Stalked in the Night Read online

  Jake laughed. “I’d love to get together with you and your family for dinner one night.”

  “Sounds good to me. What about you? From what I’ve seen in the occasional newspaper clippings, you look like you’ve been busy dating a lot of hot women and living it up in Italy. Any one of those women get you to the altar?”

  “No, I’m still footloose and fancy-free.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that dinner. Lori is a great cook, and we’d love to have you over to our place.”

  “Just tell me when and where and I’ll be there,” Jake replied. The two men exchanged information, and then Benny hurried on down the sidewalk toward the grocery store.

  Jake watched until he disappeared into the store. So, Benny had married his high school sweetheart and had a family. It was what Jake had once hoped for with Eva. He’d once believed that by now he’d be long married to her and they’d have a couple of children.

  He sighed and continued down the walkway. He was just about to pass by an ice cream parlor when he halted in his tracks. Seated inside at one of the high round tables were Eva and her son, Andy.

  Suddenly he had an overwhelming hankering for a strawberry ice cream sundae. He pushed open the door and entered the shop. “Eva,” he greeted her. “And you must be Andy,” he said to the young boy. “Hi, my name is Jake. I’m an old friend of your mother’s.”

  “Cool, it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Jake,” the boy replied with a bright smile.

  “I certainly didn’t expect to see you here,” Eva said, her gaze simmering with a hint of anger.

  “I felt a little restless after all the events of the day and decided to come into town,” he replied. “I was just passing by and thought I’d get some ice cream.”

  The anger in Eva’s eyes softened. “I’m sure today was a difficult one for you,” she said. She looked at her son, who appeared curious. “Jake’s father died, and the funeral for him was today.”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Jake,” Andy said with sadness in his eyes...eyes that were shaped just like his mother’s. “My dad died when I was only three years old. I don’t remember being sad, but I’m sure I was, and I’m sorry if you feel sad.”

  “Do you think I’d feel better if I got some ice cream and sat here with you and your mom for a few minutes?” Jake asked.

  “Maybe,” Andy replied. “Mom and I are pretty nice.”

  “Then I’ll just go get me some ice cream and be right back.” Jake knew he was being a bit manipulative in forcing Eva to either make a scene in front of her son or accept his presence gracefully. But surely it couldn’t hurt for them all to enjoy some ice cream together.

  He got a strawberry sundae and then rejoined Eva and her son at their table. “So, what are the two of you doing out and about on a Sunday evening?” he asked.

  “We’re celebrating an A on a difficult spelling test,” Eva said with a look of pride at her son.

  “So, you’re not only a handsome boy, but you’re smart as well,” Jake said. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

  “I want to raise cattle and work on the ranch just like my mom,” Andy replied. “But Mom says I’ve got to get my education before she turns things over to me.”

  “That sounds like good advice to me,” Jake replied.

  “What do you do, Mr. Jake?”

  “I’ve been away for a while, but now I’m going to work on my family ranch and raise cattle.”

  “Cool,” Andy said.

  “Do you like to fish?” Jake asked.

  “I’ve never been,” Andy replied.

  “What? There’s a big pond right there in the pasture near your house and you’ve never fished in it?” Jake looked at Eva in surprise. Andy shook his head.

  “It’s one of those things we’ve just never made time to do,” Eva said with a touch of guilt in her voice.

  “Maybe I could take you fishing when you get home from school tomorrow if your mother agrees,” Jake said.

  Andy’s face lit up with excitement. “Mom?”

  “I guess that would be okay,” she said, but her eyes communicated something far different than okay. They indicated to him that she was ticked off, but he was hoping that by tomorrow she’d have forgiven him. What could be wrong with taking a boy fishing? Especially one who had never been fishing before in his life?

  The plans were made, and then the three of them left the ice cream parlor together. “Do you feel better now, Mr. Jake?” Andy asked.

  “I believe I do. Thank you for letting me spend some time with you and your mom,” Jake replied.

  “You can always spend time with us,” Andy replied with a big smile.

  “We’ll start tomorrow with that fishing date.”

  “Go ahead and get in the truck, Andy,” Eva said.

  He ran to a red pickup parked in front of the shop, and Eva turned to Jake.

  “Have you heard anything new from Wayne?” he asked, hoping to circumvent the tongue-lashing he suspected he was about to receive from her.

  “No, and don’t think I’m going to get distracted by you asking me that. If you think you’re going to somehow get closer to me by getting closer to my son, you’d better think again.” Her eyes snapped with anger as her chin rose. “Andy isn’t some pawn in whatever game you might be playing.”

  God, she looked so beautiful in her mother-bear ire. “Trust me, Eva, I’m not playing a game, and the last thing I’d ever want to do is hurt your son.”

  “I’m warning you, you’d better not, Jake.”

  “I’m just taking him fishing, Eva. Don’t make it a bigger deal than it is.”

  “Just remember what I said. I don’t want him hurt.” She gave him no chance to reply but rather turned and walked to her truck.

  Instead of the restlessness that had filled him before, he was surprised by a wave of heartache that pierced through him. In another life and time, Andy could have been his son.

  Andy should have been his son with Eva. Jake would have taken his son fishing. He would have taught him how to tie a rope and make a lasso. He would have spent time with his son and created the male bonding relationship that a father and son should have.

  He wouldn’t have spent his time behind a desk, consumed by profit and loss statements and making more and more money, like his father had done.

  With a deep sigh, Jake got into his truck, a strange wistfulness riding with him all the way home.

  Chapter Four

  Eva woke up the next day in a foul mood. The cause of that mood? Jake Albright. She didn’t like the fact that he was attempting to worm his way into her life by going through her son. It hadn’t helped that Andy had been beside himself with excitement about the fishing date over breakfast.

  He’d asked her about bait and different kinds of fish, and each question had only made her feel more guilty for not taking the time to take him fishing before now.

  At least there had been no dead cows discovered this morning and no threatening notes in the mailbox. There was also no trash in the barn, indicating none of the kids had partied there the night before.

  Of course, it had been a Sunday night and they all did have school today. But they had partied on school nights in the past. Unfortunately, the barn was too far away from the house for her to hear them whenever they arrived in the night.

  The only times she’d caught them were when she’d stayed awake and sat at the front window. The idea that Griff would say she had ever greeted the teenagers with a gun was absolutely ludicrous.

  She did have a big stick she kept in the hallway closet, and she had carried it with her into the barn when the kids had been there for her own protection. But that stick was a far cry from a gun.

  It wasn’t that she was a big party pooper—she just didn’t want a bunch of kids drinking and whatever else in her barn. First of all, they were t
respassing, but equally important, she was afraid somebody was going to get hurt eventually. Not only would she feel terrible if one of them were injured, but she also didn’t need the liability such an accident might cause.

  At three o’clock she sank down at her table with a fresh cup of coffee. As her gaze landed on Andy’s picture, a whirlwind of thoughts shot through her head.

  She knew her son yearned to have a strong male figure in his life. It was the one thing Eva hadn’t been able to give to him. After Andrew died, she hadn’t wanted to date anyone. Her sole focus had been the ranch and her son. And nothing had changed since then. She still didn’t want to date.

  But she did wish Andy had a male in his life who could give him a man’s perspective on life, a man who would take him fishing and to rodeos. She’d tried to be both mother and father to her son, but she knew there was no way she could make up for the lack of a father figure.

  She certainly didn’t want that person to be Jake. It had been the Albright power that had torn her and Jake apart, and she couldn’t forget that now Jake had that wealth and power.

  Thank God Andy had her features. She’d feared Jake and her son meeting, but Jake didn’t seem to have any suspicions about Andy’s paternity.

  Eva had only lied to her son once, and that was when she’d told Andy his birthday. She’d moved Andy’s birthday celebrations back three months in order to keep the secret of Andy being Jake’s. Thankfully nobody in town had ever questioned it, and everyone believed Andrew was Andy’s father. The only person who had known the truth was Andrew.

  She would go to her grave with the secret of Jake being Andy’s father. Just as she would go to her grave with the secret of what part Justin Albright had played in their breakup.

  She knew how much Jake had loved and adored his father, and she would never tell him anything that would take that away. Even after all these years, she still cared enough about Jake not to do that to him.

  The crunch of gravel announced the arrival of the devil himself. Andy wouldn’t be home for another twenty minutes or so, and if Jake thought he was going to spend those minutes with her, then he had another thought coming.

  She opened her front door as he got out of his truck. “Andy won’t be here for another twenty minutes. Feel free to hang out here by yourself.”

  His eyes twinkled with amusement. “What’s the matter, Eva? Afraid to spend a little time with me?”

  “Of course not,” she replied, instantly heated by his taunt. The minute she stepped out on the porch and closed the door behind her, she realized she’d given him exactly what he wanted.

  “Beautiful afternoon for a little fishing,” he said as he gestured to a tackle box, a cooler and two fishing rods that were in his truck bed. “You and I used to catch some big catfish out of your pond. Remember how we’d sit together on the little dock with our poles in the water as the sun set?”

  His smile seduced her to remember that time with him, when they’d talked about everything from a simple wedding in the barn to what they would name their kids.

  There was no way she was letting him into her head. “There should be plenty of big catfish left in the pond, since it hasn’t been fished for years.”

  “Your son seems like a good kid,” he replied.

  “He’s an awesome kid.” As always, a wealth of pride rose up inside her as she thought of her son. “He’s been a real joy from the moment he was born.”

  “You’ve obviously done a great job with him.”

  For a moment the warmth of his gaze felt welcome. She’d been alone for so long, and as she looked into his eyes, she remembered not only the love of the boy he had been, but also that he’d once been the keeper of her secrets and the builder of her dreams.

  The rumble of the school bus approaching in the distance snapped her out of the momentary lapse. “That will be Andy now.” She began walking down the lane, and Jake fell into step beside her.

  “I ran into Benny last night,” he said. “Do you ever hang out with any of the old gang from high school?”

  “I really don’t have time to hang out with anyone.” When she’d learned she was pregnant, she’d stopped seeing all her friends from school for fear they would know she was carrying Jake’s child. Then there had been a baby to care for, an ill husband and her father’s death.

  Before Jake could ask her any more questions, the bus pulled to a halt and Andy got off. He hurried toward them, sheer excitement shining from his eyes and a happy bounce to his steps.

  “Mr. Jake, you’re here!” Andy smiled up at Jake.

  “Well, of course I’m here. We have a fishing date,” Jake replied as the three of them headed to the house. “Did you forget about that?”

  “Heck, no. I just wasn’t sure you’d really come,” Andy replied. “But I want to catch a big fish.”

  Jake laughed. “And I want you to catch a big fish.”

  Eva’s heart squeezed tight as she watched the interplay between her son and Jake. It was obvious Andy already had some hero worship going on.

  She feared this relationship. She didn’t want Andy to get attached to a man who would never have a place in her life. But it was too late to stop this afternoon of the two of them fishing together from happening.

  “I’ve got bottles of water in the cooler, along with a container of big, fat worms,” Jake said when they reached his truck.

  “Worms?” Andy nodded his head. “Mom told me that worms are the best bait for catching a big catfish.”

  “Your mom is right. That’s the best bait for catching a big fish,” Jake replied. “Are you going to be able to put a wiggling worm on a hook?”

  “Of course,” Andy replied confidently. “I’m not a wimp.”

  Jake laughed and reached out and ruffled Andy’s hair. “I knew you weren’t a wimp the first time I saw you.” Andy beamed up at Jake.

  “Then I guess I’ll see the two of you later,” Eva said.

  She watched as the man who had once owned her heart and the boy who held her heart completely got into the truck and drove down the pasture lane toward the pond. For a brief moment, she wanted to run after them.

  She wanted to sit on the edge of the dock with them. Fishing wasn’t just about catching a big one. It was sitting together and talking quietly about anything and everything that popped into your head.

  It was relaxing and talking and laughing together and building stronger bonds with the people who shared the dock with you. It was about a couple hours in time where nothing was important and worry was near impossible.

  With a sigh, she turned and headed back to the house. The last thing she needed or wanted was to spend any more bonding moments with Jake.

  She had spent the last ten years not only being angry with his father but also harboring what she knew was a bit of irrational anger toward Jake. Even though she had been the one forced to break up with him, he hadn’t fought for her. He hadn’t tried to change her mind. Instead he’d been on the next plane to Italy, and as far as she knew, he had never looked back.

  After that, she’d always wondered if she’d been nothing but the cliché of a rich boy’s toy for a couple of summers of sex. And in that hurt was the desire to keep herself in a place where he could never, ever hurt her again.

  Instead of heading directly into the house, she went around to the back and picked a handful of big, ripe tomatoes to slice up for sandwiches for dinner.

  As she worked, dark clouds began to gather in the southwestern sky, and the air thickened with additional humidity. She hoped the fishing didn’t get interrupted by a pop-up thunderstorm. They could be fairly common at this time of year.

  She carried the tomatoes through the back door and placed them in the kitchen sink to wash. Although it wasn’t her intention for Jake to eat dinner with them, she had plenty of ham and cheese in case Andy insisted his fishing buddy share th
e evening meal of sandwiches and chips.

  The clouds had thickened even more, making for a false twilight, but so far there had been no lightning, thunder or rain. However, the wind had definitely picked up.

  Her father had always told her the fish bit best when it was cloudy, and she hoped Andy was pulling out fish left and right.

  A loud bang sounded several times from the front of the house. She hurried into the living room and peered out the front window. She saw nothing amiss.

  The wind had probably found that loose shutter outside her bedroom window and smacked it against the house. She made herself a mental note to hammer it down in the next couple of days. She returned to the kitchen and busied herself by setting the table for two.

  She flipped on the kitchen light to ward off the darkness caused by the clouds overhead, grabbed a soda from the fridge and then sat at the table to wait for the fishermen’s return.

  What were Jake and Andy talking about while they sat on the dock together? Was her son sharing thoughts and emotions with Jake that Andy hadn’t shared with her? She shook her head to cast these thoughts out of her head, knowing she was being foolish.

  She hoped that if Andy had some questions or issues he wasn’t comfortable asking his mother, then he would ask those questions of Jake. She trusted Jake to give her son good answers to whatever Andy might ask.

  She wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting when, to her surprise, Jake’s pickup pulled to a halt in front of the back door.

  The two entered the kitchen. “Mom, I caught four big fish,” Andy said, his eyes twinkling with excitement. “It was so cool. I had to fight to reel them in. Right, Mr. Jake?”

  “Right,” Jake replied. There was a tension radiating from Jake—a troubling tension. Had something happened with Andy? Had he misbehaved or back talked? Even as she thought it, she couldn’t believe her son would ever be that kind of boy.

  “But we let them go,” Andy continued. “Mr. Jake said to let them go so they can get even bigger and we can catch them again. Catch and release, right, Mr. Jake?”