Seeking Shelter

He pulled the note Mac had left him from his jacket pocket. Slowly, he climbed off the bike again and turned to open the saddlebags. There, in a small packet, was the other letter. He read it through, rifling through all the pages.

The letter informed him, yet again, that he was an heir to Mac’s estate. Estate. Jace swallowed back a near hysterical laugh. He focused on the thin pages of the will. More legalese than actual information about Mac. Four pages were all it took to boil Mac’s life down to...to nothing.

And then the last page. He hadn’t paid attention to it before. It was simply a list of the people who had been sent a copy of the paperwork.

Jace could only stare. Two other names nearly burned a hole through the letterhead. Why hadn’t he noticed them earlier? He didn’t even remember looking at this page.

Madeline Grey. Amy Grey. With addresses in Arizona. Jace knew from all those stories Mac had told him that they were the wife and daughter he had spent the past twenty years searching for. The same two people Mac had spent every waking moment wanting and missing. How the hell had Stephen Haase found them when Mac couldn’t?

Jace hurt. His heart hurt. His soul ached. The one thing Mac had longed for, Jace had found so carelessly. It wasn’t fair. It felt so very wrong.

In that instant, Jace’s resolve solidified.

He brought the big bike roaring to life. The powerful engine shattered the quiet of the afternoon. He drove through the streets of L.A., weaving in and out of traffic, ticking off multitudes of drivers, but not caring.

When he reached the highway, he let his bike run as fast as the city traffic allowed, relishing the squeal of his tires.

Finally, he stopped. The engine ticked as it pretended to cool. He looked up. The chrome-and-glass building in front of him soared into the late afternoon sky, easily twenty stories high.

Had it really been only a couple of days since he’d been here? Seemed like years.

Haase had known where Mac’s family was and hadn’t told him, and for that, Jace wanted to kill him. He grabbed the papers from the saddlebag and stalked toward the building. Mac might be gone but his work wasn’t done. Jace yanked open the giant glass door with more force than necessary and stepped inside the air-conditioned lobby.

The same young receptionist stared at him when he got off the elevator. Her eyes widened and Jace realized she wasn’t just startled—he’d scared the living daylights out of her. Good.

He didn’t sit in her fancy waiting room this time, either. He didn’t even talk to her, or look at the trapped fish. Instead, he stalked down the hall to the office he’d been in earlier.

“Mr. Holmes. What brings you back? Is there a problem?” Stephen Haase asked as he stood.

“Yeah, there’s a problem.” Jace stepped forward and felt a little thrill when the man took a step back. Jace dropped the papers on the desktop. “You did this, right?”

The lawyer peered down at the papers. “Yes. I just gave them to you.” He looked at Jace as if he thought maybe he was high on something, or crazy.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Haase.” The young receptionist’s voice came from the doorway behind him. Jace didn’t turn around. “Security is on the way up.”

“Don’t worry, Jan.” Haase lifted a hand and tried to smile. “I’m sure Mr. Holmes won’t be long.”

“You’re damned right, I won’t be long.” Jace leaned forward, into the man’s space. “You bastard. How long have you known where Mac’s family was? Why didn’t you tell him?”

“Why would I do that? Madeline didn’t want him to know.”

Jace bit back a curse and clenched his hands into tight fists. He wanted to belt the man, shove him through that shiny glass window at his back. Nothing would be enough punishment for the pain Jace had watched Mac suffer.

Twenty years of searching for the baby girl his wife had taken away had killed Mac. Yeah, he’d sunk deep into a bottle, causing the damage to his liver—but that had been the only way he’d been able to cope. His only escape. Even in the last hours of his life, death closing in, Mac had cried out for his little girl.

Jace heard footsteps behind him. Security had apparently arrived, and with it, the lawyer’s backbone. Haase leaned forward, bracing his hands on the desktop. His glare would have wilted anyone else. Jace feared nothing at this stage of his life. Nothing he’d admit, anyway.

“Don’t judge me, boy. You don’t know anything at all about Mac and his life before he landed in the gutter.”

“I know plenty. This.” Jace stabbed the rumpled papers with his finger. “This was his family. His life. He’d have given anything to see them again.” Pain shot through Jace’s chest and for an instant he thought maybe the security guards had pulled out a Taser. No. This wasn’t that kind of pain. This came from deep inside. He ignored it.

“And what about my family?” Haase bellowed, lifting a palm toward the door—to stall security, apparently. “Mackenzie was my business partner once. Surprises you, doesn’t it? He had the world at his feet, trying cases and winning. But he chose to dive into that bottle and destroy everyone. Himself. His family. My business. My family suffered because of that—that...”

Jace was stunned. Mac a lawyer? The man who kept all his worldly goods in a worn shopping cart and slept more often under a cardboard box than a roof? But though he was stunned, Jace recovered quickly. He glared at the older man.

“You destroyed him. The bottle was only your accomplice.” Jace’s voice broke. His gut churned and he knew if he stayed much longer, he’d be sick. He couldn’t get out of here fast enough. He spun on his heel.

Two pimply-faced guns-for-hire cowered in the doorway. The receptionist seemed more likely to do something. But even she backed out of Jace’s way.

He yanked the fancy glass panel open, wishing it would slam and shatter, but the hydraulics simply made it whisper closed. Stalking away from the receptionist, her flunkies and her empty lobby, he didn’t glance back.

Once outside, he opened the saddlebag and shoved the papers into what little space was left. The envelope of cash stayed nestled close to his chest, feeling heavy, like some type of commitment. Cursing, he closed his eyes and pictured Mac’s familiar, smiling face. Jace couldn’t let his friend down now.

Finding people wasn’t the hard part. Convincing them they wanted to be found was.

Opening his eyes again, Jace let the calm of the day and the familiarity of the bike soothe him. He knew what he had to do. He focused his mind and pulled away from the curb.

Arizona, huh?

He’d never been there.

Looked like that was about to change.

CHAPTER TWO

THE SCREEN AT THE BACK door slammed with a loud thwack. Amy looked up from where she was wiping down the coffee bar to see Katie trudge down the main aisle with her half teddy bear, half husky, Butcher, trotting behind.

“Hi, sweetie. How was your day?”

Katie didn’t respond, simply tossed her backpack to the floor by the coffee bar and headed for the tall stool on the opposite side of the counter. Butcher flopped down at her feet.

The store was quiet this time of day, so Amy could stop what she was doing and focus on her daughter. Amy knew that look, knew not to push. “So, everything okay?” She slowly wiped the counter, all the while watching Katie out of the corner of her eye.

She’d known today would be rough for Katie. Her beloved teacher, Miss Davis, was out on medical leave, and the new teacher started today.

“Yeah.”

That wasn’t much help. Maybe distraction would loosen her up. “Do you want something to drink?”

“Nope.”

Amy sighed again, put her cleaning supplies away and wiped her hands. “What’s up?”

Katie swung her legs and looked down at the scarred surface of the old counter. Her tennis shoes resembled a pendulum swinging back and forth.

She’d chosen to wear her favorite pink jeans and a shirt they’d bought on their last trip into Phoenix. Her blond hair hung in two not-so-neat ponytails that just hit her tiny shoulders.

“Mama?”

“Yeah?”

“How come I don’t have a daddy?”

Amy’s stomach dropped and she swallowed hard. Here we go again. She did not want to get into this conversation, not now, not ever.

Ever since the mother of one of Katie’s schoolmates had gotten remarried, Katie had been obsessed with her own lack of a father. Every time Amy thought they’d moved past it, something brought it back.

She walked around the counter and sat on the matching bar stool beside Katie. She’d have pulled her into her lap and never let her go, but Katie had resisted “being treated like a baby” for some months now.

Katie wasn’t ready to hear the truth—of the man Amy had thought she’d loved, who’d forced himself on her and left her shattered and pregnant. Now he was nothing more than a sperm donor and a piddly monthly check.

“What brought that up?” Amy stared down at her little girl. Katie’s beginnings had been...difficult. Remembering those days always proved painful.

Matt had been so much stronger, and the body that had violated hers had been conditioned by hours of football practice and steroids. She’d never had a chance. Or a choice.

She’d thought about an abortion, but couldn’t do it. When she’d realized she was pregnant, she’d confronted him. What a mistake. He’d laughed and written her a check.

“Thanks for the good time, babe,” he’d said as he tossed it at her and walked away.

She’d decided then—at all of eighteen—that her revenge would be to keep the child. One day he’d change his mind and she’d deny him any connection.

She hadn’t planned on falling so completely and wonderfully in love with the baby. Her baby. But she had, and now Amy had to find a way of giving Katie answers.

“Honey, we’ve talked about this.”

“I know, Mama, but my new teacher had us draw pictures of our family today. I didn’t have a daddy to draw.”

Amy knew she wasn’t the only single parent in the community. “What about Emily?” She mentioned the name of another girl in the class whose mother was single.

Katie frowned. “She drew her dad in Chicago with the new lady. Even Rachel Bishop drew her daddy up on a cloud in heaven.” Katie pouted. “I don’t have anybody to draw. Just a big old empty spot.”

Amy’s heart hurt for her daughter. “Sweetie, we’re all different. It’s a good thing.” She shuddered. If this was so important now, what were Katie’s teen years going to be like? Amy bit back the groan.

“No, it’s not. I don’t want to be different.” If Katie had been standing, she’d have most likely stamped her foot.

“I’m sorry, Katie. I can’t change it. It’s the way things are.” Amy reached over and stroked one of her daughter’s silky ponytails. She silently debated if she should talk to the teacher. What should she say?

Katie didn’t seem satisfied with the answer, which Amy knew really wasn’t one, but she didn’t say anything more, either.

“How about a cookie?” She didn’t normally let Katie have sweets so close to supper, but figured if there was ever a time for sugar therapy, now was it.

“Okay. Long as it’s not one of those homemade ones.” Katie pointed at the glass display on the counter and wrinkled her nose. Butcher sat up eagerly, though.

“Butch likes these.” Amy grinned at Katie. “Don’t you want to share with him?”

“Nope.”

Katie smiled back and Amy felt her heart catch. If only all of life’s problems could be fixed with a simple cookie. She pulled one of the store-bought cookies Katie preferred out of the jar on the back counter.

Halfway through her snack, Katie called to her again. “Mama?”

“Yes?”

“I have a question.”

“I have an answer.” Amy repeated one of her mom’s old quips.

“Mama...” This time Katie drew out the word with a long-suffering sigh and Amy laughed. “I’m serious.”

“Okay.”

“Since I don’t have a daddy now, is it okay if we start looking for one?”

Amy froze and stared at her. “What?” She hadn’t really heard that, had she?

“Can I—we—look for a dad?”

“That’s what I thought you said.” Amy glanced away, staring out the window at the little town they called home. On a good day, Rattlesnake Bend boasted four hundred residents, including the surrounding ranches. If half were male, that’d be a stretch. Single and under the age of fifty? The numbers dwindled even further.

The tension in Amy’s stomach eased. “It’s not like getting a puppy, you know, but, uh, sure, honey.” She reluctantly agreed, as much to appease her daughter as to get out of this conversation.

What was with the world all of a sudden? First Hank pushing her to sell the ranch, now Katie back to wanting a dad.

What was wrong with the way things were? Amy looked around at the store, at her daughter munching away on her cookie. She’d managed to support them for the past two years with this store. They weren’t rich, but they made it.

No, she wasn’t ready for any changes. Things were going to stay just the way they were.

* * *

JACE HAD JUST PASSED the highway sign that told him Rattlesnake Bend was another twenty miles when the bike’s engine started to miss.

Damn. He should have taken the time for the tune-up. After driving to Pennsylvania when Linc had been trapped last spring, then back to Los Angeles, he’d known the bike needed some TLC. But there hadn’t been time. Or motivation.

Mac’s dying had been damned inconvenient.

The bike missed again, and he cringed. He hated driving the twenty miles, pushing the bike into probable damage, but stopping out here in the middle of nowhere wasn’t an option.

By the time he’d forced the bike to the city limits, he was worried about the engine. It finally gave up, sputtering and falling silent, a pathetic state for the Harley beast Jace loved. He’d have to push the big bike the last couple of blocks to the old-fashioned gas station up ahead.

As he walked, Jace looked up and down the street. Rattlesnake Bend, Arizona, boasted a population of 423 if the city limit sign was to be believed. The bullet holes in the sign and a few scattered cars parked at uneven angles to the curb crowned this as Podunk, America. The Café sign said simply what it was. It probably didn’t even have a full name.

Jace had seen town squares like this back in the Midwest with one major difference. Those communities had actual parks in the center of the square. Here, the desert provided only hard-baked dirt for a couple scraggly pines and an old, dead cottonwood that looked more like the local hanging tree than actual landscaping.

The town was quiet as it baked in the sun. Lord, it was hot, despite it being midwinter. How did people live here in the summer?

Sweat poured down his face as he finally stopped by the pumps. Gas wouldn’t help, but he wasn’t pushing any farther. The desert sucked.

A man about his age came out the front door. Jace glanced up and smiled. The good-ole-boy look was still in style. Grimy ball cap, bill forward, not sideways. T-shirt beneath an unbuttoned denim shirt with one of those ovals on his left side that labeled him as Rick.

“That’s sure one pretty bike.” The man’s gaze roamed over the Harley’s body almost as if it were a woman.

“Yeah. You should see her when she’s cleaned up.” The chrome and denim-blue paint were covered in road dust at the moment. “She was running rough out in the desert. I let her go as far as I could.”

“Been pushing a ways? Whatcha think’s the problem?” Rick crouched down next to the bike, peering at the engine with a practiced eye.

“She needed a tune-up a while back. Sounds like a plug, maybe a plug wire that’s toast.” Jace knelt beside him.

“I think it’s more than plugs, but don’t think I got this kind, anyway.” Rick leaned in closer, poking around in the compact engine. “We’d better look at the points and the generator. Nearest parts store is over in Gilcrest. That’s fifty miles. Could be a challenge to get it quick. You might be stuck for a couple days.”

Jace cursed. Getting the bike there, or the part here, wasn’t going to be easy. And that was if it was just the plug and wires. He sighed. He wasn’t really in a hurry. There wasn’t anything or anyone waiting for him in L.A. And he had business here, anyway.

“We got a problem?” Another man’s voice cut through the desert heat.

“Nothing we can’t handle.” Rick stood and glared at the other man. He didn’t seem much older, but Jace couldn’t tell for sure, as a worn cowboy hat shaded his eyes. The badge on the man’s shirt proclaimed him the local law. Jace looked up at him from where he crouched.

Jace had had enough run-ins with cops to know they either trusted you and left you alone or they didn’t—and the latter could be pure hell. He’d learned long ago to keep a low profile until he knew which kind he was dealing with. Not always the easiest thing to do, but the wisest.

Rick interrupted Jace’s thoughts. “Gavin, quit being an ass.”

Jace turned his attention back to the engine, but kept his ears open. He didn’t say anything. He wasn’t here to get involved with the locals, at least not these two.

“Rick, I’m just tellin’ you. You need to be careful.”

Rick sighed. “If this town is going to survive, we can’t chase off everyone who comes to town who doesn’t fit your standards.”

Jace heard more than words in their conversation. He heard a history he wanted no part of.

Ah, small towns. He’d grown up in one. Everyone knew everyone else’s business. There were no secrets, no true privacy. He’d run away from just such a place when he’d turned sixteen. He was in no hurry to go back.

“It’s my job to keep everyone safe.” The lawman stepped closer, crowding Rick.

“Yeah, and you’re an elected official. Screw up and we’ll vote you out of office. We need people to come here. You like them tumbleweeds blowin’ across your doorway?”

As if on cue, one the size of a VW Bug chose that moment to meander across the wide street.

“Shut up, Rick.” Gavin had the sense to step back. He still loomed over Jace, though. “You just watch yourself,” he said in a low voice.

Jace resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and slowly unfolded his lanky frame. He realized that he was a good head taller than either man. “You don’t need to worry. I’ll take care of my business as soon as I can, and be on my way.”

He didn’t explain that his business in Rattlesnake Bend was more than fixing his bike. He didn’t think good old Gavin could handle that piece of information.

Jace had traveled five hundred miles over the past two days to get here. He was tired and hot. No local yokel was going to get in his way, but he didn’t intend to get in theirs, either.

He took another glance around the deserted town and sighed. Just because he had the address didn’t mean Madeline Grey and her daughter were still here. He wished he’d pushed that attorney for more info, but then he’d probably still be in L.A. Behind bars, most likely.

All the way here, he’d thought about Mac’s family, wondering what the heck to say. He still hadn’t figured it out.

Until he did, he wouldn’t start asking questions, even if one of these men could give him answers. He could wait a little longer. Until he knew the lay of the land and the mood of the people, he’d keep his business to himself.

Jace stood watching as the lawman strolled away, little puffs of dust rising up behind his boot heels.

“You can leave her here, and I’ll call over to Gilcrest to check on the parts, if you’d like,” Rick offered.

“Thanks.” Together, they pushed the bike inside one of the bays.

“Be a shame for something to happen to such a pretty girl.” Rick grinned as he eyed the bike with that same sense of awe. Jace almost felt sorry for the man’s wife, if he had one. She hadn’t a chance measuring up to the machine. The mechanic pulled down the old garage door to block the bike from view.

“The diner open?” Jace didn’t remember how long ago he’d had breakfast.

“Not till five. Lunch rush is over. Caryn heads out to her place to take care of her horses this time of day. There’s stuff over at the grocery you can eat up quick, though. Just stay away from anything in the front counter.” Rick shuddered and then laughed as he walked back into the air-conditioned glass box that served as the office for the station.

Jace headed toward the tiny grocery store. He was surprised to see that it had a screen door, and the old Rainbow Bread sign on the handle had seen better days.

The wood frame slapped shut behind him, and Jace blinked several times as he stepped into the comparatively dim interior. The air was blessedly cool, and he thought he’d stay right here forever. Finally, his eyes adjusted, and he was pleasantly surprised at the neatness.

It wasn’t kitschy or frilly, as so many small-town shops were. Only the roadrunner wallpaper up near the high ceiling gave an indication anyone had tried to decorate in anything but stock and boxes.

Three aisles lined with well-filled shelves ran the length of the building. Canned and boxed goods sat like little soldiers in neat rows.

The counter stretched across the front, including a glass case filled with pastries and other baked goods. Next to that, a glass meat counter glistened under the fluorescent lights. A giant meat slicer and state-of-the-art steamer sat behind it.

A young woman stood behind the displays. He wondered if she was the owner or just a clerk. She didn’t seem old enough to own a business, but looks could be deceiving. A hunk of meat lay on a wooden chopping block, and she held a cleaver in her hand. She brought the blade down with a loud whack. At first she didn’t look up. Good thing, too. It could have been disastrous.

“Can I help you?” she asked as she turned around. Her voice was warm, but there was a wariness in her eyes. She took a step forward, keeping the counter between them.

She wasn’t tall, but her stance was straight and proud. Her long blond hair was pulled back into a haphazard ponytail with enough pieces left loose to fall down around her face in a golden cloud. She stared at him with wide green eyes.

She wiped her hands on a rag, and he saw that the once-white apron she wore over her jeans and T-shirt was stained with red, like the butcher he remembered Mom going to back home. A hundred years ago.

He couldn’t help but smile. It made him think of the millions of campy horror movies he’d seen. He loved those movies. It’d been a while since he’d seen one.

He shook his head to focus on the now. He’d spent way too much time in the sun.

Jace squinted at her, trying to read her expression. She wasn’t old enough to be Madeline’s contemporary but maybe she knew the daughter. “Yeah. Thought I’d get some supplies.” He indicated the aisles with a tilt of his head.

“Canned goods are on the far wall. You’ll find the snacks front middle, and beverages over there.” She waved the blade in the general direction. “If you need personal stuff, you’ll have to go see Sam down the street at the drugstore.”

“Thanks,” Jace mumbled, and headed down the center aisle. There must be a basement under part of the wood floor, as he heard a hollow tone beneath his steps toward the rear.

A wall-length, glass-fronted freezer stood at the very back, and he couldn’t resist opening the door. The cool air blasted him and he drank it in, letting it cool him as well as clear some of the dust from his lungs.

A box of Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars sat open on the bottom shelf. He grinned. They weren’t tagged, and he bet he’d just found her private stash. He grabbed one and tore open the wrapper. The rich chocolate ice cream tasted sweet and cool as he sauntered through the aisles. He grabbed a couple of sodas, some canned meat and a bag of chips along the way.

Traveling on the bike meant frequent stops, and he didn’t have much more than his clothes in the saddlebags.