One Tough Texan

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Well at least he took a hint. Or so she thought. Until he got up, moved to the bathroom and then returned with the first aid kit he’d stashed there last night.

“I’m not the most agreeable person before coffee and I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot this morning,” she started but he interrupted her. He was trying to help and, although that grated on her, she also realized how nice it was to have a friend.

“Letting me clean and bandage your wound doesn’t make you dependent on me, or weak.” He spoke slowly as though he didn’t want to leave any question about his intentions. There was also a sharp edge to his voice.

“I never said it did,” she protested but he was already by her side, kneeling down. And if it wasn’t for those intense green eyes of his she’d stop him right there.

“Then lift up your shirt and quit being a baby about it,” he dared.

Alice did and then took a sip of coffee, realizing for the first time in weeks just how tired she was. Her still-foggy brain wasn’t helping with her disposition. The caffeine was starting to make headway toward clearing it. As it was, she’d been running on power bars and adrenaline, and even though she’d slept like a champ last night she knew it barely scratched the surface of what she really needed. Careful not to hurt her already aching side, she tried to stretch the kinks out of her arms and legs.

“I need to come up with a new plan,” she said on a heavy sigh, not sure why she was confiding in the cowboy.

“Since I have no confidence in your plan-making abilities, I’m willing to offer my services,” he said with a smile.

“Great. Thanks for the confidence,” she said and then laughed. The cowboy had a point. And a great smile. “I guess I can see where I might look a little crazy from someone else’s point of view.”

“Desperate or determined are probably better words. I just don’t want you to get yourself killed in the process,” he said. Maybe it was too early in the morning and Alice’s brain hadn’t fully engaged but the deep timbre of his voice sent sensual shivers down her back. “Why don’t you tell me what you’ve done and where you’ve been so far? We can go from there.”

Alice took another sip of coffee and then leaned her head against the headboard. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Okay. Let’s see. Isabel went missing six weeks ago.”

“And we’ve already determined that she’s not a disappear-with-a-band type,” he said with another endearing half smile.

“She’s more of a Taylor Swift person,” Alice said, wishing she could return the smile. Just talking about Isabel made her heart ache.

“When did you realize she was gone?” He said the last word quietly and his reverence was duly noted and appreciated.

“We were supposed to meet at Lucky Joe’s Café right after school. She didn’t show.” Alice took another sip and opened her eyes.

“Is that when you realized something was wrong?”

“No. Not right away. I called her first and her phone went straight into voice mail. I thought maybe she got tied up with a teacher. She’d been stressing over her upcoming exams and didn’t feel prepared. The whole semester had been stressful. I thought maybe she was biting off more than she could chew. She’s a motivated student and she signed up for AP World History, Pre-AP Chemistry, Pre-AP English, and Pre-AP Algebra 2. Even though she speaks fluent Spanish, she signed up for AP French.”

“Sounds like an intense load,” he said. “I think I took one AP class before graduating.”

“Times have changed. Kids push themselves harder these days. Isabel wanted to get a college scholarship and she had no athletic ability.”

“So, she had to push herself that hard?” His dark brow arched.

“She thought she did. Her parents didn’t leave her any money and she didn’t have any other family in the US. The rest of her family is poor and live in Mexico. Conditions are worse there. She wanted to stay in the States and make a better life.”

“Why don’t you sound convinced?”

“Part of it was true. I do think she wanted to make a better life for herself but I also believe she was pushing herself so hard because she wanted to keep busy. Not deal with the fact that her parents were gone or that her foster parents didn’t care. She and her parents were close-knit and I could see how much she missed them.” An emotion passed behind the cowboy’s eyes that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. He didn’t say anything, so she kept going. “She’d been spending a lot of extra time at school, going to tutoring early in the mornings and staying late so I figured she forgot about our plans.”

“And you’re sure that’s all she was doing?” the cowboy asked.

Alice shot him a look.

“Whoa. Don’t get mad at me. I have to ask and you know it.” He put his hands up in the surrender position, still gripping his coffee with his right. “Don’t mind me. I’m just a rancher.”

Alice noted that he seemed to be pretty darn good at asking questions for someone claiming to work on a ranch. A simple life sounded damn amazing to her at this point. Was there a place she could get away with Isabel and the twins? Away from the world and all the stressors it contained? Or did a place like that even exist? Alice was anxious and that was the only reason she was thinking about escaping. The truth was that she loved everything about her job except for the guilt that came with making a critical mistake. When she had a bad day, someone could die.

The thought sat bitterly on her chest.

“Isabel didn’t have a lot of friends. Her school counselor said she’d always been a shy, bookish girl. She never got into trouble.”

“Did she have any friends?”

“No one close. She liked school and turned all her homework in on time.”

“You mentioned that she was feeling overwhelmed with her studies,” he said.

“Well, yeah, wouldn’t you? She was pushing herself too hard and I told her that I thought she should lighten her load,” Alice said.

“How did she respond?”

“She agreed with me. But the school wouldn’t let her change out of her Pre-AP classes until the end of the semester. She was worried about her GPA dropping in the meantime, so she started going to all available tutoring sessions,” Alice defended.

“Which is the reason you didn’t think too much about her blowing off a meeting with you?” he asked.

“I should’ve realized she was in trouble or that something had happened right then. She was dependable. I should’ve known that she would’ve shown if she’d been able to.” Alice couldn’t hold back the tears threatening any more than she could stop the heavy feeling pressing down on her chest. “I should’ve sounded the alarm right then and maybe we would’ve found her before she was taken out of town.”

“Hold on there a second,” the cowboy said. “Had she ever missed a meeting with you before?”

“Well, yes. Once or twice at midterms,” she supplied, trying to tamp down her guilt before it overwhelmed her and tears flooded.

“So, this time was no different than before. Experience had taught you that when Isabel got stressed she could get distracted like any normal human being, let alone a fifteen-year-old.” His words stemmed the flow of tears burning the backs of her eyes.

“I guess you’re right. I just keep replaying that day over and over again in my mind trying to figure out what I could’ve done to stop all this from happening in the first place,” she admitted, unsure why she was dumping the truth on a complete stranger. Maybe it was easier to confess her sins to someone she didn’t know and would never see again once she left Bluff, Texas.

“Unless you have some kind of crystal ball that’s not possible.” His tone was matter-of-fact.

She took a minute to let those words sink in.

The cowboy spoke first. “When did you realize she was missing?”

“Not until the next morning when her foster parents called, Kelly and Bill Hardings. Kelly assumed that she’d gone home with me to spend the night. When the school called the next morning to say she didn’t show up, they called to find out what was going on.”

“Sounds like they cared about her,” he said and she could tell he was reaching for something positive out of the situation.

“I think they were more worried about them looking bad to the state. They’d already talked to her caseworker about having her removed from their house and replaced with someone younger,” she said, frustration rising.

“Why would they do that? She sounds like the perfect foster kid. Studied hard. Got good grades.”

“She’s also fifteen, which pretty much means moody and self-absorbed. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a great kid. But teenagers aren’t exactly the easiest people to deal with. Plus, Isabel still hadn’t gotten over missing her parents so she didn’t really open up to them like they’d hoped.”

“Why take her on in the first place? They had to know what they were getting into.”

“I’m not sure they did. They were new. After reading her file I think they thought she’d be a good way to get their feet wet with foster care. And then when she didn’t bond with them right away they got discouraged.” Alice knew that scene a little too well.

“I don’t understand that thinking. I mean, either you want to help or you don’t. These are human beings we’re talking about not pieces of furniture.” She appreciated the outrage in his tone because she felt the same way.

“The caseworker said the couple is asking for someone quite a bit younger next time.” Alice bit back her anger. “Isabel is a good kid and she doesn’t deserve any of this.”