Carolyn Davidson - Texas Lawman

“She wouldn’t listen. He can be charming when he wants to be, and Sierra was easy to fool. She could have had any number of men if she hadn’t been so besotted with Lester.” Sarah shook her head, and her eyes lost their brilliance. “She was sorry from the first day she married him. I don’t know why she stuck it out for so long, except that she got pregnant right away.”

“Was that reason enough?” Brace asked bluntly. “Couldn’t she have gone home?”

Sarah shook her head. “Not in a town like we lived in. My mother is the head of the garden group and my father is a town councilman. Walking away from her marriage was not an option. Besides, by then Lester had stolen money from my father’s company and the bank was after him. My folks felt disgraced by the whole thing.”

“I’d say it was more of a disgrace to have to plan her funeral,” Brace noted.

Sarah’s eyes rose to meet his. “You’re right. They knew. No matter that they pretended to go along with Lester’s story about someone lying in wait for Sierra, my parents knew what really happened. Lester probably didn’t mean to kill her. My parents didn’t want that sort of scandal to taint their reputations. They’d covered up her injuries for years.” She paused and shrugged. “I know they mourned her terribly, and I suspect they felt guilty. They tried to make amends by taking Stephen into our home. They were good to him, and between us, we took care of him until the day Lester made off with him.”

“I sure as hell hope they went to court to make Lester pay for what he did, not only stealing from your father, but his part in your sister’s death,” Brace muttered darkly. “And now Lester is after you. The man must be demented.”

Her sidelong glance held a touch of macabre humor, he thought, as did the words she spoke. “To want me? Thanks a whole lot.” How she could still scrape up that small amount of humor in her situation gave him a glimpse into her mind. She was a woman of courage, and given a fair chance could have held her own against a man of Lester’s ilk.

She was also considerably older than he’d guessed at first. Twenty-four, if he’d figured right, if it had been eight years since Lester’s proposal. She was old enough to know her mind. And that made her more eligible as a woman in his eyes, a thought he set aside for future consideration.

The situation she faced at this point reeked of danger and duplicity. Her safe haven right now was here, with him, Brace decided. And he’d see to it she and the boy came to no harm. Although where that would leave him, once this thing was resolved, was a question he’d rather not consider right now.

Suddenly the thought of Sarah Murphy walking away and leaving him alone again held no appeal whatsoever.

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