Bound to the Past (Starville Series Book 1) (6 page)

“Doc says Jack is still under observation and canʼt be exposed to any kind of stress at the moment.”

The sheriffʼs blue eyes turned to ice. “Hayden, call the hospital and tell Doc not to play with fire. You will be questioning Turner tomorrow morning—whether he likes it or not.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now, get the hell outta here. And shut the door behind you.”

They gladly obeyed.

“What in the worldʼs gotten into him?” Nicky asked back in their office, dropping into her chair with a groan.

Brent shrugged. “Heʼs shaken. Like everyone else.”

“Thatʼs not being shaken, Brent. Did you see him? He looked crazed!” And while Max Lacrod had a reputation of being a hard-ass, sheʼd never seen him so worked up before.

“He and J.T. were good friends; Jackʼs return must be hard for him to accept.”

“I understand, but―”

“No, you donʼt. Look, you didnʼt know J.T., so you
canʼt
understand. He was … special. He, Max, Doc, and my dad used to be inseparable. They were best buddies, you know?” he remembered with a sad smile. “Since J.T.ʼs death, nothingʼs been the same in Starville. He was the soul of the town, the glue that kept everybody and everything together. Itʼs hard to describe.”

“Iʼm sorry,” Nicky murmured, not sure what else to say as he suddenly looked distraught.

“I used to sneak onto J.T.ʼs property all the time when I was a kid,” he continued as if he hadnʼt even heard her. “It was so much fun.”

“Fun?”

“Yeah. He let me play with his horses and always spent some time teaching me new things. We went fishing together a lot, too. We would talk for hours.”

A smile curved Nickyʼs lips as she pictured Brent as a little boy. “You didnʼt do all that with your dad?”

“Nah. Dad and I have always been close, but he was dead serious on the job, and all his spare time was devoted to his painting. And my mom―” He stopped with a grimace. “Well, you know her.”

She smiled. “Watch your mouth, cop, I happen to adore your mom.”

Brent shook his head with a grin. “I adore her, too. But can you picture her playing with the horses, fishing, or”—he stopped and gasped in fake horror—“getting dirty?”

Nicky laughed, though she knew he was right. Elegant dinners and charity events were more Martha Haydenʼs style. “So, J.T.ʼs ranch was where you went to get dirty?”

He shrugged. “Everything was fun with J.T.; or at least it was until Jack showed up.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was barely twelve when he came to Starville and snuck into our lives. But, man, I was crazy jealous of him when J.T. asked him to stay at the ranch. And even more when he officially adopted him, years later,” he admitted.

“You and Jack were never friends?”

“Heck, no. Not that I didnʼt try, but…I couldnʼt seem to connect with him. Even J.T. tried to bring us together, but I was a few years younger than Jack, and he didnʼt want a kid around. Of course, I didnʼt really wanted to be around him, either. He intimidated the hell out of me.”

Fascinated, Nicky looked again at the picture of Jack. “What happened between you and J.T. after he moved to the ranch?”

“Not much.” Brent inhaled deeply. “J.T. adored Jack, and I certainly couldnʼt expect him to neglect him to favor me. After all, I did have a great home and a loving family, while Jack had nothing. So, as the two of them kept getting closer, I just stopped going to the ranch.”

Nickyʼs gaze shifted back to Brent, noticing the sudden hardness of his face and the way his lips had pressed into a thin line. Thatʼs when a thought crept abruptly into her mind…a thought so deplorable and unacceptable it threatened to knock her off her feet.
Brent had reasons to resent J.T. and Jack.
He had reasons to sneak onto his ranch that night, as heʼd admitted doing many times before. Reasons to want J.T. dead. Reasons to let Jack take the blame.

Nicky shook her head, trying to get that horrible idea off her mind.
No way!
It was absurd. She would never believe, even for a minute, that Brent could do something like that.

He frowned at her troubled expression. “Are you all right?” When she didnʼt answer, he poked her arm gently with a finger. “Hey. Sinclair?”

His touch seemed to jerk her to awareness, though she only gave him a blank stare. Then she shook her head again. “Sorry, I was thinking of something.”

“It must have been something awful since you got whiter than a ghost all of a sudden.”

Nicky forced a smile. She felt so mortified at her thoughts that she could barely hold his gaze. “Well, I― This whole Turner thing is playing havoc with my mind.”

Brent gave her a doubtful look but nodded. “Itʼs a brainteaser, I know. Hey, our shift is almost up. Would you like to go to The Cove for dinner? Iʼll call Sara, too.”

“Thanks, but Iʼm going out tonight.”

“Out? As in…on a date?
You?
”

Nicky huffed. “You know, Hayden, even tomboys can date every once in a while. Shocking, huh?”

Yes, it was. Knowing Nicky, anyway. “Whoʼs the lucky guy?”

“You donʼt know him; he just moved here last week.”

Brentʼs frown deepened. New people in Starville were a rare occurrence. Heck, Sara was probably the newest in town, and sheʼd been living there for over four years!

“His nameʼs David,” Nicky continued, more and more embarrassed by his reaction. “Heʼs the new vet. I met him through Angie.”

He nodded. Their friend, Angie OʼDonnell, owned the only veterinary clinic in Starville, but sheʼd just left for England to start a one-year internship at a major animal hospital in London. “Well, good for you. Hope you have fun.”

Nicky smiled. “Thank you.”

***

Sara was grateful for Brentʼs invitation. She was in desperate need of a lighthearted night. Maybe that would help her get Jack out of her head.

It took her barely ten minutes to arrive at The Cove. A cross between a diner, a bar, and pretty much whatever people needed it to be, it was the most popular haunt in Starville. Not to mention that it was also the only one. Sara shook her head with amused exasperation at the sight of the usual
V
in the sign that seemed about to fall off any minute and that Hank, the owner, had promised to fix years ago.

“Whatʼs so funny?”

She turned to Brent as he got out of his car. “I was just wondering if Hank is ever going to fix that sign.”

“Yeah, right.” He reached her and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey, handsome.”

Sara took his arm, and they walked inside the diner. The cool air felt like a blessing compared to the hot, June mugginess outside, and she smiled, glancing around. The worn-out wooden tables were almost all taken; familiar faces were everywhere, and the sound of peopleʼs cheerful chitchat filled the air, blending with the old country song wailing from the jukebox. Yes, a carefree night at The Cove was exactly what she needed.

Unfortunately, her contentment was short-lived. As at least fifteen pairs of curious eyes fixed on her, Sara realized this wouldnʼt be the relaxing night sheʼd hoped for.
Great.
Apparently the news of Jackʼs return had already spread.

Brent wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Ignore them,” he whispered, leading her toward a free booth. Theyʼd just picked up menus when Charlene, the dinerʼs young waitress, showed up with a notepad in her hand.

“Hi, guys!”

Brent barely glanced at her before refocusing his attention on the menu. “Howʼs it going, Lene?”

“Pretty good.” She flipped back the silky golden curls that came down to her hips. “I just came back from an audition in Dallas, and this time I think I nailed it!”

Sara blew out a sigh of relief. Charlene didnʼt seem to care about Jackʼs return. Maybe she could still have her carefree night, after all. “Wow, congratulations! Is it for that new soap opera?”

“Yep.” Charleneʼs big blue eyes filled with enthusiasm. “Iʼm so excited, guys! If I pass the next audition in Austin, Iʼll get the part and finally go to Hollywood! Isnʼt that wonderful?”

Clearly not impressed, Brent shrugged and kept reading the menu. Sara kicked him under the table, then, satisfied with his painful grunt, turned back to the waitress.

“Thatʼs awesome, Charlene! Iʼve got my fingers crossed for you.”

“Thanks, honey. Can I get your orders?”

“About time.” Brent shifted his legs to the side just before Sara aimed another kick at his shin. He gave her a smug grin, then turned to Charlene. “Iʼll have a cheeseburger and a beer.”

She huffed in exasperation. “How can you possibly study the menu for fifteen minutes only to end up ordering your usual?”

“What can I say, hon, Iʼm full of surprises.”

“Youʼre full of something else, too,” the waitress retorted, shaking her head.

Sara bit back a chuckle. “Iʼll have a chicken salad with my beer, thanks.”

Charlene wrote the orders down and was about to leave when Lucy, Hankʼs wife, materialized by their table. “Sara, darling! Iʼve been so worried about you! Are you all right?”

Here we go!
Sara rolled her eyes and turned toward the older woman with a resigned smile. “Iʼm fine, Lucy, thank you.”

“You must have been so scared!”

She shook her head. “Just a little.”

Charlene shot them a curious look. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Havenʼt you heard?” a man sitting at a table behind theirs chimed in. “Our little Sara got herself a big adventure last night.”

Brent glared at him. “Eat your meal, Kyle.”

“What happened?”

Sara sighed at Charleneʼs question, knowing there was no stopping the gossip machine once it started. “I saw an awful accident on the way home last night, so I called an ambulance. Thatʼs all.”

“
Thatʼs all
, she says,” another man scoffed from a few tables away, and Brent turned around to slant a threatening look in his direction.

“Mind your own business, Bob.”

“Turnerʼs return
is
my business.”

“Bob is right, Brent,” Lucy intervened, her hands resting on her generous hips. “Itʼs everybodyʼs business.”

He drew a heavy breath, summoning the patience to keep calm. He was about to reply when a muffled thud coming from behind the table stopped him. Everybody turned simultaneously toward Charlene, who seemed to have collapsed on a chair and looked whiter than a ghost.

“T-Turner? You mean…Jack?” she muttered, splaying a shaky hand on her stomach. “Jack is back?”

Sara frowned.
What the—?

Before she could say anything, Kyle interjected again. “Sara rescued him on Carriage Road last night. Apparently he had an accident with his motorcycle.”

“I-I was in Dallas for a couple of days for the audition… I didnʼt know,” Charlene babbled, almost in shock.

Lucy wrapped a motherly arm around her shoulders. “Itʼs all right, dear. Heʼs still at the hospital right now, and Doc says itʼll be a couple of days before he can get out. Besides, Brent wonʼt let anything bad happen. Right, Brent?”

He sighed at the hopeful look she gave him. “Nothing bad is going to happen, no. Look, why donʼt yʼall just calm down? The manʼs been gone for ten years, for Godʼs sake.”

“As far as Iʼm concerned, he could disappear for another fifty and weʼd all be happy! Why did he have to come back, anyway?”

Saraʼs bewildered gaze moved to Katie, the woman who had asked the last question. What the heck was going on? The whole situation was simply dumbfounding. She felt as if she were watching the second half of a movie after missing the first part, as if everybody else were part of something she was not. Sheʼd never felt so estranged and out of place before.

Brent shot her a worried look before turning toward the woman. “I donʼt know why he came back,” he said patiently. “Nobody knows yet, and Iʼm afraid weʼll have to wait until Jack can tell us himself. But remember, heʼs a free man—he can come and go wherever he pleases, and thereʼs nothing anybody can do about it.”

“Jack is back,” Charlene muttered, still in disbelief. “I wonder what he wants?”

Bob shook his head grimly. “Trouble, I tell ya. He wants trouble.”

Chapter 7

Sara tossed and turned all night, unable to stop thinking about what had happened at The Cove. While she could understand that Jack must have been quite the black sheep in a small, tranquil town like Starville, the hostility that everyone felt toward him seemed a little exaggerated, to say the least.

She didnʼt fall asleep until dawn, with the result that she slept the whole morning and still felt exhausted when she got up. It was late in the afternoon by the time she finally managed to go to the hospital. She hadnʼt written a word all day, but she didnʼt care. She wasnʼt in the mood for writing, anyway. All she could think about was Jack.

Upon reaching his room, she was disappointed to find the door closed. Maybe he was asleep? She knocked lightly but jumped back in shock when the sheriff swung the door open, the usual sulky frown displayed on his hard face.

Sara had met Max Lacrod many times before, as she often picked Nicky up at the police department at the end of her shifts, so she was used to his irritable attitude and rude manners. No surprises there. This time, though, the sheriff looked even grumpier than usual. Livid, even.

“Well, well, look whoʼs here―our little heroine in person!”

The manʼs voice, reeking sarcasm, immediately put her on the defensive. “Iʼm not a heroine, Sheriff, and I did nothing special. Nothing that anybody else wouldnʼt have done in my place, I would hope. Now, if you donʼt mind, Iʼm here to see Jack.”

“Heʼs not here,” Doc chimed in grimly, peering over the sheriffʼs frame.

Sara automatically peeked inside the room, and noticing the empty bed, gave the doctor a confused look. “But…I thought he wasnʼt supposed to be released for another day or so.”

“He wasnʼt released,” Max Lacrod interjected, a disgusted expression on his face. “As usual, the coward chose to run off instead. If weʼre lucky, heʼs out of town by now.”

Sara felt so disoriented that it took a few moments for the manʼs harsh words to sink in. Her heart dropped the instant the realization hit her.
Jack was gone?
Sheʼd never see him again?