Lonestar Secrets by Colleen Coble Read Free Book Online Page B

me. They were always looking for a new way to make a million overnight. No crazy scheme was too extreme to try. So that meant we often didn't have enough money for clothes, though I never went hungry. After one of my dad's 'opportunities' went south, we moved in with my uncle. He was a sour man and never spoke to me unless it was to tell me to do something"
    "Your parents let him?"
    Shannon shrugged. "What choice did they have? He was putting a roof over their heads while they were out looking for Spanish treasure."
    "I've heard the legends around here."
    "My father believed they were more than legends. Anyhow, that's how I happened to move here. I tutored Jack and his sister in biology. I thought we were friends. You know about jewel?" She waited until Allie nodded. "I told Jack I thought Jewel might be a unicorn, that one night I thought I'd seen a horn on his head." She nearly winced waiting for Allie's reaction. This wasn't something she talked about.

    Allie didn't laugh. "Rick says there's something different about that horse."
    "Do you think I'm crazy?"
    Allie shook her head. "I've seen strange things in this land. So what happened? Did Jack make fun of you?"
    "Not then. He promised not to tell anyone. Two days later, a bunch of boys saw me. They circled around like a pack of wolves and wanted to know if it was true that I had a unicorn. I had to admit it."
    "So Jack told them?"
    Shannon nodded then held up her hand. "Wait, there's more. The whole school thought I was a little crazy after that. In the halls, people gave me a wide berth. Even my so-called friends. They cut me loose. No one sat next to me in class. My reputation grew in the years after my parents died. I got quiet after their death. First with grief, then with fatigue. My uncle expected me to do everything around the ranch, the housework, the barn work, everything. My silence just added to my schoolmates' perception that I wasn't right in the head. It didn't help that I was thought of as poor white trash."
    Allie winced. "I'm so sorry, Shannon. But you're strong and smart. Couldn't they see that?"
    Shannon shrugged. "They believed the great Jack MacGowan, star football player, son of the senator. But Jack isn't trustworthy. If he says he'll do something, I'll never be able to believe him. And he has my daughter."
    "No wonder you don't know what to do. Rick thinks the world of Jack. Maybe he's changed. Did you ever confront him about how he broke your confidence?"

    Shannon nodded. "He said he was sorry, that it just slipped out when he was talking with his buddies. But it was too little too late. He gave me my first lesson on not trusting people."
    "It sounds like it was that way with your parents too. They weren't there for you much."
    Shannon never liked to face that fact, but she gave a reluctant nod. "I suppose. But it made me strong. And I want my daughter daughters to be strong too. Life is hard enough without expecting too much from other people. And I can't assume Jack will do right by Faith now that he knows the truth."
    Allie grabbed the cordless phone on the swing beside her. She handed it to Shannon. "Call an attorney."
    Shannon's fingers closed around the phone. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to at least contact a lawyer. She knew no one though. Wait, wasn't Horton's brother an attorney? "My old boss has a brother who might know what to do. I've still got the contact information in my phone. Horton had me put it in as his next-of-kin." She scrolled through her address book and found the number.
    Did she even want to know? She bit her lip as she punched in the number. When the man answered on the other end, she explained who she was.
    "Horton has often spoken of you," Duncan Chrisman said. "Is my brother well?"
    "He's fine," Shannon said hastily. "Um, this is a legal matter, and I didn't know who else to call."
    "What can I do for you? No charge for any advice. You've been good to Horton."

    "It ... it's a custody issue." Shannon told him the