Stiffening, she reminded herself the sensation wasn’t uncommon. When people from her past recognized her, they stared. In their minds, once a sinner always a sinner and there’s no event more entertaining than the appearance of a she-devil to brighten an otherwise boring day.
Most times she kept on walking and didn’t bother to speak. In fact, there’d been times when she’d slinked back to her truck and raced home. But since she’d met Dr. Stewart, she’d been refusing more and more to run. She had a right to stand her ground. Yes, she’d sure as hell made a lot of mistakes, but the last she checked no one could cast the first stone.
She stopped and turned, her hand gripping the worn leather strap of her purse.
Greer spotted him instantly. He was a tall lean man. Well dressed. He still carried himself with a straight-back posture. Like his sister and his parents, he’d been a rider. The family owned a stable of the finest horses in Texas and a far cry from the nags she now owned.
When she made eye contact his gaze locked on her. His hair remained dark, but gray now lightened the temples. Deeply tanned skin gave him a youthful vigor. He had to be close to forty now.
His eyes narrowed as if he wanted to assure himself she was who he thought she was. “I haven’t seen you in town in a long time.”
“No, I don’t get into town often.” He’d been wearing a suit the last time she’d seen him. They’d been in court.
His eyes darkened. “I didn’t realize you were still in the area until I heard about your party the other night. I couldn’t believe it when they told me you’d never left. Thirty miles outside of Austin the entire time.”
“Texas is my home.”
He shook his head. “It was my sister’s home, too. Until you killed her.”
Her memory jumped to Sydney Dowd, Jeff’s girlfriend. She’d been in the front seat of her brother’s car the night of the accident. When the car had hit the tree, she’d been thrown clear. Her neck had broken instantly.
Sydney’s parents had sued her parents because Greer had been driving on a learner’s permit and was supposed to be accompanied by an adult driver. Jeff had been passed out drunk, the attorney had argued, so the Templetons had broken the law by allowing Greer to drive unmonitored.
She remembered Mr. and Mrs. Dowd coming to the hospital after the accident. They’d stared at her with such a stony silence she’d wept. She’d wanted to apologize or say words to comfort them, but her mother had been in the room, and she had refused to let her speak. There’d been a heated exchange and the Dowds had left when her mother had called security. Later, Greer’s mother had warned her to stay clear of the Dowds. Don’t make any more trouble for us, Elizabeth.
She’d known Sydney had an older brother, Rick. She saw the resemblance and tried to imagine Sydney if she’d lived.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Dowd?”
Rick Dowd cocked an eyebrow. “What do you suggest, Ms. Templeton?”
The edge in his voice had her bristling. “I’ve no suggestions. But you clearly have words for me.”
He flexed his fingers. “Not sure what either of us could say to the other. You gutted my family. Hard to come back from an obstacle like that.”
Her breathing thinned as regret knotted in her belly. “I will always be sorry, Mr. Dowd.”
“I doubt you know the meaning of the word, Ms. Templeton.”
A rush of anger and shame rose up in her, coloring her face. “That’s not true. You’ve no idea how I felt.”
“Well, your feelings pale in comparison to mine and my parents’, who lost a child.”
A pained sigh escaped her lips. “I lost a brother. I know your pain.”
He jabbed a finger at her. “Don’t pretend to know how I feel. Don’t.”
This was a losing battle. “What do you want me to say, Mr. Dowd?”
“Like I said, not much.” His gaze roamed over her, the anger all but snapping from his eyes.
How could she ask him to forgive when she’d not really forgiven herself? More words wouldn’t take away his pain or her guilt. “I wish you the best, Mr. Dowd.”
As she turned to leave he hurried to block her path. In a voice loud enough for her alone to hear, he said, “You aren’t sorry, but you will be.”
A chill twisted along her spine. She met his gaze. “What does that mean?”
He shrugged and smiled. “Doesn’t mean a thing.”
They both knew it would be his word against hers.
She balled her fingers into fists. “Is that a threat?”
He smelled of sandalwood and leather. “It’s whatever you want it to be.”
“I heard a threat.”
He shrugged. “Oh, well.”
The cruelty behind his grin made her want to charge him. She’d spent over a decade sequestered and locked away from the world, and she was tired of carrying this indomitable weight.
Brushing past him she hurried to her truck and slid behind the wheel. Her hands trembled as she shoved the key in the ignition and drove around to the side of the building to collect her feed.
She backed up to the loading dock and for several seconds sat still. Her nerves jumped and snapped and her breath hung in her throat. She’d stayed out of the public limelight all these years to avoid the pain she’d just encountered. Last night’s party had gone well. They’d raised thousands for the Crisis Center, and she’d lulled herself into believing people had put the past behind them. But some would never let the past go. And no amount of penance or apologies would change that.
A knock on her window had her turning. A gray-haired man with a face deeply etched grinned at her. “Got your feed.”
She blew out a breath. “Great.”
Restless, she slid out of the truck, walked around to the back, and opened the tailgate. As the men on the dock loaded her order, she took several deep breaths as she willed the stress away.
A whimpering sound caught her attention. Turning, she spotted a box on the loading dock tucked to the side. Peeking out of the box was a puppy. Short haired and small, he’d been born without a right eye, she realized even at this distance. He wagged his tail as he looked at her. Clearly the deformity didn’t bother him.
Without a thought, she climbed the stairs to the top of the dock, crossed to the box, and picked up the puppy. Excited, he wagged his tail and licked her face. And then he peed on her.
Despite her encounter with Dowd, the puppy melted her worries and allowed her to push him out of her thoughts. “This is the day for people peeing on me.”
The puppy kicked his feet and licked her face.
She grinned. “Though I don’t mind yours so much.”
The one-eyed puppy was a cross between a dachshund and a terrier, which left him with wiry hair and a long back. The patchwork of reds, browns, silvers, and blacks wasn’t wholly attractive, and she suspected once he was no longer a puppy, he’d be one homely fellow.
The dock foreman came up behind her. “He’s the last of the litter. Spunky little fellow but that eye. Damn, won’t be many folks that want him.”
“Where’s his mom?”
“She left as soon as the pups were weaned. A stray.”
“Are you gonna keep him?”
“Can’t have a dog running around the dock. Especially one that looks like it was made by a bunch of politicians.”
“He have a name?”
“‘Dog’ is all we been calling him.”
She studied Dog’s closed right eye and then the excitement in the left as his wagging crooked tail thumped. And just like that she couldn’t imagine leaving him. “They say there is one born every minute.”
The old man chuckled. “You falling for that ugly face?”
“I don’t need a dog. Especially a puppy. I don’t need it.” And she didn’t need two old horses. And she didn’t need a sullen ex-soldier working her land.
The old man chuckled. “Seen that look in my wife’s eyes. Led to a dozen dogs in our thirty-one years of marriage.”
She tucked the dog under her arm, noticed that he fit well. He hunkered down as if staking a claim. No doubt the dog was smart, saw his ticket out of here, and hoped charm overcame ugly. “She willing to make it a lucky thirteen dogs?”