Joanna Wayne - The Second Son

San Antonio, Texas

Two days later

Lacy Gilbraith tugged at the scrunch of white tulle. The headpiece tilted where it should have stood at strict attention, bunched up where it should have flared out. And the auburn curls piled on top of her head had already begun their escape, pulling from beneath the myriad pins the determined hairdresser had used to nail them into place.

So much for her attempts to look the part of the perfect bride. In an ideal world her groom wouldn’t notice. Unfortunately, Charles Castile always expected perfection, at least as far as appearance went.

Lacy turned away from the mirror and dropped to the edge of an upholstered chair. She glanced at her watch. In just a few minutes she’d be marching down the aisle on her way to becoming Mrs. Charles Castile. She’d thought long and hard about her decision to accept Charles’s proposal. It was the best solution for everyone. Maybe the only solution.

So why was her stomach churning, her eyes stinging?

Maybe it was because in an ideal world, she wouldn’t be sitting alone in the stuffy dressing room just off the church parlor. Her sister, Kate, would be here with her, teasing away her nervousness, joking about the wedding headdress from hell. Where was she?

Lacy dabbed impatiently at a tear that had no business making an appearance and glanced at her watch again. Ten minutes before seven. Something had to be seriously wrong. She and Kate had argued, but surely that wouldn’t keep her older sister from something as important as Lacy’s wedding ceremony.

They’d had occasional differences before, but they’d always managed to work things out. Occasional differences. Who was she kidding? Their whole lives were a series of differences. Monumental differences that had begun to develop that day so long ago when Kate had—

Lacy took a deep, steadying breath. That part of their past was far behind them. Today was a new beginning, for her and for Kate. And this time money and power would be on their side instead of stacked in opposition.

So why wasn’t Kate here?

She grabbed the phone and punched in Kate’s number again. She’d already tried it a dozen times and all she’d gotten was the answering machine and Ricky Carpenter’s recorded message that neither he nor Kate were in. She checked her beeper, but there were no calls.

A knock at the door broke into her thoughts, and Lacy’s heart rate quickened. She dropped the receiver into the plastic cradle. Kate had come after all. Pulling up her skirt and petticoats, she raced across the carpeted floor and yanked open the door. Unexpected aggravation nipped at her control.

“You’re not supposed to see the bride before the ceremony,” she said, shoving the door until all she could see through the narrow opening was Charles’s unsmiling face.

“I don’t believe in superstitions.” He wedged a foot inside the door and then pushed it open enough that he could step inside. “Besides, I wanted to be the first to see my beautiful bride in her wedding dress.” He took her hands in his, concern, or maybe chagrin, darkening his deep-set gray eyes. “Have you been crying?”

“No.”

He dropped one of her hands and tucked a thumb under her chin, nudging it up so that she couldn’t avoid making eye contact. Another rebellious tear escaped to make a liar out of her, and he grabbed a tissue and wiped the moisture from her cheek. “The church is packed with our friends and family. This is no time for second thoughts, Lacy.”

“Your family, Charles. Not mine.”

“So that’s what this is about. Kate, again.”

She pulled from his grasp and walked back to the mirror, anxiously pinning wayward curls into the topknot.

Charles stepped behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “It’s time you accept Kate for what she is.”

“She’s my sister. She’s all the family I have.”

“Not anymore. You have me. You’ll have my family, my friends. Kate won’t fit in. I’d rather not see her around here.”

She twirled to face him. “What are you suggesting, Charles? That I just drop my only sister from my life?”

He leveled her with a determined stare. “It’s a decision most sane people would have made a long time ago.”

“Then color me crazy.” Lacy knotted her fingers into painful fists. “Look, Charles, I don’t know what’s held Kate up, but she’ll be here. She wouldn’t miss my wedding. We have to wait for her.”

“Let it go, Lacy.”

“I can’t. A few minutes. That’s all I’m asking. I want Kate here when we exchange our vows. It’s the only way I can go through with this.”

He shook his head, as if he was sorry he had to refuse the request of a spoiled child. “We made a bargain.”

“And I’m trying to keep it. All I’m asking for is a little time.”

He grabbed her right arm just below the elbow, his fingers digging into her flesh. “Listen carefully, Lacy. That’s the church organ playing. The guests are seated and waiting. You will walk down the aisle.”

The phone rang. She broke from his grasp and dived for it. It had to be Kate.

“Hello.”

“Hello, Lacy.”

The voice was male, but not one she recognized. It sounded strained, muffled.

“Who is this?”

“A friend. I called to wish you the best on your wedding day. And to tell you that you are going to die very soon.”

The connection was broken before Lacy had a chance to reply, but she was shaking when she hung up the phone.

“Who was that?” Charles barked.

“No one. A crank call.”

“To a church? Some people are really sick.” He took her hand and pulled her toward him. “Let’s just forget about Kate for now. Don’t let her spoil your wedding day.”

“I won’t go through with this wedding, Charles, not unless Kate is here.”

“Kate’s attendance at the ceremony was not a part of our bargain. And I know you are not foolish enough to back out of our agreement.” He smiled into the mirror and ran his hand down the front of his tuxedo shirt, smoothing the pleats. “Now, touch up your makeup where your tears mussed your mascara. And for heaven’s sake, wipe that look of gloom from your face.”

He stepped toward the door. “The next time I see you, I’ll expect smiles. After all, this is your day.”

She stared at the door for long seconds after the back of Charles’s head had disappeared from view. Stopping by the mirror one last time, she poked a dab of cold cream on the smeared streaks of black under her eyes. The tears were gone now. She repaired the makeup and smiled at her reflection.

She’d do what she had to do. It was called survival, and both she and Kate had learned the ropes of it a long time ago. They’d just chosen different arenas in which to perfect their skills.

SHERIFF BRANSON RANDOLPH swerved his pickup truck into one of the designated parking spaces for a brick town house in an upper-middle-class area of San Antonio. The house was at the end of a row of similar structures. They backed up to a parklike space with twin gazebos, picnic areas and a pond about half the size of the Alamodome.

Even from the back entry, the building was impressive, two stories with a covered slate patio that looked more like an outdoor living room. Tables, chairs and potted palms as tall as the mesquites that grew in Burning Pear pastures. Not at all what he’d expected.

He pulled a small notebook from his shirt pocket and double-checked the address. There was no mistake. This was the residence of the woman who’d paid a gift-bearing visit to the Burning Pear three nights ago and then collapsed at his feet. Kate Gilbraith, age thirty-three.

At this point, she was still recovering in a hospital across town. The small hospital-clinic in Kelman was okay for minor emergencies and routine health care, but serious bullet wounds required a trip to one of the larger San Antonio hospitals. Kate’s injury had been complicated by a serious loss of blood.