Linda Warren - A Texas Child

Pop immediately followed. “That’s a truckload of bullshit. What’s wrong with you?”

Hurt feelings. Hurt pride. Hurt until he didn’t want to feel it anymore. But, of course, Levi didn’t say that to his grandfather.

“Nothing. Some cases I take. Some I don’t. It’s my choice.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Pop pulled out a chair and sat facing him. “Do you know how old you were when I could tell you were hiding something?”

Levi didn’t reply, just kept checking his in-box.

“You were about seven, I think. I was called to the school about you, Ethan and Carson fighting with the Wilcott boys. Your dad was at a cattle auction and your mom worked in Austin, so I had to go. I asked you who started the fight and you stonewalled. You know what that is?”

“Pop, I’m not seven years old anymore, and if I don’t want to talk about it, I’m not. And yes, I know what stonewalling is.” He clamped his jaw tight and stared at his grandfather.

“Yep, that’s it. When you do that, I know you’re hiding something.”

Levi leaned back in his chair. “Pop, don’t you have something to do? Check on your cows? Or visit Walt?”

“Aw, I’m not going over to Walt’s no more. He’s keeping the baby and you can’t make any noise. Hell, I’m old. I make noise. What’s Ethan and Abby thinking, letting Walt keep that baby?”

Levi, Ethan and Carson had grown up like brothers in the small town. Walt, Ethan’s dad, and Pop were best friends but sometimes it was hard to tell that by talking to them. Carson’s dad had passed away last year, but not before wreaking havoc with Carson’s life. Through it all, Carson had managed to find happiness with Jena. Both his friends were married with families. He was the lone bachelor.

“Do you know Abby milks herself?”

“What?” That grabbed Levi’s attention.

“Yeah. Walt has it in his refrigerator. I almost drank it. He said Abby leaves it for the baby. Beats me why she’d want to do that. I don’t understand young women.”

“It’s called a breast pump, Pop, and women have been using it for years. One of these days, you’re going to have to start living in the twenty-first century.”

“Like hell. I’m not using that cell phone you got me, either. If I want to talk to someone, I’ll use the phone in the house.”

“I bet Walt uses his.”

“Hell, yeah. Abby calls ten times a day to check on the baby and so does Ethan. If the baby farts, they want to know about it.”

Levi wanted to laugh and he wasn’t in a laughing mood. “Did you take your blood pressure pill this morning? You’re grouchier than usual.”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“Well, you’re rambling. I don’t know what the subject is anymore.”

His grandfather nailed him with one of those I-know-you-boy looks. “Who’s the fancy lady?”

“Someone I knew a long time ago.” He didn’t bother to stonewall or lie.

“Thought so. Someone took her child?”

“No.” He gave him a short version of the story Myra had told him because he knew Pop would keep jabbing until he drew blood.

“That bastard beat his girlfriend into a coma and took her baby? And it’s Stuart Stevens’s daughter?”

“That’s about it.”

Pop tapped the table with his arthritic knuckles. “You can be packed and on the road in ten minutes.”

“I told you I’m not taking the case.”

“Why not? It’s Stu’s grandson and his life is in danger.”

“I’m not the only P.I. around.”

“You’re the only one who can find him in less than twenty-four hours and it looks like that little boy doesn’t have much time.”

“Pop...”

“Wait a minute. How do you know this woman?”

Levi tried hard not to grit his teeth. “I met her when I was a cop.”

“Is she the woman you were holed up with for about six months?”

“We weren’t holed up. I moved into her apartment.”

“Same thing. It was like you were in heat or something. You couldn’t come home. You had to be with her and then all of a sudden it just fizzled out.”

“Yep.” He wasn’t talking about this with his grandfather.

“So what happened to all that heat?”

“Like you said, it fizzled out.”

“Mmm. So what’s the problem?”

“I’m not getting involved with her again.”

Pop scratched his gray head. “Some of my brain cells nap, some of them have just plain dried up, but the ones that are working are confused as hell. The woman is just asking you to take the case. I don’t see a problem. Oh, is this about Valerie? You sure as hell don’t want to mess that up. She’s making pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy tonight. I’m not eating all day.”

Levi closed his computer and got to his feet. While Pop was on another subject, he decided to make his escape. “I’m going into the office.”

Pop frowned so deep his forehead looked like road ruts. “Wait a minute. We’re not through talking.”

“I am.”

Pop pointed a gnarled finger at him. “If something happens to that boy, you’ll never forgive yourself. I know you just as well as I know myself. You’re a P.I. It’s a job. Valerie will understand because she loves you, and if she don’t trust you, well, then, son, you ain’t got a thing.” Pop pushed to his feet. “Now I’m gonna go drive my tractor and push some dirt around just for the hell of it, and if I feel like it, I might plant some winter coastal for my pain-in-the-ass cows.”

It’s not about Valerie. But explaining that to Pop would take more patience than he had right now.

Levi took a quick shower, pushing Myra to the back of his mind. She wouldn’t stay there, though. Yanking on jeans, he tried to figure out what he was so angry about. She had some gall coming out here and destroying his peace. Grabbing a shirt out of the closet, he paused.

He was overreacting.

This wasn’t about Valerie. This wasn’t about Myra. It was about him and his damn pride. Myra had taken a strip of it and crushed his heart. It wasn’t easy to trust again and let a woman back into his life. He loved Valerie and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, so his anger was out of place.

Slipping his arms into a white shirt, he thought about his parents. They’d had a crappy marriage. His father had been a cowboy rancher and his mom was a city girl. They’d fought all the time. It had come to an end when his father was killed in a car/truck accident when Levi was nine. His mom had moved them from the ranch to Austin. Levi hated the city and had begged to live with his grandfather. That hadn’t happened until his mom met someone else, a short six months later. They’d moved to Virginia and Levi refused to go, so his mother relented and allowed him to stay with his grandfather. After that, Levi had minimal contact with his mom and his sister. They visited every now and then, but they felt like strangers.

He was well aware he had a trust issue with women. He blew out a breath and admitted that maybe a part of him was never going to get over Myra. That was a long way from doing her a favor, though.

But what about Stu?

Opening his sock drawer, he pulled out a pair. Unable to stop himself, he reached into the back corner where he had a single sock stored. He sat on the bed with it in his hand and dumped out the object that was inside—a ring box. Flipping open the top, he stared at the solitary diamond he’d planned to give Myra that weekend long ago.

He wasn’t sure why he’d kept the ring. Maybe as a reminder of the pain she’d caused him. Putting it back in the drawer, the anger left him. He’d learned from his affair with Myra. No one was perfect. Certainly not him. He didn’t hate Myra. He’d hated what she’d done to his pride. It was a man thing. But he was tough and she’d made him tougher. It reinforced his decision not to get involved with her again—even if it was business.