A Texas Family. Linda Warren

not quite following you.”

      “I thought about this all night, and I’m not slinking out of town like I did before. But on the other hand I can’t cause any more stress for my family.”

      “So that leaves what?”

      She brushed at something on her jeans with a nervous hand. “Yesterday you said the cases had been closed quickly and there was still a lot of evidence out there.”

      “When I said that, you became very offended.”

      “I know, but now I’m thinking about it a little differently.”

      “How differently?”

      “I’d like to find what other evidence is out there. There has to be someone other than Asa who knows what happened that night.”

      He picked up a pencil and twirled it in his fingers, wondering how to phrase his next question. “I don’t want to upset you, but have you thought of the obvious?”

      She moved restlessly in her chair, and he knew she’d thought of every scenario concerning her baby...even though it was painful. “I don’t want to believe Asa could be that cruel. That evil.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

      He didn’t, either, but they had to look at the possibility, as he had for the past twenty-four hours. It was burned into his brain. Asa had wanted revenge, and Carson was so afraid he’d found the ultimate way to get it.

      “What do you expect from me, Ms. Brooks?”

      Her dark sad eyes found his, and he felt a catch in his throat at all the pain he saw there.

      “I’d like for us to look for new evidence like you mentioned.”

      “Us?” He motioned from her to him with the pencil.

      “Yes. I’m Blake’s personal assistant, and I’m very familiar with these sorts of files and court documents. I can help you go through all the files, and maybe we can catch something that no one else has.”

      “Don’t you think you’re grasping at straws?” He had to point that out.

      “You didn’t think so yesterday.”

      “Yesterday I hadn’t talked to my father. You have to remember that Asa is my father.”

      “I realize that, but he committed a crime. And you are the law here in Willow Creek.”

      His stomach churned with uneasiness. The line between family and loyalty and his job was clearly blurred. Yesterday digging through the files was a good idea because he’d been looking for answers. Then he got the answers he didn’t want to hear. Now he was torn in two ways. Suddenly, she did something unexpected.

      “Carson, please, help me.”

      The entreaty in her voice and the way his name sounded on her lips, soft and seductive, hijacked his senses and sent his thoughts spinning. He hadn’t expected that. And for a moment he was at a loss for words.

      “It’s Jared’s child, too,” she added forlornly. “Doesn’t that mean something to you?”

      “Yes.” Jared had created a baby with her, and they’d planned a life together. For that reason he was still talking to her. “But it’s also about my family, my father. I know he’s guilty, and there’s no way around that, but my kids adore their grandfather, and I don’t know how I’ll explain all this to them. I really think it’s best if I don’t get involved.”

      She stared down at her hands, and he felt that twist in his heart again. But what else could he do?

      She raised her eyes to his, and, for a moment, he was lost in those dark depths. “I have this need to see my child’s face. Each year it grows stronger and stronger. I want to know if he or she is happy and with a loving family. I have to know or I’ll never have any peace.”

      “I—”

      “I’ll make a deal with you.” She stopped him. “If you help me find my child, I will not file charges against your father. Years ago I would have loved nothing better than to hurt him severely, but now, as I said, I just want some peace.”

      “Jena... May I call you that now?”

      “Yes. I’m sorry I was testy about that yesterday.”

      “Well, this is an emotional situation.” He ran his hands over his face, telling himself it was best to stay out of this mess. But his heart wasn’t listening. “Okay,” he found himself saying. “I’ll give it my best shot, but we have to set some ground rules. First, I’m in charge, and you will follow my instructions to the letter.”

      “Why?”

      “Because I’ll be responsible for everything we do.”

      “Okay, I get that.”

      “Good. And we will be civil to each other and respect each other’s feelings.”

      “Okay.”

      “And when I say it’s a dead end, we quit.”

      She lifted her chin with renewed determination. “I don’t know if I can agree to that.”

      He stared at the stubborn glint in her eyes, knowing how hard this was for her, and it surprised him that he sensed her feelings so well. “You have to accept we may not find anything.”

      “I’m sorry, but I’ll never be able to do that.”

      He admired her honesty. “As they say, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

      Scooting forward in her chair, she asked, “Can we start now?”

      The file box was still on the floor. He reached down and pulled out the file on the case. As he slid it across the desk, she moved her chair forward. For the next thirty minutes they read through the papers several times and nothing jumped out at them.