Love Finds You in Last Chance, California (25 page)

Alex pushed off from the wooden rail and frowned. This wasn’t making sense. “We met at the store a few days ago. She came in asking for you. I invited her to come out. Maybe I should go into the house so the two of you can settle this.” She took a step away from the corral.

“Wait.” Both Justin and Christy spoke at the same time. Justin clamped his lips shut and nodded to Christy.

“Please don’t go on my account,” the woman said. “I’m not staying long. I’ve just come to get Toby.”

Justin clutched the pony’s reins, his eyes blazing. “I beg your pardon? Who do you think you are?”

Alex stepped into the corral, drew the whimpering boy off the pony, and held him close.

Christy sat back on her horse and settled deeper into her saddle. “I’m Molly’s sister, Christy. Half sister, actually, as you well know. I see you’re trying to pretend you don’t know me, just like you pretended a lot of other things.”

Justin uttered a low growl and drew himself up. “I’ve never met you before in my life, and I never heard anything about Molly having a sister.”

“Ah, just like you supposedly married her?” She gave what sounded like a forced laugh. “What you really did was move in with her, get her with child, and then desert her when she told you about the baby. Why’d you come back when she died, Justin? Did you think Molly had money stashed that would go to Toby?”

Justin gaped at the woman, seemingly at a loss for words.

Christy bent over and dropped her voice. “I want my sister’s boy. You have no right to him. You barely know him, and you weren’t even married to her.”

He sprang over the fence and landed a few feet from her horse. “Get off this property.”

Christy’s eyes narrowed. “From what I understand, you don’t have the authority to be giving orders. You’re just a cowhand here.”

Justin gave Christy a hard look, his voice firm. “Miss Grey, I don’t know what your game is, but I married your sister—that is,
if
she was your sister.”

She reined her horse back. “Then I want proof. And until you give me that, I want the boy. I won’t take a chance of you disappearing with him.”

Justin jerked his head up and glared. “Over my dead body, lady. He’s my son and no one’s taking him away from me.”

“We’ll see about that. I’ll be talking to the sheriff when I get back to town.”

Toby whimpered and reached for Justin. Alex patted his back and pulled his head down on her shoulder then stepped forward, her eyes flashing. She raised her hand and lifted her voice, not bothering to keep the anger from her tone. “Miss Grey, I don’t think your current living conditions are acceptable for a child.”

Justin stared at Alex as though trying to understand the direction her words were going. “Living conditions?” He spun back toward Christy. “Where do you live?”

She remained silent and bit her lip.

Alex walked up beside Justin. “She works at the saloon as a dance hall girl. She told me so when I met her at the store.”

Christy’s face hardened as she straightened and picked up her reins. “We’ll see what matters and what doesn’t.” She pushed her horse around with her heel and clucked to the mare.

Christy cantered off the property and spurred her horse up the hill, feeling as if a pack of hounds bayed and nipped at her heels. Dirty—she felt dirty and disgusted with herself. Alexia Travers had been decent in the store and hadn’t shunned her, even when she’d heard where she worked. Christy couldn’t blame her for using that information now—she’d have done the same in Miss Travers’s place.

Her thoughts turned to Molly’s boy—she’d only seen him a few times as a baby, when Justin was gone on cattle drives. A branch lashed her face as she drove her mount under the trees, heedless of the trail or what might be coming.

Truth be told, she hadn’t known what kind of a father Justin was—until she saw him with Toby just now. But it was too late—the damage was done. She’d just threatened to destroy the man’s happiness, and she’d succeeded in destroying any chance of friendship with the only decent woman who’d been kind to her.

Alex handed Toby to Justin and headed for the house without a word.

“Alex, wait. Please.” Justin’s frustrated voice floated toward her, but Alex kept moving. “I’d like to explain—”

She stopped but kept her back turned. “There’s nothing to explain. It’s not my business what my employees do—or have done—as long as they’re not running from the law.”

Solid footfalls sounded behind her. Toby fussed and demanded to get down. “Want to ride the horsey more. Please, Papa?”

“Later, Toby. I need you to be quiet, son. All right?”

“All wight.” The child’s plaintive voice reached Alex’s ears. “What’s wrong, Papa? Why you frowning? You sad?”

Alex’s heart started to melt. She drew a deep breath and turned to face them. “I’ll listen to what you have to say, but not now. Maybe later. I don’t think it’s something Toby needs to hear.”

Justin hoisted the boy higher on his hip and nodded. “You’re right. I’ll put the pony up, and then I need to get to town to send a wire. You’ll find out the truth, Alex.” He stared at her for a long moment before turning toward the barn.

Alex felt rooted to where she stood as her mind ran in circles. The accusations Christy had leveled at Justin were ugly. Alex wanted to believe him, but the logical side of her mind urged her to take it slow and discover the facts. She’d only known him for a couple of weeks, after all, and a lot of questions about his past remained. First, there were the accusations at the church when he first rode into town and the problems plaguing her horses since he’d arrived. He’d come back to the ranch an hour before Carter and his hand rode in—and if she remembered correctly, he’d been in the area not far from where the fence had been cut. He claimed to have been scouting for stray horses.

And although Justin had also claimed he’d been married and had called Toby his son, something didn’t add up where Molly and the boy were concerned. Why would Christy think she could claim Toby and get away with it? Could it be possible that the accusations were true? If Molly had the same type of background as her sister, it was certainly possible.

Then there was Christy. Something about her had seemed fragile and genuine when they’d met in the store. In today’s encounter it had been like Alex was seeing a different person—hard, cold, and scheming. But what did Christy have to gain if her story weren’t true? Why would a lone woman working at a saloon be anxious to have the care of a child only three years old? None of it made sense.

Justin returned from the barn with Toby and stood to face Alex. She felt her eyebrows rise. “So you can prove your claim. You weren’t just saying that so she’d leave.” She felt awful asking him, but she felt a deep need to know the truth.

Justin’s face turned a dusky red. “I’m not a liar, Miss Travers, whatever else I may be.” He stroked Toby’s hair and cleared his throat. “I hate to ask you this, and I guess I can take him with me….”

“Of course I’ll keep Toby. Go. It’s fine.” She reached for the boy, and he came willingly into her arms. “Let’s go read a story, Toby.”

“All right. Toby likes stories.” He patted her face with a grubby hand and smiled. “Then ride horsey again?”

Alex couldn’t help it; she had to laugh in spite of the circumstances. The child didn’t give up. “Not today. Maybe another day, when we have more time. Papa has to go to town while we read a story.”

He heaved a deep sigh and settled his head on her shoulder. “Okay.”

Justin leaned over and kissed his son on the cheek. He raised his eyes to Alex. “Thank you.” He didn’t step away but stood close, grim determination covering his face. “I’m going to prove she’s lying, whatever it takes. I can’t stand—” He broke off and turned his head then spun on his heel and strode to the barn.

Alex stared after him, not sure what she believed. She’d wanted to keep her distance when she’d heard he’d been recently widowed, and now she was being told he’d never been married. Had he loved Toby’s mother and married her—or used her and discarded her when the baby came along? The latter didn’t seem to fit the type of man he appeared to be, but what did she really know about him?

Very little. She turned back toward the house, carrying the quiet boy on her hip. And at this point, she wasn’t sure how much she wanted to know.

Justin swung into his saddle with Durango already in motion. The plunging stallion hadn’t been out of his pen since yesterday and was anxious to run. Justin didn’t look back but leaned forward and loosened the reins. His mood suited the fast pace of his mount—driving and dangerous. He wanted to yell, punch someone, or shoot something—anything to fix the mess he’d had no part in creating.

The doubt evident on Alex’s face scorched his insides. The seeds of mistrust had been sown, and he wasn’t sure how he could squelch them. Even if the preacher who’d married him and Molly remembered the ceremony and produced a letter, what proof would he have that the letter was genuine? Any friend could send a letter by stage claiming to be a preacher.

He wanted to rail at God for letting this happen. God could have protected him—even rewarded him for staying with someone like Molly and taking her problems on his shoulders. But for some time after he’d married her, he’d struggled with being tied to a woman who’d proven she didn’t love him and only wanted to use him.

Did God even care what happened to him? A pious mother and father had taught him right from wrong. He’d regularly warmed a church pew when he was younger, but he’d drifted away when he reached manhood. Beads of sweat trickled into Justin’s eyes and he swiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve. That could be the problem now. God might not look kindly on someone who’d ignored Him all these years.

His horse headed up the steep slope, and Justin shook himself out of his thoughts. No sense in laming his horse on the rocks littering the trail. The stallion still teemed with energy and fought the bit, unwilling to settle his gait. Justin sat deep in the saddle and gave another hard jerk on the reins. The black shook his head but slowed to a steady trot.

Recent tracks showed plainly in the soft earth under the fir trees, and Justin leaned over to peer at the ground. One set looked like the tracks of the mare the woman rode, but another set of hooves had traveled the same area shortly after hers. The prints were imprinted over the top, and from the spacing of the strides, it appeared the rider might have been following at the same pace.

He thought back to the last hour. He hadn’t noticed anyone riding up this hill, and this wasn’t a frequented path. Could the rider have been waiting in the trees? The Grey woman could have a partner, but if so, why follow instead of ride with her? There was plenty of room in this section for two horses side by side. They’d surely want to discuss the recent confrontation.

Justin decided it would be a good idea to follow and see where this second set led.

He kept an eye on the trail for the next couple of miles, and the tracks didn’t vary. He reached the edge of the rocky area and headed down the trail leading toward the fast-moving stream. The tracks continued to overlap, and the mare hadn’t slowed or pulled to the side to allow the second rider to catch up. The woman must not have been aware someone followed her. Interesting. It looked like this could be more complicated than he’d assumed.