Lone Star Justice (6 page)

Maddie watched the movement of his hand with fascination. When she'd left home, his cheek had barely had enough blond fuzz to justify shaving once a week. Now she could see the slight shadow of beard under his clean-shaven skin. What would it feel like later in the day, when a five o'clock shadow covered his jaw?

With a mental shake, she brought her attention back to his comment. "Yes, John told me he'd given you a list of names. I was going to come by your office later to look it over."

He reached into this shirt pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. "I have it right here." He shoved the paper across the table.

Maddie cast a sideways glance at Brandy, who was studying Rand's profile with unabashed interest. "Not now, Rand."

Brandy perked up. "Don't mind me. I'm not even paying attention."

"Yeah, right. You hear everything you're not supposed to, and nothing of what you should." Maddie could whisper from a far room about making cookies or where she'd hidden her chocolate stash, and Brandy would hear it. But if she yelled for her to take out the trash, her daughter would claim she hadn't heard a word.

Rand watched the by-play between mother and daughter and felt left out. He couldn't think of anyone he'd ever felt that comfortable with, other than Maddie. And that had ended a long time ago.

But she was right. This wasn't a conversation that should include a young girl. "You can have that copy. I have another one at the office. Just look it over and see if you can add any other names to it."

Maddie nodded and folded the paper in half without looking at it. She already knew every name on it by heart. She tucked the paper in her purse and pasted a bright smile on her face. "So," she said, "tell me what's happened in Greendale since I left."

Rand laughed. "Nice change of subject. Okay, I'll play along.

The waitress put their plates on the table in front of them and Maddie smiled up at her, determined to not let the woman's attitude get to her. "Thank you."

The waitress nodded, then looked at Rand. "Anything else, Sherriff?"

"No, thanks. Just keep the coffee coming. We have a lot of catching up to do."

***

Brandy tried her best to fade into the background, hoping her mom and dad would forget she was there and talk more freely. There was a lot she didn't know about her mom's old life in Greendale. And a lot she wanted to know. What was her mom like as a teenager? Was she a goody-goody like she expected Brandy to be? Or was she a hellion? The latter would explain her mom's overprotective parenting.

The names they tossed back and forth meant nothing, but she formed opinions of the people they talked about based on their tone of voice and facial expressions. It sounded like many of the people her mom had known back then were still in town. She wondered if the whole town was frozen in time or something, or maybe they'd gone back in time when she was sleeping and didn't notice. Nah, her mom still looked the same as ever.

God, if she didn't find a shopping mall soon, she was going to go insane. At least this mess had gotten her out of school, but she had no idea how she was going to make up the lost time. She really didn't want to waste her whole summer in summer school.

She dug into her breakfast, which was surprisingly good. On school days, breakfast usually consisted of something they grabbed at a drive-through or peanut butter on toast. On the weekends her mom cooked eggs and sausage sometimes, or they went out for pancakes. Here in Greendale, breakfast consisted of not only eggs and sausage, but also hash brown potatoes, biscuits and gravy, fresh sliced cantaloupe, and two pancakes on the side.

If she ate like this every morning, she'd be too fat for her cheerleading uniform in no time.

Crap
. She'd let her attention wander. What had she missed? The word
school
had brought her attention back to the conversation.

***

"We have a great high school now," Rand said. "The band and football teams have both won state for the last three years. And so many people have moved here from the city that we've picked up some highly-qualified teachers. I don't think she'll have any problem adjusting to the new school."

"What new school?" Brandy asked. "Mom, we're not going to be here long enough for me to have to change schools, remember? You promised.

 "I know, honey, but unless I home school you, we have no choice. The law says you have to be in school."

"Home school me then. We can do that."

Maddie shook her head. "No, I don't want to start that this close to the end of the school year. It's just for a few weeks. I have to go back to work by the first of July at the latest."

Brandy opened her mouth to argue, but Maddie cut her off with a look. "I've made my decision. Rand says the school has a dedicated officer to keep everyone safe, so that's better than me dragging you around with me while we try to find this guy. We'll go get you enrolled this afternoon and you can start on Monday."

Brandy fell into a sulk, but Maddie ignored her. Putting her into the local school solved part of her problem of how to keep her daughter occupied in a small town when she was used to having friends over and after-school activities to keep her busy. Now they had to find a place to stay.

"We can't stay in the motel, Reed. The doors and locks are flimsy and we stand out with that car and Oklahoma plates parked  right out by the highway. Can you tell me who to talk to about renting a house?"

He thought for a moment. "I don't know of anything around here that comes furnished, so unless you're planning to move everything down here, I can't think of a thing. You could ask Alice Jones if you want to rent a house. I can't really recommend any of the apartments. We only have two complexes, and they're both hot spots for trouble."

Maddie sighed. "I guess we'll just have to make do at the hotel then."

Rand was silent for a moment. "I know I'm going to regret this, but…y'all can stay at the ranch. I can bunk at the office."

Maddie stared at him. "I couldn't possibly kick you our of your home." She shook her head. "No, we'll be fine."

"Maddie, it's the only thing that makes sense. And actually, it might be better if I stayed there too, so I can keep you safe. You know the place, so you should feel comfortable there."

Had Rand lost his mind? Had he forgotten what had happened in that house? How both their lives had been turned upside down? She didn't know if she could set foot through the door, much less live there. "Let's both think on it for a day or two, okay? I'll call Alice and see what she has listed, and I can check around town to see if I can find anything. But I appreciate the offer."

Rand shrugged. "You're the boss. But the offer stands."

They fell silent for a few minutes as they finished their food.

Brandy finished first and started peppering Rand with questions about the ranch. "Do you have horses? Cows? What else do you raise out there?"

Rand laughed. "Yes I have horses, and cows. I also have goats, chickens, a couple of mules, and a few Alpacas. You'll have to get your mom to bring you out for a visit."

Brandy turned to Maddie, her eyes bright. "Can we, Mom? Please?"

Maddie knew when she was defeated. She didn't know if she could bring herself to step foot inside the house, but it wouldn't hurt to let Brandy see the animals. "Sure, whenever it's convenient for Rand."

"How about Friday? It's my day off unless something major comes up. If you can get up early enough, you can help me feed the animals."

When Brandy looked up at Rand with adoring eyes, Maddie sighed. Her daughter had fallen for his charm as easily as she had at the same age. Knowing he was her father only elevated the adoration. She was going to have to come up with something to distract her, keep her so busy she didn't have time to think about her father. Getting her enrolled in school moved to the top of the priority pile.

***

"Maddie? Oh. My. God. Maddie Cooper!"

Maddie looked at the bleached blonde with the big hair sitting at the reception desk. Evidently she should know her, but for the life of her…"Ellie?"

"Of course, Ellie! Don't tell me you don't recognize your BFF?" Ellie jumped up from her chair and ran around the desk, nearly knocking Maddie over when she enveloped her in a hug and a cloud of perfume. "Girl, where have you
been
? I thought I'd never see you again." She gripped Maddie's arms and stepped back to take a long look. "You've gone and grown up all nice and proper-like. Who woulda thought?"

The phone rang, drawing Ellie back to the desk. "Hang on while I answer this thing. Don't y'all dare go anywhere."

Maddie looked over at Brandy, who cocked one eyebrow in question. "I'll tell you all about her later," Maddie told her in a stage whisper.

"Count on it," Brandy mouthed back with a grin.

While Ellie was occupied with the phone call, Maddie took the opportunity to look around the real estate office. It was amazingly well-decorated for Greendale. She'd be willing to bet she could walk into just about any business in town and it wouldn't have changed a bit since she left.

But Alice was new in town, according to Rand. She'd only been there five years.

Ellie ended her conversation and looked back up at Maddie. "Now, what brings you in here? I know it wasn't me, since you looked so surprised to see me. Are you moving back to Greendale?"

Maddie shook her head. "No, not moving back, but we might be here for a few weeks. I'm hoping Alice knows of a short-term rental we could lease for a month or two."

"Well, to be honest, this isn't the best time to look, hon. Once school is out, maybe. But right now…"

"Please, could you ask her to look? We're staying at the motel, and it's not someplace we want to stay for very long."

Ellie nodded in understanding. "I hear ya. Okay, I'll do some checking, and I'll ask Alice when she comes back, okay?"

"Great. Thanks Ellie." Maddie turned to leave, then stopped with one hand on the doorknob. "Would you like to have dinner with us tonight? I'd love to catch up. Last I heard you were headed for Hollywood."

Ellie grinned. "I would love to. Listen, there's this great little catfish restaurant out on the freeway. Only been there 'bout five years or so. But girl, they have the
best
catfish and shrimp you ever sank your teeth into."

"Sounds great," Maddie said. "About seven?"

"Seven it is."

Maddie gave her one last smile and ushered Brandy out the door before Ellie started in with the questions she'd seen burning in her eyes. Questions about Brandy.

"Now what, Mom? If there isn't any place to rent, can we go stay with my dad?"

"Shush, Brandy. Don't call him that, at least not out loud." She sighed. "And no, let's not give up just yet. We'll drive around, see what we can find. Lots of people in small towns don't use realtors for something like a rental. They just stick a sign in the yard or an ad in the paper."

"It could take days to find a place to stay," Brandy whined. "I'm already bored. There's nothing to do in this town."

"Now how do you know that? You haven't seen anything more than the motel and diner so far." Maddie pointed out some of the shops in the town square. "Some of these place date back to when I was a kid, others are new. Let's walk around and take a look, okay?"

"Walk? Are you kidding me?"

"Yes, walk." Maddie chuckled at Brandy's expression. "You know, that thing you do that involves both legs? It's not that far."

Brandy huffed but followed along. Soon she was engrossed in looking in store windows.

The Merle Norman store was still in business, the sight of it bringing a lump to Maddie's throat. And the pharmacy, where everything had begun--the beginning of the end. But how could she share those memories with her daughter without bringing up all the old hurts? The movie theater. She remembered sitting in the back row with Rand, much more interested in making out with him than she ever was in seeing the movie.

They turned the corner and crossed the street. They passed the newspaper office and a clothing store. Maddie froze when they approached the Myers Clinic. She couldn't, wouldn't walk past it. She couldn't risk seeing Doc right now. She turned around and headed back the way they'd come.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Brandy hurried to catch up. "I thought we were going to walk all the way around?"

"I changed my mind." Maddie walked briskly toward the SUV, jaywalking across the street."

"Fine. I'm getting hungry anyway," Brandy said. "Can we go get a burger at the Dairy Queen?"

Maddie checked her watch. How had it gotten to be lunchtime already? "Sure. I wasn't looking forward to another meal at the diner anyway." Because it appeared Rand ate nearly every meal there. At least maybe they wouldn't run into him at the Dairy Queen.

CHAPTER THREE

Rand wasn't surprised to find Maddie and Brandy sitting in a booth at the DQ when he walked in. He and Maddie had always thought alike. He'd come here instead of the diner so he wouldn't run into her. And from the crestfallen look on her face, she'd thought the same thing.