Texas Tall (The Tylers of Texas 3)

Lauren shook her head.

“Told ya, ya wouldn’t,” Jasper said. “See, it’s just a story.”

“We didn’t find gold.” Erin spoke between bites. “But we found a cave with a snake den at the bottom of a hole. Sky looked down there and saw some bones, didn’t you, Sky?”

Jasper’s fork dropped from his hand and clattered to his plate. “ ’Scuse me,” he muttered, picking it up again. “Gettin’ butterfingers in my old age.”

“Do you know anything about a cave in that canyon, Jasper?” Lauren asked.

Jasper frowned, looking down at the table. “Seems like I recollect something about a cave. But I never went up that little canyon. Had no call to, ’specially after Bull sold it to Old Ferg.”

“So you never heard anything about the bones?” Lauren persisted.

“Nope. Most likely just some old-time Injun that fell down there and died, rest his heathen soul.”

Sky thought that Jasper looked distinctly uncomfortable. He’d bet his best saddle that the old man knew a lot more than he was saying. Maybe later, when they were alone, Jasper would tell him the truth. But before asking, Sky wanted to go back to the cave with a strong light and take another look at those bones.

* * *

“You goin’ out again tonight, Ralphie?” Vonda looked up from dabbing black polish on her toenails, which she could barely reach over her bulging belly. Her voice, lately, had taken on a whine that grated on Ralph’s nerves like the sound of a mewling cat. He could hardly wait to get out the door.

“Gotta go to work, baby,” he said. “Stella don’t pay much, but with a kid on the way, we can’t make it without me workin’ two jobs.”

“But we don’t have any fun since you started that job—not even in bed.”

“That kind of stuff could be bad for the baby.” Lord, he’d tried. But sex with Vonda these days was like pumping a beach ball. Some men claimed pregnancy made their wives sexier, but Ralph didn’t buy it—especially now that he was getting some on the side.

“You’re tired all the time. And I’m cooped up here in the house, just gettin’ bigger and doin’ nothin’! You haven’t even took me to a movie since you started workin’ for that woman,” Vonda whined. “I thought bein’ married would be fun, like a date that doesn’t end. But it sucks! And bein’ pregnant sucks worse! You got me this way, and you owe me better’n this!”

“Hell, I bought you those damn fake fingernails and gave you money for lunch with your friends. I even bought you a TV to watch while I’m gone.”

“That old TV is crap! It’s not even a flat screen!”

“Well, too bad. I’m doin’ the best I can. Just deal with it, Vonda.” Ralph walked out and slammed the door behind him.

As he drove his old pickup into town, he dragged on a cigarette to calm his nerves. Stella was expecting him at eleven for a delivery run, and she wouldn’t stand for any slipups. He didn’t want to risk riling her and getting fired. The money was too good for that.

Ralph thought about how he had stashed away $7,000 in a secret bank account. It was enough to buy a half-decent used truck. But if he showed up with it at home, Vonda would know he’d been holding out on her, and all hell would break loose. She might even be mad enough to phone her daddy and tell him about her husband’s part-time job.

For now, he’d be smart just to leave the money in the bank and keep adding to it. He’d be damned if he was going to be stuck with whiny Vonda and a bawling brat for the rest of his life. When the time came to split, he could give her a little money, take the rest, and leave Blanco County for a new start somewhere. Vonda would be okay. Once her folks got a look at the kid, it would be just like in the movies. They’d take her back for sure.

Stella was just closing up when he pulled into the parking lot of the Blue Coyote. He went in the back way, as the last customers were leaving. Angie, the blond young waitress, was just wiping off the tables. She gave him a tired smile, and he knew he’d be welcome in her room when he finished his run. He’d have to give her some money, of course. But what the hell, Stella always paid him in cash, and he’d have plenty to spare.

With the front door locked, and Angie on her way upstairs, Stella ushered him down the hall to the storage r

oom that doubled as her office. She looked tired, but then she always did, after a night of tending bar on her feet. Her lipstick was gone, and her black eyeliner had smudged into the creases around her eyes. His mother would be about her age, if she hadn’t died of breast cancer, Ralph thought. But his mother had been a churchgoing woman, nothing like Stella.

“You were Lute Fletcher’s friend, weren’t you, Ralph?” The question came out of nowhere.

“Can’t say we were real good friends. We worked together for the Tylers, and I gave him a few rides to town before he quit the ranch. Never saw much of him after that.”

“You know what happened to him, don’t you?”

“I know he’s dead. Shot by that crooked sheriff.”

“I had nothing to do with his getting shot,” Stella said. “But Lute was in trouble before it happened. He got greedy. I gave him my trust, and he tried to steal from me. As for his sister, Marie—” She broke off, as if she’d tasted something bitter. “Did you know her? Now, that woman was a real she-devil.”

“I never met Lute’s sister,” Ralph said, feeling a tad nervous. “But I’m not like Lute, ma’am. All I want is to earn whatever you pay me.”