Bane. BRENDA JACKSON
of a dispute regarding land boundaries, and it seemed her father had no problem continuing the feud.
When Crystal came to another traffic light she pulled out a business card from her purse. It was the card those two government officials had left with her. They’d asked her to call if she changed her mind or if she noticed any funny business. At the time she’d thought their words were a scare tactic to make her give their offer more consideration. But could they have been right? Should she contact them? She replaced the card in her purse and looked at the note again.
No matter what, don’t trust anyone.
So what should she do? Where could she go? Since her father’s death, her mother was now a missionary in Haiti. Should Crystal escape to Orangeburg, South Carolina, where her aunt Rachel still lived? The last thing Crystal wanted was to bring trouble to her elderly aunt’s doorstep.
There was another place she could hide. Her childhood home in Denver. She and her mother had discovered, after going through her father’s papers, that he’d never sold their family homestead after her parents moved to Connecticut. And even more shocking to Crystal was that he’d left the ranch to her. Had that been his way of letting her know he’d accepted that one day she would go back there?
She nibbled her bottom lip. Should she go back now? And face all the memories she’d left behind? What if Bane was there? What if he’d hooked up with someone else despite the promises he’d made to her?
She didn’t want to believe that. The Bane Westmoreland she had fallen in love with had promised to honor their wedding vows. Before marrying someone else he would seek her out to ask for a divorce.
She thought about the other promise he’d made and wondered if she was the biggest fool on earth. He’d vowed he would come back for her. That had been five years ago and she was still waiting. Was she wasting her life on a man who had forgotten about her? A lot could have happened since he’d made that promise. Feelings and emotions could change. People could change. Why was she refusing to let go of teenage memories with a guy who might have moved on with his life?
Legally she was a married woman, but all she had to show for it was a last name she never used and a husband who’d left her with unfulfilled promises. Her last contact with him after her father had sent her away was when he’d called to let her know he was joining the navy. Did he expect her to wait until he got tired of being a sailor, moving from one port to the next? What if an emergency had come up and she’d needed him?
She knew the answer to that without much thought. Had an emergency arisen, she could have reached him through his family. Although the Westmorelands had no idea where she lived now, she’d always known where they were. She could have picked up the phone and called Dillon, Bane’s eldest brother, if she’d ever truly wanted or needed to contact Bane. Several times she’d come close to doing that, but something had always held her back. First of all, she knew the Westmorelands blamed her for a lot of the trouble Bane had gotten into.
As teens, her and Bane’s relationship had been obsessive and she didn’t want to think about the number of times they’d broken the law to be together. She’d had resorted to cutting school, and regardless of what her parents had assumed, the majority of the time it had been her idea and not his. Nothing her parents or his family said or did had torn them apart. Instead, their bond had gotten stronger.
Because of the difference in their ages, her parents had accused Bane of taking advantage of her, and her father had even put a restraining order in place and threatened Bane with jail time to keep him away from her. But that hadn’t stopped her or Bane from being together. When they’d gotten tired of their families’ interference, they had eloped.
She reached inside her shirt and pulled out the sterling-silver heart-shaped locket Bane had given her instead of a wedding ring he couldn’t afford. When he’d placed the locket around her neck he’d said it had belonged to his deceased mother. He’d wanted her to have it, to always wear it as a reminder of their love. His love. She swallowed a thick lump in her throat. If he loved her so much, then why hadn’t he kept his promise and come back for her?
Her mother had mentioned that Bane’s eldest brother, Dillon, had called a year ago when he’d heard about her father’s death. According to her mother, the conversation had been brief, but Dillon had taken the time to inquire about how she was doing. According to her mother the only thing he’d said about Bane was that he was in the navy. Of course her mother thought her daughter was doing just fine now that Bane was out of her life, and the Westmorelands probably felt the same way since she was out of Bane’s. What if her mother was right and Bane was doing just fine without her?
Drawing in a deep breath, Crystal forced her thoughts back to the car following her. Should she call the police for help? She quickly dismissed the idea. Hadn’t the note warned her not to trust anyone? Suddenly an idea popped into her head. It was the start of the holiday shopping season and shoppers were already out in large numbers. She would drive to the busiest mall in Dallas and get lost in traffic. If that didn’t work she would come up with plan B.
The one thing she knew for certain was that she would not let the person tail her home. When she got there, she would quickly pack her things and disappear for a while. She would decide where she was going once she got to the airport. The Bahamas sounded pretty good right about now.
What would Seton Industries think when she didn’t show up for work as usual? At present that was the least of her worries. Staying safe was her top priority.
Half an hour later she smiled, satisfied that plan A had worked. All it took was to scoot her car in and out of all those tenacious shoppers a few times, and the driver of the blue car couldn’t keep up. But just to be certain, she drove around for a while to make sure she was no longer being tailed.
She had fallen in love with Dallas but had no choice except to leave town for a while.
* * *
Sitting in the SUV he had rented at the airport, Bane tilted his Stetson off his eyes and shifted his long legs into a more comfortable position. He checked his watch again. The private investigator’s report indicated Crystal was employed with Seton Industries as a biochemist while working on her PhD, and that she usually got off work around four. It was close to seven and she hadn’t gotten home yet. So where was she?
It was the holiday season and she could have gone shopping. And she must have girlfriends, so she could very well be spending time with one of them. He just had to wait.
None of his family members had been surprised when he’d announced he was going after Crystal. However, except for Bailey, who knew the whole story, all of them were shocked to learn he’d married Crystal when they had eloped. His brother Riley had claimed he’d suspected as much, but all the others hadn’t had a clue.
Bailey had given Bane a huge hug and whispered that it was about time he claimed his wife. Of course others, like Dillon, had warned Bane that things might be different and not to expect Crystal to be the eighteen-year-old he’d last seen. Just like he had changed over the years, so had she.
His cousin Zane, who was reputed to be an expert on women, had gone so far as to advise Bane not to expect Crystal to readily embrace her role as loving wife or his role as long-lost husband. Zane had cautioned him not to do anything stupid like sweeping her off her feet and carrying her straight to the bedroom. They would have to get to know each other all over again, and he shouldn’t be surprised if she tried putting up walls between them for a while.
Zane had reiterated that regardless of the reason, Bane hadn’t made contact with his wife in almost five years and doubts would have crossed Crystal’s mind regarding Bane’s love and faithfulness.
He had appreciated everyone’s advice. And while he wished like hell he could sweep Crystal off her feet and head straight for the nearest bedroom when he saw her, he had enough sense to know they would have to take things slow. After all, they had been apart all this time and there would be a lot for them to talk about and sort out. But he felt certain she knew he would come back for her as he’d promised; no matter how long it had taken him to do so.
He