywhere until you shave that stubble off your face.”

“Go away, Kid.”

“With you it’s always the easy way or the hard way,” Kid told him. “You can either go upstairs on your own or we can fight all the way. Your choice.”

“Okay. Okay. Anything to get you out of my hair.”
He lifted Mirry and went upstairs. Ten minutes later he came down in jeans and a T-shirt, cleanly shaven. Kid had his feet propped on the coffee table, eating Cadde’s pie.

For a brief moment, a note of laughter pierced his numb heart. Kid was Kid, and his brother always had a way of making him laugh. The moment didn’t last long.

“Thanks for the pie.”

“Uh…” Kid swallowed a mouthful. “You said you didn’t want it.”

“I don’t.” Cadde resumed his seat. “Didn’t you eat at High Five?”

“Yeah, but I’m not letting Aunt Etta’s pie go to waste.”

Cadde just shook his head.

“Let’s watch a movie,” Kid suggested. “You got any movies around here?”

“Yes, but I’m not in the mood, and don’t try the easy or hard way again. It won’t work.”

Kid swung to his feet. “You’re as stubborn as…”

“Dad,” Cadde finished for him.

“You’re nothing like Dad.”

“Oh, but I am. I’m just like him.”

“You resemble him, but you’re bigger, taller and have morals. Not once did you cheat on Jessie during that sham of a marriage. Believe me, I know, because I had to put up with your grouchiness. Dad probably cheated on Mom from the get-go. So you’re not good with the flowery words, but you show your emotions through actions. Jessie’s going to realize that sooner or later.

Right now she can’t see beyond the pain of losing the baby.”

Cadde rubbed his hands together. “I lost a baby and…a wife.”

There was nothing but silence.

“Okay, wallow in whatever misery you have to,” Kid finally said. “Just call if you need anything.”

“Thanks.”

Kid stopped at the door. “Chance and I are flying to Louisiana in the morning. We’re drilling deep like you wanted, but there are times I think we’re going to hit China before the desired depth. Why don’t you come with us and see the action?”

“I have to stay here,” he murmured. “You and Chance can handle things.”

After Kid left, he went outside to feed Jessie’s animals. That was the only thing that brought him comfort. Winky was becoming a pest, braying and nudging him for more food. He couldn’t seem to fill the donkey up, but he wanted them healthy for when Jessie returned.

And she would.

Eventually.

T
HE NEXT MORNING
J
ESSIE
went to mass again with the children and loved listening to them sing. Afterward they all gathered in the big room around the tree. She could now look at it without feeling that crippling pain. It was there, though, and she fought that sickening sensation.

The nuns passed out paper bags filled with candy and an apple and an orange.
“I dolci,”
the children
shouted, excited as if they’d received a bicycle or something equally expensive. Everything here was simple and down-to-earth and revolved around faith.

Later they gathered in the dining room for the noon meal. There was ham, ravioli, pasta, sauces, vegetables and panettone bread that was heavenly, plus milk or water to drink.

She finally had a chance to talk to Teresa about the room and Teresa said the nuns doubled up when they had guests. But Jessie decided she shouldn’t be a guest and she shouldn’t be a burden on the nuns. So she volunteered for work.

She swept and scrubbed the floors, helped in the kitchen and with the laundry. It was a bit of a shock to find there were no washing machines or dryers. The clothes were washed by hand on a board, hung out to dry and then ironed. Jessie had never ironed anything in her life but she learned. Sister Alice and two of the older girls did the laundry and they were glad of an extra pair of hands. They laughed at her a lot. Laughter was universal, just like music.

At night she was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep, but before she slipped into oblivion, she’d see Cadde’s face. She held it in her heart and in her mind, even though she knew she shouldn’t.

R
OSA WAS FUSSING AT
C
ADDE
for not eating when the doorbell rang. He leaped off the sofa and yanked opened the door, hoping with everything in him that it was Jessie. Hooter Caldwell stood outside. Cadde’s heart sank.

“Mornin’, Cadde.” Hoot had his hat in his hand, chomping on a cigar, which reminded him so much of Roscoe.

“Hooter.” What was he doing here?

“Could I talk to you a minute?”

It had to be about Shilah and Cadde’s absence from the office. He wanted to slam the door in his face, but as a business courtesy he thought he’d hear the man out and then slam the door in his face.

“Sure.” Cadde led the way into the living room.

Hooter stared at the tree and the decorations on the floor. “Man, Christmas is over with.”

Cadde sat on the sofa. “What do you want?”

Hoot’s eyes were on Mirry lying beside Cadde. “What the hell happened to that dog?”

“What do you want, Hooter?” He felt he didn’t need to explain anything.

“Is Jessie here?”

Cadde looked at the man. “No. Why?”

“From the tree and decorations I’d say she hasn’t been here in a while.”

“No. What about it?”

“Well, now—” Hoot eased into a chair and placed his hat in his lap with extra care “—I did something and it’s been on my conscience.”

“You don’t have a conscience.”

“When it comes to Jessie, I do.”

Jessie.
What did he know about his wife? The man was fixated on her. He knew that from the board meetings.

“What did you do?” Cadde thought he’d better get to the heart of Hooter’s visit.

“Stay calm, okay?”

“What did you do?” Cadde asked with as much calm as he could muster.

“Jessie called me about four days after that man attacked her and she lost the baby.”

Cadde curled his hands into fists. “What did she want?”

“Money and information.”

“What?”

“You said you’d stay calm.”

“Tell me what the hell you did.”

“She wanted information on Angela’s sisters and I paid the computer kid at Shilah for everything he had on Jessie’s mother and her family. Jessie then wanted a plane ticket to the village outside Rome where they lived.”

Cadde was on his feet, his calm forgotten. “You let her go to Rome all by herself? In her state of mind?”

“Jessie’s pretty stubborn and I could see she was all messed up in her head. I begged her to call you, but she wouldn’t.”

“So you just let her go to Rome.” Anger coiled through him, but something registered in his mind—something about the way Hooter had said Angela.

“Did you know Angela?”

“Hell, yeah. I was with Roscoe when he met her. I told him she was too young and that she’d take him for every dime he had, but he wouldn’t listen. He was besotted.” Hoot fingered his hat. “I thought Shilah would go under for sure, but I underestimated ol’ Roscoe. He kept his money and the baby.”

“Did either of you ever think about Jessie or her life?”

“That was Roscoe’s business, not mine.”

Cadde ran his hands through his hair. “Just get out.”

Hooter stood with his hat in one hand. With the other he pulled a slip of paper from his left pocket. “Here’s the address. Knocked me for a loop to find out Angela’s sister is a nun and her other sister is at this orphanage, too.”

He didn’t take the paper. “I know where her aunts live. I just never imagined Jessie would go there, but you made it easy for a severely depressed woman to do that.” He took a deep breath. “Get out, Hooter, before I hit you.”

“Now, Cadde, I risked a lot coming here. You can remove me from the board and my investment in Shilah will be…”

“Get out,” he shouted. “I don’t give a damn about you and I don’t give a damn about Shilah.”

“I don’t like the sound of that. Someone has to be at the helm to protect all our investments. I could take over…”

“Get out!”

Cadde paced in the living room, trying to control his anger. How could that old fool think he was helping Jessie? How could…

His cell rang and he answered.

“I know where Jessie is,” Myra said.

“So do I. She’s at an orphanage outside Rome.”

“How do you know that?”

“An old friend of Roscoe’s just dropped by. He helped her get there.”

“And he’s just now telling you this?”

“Yeah. Kind of blew my mind, too.”

“Forget about him. I called the orphanage and Jessie is there. The woman who answered the phone spoke broken English, but when I asked about Jessie she said,
‘Sì,’
and something about a laundry room. I gave her my number and asked for Jessie to call me—whether she understood me or not I don’t know.”

“Let me have the number.”

“Cadde.” There was a long pause. “Jessie went there for some sort of peace or maybe to feel a connection to her mother. Whatever it is she needs to do it on her own. She’s feeling a lot of guilt over the forced marriage and the baby deal.”

Cadde gripped his cell. “She didn’t force me into anything. Please stop saying that.”

“But Jessie feels it. Give her time.”

“Myra…”

“I know it’s hard, but she’s okay and if she calls, I’ll phone right away.”

“Thanks. Oh, Myra, I just thought of something. Jessie came home for her passport. That’s why Rosa found the front door opened that day with Mirry on the front porch.”

“Makes sense now, but I would never have suspected Jessie of doing something like that.”

“Me, neither. That just shows how depressed she really was.” He gripped the phone. “Are you sure she’s okay?”

“She’s with her aunts and they’ll take care of her.”

“Yeah.”

Cadde ended the call and hurried into Roscoe’s study. Opening the bottom drawer, he pulled out the security box that held some important papers and Roscoe’s and Jessie’s passports. Roscoe’s was there, but Jessie’s was not.

His heart took another hit. He’d thought their marriage was based on trust and honesty. In her grief Jessie must have forgotten that. Why couldn’t she have trusted him to understand about her part in the marriage arrangement? Why couldn’t she trust him?

It took everything in him not to find the number of the orphanage and call. Since Jessie didn’t want to talk to him or see him, he’d respect her wishes. But he had to show her how much he loved her and there was only one way.

He reached for paper and a pen. Placing it in front of him, he began to write.

T
HE DAYS PASSED QUICKLY
for Jessie. She had ironing down to a fine art. The children’s clothes were cot
ton and she went after wrinkles with a vengeance. Her time was getting better than the older girls. While she worked she didn’t have an opportunity to brood. She was busy.

Her favorite thing was taking long walks. There were no towering trees like in Texas but the maritime pines and cypresses were lovely. All the people she met on her strolls were friendly yelling,
“Ciao,”
or
“Buonasera.”
She’d nod and keep walking. In the distance she could see rows and rows of vineyards. The area was very hilly and rocky. Sitting on a rock, she gazed at the blue water of the Tiber River and soaked up the ambience of this ancient place.

As always, her thoughts turned to Cadde and she wondered if they were still married. Had he signed the divorce papers? She stared at her platinum wedding band and couldn’t bring herself to remove it. She’d tried to force him to love her but she’d found that love couldn’t be forced. It had to be there from the start. And Cadde had never loved her. He loved Shilah—not her. The loss of their child had made her realize the truth.

Maybe she had to come to this place for her penance, like Margaret and Teresa. She’d learned that Margaret had been raped by a gang member and he’d attempted to stab her to death. Bleeding severely she’d made it to a church and a priest had taken her to a hospital. From there the priest had found her a place to live, with an elderly Catholic couple. Margaret had attended church every day and when she graduated high school, she’d joined a convent.

Teresa’s life had been riddled with turmoil, too. She
had been a stripper like Angela, got into prostitution and drugs. While she was on drugs she had an abortion. When she’d sobered up in a jail cell and realized the horror of what she’d done, she’d called Margaret for help. Now her life was devoted to the children no one wanted.

Everyone made mistakes and her parents had made huge ones. Jessie found the strength to forgive because she was no better. Manipulation was not a part of love.

I
N MID-
J
ANUARY
, K
ID WALKED
into the living room and threw his hat across the room. “Hot damn, Cadde, I have great news. The well came in big, better than we ever dreamed, oil and gas. You were right. Roscoe held on to those leases for a reason. Cadde, do you hear me?”

Cadde rubbed his hands together. “That’s good.”

“What? Why aren’t you jumping up and down? Oh, crap, you still have that damn tree up. Cadde, come on, snap out of it.”

“I have something to tell you.”

“Cadde, are you listening to me? The Louisiana well came in big.”

“I heard you the first time. Now listen to me.

“What?”

“I resigned as CEO of Shilah.”

“What the hell?”

“I’ve appointed you and Chance as interim CEOs until the board meets the first week in February.”

“I’m not working for anybody else, Cadde. I’ll tell you that right now.”

“You’d be the boss.”

“I’m not working for myself, either. There’s only one person to lead Shilah and that’s you.”

Cadde stood. “Please try to understand I have to do this. I have to prove to Jessie she means more to me than that oil company.”

“Dammit, Cadde.”

“I know you and Chance can run the company. You’ve been doing it for weeks. Don’t let Hooter and the board hire some yahoo who’ll run Shilah into the ground. Fight to remain CEOs, but it’s up to you.”

“Have you told Chance?”

“I’ll call him as soon as you leave.”

Kid picked up his hat from the floor. “I don’t understand this. The oil business has always been your dream.”

“Not anymore.”

Kid placed his hat on his head. “Okay, you want us to fight. We’ll fight. Hell, the Hardin boys do that better than anyone.”

“Barbara will hand in my resignation at the board meeting. It will be the first order of business. If you want control, be there. If not…it’s up to you and Chance.”

“We’ll take care of it.” Kid glanced at the tree and decorations. “Throw the tree out and put away the decorations. For heaven’s sake, get a grip on reality.”

“I don’t even know what that is anymore.”

“Cadde.”

He held up his hand. “Yes, I’m losing it if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Just leave me alone. And protect your investment in Shilah.”

Kid turned to leave.

“One more thing. Fire Chip the computer guy.”

Kid swung back. “Why?”

“He can be bought and someone like that shouldn’t be working for Shilah.” Cadde told his brother about Hooter and how he made it possible for Jessie to fly to Rome.

“That son of a bitch! I’ll take care of it, Cadde. You don’t have to worry.”

Kid walked out with murder in his eyes. Cadde ran his hands over his face. He didn’t want his brothers to lose what they’d invested in Shilah. Personally, he wasn’t worried about losing what he’d worked his whole life for. He only worried about Jessie.

J
ESSIE WOKE UP TO SOMEONE
screaming. It was faint but she could hear it. She padded to the door and opened it. Teresa ran by.

“Teresa,” she called. “What’s happening?”

“Go back to bed, Jessie. A pregnant teenage girl came in and she’s giving birth. Sister Alice and Margaret are with her. I have to go.”

Jessie went back into her room but she didn’t sleep. She listened to the screams until they stopped and then she opened her door again, waiting for Teresa.

“Jessie, what are you doing still up?” Teresa asked when she saw her.

“Is everything okay?”

“
Sì,
mother and baby are fine. Sister Frances called
the adoptive parents and they will be here in the morning for the baby girl.”

“The mother’s giving the baby up?”

“
Sì.
That’s why she came here. We don’t ask any questions. We protect the child. It gives young girls another choice instead of abortion. The church is against abortion.”

Teresa’s face changed and Jessie knew Teresa was thinking about her own mistakes. Jessie hugged her.

The next morning she saw a couple leave with the baby. Just like that, four lives were changed and it stayed with her for a long time. It was sad, but uplifting, too.

Couples came quite often to the orphanage looking for a child. It was a long interview process, Teresa had told her, which ensured the child and family were suited to each other. When Jessie noticed a child missing from the playground, she knew the child had finally found a real home. Again, it was sad, yet uplifting.

That evening as Jessie hurried from the laundry room to help with the meal, Margaret stopped her.

“Could we talk, Jessie?”

She followed her into the courtyard. Everything was quiet because the kids were inside. They sat side by side on the stone bench.

“You’ve been here for a while, child, and your bruises have healed.”

“Yes.” Jessie touched her face. “I’m better.”

“Are you strong enough to talk about what happened to you?”

“Uh…”

“The outward bruises have healed. Now you have to deal with the inner ones.”

“Uh…” Jessie stared at the clenched hands in her lap, and before she knew it the words came tumbling out. She told Margaret about her life, her animals, her counseling, Nina, Vernon and Cadde. “You see, I tricked him, I knew his weak spot and I played on that. I’m an awful person.”

Margaret patted her hands. “You’re a very caring person.”

“A caring person wouldn’t trick a man into marrying someone he doesn’t love.”