pushed his jealousy down, keeping her best interest uppermost in his mind. “Could Caddo be a boyfriend?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s not that kind of feeling. It’s more of a friendship reaction.”
That was a relief, but Caleb knew if it wasn’t Caddo, it was someone else. And he had to accept that.
Soon they left and Caleb held the door for an elderly man, puffing on a cigar. Belle twitched her nose as they walked to the car. “That cigar is so strong.”
“They’ll probably make him put it out,” Caleb remarked, getting into the truck.
They turned onto US 59 toward Beckett. The land was flat with scrub oaks, bushes, mesquite and plenty of cacti. This was farming and ranch land enclosed with barbed wire fences.
“Are you okay?” Caleb asked after she remained quiet for several minutes.
“I’m remembering all these names, but I don’t feel a connection to any of them.”
“You said you came to Beckett after your parents died. The report said you’d been there less than a year so you probably didn’t get to know anyone very well.”
“Well enough that someone put a bullet in my head. I keep asking myself why. Why would someone shoot me? And why did I wake up in Austin? That’s three and a half hours from Beckett.”
“We’ll find out soon enough.” Caleb had no answers for her, he only had the same questions. She was so sweet, so completely enchanting. He couldn’t imagine anyone having a grudge against her or wanting to hurt her.
“Yeah.” She glanced out the window
“Do you remember anything about your grandfather?” That bothered Caleb the most. How could a powerful man like Boone Beckett not report his granddaughter missing?
The scent of the cigar triggered a memory. “He’s a controlling manipulative person.” Belle watched the barbed wire fences flash by and Boone suddenly filled her mind. She closed her eyes as a scene became vivid.
“I’m Boone Beckett, Brett’s father.” The bear of a man standing in her parents’ living room introduced himself. He puffed on a cigar and the smoke spiraled around his face. The wind left her lungs and she couldn’t speak.
“Did you hear me, girlie?” His voice boomed and she had the urge to step back. But she didn’t. Her father had never backed down from him and she wouldn’t, either.
She swallowed hard. “Yes.”
“I’m here to take my son’s body home to Silver Spur.”
“What about my mother’s?”
His eyes darkened. “Her body will never rest on the Silver Spur. She took him away from his heritage, his family, and I’ll never forgive that.”
Anger welled in her chest. “She didn’t take him away. You forced him to leave by manipulating his life and not allowing him to marry the woman he loved.”
“He could have had any woman he wanted,” Boone shouted.
“He wanted my mother,” she shouted back.
Boone glared at her through narrowed eyes. “Listen, girlie, I’m not arguing with you.” He pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. “Sign this and our business is over.”
“What is it?”
“Form to release your father’s body to me.”
She raised her head in defiance. “My father stays buried next to my mother—forever. That’s it.”
“What’s it going to take. Ten thousand? Twenty thousand? Tell you what—I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars and you sign the paper and we’re done.”
“Get out,” she screamed. “Get out and take your money with you.”
“Do you know who you’re talking to, girlie?”
Her eyes blazed. “Unfortunately, yes.”
He stuffed the paper in his pocket. “Since you’re Brett’s daughter I was trying to be nice. Figured you could use the money. But Brett’s body is going home to Silver Spur with or without your approval. All I have to do is get a court order and no judge is going to say no to me.”
“Get out and don’t come back,” she seethed between clenched teeth.
He inclined his head. “You got guts, girl. I’ll give you that, but it’s always smart to know when to cut your losses.”
With that the memory dissipated. She opened her eyes, staring out at the long expanse of highway. Her thoughts were inward, troubled. Had Boone removed her father’s body from the cemetery, from her mother, in Corpus to the Silver Spur Ranch? Think. Think. Think. Did Boone separate her parents? She had to know and she struggled to remember what had happened next. But nothing was there.
“Dammit. Dammit. Tell me.” She gripped her head with both hands.
“Are you okay?”
Caleb’s concerned voice reached her. She blinked, realizing she’d been talking out loud. “Sorry. I was having an insane moment trying to remember something.”
“What?”
“When my parents died, Boone came to Corpus, wanting to take my father’s body back to the Silver Spur Ranch. He demanded that I sign the papers to release the body. I refused and we had words.” She swallowed. “You see, he wanted my father to be buried at Silver Spur, but not my mother. I told him to leave and never come back.”
She paused. “I couldn’t bear the thought of separating my parents. They were so much in love, yet at times there was a sadness in my father that neither my mom nor I could assuage. He loved the Silver Spur and he missed it every day of his life, but Boone made it intolerable for him to live there. My mother was a Mexican and not good enough for a Beckett.”
“Evidently Boone came back.”
“I guess. That’s what I was trying to recall—if he had my father’s body moved away from my mother. I couldn’t live with that.”
“Do you know how you came to live in Beckett?”
Her head felt heavy with all the memories rushing in. “Yes. I was at loose ends after losing my parents. I needed to get away. Boone kept at me about my dad’s body, but I never gave in. Finally he said he’d make a deal with me. He wanted me to come to Silver Spur to see the heritage my father had left behind. If I came and stayed for a while, he’d stop his efforts to move the body. So I went. I wanted to see this place my father talked about all my life.” She took a ragged breath. “Boone didn’t separate my parents, but we were still arguing about it. Boone and I didn’t have the best relationship, and Lorna and Mason seemed to hate me. But I stayed. I’m not sure why.”
“Did you live on the Silver Spur?”
“No. I lived in town with a friend of my mom’s,
