Page 28 of Lie for a Million

“Are you all right?” Roper asked, remembering his mother’s sour expression.

“I’m fine. Just not hungry.”

Rowdy was always hungry. Roper could have made a joke about it. Instead he chose to wait, giving his brother a chance to open up.

After a long moment, Rowdy exhaled. “Mom looked through my truck,” he said. “She found a bag of weed under the floor mat. You were lucky not to be there, Roper. You didn’t have to hear what she said to me.”

“You had weed?” Roper shook his head. “I’m trying not to judge, but maybe you deserved what she said to you.”

“Did I deserve to be told that I was going to hell? That I’d shamed her in front of her church and her friends? That she wished she’d never given birth to me?”

“Knowing Mom, I imagine she was as angry with herself as she was with you. She raised you to be a good man, and now she thinks she failed. But she still loves you. And it’s not too late to show her who you really are.”

“Damn it, Roper, you always try to see the good in people. It’s time you realized that some of us are nothing but shit.”

“Stop beating yourself up. Come on. You need to eat.” Roper took his brother’s arm and led him away from the fence. Rowdy kept on talking as they walked back to the house.

“I don’t have to put up with this. I’ve got money in the bank, and I’m old enough to be on my own. To hell with this so-called perfect family. I don’t need them to make it in rodeo. I can do it by myself.”

“What about that drug charge?”

“I’m not stupid. I got the name and number of the lawyer from that guy, Judd, in the other cell. I’ve already called him. He thinks he can get me off. Once that’s cleared away, I’ll be gone.”

They washed their hands at the pump and mounted the porch, both of them silent now. Roper had looked at his family as the one constant in his life. But Cheyenne already wanted to be on her own. And now Rowdy was threatening to leave. How long before Stetson wanted his own life, leaving young Chance to finish growing up and be gone, as well?

Change happened. That was the way of things. But when it came, it wasn’t always easy to accept.

* * *

Last night, Crystal had driven all the way to Abilene and met Tony at a truck stop on the edge of town. On her way there, she’d almost had a change of heart. What if she’d been set up to be beaten, robbed, and maybe raped? Or what if she was about to be infected with some awful disease from a contaminated needle?

But the man who had come out to her car and introduced himself as Tony had looked like a nerdy student—young, slightly overweight, with thick glasses and a buzz cut. He’d put on fresh gloves and opened a sealed needle to collect blood from a vein in her arm. The procedure had been quick and skillfully done.

Afterward, he’d covered the needle site with a wad of clean cotton and a superhero bandage. She’d given him the money and a plastic shopping bag stuffed with everything she could find that might have Judd’s DNA on it.

“I’ll do my best to make something work,” he said. “But no promises. I usually ask for a cheek swab, but . . .” He shrugged. “I understand the problem. When I have something, I’ll call you.”

It went without saying that even if he couldn’t do the test, the money would be nonrefundable.

For the next twenty-four hours, Crystal’s mood had swung wildly between anticipation and dread. All day she’d waited for her phone to ring. What if the baby turned out to be Judd’s? Her first plan had been to get rid of it. But she found herself softening toward the speck of life growing inside her. She could always keep the baby, maybe get Judd to marry her. But the two of them would make horrible parents—not unlike Crystal’s own parents had been.

Lying awake in her bed now, she remembered growing up—the drinking, the screaming fights, the days with no food in the house. Her mother had made it clear that they’d married because ofher. She’d never wanted a baby, especially a girl. Neither had her father. Crystal had run away at sixteen and never returned home. She’d found jobs cleaning motel rooms, washing dishes, and waiting tables. She was pretty enough to attract men, but most of them had only wanted one thing from her. Crystal had wanted more—security, respect, and love. For a time, she’d held out for those things.

But then she’d fallen for Judd, a dashing road warrior who’d offered her a world of thrills. She’d stayed with him, adapting to his rough lifestyle. But over time, he’d come to remind her of her father—self-indulgent, controlling, and violent.

She’d been looking for a way out when Frank Culhane had walked into her life. Frank, who was everything Judd wasn’t. For the first time, she’d experienced what it was like to be with a successful man who truly cared for her. She knew he was married, but when they were together, she could tell that he loved her.

If only he’d lived to learn about the baby. He would have divorced his wife and married her, she was sure of it.

Turning in the bed, she watched the moon’s reflection through the tattered blinds on her window. She had one last chance to better her life—but only if the test gave her the right answer. If she were religious, she might pray for that answer. But she didn’t believe in miracles. God wasn’t going to change an unborn baby’s DNA—especially not for her.

Incredibly, she heard her phone ring.

Groping for it on the nightstand, Crystal knocked the phone on the floor. She scrambled after it on her hands and knees, finally seizing it on the third ring.

“Hello?” she gasped.

“Ms. Carter, this is Tony.” The voice sounded distant. She could barely hear it over the pounding of her heart. “I have your test result. I couldn’t be a hundred percent sure because of the poor sample you gave me. But the match appears to be negative.”

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