Chapter Six

At ten minutes to four on Friday, Jessica started setting out the cakes for the tasting. Business was always slow at this time, since many of Bookman Springs citizens headed to larger towns to eat dinner and enjoy their Friday evenings. The Coleman brothers had set up a barbecue for this evening. Austin was doing ribs and steaks, and while there was a lull in business today, Jessica had made a huge tub of potato salad. She was going to make the coleslaw after the cake testing.

She had just put out the chocolate cream cake when the front door opened. Since she had her back to it she didn’t see who it was, but she kept her sigh of frustration inside her. “We have a few cookies left, but not much else.” She turned to see Ranger Willis standing there, hat in hand.

“Ms. Barker, how are you today?”

The use of a formal title didn’t bode well for her.

“Ranger Willis.” She took a few steps forward and limped a bit. Her leg ached just a little. Seeing him made her insides hurt, too. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t suspect her of hurting Matilda Dobbs.

“Did you hurt yourself? I didn’t notice that limp on Wednesday.”

“Just a little cut,” she said. “Can I get you some coffee? I’m afraid it’s a little stale this late in the day. I do have soft drinks, though. Or water.”

“Water would be nice.” He surveyed the room and walked over to where she’d set up two tables with the cakes. “Are you having a party?”

“Cake tasting,” she said. “Hawk’s brother is getting married, and I’ve been hired to make the cakes.”

“Sounds delicious.” He took a seat at an empty table and set his hat down. She handed him the water and moved back to the cakes. “Don’t let me interrupt. I just wanted to chat for a moment.”

“About what?” she moved behind the counter and brought out more plates.

“Right now I’d like to know how you hurt your leg.”

The suspicion in his voice made her heart race.

“Hawk and I were horsing around last night, and I fell and landed on a plate that was on his lap.” That sounded so much better than saying, I was being a brat for my Daddy and I broke a plate.”

“Did you need stitches?”

“Four, from what I hear,” she said. “Two of Hawk’s brothers came over. They’re vets. Cheaper than going to the emergency room. I owe them free donuts for a month.”

The ranger chuckled. “Interesting. You don’t know how many stitches they gave you?”

“I fainted at the sight of the blood. I don’t do blood.”

“Good to know.” He rolled his bottle of water between his hands.

Jessica turned toward the cakes, then whirled back around. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re really here.”

“Fair enough.” He opened his water and took a big swig. “Grant Dobbs tells me you hated his mother since the day the two of you met.”

“Hate is a very strong word.” Jessica went back behind the counter, poured herself a diet soda, then sat down across from the ranger. “Matilda Dobbs let me know from the first day I met her that I wasn’t good enough for her son.”

It didn’t surprise her that Grant was trying to make her look bad. He hadn’t taken their break-up well.

“How long were you engaged?” Willis asked.

“About four months,” she said. “We met in Dallas, at a bar. He lived in Bringham where he was expected to take over the family business.”

“And you lived in Dallas?”

“I worked at a bakery on Harry Hines,” she said. “I wanted to own my own bakery, and I thought Bringham could use one. But every banker there turned me down for a loan. I found out later that Mrs. Dobbs was blacklisting me. She told them if they helped me she would make sure their banks failed. People are scared of her.”

“I got that impression,” Willis said. “He took another drink of water. Grant tells me you never returned the ring to him.”

“He’s lying,” she said. “I swear it.”

Willis stared at her for a moment, then he said, “There’s something fishy about him. The first thing he did was throw you under the bus. That makes me suspicious.”

That made her feel better about life. “He’s such a mama’s boy that I can’t see him doing anything to harm her.”

“Or maybe he did something to harm her to get out from under her thumb,” Willis said.

The door opened and Hawk came in. “Health inspector,” he announced with a laugh. “Ranger Willis. I thought that was your truck.” The ranger stood up and the two men shook hands “Checking up on her?” Willis asked.

“I trust her with my life,” Hawk said. “I’m really here to harass my brother while he eats cake.” He winked at Jessica. “He said to tell you they’ll be about ten minutes late.

“Okay.” She indicated the table. “Sit and I’ll bring you a soft drink.”

Hawk sat down, and Jessica went behind the counter. She felt better with Hawk here, as always.

“Have you found the missing woman?” Hawk asked.

“Not even a trace of her,” Willis replied. “Her son keeps pushing me toward Jessica.” He turned to her as she put Hawk’s drink on the table. “You don’t mind if I call you that, do you?”

“Not at all.” She sat down next to Hawk, who turned toward her and gave her a peck on the lips.

“Tell me, Jessica, did you live with Grant on the family compound, that huge place outside Bringham?”

“No.” Jessica grasped Hawk’s hand. They had never talked about their previous lovers, and she didn’t really want him to learn about it while she was being interrogated about the disappearance of her former lover’s mother. “Mrs. Dobbs said it would be unseemly for us to live together. She got angry if he was not home by midnight.”

“Another piece of the puzzle,” Willis said. “Funny he never mentioned that to me. You may not have lived there, but you spent a lot of time there, didn’t you?”

“Some, yes,” she said. “It’s an enormous spread.”

“True.” Willis drummed his fingers on the table. “Do you know anyplace Grant Dobbs might hide his mother’s body?”

Jessica felt the color drain from her face. “Oh my God. You don’t think… oh my God.”

“Do you?” Willis asked.

Jessica shook her head. “I never really made it past the house. I know there are old houses a few miles from the house, where their ancestors lived. Mrs. Dobbs said they needed to be kept for historical reasons, but Grant told me she never did any upkeep on them. He said they were all falling down. There’s two or three of them. I’m not sure exactly where.”

Willis took a notebook from his pocket and jotted something down. He opened his mouth as if to say something, and the door opened. Holt and Aurora walked in, holding hands and laughing.

“Smells good in here,” Holt said, then he stopped in his tracks. “Are we interrupting something?”

Hawk made introductions, and Aurora hurried over to the table. “This looks so good.” She turned back to them. “Hi, Ranger Willis. Nice to meet you.”

“You, too, ma’am,” Willis said. He was on his feet now. “I’m interrupting. Jessica, can we talk later?”

“Come to the house for dinner,” Holt said. “We’ve got enough barbecue to feed an army, brisket, ribs, and sausage. It’s at seven.”

“Well I don’t mind if I do,” Willis said. “I never turn down barbeque. Hawk, can I talk to you outside for a minute?”

The two lawmen left, and Holt turned to her. “Something new happen?”

“He suspects Grant,” she said. “They still haven’t found her.”

“That’s awful,” Aurora said.

Jessica clapped her hands together. “Well, let’s eat cake!”

She kept one eye on the window, where Hawk and Willis stood talking, while she talked up the different cakes she’d made. In the end Holt and Aurora selected the Italian wedding cake for the main table, and a red velvet cake for the groom’s table. Jessica wrote out an order and couldn’t help but wonder what Hawk and Willis were talking about for so long.

“I’m going to take the leftovers to the house tonight,” she said. “I’m sure they will be gobbled up.”

“I’m sure,” Aurora said. “By the way, you’re not limping as badly as I thought you would be. Kyle made it sound like they saved your life last night.”

Jessica’s hands flew to her face and she groaned. “Does everyone know?” This was so embarrassing. It would have been better to go to the emergency room and pay a doctor rather than have the Coleman brothers talk about it with their family.

“Yup,” Holt said.

“I’m going to slap them both silly,” she said.

Holt chuckled. “The vets aren’t the ones spreading the story. It was the man you slept with last night.”

“That little jerk.” She stormed to the door and threw it open. “You told all your brothers how I cut my leg?”

“Was I not supposed to?” Hawk pointed to Willis. “You told a Texas Ranger, and you barely know him. I’ve known my brothers all my life.”

“You jerk!” She let the door go, and wished she’d slammed it as it slowly closed on its own.

There was enough time for Holt to call out, “Looks like you might be sleeping on the couch tonight.”

She heard the lawmen laughing as the door shut.

***

“Let me get that for you.” Austin, the youngest of the Coleman brothers, grabbed the box of cake out of the back of her SUV before Jessica could lift it. He was the one who buzzed her through the gate, which meant he’d been waiting at the door for her as she parked.

Because of the abused women whom the brothers sheltered on the ranch, the gate was always kept closed. There were strict instructions to anyone who arrived to drive through, and make sure it was closed behind them before they drove down to the house. The sign at the front of the ranch proclaimed it to be “The Rescue Ranch,” with words below that announced, “Where horses can reclaim their lives.” It said nothing about the ladies who sheltered here.

“Thank you, Austin,” she said, just as Hawk parked beside her.

Hawk rushed to her side and said, “I can get that.”

“Got it already,” Austin said as he hurried toward the house.

There was another box that had the potato salad and coleslaw.

“I’m embarrassed to go inside,” she said. “I may never be able to face that ranger again.”

“All he knows is you were wearing shorts, and we were tussling and the plate broke. He doesn’t know you were being bratty to your Daddy.

“Your brothers know,” she said.

“They thought it was foreplay.” Hawk stroked her cheek. “You’re not part of the family until they start giving you a hard time.”

He kissed her, softly, and she shook her head and pushed him away. “Try to be mad at me, but you know you love me.”

She glared at him. Jessica had never told him she loved him. They were words that never brought about anything good to her. “So you say,” she answered.

“So I know.” He kissed her again. “I love you, too.”

This time she smiled. “What did you and Nate Willis talk about for so long while we were eating cake?”

Hawk looked as if he were considering his response. Finally he said, “He found a convenience store clerk in Clarendon who saw Mrs. Dobbs around one Monday afternoon.”

“After she left Bookman Springs,” she said.

“Exactly.” He stroked her cheek. “And he has phone records that show she talked to her son around the same time. He says she told him she was waiting to talk to you, but he also talked to Mrs. Cunningham from the bank who confirmed the time Mrs. Dobbs was in the bakery.”

“She gets free donuts for a month,” Jessica said.

Hawk reached for the box. “Between her and the vets you’re not going to make any profit this month.”

“It’s worth it, with her. But tell your brothers if they tell the others I was wearing baby doll pajamas I might bitch slap them.”

“Better get your hand ready because I think they already did,” Hawk said as he headed toward the house.

Jessica shut the SUV door and took a deep breath. She wasn’t used to having siblings, and if she and Hawk stayed together she would be inheriting five brothers. She wasn’t sure how to handle it.

She followed Hawk into the house and returned hearty greetings from the Coleman brothers. She didn’t see Nate Willis, but she did see Becky, the woman who had taken Aurora’s place at the cabins where the clients stayed. She had three kids, and all three of them were in a circle with Holt as their fourth. They were all laughing. Jessica took a step closer and saw they were playing marbles, something she hadn’t done in years.

Holt was obviously having a grand time, and it made Jessica wonder how long it would be before he and Aurora had children.

“He’s a grown kid,” Aurora said as she came to stand by Jessica.

“So it seems,” Jessica said.

“You didn’t forget about our trip to Amarillo tomorrow, did you?”

“Oh crap,” Jessica said. “Yes, I did. I’m so sorry.”

“Well, you’ve had a busy week.” Aurora leaned closer. “You’ll still go with me, right?”

“Where are we going, exactly?” Jessica asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

Jessica thought about it for a minute, and then laughed. “I’ve always liked an adventure. Sure. But we better not tell Hawk. Until this thing with Mrs. Dobbs is over, I have a feeling he’s going to be very overprotective.”

“Then we’ll have to sneak out,” Aurora said. “Got any ideas?”

“We’ll come up with something,” Jessica said. “But I’m sure my backside will pay the price for it.”

“Then I won’t tell Holt, and we’ll both be in trouble.”

Jessica laughed. “Well, that ought to be interesting. We’re not doing anything illegal, are we?”

“Not in the least,” Aurora said. “We’re doing something that will make us laugh.”

“Until our men realize we’re gone,” Jessica said.

“They’ll get over the mad,” Aurora said.

“Yeah, but I’m not sure my ass will,” Jessica said.

“I want to leave around three,” Aurora said. “We can even stop and get something to eat if you want.”

Aurora giggled, but Jessica didn’t respond to the idea. She wanted to get whatever it was done, and get back to Bookman Springs as quickly as possible. She was going to have to figure out a way to escape from Hawk’s constant monitoring, which she was sure was on his agenda for tomorrow. An idea started to form in her mind, just as Nate Willis arrived, and Austin called out that dinner was ready.

If she was lucky her idea might work. If it didn’t, she wouldn’t be able to sit by this time tomorrow.