flashed into her mind and she thought of the stripper who looked like her. He didn’t seem to be a man who would lie. So was there a woman out there who looked like her? She let herself think about it for a moment. Since she didn’t know anything about her father, there could be a cousin who resembled her, someone she’d never heard of.
She pulled Ethan Ramsey’s card from her pocket. He’d said he wanted to help her. It was probably a line, just as she’d told Daisy. What did it matter? She was wasting her time thinking about it; she had enough problems. On her way out the door, she threw the card in the trash.
CHAPTER TWO
DRIVING HOME, Ethan couldn’t get the redhead out of his mind. Was she an expert liar or was something else going on? The woman of the night before was afraid and had a hard edge that suggested she’d been living a rough lifestyle. He recognized that immediately. The woman today was a complete contradiction. She was softer and had a veneer and polish that came with wealth and privilege. If she was stripping against her will, that would account for the fear he’d seen yesterday, but it didn’t explain the hardness. What was the woman’s secret?
As he drove across the cattle guard, dust spiraled behind him. He was home in Junction Flat, Texas, a small ranching community of less than a thousand near San Antonio. There was a saying in Junction Flat: “Don’t let the mesquite, the cactus and the rattlesnakes get to you. Junction Flat is a good place to live.” And it was—this was where Ethan had always gone when things got too hard, and he planned on staying here for the rest of his life.
A few years ago Pop had given the ranch to his three children, with the stipulation that he be able to live on the property until his death. Molly and Travis didn’t have any interest in ranching and sold their shares to Ethan. So the entire ranch now belonged to Ethan, and he was content living out his retirement in his quiet, rustic hometown.
Before he drove around back to the garage, he noticed Bruce’s Mercedes parked in front of the white sandstone house. He frowned, wondering why his ex-brother-in-law was here. Since the divorce, which was finalized two months ago, Bruce and Molly hadn’t spoken, as far as he knew. There was only one reason Bruce would come out here and face everyone—Cole, his seventeen-year-old son.
When he climbed out of his truck and walked toward the house, he heard raised voices. As soon as he entered the kitchen, everyone grew quiet. Pop was holding Molly, who was sobbing into his chest. Cole was screaming at his father, “Get out and leave us alone!” When he saw Ethan, he said, “Make him leave, Uncle Ethan!”
“Son, I just want to talk to you,” Bruce begged.
“I never want to speak to you again.” With that, Cole turned and stormed out the back door.
Ethan took a long breath. Bruce had a right to see his son, but Cole had refused to see or talk to Bruce since he’d found out about his father’s betrayal. His mother’s pain had only increased the boy’s feelings. The situation was volatile and emotions still ran high. It was time for everyone to cool off.
Ethan looked at Bruce. “I think you’d better go,” he said firmly. He walked to the front door and held it open.
Bruce’s features tightened and Ethan could see he was undecided, but at last made a sound of exasperation and headed for the front door. Ethan followed him out onto the long veranda
“Ethan, I want to talk to my son.” Bruce shoved a hand through his blond hair. His eyes were green like Cole’s.
As much as Ethan hated what Bruce had done to Molly, he understood his desire to see Cole. Cole was the innocent victim in Bruce and Molly’s divorce, and neither seemed willing to make it easier for him.
“He just needs some time,” was the only thing Ethan could think of to say.
“Molly’s turned him against me.”
“Don’t lay that at Molly’s feet,” Ethan told him, although he knew it was partly true. “You’re the reason Cole’s upset. He’s old enough to know what’s going on.”
“You’re a man, Ethan. I thought you’d understand.”
Ethan grunted in disgust. “I understand that a twenty-year-old is more attractive than the thirty-five-year-old mother of your child.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Bruce denied.
“Who are you trying to kid?”
“Molly and I were having problems. You knew that. Hell, everyone knew, but Molly chose to ignore them. She wouldn’t listen to me and I got tired of banging my head against that rock-solid pride of hers.”
Ethan had been away during the early years of Bruce and Molly’s marriage, but since he’d settled in Junction Flat five years ago, he’d become aware of the tension between Molly and Bruce. Last year things had intensified, and Molly had stayed at the ranch some nights because she and Bruce had argued. Bruce worked all the time, she complained, while he said Molly was too involved with Cole’s school. Cole was on various sports teams and Molly never missed a game. Bruce attended as many as he could, but he was often out of town. Another issue between them was that Molly volunteered for anything and everything, even though Bruce had asked her not to. Then, when Bruce was home, he liked to go to the club and play golf. Another problem. Molly hated golf. Their spats never lasted long and by the next morning they always made up. Ethan was careful to stay out of their affairs. He did support his sister, though.
“I don’t want to hear this about Molly,” he said in a warning tone.
“Your sister’s not an easy person to live with.”
“Oh, but she was an easy person to support you while you went to law school. Easy for her to do your cooking and laundry and raise your son.”
“I don’t want to get into it with you, Ethan.”
“Then don’t talk as if Molly’s to blame for all this. You made the choice here.”
“Ethan.” Bruce sighed bleakly. “I can’t lose my son. I can’t.”
The pain in Bruce’s voice touched Ethan, even though he didn’t want it to. He understood a man’s love for his son.
“Cole is seventeen. He’s a kid, yet he’s almost a man. Give him some time and space. Don’t pressure him, Bruce. That’s the only advice I can give you.”
“Ethan—”
Ethan held up a hand when he sensed that Bruce was about to tell him things he didn’t want to hear. “Molly is my sister and I’m on her side. What you did was unconscionable and I can’t condone it. You hurt the two people who loved you the most. Now you have to deal with the consequences.”
Bruce’s eyes darkened, then he glanced toward the corral, where Cole was saddling a horse. As Cole swung into the saddle and set off at a gallop for the woods, Bruce nodded and walked to his car.
ETHAN WENT BACK into the house. Pop was sitting on the sofa with his face in his hands.
“Pop, are you okay?” he asked.
Walt Ramsey raised his head. “Is he gone?”
“Yeah. Where’s Molly?”
