Part 9 (1/2)

”You look beautiful, Abigail,” a soft voice said behind her. ”But then, you always were. Even as a child, I knew you would be a beautiful woman someday.”

Abby turned from the slightly warped mirror in the little bathroom and smiled at her mother. The trailer was small, and there was only the one bathroom. Her mother leaned against the doorway. ”You look like you're feeling better.”

Diane Moore was a handsome sixty-year-old woman. Her hair was the same auburn color as Abigail's, though she'd stopped dealing with grays years before, and now they had mostly taken over. She was dressed in a charcoal gray pantsuit that was slightly too big for her.

Diane had joked that falling off the porch and breaking her hip had done wonders for her figure.

”I've had a very good therapist.” Her mom winked at her. Abby had taken her to and from the rehab facility and diligently made sure she did every exercise.

”You look pretty yourself, Mama.” Abby gave her a careful hug.

She patted her gray hair. ”Well, Abigail, you never know who you might meet playing bingo.” Abby ran a brush through her hair. Her mother crossed her arms and suddenly looked serious. ”Are those old biddies leaving you alone?”

Abby sighed. ”Don't worry about it, Mama. I can handle them.”

”You shouldn't have to. I should have taken care of it back then.”

Her mother looked so sad that Abby turned and reached out to her. ”I should never have let you leave.”

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Abby shook her head. ”I couldn't stay. There were too many bad memories. You would have just lost your job and your pension for nothing.”

”How dare that Ruby Echols think you weren't good enough for her son? I'm glad she didn't have anything to do with raising Lexi.”

Abby felt a smile cross her face when she thought of her daughter.

”I am, too. Now stop talking about people who don't matter. I have a date tonight.”

”Are the boys picking you up in that tank of Jack's?” Her mom asked as Abby turned back to the mirror and applied some gloss to her lips.

Abby winced. Jack's truck was already in the shop. Sam had picked her up from work earlier in the afternoon. He'd used their time alone together to get her all hot and bothered again with an impromptu make-out session.

”I think we'll have to use Sam's Jeep. I kind of put a dent in the truck.” Her mother frowned, and Abby suddenly felt like a teen again.

She crossed her arms defensively over her chest. ”Well, I had to get to work, Mama. He can't blame me. Well, he did, but let me tell you that man's bark is way worse than his bite. Underneath that rough exterior, he's really a big old teddy bear.”

”I doubt that seriously, Abigail.” Her mom sounded incredulous.

”Oh, he might be around you, but make no mistake that Jack Barnes is one dangerous man. He grew up real rough.”

Abby turned around, lip gloss suddenly way less interesting than what her mother was saying. ”I know his mom died when he was young.” Christa had told her that much.

”I don't know the whole story. Jack doesn't talk about it, but I know no one claimed him after his mom died. He grew up in foster care, and that's where he met Sam. The first time I met him I thought maybe it had damaged him, you know. Sometimes when a person doesn't get enough love as a child they become cold and distant. Jack seemed to be that way.”

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”He isn't.” Abby leaned forward. She wanted her mother to believe. He was anything but cold. Even when he tried to keep his distance, he'd been caring. He'd just been unsure and scared, she realized now. He hadn't wanted to get close until he had been sure she wouldn't reject him out of hand.

”Everyone knows that.” Her mother patted her hand. Abby was comforted by the gesture. ”But don't make the mistake of thinking because he's gentle with you that he can't take care of himself. When those boys first bought that ranch, there were people in town who treated them badly. Their lifestyle was odd, to say the least. It didn't seem to bother Jack, but it made Sam upset when people treated him like dirt. Do you remember Frank's?”

Abby nodded. ”I sure do. It was the only bar in town. I remember they had some strict rules. No liquor could be served after midnight, even on a Sat.u.r.day, and there was no dancing and no loud music.”

The town had restrictions, and though Frank's was a private club, it had to follow the rules.

”They refused Sam a members.h.i.+p,” her mom said. ”The only place in town where he could get a beer and they wouldn't let him in the front door because Frank Webb thought he was a queer.”

”a.s.shole.” Sam was so social. It would bother him to be closed out. ”I am glad they went out of business. What a jerk.”

Her mother's face was practically gleeful. ”They went out of business exactly six months after they told Sam he wasn't welcome.

Two weeks after they tossed Sam out on his b.u.t.t, The Barn opened up. It was on some land in an unincorporated part of the county, so the rules didn't apply. Is it so surprising that everyone in town flocked to a place where they could drink and dance and listen to whatever music they wanted, however loud they wanted it?”

”That was a very happy coincidence.” She should check out the honky-tonk. It sounded like fun. Christa and Mike were regulars. She bet Sam could dance. Conversely, she thought she would probably have to coax Jack to take a turn on the floor with her. It would be

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worth it to have those big arms around her as they swayed to the music.

”Coincidence? Whose land do you think it was on, baby girl? Jack Barnes called some friends of his, and he gave them the seed money and the land to open the place on. He crushed Frank Webb. I'm telling you this not because I think you should be wary of the man. I want you to understand that he takes care of his own.”

A hundred questions popped through Abby's mind. ”It makes you wonder. How does a boy with no family and no connections end up with a huge spread? How much do you think he and Sam spent on the ranch?”

”All I know is sometime between turning eighteen and being basically homeless after he aged out of the group home he lived in, and when he and Sam started Barnes and Fleetwood five years later, they came up with roughly five million dollars. I heard Bernard, the city treasurer, talking about it, and that's what he figured it cost to start up their business. I doubt they earned it flipping burgers.” There was a knock on the door. Her mom leaned over and kissed her cheek.

”That's my ride now. You have a good time tonight, Abigail. You let those boys take care of you. I won't wait up, honey.”

”Okay, Mama. Have fun.” Abby watched her mother disappear down the narrow hall. She was thoughtful as she finished getting ready for her date.