Chapter 12

Between working on his new house and keeping an eye on Lana Bullard, his prisoner, Vince managed to stay away from his mother the whole next day—and he knew without a doubt he wasn’t hurrying to see her. The plain truth was he was hiding, delaying the moment he had to take over the care of his mother.

Dare came in to help with the house, but Vince ran him off.

Porter pestered him about letting Lana out, and Vince took some pleasure in thwarting the man.

Glynna came over to the boardinghouse bearing his dinner. It was tasty, but Vince didn’t insult her by asking who had cooked it. They both knew it didn’t even need to be said that it wasn’t her.

Jonas stopped by a couple of times to try to get to the bottom of what was eating Vince. Or at least to try and cheer him up.

Melissa showed up at the house to unpack and get the room ready for Mother. She at least was nice enough, or uncomfortable enough, to ignore him.

Vince just worked harder.

As he carefully adjusted the last of the hooks, which Sledge had made in a clever way so they weren’t easily undone, Vince knew he was dragging his heels about fetching Mother. He berated himself for his cowardice even as he tinkered with the window latch in the room that would be Mother’s. He was stirred up inside. Furious at Father. Hurt by Mother. Startled by his brand-spankin’-new sister. Honored by his friends’ generosity. Confused and enticed by Tina. A creaking floorboard told him someone was here. Probably Jonas trying one more time to get Vince to bare his soul, share his pain, open all his festering wounds.

Vince wasn’t gonna let that happen.

Bracing himself to politely send Jonas away, Vince turned around to face . . . trouble.

“Do you need anything, Vince?” Tina stepped into the room. That same kindness on her face that had been there earlier. He couldn’t keep away from her when she was picking at him. How was he supposed to resist when she was being so sweet? He closed the distance between them and faced her with only inches separating them.

“I can think of just one thing I need from you,” Vince snapped, wishing she’d run. Protect herself from what he had in mind. Wishing he wasn’t so stirred up that he couldn’t stop himself from doing something stupid.

Instead she rested one hand on his upper arm. “What is it? You know I’ll do whatever it takes to make this work.”

“This? Make this work? There’s a word that could mean anything.”

From Tina’s furrowed brow, Vince knew sure as certain she didn’t mean it the way he wanted her to.

Her touch set off a shudder of longing that shook loose the last of his self-control. His thoughts ran wild to that first moment he’d seen her. One good look and he’d walked faster, intending to drag her right out of Jonas’s grip. Then he’d tripped over the steps, which had slowed him down.

By the time he was standing again, moving forward again, she’d burst into tears. That had blown those wild thoughts out of Vince’s head with the force of a Texas cyclone.

Vince had gotten himself and his unruly thoughts under control. A couple of times since then, he’d almost lost his grip on sanity. But each time he’d gotten a handle on the turmoil inside him. Each time it’d been harder, but he’d won.

This time he lost.

He grabbed Tina around the waist, hoping she’d slap him and run. Hoping she’d be smart enough for the both of them.

Instead she blinked those pretty blue-bonnet eyes at him, and a little gasp shaped her lips into a perfect little pucker—almost like she did mean it the way he wanted her to.

He wanted someone to hold, someone who was truly his. No, not just someone—her. And he was through pretending he didn’t. He did what he’d wanted to do ever since he’d seen the prettiest woman on earth held in his good friend Jonas’s arms. He lowered his head while he lifted the little pest to her tiptoes and took a good long taste of that sassy mouth.

Holding her, kissing her was like finding a resting place. A resting place in the center of a cyclone. The swirling madness of his worries was pushed aside.

Tina’s knees buckled as she wrapped her arms around Vince’s neck to keep from melting into a puddle on the floor. She might’ve been able to resist him if she hadn’t seen the hurt when his ma didn’t know his name.

And his vulnerable pleasure when she did.

It’d touched a raw place in Tina’s heart, for she who had no memories of a mother or father. Only starchy, critical, cold Aunt Iphigenia.

Vince, always so confident, so take-charge, seemed wounded . . . just like Tina. Even knowing it was a dreadful idea, she’d wanted him to kiss her for a long time. Before, when they’d come close, there were good reasons why they’d stopped. But right now, she couldn’t think of a single one of them.

Vince eased back, and Tina made a quiet sound of protest. His hands came up to her shoulders, and he held her away from him—not far away, just enough that he could look her in the eyes. That look held. It stretched between them like a lasso dropping expertly and tying her. To him. His look reached her heart and bound it tight.

Then, like ripping flesh, he tore his eyes away.

It hurt more than Tina could believe.

“I’m going to say this once, then never again.” Vince, who was bold, quick to smile in the teeth of danger, always in charge and always on guard, couldn’t meet her eyes. “You saw my mother.”

“What does your ma have to do with anything?”

Vince finally looked up. She saw longing in his eyes. Except there was a place in her so lonely to be held, so desperate to be loved, that she wondered if she was imagining it.

When Jonas had hugged her, when she’d first come to Broken Wheel, it had been almost painful. Jonas lifting her up and whirling her around, smiling, welcoming her had been a rain shower in the parched, cracked, isolated desert of Tina’s life.

That love and touch from her brother had filled an empty well in Tina’s heart. But Vince was different. She’d never known anything of romantic love. She’d given it little thought.

Now she knew what it was like to be held and kissed. It was wonderful. She wanted more of it so badly that she couldn’t trust herself to speak, afraid she might start to beg.

“My mother’s a madwoman, and the daughter of a madman. And my father’s a tyrant. Whichever one of them I am, no woman should tie herself to me. I’m never going to inflict myself on a woman and most certainly not on a child.”

That made her want to strangle Vince Yates, but she was afraid if she got close enough, instead of wrapping her hands around his throat, she might wrap her arms around his neck instead and pull his head down to kiss her again.

“Fine.” Her voice was low and breathy. She cleared her throat. “We’ll pretend that didn’t happen then.”

Shaking her head, she tried to remember why in the world she’d come over here. “Dare said we need to . . . to . . . that is, she’s . . .” Tina steadied herself and went on. “He thinks it’s time to move your mother here.” Tina rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ll go back to Dare’s and walk Virginia Belle over.”

“Tina, we need to . . .” Vince made some motion with his hand as if he meant to reach for her. Tina wasn’t sure which was worse: that he reached or that he checked the motion.

“I’ll be right back with your mother.” Tina spun around and ran down the stairs. She knew that whatever he was going to say would amount to an apology.

Sorry I kissed you. Sorry I held you. Sorry I had a weak moment and wanted to be near you.

To be kissed, to be held, to be wanted were things Tina had never known in her life, until recently with Jonas. For Vince to apologize for offered affection, then snatch it back made her feel worthless.

She knew she’d had a strange upbringing with her chilly, taciturn aunt and a home that didn’t welcome friends. But she discovered in herself as she hurried along that it was easy to believe the reason no one had loved her all those years growing up was because she was unlovable. She hadn’t given it much thought before. She’d thrown herself into the cause of shutting down the saloon, proud of the fact that she was disliked. She called it persecution and embraced it. But now this hollow place inside her seemed to cry out that no one would ever love her, that no one could.

As she rushed across the cold dirt that stretched between Vince’s and Dare’s, she heard the door behind her open and close. Vince was coming, but he wasn’t rushing to catch up. In fact, he was moving slow, making sure to keep plenty of space between them.

That was wise of him. She promised herself she’d be just as wise.

She’d enjoy caring for her brother, whom she’d as good as forced herself on—and he was too kind to throw her out. She’d pursue justice for Lana Bullard. She’d battle demon rum.

And she’d do it all with her heart tucked safely away.

Vince didn’t know if he was going to get his mother or chase after Tina. Both were probably a bad idea.

Tina got inside Dare’s house ahead of him and shut the door rather sharply. Sharp enough to stab a man, in fact.

Vince came in a few seconds later and came face-to-face with Mother, dressed, her hand on Melissa’s arm, her coat on, obviously ready to head for home.

Mother smiled. “Julius, darlin’, I declare I’ve never seen you get home before the sun sets.”

The little foxhound stood at Mother’s heel, its tail wagging, watching his mistress’s every move.

Vince forced a smile, even while he thought that his father wouldn’t have smiled, so Mother wouldn’t expect it. “I came to walk you to . . . to . . .” Vince was stumped. He couldn’t help taking a quick look at Tina, who met his eyes and then quickly looked away.

Not that he blamed her.

Dare broke up Vince’s irritation when he came up and said, “Your mother’s ready to go, Vince. She’s going to be fine.” He turned to his patient and spoke sternly, “You must not go outside alone. It’s dangerous.” In a kinder but still bossy tone, he added, “Now you mind me, Virginia Belle. I’m your doctor and you must do as I say.”

Mother gave Dare such serious attention that Vince hoped somehow Dare had gotten through to her and she’d remember what he told her and behave as he asked.

A man could dream. “Are you ready to go?” Vince asked.

His mother, the woman he’d loved so desperately, the woman who’d taught him to do almost anything to stave off her tears, smiled her bright, beautiful, confused smile, and nodded.

“Let’s go, then.” He began moving toward the door.

Melissa gently helped Mother forward.

Vince decided to let Melissa lead Mother out ahead of him, the dog at their heels. He glanced back at Dare and said, “Thank you.”

Dare nodded. “Good luck. Come get me if you need help in the night.”

“Or me,” Glynna offered. “I’d be glad to sit with her.”

Vince took a quick peek at Tina.

“Jonas and I will be glad to help, too.” She said it, but somehow her words sounded like a warning. She might as well have said, Don’t you dare come near me, you big kiss-stealing oaf.

And that was exactly how Vince wanted it. He nodded and left to follow Mother home.

Vince let Melissa and Mother go upstairs together. He waited downstairs until Melissa opened the door and looked down over the railing.

“You can come up now.” Melissa went back in.

Vince climbed the stairs and went to Mother’s room and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Melissa said.

Vince went in to find Mother in her nightgown, her hair down and braided. Melissa might pass as a lady’s maid, but to Vince it seemed like someone putting a child to bed.

“I’ve come to say good-night, Mother.”

Mother looked nervously around the room. “Aren’t we leaving, Julius? Why would we sleep in this place?”

Vince just didn’t know how to handle this. Was he to pretend to be his father? Did he have to spend the rest of his life being taken for Julius Yates? That was Vince’s own idea of hell. He didn’t know what was best for Mother, so he just tried to be honest.

“It’s me, Mother. It’s Vince. Your son Vince. This is my house. You’re staying with me now, and this is your new home.” Bought and paid for by Father. And Vince had found such a generous amount of gold coins that Judas Iscariot would have been green with envy.

Mother’s delicate brows lowered. “Vince? My son Vince?” She wrung her hands together in agitation. Her voice rose. “Julius, what do you mean by that?”

Vince exchanged a glance with Melissa, who stood quietly beside Mother. Melissa turned to her charge. “It’s time to get to bed now, Virginia Belle. It’s been a very long day. You must be exhausted.”

“Well, bless your heart, Missy.” Mother spoke to Melissa as if she’d never been worried by Vince, as if he weren’t in fact still in the room. “You are such a sweet thing. Yes, I am so tired. I believe I will turn in.”

“Good night.” Vince stifled the urge to add Mother. He needed to give this time. He’d find his way through this mess somehow. He’d bought a lot of books. He’d read them all to find out how to get Mother to come to her senses.

Melissa had been dealing with this for a while. He needed to talk to her, see what advice she had.

“Good night, Julius dear.” Mother reclined.

“I’ll just sit with you awhile.” Melissa drew the covers up and tucked Mother in as gently as she would a child. Melissa looked at Vince and whispered, “I’ll stay until she’s asleep, and make sure the door is secure when I leave.”

Nodding, Vince stepped back out and pulled the door shut, wondering how he was going to manage. Wondering why it felt so wrong to lock Mother in a room overnight.

He’d been assigned the room to the west of Mother’s. Melissa was on the east. They had her surrounded. He went in and got ready for bed.

Then he lay awake, so mixed up he was afraid his thoughts would churn all night. But his exhaustion caught up with him and he was asleep in minutes.

And dreaming of becoming his father.

Of being hunted by a pack of slavering hounds.

Of kissing a blue-eyed picketer.

Two of those dreams were nightmares. The last one was bliss. And that might be the biggest nightmare of all.