Suddenly Texan (12 page)

“Then I guess I'd better think fast.” She hobbled across the park, rubbing her hip. “We'll get this straightened out.”

“But—”

“Don't you run off,” Myra warned as she opened the door of her big, older model sedan parked at the curb.

I won't,
Amanda silently answered. Tonight she needed to find a place to sleep, but right now she had things to do in town.

She straightened the notes in her folder and rose from the bench. Myra was right; her bottom was sore. But not nearly as painful as her heart.

She had nearly an hour before she was meeting the lunch ladies at the café. Did she dare go back to the Coffee Crossing for a little Wi-Fi time and a vanilla latte? She had to check her online auctions, and with no place to stay, the coffee shop was the only option.

She just hoped that Leo would look after his own business and keep away from hers.

 

B
OBBI
J
EAN
, C
AROLINE
, Clarissa and Venetia were already seated in their regular booth when Amanda arrived. They looked up from their seemingly intense conversation and smiled brightly at her.

“Oh, hello, Amanda,” Bobbi Jean said. “We're so glad you're here.”

“Yes, we're getting together those photos you wanted to see.”

“Great.” She looked for a bag or box, but saw nothing. “Did you bring them today?”

“We're getting copies made in Graham,” Clarissa said. “They'll be ready tomorrow.”

“We heard you were leaving on Wednesday,” Venetia added.

“Yes, I am.” Amanda frowned. “I really appreciate you making copies, but that might be cutting it a little close.” On Saturday night she'd gotten the impression they would have the photos on Monday so she could continue her research. When had they decided to make copies?

“Oh, they'll be ready on time, don't you worry,” Caroline assured her. “We thought it might be nice to have a little going away party for you. It would be fun for us to look at the photos and relive the past a little.”

“That's very nice of you, but you don't have to—”

“No, we really want to do this,” Bobbi Jean said. “You haven't been here long, but we feel that you just fit right in. And we'd like to thank you for pitching in at the community center fundraiser.”

“Caroline volunteered her house,” Venetia said. “She has a big family room.”

“And Bobbi Jean suggested the community center, but we thought someone's house might be cozier,” Clarissa added.

Bobbi Jean nodded. “And then Christie learned about our little project, and she offered her family room at their new house on the Rocking C, so we said yes.”

“Oh, I don't think that's necessary,” Amanda said quickly. She didn't want to impose on the Crawfords, especially given what she had to tell Cal.

“She was very excited,” Bobbi Jean said. “She found some photos of Cal Crawford's grandparents and even one of his great-grandparents.”

Under normal circumstances, Amanda would jump at the chance to see photos of her ancestors, but these were not normal circumstances, and Cal wasn't just her big brother.

“I'm making my famous Rotel tomato and Velveeta Cheese dip,” Clarissa said. “You're not a vegetarian, are you? Because normally I put ground beef and sausage in it.”

“Er, no, but you don't have to go to so much trouble.”

“Don't be ridiculous!” Bobbi Jean assured her. “We love an excuse to get together and have a party. Sharing these old photos will be a great way to remember the past.” She looked around at her friends. “Let's all fix a ‘blast from the past' dish. Like Venetia's Jell-O and cream cheese squares and my macaroni salad.”

“Great idea!” Caroline said. “I'll make my refrigerator oatmeal fudge cookies.”

They seemed so intent on having this get-together that Amanda knew she wouldn't be able to talk them out of it without being rude. And they'd been so nice to her here at the café and at Casino Night.

She truly wished she had more time to get to know these ladies.

“If you're certain this is what you want to do, then just tell me what time,” she said. “I already know how to get to the Rocking C from when…” When Leo took
her out there the very first day she spent in Brody's Crossing. “From when I visited before,” she finished.

“This will be so much fun,” Clarissa said. “I haven't seen Christie's new house since they completed it last fall.

“I haven't, either.” Venetia sighed. “I'll bet it's nice. She doesn't do anything halfway.”

Amanda settled back against the booth and listened to the conversation around her as the ladies talked about what they planned to make and what they were going to wear.

What did a person wear to tell her brother that he had a long-lost sister who'd been raised by the mother he still resented? Maybe something in basic black.

What an odd group of conspirators, Leo thought as he pulled to a stop near Cal and Christie's house. Myra Hammer, minus Bud, was just arriving. Wind blew across the rolling plains and whipped the plastic grocery bags she carried. Food, probably, for the party the ladies had used as an excuse to get everyone together. Other cars were arriving also, carrying the rest of the “lunch ladies.” Most people were pulling off the driveway onto the grass to park.

“And I had to fly all the way from New Hampshire for a party with Myra Hammer and the rest of the nearly retired ladies in town?” Troy asked from the passenger seat.

“Believe me, this is one party you want to attend.” Leo turned off the engine of his pickup. “I'm glad you could get away.” To keep Troy's visit a surprise from Cal and especially Amanda, Leo had taken the afternoon off and driven to DFW Airport to pick him up.

“I guess I'm glad. I'll let you know later, especially since you're paying for my ridiculously expensive last-minute flight,” Troy said.

“It's the least I could do.” What good was money if you couldn't spend it on a good cause? Even though
Amanda denied her mother had had an affair with Calvin Crawford, Leo knew there was some relationship between her and the family. If Cal didn't see or sense it, maybe Troy would. And if she was their half sister, Troy deserved to be there to hear about it as much as Cal.

And Amanda deserved to meet Troy.

“For me? Gee, I didn't know you cared
that
much,” Troy teased.

Leo had been two years behind Troy in school, so they hadn't been the closest of friends. After graduation, Troy left for college while Cal stayed on to work the ranch. When their father died shortly after, all the responsibility had fallen on Cal.

Leo had gone off to Las Vegas to make his fortune, and after he graduated, Troy had gone into the ranching industry indirectly, promoting a new beef cattle breed.

The three men had led very different lives, but now one person had pulled them all together. “Kind of for you, kind of for Cal. I thought he'd enjoy the surprise. But no, truthfully it's for someone else.”

“You haven't told me anything about this mysterious visitor, or why I'm really here.”

“Okay, now that you're a captive audience, I'll tell you what I can. The guest of honor is a young woman named Amanda Allen.”

“Allen was our mother's maiden name.”

“Really?” Leo hadn't realized that. What did it mean?

Had he been wrong in his assumption? Or had Calvin had an affair with his wife's sister?

“Yeah. Is she from Arkansas?”

“No, west coast. She's been in town for the past
week. She says she came to do genealogy research for a client.”

“Maybe it's for one of our mother's relatives.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Allen is a fairly common name. It could be a coincidence.”

Troy frowned. “Could be, but I'm not a great believer in coincidence. More likely she's a distant cousin.”

Leo wasn't sure what he believed anymore. Amanda Allen? That really turned his “Calvin Crawford affair” theory on its head. “Anyway, she pitched in for Casino Night at the community center, she donated a genealogy research certificate which your brother bought for your wife—but don't tell her because it's a surprise—and she basically just…well, lots of people like her.”

“Lots, as in
you?
”

“I admire her. A lot.”

“And?”

Leo shrugged. “And I blew it. I pushed her too hard about something.”

“So, again, why am I here?”

“I thought she was related to you…somehow. Now I wonder if I might have made an incorrect assumption. Whatever, Cal doesn't know.” Leo held up his hand when Troy started to speak.

“So this party is, what…just a ‘get to know you' kind of thing?”

“No, think of it more as…an intervention.”

“So now you're Dr. Phil? I'm sorry, but this is one of the strangest days of my life.”

“It might get more strange. You know how Cal is about your mother. He's still awfully bitter. The topic came up at his birthday party last week and he made comments that show he's still not over what she did.”

“Yeah, we don't talk about it. Of course I'm not happy with what she did, either. I mean, how do you go off and leave your family, even if you are mentally ill? She'd been on medication off and on. I knew she was unhappy with Dad, but to leave…that's just unthinkable, especially to a fourteen year old.”

“I know. I mean, I didn't know much about it back then, since I was only twelve, but now I can see how it must have hurt. It would be a hard thing to forgive.”

“And Cal, like Dad, is not big on forgiveness.”

“He's a lot more mellow now than he was.”

“It's a relative thing. Marriage and children have changed him a lot.”

“I understand that marriage changes people. Believe me, I hear about how happy my sister and Wyatt are all the time. Endlessly, as a matter of fact.”

“And that doesn't make you want to take the plunge?”

“No, it doesn't.” He wasn't sure what would make him want to give up his freedom, his options.

“So, here's what I'd like for you to do. Go inside, wish your big brother a belated happy birthday, and keep an open mind. Amanda will be here soon. We told everyone else to get here a half hour earlier.”

“So who arranged all this?”

“Mostly Myra Hammer, believe it or not, and I helped. She actually went to Caroline and Bobbi Jean and talked to them—right after she met with Amanda at the park across from the hardware store.”

“Which you watched from your window, I assume.”

“Of course.”

“Myra must have mellowed a lot if she's being nice to a stranger in town.”

Leo frowned. “I wouldn't say that Myra is mellow.
For some reason, she likes Amanda. She insisted we had to get everyone together.” After talking to Amanda in the little park, Myra had made her way to the café to see the lunch ladies. He'd followed her and found them all with their heads together, plotting how to arrange a meeting between Amanda and the Crawfords. “Asking you to come down was my idea.”

“That's just downright odd.”

“Yes, it is.” But he hoped the party got the job done because he'd run out of ideas for solving Amanda's problems.

Or maybe she didn't see them as problems. Maybe he should have just let her work things through her own way and then move on.

The problem was that he really didn't want Amanda moving on. He wanted her to stay right here, but he wasn't the person who could give her a good reason to change her plans.

 

J
UST BEFORE SUNSET
, A
MANDA
drove to the Rocking C with mixed emotions. She wanted to see the ranch where her mother had lived for twenty years once more, but she didn't understand why the ladies had insisted on such a big production to give her copies of old photos. She just wanted to see them as part of her research!

Slowing the car, she pulled into the long, circular driveway to the new Crawford home and parked. She didn't recognize any of the half-dozen cars in the heavy shadows except for Myra's sedan.

She hoped she could get through the night without giving away her true feelings. The lunch ladies and even Myra had been so nice that when she thought about the ways she was deceiving them, she wanted to turn around
and drive off toward the Interstate. The knowledge that she would be in Cal's house and she had to reveal the truth before tomorrow also made her want to run.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if she could just tell everyone who she was and why she was here? Maybe the fact that Cal and Troy would be getting a small inheritance would soften the blow. She held on tight to the steering wheel and imagined the ladies standing around, holding plates of Jell-O and Velveeta cheese dip, gaping like dead fish when she announced she was Luanna's daughter.

Well, she was here now. She would let them give her the photos, and then later, if possible, she'd take Cal aside and tell him the truth. If necessary, she could make a mad dash back to the low priced motel in Graham—definitely not as nice as the Sweet Dreams Motel or the condo unit. She'd kept one eye open almost all night to make sure her car wasn't stolen or burglarized. Or she could literally just drive away, north toward I-40, across Oklahoma to Arkansas to see her relatives.

“Okay, so you've got a game plan,” she told herself. “Get in there and get this done. You're down to the last day.”

She gathered the gift bags she'd brought—a small thank-you for everyone—snagged her purse from the passenger seat and locked her car. It was loaded and ready to go. In fact, if the night went badly, she could be halfway to her cousin's home before all the food was put away.

But she shouldn't think about worst-case scenarios. Maybe the night would go well. Maybe she would have a pleasant time, she thought as she walked up to the front door. She took a deep breath before knocking.

Maybe her older brother would magically welcome her into the family and they would live happily ever after.

Maybe she'd stop thinking about Leo and how much he'd hurt her.

She knocked a little harder than necessary, making her knuckles sting.

In just a moment, the door opened and Christie Crawford greeted her. “Amanda! Come on in.” She gave her a brief hug.

Amanda followed Christie through a slate tiled entry past a long rustic table. The ceilings were high and the walls were painted a warm color that coordinated with the limestone accents on a fireplace in the front room.

“Everyone's in the kitchen, of course. The ladies insisted on putting the food out on the breakfast bar.”

“That's fine with me. The more casual, the better. Your home is beautiful.” They walked through a wide, open hallway into the family room and kitchen, where slate gave way to hardwood.

“Thanks. We really like it, although Cal says it's too big. I reminded him that by the time the kids are teenagers, it will seem small when their friends come over.”

“I guess that's right.” Amanda hadn't had friends over often. Her mother's mental state was too volatile, even when Luanna was on her meds. Sometimes she'd be sleepy and moody, sometimes she'd seem absolutely normal. Mostly, though, their small apartment hadn't been ideal for entertaining a teenage friend unless they were fans of
Wheel of Fortune
or
The Price is Right.

“Can I get you something to drink? A beer or a soft drink. I think Myra made punch.” Christie leaned closer.
“I'm not sure about the punch, though. It's kind of green and bubbly and looks like a science experiment gone wrong.”

Amanda smiled at the image. “I'm fine right now.”

She looked around to find the big room almost full of people. The lunch ladies smiled and waved. Cal was in deep conversation with another man, his back to Amanda, and off to the side, slipping a barbecue meat-ball into his mouth, was Leo.

He watched her intently with his blue eyes, his blond good looks way too potent for an early evening “blast from the past” buffet.

Great, just great. Her heart started beating hard and she felt light-headed. She hadn't been able to get away without seeing him. Why was
he
at her get-together? What person with a perverted sense of humor had invited him? No one, probably. He'd no doubt invited himself.

And now he was in the same room with her and Cal Crawford. He could blurt out his theory at any moment.

Should she slink out of the room now or risk embarrassment in front of nearly everyone she'd met here?

She raised her chin a notch, looked away from Leo, and headed to visit with the women at the breakfast bar. Besides being friendlier, they had the food.

Maybe she could eat and then slip away with the photos. She looked over Bobbi Jean's shoulder. Yes, there was an album on the table, along with a couple of envelopes.

“Oh, hello, Amanda,” Clarissa said, surprising her with a hug. She fingered a few strands of Amanda's
hair. “You should come by the salon for a trim. Just a few snips and I'll get rid of any split ends.”

“Um, thanks, but I'm leaving tomorrow.”

“Oh, yes, I remember. Well, if you change your mind, you come see me. My treat.”

“Thanks.” She looked down the breakfast bar. “Every thing looks great.”

“I hope you're hungry,” Bobbi Jean said. “We've been nibbling but there's plenty of food.”

They must have all gotten here exceptionally early, since she was right on time.

“Here,” Venetia said, “have a plate.”

Amanda continued to ignore Leo while she filled a plastic plate with little meatballs, sausage pinwheels, raw veggies, macaroni salad and even a small serving of peachy colored Jell-O and cream cheese. A little farther down were the desserts. She'd try those later. She definitely wouldn't have to spend any money on supper tonight.

When Christie walked up, Amanda asked, “Where are the children?” She'd hoped to see her niece and nephew again before she left. This would be an excellent excuse to take some photos so she could save the memory forever.

“They're upstairs with Darla. I wanted to give the adults some time to eat and talk without Callie and Peter demanding attention, not to mention meatballs and chocolate cookies.”

“They're such darlings, but they do focus all the attention on themselves,” Caroline said. “I'm hoping for some grandchildren very soon.”

“Who isn't?” Bobbi Jean said. “Although I'd like to wait until Darla finds Mr. Right.”

Christie touched Amanda's arm. “Can I pull you away from these ladies for a moment? There's someone I'd like you to meet.”

“Of course.” She dabbed her mouth with a napkin and placed the plate on the counter. The food was really quite good. She followed Christie around the lunch ladies to the other side of the room.