The Texan by Joan Johnston Read Free Book Online Page B

point.
    “I could use a drink right now,” Sam said.
    Without a word, her mother crossed and poured Sam a cup of coffee and set it down in front of him.
    “How did you convince Owen to let you go along?” her mother asked.
    “He hasn’t exactly agreed to take me yet,” Bay admitted. “But I’m sure he’ll come around. I told him I know where to find Luke.”
    “Do you know where he is?” her mother asked.
    “I wish I did! About the time Luke called, I got busy delivering the foal, and by the time I got back to the phone, the call had been disconnected. I hoped Luke might have phoned here.”
    “He didn’t,” her mother said. “Where was he when he called you?”
    “The pay phone at the Rio Grande Village.”
    “Sam, get the number of the store from information,” her mother instructed. “It’s doubtful Luke’s still there, but maybe someone can tell us if he bought supplies and which direction he headed.”
    It only took a moment to get the number and for Sam to dial it. The phone rang only once before it was answered. Sam said, “Who’s this?” and quickly hung up the phone. His eyes were bleak when he met Bay’s gaze.
    “Who was it?” Bay asked.
    “FBI,” Sam said. “Do you think they’ll be able to figure out who called?”
    “I wouldn’t think so,” Bay said, and then changed her mind. “Yeah. They can probably get hold of the phone records.”
    “Do you think Luke’ll call again?” Sam asked.
    “How can he?” Bay said. “His cell phone probably doesn’t work in that rugged terrain, because he didn’t useit to call me. And I doubt he’ll try to use the phone at the Village if it’s being watched by the FBI.”
    “Do you think he’ll know it’s the FBI?” Sam asked.
    Bay pursed her lips. “They weren’t too subtle on the phone with you, were they?”
    “So what do we do now?” Sam asked.
    “I’m going to the Big Bend tomorrow with Owen Blackthorne. We’ll find Luke, and I’ll make sure he gets home safely.”
    Bay saw the struggle her mother was having between wanting Bay to stay safe at home and knowing that Bay might be Luke’s only chance to return home alive.
    Sam pounded his useless legs. “God, I hate being tied to this chair. I’d go there myself if I could.”
    “Blackjack is coming here tomorrow to check on some of the two-year-old cutting horses we’re training for him,” her mother said. “Maybe he knows someone who can help us locate Luke.”
    Bay exchanged glances with Sam. After their father’s death, the patriarch of the Blackthorne family had hired their mother to train cutting horses for him, which gave him an excuse to come around and check things out. “Do you really think Jackson Blackthorne would be willing to help us, Mom?”
    “Despite what your father believed, the Blackthornes aren’t all ogres.”
    Bay felt her heart skip a beat. Enmity for the Blackthornes had been a part of her life from the cradle. She’d never heard a good word spoken about them around this table. Her mother’s pronouncement was blasphemy in this household—or would have been if her father had still been alive.
    Bay searched her mother’s eyes, uncertain what it was she sought. Had her mother made peace with JacksonBlackthorne? Could the generations-old feud simply be called off?
    Even if her mother was willing to forgive and forget, Sam was not. “The Blackthornes are all sonsofbitches, every blackhearted one of them,” he said vehemently. “And Blackjack has the blackest heart of all.”
    Her mother didn’t argue. She merely rose and said to Sam, “Keep your cell phone handy, in case Luke finds a way to call you,” and left the room. They heard her tread on the stair to her bedroom.
    “What’s gotten into her?” Sam said irritably, once she was gone. “When did the Blackthornes become our friends?”
    “I don’t like them any better than you do,” Bay said. “But that doesn’t mean they don’t have their uses. I suspect Blackjack has