Lone Star Legacy. Roxanne Rustand

much,” she retorted. “My sister and I inherited this property from our aunt, and it’s a beautiful house…or was, until recently.”

      Surprised, he did a double take. “You?”

      She stiffened. “And my sister. After the funeral, we had to clean out Crystal’s possessions, and we made sure things were in good repair. But Melanie lives in Billings and I lived in Chicago, so we hired a local Realtor to manage the property. As long as there was rental income, we assumed…Well, we obviously misplaced our trust. I figured I’d spend the summer on cosmetic improvements and some minor updating, but seeing it today was quite a shock.”

      “So why not just get rid of it? Fast and easy sale, and you could be on your way.”

      “Frankly, it’ll be worth a great deal more when I’m done.” She stuffed two twenties into his hand. “And then I promise you, it won’t be dirt cheap to someone who wants a parking lot.”

      Something stirred behind the lunch counter. A moment later, a little strawberry blond preschooler rounded the corner, a rag doll clutched at her chest. From her tousled hair and drowsy eyes, she must have been asleep.

      “Hi, there,” he said, taken by her winsome expression.

      Her eyes grew wide and somber as she looked up at him. “You look like my daddy,” she whispered sadly. “But he’s dead.”

      Speechless, he stared down at her as a sudden chill made him shiver. Like my daddy…

      When his heart finally started beating again, he dredged up a ghost of a smile, then turned and walked out before his knees could give way.

      He knew the woman was watching him leave and probably thought he was crazy, but it didn’t matter. He’d stopped by with a sense of righteous indignation over the welfare of his uncle, thinking that yet another pack of troublemakers was moving into the house next door.

      Instead, he’d been taken aback by its pretty and very determined owner—and apparently had managed to get on her bad side in a matter of minutes. But none of that began to touch the searing pain that ripped through his heart at the little girl’s unexpected words.

      The strawberry blond hair…the long, silky ringlets…the dusting of freckles across her pert little nose…he’d dreamed a thousand times about just such a child.

      On long, sleepless nights, the image had often haunted him until he finally left the house and walked aimlessly through the dark streets of Detroit, half wishing that some carload of cocky young punks would pull over and challenge him with a .44 Magnum…and half wishing that he would lose. In the early days, it might have been a blessed relief to leave his guilt and pain behind.

      The child was the image of what he’d always imagined his little girl would’ve looked like—if she’d lived.

      

      DR. WALT STOOD on the front steps of the clinic and watched Joel’s pickup roar out of the driveway and head out into the country.

      “Who set that boy’s tail afire?” Loraine Gilbert, who’d been in Walt’s high school class back in the dark ages and who was one of his longtime clients, stood next to him holding a squirmy black Lab pup in her arms. “You’d swear the devil was after him.”

      “Maybe he is.” Walt tipped his head toward the place next door, where a little girl and her mother were climbing into an SUV hitched to a trailer, both with out-of-state plates.

      The young woman appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties, and she was a hard worker, lugging much of the stuff out of that trailer alone, until Joel stopped over to pitch in. “And maybe it’s time he got shook up a little.”

      Loraine snorted. “I thought you wanted to buy the place and get rid of that mess. Now you’re in for another siege.”

      “Take a good look.” He nodded toward the woman next door. “Now who does she remind you of?”

      Loraine squinted into the late afternoon sun as the SUV pulled away. “Same red hair.”

      “Same skinny build.”

      “Shorter, though. Not so tall and gangly.” Loraine shot a quick glance at Walt, as if trying to read his thoughts. “Though I guess you sort of liked ’em that way, back in the day.”

      The wistful note in her voice caught him by surprise. “Crystal was just a friend. A good friend, Lorrie. You know I never looked at another woman after my wife passed on.”

      “You should have, you know.” The pup pedaled its paws wildly until she finally put him down. He bounded to the end of his leash but then spun around and barreled back to collide with her jeans. “You would’ve had a passel of kids, and by now, you’d have a whole herd of grandkids.”

      “I just didn’t have the heart. But Joel here isn’t going to make the same mistake.”

      Loraine harrumphed, though there was now a twinkle in her eye. “I hear it’s not going so well just yet.”

      “Stubborn. That boy is plumb stubborn, but no one can outlast pure temptation—not when Texas grows the prettiest little gals you’d ever hope to see. Like you, for instance.” He chuckled at her faint blush, thankful for their years of deep, comfortable friendship. “So what about that granddaughter of yours? She available?”

      “Sissy’s only seventeen, you old goat. As you well know.” She elbowed him in the ribs, then shot a quelling glance at him as she scooped up the puppy and headed out to her truck. “Your nephew is a loner, and he’s carrying a load of trouble in that heart of his. He’s the last thing any girl needs.”

      CHAPTER TWO

      “IT’S A BIG SPIDER, Momma. Hurry!”

      With a rueful shake of her head, Beth set aside her dust mop in the bedroom and followed the sound of Sophie’s voice.

      It was hard to believe how radically life had changed. Twelve months ago, Beth had chaired a meeting of the Ladies Auxiliary League, with community beautification as the number one topic on the agenda. Afterward, she’d driven her new Escalade home to prepare steaks on the grill for Patrick’s boss and his wife. They’d dined out on the deck, where Beth had lit dozens of candles for just the right ambiance.

      Given the events between then and now, those days might have been a century ago and on a different planet.

      “Where is it, sweetie?”

      Sophie pointed upward. “In the wall. I heard him.”

      “Um…I think it’s probably another mouse.” Though she’d been setting mousetraps and sweeping spiderwebs for two days, there still seemed to be a plentiful supply. And she didn’t even want to think about the fire ants that might be outside, lying in wait on that dusty patch of grass in the backyard. “Just don’t touch anything that moves, okay?”

      Sophie nodded solemnly, her doll clutched at her chest, and a fistful of crayons in her other hand. “Do we have to sleep here tonight?”

      “Tonight’s the night, now that the new mattresses have arrived. It’ll be fun.”

      Well, maybe not fun, but after a gallon of Pine Sol and countless hours of scrubbing, at least it would be clean. Beth turned slowly around and surveyed the upstairs apartment.

      It was rather quaint, really, with its fanciful windows and hardwood floors. Just the basics—two bedrooms, a sitting room, a small kitchen and a tiny bathroom. But it seemed oddly bare without Aunt Crystal’s endless collections of dolls and curios filling every nook and cranny. And empty, without her raucous laughter and boundless joy over the smallest things.

      Sophie settled down at the kitchen table with her coloring books. “Did you come here when you were little?”

      As always, Beth turned so Sophie could see her speak. “Maybe once a year. I just loved running up the front and back sets of stairs.” She