in jail and throw away the key had kicked off a rebellious streak in him that he’d never known existed.
Or maybe it had started before that….
Again, the judge voiced what Sam was thinking.
“I went easy on you back then, son, on account of your losing your daddy.” He frowned and shook his head. “Too easy, perhaps. You made life hell for your mama, you know.”
Sam nodded.
“But your daddy was a good friend of mine. I owed it to his memory—and to Sharleen—to allow you the chance to straighten up. I’m glad you took me up on it—” he glared again “—even if it was in your own good time.”
“I was…mixed-up back then, Judge.”
The man snorted. “Well, that hasn’t changed much, has it? Sam, I’m not rightly sure what’s going on between you and that young lady. But it’s not sounding to me like you two are getting along.”
“We’re managing,” he said as easily as he could, fighting not to break into a sweat again.
The judge looked doubtful. Was the man going to renege on the six weeks he’d allowed them and make his decision right now?
Had Sam lost his daughter already?
He wouldn’t go down without a fight. He wouldn’t go down at all. “We’ve been out around town today, having Becky meet a lot of the townsfolk.”
“That’s good. That’s very good.”
Sam elaborated, detailing the story of their travels. It seemed to appease the judge. His goal accomplished, Sam didn’t waste any time getting out of the courtroom.
If only his words could have that effect on other people.
On one woman in particular.
As he headed back up Signal Street toward the market, he thought again of the judge’s earlier statement. The one he’d made about people only knowing what others wanted to tell them.
And not tell them, Sam should have added.
Like the news Ronnie had never bothered to share with him.
Still, the judge’s remark had started a question that kept circling around in Sam’s brain, big and bothersome as a green-eyed horsefly.
No one knew better than he did that Ronnie couldn’t shoot straight with a story if she tried. So how could he blame Kayla for falling for her sister’s lies?
THE AFTERNOON HAD GOTTEN hotter and stickier as it went on. Kayla swept her hair off the back of her neck to cool it. From her seat on the top porch step, she watched Becky play with her friend, Pirate.
Sam had met them at the market as planned, though he didn’t say a word about his time with Judge Baylor. In fact, he’d barely said a word about anything.
Thank goodness she’d had the rental car outside the café. She would never have made it back to the ranch if she had been forced to share Sam’s pickup truck. To tell the truth, the tension between them made her want to run.
Only the knowledge that she couldn’t take Becky with her kept her from leaving town altogether.
She wasn’t going anywhere without her niece.
Once they arrived back at the house, the minute they unpacked the groceries, Sam had disappeared into his office, where Sharleen had set herself up at his desk, her foot propped on a stool, to use the computer.
Eager to be away from both mother and son, Kayla had followed Becky into the backyard.
Her face flushing—and not just from the heat of the day—she sagged against the porch railing.
Why had she blurted out that accusation against Sam? Why hadn’t she refused to go talk with the judge? She’d have been so much better off. Yet, that wouldn’t have been fair to Sam.
Long ago, Ronnie had made her promise never to breathe a word of what she’d been told to anyone. And now that Kayla had accused him of such a terrible act, she had learned all too clearly why Ronnie had sworn her to secrecy. She had lied.
As Kayla had also accused Sam of doing.
Across the yard, Becky and Pirate disappeared behind the barn. They liked to walk—and, in the puppy’s case, sniff—their way around the huge building. It always took a while.
Still agonizing over what she had done, Kayla dropped her head onto her upraised knees and groaned. How could she ever make up to Sam for the way she had treated him?
Her throat tightened as if to prevent her from saying the words aloud. Her head spun, and again, it wasn’t due to the heat, but from all the thoughts whirling in her mind. Now that she had learned the truth about Ronnie’s injuries, she had to question everything Ronnie