The Texan's Return - Karen Whiddon Mills & Boon Romantic Suspense

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changed. She’d not only lost her sister, but her mother had descended into the depths of alcoholism, her stepfather had left and Hailey had become caregiver to her three younger siblings. For them, she’d had to be strong. For them, she’d buried her grief and sorrow deep inside and worked hard to make sure they’d have the most stable lives she could give them.

      Since then, she’d clawed her way back to a semblance of normalcy. She refused to let that be jeopardized because of his return.

      Why had he come to see her? Just to let her know he was back in town? Along with the monster he called his father. She supposed she should be glad for the warning. That way, she could make sure she avoided them.

      Giving herself a mental shake, she straightened her shoulders, exhaled and turned to make her way back to the kitchen. She’d never liked change, but it sure looked like things were changing. She’d do her damnedest to keep any repercussions from touching her or her brothers and sister.

      * * *

      Mac Morrison had known his stomach shouldn’t have been twisted in knots because he meant to say hello to his old high school flame. Yet it was. The fact that he’d never forgotten her factored in heavily as one reason, but it could also be due to the possibility that she still hated him.

      Did she, after ten long years? Wanting to know the answer was part of the reason he made this unannounced visit.

      The other part? He simply wanted to see her. To find out if the years had been kind to her. To hear her speak in that slow, sensual Southern drawl he’d never forgotten. Even if she looked at him with her bright blue eyes full of hate, he thought he could take that. Maybe. Maybe now enough years had passed that he’d no longer feel that sharp stab of betrayal.

      Foolish, he knew. But in the aftermath of Hailey’s sister’s murder, he and his family had been part of the fallout. The entire town had been in upheaval. He could have taken that; he could have taken anything. But when Hailey turned against him, that had been the final straw of many.

      Now looking back, he could see a bit more clearly. They’d all been in agony. The unspeakable had happened right in the middle of their idyllic little town, and the consequences had been enormous. There’d been so much pain on both sides. So much loss. Surely not the worst, but definitely not the least of all had been their breakup.

      If he’d wanted a fresh start, he wasn’t sure this town would be the best place to get it. But he owned the house and farm free and clear. This was what his father wanted, so Mac had come home. Because despite everything, no matter where he’d lived since then, he always considered Legacy, Texas, home.

      Once he’d arrived back in the place that had haunted him since leaving, the first thing he’d done after getting settled was ask around in town about Hailey. He figured she might have gotten married by now, have a couple kids of her own. He’d been stunned to learn she hadn’t, even more surprised to find out she’d remained living in her childhood home with her mother and three younger siblings.

      Of course he knew he had to head out to Hailey’s place. He’d driven there slowly, the winding, tree-lined roads as familiar as if he’d never left. The thick foliage, glowing in various shades of vibrant green, reminded him how beautiful spring could be in this part of Texas. With the backdrop of a cloudless sky in that particular shade of cornflower blue, the natural beauty lightened his heart. He thought it might be the prettiest thing he’d ever seen, except for the sight of Hailey’s gaze softening as she looked at him.

      Once, he’d been certain he and Hailey would end up together. Ever since they’d split, he’d felt a yawning ache in his heart, right where she used be.

      As he walked up her sidewalk, still edged in what he swore were the same type of colorful flowers from the previous decade, his heart hammered in his chest. He tried to remember the words he’d rehearsed. They’d all flown out the window at his first glimpse of her tidy little white house, unchanged by time.

      Unaccountably nervous, he swallowed hard. Then, before he had time to change his mind, he lifted his fist and rapped on her door. Again, he rehearsed his speech, hoping to sound casual, friendly even.

      When she opened the door, annoyance in her sky blue eyes, he swallowed back whatever he’d been about to say. Their gazes met, locked and every single word he’d prepared fled again.

      Damn it. He could do nothing but drink her in with his gaze. Hailey looked even better than he remembered—gorgeous, stunning and sexy. If anything, the decade since he’d seen her had ripened her lush beauty, maturing a younger prettiness into a sensual sort of beauty. She still wore her blond hair straight and uncut. Now it came nearly to her slender hips. Even in an old T-shirt and well-worn jeans, she outshone any other woman he’d ever known.

      A roiling mix of emotions stampeded through him. Longing, joy and lust, of course. And more. All the memories of the time they shared, all the regret at missing the future he’d planned with her.

      One thing he knew with absolute certainty. He’d been gone too long. Way too long. Still standing like a tongue-tied fool on her front porch, he realized another utter truth. He should have come back years ago and tried to right things between them. Even if she had believed the son should suffer for the sins of his father, he could have at least tried.

      Perceived sins. Despite what she and everyone else believed, his father, Gus, hadn’t killed Hailey’s sister Brenda. Mac knew his dad. The elder Morrison was a kindhearted man, always helping others. He’d been a good father, a great father, and Mac had looked up to him, even after he’d been tried on trumped-up charges and sent off to prison for a crime he hadn’t committed.

      When the prison had called with the news of his dad’s impending release—they’d called it Compassionate Release—due to severe and terminal health issues, Mac had been shocked. He’d immediately hightailed it up to the prison to see for himself. The sight of Gus Morrison, a once stout man, with his bones riding too close to the surface of his loose and paper-thin skin, had hurt.

      “Pancreatic cancer,” Gus had rasped. “Stage four and inoperable. I don’t want your pity, son. I just want to go home to die.”

      By home, he meant the family home in the town that had castigated him. Since they still owned the house free and clear and were current on the property taxes, Mac saw no reason not to give his father his wish.

      So for the first time in a decade, Mac had driven back to east Texas, to the little town of Legacy, north of Mineola.

      He’d finally gotten his dad settled in the wreck of a building that had once been the family home. Years of abandonment had taken its toll on the place. Mac had gone in and chased out the rodents, patched up the holes and made sure the electrical and plumbing still worked. By some miracle, they did.

      Hospice had brought out the hospital bed and a bedpan, though they only checked in a few times a week. If he wanted round-the-clock care for his father, he’d have to hire a private nurse. For right now, Mac figured he’d do the best he could.

      Then, with Gus settled and the hospice nurse visiting, Mac had driven out to attempt to make peace with Hailey. Her decisive reaction had put a quick end to that idea.

      What had he expected after all?

      Had he honestly thought the passage of time would have magically mended the huge rift between them? Closure, that oft-bandied-about term, clearly wasn’t going to be easy in this situation. In fact, he almost felt like he’d never left.

      The thought made him feel uneasy. Determined to do the right thing for his father, he hadn’t thought about what going back would actually mean. After all, Gus hadn’t been around town after his arrest. He hadn’t seen the way the townspeople had reacted to the news of Gus Morrison’s indictment. Or how his wife and son were made scapegoats. Shopkeepers had refused to wait on them, waitresses wouldn’t serve them. Things had gotten so bad they’d had to drive to the next town over to buy groceries and gas.

      Small towns could be brutal sometimes. But now that a decade had gone by, Mac hoped things would be different. They sure as hell better be.

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