Pepper’s eyes narrowed, but when she spoke she said, “Enjoy your horseback ride. Don’t go too far alone.”
“Yes, I wouldn’t want what happened to my grandfather to happen to me,” he said, and saw his grandmother’s expression darken.
PEPPER TOLD HERSELF she didn’t care one way or the other about Jack and Josey’s marriage, and yet she found herself climbing the stairs to the far wing. She’d noticed there was trouble between the two of them, but things seemed to have been a little better after their horseback ride yesterday.
Now, though, something seemed to have happened to drive them apart again. It seemed odd to her that Jack would go off on a horseback ride by himself. It was the first time he’d left Josey alone.
“Jack said you were resting, but I wanted to check on you,” she said when Josey answered her knock.
The young woman looked uncomfortable.
“He’s gone for a horseback ride. I thought you and I might...” She looked past Josey into the bedroom. Her bedroom when Call was alive.
“Would you like to come in?” Josey asked with obvious reluctance.
Pepper stepped into the room, fighting off the memories that assailed her. She and Call had shared this room from the first night she’d come to the ranch. Had she ever been happy?
Yes, at first she’d been deliriously happy. Naive, foolish, blind with love, but happy. It had lasted at least a week. Maybe even a month before she’d realized what a controlling bastard she’d married.
And yet she’d stayed, believing that he would change. She silently scoffed at the thought now. There’d been a time when she really believed that love could conquer all. Why else had she not only stayed with him but also had five children with him?
“Would you like to sit down?” Josey offered.
Pepper smiled at the young woman. She was kind and thoughtful, clearly from a good family.
“Thank you, I think that would be nice.” She took one of the chairs, noticing as Josey removed a folded blanket and pillow from the other chair.
Josey must have seen her expression and smiled ruefully. “I’m sure you’ve heard that Jack and I have been having our problems.”
“Enid is a terrible old busybody,” Pepper said, anxiously anticipating the day she would be able to get rid of the woman for good. Impulsively, she reached over and took Josey’s hand. “I know you and Jack aren’t legally married.”
Josey opened her mouth as if to explain, but Pepper waved her off. “Jack thinks I’m an old fool. Of course I had my lawyer investigate. I like to know who is sleeping under my roof.”
“I feel I should apologize for letting you believe—”
“Oh, don’t look so aghast. I like you. I was truly sorry to find out the two of you weren’t married. You’re good for Jack, and from what I’ve seen, he’s good for you, as well.”
JOSEY DIDN’T KNOW what to say. She had to admit that Pepper Winchester had caught her completely off guard.
“Are you shocked that I’m not upset? Or that I actually care for my grandson?”
Again the woman had caught her flat-footed. Before Josey could speak, Pepper laughed, easing the tension in the room.
“I am capable of love and caring. I like Jack. I’m sorry I hurt him and his mother. But there is nothing I can do about that. You live to be this old, you, too, will have regrets. I unfortunately have more than my share.”
“You are definitely a surprise,” Josey finally said, relaxing a little.
Pepper smiled at that. “I just remember what it’s like to be in love.”
Josey started to protest that she wasn’t in love with Jack, but stopped herself. Even if she and Jack weren’t legally married, they were still supposed to be in love. And she did care about Jack. Too much.
“Jack seems to think that the reason you’re asking your family back to the ranch is because you’re not satisfied with the results of your son’s murder investigation,” Josey said, needing to change the subject.
“That’s true.”
“I thought someone confessed.”
“Yes. Unfortunately, that person is dead, and I have reason to believe that there was a second person involved. I have no proof.”
“You think Jack knows something?”
Pepper smiled secretively. “I guess time will tell. If there is any chance that the person responsible for Trace’s death hasn’t been brought to justice...” She shook her head. “It’s something I need settled before I die.”
“I can’t believe it would be someone in your family.”
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but my greatest ones were with my children. Their father was a harsh disciplinarian. Too harsh. I didn’t protect the older ones. But when Trace was born...” She cleared her throat.
“Would you like some water?” Josey asked. Pepper nodded, and she stood and went into the bathroom, returning with a glass of cold water.
“I should have stopped Call sooner,” Pepper said, after taking a sip. “I should have done so many things differently. By then my older children had no respect for me, and in my guilt I avoided them. That rift grew wider as Trace became my life, the only part I cared about.”
Josey wondered why Jack’s grandmother was confessing all this to her. Just minutes before she’d opened the door to Pepper, she’d promised herself that she wasn’t going to get any more involved with this family. In fact, she’d been thinking that the best thing she could do was to make an excuse to leave sooner.
“If one of my older children had anything to do with Trace’s death, then I am to blame for it.” Pepper nodded, tears in her eyes. “But I still want justice and I will still get it.”
Josey felt a chill at the woman’s words as Pepper set down the glass on the end table and rose, picking up her cane.
“Thank you for listening to an old woman ramble,” she said, seeming embarrassed. “I hope you
