“You’re not leaving without breakfast, are you? I can whip up some bacon and eggs before you finish your coffee.”
“No need. I’ll grab a bite to eat in town. Best to get on the road now before traffic becomes a pain in the butt. But you can remind my daughter when she finally crawls out of bed that I expect to see her at the dinner table tonight. On time.”
Edna stared at him as if he’d spoken in a foreign language. “Lizzie didn’t spend the night here last night.”
Irritation ground in his gut. “She was here when I went to bed.”
“She left you a note on the foyer table that she was spending the night with her friend Angie.”
“A note telling me—not asking. Another stunt like this and I’m going to take her keys away.”
“Maybe you should just sit down and talk to her first. Take her for a horseback ride and a little teamwork of your own.”
“See you at dinner,” Jake said. He turned and walked away before he said something he’d be sorry for.
Edna thought talking was the answer to every problem that came along, but she had no idea what he’d been through with Lizzie. If her mother was here...
The old pain swelled inside him, followed by a surge of crusty hardness that allowed him to keep functioning. It was the only way he knew.
When he reached the foyer, he picked up his daughter’s note. Angie broke up with her boyfriend tonight. Needs a friend. I’ll spend the night. See ya.
He’d been home. She should have asked him before she left instead of sneaking away. But then if she’d asked, he’d have said no. At sixteen, she was too young to be driving the dark country roads out to Angie’s at night.
If she’d even gone to Angie’s.
The sweet, adorable Lizette he’d known once had to live somewhere inside the stranger she’d become. Somehow he had to find a way to reach her.
Instead he was off to a meeting he could do without.
* * *
CAROLINA MARCHED UP the steps of the capitol building, fighting the growing agitation that she was forced to accept Jake Dalton’s help, mentally debating how she’d handle their initial meeting.
“Slow down,” Mildred said. “I’m out of breath trying to keep up with you.”
“Sorry. I guess I’m still blowing off steam.”
“You are going to be civil to Mr. Dalton, aren’t you?”
“I’ll try. That’s the best I can promise—which is more than he was with me when I called him about paying R.J. a visit.”
“You might have caught him at a bad time. Maybe this is his way of making it up to you.”
“I seriously doubt that. And if it was just a matter of timing, he’s had time to rethink it and contact R.J. Besides, he was the one who made this personal by insinuating I’d done something wrong.”
“If he’s still upset with you, he certainly wouldn’t have volunteered the Silver Spur for the Saddle-Up project.”
“I strongly suspect a little quid pro quo was involved. He probably owed a favor to Aidan Bastrop—or wants one from him.”
“Whatever his reason, I’m glad the training wasn’t canceled,” Mildred said. “Now I just hope I can continue to be part of it.”
Mildred’s voice hinted of angst. Carolina slowed and turned to face her. “Of course you’ll be part of it. You’ve already put in hours and hours of work.”
“I know, but...”
“But what?”
“Thad.”
Carolina’s irritation switched from Jake to Mildred’s abusive ex-husband. “Have you heard from him?”
“Last night, near midnight. He sounded as if he’d been drinking.”
“What did he want?”
“To see me. He said it’s urgent.”
“What gall. He almost beat you to death. You’re divorced now. You owe him nothing.”
“He admitted all that, but he begged me to give him another chance. He says he’s a changed man.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That it’s over and he should go on with his life. But I know Thad. He’s not going to accept that. He thinks I belong to him like a piece of property. He always did.”
Mildred was clearly disturbed and with good reason. She needed to talk this out, but the meeting was due to start in minutes. “Why didn’t you mention this at breakfast or on the drive from the hotel to the capitol?”
“I didn’t want to upset you, but then I started to feel guilty about keeping it from you. If you want me to drop out of the training, I’ll understand.”
“Drop out and let Thad dictate your life. Absolutely not. You can block him from calling you again, and you definitely don’t have to see him.”
“That doesn’t mean he won’t cause trouble.”
“If he does, we’ll contact Sheriff Garcia and he’ll have him arrested. The law is on your side. You don’t have to put up with Thad’s abuse ever again. Now, let’s not let Thad Caffey ruin our day. After all, we have Jake Dalton for that,” she added with a smile, trying to ease Mildred’s tension.
Senator Ralph Baldwin caught up with them just as they reached the door. He pushed it open and held it for them to enter.
“Good morning, Carolina. You look beautiful, as always,” he said, practically ogling.
“Thank you. You look nice yourself.” She stepped through the door and kept walking. She could definitely do without Ralph’s seduction routine this morning.
The senator took her arm and tugged her to a stop. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d be here today?”
So she could avoid awkward moments like this one. “I’m just here for a meeting.”
“I have a luncheon meeting myself today, but I’m free tonight. Surely you could stay over in Austin and have dinner with me,” Ralph said. “I hate to eat alone.”
“I’ll go on ahead,” Mildred said, no doubt mistakenly thinking Carolina would appreciate the privacy.
Carolina turned back to Ralph. “You could always have dinner at home with your wife.”
“She’s in Midland visiting her parents.” He lowered his voice. “Besides, I’ve told you, we’re married in name only and even that will come to an end after the next election.”
“Perhaps we’ll have dinner then.” And perhaps there would be a Dallas snowstorm in August. “I need to go now. Time for my meeting.” She hurried away before he had time to reply.
No one seemed to understand that she didn’t need a man in her life. She’d been married to Hugh Lambert, bigger than life, a man among men. How could she ever expect to find a man to measure up to him? If she did, it certainly wouldn’t be a lowlife philanderer like Ralph Baldwin.
Carolina hurried down the wide halls of the capitol and slipped inside the conference room a few minutes before the scheduled starting time. Once she was inside, the noise level increased dramatically. A good sign that the volunteers were excited about the project.
Carolina glanced around the room, nodding and smiling at the attendees. This would be her first time to meet many of them, though she’d interviewed every volunteer by phone and had a background check run on them. In every case they were respectable ranchers’