A Texas Family

“And he can make the whole town hate us. You have a good relationship with everyone here, and I don’t want that to change. And I certainly don’t want anyone to upset Mama.”

“So you’re going to give up?”

“I will never give up. I just haven’t figured out what I’m going to do, but I’ve come to the conclusion I don’t need Blake. I can handle this on my own.”

Hil’s mouth fell open. “You’re going to confront Asa?”

“I’m not sure yet, but by morning I’ll have a plan. If Carson thinks I’m going to quietly leave town like before, then he’s in for a shock. One way or another I’m going to find my child.”

CHAPTER FIVE

THE NEXT MORNING Carson drove into the parking spot for his office, which was part of the paved area for the convenience store and gas station next door. He didn’t need a lot of space. People rarely came to see him—when he got a call, he went to whoever was calling in a disturbance or a complaint.

For years Willow Creek hadn’t had a constable’s office, but Asa had built the current building for Bernie about thirty years ago. Back then Asa was the law in Willow Creek, Texas. Bernie did exactly what Asa wanted him to.

He spotted Ms. Brooks’s car parked to the side. What was she doing here? Reaching for his office keys from the center console, he opened the door and got out. When she saw him, she got out, as well.

He tipped his hat. “Mornin’, Ms. Brooks.”

“Morning.”

Her eyes were sad and had that cried-out look. Once again, he felt sympathy for her situation. In jeans and a white knit top that barely came to her waistband, she managed to look incredibly sexy. And that was the last thing he should be noticing.

“I’m not sure why you’re here,” he said to shift his mind in the right direction. “I told you last night there was nothing else I could do. I’ll fax my report to the sheriff, and he will take it from there.” He looked around. “Is your lawyer meeting you here?”

“I want to talk to you.”

“Oh...okay.” He walked toward the front door, wondering why she needed to talk. There wasn’t much left to discuss. But he didn’t mind talking if that was what she wanted. He just didn’t see the point.

He unlocked his office door, flipped on the light and turned on the air conditioning. The room was stuffy from being closed up. Hooking his hat on a peg, he took a moment and then sat down. She’d already taken a seat in the chair across from his desk.

When she didn’t say anything, he asked again, “Is your lawyer meeting you here?”

“I’ve changed my mind about that.”

“Why?” That surprised him. She’d been so adamant.

“Blake would come into town with guns blazing, so to speak. His investigators would be relentless in getting answers.”

“Isn’t that what you want?”

“Yes, but my sister, Hilary, has a very good relationship with everyone here, and I don’t want to do anything to change that or to hurt her. And I really don’t want anyone to upset my mother.”

“I’m not quite following you.”

“I thought about this all night, and I’m not slinking out of town like I did before. But on the other hand I can’t cause any more stress for my family.”

“So that leaves what?”

She brushed at something on her jeans with a nervous hand. “Yesterday you said the cases had been closed quickly and there was still a lot of evidence out there.”

“When I said that, you became very offended.”

“I know, but now I’m thinking about it a little differently.”

“How differently?”

“I’d like to find what other evidence is out there. There has to be someone other than Asa who knows what happened that night.”

He picked up a pencil and twirled it in his fingers, wondering how to phrase his next question. “I don’t want to upset you, but have you thought of the obvious?”

She moved restlessly in her chair, and he knew she’d thought of every scenario concerning her baby...even though it was painful. “I don’t want to believe Asa could be that cruel. That evil.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

He didn’t, either, but they had to look at the possibility, as he had for the past twenty-four hours. It was burned into his brain. Asa had wanted revenge, and Carson was so afraid he’d found the ultimate way to get it.

“What do you expect from me, Ms. Brooks?”

Her dark sad eyes found his, and he felt a catch in his throat at all the pain he saw there.

“I’d like for us to look for new evidence like you mentioned.”

“Us?” He motioned from her to him with the pencil.

“Yes. I’m Blake’s personal assistant, and I’m very familiar with these sorts of files and court documents. I can help you go through all the files, and maybe we can catch something that no one else has.”

“Don’t you think you’re grasping at straws?” He had to point that out.

“You didn’t think so yesterday.”

“Yesterday I hadn’t talked to my father. You have to remember that Asa is my father.”

“I realize that, but he committed a crime. And you are the law here in Willow Creek.”

His stomach churned with uneasiness. The line between family and loyalty and his job was clearly blurred. Yesterday digging through the files was a good idea because he’d been looking for answers. Then he got the answers he didn’t want to hear. Now he was torn in two ways. Suddenly, she did something unexpected.

“Carson, please, help me.”

The entreaty in her voice and the way his name sounded on her lips, soft and seductive, hijacked his senses and sent his thoughts spinning. He hadn’t expected that. And for a moment he was at a loss for words.

“It’s Jared’s child, too,” she added forlornly. “Doesn’t that mean something to you?”

“Yes.” Jared had created a baby with her, and they’d planned a life together. For that reason he was still talking to her. “But it’s also about my family, my father. I know he’s guilty, and there’s no way around that, but my kids adore their grandfather, and I don’t know how I’ll explain all this to them. I really think it’s best if I don’t get involved.”

She stared down at her hands, and he felt that twist in his heart again. But what else could he do?

She raised her eyes to his, and, for a moment, he was lost in those dark depths. “I have this need to see my child’s face. Each year it grows stronger and stronger. I want to know if he or she is happy and with a loving family. I have to know or I’ll never have any peace.”

“I—”