Texas Pride. Gerry Bartlett

can’t afford to pay for a ride. Renee was supposed to pick me up, but she forgot.” She grabbed another tissue. “She’s got a new boyfriend. Me? I’ve got nothing, Billy. Can you blame me for wanting to have a little fun?”

      “I blame you for getting behind the wheel after you drank too much. You could have killed someone, Sally. Then what? You want that on your conscience?” Billy leaned forward, sick of what had become a familiar scenario. “I’ve a good mind to leave you in here. Let you sweat this shit out of your system in jail.”

      “No, you can’t. I’m sick. The doctor said so.” She reached for his hand again. Her skin had a yellow cast he recognized. Her liver was failing. Her doctor in rehab last time had warned them she had cirrhosis. She was flirting with the need for a liver transplant. Except she wasn’t a good candidate. Not if she wouldn’t stop drinking.

      “You’ve got to get me out of here, Billy. I’ll go to rehab again. I swear it. And never drink again. But I can’t do jail. The women in here are hard. You should see the way they look at me. Mean eyes.” She leaned against him. “I’m scared.”

      “You got yourself into this situation, Sally. It won’t be easy to get you out this time. I saw you failed the field test for sobriety.” He didn’t take drunk driving clients as a matter of principle. Family was the sad exception.

      “I explained why I couldn’t stand on one leg to that cop. Inner ear problems. Would he listen? No. I told you. I only had a few drinks. And they were weak. That bingo parlor waters down the booze and charges an arm and a leg for it.” She stared at him, pleading.

      “You’re drunk. I doubt you weigh more than one-twenty soaking wet. Three drinks and you’re over the limit, Sally. Honest to God, I can smell the alcohol on you from here. If that’s from three weak drinks, I’m Superman.” He leaned back, looking away from her welling eyes. “Face facts. You can’t drive. I’m taking the car keys this time.”

      “Who will take Mama to her doctor appointments? The grocery store? You know how she likes to shop and pick out her produce.” Sally swayed in her chair.

      “Gran can drive, you can’t. But I’ll make sure she gets where she needs to go. If you’re in rehab, what difference will it make? First we need to see if I can keep you out of jail. The only good thing going for you as far as this infraction is concerned is that you were close to home and no one got hurt.” Billy looked around the dingy conference room. “And that you’re one of hundreds of DUIs on the Harris County rolls each month. If I can work a deal for rehab and community service, a judge will be glad to get you off his over-crowded docket.”

      “I love you, Billy. Your mama would be so proud of you.” Sally dissolved into tears again then noisy gulps and sobs.

      Billy hardened his heart. Sally had made a mistake bringing up his mama. He’d worked his ass off to become successful so he could rise above a life where three generations crowded into a run-down two-bedroom house, living on food stamps and charity. He’d made it too late to help his mother, who’d died early from her own alcoholism and the cancer that had taken her fast at the end.

      As he saw Sally being led away by a hard-eyed guard, Billy realized this was just one more chapter and verse of what he’d lived with all his life and what would probably be in his future. Maybe he was being selfish, asking anyone to take on the misery his family represented. Shannon certainly had no idea what kind of baggage he brought with him.

      He had plenty of time to think while he worked his way through red tape during the rest of a long night. Wait for a judge, file a paper, wait for a court time—it was a game he’d played many times—but it was necessary so he could get Sally out of lockup and into rehab.

      Of all the women in the world, why did he think he had to have Shannon Calhoun, a party girl who thought she couldn’t have fun without a drink in her hand? Maybe he was the sick one. Why was he drawn to a woman with the same problems he’d resented since he’d been old enough to understand them?

      She didn’t drink tonight. That thought made him unclench his fists a little. He was so crazed about this issue, he was going to drive Shannon away if he wasn’t careful. Was that what he wanted? It had happened before. He’d make demands and she’d run like hell. Who could blame her? He sure didn’t let anyone dictate to him. Shit.

      If he didn’t get his shit together and soon, he was going to lose her. And this time, he didn’t think he’d get another chance.

      Chapter 5

      “Happy Birthday, sis.”

      Shannon threw her ugly tennis shoes across the living room at the shadowy figure sitting in the dark. “Ethan! You scared the shit out of me. What are you doing lurking like that?”

      “Couldn’t sleep. I came down here for a night cap. Want one?” He got up and walked over to the built-in bar next to the bookcase and snapped on a light. Ethan had her father’s dark hair and stocky build. The youngest of the Calhoun kids, he was handsome and should have looked relaxed at this time of night. Instead, she saw worry lines between his dark brows.

      “What?” Shannon realized her mouth was watering. Oh, God, did she have a drinking problem after all? “No, just water. I have to get up early and go to work tomorrow. So do you.”

      “Yeah. How’d your first day go?” Her brother poured water into a crystal tumbler and handed it to her then splashed some bourbon into his own glass before settling into his chair again. “Sit. Tell your little bro all about it.”

      “I survived.” Shannon studied him. Was he all right? Maybe he was just as bummed about working as she was. Except he got to use his computer skills, something he was really into. “My feet hurt and my new boss clearly resents having to take on a Calhoun. How about you?”

      “The same. Except at least I didn’t feel the need to put on high heels.” He laughed and sipped his drink. “Believe it or not, my boss Amanda is hot. She’s older, of course, has been with the company for years, but a real brain. I think I can learn a thing or two from her. We were actually getting along until Cass barged in and hit her with the news that I was on a ‘special project’ for the family and couldn’t do anything else. That didn’t go over well. Now Amanda treats me like I have leprosy.”

      “Tough luck. But she can’t know what you’re doing for us. You have to find all those people our daddy defrauded and keep it a secret, or we’ll be sunk before we can even try to make things right.” Shannon drank her water—ugh, it had no taste or zing—and fell into a chair across from him. Flats tomorrow. “How’s it going?”

      “Too well. So far I’ve found eighty-five people or their descendants who we owe a ton of money. It’ll be up to your pal Billy Pagan to figure out how to get them to sign off on a settlement that won’t put us into bankruptcy. That was him I saw riding away on a hog a few minutes ago, wasn’t it? I didn’t take him for the biker type.”

      “You’d be surprised.” Shannon leaned back. “He took me to a carnival. We rode a roller coaster.” She sighed. “I love those things.”

      “You and Daddy. I never got it, wanting to be scared until you screamed or barfed.” Ethan stood and stretched. “After midnight, sis, so now you’re thirty. Ancient.” He laughed and walked over to kiss her cheek. “Big plans for tonight? With the company in trouble I’m afraid those awesome birthday party days are over.”

      “You don’t have to tell me.” She got up and gave him a hug. “It’s really bad, isn’t it?”

      “Millions of dollars so far and I hit a real pothole today in my research.” He rubbed his forehead and, for a moment, Shannon wondered if he was going to cry. “Shan, you know where the Patagi Indian reservation is located?”

      “Vaguely. Is it in Louisiana?” What fresh hell was this? Surely their daddy hadn’t cheated them too.

      “No. Livingston. East Texas. There’s oil around there, of course. East Texas is full of it.” He ran his hand through