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"About time someone stood up to that old prude," she heard someone mutter.
"He won"t even carry hair color," another said bitterly. "He says it"s for loose women."
"Maybe a little protest is still called for." Jan stared at the very nervous grocery store owner.
"Maybe a new store is called for," Sam offered cheerfully. "I"ve been looking to invest." He took Abby by the hand and started to lead her away. "Baby, I take it all back. This is so much more fun than letting Jack scare the s.h.i.t out of people. Let"s go up and down Main Street buying stuff you don"t need."
As Abby let Sam lead her triumphantly out of the store, she noticed the stock boy watching her. Their eyes met, and he held a single hand up to wave goodbye. The lovelorn look on his face was enough to make Abby giggle. It really had been worth the trouble.
The nicest salon in town was across the street.
Abby decided she needed conditioner.
Ruby Echols heard of Abigail Moore"s conquest of Main Street very quickly. She"d been taking tea in her sitting room when the phone was brought to her. Helen Talbot had been in the Winchester Salon when Abby had threatened a mult.i.tude of lawsuits if she was not offered the ability to purchase hair products. What was the world coming to when decent store owners were not allowed to select their clientele?
Ruby wanted to shake with rage as she thought about the night before. It had taken a lot out of her to start that fire. It wasn"t as if the trashy little trailer had put up much of a fight, but she had been obliged to walk through the woods in order to conceal her vehicle. A window had been conveniently left open, and some filmy curtains had been easy to set aflame. Ruby was disappointed Abby hadn"t been 141.
caught in the trailer, but she should have known the tramp would have the devil"s own luck.
It was the sight of Adam taking care of the b.i.t.c.h that had infuriated Ruby. Adam had walked up the lane and taken charge, as she had always known he would. Adam was the smart, confident one.
He was a leader. He was everything she had dreamed he would become. His body was a man"s body now. He wasn"t a boy anymore.
But he still needed a mother"s protection. He was still in that siren"s clutches, and it was up to Ruby to make sure things turned out differently this time.
Ruby"s head began to pound. Oh, she wondered, where was that youngest boy of hers? He was supposed to bring her those pills. She hadn"t taken them already, had she? Sometimes things were very confusing.
Ruby gathered the cashmere cardigan around her shoulders. The door chimes rang, and Ruby heard the housekeeper hustling to the door. She sat carefully on the antique sofa as Hillary Gla.s.s, Helen Talbot, and Miranda Knight were shown into the sitting room.
"Oh, Ruby, we heard all about it," Miranda fretted as she moved to greet Ruby.
"Did you hear the news that the tramp"s trailer burned down?"
Hillary settled herself on the early American arm chair Ruby"s great-grandmother had brought with her when the family moved from Atlanta after the War of Northern Aggression.
"Yes," Ruby murmured. "I heard about it this morning. It doesn"t surprise me. I"m sure someone was drunk at the time. I doubt that her mother had insurance. Are they at a shelter?" It suited Ruby to think of those trashy women as homeless.
"No." Helen shook her overly round head. Ruby had always thought Helen should lose some weight, but then again, her bloodlines were impeccable. One had to overlook such things at times. Now Helen"s large hands fluttered. "The rumor is she"s moved in with Jack Barnes, and they"re getting married on Thursday. Barnes called the 142 judge this morning and got the paperwork going. Can you imagine it?
Abigail Moore is going to marry the largest land holder in the county."
Ruby flushed. "No, she is not."
Helen shook her head. "I don"t know that you can stop this, Ruby.
That Barnes fellow is quite intimidating. My son has done business with him. He says the man is tough but fair. However, when he"s crossed, he can be ruthless."
"If he"s decided he wants Abigail Moore, then he"ll have her,"
Miranda p.r.o.nounced.
A plan formed in Ruby"s brain. She would drive Abigail out of town once and for all, and then Adam could come home. "Then we"ll have to convince little Abby to leave him, won"t we? I do believe I would like to get a cup of coffee at the cafe in town. I think Abigail will more than likely show up there, don"t you?"
Three hours later, Ruby smiled as a shaken Abigail Moore walked out of the cafe. It had been relatively simple to corner the girl.
Miranda had waylaid the young man escorting Abigail around with tales of car trouble. The handsome blond man had been more than willing to help out a little old lady. Abigail had been flush with her own success. She had accepted Ruby"s invitation to talk with a look of challenge in her eyes.
She wasn"t so arrogant now, Ruby thought with pride.
She had shown the little tramp what real power was. Ruby had laid out a detailed plan of how she and her friends intended to destroy Jack Barnes and his business. When they were through, his business would be in ruins. Any money Abby thought she would take from the smitten man wouldn"t be worth the trouble Ruby would put them all through.
Ruby had made it very clear that if Abby Moore didn"t leave town by the end of the day, she would make Barnes"s life a living h.e.l.l.
Ruby had no delusions that Abby loved her fiance. A gold digger like Abigail Moore wasn"t capable of love. She was a practical girl, 143.
however. She had learned her lesson the first time. She would move on and find easier prey.
Ruby sipped at the coffee. It wasn"t up to her standards, but it tasted like victory nonetheless.
144.
Chapter Eleven.
Jack rode in from the south field with a mounting sense of antic.i.p.ation. He gently prodded Ranger, his solid-brown gelding, and the horse moved easily toward the barn. It had been a long day. The south fence had several places he and Juan had been forced to replace entirely. It was hard work, but it was best to get it all done now while the weather was nice. The weather could be very unpredictable this time of year. It could get cold fast, and Jack didn"t want to be pounding fence posts in freezing temperatures.
Tipping his Stetson as he pa.s.sed one of the wives of his ranch hands, Jack contemplated his current happiness. During his lunch break, he had made arrangements for his marriage to Abigail. The thought that he would soon have an honest-to-G.o.d wife made Jack smile. He"d always thought Sam would be the one to fall in love and Jack would allow him to have the legally recognized relationship.
Loving Abby changed everything, and he thought it would be for the better. He hoped Sam wasn"t disappointed, but Jack wasn"t letting Abby have any name but his.
And she would be taking his name, he promised himself.
She had kept her maiden name when she married her first husband because she wanted to share her daughter"s name, but Lexi was a grown woman. That argument would never have worked with him.
He would have insisted on adopting Lexi and changing her name as well. He was a possessive man. He"d long ago stopped fighting it. He didn"t get close to many people in the world, but the few he did, he considered his. Sam was his. Abby was his. Jack knew it was a weird relationship, but he didn"t care.
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Jack dismounted and walked the gelding inside the barn.
He could still remember the day he met Sam like it was yesterday.
Sam Fleetwood had looked terrified. Everything the boy owned was in one suitcase and a backpack. Jack remembered thinking it was more than he"d ever had. Jack had been jealous of the kid. He looked all wide-eyed and innocent. He had an easy charm, even through his grief. Jack had known it would carry him through most things.
Jack had been sure that Fred Hall, the biggest bully in the group, intended to initiate young Sam that first evening. After lights out, it was pretty much a free-for-all as long as it was quiet. The monitor slept pretty soundly and didn"t really care what went on. Fred had tried that s.h.i.t with him, but Jack was bigger than Fred and had easily handed him his a.s.s. Jack had been vulnerable as a child, but once he"d gotten big enough to scare off people, he hadn"t been vulnerable again.
He wasn"t sure what made him get out of bed that night. It would have been easier to ignore it and continue the way he always had.
Even at fifteen he"d been sure of himself. He knew he didn"t give a s.h.i.t about anyone. It didn"t pay to care because people always let him down. The only foster parents who"d been kind to him had either died, like the elderly lady who"d called him son and made him dinner each night, or had sadly explained they couldn"t keep him anymore.
There were more people, of course, but they had other reasons beyond simple kindness for letting him into their home. He could almost forgive the ones who had beaten the c.r.a.p out of him. Jack knew he was a difficult kid. He"d certainly heard it enough. He couldn"t forgive the two who had gone further than that. So his fifteen-year-old self had decided to just never care about anyone. That way he never had to be disappointed, and he never had to share his shame.
He had lain in bed, knowing d.a.m.n well that the new kid was going to get the c.r.a.p kicked out of him. It happened all the time. The kid should get used to it. It wasn"t Jack"s place in the world to protect 146 anyone. He didn"t let anyone in, and then no one could hurt him. That had been his mantra. It hadn"t held up.
As he heard Fred walking past him, Jack had gotten out of bed and followed him. When he"d attempted to a.s.sault Sam, Jack had stopped it. He"d beaten the s.h.i.t out of Fred, and the next morning everyone deferred to him. Jack found he liked being in charge. It gave him a sense of control, and he desperately needed it.
That morning, while Jack ate his breakfast in customary silence, Sam sat down in front of him.
"What should we do today?" Sam asked.
No one had ever asked him that. He and Sam rarely spent time apart since. At first, Sam Fleetwood had clung to him like a life raft, and he couldn"t shake the kid. Later, Jack acknowledged, he didn"t want to get rid of Sam. Sam was the one who convinced him to give s.e.x another try. The woman who lived across from the group home had paid the boys to mow her lawn, and when she invited both Jack and Sam to her bed, Sam had convinced Jack they should take her up on it. It was the first hint Jack had that, maybe, he wasn"t as damaged as he thought he was. He still had fond memories of Ms. Jackson. She was kind to them both, patiently teaching them what pleased a woman. Twelve years later, after Jack had started the ranch, he had anonymously paid off the mortgage on her small house. He was a man who believed in paying his debts.
Jack forced himself to take care of his horse. He slowed down and told himself to be patient. He knew Abby and Sam were home. The Benz was in the drive. He would join them for dinner, and Abigail would talk about her day. He loved listening to her talk. She was bright and funny and could make the simplest events seem interesting.
He wondered if she knew just how under her spell he was.
"Jack!"
Jack put down the brush he was using and walked to the front of the barn. Sam was running across the yard from the big house, a panicked expression on his face.
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Something has happened to Abby, Jack thought with a sudden overwhelming fear.
The anxiety was crushing. He felt it in his chest.
"What happened to Abby?" He had no idea what he would do if she was gone. Had someone hurt her?
"She"s leaving." Sam was breathless. "I don"t know what happened. We were fine, and then she was quiet for a long time, and when we got back to the house, she said she was leaving."
"She"s leaving?" The words felt foreign to him. "She"s not hurt.
She"s just leaving?"
Sam nodded, and there was a dullness in his eyes. He looked guilty. "She says she doesn"t want to live like this. She says she"d be ashamed to tell her daughter she was with us."
It was in that moment that Jack realized once and forever that the damage done to him as a child hadn"t broken him. What happened had been awful, but now Jack knew it hadn"t robbed him of his soul, or his reaction to Abigail leaving would have been different. Deep in his heart, he wondered if love wasn"t really a selfish thing. His love for Sam had always seemed like something he depended on. He thought that if Sam left him he could cut him out of his heart and go on. Even while falling for Abigail he had told himself the same thing.
If she left, he would shrug and move on. He might hurt for a while, but he"d just build his wall again, stronger than ever before. Jack knew he should be marching up to the house and showing her the door. If she wanted to go, he"d kick her a.s.s out. She"d never really loved them in the first place.
That should have been his reaction. His heart should be hardening, but it just softened further when he realized his love was far from a selfish thing, and if Abby walked out, he"d miss her for the rest of his life.
Something had happened. Abigail loved him. She loved them both. He was as sure of it as he was his next breath. He knew her deep 148 to her soul, and he knew she wouldn"t leave without a reason. She wasn"t ashamed. She was afraid.
Jack placed his hand securely behind Sam"s neck and gave it a comforting squeeze. "She"s not going anywhere, Sam."
Abby had to make her hands stop shaking. Sam hadn"t been an idiot. He"d taken the d.a.m.n keys with him, and she had no choice but to sit here and wait for Jack. If she thought telling Sam lies was hard, she couldn"t imagine having to do it to Jack.
She had to, she thought, steeling herself.
She wouldn"t be the one who brought them down. She loved them too much to cause them the kind of trouble Ruby Echols intended. It seemed that loving Adam when she was just a kid was going to cost her everything again, and this time Abby wasn"t sure she could put the pieces together again. She would be able to move through her days, but there wouldn"t be any joy to them. She would spend every minute thinking of two cowboys and how happy she would have been.
The back door opened, and Abby felt her entire body tense. This would be an awful scene. Jack was going to be furious. He would say horrible things, and she would say horrible things right back. She had to. She had to break this relationship in a way that rendered it irretrievable.
Jack would still have Sam. She would be the one who was alone.
"Abigail." Jack"s deep voice was calm, soothing almost. It would haunt her forever.
Abby took a long breath and turned to face him, her face schooled carefully into a polite mask. "Jack, I"m sorry Sam felt the need to bother you. Look, here"s the deal. It"s been fun, but I have an offer to work in Austin. It"s exactly what I want." Let him think work was more important than them. Abby waited for Jack"s eyes to narrow. He 149.
would order her to stay, and she would tell him she couldn"t stand his arrogant, overbearing ways another minute.
"Is this job that important to you?" Jack stared at her.
"Yes." She was pleased with the firmness of her voice. Inside, she was shaking. Sam stood beside Jack looking so heartbroken she wanted nothing more than to walk to him and wrap her arms around him. Jack looked...curious.
"All right then," Jack agreed.
Abby forced herself to nod. Deep inside, she wanted to wail. She hadn"t expected that he would let her go without a fight. He was letting her walk out without so much as a goodbye, and she should be thrilled. She could leave without a scene. So why did she suddenly want to slap him? Had it meant that little to him? She couldn"t believe it.
"Do you need to leave right away?" Jack asked.
"Yes." A cold feeling was settling in her gut. Maybe he"d offer her a quick lay for old time"s sake. She knew it wasn"t fair, but she was bitter about his lack of feeling.
"Sam, pack a bag. We"ll take the Benz. Call ahead and get us a hotel suite. We"ll go house hunting this weekend."
"What?" Abby felt her jaw drop.
Jack shrugged negligently. "If this is important to you, then we"ll go."
"But the ranch..."
"Juan can handle it." Jack looked sure. There was nothing in his face that told Abby he wasn"t perfectly serious. "If Austin turns out to be the place you want to stay, then we"ll work something out. I like working on a ranch, Abby. I won"t lie to you. I love it here. I love you more."
"So do I," Sam said quietly.
Abby was shocked to her core. They were willing to leave everything she was trying to save. She couldn"t let them do it. "No."
Jack didn"t look surprised by her quiet denial. "No. Why not?"