Looking For Trouble (10 page)

Red hooted then looked at him a little
closer, "A baby huh? You and her?"

"I know right, go figure," Wade chuckled
then relaxed in his chair. "I'm a lucky sonofabitch, what can I
say?"

"Okay, so ya'll have a baby, and she's back
to singing. Congratulations, but what does that have to do with
me?"

"Well, I wondered if you'd be interested in
hiring her and her band for a while...she had an accident at the
anniversary party at the Double B and broke her ankle, so she's
laid up here for about six weeks. She can still sing, but
performing is another story, so her options are limited."

"Hell yeah, I'd like to hire her, but I
probably can't afford her," Red told him honestly, then shook his
head.

"Well, her band would need some place to
stay, while they're here, if you have somewhere that could be part
of the payment," Wade offered thinking that would solve two
problems in one whack. It would also solve the problem of where
they could store their equipment, they could just leave it set up
on the stage.

"I have two apartments upstairs, over the
bar...we're just using them for storage right now, so I could clean
them up, move that stuff out. They could stay up there, I
guess."

"That would be perfect...now let's talk
about money, and get a contract together. I'll take it to her and
get it signed tomorrow. Just Friday and Saturday nights right?"

"No, Thursday nights too...that's ladies
night. The rest of the time, I have a D.J. handling the music."

"Great...let's work things out then." Now,
all he had to do was convince Jess to take the offer.

When Wade walked out of the bar with the
contract in his hand, he fist pumped the air and let out a whoop.
Things were looking up, and he was going to get to spend time with
Angel, and who knew, maybe even get to know Jess better, if she
took off her porcupine suit, and let him get close to her.

It was nearly four a.m. by the time he
pulled up in front of the house at the Double B, and he saw lights
on inside. Cassie must be up with the baby, he thought, then got
out and went up on the porch and knocked softly.

It wasn't Cassie who answered the door, it
was Luke, sleepy and rumpled, with their baby girl, Bella on his
shoulder. "Hey, man...you're family, you know you don't have to
knock...just c'mon in."

"Yeah, you keep telling me that, and one day
I'll remember," Wade said with a chuckle and walked past him then
into the kitchen, with Luke following him.

"You up early, or out late?" Luke asked him,
then the microwave beeped. He walked over there and pulled out a
bottle, then tested the formula on his wrist, before he set it in
the refrigerator to cool for a minute.

"Out late...had some things to do," Wade
told him hesitantly, then asked, "You got a second? I need to tell
you something, and you better sit down for it."

Luke spun around and said, "Oh, god, don't
tell me you're leaving...we need you, Wade," then he came over to
the table and sat down weakly, patting his fussy baby girl on the
back.

"Hell no, I'm not going anywhere...I love it
here," he admitted then told Luke, "Thanks for
letting
me
work here."

"Hiring you was the best decision we've
made, since we took over from Carl, and Bud retired. You're doing a
good job, and we appreciate you," Luke told him sincerely.

"You know Jess Sparks right?" Wade figured
he might as well get to the point of his early morning conversation
with his friend.

"Hell yeah, how's her ankle? When her
fiddler told me what happened, Cassie and I were going to check on
her, but we didn't know where you'd taken her."

"The hospital in Henrietta...her ankle's
broken, and her van is burned up, so she's stuck in Bowie, but
that's not what I want to tell you..." Wade said and felt his face
heat up.

Luke just raised an eyebrow, then got up to
go get her bottle out of the refrigerator. "What's up then?" he
asked and tested the temperature again.

"Make sure you've got a good grip on
Bella..." Wade warned with a chuckle, then told him, "Jess also
sang at Cole and Sabrina's reception a year ago...and we kind of
um...hooked up. She got pregnant, and we have a baby together."

"Holy shit!" Luke shouted, and Bella stirred
in his arms and whimpered. He walked swiftly back to the table and
sat down. His eyes were open now, and his mouth was hanging
open.

"Her name is Angel, and she's three months
old, and I had no idea about her, because Jess and I didn't exactly
exchange names when we were together. It was a one night deal, and
we were responsible, but things happened anyway. I'm not
sorry...Angel is incredible."

"And Jess?" Luke asked quietly, then put
Bella in the crook if his arm and gave her the bottle.

"I don't know, yet...we don't really know
each other. There definitely could be something there, but we need
to think about Angel first. Anyway, I wanted to tell you, I'm going
to be buying a house...I have enough money from the sale of my
daddy's ranch, and I'll be staying there sometimes, the rest I'll
be in the bunkhouse, if that's okay?"

"As long as you stay working for us, I'm all
for whatever you decide. We need you here...we could probably even
give you a parcel over on the road by the back pasture, if you
wanted."

"Wow, that's generous of you, but I don't
have time to build...I need to get something, now. She doesn't have
any place to stay, and the bunkhouse is great for me, but I don't
want her to have to stay out there with Angel."

"Yeah, and rentals are scarce around
here..." Luke said with a twist of his lips. "The contractor who
built the indoor arena is fast and good, but not that fast. I'll
check around and see if anyone has something available, and let you
know, if I hear anything."

"Thanks, Luke...I appreciate any help you
can give me. I really want to be close to Angel, and make sure
she's taken care of...and get to know Jess better, if she's
willing."

CHAPTER FIVE

Wade pulled his truck up in front of room
number eight, and it didn't look any better in the light of day,
than it had last night...it looked much worse. The paint was
peeling on the door, and there was a three inch gap at the bottom,
that probably let in more than hot air. He was getting them the
hell out of here today. It just wasn't safe.

He hopped out of the truck, as excitement at
seeing Angel again, and telling them what he'd accomplished last
night, poured through him. Wade walked up to the door and knocked,
and Travis opened it. Walking right in, he looked around for her,
then when he didn't see her he turned back to Travis, and said,
"They go out for breakfast?"

The alternative wasn't something he was
willing to accept. He didn't see signs of the baby's crib or things
in the room, and the formula and diapers he'd bought last night
were gone. His heart did a nosedive in his chest, as he waited for
the pale-faced man to respond.

Travis shook his head, and then said
quietly, "I don't know where they went...I woke up a few minutes
ago, and they were gone...Jazzie is gone too. I'm really
sorry."

"They don't have money or transportation,
where could they have gone?" Wade yelled then pushed a hand through
his hair.

"I have no clue, but let me throw on some
clothes, and we can go looking for them. Jess is hard-headed, I
told you that...and Jazzie wouldn't have let her go alone."

Wade nodded then walked over to the night
table and picked up the phone. He called Gabe and told him that
Jess was on the lam, and to see if he could help them search. Gabe
suggested they look at the bus station, and it was a damned fine
idea, and would be the first place they went.

After they hung up, he called the bus
station and got the address, then waited for Travis to finish his
shower and get dressed. He better hurry up, though, because Wade
was going to find Jess and the baby, with or without him. When he
did, Jess was going to pay the price for trying to take Angel away
from him. He hadn't been planning on getting an attorney to protect
his rights, but now that's exactly what he was going to do. He was
going to make sure she didn't pull this again. From here on out,
she was going to be chasing
her
rights.

Travis came out of the bathroom, followed by
a cloud of steam, then quickly threw on cargo shorts, a t-shirt and
his shoes. Wade stood and walked to the door then said, "I'll be in
the truck," then went outside. Less than a minute later, Travis
walked out with a duffle bag, and what looked like all of his
things, then got into the passenger side of the truck that Wade
already had cranked.

"I can't believe she did this," Travis said
and shook his head.

"Well, she won't be doing it again...I hate
to say it, Travis, but I'm going to make sure of it. That little
girl is my daughter too, and she's not going to be a selfish bitch
and try to keep her away from me."

"I know...and I don't blame you. Jess is
just not thinking straight. She hasn't got the resources to take
care of Angel alone right now, as much as it pains me to say it. If
she'd just open up and let people help her, things could be good
for her."

"Why is she so worried I'm going to take the
baby from her?" Wade asked curiously, then added, "I told her last
night I wasn't going to do that."

"I don't know...she's been acting really
strange lately, depressed almost...definitely not herself. And she
has a control issues anyway, because my dad basically used her
talent to support us in California, then Ray used her talent to
support himself in Dallas. She was never in control of her own
destiny, when there was a man in her life...and she's scared she's
going to lose control again with you, I guess."

"Man, sounds like she's been through a lot,"
Wade said with compassion, although he didn't really give a shit
about the reason she was running, just that she was, and she was
taking his baby with her. If Jess had issues, she needed to see a
therapist or something and work them out, but there was no way in
hell he was letting her take his baby from him.

"Yeah, she has...and then there were the
communal rules...women didn't have much control there either. I
only had two years of it, but she had four, before she could get
out. Those people were waaay out there."

"How so?" Wade asked, his stomach getting
sick all of a sudden with thoughts of what that could be running
through his mind.

"Free love, free drugs, and the girls got
married
when they hit eighteen to another commune
member...sometimes two. You can imagine the line that was forming
for Jess. Some weren't wanting to wait, until she was eighteen
either, but my dad kept them away...tried to make her marry Ray to
make them back off."

"So it was more than just a commune...sounds
like it was a cult to me," Wade said angrily, not really giving a
shit if he insulted Travis.

Travis looked at him for a thoughtful
minute, then said, "You know, I never thought of it that way, but
you're right...that's exactly what it was like. I hated to leave
her there, but I had to get out."

"Are your parents still there?" Wade
asked.

"No, they moved out right after Jess did,
and found an apartment, then dad went back to work. He was an
engineer in Dallas, made good money, but quit working when we moved
to Cali. They bought a small house in Fresno recently, and still
live there, as far as I know. Neither one of us has kept up with
them much."

"You think that might be where she's
headed?" Wade asked hoping like hell that wasn't right.

"Could be, but I doubt it...once she left
there, she said she'd never go back."

Wade couldn't imagine living like that, it
must've been like being in prison or something, with people always
watching you and telling you what to do. Travis was probably right,
there was no way in hell he'd go back if he ever escaped a life
like that, or had a parent that used him like her father had.

He huffed out a relieved breath when he
caught sight of the station, and scanned the street as they drove
by, hoping to catch sight of them. Wade didn't any sign of them,
before he pulled into the bus station parking lot and stopped the
truck.

"Do you have a picture of Jess or Jazzie?"
Wade asked as he slid out of the truck and started toward the door.
People were milling about outside the door, some were sitting down
smoking...this was definitely not a place he wanted his daughter to
be...or her mother. Even though he was pissed at Jess, he still
cared about what happened to her, Angel needed her.

Travis reached into his pocket and took out
his wallet, then flipped through a few clear plastic sheets of
pictures, until he found the one he wanted and pulled it out. "It's
dated, but it's a photo of both of them...I think they were twenty
or so," he handed it to Wade and he studied the fresh, hopeful and
happy faces staring back at him. He wondered where that hope had
gone, because he sure hadn't seen it in Jess's face, even the first
time he met her.