Ms. Demeanor Page 14

  No matter how badly Laura’s heart ached, Eloise was going through something so much worse—losing her son, her family and the chances of keeping her beloved home, all in the same day.

  The tears came more rapidly. As she hugged Eloise, Laura noticed faint shaking as the woman sobbed in her arms.

  Whitney and Gwen were standing by the Christmas tree, their faces pale.

  She wasn’t going through this alone; she was going through it with the whole Fitzgerald clan. It was strange, but even though she had been around them for only a few days, she felt more like a part of this family than she ever had her own. They were all about love, support and understanding, not about who could get what from whom or how each of them could get ahead. It was just about the family and how they could be there for each other even when they didn’t know what to say or do.

  And yet her time with them was over; Rainier was gone. Any hope she’d had of saving him had disappeared with one perfectly placed punch, and the future that she had allowed herself to fantasize about for the last few days was just as unattainable as ever.

  All she had was a houseful of Christmas decorations to go back to.

  She pulled herself from Eloise’s arms, trying to collect herself, just in time to see Wyatt and Rainier rolling out of the driveway. William Poe was already gone. It was over. Everything.

  The smoke alarm started to beep and she glanced over at the kitchen, where smoke was billowing from the doorway toward the ceiling of the living room.

  “Son of a—” Eloise said, charging toward the kitchen. “I must have left the bacon going.”

  “How much bacon did she cook?” Laura asked the two women by the tree, trying her hardest to focus on anything other than the tight pain in her chest.

  “Oh, Eloise always does everything big. Everything,” Whitney said with a smile as forced as Laura’s words.

  “I think she was really hoping that Waylon and Christina would come rolling in with Winnie this morning. And instead...” Gwen trailed off as she glanced out the window. “Do you think there’s anything you can do, Laura?” she added.

  Laura wanted to say yes, that she had the power to stop the train of destruction that was Rainier Fitzgerald, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie to the woman. “I don’t know,” she said quietly.

  Merle came into the house, and as he opened the door a cold, bitter breeze filled the living room, stealing all the fire’s warmth.

  “What are we going to do?” Whitney asked.

  Laura was thankful she had spoken first, as she was afraid that if she had to ask about what had transpired she would dissolve into tears once again. She could fake strength for only so long before it would melt away and reveal the sensitive mess she was inside.

  Merle closed the door and took off his coat.

  She wasn’t sure if he wasn’t answering because he was afraid to tell them, or because he didn’t want to tell her.

  “You can tell us what happened, Merle. I’m sure I’ll get a chance to read through Wyatt’s report regardless of what transpires,” Laura said, her voice cracking as she spoke. She coughed lightly, trying to clear the emotions from her throat.

  He nodded. “William is obviously upset. He threatened to press charges, and well...we all know what will happen if he does.” He laid his coat over his arm and stared at her as if there was something he wanted to say, but wasn’t sure exactly how to say it.

  He looked to the kitchen, where they heard the thump of a pan and the sound of running water. Thankfully, the smoke had stopped pouring through the doorway.

  “Did you tell Eloise what William said...about the taxes?” Merle asked.

  Maybe Laura had been wrong about the family. Maybe they weren’t as supportive and forgiving as she had assumed.

  “Really? Your son gets carted away to be processed, and yet here you are, worried about your taxes?”

  “No, Laura, that’s not it. I just...” He stared at the kitchen door. “I just don’t want to burden her with one more thing.”

  That she could understand.

  “Sorry,” she said, dabbing at a wayward tear that had escaped her. “I...I don’t know what came over me...”

  “You’re fine. It’s just a hard time. Trust me when I say that we are familiar with the strain,” Merle said, sending her a soft, forgiving smile.

  Gwen came over and took her hand. “No matter what happens, know that we’re here for you.”

  Another unchecked tear slipped down Laura’s cheek.

  She had to stop crying. She couldn’t be a mess like this over a man she had known for less than a week. She was a grown woman.

  “Thank you,” she said. “Really.”

  Gwen squeezed her fingers. “I know how much you love him. And I know what it’s like to fall in love with one of the Fitzgerald men. They’re wild and fiery—all of them. What Rainier did out there...it could have been any of those boys. They all love hard, and they defend even harder.”

  Laura wasn’t sure how Gwen could say that any of the four sons could have assaulted William Poe. Wyatt wouldn’t have. He had seemed to show incredible restraint when they had been outside, but then again maybe Gwen just knew him better.

  She smiled in appreciation of Gwen’s attempt to comfort her.

  “I notice you’re not denying the fact that you love him,” Merle said. “I like that about you.”

  She opened her mouth to argue, to tell them all that they had her feelings toward Rainier all wrong. A few hours ago, she could have told them what she was feeling toward him was love, but now...she wasn’t so sure.

  Her phone rang. Pulling it from her pocket, she looked down at the caller ID. It was her father. Her chest constricted impossibly tighter, stealing her breath. He couldn’t have already heard what had happened. Or maybe he could have.

  William had probably called him from Dunrovin’s driveway.

  She hit Ignore.

  It rang again. Couldn’t her father get the hint that she didn’t want to talk to him right now? The last thing she needed was further castigation.

  She hit Ignore again.

  And once more it rang.

  “What?” she asked, finally answering the phone, as she knew full well that if she didn’t he’d just keep on calling.

  “I knew you were there,” her dad said, his voice as gruff as her own. “I don’t know why you think you can just stop answering me. It’s convenient how you’re happy to talk to me when you need something, but when I want to talk to you you’re too busy.”

  That wasn’t it at all, and he had to know that. He was just being an ass.

  “The last thing I need right now is to get into a fight with you. What do you want?”

  “I want you to check your attitude,” he said.

  No matter how old she got, she was sure that he would always treat her like she was some sixteen-year-old with an attitude problem. It only infuriated her more.

  “If you’re just calling to pick a fight, I need to go. I have better things to do.”

  “Those better things to do are why I’m calling. William Poe contacted me a few minutes ago. He was seeking representation.”

  Her stomach dropped.

  “Do you know anything about Rainier Fitzgerald hitting him in the face? He said you would be available to act as a witness in his case.”

  She couldn’t believe how quickly William was at it. She had been right; he’d probably called her father as soon as he’d gotten in his car.

  “Are you going to take his case?”

  There was a long silence on the other end of line. “I need to know a few things from you first, before I decide on anything. I need to be well informed. Is Rainier the man William makes him out to be?”

  “I’m assuming you mean that William tried to tell you
Rainier is a typical ex-convict.”

  She wanted to go to bat for Rainier and tell her father that he was different, but she couldn’t bring herself to utter the words, as right now she wasn’t so sure.

  “It would be foolish of me,” her father continued, “to think he was anything otherwise. Based on the way I saw you looking at him the other day, I’m a little unsure of how to proceed with this.”

  So her father had noticed her attraction to Rainier, after all. She really needed to learn how to mask her emotions better.

  “You know I’m not stupid, right?” she asked, in an attempt to maneuver around her father’s question.

  He wasn’t really calling her about what he should do with William. No, he was calling to see where things stood between her and Rainier.

  “What do you mean?” her father asked, an innocent inflection to his voice.

  “You have taken on the Fitzgeralds as your clients. In such a case, it would be a conflict of interest if you were to take William on as a client, as well. So let’s not beat around the bush.”

  Her father laughed. “Sometimes I forget how smart you are.”

  She wasn’t sure how to take his backhanded compliment, so she ignored it.

  “Why did you really call? Did you just want me to know that you knew about the events at Dunrovin?”

  His laughter came to an abrupt stop. “That and to let you know that William Poe is gunning for them even more than he already was. I’m going to work at him from my side to see if I can get him to drop the charges against Rainier, but I don’t know what I can do for sure. He seemed pretty upset when I talk to him on the phone a few minutes ago.”

  She was surprised by her father’s willingness to lend a hand.

  “What did William do to you, Dad? Why are you suddenly willing to fight him? And don’t try to tell me that this has anything to do with justice or some altruistic need to help the Fitzgerald family.”

  Her father sucked in a long breath and exhaled into the phone. “Whether or not you believe me, I love you. Though I don’t always agree with your choices, or the men you seem to be attracted to, that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you find your way into trouble.”

  No matter what her father did, she would always have a habit of getting into trouble. But she appreciated the fact that her dad was stepping up and doing something for her for once, without some ulterior motive. At least she thought he didn’t want anything from her, but she couldn’t be sure. Only time would tell.

  “You didn’t answer my question about William. Did he do something to you, Dad? Something that you need retaliation for?”

  “I don’t know what kind of man you think I am, Laura, but you’re wrong.”

  “After so many years of you showing me exactly what kind of many you are, I find it pretty hard to believe that you’re doing this out of the kindness of your heart and because you love me. I’m sure you loved me a few days ago, when I first came to you about the Fitzgeralds’ case, and then you weren’t willing to take it on. I just want to know what made you change your mind.”

  “Let’s just say that a few things came to light that I didn’t know about before, a few things that have changed the way I feel about this community and the people within it. And let’s leave it at that. But do know,” her father added, “it truly is my love for you that is guiding me with all of this. And I have a feeling that it is your love that is guiding you.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  He’d screwed everything up. His life. His freedom. His one chance at love. In a blink of an eye, he’d reverted back to the man he’d promised himself he’d never become again. He hated himself more than ever. And even more than that, he hated what he had done to Laura and the position he’d put her in. She’d vouched for him, she had gone to bat for him and she’d gotten her father to take on his family’s case even when that meant putting herself in the path of her dad’s wrath.

  She done so much for him, and Rainier had repaid her by finding himself here, in the back of Wyatt’s squad car.

  He ran his hands over his face and let out a long sigh.

  “I wish I could say I was surprised,” Wyatt said, pouring salt in his wounds.

  “You can just stop, Wyatt. Whatever you think you need to say to me, just don’t. If it helps, know that I am already beating myself up for the decision I made.”

  Wyatt looked at him in the rearview mirror. “You know, brother, if you hadn’t done something, I don’t honestly know how much longer I could’ve gone on listening to him.”

  Rainier was taken aback by his brother’s admission. They hardly ever agreed on anything, especially not since he’d come home. It was an odd sensation to know that his brother felt in any way similar to him.

  “So you’re saying that you would’ve hit him in the face, as well?” he asked, a wicked grin on his lips.

  Wyatt shrugged. “You know, in my line of work, hardly a day goes by without somebody mouthing off at me or telling me how I’m doing my job wrong. It takes a certain amount of willpower to not go off on every idiot who thinks he should open his mouth and say something stupid to me. Ninety-nine percent of the time I don’t have a problem walking away and letting whatever they’re saying roll off my back, but it’s different when they’re talking about my family and when they start dragging people I love through the mud.”

  He could only imagine the number of times over the years people had probably commented to Wyatt about what he, Rainier, had done, and how he’d ended up in jail.

  “If that’s true, I’m sure that you wanted to take a swing at someone many a time, thanks to me.”

  Wyatt chuckled as he turned the car down the main road that led into Mystery. “Right after everything with your birth father, things were a little rough. But once word got out about everything that led up to it, most of the community understood why you acted as you did. It probably didn’t hurt that most people know and love our parents.”

  “I heard about Yule Night festival, and how the community came together to raise funds for the ranch. I can only imagine how hard it must be for Mom and Dad to be going through all this crap right now.” He paused as he thought about how it had felt when his fist had connected with William. “I can’t believe I made things worse.”

  “We’ll see how this all plays out,” Wyatt said. “Maybe if William is concentrating on taking you down, he won’t be able to focus as much of his energy on going after the ranch.”

  Rainier tried to laugh, but the sound came out dry and forced. They sat in silence, letting the failed laughter die in the air between them.

  It started to snow, and as the tiny flakes fluttered down from the sky, they caught the light and looked like glitter filling the air.

  “What would happen if William didn’t press charges?” Rainier asked, hating to get his hopes up. “You know, not that he won’t, but just in case?”

  “Didn’t like my plan, huh?” Wyatt asked, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. “Let’s face it, we both know that William isn’t going to let what you did slide. He’s going to do everything in his power to make sure you are sent back to prison.”

  “What if there weren’t any witnesses to testify on his behalf?”

  “What, are you thinking of taking us all out?” Wyatt teased. “If they put us under oath, we’ll have to tell the truth. You know how it is, perjury and all.”

  “I know. I guess I’m just grasping at straws. I wouldn’t want to put any of you at risk like that, anyway,” he said, blowing out a long breath.

  There was no getting out of this. What was done was done. Once again, he would just have to face the consequences for his actions.

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Wyatt said, checking his rearview mirror again.

  Rainier turned to see what he was looking at. William was behind them in his se
dan.

  “Do you think he’s going to follow us all the way to the station?”

  Wyatt glanced up again. “Technically speaking, he has yet to file charges against you. I told him that in order to do so, he would have to come down to the station and sign some papers.”

  “I’m sure he won’t miss the opportunity.” Rainier had an insatiable urge to turn and give the man the bird, but this time he resisted. “Wait...if he hasn’t signed anything, then am I really under arrest or are you just taking me in?”

  “I didn’t read you your Miranda rights, did I?”

  A tremor of excitement moved through him. Maybe he wasn’t as screwed as he had assumed. Maybe there was a way around this, after all; the chances weren’t in his favor, but at least he could still hope.

  As they neared town and the police department, Rainier wanted to turn around to watch what William did. He felt stupid for hoping that along the way the man would just turn off, go home and forget about what happened. Such ideas and desires were ridiculous. Even without looking behind him, he knew William would still be there. In fact, with everything involving Dunrovin over the last month, it seemed he was always there. Rainier had a feeling that, no matter what happened in the future, William Poe wouldn’t be happy until he ruined their family and the ranch—even if that meant they all ended up dead. The thought made chills run down Rainier’s spine.

  “Did you look in William’s car when he came to the ranch?” Rainier asked.

  Wyatt shook his head. “Why?”

  “Doesn’t it strike you as just a little bit odd that he would come out there, all by himself, and start harassing us? He had to have known that he wouldn’t be welcome—that there was a hell of a good chance he wouldn’t get out of there without getting his ass beat.”

  “He was provoking you. We already established this. So what does that have to do with his car? I’m not following.”

  “What if he was coming there to attack us?”