The older woman motioned to two chairs beside a big window along the back wall. “We can talk privately here.”
Once they were both seated, Mrs. Cardwell rubbed her palms along the skirt draped over her knees several times, then finally said, “If you’re serious about my son, there’s something you need to know.”
And at that moment, as if something that had been hidden in her mind all along suddenly shifted into view, Raney knew. She had sensed it from the beginning. Had questioned the incongruities, wondered at Dalton’s unwillingness to talk about it and his surprising lack of remorse that had troubled her so much. Yet, even knowing, Raney still tried to block it. The worst had already happened. Dalton had been convicted and sent to prison. What more could Mrs. Cardwell tell her?
“Is this about the wreck that killed the county commissioner’s nephew?”
“Yes.” Mrs. Cardwell took a deep breath, and in a weary, defeated voice said, “First of all, you have to understand how deeply Dalton’s emotions run. As soon as his brother was born, he took it upon himself to be Timmy’s guardian and watchdog. Even more so when we realized Timmy was special. If his little brother fell, or skinned a knee, or broke a plate, Dalton assumed that if he had been watching better, he could have prevented it from happening.”
Raney understood that. She’d felt the same way about Joss when they were younger. Even into high school, she was still covering for her little sister.
“There’s no one in the world as loyal as Dalton is,” the older woman went on with a brief smile. “And no one more intent on keeping his word or doing what he said he would do.”
“I know.” Raney thought of what Dalton had said in the diner about promises being the only thing in this world a person had any control over. “What are you trying to tell me, ma’am?”
“It wasn’t Dalton who caused the wreck. It was Timmy.”
Raney had expected it. Even so, hearing the words spoken aloud was like a blow to her heart. And beneath the shock and dismay and confusion, fury bubbled. “Why?” A part of her was surprised at how calm her voice sounded. “Why did he take the blame for it?”
“Because that’s what Dalton always did for Timmy, what he thought his job was. And because that night he was tired and it was late, and when Timmy asked if he could drive the tractor across the road to the other pasture, he said yes.”
The anger burst forth. “That’s no reason to allow yourself to be branded a felon and give up almost two years of your life.”
Surprisingly, Mrs. Cardwell agreed. “No, it’s not. But we couldn’t talk him out of it. In Dalton’s mind, because he’d allowed it to happen—because he hadn’t been vigilant enough—it truly was his fault.”
“And he never spoke up about what really happened.”
“No. He made us promise we wouldn’t, either. But I thought you should know.”
Raney sat for a moment, staring out the picture window, trying to bring her anger under control. It was a stupid sacrifice. Considering his disability, nothing would have happened to Timmy had he admitted he was at fault. They don’t put the mentally challenged in jail. But even if Dalton insisted on taking the blame, if he had taken it to trial, he might have gotten off. She couldn’t get her mind past that. And even harder to accept was that Dalton hadn’t told her the truth of what had happened. How could they go on if there were secrets like that between them?
“I can see you’re angry,” Mrs. Cardwell said, breaking into Raney’s thoughts. “Dad and I felt the same way. But nothing we did or said would sway him. Dalton loves Timmy. And that means he will do everything in his power to protect and defend his little brother. It’s part of his nature.”
Raney knew that. She had seen it in action. Had felt it directed at her. It probably even accounted for his special bond with horses. But she still thought it was wrong. If he was so driven to honesty, why had he lied about the wreck? And why had he lied to her about it? And what else might he be lying about?
She would ask him.
Raney stood. “Thank you for telling me all this, Mrs. Cardwell. I know it was difficult. But I should leave now if I’m to make it back in time for the finals.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Talk to him. He owes me an explanation himself. If he won’t allow himself to give it, then I guess we’re done.” The thought of that opened a dark, empty place in her chest. But she couldn’t spend the rest of her life wondering what secrets might lurk between them. “Please tell Timmy and Mr. Cardwell good-bye.”
Five minutes later, Raney was on the road to Fort Worth.
CHAPTER 26
Dalton didn’t hear from Raney that morning, and she didn’t answer her cell when he called. He thought that odd, but figured she had gotten out early and was on the road.
He and Alejandro gave the horses a morning workout, then cleaned them up and let them rest. Dalton tried to rest, too. He’d been out late the night before, celebrating with other finalists, and had downed more than his usual two-beer limit. As a result, he had a low-grade headache and rumbly stomach. At lunch, rather than risk being accosted again by Rayburn or another owner, he grabbed something from a booth in the exhibition hall and ate it back at the trailer, then stretched out on the couch for a short nap.
It seemed he had just closed his eyes when he heard the trailer door open. Still half-asleep, he looked over to see Raney coming through
