Page 55 of The Honorable Texan
“It might not.”
She smiled at him, her eyes softening.“Well, well.”
He smiled back.“I’ll come by when you get off work and follow you home.We’ll both break the news to Mrs.Hardy.”
“Mama’s tough,” she told him.“She seems very frail, but she’s got grit.”
“So have you.I’m afraid you’ll need it, too, when this case goes to trial.It will bring back some painful memories for both of you.”
“We faced all that when Daddy died,” she said sadly.“Including the loss of his money and our home.At least we’ll get some satisfaction at seeing her brought to account for killing him.I hope she’ll go to jail.”
“So do I, but you can’t second-guess a jury.We’ll have to supply the prosecutor with as much ammunition as we can get,” he added.“I don’t want her to slip out of this.”
“Neither do I,” Violet agreed.She smiled at him.“Thanks.”
“I’ll see you at five.”He winked before he went out the door.Violet sat staring after him, sighing, until she realized that she had work to get done.
* * *
Mrs.Hardy knewsomething was wrong when she heard two cars pull up in the driveway, and especiallywhen she saw Blake and Violet come in together looking somber.
She sat up straight in her chair and folded her hands on her lap.“Okay.What’s going on?”
They both started.
“Two cars?Both of you here just after work?It’s something big.”
“Well…” Violet began.
Blake moved closer.“They caught Janet Collins.She’s in jail in San Antonio.”
“Hallelujah!”Mrs.Hardy burst out, grinning.
Blake and Violet exchanged puzzled stares.
“Am I supposed to faint or something?”Mrs.Hardy asked.“Sorry.I’m very happy they got her, and I’ll be more than happy to testify to everything I know.”
“It will be stressful,” Violet began, sitting down on the sofa across from her mother.
“Letting her get away with it would be more stressful.”She looked at Blake solemnly.“And speaking of stress, when are you two getting married?”
Blake’s lips fell open.
“It had better be soon,” she added firmly.“I do not want my daughter waddling down the aisle in maternity clothes.”
“Mama!”Violet exclaimed, horrified.
“She thinks I’m deaf,” Mrs.Hardy told Blake.“I’d have to be, not to hear her throwing up every morning.”She studied him belligerently.“Well?”
Blake actually laughed.“I just told her new boss about the baby.”
“It will be a scandal,” Mrs.Hardy wailed.
“It will be a baby,” Blake corrected, smiling tenderlyat Violet.“With two parents who’ll love and want him very much.”
“Indeed they will,” Violet agreed, smiling back at him.
“So?”Mrs.Hardy persisted.“When?”
