The Lawman Returns. Lynette Eason

her? Not while I’ve got breath in my body. You won’t do this to the family.” He shot Sabrina one last bitter look, walked to the kitchen door that led to the outside and slammed it behind him.

      Silence reigned in the bright kitchen. Clay looked at his father and his father looked at him.

      “What did Abe mean by that?” his dad asked.

      “By what?”

      “About you not being willing to come home and help Steven with whatever he was working on.”

      Clay sighed. “I’ll have to explain that later.” He turned to Sabrina, who stared at the wall. The stunned expression on her face broke his heart. “I didn’t realize he would be here or I wouldn’t have brought you. I’m sorry.”

      “You don’t have anything to apologize for. I messed up. I should have done things different. I should have called.” She looked surprised at her own admission.

      He shook his head. “Come on. I’ll see you get home.”

      She blinked and pulled in a deep breath. “I want to say good night to the children, if that’s all right. I don’t want to be another adult in their lives who just disappears.”

      Clay nodded. “Of course.” He was amazed. His uncle had just been about as rude as a person could be, and she still had the children at the forefront of her mind.

      He led her to the back of the house, where he found his mother sitting on the side of the bed with the children tucked into the queen bed in the guest room. She looked up when they peered in. Worry lines creased her forehead and her mouth. Her eyes met his in question. He forced a smile. “How’s everything in here?”

      “They each have a room if they want it, but they wanted to stay together tonight.”

      Sabrina nodded. “That’s understandable for now.” She hugged the children, promising to visit soon.

      Clay gathered the empty dishes. “I’ll put these in the kitchen on the way out.”

      His mother’s hand captured Sabrina’s. “You’re welcome here anytime, my dear.”

      Sabrina bit her lip and nodded. “Thank you.”

      They walked from the room, and Sabrina seemed to be moving on autopilot. He saw his uncle’s rifle still leaning against the wall. He snagged it. Outside, he saw her shiver and tug her heavy coat tighter. She nodded at the weapon. “What are you going to do with that?”

      “Give it back to him when I have a serious talk with him.” He touched her arm. “Are you all right?”

      “Not really. I knew the story, of course. That she’d left Abe Starke at the altar. But even in a small town, it’s possible to avoid someone. I’ve never spoken to your uncle until tonight. I’ve seen him in town, but not often.”

      “He’s pretty much a hermit. His ranch borders my parents’. He and my dad help each other out whenever they need it. Uncle Abe hates going into town and only does so for the occasional doctor’s appointment or to get supplies.”

      “I’m so sorry she hurt him like that.” She sniffed and swiped a tear. “The kids certainly teased me enough about it when I was younger that I built him up to be a monster. Today I realized he’s not a monster, just a very bitter, angry man.”

      “He’s been that way all my life.” He paused, then asked, “Why would the kids tease you about it? How would they even know who your mother was?”

      She eyed him as if he’d lost his mind. “You’ve been gone a long time from here, haven’t you?”

      Clay shifted, uneasy. “Yeah, a little over ten years.”

      “Surely ten years couldn’t wipe out your knowledge of how small towns operate.”

      He felt a flush creep into his neck. “I guess the people your mother went to school with kept the stories alive.”

      “You got it in one. Nothing else to talk about around here, I guess. They warned their kids about me, told them not to associate with the daughter of a—well, I’ll let you fill in the blank. Needless to say, it wasn’t a good time for me.”

      He nodded and scuffed a toe against the ground. “I remember hearing stuff, of course, but you were six years behind me. I really didn’t pay that much attention.” And he’d been dealing with his own problems. “Who’s your father, Sabrina?”

      She barked a harsh, short laugh. “Don’t worry—it’s not your uncle.”

      He grimaced. That hadn’t been what he meant. At least he didn’t think so. “Then who?”

      She sighed, ran her hand down her face, then looked up at the sky. “Someone she met after she was engaged. Apparently, she chickened out of telling your uncle she didn’t want to marry him and chose to leave town the morning of the wedding. She later told my grandmother that she was afraid of Abe, of his hair-trigger temper. She was too scared to tell your uncle she didn’t want to get married, so she just ran. I guess she met my father shortly after that and got pregnant with me. My grandmother won’t talk about my father much, just that he died in a car wreck when I was about a year old. My mother tried to make it on her own, but she couldn’t, so she came back to Wrangler’s Corner. With me in tow.”

      “Where she became the talk of the town.”

      “Well, she didn’t exactly have a sterling reputation before she pulled the leaving-your-uncle-at-the-altar stunt. But she didn’t help things when she came back. She got into drugs, attached herself to any man who would spend money on her and landed in jail more times than I can remember.” She swallowed hard. “And she ruined any chance of a happy childhood for me.”

      * * *

      Sabrina clenched her jaw against the flood of memories. The bullying, the cruel teasing by the other children. She knew they were simply mimicking their parents, but it still hurt. Her grandmother had done her best to shelter her, but she’d never lived down her mother’s reputation Not everyone had been so awful, of course, but there had been enough of them to leave permanent scars.

      And now she knew why her grandmother had been as antsy as a cat in a roomful of rocking chairs whenever Sabrina mentioned spending time with Steven Starke. She was afraid people would talk and all the gossip would rev up again. Sabrina found herself cringing at the thought. “I want to go home.” She climbed in her car and started the engine.

      Clay tapped on her window and with a sigh, she pressed the button to lower it.

      He leaned toward her. “I’m going to follow you, make sure you get there safely.”

      “That’s not necessary. It’s a fifteen-minute ride into town, and then you’ll just have to come back.”

      “I’m following you.”

      She studied the determination in his eyes, the stubborn set to his jaw. She warmed under his gaze. He cared. Or at least she thought he did. “Fine.”

      He hefted the rifle. “Just let me walk over to my house and lock this up. Then we can go.” He started to walk away, then turned back. “One more question.”

      She lifted an eyebrow.

      “Will you get something to eat with me?”

      Sabrina blew out a small breath that was a cross between a sigh and a tired laugh. His uncle’s ugly words were still there, but they didn’t sting as much right now. “Sure.” Why not? She was hungry.

      He looked around. “I’d say let’s just eat here, but I don’t know where my uncle went or if he’s coming back, and I’d just as soon not be here if he does.”

      “I get it.” Sabrina backed out and waited for Clay to put the rifle away, climb into his cruiser and pull in behind her. She led the way from the ranch, out of the valley and onto the road that would take them into town. As she drove, her