"Why?"
Junior signaled for the waitress to refill his coffee cup.
Then, cradling it between his hands, he stared into its dark
depths. "He never forgave her."
"For Al Gaither?"
"For you."
Stricken, Alex raised her hand to cover her mouth. The
guilt she had borne all her life pressed in on her like a vise.
Junior, sensing her anxiety, rushed to say, "It wasn't because
she'd conceived you. He couldn't forgive that abortion
business."
"I don't understand."
"See, Alex, Reede's a survivor. Hell, if anybody was ever
destined to turn out rotten, it was Reede. He didn't have a
snowball's chance in hell of making anything out of himself.
Social workers, if Purcell had had any, would have pointed
at him and said, 'There goes a wasted life in the making.
He'll go bad. Watch and see.' But no, not Reede. He thrives
on adversity. He's a scrapper. He's strong. He gets knocked
down and comes up fighting.
"Now me," he said with a scoffing laugh, "I can overlook
other people's weaknesses because I've got so many of my
own. I could understand the panic and fear Celina must have
felt. She took desperate measures because she was afraid to
stick it out.
' 'Reede can't understand taking the path of least resistance.
He couldn't tolerate that weakness in her. He expects so
goddamn much out of himself, he imposes the same standards
on everybody else. Those standards are virtually impossible
to live up to. That's why he's constantly disappointed in
people. He sets himself up to be."
"He's a cynic."
"I can see where you'd think that, but don't let that tough
pose fool you. When people let him down, as they invariably
do because they're human, it hurts him. When he's hurt, he
turns mean."
"Was he mean to my mother?"
"No, never. Their relationship being what it was, she had
the power to hurt and disappoint him more than anybody
could. But he couldn't turn mean toward Celina because he
loved her so much." He looked at Alex levelly. "He just
couldn't forgive her."
"That's why he stepped aside and gave you the advantage."
"Which I unabashedly took," he said with a short laugh.
"I'm not as hard to please as Reede. I don't demand perfection
in myself or anybody else. Yes, Alex, in spite of her
mistakes, I loved your mother and wanted her to be my wife
on any terms."
"Why didn't she marry you, Junior?" Alex asked, genuinely
perplexed. "She loved you. I know she did."
"I know she did, too. And I'm damned good-looking."
He winked and Alex smiled.' 'Few would believe this because
of the way I live now, but I would have been faithful to
Celina and made you an excellent daddy, Alex. I wanted to
try, anyway." He clasped his hands together on the table.
"But Celina said no, no matter how many times I asked her.''
"And you went on asking her, right up until the night she
died."
His eyes snapped up to hers. "Yes. I invited her out to
the ranch that night to propose."
"Did you?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"Same as always. She turned me down."
"Do you know why?"
"Yes." He shifted uncomfortably in the booth. "She still
loved Reede. Always and forever, it was Reede she wanted."
Alex looked away because she knew it was a painful admission
for him to make. "Junior, where were you that
night?"
"At the ranch."
"I mean after that, after you took Celina home."
"I didn't take her home. I presumed Dad would."
"Angus?"
"I was upset because she had refused me again. See, I'd
told my parents to get used to the idea of having a daughter-in-law
and a grandchild in the house soon." He spread his
hands in a helpless gesture. "I got mad and stormed out--
just flew the coop and left Celina there."
"Where did you go?"
"I hit all the places that would sell liquor to minors. I got
drunk."
"Alone?"
"Alone."
"No alibi?"
"Junior doesn't need an alibi. He didn't kill your mother."
They had been so immersed in the conversation that neither
had noticed Stacey Wallace's approach. When they looked
up, she was standing at the edge of the table. Her stare was
even more hostile than it had been at their first meeting.
"Good morning, Stacey," Junior said uncomfortably. He
seemed less than pleased by her sudden appearance. "Sit
down and have a cup of coffee with us." He moved over to
make room for her on his side of the booth.
"No, thank you." Glaring down at Alex, she said, "Stop
bothering Junior with your endless questions."
"Hey, Stacey, I'm not bothered,'' he said, trying to smooth
over the situation.
"Why don't you just give it up?"
"I can't."
"Well, you should. It would be best for everybody."
"Especially the murderer," Alex said quietly.
Stacey's thin, straight body quivered like a bowstring just
plucked. "Get out of our lives. You're a self-serving, vindictive
bitch, who--"
"Not here, Stacey." Junior, intervening quickly, scooted
out of the booth and took her arm. "I'll walk you to your
car. What are you doing out this morning? Oh, your bridge
group is having breakfast," he said, noting the table of
women watching curiously. "How nice." He gave them a
jaunty little wave.
Alex, as aware as Junior of all the prying eyes, slipped a
five-dollar bill beneath her saucer and left the coffee shop
only a few moments behind Junior and Stacey.
She gave Stacey's car wide berth, but watched from the
corner of her eye as Junior pulled Stacey into an embrace
and rubbed her back consolingly. He gave her a soft kiss on
the lips. She clung to him, appealing to him about something
that had caused her consternation. His answer seemed to
soothe her. She went limp against his chest.
Junior worked himself out of her clutches, but in such a
charming way that Stacey was smiling when he tucked her
into the driver's seat of her car and waved her off.
Alex was already inside her room when he tapped on the
door and said, "It's me."
She opened the door. "What was that all about?"
"She thought I'd spent the night with you, since we were
having breakfast together in the coffee shop."
"Lord," Alex whispered. "People in this town certainly
have fertile minds. You'd better leave before anybody else
gets that impression."
"What do you care? I don't."
"Well, I do."
Uneasily, Alex glanced toward the unmade bed. On any
other morning the housekeeper was knocking while she was
still in the shower. This morning, of all mornings, she was
running late. Alex was afraid that the bed would give away
her secret. The room was redolent of Reede. His essence
lingered on each surface like a fine coating of dust. She was
afraid Junior would sense that.
Gently, he removed her sunglasses and traced the lavender
half-moons beneath her eyes. "Bad night?"
That's an understatement, she thought. "You might as
well hear it from me. I'm sure it will get around. Late yesterday
afternoon I went to Nora Gail's place."
His lips parted with surprise. "Son of a bitch."
"I needed to talk to her. It seems she's Reede's alibi for
the night Celina was killed. Anyway, while I was there, a
man got shot. There was blood, an arrest."
Junior laughed with incredulity. "You're kiddin' me."
"I wish I were,'' she said grimly.' 'Here I am, representing
the D.A.'s office, and I get involved in a Shootout between
two cowboys in a whorehouse."
Suddenly it all collapsed on her. Instead of crying, she
began to laugh. Once she started, she couldn't stop. She
laughed until her sides ached and tears were rolling down her
cheeks. "Oh, God, can you believe it? If Greg Harper ever
hears about this, he--"
"Pat Chastain won't tell him. He has a girl out at--"
"I know," she said, "Reede told me. He responded to the
call and hustled me out. He didn't seem to think there would
be any repercussions." She shrugged in an offhanded manner
that she hoped didn't look as phony as it felt.
"It's good to hear you laughing for a change," Junior
commented, smiling down at her. "I'd like to stick around
and cheer you up even more." He placed his hands on her
derriere and began to move them up and down. Alex pushed
him away.
"If you wanted to cheer someone up, you should have
gone with Stacey. She looked like she could use it."
He glanced away guiltily. "It doesn't take much to make
her happy."
"Because she still loves you."
"I don't deserve her."
"That doesn't matter to her. She'll forgive you anything
She already has."
"Of murder, you mean?"
"No. Of loving someone else--Celina."
"Not this time, Alex," he whispered and dipped his head
to kiss her.
She dodged his well-aimed lips. "No, Junior."
"Why not?"
"You know why."
"Am I still only a pal?"
"A friend."
"Why just a friend?"