“If you don’t want to do it, I’ll…”
“Now wait a minute.” He plopped his hat on his head. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you.”
“Hooter?”
He turned back. “If you tell Cadde, I’ll never forgive you.”
After Hooter left, she lay down and fell into a deep sleep. Four hours later she woke up, disoriented. It took a moment to get her bearings. She trembled, forcing memories away. A tap at the door had her scrambling to look through the peephole before opening it.
Hooter walked in and handed her a manila envelope. “There’s the information you need including an open-ended return ticket—first-class.”
“Thank you, Hooter, but I don’t know if I’m coming back.”
“What? Everything Roscoe built for you is here.”
She placed the envelope on the bed. “My father built everything for himself—not me. He never thought about me or my feelings. It was all about him and having control. And, sadly, I’m just like him.”
“I’ve never seen you like this, Jessie. Roscoe worshipped you.”
“Like a statue in a closet.”
Hooter removed his hat and scratched his head. “That’s mighty bitter.”
Jessie bit her lip to keep the trembling inside. “Thanks for everything you’ve done. I appreciate it.”
“Call Cadde. He hasn’t returned to work yet so getting the info from Chip was a snap.”
“I’ll repay you.”
“Don’t worry about it. Call your husband.”
Jessie, feeling pressured, walked over and opened the door. “Thank you, Hooter.”
The man left without another word.
She felt so tired, but she had to keep going and find a way out of Houston. But she would need her passport. It was in her father’s study at the house. How did she get it without anyone seeing her?
Maybe she’d sleep and a plan would come to her. And that’s what she did—until morning. After showering and dressing, she used her credit card to rent a car. She’d be long gone before Cadde could have it traced. An hour later she was headed for the house. It was Thursday and Felix always bought feed early on that day. She parked away from the entrance, but she could see Cadde’s truck. How did she get past him for her passport?
She pulled her cell out of her purse and dialed the office. “Hi, Barbara, this is Jessie.”
“Uh…Jessie…uh…”
She could hear the sympathy in the woman’s voice and nausea rose in her throat. “Is Cadde there?”
“Uh…no…he’s at home.”
“Would you please let him know that I’m coming into the office?”
“Um…sure.”
“Thank you.”
Within minutes Cadde’s truck tore out of the driveway and she drove slowly toward the house. Now she had to get past Rosa. She parked away from the kitchen so Rosa wouldn’t see her. Since Cadde had just left she was betting the alarm system was off. Slowly, she inserted her key into the lock on the front door. It opened smoothly without a siren going off. Good!
For a moment she froze in the entry as that awful afternoon flashed through her mind. No, no! She forced it away and hurried into her dad’s study. Kneeling, she opened the bottom drawer and pulled out her passport. Mirry appeared, wagging her nub of a tail.
“Oh, Mirry.” She gathered the dog into her arms, kissing her face.
“Mirry, where are you?” Rosa called.
Jessie shrank beneath the desk, holding the little dog.
“Mirry?” She could hear Rosa going up the stairs.
“Bye.” She kissed the dog’s face and ran for the front door. It didn’t click behind her, but there wasn’t time to correct that. As she backed out, she saw Mirry on the porch. Tears stung the back of her eyes, but she didn’t cry. She couldn’t.
Driving away from everything she loved, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was the daughter of scheming, conniving Roscoe Murdock.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“ARE YOU SURE IT WAS JESSIE?” Cadde asked Barbara.
“Yes, Cadde, she said her name and I know her voice.”
He glanced at his watch. “It’s been over two hours and she’s not here.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to tell you.”
Cadde went back into his office, trying to figure out what had happened. Why wasn’t Jessie here?
Chance and Kid walked in.
“Hey, any word on Jessie?” Kid asked.
He’d forgotten to call his brothers to let them know that Jessie had called. “She said she was coming in, but she hasn’t arrived.”
“That’s odd,” Kid replied.