One Night with a Cowboy - Sara Richardson Page 0,116

an angry landlord and Jessica’s mom, who’d already paid the rent, no matter what the landlord said.

Their little family had mattered to Mavis Long, and she had mattered to them.

Dang it. The tears started up again.

The service was over, and people were lining up to pay their respects to the family, so Jessica went to the back of the alcove to wait it out. She’d leave as soon as she thought she could get away without having to talk to anybody.

Mavis’s only son, Senator Wade Long, who’d once been the sheriff of Verde County, stood on the front row accepting condolences. Jessica shivered and ran her hands up and down her arms. She’d known he would be here, but she was nothing to him. He wouldn’t recognize her, and even if he did, what could he do?

Wade Long was the reason she and her mom had been forced to leave Big Verde. Her mom had been pregnant with Wade’s baby. Pregnant with Hope.

Back then, Wade had his sights on the Texas legislature, and although he and his wife were well on their way to divorce, he couldn’t have his constituents knowing he’d fathered a child with an undocumented immigrant.

To this day, as far as Jessica knew, nobody had ever found out. Well, almost nobody. Mavis Long had discovered the secret.

Jessica sniffed and willed a new tide of tears away. She’d never forget opening the door of their sparse little apartment in Houston to see Mavis Long standing there, hair perfectly coifed, demanding to see her only grandchild. She’d only wanted to know if Hope’s financial needs were being met. She hadn’t intended to have a relationship with her…to be a grandma.

But one look at chubby little two-year-old Hope had melted Mavis’s resolve. She’d lost a bit of her stiff-spined composure at the sight of Hope’s sweet almond-shaped eyes, and she’d lost 100 percent of her heart.

Jessica hadn’t known her hardworking mom was undocumented. Not until Wade Long threatened to have her deported if she ever told a soul. He ordered her to leave Big Verde and never come back.

Nothing had ever been the same again. Ever since that day, Jessica had lived her life with the fear that her world could dissolve at any minute. And she’d never dared to dream of coming home to Big Verde. Not if there was even the slightest chance that Wade would make good on his threat and her mom would be deported.

But now her mom was dead. And Mavis was too. Wade Long couldn’t do anything to her family. But Jessica’s hands wouldn’t stop trembling.

A short blond woman came zigzagging through the crowd. She was heading Jessica’s way, face lit up by a smile.

“Jessica! Hi!”

It was Maggie Mackey. Jessica had always liked her. She’d been a tomboy who didn’t care what people thought. Jessica had cared what everybody thought, so she had admired Maggie’s attitude.

There was a ring on her finger. Who had she married?

Dang it. She was already falling into the small-town pattern of wondering about other people’s business.

“What are you doing here?” Maggie had always gotten straight to the point. No polite chitchat for her. “How long are you staying?”

“Not long. I’m just here for Mavis’s funeral.”

Maggie cocked an eyebrow but didn’t question her further. “I hope you’re coming to the reception. It’s at the Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. Everyone would love to see you.”

“Oh, I don’t know—”

Leaving Big Verde had been traumatic. It had taken years to get over it. Why rekindle old relationships? She was heading back to Houston—where nobody knew or cared about your business—on Monday. Houston had never been much of a home, but the anonymity it allowed was good for keeping secrets.

“Well?” Maggie asked, hands on hips. “Are you coming or not?”

“Of course she’s coming,” Casey said.

Where had he come from? And why wasn’t he up at the line with the rest of the family? Casey was acting as if he was afraid to let her out of his sight. Strange behavior for a man who’d never once tried to find her after she’d left Big Verde.

“Look who’s hovering about,” Maggie said with a grin.

Was Casey blushing? Her own cheeks felt a bit warm. Holy crap, was she blushing? She thought she’d prepared for the inevitable reunion with Casey. She’d spent the last four days fortifying her emotional shields, but all it took to decimate them was a smile and a slight blush from Sheriff Long.

Heck, her shields had disintegrated as soon as she’d heard his