A Texas Family

“He admits to taking your baby.”

Her heart skyrocketed. She hadn’t expected Asa to admit that so easily. “Oh” slipped from her throat.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” he warned.

“Why?”

“He’s never going to tell you where that baby is.”

“What?” She was confused.

“Revenge, Ms. Brooks. The ultimate revenge. In his mind you took Jared from him, and in return he took your child. And since he can’t get Jared back, you’re not getting your child back, either. I’m sorry, but that’s just the way Asa is.”

Her hands curled into fists. “How can he be that evil?”

“Like I said, I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, but I’ve done what you asked. It’s out of my hands now. Call your lawyer and let him do what he can, but nothing on this earth will make Asa tell his secret. I know him well enough to know that.”

“It’s illegal to steal someone’s baby,” she said with barely controlled anger.

“Yes, and Asa will be arrested because he freely admits to everything, but in his condition very little will be done. He’ll probably be put into a home.”

She fought the tears forming in her eyes. “I don’t understand any of this. Asa was so mean to Jared, and all he wanted to do was get away from his father. Now he’s acting like Jared was a son he loved dearly.”

“In his heart I guess he did.”

“He doesn’t have a heart,” she spat. “How can he keep a child from its mother? Jared’s child!”

Carson shrugged. “I don’t profess to understand my father. He’s all the things you say he is, but that’s not going to change a thing. He will never tell you what happened. That secret will die with him. I’m sorry for what he put you through, but for me this is over. There’s nothing else I can do.”

She stood on unsteady legs. “It will never be over for me, Mr. Corbett.”

“I understand that.”

“Do you? Do you know what it’s like to have your baby forcefully taken from you? Do you know what it’s like to be in fear of your very life? Do you...?” Tears clogged her throat, and she had to stop.

He stepped forward as if to console her.

She flung out her arms. “Do not touch me. Ever.”

“Ms. Bro...”

Not able to take any more, she turned and ran into the house. Tears ran from her eyes, and her body shook violently. They would not break her. She would not give in to the pain. She sank onto the floor in the bedroom and stared at Hilary’s clouds and drifted away to a better place.

* * *

WHEN CARSON WAS in Afghanistan, he’d often wondered what it would feel like to be hit by a sniper’s bullet. Now he knew. It had to be similar to the paralyzing fear that controlled his body and his mind. And touched his soul.

After Jared’s and Beth’s deaths, he’d felt a deep sadness and didn’t know how he was going to go on without them. They were a big part of his world and adjusting to a new life wasn’t easy, but he had his kids. Jena had nothing.

Somehow he felt responsible for her pain because he’d delivered the bad news. That hopeless look on her face got to him, and he just wanted to comfort her in some way, but there was no comfort in the knowledge she would never see her child.

He got into his car, cursing his father’s stubbornness and life’s cruelty. Maybe she could move on now and find happiness. That was, after Asa was arrested. Maybe that would bring her some peace. For him it would be another nightmare to get through.

He and Beth had vowed to have a happy, loving family, and they had for a while. They were ecstatic when they found out she was pregnant with Trey. In her sixth month, they’d decided it would be better if she came home to Willow Creek to have the baby.

Beth had called her mother, who’d said it wasn’t a good time to come home. After many years of marriage, Connie and Don Kirby were getting a divorce. Beth had packed and gone home anyway, trying to save her parents’ marriage. It hadn’t worked. Her father had already moved out, and her mother was planning to relocate to Maine to be with a truck driver she’d met at Mabel’s Café.

Beth was devastated and Carson was so far away he couldn’t help her. That was when Asa had stepped in and invited Beth to live at the Bar C. Beth was one of the few people Asa liked, so Carson hadn’t worried about how his father would treat her. He doted on her, hiring a housekeeper and making sure Beth had everything she needed.

Beth’s parents’ marriage was another statistic in the marriage game. Don moved to Oregon and started another family. Beth rarely heard from her father. He was in the hospital having knee surgery when Beth died. After that, he’d called several times, but Carson hadn’t heard from the man in years. Connie married the truck driver and lived in Maine. She’d returned to Willow Creek for the funeral but soon left. Carson hadn’t heard from her since.

Even though both of their parents’ marriages had failed, he and Beth were determined to make theirs work. That was when he first thought about leaving the Marines. He and Beth needed to be together, especially since they were starting a family. Maybe Asa had mellowed and Carson could run the ranch now. So many maybes had filled his head, especially since Beth had told him that Asa continued to push Jared hard, and she feared he would leave and never come back. But then the unthinkable had happened. Jared was killed and life became a daily nightmare.

He backed out of the Brookses’ driveway and turned toward home. Tonight after he put his kids to bed, he’d think about Jena and the pain she would endure for the rest of her life.

Happiness was just an illusion, he decided. All one could do was hope for the best, and he wished that for Jena. He prayed she found peace, in whatever way she could.

* * *

“JENA.”

Jena blinked at the light on her phone. She was still sitting on the floor in the bedroom, but now it was completely dark.

Hilary flipped on the light. “What’s going on? The house was in complete darkness when I drove up. Mama’s in bed and I thought you were, too. Why are you sitting on the floor?”

Jena gripped her phone. “What time is it?”

“After ten.” Hil slid down beside her. “What’s wrong?”

She told her sister what Carson had said.

“That sorry old bastard. Someone needs to slap him.”

“I got the feeling it doesn’t matter. You can slap him, jail him, kill him and Asa’s still not telling his secret. You see, it’s his last revenge on me. He doesn’t have his son because of me, or so he feels, and so I will never have my child.”

“That’s insane.”

“Yeah, but how do you reason with someone who’s insane?”

“I don’t know, Jen-Jen. I’m so sorry.”

She lifted the phone in her hand. “I’ve been sitting here trying to call Blake. I’ve punched his number about ten times, but I click off before it goes through.”

“Why?”

“Blake is a cutthroat lawyer, and if he comes here he can cause all kinds of trouble.”

“That’s good. Maybe he can scare the truth out of Asa.”