Linda Warren - All Roads Lead to Texas

“I knew who you were the first moment I saw you. You favor Glynis. She was very beautiful.”

“You knew who I was?” Callie gasped.

“Yep. Been waiting a lot of years to see that face, but when I finally got my chance, I guess I acted like a coward. I couldn’t tell you who I was. Didn’t think you really wanted to know, but I kept coming here just to get a glimpse of you.”

Callie’s hands trembled and tears stung the back of her eyes. “You’re the reason I came to Homestead with the kids. Glynis said you were probably dead, but I had to know for sure.”

“How is Glynis?” her father finally asked.

Obviously Wade wanted Callie to be the one to tell her father the truth. Telling another person could jeopardize their safety, but when Callie looked into her father’s eyes, she knew she could trust him. So she told him their story.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Homestead, Texas. Never heard of it? Well, you’re in for a treat. This is the third book in a series called HOME TO LOVELESS COUNTY. The books, about a fictional town in the Texas Hill Country, are written by Roxanne Rustand, K.N. Casper, Roz Denny Fox, Lynnette Kent and me. I had a great time brainstorming with these wonderful authors. Please don’t miss any of these exciting stories!

To save the dying town of Homestead, the mayor comes up with a land giveaway program. New residents arrive weekly in search of a new beginning, a new life.

Callie Lambert was born in Homestead, and when she needs a safe hiding place, she returns to her roots as an applicant for the Home Free Program. But Callie is a fugitive. She’s kidnapped her brother and sisters from an abusive stepfather. Now all she has to do is stay hidden until her case can be heard.

To do that she has to avoid the handsome sheriff, Wade Montgomery. But he keeps checking on Callie and the kids, and against her better judgment she’s drawn to the tall, lanky Texan. What will Wade do when he discovers her secret? Turn the page and find out!

I hope you enjoy your visit to Homestead, Texas.

Warmly,

Linda Warren

It’s always a pleasure to hear from readers.

You can e-mail me at Lw1508@aol.com or write me at P.O. Box 5182, Bryan, TX 77805 or visit my Web site at www.lindawarren.net or www.superauthors.com. Your letters will be answered.

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To the other authors of the

HOME TO LOVELESS COUNTY series,

Roxanne Rustand, K.N. Casper, Roz Denny Fox

and Lynnette Kent. It was a privilege and a joy to work

with you, even during those times of panic. Thanks for

making the newbie feel right at home. And to our editors,

Paula Eykelhof, Laura Shin, Kathleen Scheibling and

Victoria Curran, for keeping us focused and on track.

Mitch Siegert, executive chef, thanks for answering all my questions so patiently. Wayne Landry, thanks for sharing your colorful friends with me. Ladies in my aqua therapy group, thanks for your encouragement and support on this book.

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

SHAFTS OF LIGHT pierced the darkness, illuminating a stretch of foggy grayness. Callie Lambert drove on and on, putting miles behind her. Up ahead loomed the unknown, the unfamiliar. Her hands clasped the steering wheel with a death-like grip and her stomach roiled with the enormity of her actions. She was on the run. A fugitive. She’d kidnapped her brother and sisters and could be arrested at any minute.

Those facts kept her focused, cautious and half-crazed with fear. What if she was caught? The kids would be returned to their abusive stepfather. And Callie would go to jail.

She wasn’t worried about herself. It was the kids. She was their big sister and she’d do anything, go through anything, to protect them. But tangible fear throbbed at the back of her mind like a persistent toothache as she waited for the wail of a siren.

Raindrops splattered the windshield and she turned on the wipers. Their hypnotic action calmed her nerves and steadied her resolve. She thought of her mother and anger stirred in her breast. How could Glynis do this to them?

The past swept through her mind with each swish of the wipers. Glynis had left Callie’s father when Callie was barely five and had become a waitress in a hotel restaurant in Houston. She’d struggled to make ends meet. Then Glynis met John Lambert, a wealthy stockbroker, and their lives changed for the better. John was twenty years older than Glynis, but Callie liked him. When Callie was twelve, Glynis married John and they moved from Houston to New York City. John adopted Callie and life was better than she’d ever known.

She was always his oldest child. John never made a distinction between Callie and his own children and she loved him all the more for that. A year ago, he was diagnosed with colon cancer and it was a sad time for all of them. During the last month of his life, he had nurses around the clock, but Glynis only left his bedside to sleep.

After his death, Glynis decided to take a cruise for a much-needed rest and Callie gladly offered to care for her young siblings. It was a shock when Glynis returned home with a brand-new husband, Nigel Tremont, who was twelve years her junior. And it was an even greater shock when Glynis was killed in an auto accident three months later, leaving Nigel as sole guardian of the children and executor of her estate.

Despite the enveloping fog of grief and loss, Callie knew one thing for certain—Nigel was after her mother’s money. He’d somehow convinced Glynis to change her will—whoever had custody of the children had control of the money. But how could she prove it?

Two months ago, Callie received a frantic call from her eleven-year-old half brother, Adam. He, nine-year-old Brittany and six-year-old Mary Beth were scared to death. Mary Beth had wet the bed and woken up crying, wanting Callie. Nigel had hit her with a belt and made her sleep in the soiled bed. When Nigel went to his room, Adam sneaked Mary Beth into his, then he called Callie from the den so Nigel wouldn’t hear. She told him to lock Brit, Mary Beth and himself in the bathroom until she got there.

She met the police at her mother’s home and to her horror, found they could do nothing. They said there was no evidence Nigel was abusing the kids and it was clear that the children needed time to adjust to their mother’s death. The kids were so frightened they wouldn’t say a word.

The police warned Nigel about hitting the children and said a complaint would be filed with Child Protective Services. This was standard procedure. Callie was asked to leave the house. She refused and was forcibly removed, even though Mary Beth was clinging to her. At that moment, she knew she’d have to fight to get them out of Nigel’s clutches.