Bedtime

Jude was in the guest-room bed, propped up on a mound of fluffy pillows, her feet and legs tucked under the covers. Tommy was in the chair that sat beneath the double windows, his bare feet propped on the wooden chest at the foot of the bed that held extra blankets and warm knitted throws. He had decided she deserved to have her hot chocolate served in bed after the events of the night.

Jude nursed the steamy mug. "I hate to bring up the subject, but tonight when I went for lemonade and found tarantulas instead, you were about to deliver a bit of bad news."

"Are you sure you're up to it? It could wait until morning."

"Why wait? I'm sure there'll be a new supply of problems tomorrow."

"Touche. It's just that I've done some more checking on Jamie's story. My friend Arlo had a Fort Worth policeman talk to his neighbors. The cop showed them your picture. Only one of them had ever seen you."

"Only one. Probably because I was too temperamental and moody to step outside the apartment."

"That's another part of his story that lacks credibility. I haven't seen you isolating yourself inside the cabin since you've been in Kelman even though you have plenty good reasons to hide."

"How does he explain the fact that only one of his neighbors has ever seen me?"

"He says that the others are lying. They just don't want to get involved in trouble and that they wouldn't talk to the police on general principles. The sad thing is he could be right about that. Officers of the law get a bad rap in lots of places these days."

"But having one neighbor who recognizes me means Jamie is probably telling the truth about my living with him."

"Maybe. But even that neighbor wasn't able to give us any additional information about you."

"Is there any good news?"

"A dab. I had all of Stewart's phone records checked."

"Did you find anything?"

"Only one number wasn't local. He'd called a lawyer in Eagle Pass the week before he died. I talked to the lawyer by phone. He said that Stewart had called him and asked him a few questions about writing a will. He answered as best he could without knowing all the facts but suggested Stewart come in."

"Did he?"

"No. In typical Stewart fashion, he said he'd already learned what he needed to know."

"He may have been getting that information for the will he sent to Sadie."

"Not if Sadie told us the truth about when she received the will. The phone call was made later."

"So he may have written a will and left the ranch to me after we'd talked on the phone, after he'd told me about the metal box."

"The dreaded metal box." Frustration lined Tommy's face with deep grooves. "I wish I was as convinced as you are that the box holds all the answers to the mystery of who tried to kill you and why."

"I'm not even all that convinced myself anymore, but I can't give up on it. It's all I have to go on. I'm only thankful there have been no more attempts on my life. I'm hoping that means whoever wants to get rid of me has abandoned that idea."

"More likely it means our culprit hasn't had the opportunity to try anything. You haven't benn left alone in days."

Jude ran her finger around the rim of her cup. "So that's why you think he's resorted to spiders?"

"For now."

"Then I hate to think what new terror he's cooking up." She shuddered as a chill settled around her heart.

"Let's talk about something more pleasant." She sipped the hot chocolate, grateful for the warmth.

"You pick the topic," Tommy said. "I'm not sure I know any pleasant ones anymore."

"There's always Betsy. "I'm constantly amazed that you and Kwest handle her so well. You're really fond of the little darling, aren't you?"

"Yeah, we all are. It will be tough if and when we have to give her up, but she should be with her real parents. Branson is still doing what he can to find them."

"I keep forgetting she's not reall a Quincy."

"So does my mom."

"She looks like a Quincy." Jude took another sip of the chocolate, parting her lips to sample the gooey marshmallow floating on top. "I was noticing the picture of her hanging in the hall. It's hard to tell her baby picture from the ones of you and your brothers. She has the same nose and big ears."

"Big ears? That's the last time you get your midnight cocoa served in bed."

"Not big now. You caught up. But they look kind of big in the baby pictures." She patted the side of the bed next to her. "Come sit over here and tell me the details of how Betsy ended up at the Burning Pear."

"It's not the prettiest of bedtime stories."

"I'd still like to hear it."

Tommy stepped across the floor and dropped to the bed beside her.

"We were celebrating Mom's birthday. The whole family was here. We're big on birthdays around the Burning Pear."

"Somehow I knew you would be. I can't imagine your mother missing a chance to have her family all together. She's so excited about Harvest Night she can hardly talk of anything else."

Tommy set his empty cup on the bedside table. "That night was no exception.. Everyone was laughing and talking at once. We had just cut into the cake when we heard a knock at the door. Branson went to answer it, and the next thing any of us knew, we had a woman bleeding from a gunshot wound lying in the foyer. Just before she passed out, she handed Betsy to my mother and told her that the infant was named Betsy and that she was her granddaughter."

Jude struggled to form the image in her mind.

"Did you know the woman?"

"No. My brothers and I had never laid eyes on her before that night. Branoson took her to the hospital, but before she regained consciousness, or at least before she let anyone know that she had, she slipped out of the hospital and disappeared."

Why would she do that?"

"She was afraid. At any rate, by that time, Branson had tracked down her sister Lacy."

"Wait. Isn't Lacy his wife's name?"

"One and the same. That's how they met. So I guess you'd have to say Betsy brought them together in a roundabout sort of way."

"But where did Lacy's sister get Betsy? Or is her sister still missing?"

"No, Kate showed up eventually. It was actually Lacy the gunman was after all along. Kate had just gotten caught up in the danger, but that's another story, for another night. The bottom line is that Kate's boyfriend called her at work and told her that he had a baby who'd been fathered by one of the Quincy's of Kelman, Texas, and he wanted her to help him collect a ransom."

"So Betsy had been kidnapped. How frightening."

"That's what Kate thought. She rushed home. Her boyfriend wasn't there, but the baby was. She wanted no part of the kidnapping, so she grabbed the baby and rushed over here with her. On the way, she was forced off the road and shot. She walked through the woods to get here, and then passed out from loss of blood just inside our door."

"She was lucky she made it. I don't know how she kept from getting lost."

"It was night. She probably followed the lights." He raked his fingers through his short ruffled hair and stretched the muscles in his neck and shoulders. "So now you know the rest of the story."

"How did you get to keep Betsy with you family? Don't they have agencies that take over when a child's real family can't be located?"

"Mom is very persuasive. You should know that by now. She convinced the Family Services social worker that she should be allowed to care for Betsy until her real family was found."

"Lucky for Betsy. If I had a child and couldn't be there to take care of her myself, I'd want to know she was in the hands of the Quincy's."

"If you have a child and you can't take care of her, or him, bring him over. I'll teach him to brand."

He turned and touched the tip of her nose with his finger. She knew he meant the touch to be casual, only he didn't pull his finger away. He trailed it to her lips and outlined them with sensuous strokes that left her weak with wanting.

"And now I better get out of here and let you get some sleep." His voice was husky, his breath shallow.

She reached over and took his hand, curling her fingers between his. "I have a better idea."

"I was afraid of that."

"Lie down beside me, Tommy."

"I want to." He met her gaze, and she saw the desire burning in his eyes. But he let go of her hand and turned away. "I'm not sure I've ever wanted anything more in my life."

"Then what's stopping you?"

He slid from the side of the bed and stood staring down at her.

"You. Me. The way I fell at this moment. If I lie down beside you, I'll never be able to walk out on my own without making love to you."

Anticipation washed through her, hot and wet, so strong she could taste it. She rose to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Lie down beside—

Her words were lost, swallowed up in Tommy's kiss as he climbed back into her bed.

A/N- Next chapter rating will be going up. Lol, but it will be a day or two.