Unforgiven--Includes a bonus novella Read online

  Case reached out to clap Hill on the shoulder at the exact same time I reached out and grabbed a handful of his shirt. My body was moving faster than my brain, and my emotions were all over the place, making it impossible to keep up.

  “Can you come out to the farmhouse with us?” I wasn’t exactly sure why I needed him to come, but I suddenly knew I did.

  My oldest brother gave me a questioning look, and I quickly dropped my hand. I cleared my throat and reached up to tuck some of my hair behind my ear.

  “I mean, if you don’t have important investigative stuff to do. You’re practically family. I think you have as much reason as the rest of us to be there.” I felt like I might bolt out the door and not look back if he didn’t agree to come. I wasn’t supposed to rely on him anymore. He’d proved that was a bad idea in the past, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. As great as my brothers were, they didn’t make me feel like everything would eventually be okay again the way Hill did. Regardless of the past, Hill was the one I always believed would be able to fix whatever was broken. It was a lot to put on his shoulders, and totally unfair. No one could live up to those expectations, not even Hill, which was why his fall from the pedestal I’d had him on back in the day had been so heartbreaking.

  Slowly Hill nodded, all while covering up another yawn. I felt terrible. The guy needed to sleep, not to hang around as my underappreciated security blanket. But putting Conrad into the ground and saying goodbye to my complicated past forever seemed much more manageable when I knew Hill was going to be there while I did it.

  We all followed the hearse out of town in a long procession of pickup trucks. Once again my lime-green Jeep Wrangler stuck out like a sore thumb and defied convention. My father had hated the brightly colored vehicle, often referring to it as a death trap. His disdain made me love the thing even more.

  The finality of things eventually hit me as I watched my brothers, my nephew, and Hill each take a corner of the casket and start to move my dad to his final resting place. Case had picked a spot under an old cottonwood tree at the back of the property. It was far enough away from the house that a person would have to make a special trip out to pay their respects. It would keep whoever ended up living in the farmhouse from having my father’s ghost lingering right over their shoulder.

  It was a somber, serious walk to the location. I think all of us realized we no longer had to live in fear of Conrad or be oppressed by the secrets of our childhood. Our father’s transgressions were no longer our cross to bear, and maybe now we could finally grieve not only for him, but also for our mother.

  When she passed away, Conrad did his best to eradicate every trace of her from our lives. She was never spoken of, never cried over, never outwardly missed. She was snatched away and became a hazy memory before any of us could do anything about it. So while we were coming to peace with Dad being gone, we also now had the space to mourn the loss of the woman who had done her best to counterbalance all his hate.

  I didn’t realize I was crying until Aspen wrapped an arm around my waist and discreetly handed me a tissue. She also handed me a white rose and muttered, “Take your time.”

  I didn’t want to get any closer to the grave. I didn’t want to admit I was sad and maybe a little lost. I wanted to pretend none of this was happening…the same way I had when Aaron died.

  Thinking about my mom, then Aaron, as well as my father suddenly made the tight grip I had on my composure shatter. It felt like so much had been taken away from me, and it was hard to breathe through the agony of that loss.

  My shoulders shook as silent sobs racked my body. Aspen tried to pull me closer, but I jerked away, covering my face as I struggled to rein my emotions in. Both the tissue and the rose hit the ground at my feet as the flood of tears blurred everything into a hazy kaleidoscope. The sobs were no longer silent as I gasped for air and wailed at the unfairness of it all. Sure my dad hadn’t been great, but he had been mine. Sure my mom had been sick and suffering, but she’d also been mine. And Aaron, God, I’d never wanted to let him go. He was the one person I’d honestly believed would never leave me, and he was gone as well.

  Strong arms wrapped around me, and my forehead hit the center of a strong, broad chest. I knew immediately the man holding me wasn’t Case or Crew, but the man who had also lost Aaron. I liked to delude myself into thinking Hill and I had nothing in common, but the truth was, our grief was exactly the same. He was the only person who really knew what it was like to live with that gaping hole inside your heart.

  I fisted handfuls of his shirt and cried until I was hoarse and could barely stand. I felt his hand cup the back of my head, but he didn’t say anything. He simply stood there, holding me, shielding me as my feelings were finally allowed to run free. I had no idea how long we stood like that, but my knees felt weak and my throat was completely raw by the time the tears dried up.

  Wordlessly, I looked over at the now-covered grave and silently picked up the abandoned rose. I tossed it on top of the freshly dug dirt and rubbed my burning eyes with the palms of my hands. I wanted to apologize, to make up some excuse, but as always, Hill seemed to know I was at my breaking point. He didn’t question me, didn’t push.

  Instead he inclined his scruffy chin in the direction of the old farmhouse and softly stated, “You need a glass of water and a few minutes to sit down. Let’s head back to the house.”

  All I could do was nod weakly and walk next to him. I stumbled slightly and didn’t protest when his arm shot out and wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me tightly to his side. I felt like a deflated balloon. I was always so full of hot air and bluster, but it took next to nothing to break that thin shell and show just how fragile I was.

  I walked next to Hill in silence, wondering how he always had a knack of showing up just when I needed him. I really wanted to rest my head on his shoulder but held back. It was scary, really, how attuned he was to me, when all I’d ever done was push him away and throw up roadblock after roadblock when he tried to mend the wounds of our shared past. The hurt I had was comfortable. I wasn’t ready to let go of it yet, no matter how tempting unloading all my baggage was.

  “It never gets any easier.” His voice was low and I could feel the vibration where I was pressed against him.

  “What doesn’t?”

  “Saying goodbye.” He sighed, and his hold on me tightened a fraction. “I still think about Aaron every single day. I can still hear his laugh and see his smile.” Hill cleared his throat. “All these years later, whenever my phone rings, I still think it might be him. Time does help, but I don’t think it’s enough to heal some wounds. Some we just have to accept as being part of us forever.”

  I sucked in a breath and felt tears threaten once again. I swear I never cried, but lately I was like a damn faucet. I rarely talked about Aaron, and never brought him up when Hill was around. I always thought it would be too painful, too much to bear, but his words brought a flood of happy memories to the surface. Things with Aaron had been so bad at the end, I’d repressed almost everything about my time with him, including the good moments. He did have the world’s best smile, and I hadn’t thought of it in so long, and wouldn’t have if Hill hadn’t brought it up.

  I put a hand to my chest and felt my heart pounding. “I don’t know if time has helped me, but it is nice to think of happier times.”

  Hill nodded and I shut my mouth, not wanting to go any further down memory lane. I remained silent as we continued to walk. I should’ve told him he could let me go, but I didn’t.

  It took about twenty minutes to wander back to my childhood home. Hill yawned and apologized for basically sleepwalking no less than five times. I was going to bully him into bed and order him to sleep for at least twelve hours when he came to an abrupt halt as soon as we rounded the side of the run-down house.

  Coming down the long dirt road leading into the property was a flashy car, one that had no reason to be pulling up to my father’s home.

  “Isn’t tha
t a Tesla?” The question tumbled out as I instinctively put my hand on the muscled expanse of Hill’s broad back. I felt him tense at the touch.

  “It is. Does the driver look familiar?” He kept the question low as I squinted into the setting sun to see if I remembered seeing the person behind the wheel before.

  I gasped and practically pushed Hill as I exclaimed, “She does!”

  The woman driving the Tesla was the same well-dressed redhead who’d been at the viewing.

  I still had no clue what her connection to my father was, but it looked like I was about to find out.

  Chapter 6

  Hill

  I instinctively moved in front of Kody in a protective stance. She’d been on the verge of an emotional collapse not long ago, but now her entire body was vibrating with tension and anticipation. She was a wild card on a good day, but today, when her restraint was stretched thin, I could spot the impending disaster from a mile away.

  “Wait here. Let me go talk to her.” I tried in vain to keep Kody a step behind me, but she shook off my hold, stepped around me, and marched toward the now-stopped Tesla. “Kody, goddammit. If she’s involved in my case I need to talk to her. If you scare her off you’re going to set the investigation back. If you say the wrong thing…”

  It was foolish to think logic of any kind would get through to her when she had a target in her sights. She’d stopped hearing anything I had to say the minute she recognized the woman and realized she had probably been one of the last people to interact with Conrad. Kody was looking for a place to lay a whole lot of blame, and this stranger was the perfect target. The woman had no idea what she was in for.

  Kody reached the expensive car just as the driver’s door swung open. An elegant woman stepped out, looking surprisingly composed considering the way Kody was bearing down on her.

  “Who are you? What are you doing here? What do you want?” Kody barked the questions out rapid fire, coming to a halt in front of the other woman, her hands curled into threatening fists at her sides.

  The other woman didn’t even flinch. Instead she cocked her head to the side and simply stared at Kody with a look of utter disbelief slowly creeping over her features.

  She lifted a shaking hand and covered her mouth as a whispered “Oh my God” slipped out.

  When I got close enough to physically put myself between the two women, I could see why the newcomer was rendered speechless, even in the face of Kody’s unchecked fury.

  The two women looked startlingly similar when they were standing face-to-face. The redhead was slightly taller, built along leaner lines, but their eyes were the same unusual shade of bright green. They had the same tiny, upturned button nose and the same pouty, heart-shaped mouth. They also had matching freckles across the bridges of their noses and their cheeks. They weren’t identical by any stretch of the imagination, but they looked enough alike that it made me do a double take.

  I felt Kody’s hand on my back, trying to push me out of the way, as she barked, “How do you know my dad? Did you kill him?” Her voice rose with each question to the point that she was starting to sound hysterical. I knew it was only a matter of time before the rest of the Lawtons joined the party, and there was no way this woman would be able to handle all of them. If I wasn’t careful, she was going to be in the wind again, and I’d have to track her down all over. I had too many questions for her to let that happen.

  The other woman lowered her hand and cleared her throat. She blinked those startlingly green eyes and tried to peer around me to get a glimpse of Kody. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize anyone would be here. I thought the property would be empty.”

  “This isn’t your first trip out to this farm, is it?” I asked the question lightly as Kody continued to push at my back and try and slip around me. If she would calm down for five seconds, she would see there was more going on here. But she’d always been one to act first and feel bad about it later.

  The redhead clutched at the lapel of her obviously expensive blazer, which was total overkill in this heat. She blinked up at me and nervously shifted her weight on her heels. She might look similar to Kody, but the energy she put off and the way she carried herself were entirely different. Kody was a live wire, electric with all her defiance and fight. This woman was the opposite. She seemed cold as marble, like a statue. She moved deliberately, carefully, and there was an unnatural awareness surrounding her. It was a cautious alertness I’d only witnessed in fellow soldiers and police officers. She was a woman aware the situation could turn bad in a second and was prepared for the worst.

  She cleared her throat and stiffened her shoulders. Tilting her head back slightly to meet my gaze directly, she stated, “No. I’ve been here before.”

  “Son of a bitch!” The exclamation slipped out when Kody’s fist drove directly into my back, aiming for my kidney. Damn, those Lawtons knew how to fight dirty. The blow forced me to jerk to the side, leaving Kody and the stranger facing off once again. This time Kody must’ve noticed the similarities between the two of them, because a loud gasp ripped out of her, and her eyes popped open to twice their normal size.

  “Who are you?” When she asked the question this time there was less accusation in her tone and more terror.

  The other woman visibly pulled herself together. The tremor in her hand stopped, the shock in her expression slid away. Her face went expressionless and her spine stiffened. She looked untouchable. It was weird to see those eyes so like Kody’s go dull.

  This situation kept getting weirder and weirder by the minute.

  “My name is Presley Baskin.” She took a deep breath and watched Kody unblinkingly. “Earlier this month my mother passed away.” Her breath hitched slightly, and some of her polished veneer seemed to chip slightly. “It was always just she and I. I never had any clue who my father was. She never answered when I asked. In fact, she made it pretty clear she never wanted me to know his identity.”

  “No way.”

  “When I cleaned out her home after she passed, I came across the key to a safety deposit box. My mother went to great lengths to keep the identity of my father hidden, but I’m sure you can guess where I’m going with this.”

  I swore under my breath and once again put a hand on Kody’s shoulder to keep her in place. “You’re saying Conrad Lawton is your biological father.” It wasn’t so much a question as it was a statement. “You found out he was your dad and you came out to the farm to confront him.”

  The redhead gave her head a shake and sort of slumped back against the side of her car. “Yes. I found out Conrad Lawton was my father, but I didn’t come out here to confront him.” Her gaze shifted to Kody, and she sighed. “I came to apologize to him.”

  “What!?” The word burst out of Kody on a broken laugh. “Why on earth would you apologize to him?”

  The other woman sighed again and lifted a hand to rub at her forehead. I could see the way her brow furrowed and the way a flush climbed up her neck and into her face.

  “I came to apologize because my mother had been blackmailing Sheriff Lawton for years.”

  Kody shot a stunned look over her shoulder in my direction. My mind was spinning, trying to put pieces of this ever-expanding puzzle together. If this woman’s mother had been blackmailing Conrad, he would be the one with reason to kill, not the other way around.

  “Was Conrad surprised to see you when you showed up on his doorstep?” I let out a little grunt when Kody suddenly leaned back into me, as if she could no longer stand on her own strength. I wrapped an arm around her and held her far more tightly than the situation called for. I knew I would never forget the feel of her slight frame pressed along the length of mine.

  “No. He didn’t seem particularly surprised, not by my sudden appearance or by the death of my mother. She was diabetic. She developed kidney disease when I was in my teens. Her health was never the best, but she hung in there much longer than anyone expected. After medical school, I knew exactly how costly her treatmen
ts and dialysis were. When I was younger it never occurred to me to ask how we could afford it all. I started asking more and more questions as I got older. She refused to answer, which caused a rift in our relationship. When she passed away the truth finally came out.” The other woman looked at the ground. “Conrad Lawton was the only reason my mother lived as long as she did.”

  Kody’s body tensed in my hold, and I could feel the way her heart was racing. “He kept your mother alive, but did nothing while mine died. You have no idea what kind of man my father was.”

  The redhead, Presley, gave a sharp nod. “Well, considering we appear to be about the same age, which means he slept with my mother while he was still married to yours, I think I do have an idea of what kind of man he was. The day I tracked him down, he didn’t want anything to do with me. He said that it no longer mattered if his children and the town found out about me because his wife was no longer alive, he was no longer sheriff, and all his kids hated him as it was. I offered to pay back the money he’d given my mother over the years, and he laughed in my face. He told me the money was the only good deed he’d done in his entire life. And he wondered if it was enough to buy his way into heaven.”

  Kody scoffed. “That doesn’t sound like my father at all. He knew he had a special place in hell just for him.”

  I squeezed Kody closer and absently laced the fingers of my hand through hers. “Did Conrad seem stressed or out of sorts the day you visited him?”

  The woman lifted a rust-colored eyebrow and considered me silently for a long moment. Realizing I was asking pertinent questions without an introduction, I told her, “My name is Hill Gamble. I’m a longtime friend of the family, as well as a Texas Ranger. My partner and I are the ones looking into Conrad’s murder. We actually tried to track you down in Ivy, but heard you took a leave of absence from work.”