“Afraid not.”
“We’ll get in anyway.”
She cocked her head and pursed her lips. “Tell me not to ask why you know how to break in someone’s house.”
Caleb cracked a smile as he rubbed his temples. “Misspent youth. Besides, some secrets a man takes to his grave.” He chuckled. “I’ve been thinking. You have any idea if Noah’s father knew about him?”
Katherine heaved a sigh, twirling her fingers through Claws’s fur. “I should but don’t. My sister’s relationships were complicated. Especially ours.”
“Families can be tricky,” Caleb agreed.
“When our parents got in the car crash my freshman year of college, I resented having to come home to take care of her.” Katherine dropped her gaze. “I probably made everything worse. Did everything wrong.”
“Not an easy situation to be thrown into.”
Katherine’s lips trembled but no tears came.
“Leann had always been something of a free spirit. Her life was lived without a care in the world. I was the one who stressed over grades and stayed home on Friday nights to study or to help out around the house. My parents owned a small business and worked long hours. I was used to being alone. Leann, on the other hand, was always out with friends. The two of us couldn’t have been more opposite. Sometimes I wished I could have been more like her. Instead, I came down on her hard. Tried to force her to be more like me.”
“You had no choice but to be serious. Sounds like you were the one who had to grow up.” She was a survivor who coped the best way she could.
“What about your parents?” She turned the tables.
“My mom was a saint. The man who donated sperm? A jerk. Dad, if you can call him that, didn’t treat my mother very well before he decided to run out.” Caleb’s story was the same one being played out in every honky-tonk from there to the border. “I rebelled. I was angry at her for allowing him to hurt her when he was here. Angry with myself for not jumping in to save her. Mom worked herself too hard to pay the bills. Didn’t have insurance. Didn’t take care of her diabetes. Died when I was fifteen.” The familiar stab of anger and regret punctured him.
“Did you blame yourself?”
“I know a thing or two about feeling like you let someone down. Only hurt yourself with that kind of thinking, though. I found the past is better left there. Best to focus on the here and now. Do that well and the future will take care of itself.”
“Is that your way of saying I should let go?”
“I did plenty of things wrong when I was a child. You could say I was a handful. Dwelling on it doesn’t change what was.”
She studied the room. “Looks like you’re making up for it now.”
Pride filled his chest. “Never felt like I belonged anywhere before here.” He’d been restless lately though. Matt had said Caleb missed having little feet running around. The wounds were still raw from Cissy leaving. Another reason he should keep a safe distance from the woman curled up on his favorite chair. She looked as though she belonged there. “TorJake is a great home.”
“I love the name. How’d you come up with it?”
“My first big sale was a beautiful paint horse. The man who’d sold him to me when he was a pony said he tore up the ground like no other. He’d been calling him Speedy Jake. I joked that I should enter him over at Lone Star Park as ToreUpTheEarthJake. Somehow, his nickname got shortened to TorJake, and it stuck. Had to geld him early on to keep his temperament under control. He had the most interesting, well-defined markings I’ve ever seen. Sold him to a bigwig movie producer in Hollywood to use filming a Western. The sale allowed me to buy neighboring farms and eventually expand to what I have now.”
“Was it always your dream to own a horse ranch?”
“I figured I’d end up in jail or worse. When I landed a job at my first working ranch, I fell in love. A fellow by the name of Hank was an old pro working there. He taught me the ropes. Said he saw something in me. He never had kids of his own. Told me he went to war instead. Became a damn good marine. Special ops. He taught me everything I know about horse ranches and keeping myself out of trouble.”
“Where is he now?”
“He passed away last year.”
“I’m so sorry.” Her moment of distraction faded too fast, and he knew what she was thinking based on the change in her expression. “You don’t think they’ll hurt him, do you?”
He ground his back teeth. “I hope not. I don’t like this situation for more than the obvious reasons. This whole thing feels off. Your sister dies a week ago. Now this with Noah. Could the two be connected somehow?”
Katherine gasped. Her hand came up to cover her mouth. “I didn’t think about how odd the timing is.”
“Maybe she got in a fight with Noah’s father. Was about to reveal who he was. He could be someone prominent. Most missing children are taken by family members or acquaintances, once you rule out runaways, according to the sheriff.”
“Then what about the file?”
“I was thinking about that. Could be a paternity test.”
“If his father took him, at least Noah will be safe, right?” Katherine threaded her fingers through her hair, pulling it off her face.
“It’s possible. I don’t mean any disrespect. Do you think it’s possible your sister was blackmailing him?”
“He didn’t pay child support. That much I know. I paid her tuition. She enrolled in a social program to help with Noah’s care. Got him into a great daycare. I was planning to move to Austin in a few months to be closer. I work for a multinational software company scheduling appointments for our trainers to visit customer sites, so it doesn’t matter where I live. I wanted to be close so I could help out more. I can’t help wondering what kind of person would hurt the mother of his child.”
“I’m probably grasping at straws. We’ll start with trying to figure out who he is. See what happens there.”
“She was reckless before Noah. I thought her life was on track since his diagnosis. She got a part-time job at a coffee shop and enrolled in community college. She reconnected with me.”
His ring tone cut into the conversation. “It’s Matt.” He brought the phone to his ear. “What’s the word?”
“Jimmy found two things out at the Reynolds’ place. A stuffed rabbit and a cell. I told him to meet me at your place.”
“I appreciate the news. We’ll keep watch for you.”
Caleb hit End and told Katherine what his ranch hand had found.
“I hope I got a shot of someone. They wore dark sunglasses, so their faces might be hard to make out, but maybe I captured someone else involved. Like the man who distracted me.”
“Either way, we’ll know in a minute.” Wouldn’t do any good to set false expectations. And yet, hope was all she had.
Looking into her violet eyes, damned if he wasn’t the one who wanted to put it there.
A knock at the door had him to his feet faster than he could tack a horse, and tossing a throw blanket toward Katherine.
Caleb led Jimmy and Matt into the study. After a quick introduction, Jimmy advanced toward Katherine, carrying a phone. “Found this along the tree line by the Reynolds’ place. Look familiar?”
“Yes, thank you. That looks like mine.” Katherine’s eyes sparkled with the first sign of optimism since Caleb had found her in the woods. She checked the screen. “Seven missed calls and a voice mail.”
Another