best to ride for jumping onto trains. Grant accused him of faking it, and Buster, always bad-tempered, tried to bite him.
“If he’s not better in a couple days, we’ll have to use Bobby,” Grant told Tyler, who reluctantly agreed.
Grant also heard through the Riverbend grapevine that Christina had driven out of town to Dallas with Karen.
Seriously crazy.
Grant went to Christina’s house late in the evening to see if Christina had got back all right, but Mrs. Kaye next door told him she and Karen were staying in Dallas overnight. Didn’t Grant know that?
No, Grant hadn’t known. He thanked Mrs. Kaye politely and left.
He didn’t like this. Why Christina had taken Karen, of all people with her, was weird. Something was going on, and it badly worried him that he didn’t know what. Pissed him off, too.
He suspected Christina would only shut him out if he tried to call her, but he kept his cell phone close by, for once, in case she needed to get in touch for whatever reason. If Karen didn’t bring Christina back tomorrow, Grant would drive north to find her, shoot or no shoot.
He’d find her, bring her home, and tell her to stay in Riverbend. With him. Where they both belonged.
Driving the back highways to Dallas with Karen was a surreal experience. Also very comfortable. The BMW was cushy. Soft leather seats, climate controls, soft music. It was like floating.
Karen wanted to talk, whether Christina liked it or not.
“I fell in love with my total bastard third husband pretty hard. It was his glamour, his money—he swept me off my feet. Five years into the marriage, and I find out he had two other houses, each containing a mistress, one of whom had two of his kids. He didn’t try to marry them, at least, but he called each his wife. Nice work if you can get it. Must have cost him a hell of a lot of money, because they both lived as high on the hog as I did, but I guess he liked the power, and fooling everyone.”
“You still work with him, though, don’t you?” Christina asked, mildly curious.
“I own a company with him, yes, and two other people. I’ve invested too much money and time to walk away from that. He can buy me out if he gets tired of me. I did pretty good out of the divorce though. Stupid man never asked for a prenup, because he thought he could string me along for the rest of my life.”
“I’m sorry,” Christina said. “That must have been hard, finding out. My sister had a similar thing happen. Are all men total assholes?”
Karen glanced at her and smiled. “No, and you know it. Those Campbell boys are sweethearts. I’m glad in a way that Preston happened to me, because it put my life into perspective. I’m smart, and I’m driven. Now I focus on my career and what makes me happy. Men, I save for fun.”
“Sounds good,” Christina said wistfully. “Maybe I’ll try to live like that.”
Karen laughed in genuine mirth. “Too late for you, honey. You are madly in love with Grant, and you know it.”
Christina looked out the window at the flat plain rolling past, the stretches of ranch land, the farms in the distance. “I guess that’s obvious. But I doubt it will work out, even if this is his baby. We tried being together, and we just couldn’t without arguing all the time. We tried so hard for me to get pregnant, and nothing. It tore us apart. And now? If Grant isn’t the father, it’s going to kill him.”
“And if he is the father?”
“It will be …” Christina rested her head on the back of the seat. “So wonderful. I’ve wanted a baby for such a long time. It’s crazy complicated, but I’m so happy I don’t know what to do.” She wiped tears from her eyes—things were already hard enough without her crying all the time. “But Grant and I—I don’t know if we can make it, even with a baby. We’re not kids anymore. The hurting is adult now.”
Karen’s amusement returned. “Honey, you are so totally wrong, it’s unbelievable. You and Grant Campbell are still together. I’ve had my eye on the pair of you ever since I saw you watching him in the diner that day. If looks could kill, I’d have been minced sirloin. You two might not live in the same house anymore, but you’re a couple, sweetie, trust me. You