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  “Sure was…had to supervise my crew and make sure they stayed stocked up,” he said then leaned forward, and asked, “You got a point here son? I have a lot to do before we can get out of here tonight.”

  Blood rushed up Wade’s neck to his face, then he said, “Yeah, there’s a point…did you go to the reception? Hear the woman that was hired to sing at the reception?”

  “Hell, yeah…she was damned good…too good to be singing at weddings for sure. I asked Cassie Bell—um, Matthews—about her, and she said something about the girl was signing some big recording contract. Didn’t surprise me.”

  “Well, that didn’t happen…she didn’t sign, because she was pregnant. She had our daughter three months ago, and is trying to revive her career, so she’s looking for gigs right now.”

  Red hooted then looked at him a little closer, “A baby huh? You and her?”

  “I know right, go figure,” Wade chuckled then relaxed in his chair. “I’m a lucky sonofabitch, what can I say?”

  “Okay, so ya’ll have a baby, and she’s back to singing. Congratulations, but what does that have to do with me?”

  “Well, I wondered if you’d be interested in hiring her and her band for a while…she had an accident at the anniversary party at the Double B and broke her ankle, so she’s laid up here for about six weeks. She can still sing, but performing is another story, so her options are limited.”

  “Hell yeah, I’d like to hire her, but I probably can’t afford her,” Red told him honestly, then shook his head.

  “Well, her band would need some place to stay, while they’re here, if you have somewhere that could be part of the payment,” Wade offered thinking that would solve two problems in one whack. It would also solve the problem of where they could store their equipment, they could just leave it set up on the stage.

  “I have two apartments upstairs, over the bar…we’re just using them for storage right now, so I could clean them up, move that stuff out. They could stay up there, I guess.”

  “That would be perfect…now let’s talk about money, and get a contract together. I’ll take it to her and get it signed tomorrow. Just Friday and Saturday nights right?”

  “No, Thursday nights too…that’s ladies night. The rest of the time, I have a D.J. handling the music.”

  “Great…let’s work things out then.” Now, all he had to do was convince Jess to take the offer.

  When Wade walked out of the bar with the contract in his hand, he fist pumped the air and let out a whoop. Things were looking up, and he was going to get to spend time with Angel, and who knew, maybe even get to know Jess better, if she took off her porcupine suit, and let him get close to her.

  It was nearly four a.m. by the time he pulled up in front of the house at the Double B, and he saw lights on inside. Cassie must be up with the baby, he thought, then got out and went up on the porch and knocked softly.

  It wasn’t Cassie who answered the door, it was Luke, sleepy and rumpled, with their baby girl, Bella on his shoulder. “Hey, man…you’re family, you know you don’t have to knock…just c’mon in.”

  “Yeah, you keep telling me that, and one day I’ll remember,” Wade said with a chuckle and walked past him then into the kitchen, with Luke following him.

  “You up early, or out late?” Luke asked him, then the microwave beeped. He walked over there and pulled out a bottle, then tested the formula on his wrist, before he set it in the refrigerator to cool for a minute.

  “Out late…had some things to do,” Wade told him hesitantly, then asked, “You got a second? I need to tell you something, and you better sit down for it.”

  Luke spun around and said, “Oh, god, don’t tell me you’re leaving…we need you, Wade,” then he came over to the table and sat down weakly, patting his fussy baby girl on the back.

  “Hell no, I’m not going anywhere…I love it here,” he admitted then told Luke, “Thanks for letting me work here.”

  “Hiring you was the best decision we’ve made, since we took over from Carl, and Bud retired. You’re doing a good job, and we appreciate you,” Luke told him sincerely.

  “You know Jess Sparks right?” Wade figured he might as well get to the point of his early morning conversation with his friend.

  “Hell yeah, how’s her ankle? When her fiddler told me what happened, Cassie and I were going to check on her, but we didn’t know where you’d taken her.”

  “The hospital in Henrietta…her ankle’s broken, and her van is burned up, so she’s stuck in Bowie, but that’s not what I want to tell you…” Wade said and felt his face heat up.

  Luke just raised an eyebrow, then got up to go get her bottle out of the refrigerator. “What’s up then?” he asked and tested the temperature again.

  “Make sure you’ve got a good grip on Bella…” Wade warned with a chuckle, then told him, “Jess also sang at Cole and Sabrina’s reception a year ago…and we kind of um…hooked up. She got pregnant, and we have a baby together.”

  “Holy shit!” Luke shouted, and Bella stirred in his arms and whimpered. He walked swiftly back to the table and sat down. His eyes were open now, and his mouth was hanging open.

  “Her name is Angel, and she’s three months old, and I had no idea about her, because Jess and I didn’t exactly exchange names when we were together. It was a one night deal, and we were responsible, but things happened anyway. I’m not sorry…Angel is incredible.”

  “And Jess?” Luke asked quietly, then put Bella in the crook if his arm and gave her the bottle.

  “I don’t know, yet…we don’t really know each other. There definitely could be something there, but we need to think about Angel first. Anyway, I wanted to tell you, I’m going to be buying a house…I have enough money from the sale of my daddy’s ranch, and I’ll be staying there sometimes, the rest I’ll be in the bunkhouse, if that’s okay?”

  “As long as you stay working for us, I’m all for whatever you decide. We need you here…we could probably even give you a parcel over on the road by the back pasture, if you wanted.”

  “Wow, that’s generous of you, but I don’t have time to build…I need to get something, now. She doesn’t have any place to stay, and the bunkhouse is great for me, but I don’t want her to have to stay out there with Angel.”

  “Yeah, and rentals are scarce around here…” Luke said with a twist of his lips. “The contractor who built the indoor arena is fast and good, but not that fast. I’ll check around and see if anyone has something available, and let you know, if I hear anything.”

  “Thanks, Luke…I appreciate any help you can give me. I really want to be close to Angel, and make sure she’s taken care of…and get to know Jess better, if she’s willing.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Wade pulled his truck up in front of room number eight, and it didn’t look any better in the light of day, than it had last night…it looked much worse. The paint was peeling on the door, and there was a three inch gap at the bottom, that probably let in more than hot air. He was getting them the hell out of here today. It just wasn’t safe.

  He hopped out of the truck, as excitement at seeing Angel again, and telling them what he’d accomplished last night, poured through him. Wade walked up to the door and knocked, and Travis opened it. Walking right in, he looked around for her, then when he didn’t see her he turned back to Travis, and said, “They go out for breakfast?”

  The alternative wasn’t something he was willing to accept. He didn’t see signs of the baby’s crib or things in the room, and the formula and diapers he’d bought last night were gone. His heart did a nosedive in his chest, as he waited for the pale-faced man to respond.

  Travis shook his head, and then said quietly, “I don’t know where they went…I woke up a few minutes ago, and they were gone…Jazzie is gone too. I’m really sorry.”

  “They don’t have money or transportation, where could they have gone?” Wade yelled then pushed a hand through his hair.

  “I have no clue,
but let me throw on some clothes, and we can go looking for them. Jess is hard-headed, I told you that…and Jazzie wouldn’t have let her go alone.”

  Wade nodded then walked over to the night table and picked up the phone. He called Gabe and told him that Jess was on the lam, and to see if he could help them search. Gabe suggested they look at the bus station, and it was a damned fine idea, and would be the first place they went.

  After they hung up, he called the bus station and got the address, then waited for Travis to finish his shower and get dressed. He better hurry up, though, because Wade was going to find Jess and the baby, with or without him. When he did, Jess was going to pay the price for trying to take Angel away from him. He hadn’t been planning on getting an attorney to protect his rights, but now that’s exactly what he was going to do. He was going to make sure she didn’t pull this again. From here on out, she was going to be chasing her rights.

  Travis came out of the bathroom, followed by a cloud of steam, then quickly threw on cargo shorts, a t-shirt and his shoes. Wade stood and walked to the door then said, “I’ll be in the truck,” then went outside. Less than a minute later, Travis walked out with a duffle bag, and what looked like all of his things, then got into the passenger side of the truck that Wade already had cranked.

  “I can’t believe she did this,” Travis said and shook his head.

  “Well, she won’t be doing it again…I hate to say it, Travis, but I’m going to make sure of it. That little girl is my daughter too, and she’s not going to be a selfish bitch and try to keep her away from me.”

  “I know…and I don’t blame you. Jess is just not thinking straight. She hasn’t got the resources to take care of Angel alone right now, as much as it pains me to say it. If she’d just open up and let people help her, things could be good for her.”

  “Why is she so worried I’m going to take the baby from her?” Wade asked curiously, then added, “I told her last night I wasn’t going to do that.”

  “I don’t know…she’s been acting really strange lately, depressed almost…definitely not herself. And she has a control issues anyway, because my dad basically used her talent to support us in California, then Ray used her talent to support himself in Dallas. She was never in control of her own destiny, when there was a man in her life…and she’s scared she’s going to lose control again with you, I guess.”

  “Man, sounds like she’s been through a lot,” Wade said with compassion, although he didn’t really give a shit about the reason she was running, just that she was, and she was taking his baby with her. If Jess had issues, she needed to see a therapist or something and work them out, but there was no way in hell he was letting her take his baby from him.

  “Yeah, she has…and then there were the communal rules…women didn’t have much control there either. I only had two years of it, but she had four, before she could get out. Those people were waaay out there.”

  “How so?” Wade asked, his stomach getting sick all of a sudden with thoughts of what that could be running through his mind.

  “Free love, free drugs, and the girls got married when they hit eighteen to another commune member…sometimes two. You can imagine the line that was forming for Jess. Some weren’t wanting to wait, until she was eighteen either, but my dad kept them away…tried to make her marry Ray to make them back off.”

  “So it was more than just a commune…sounds like it was a cult to me,” Wade said angrily, not really giving a shit if he insulted Travis.

  Travis looked at him for a thoughtful minute, then said, “You know, I never thought of it that way, but you’re right…that’s exactly what it was like. I hated to leave her there, but I had to get out.”

  “Are your parents still there?” Wade asked.

  “No, they moved out right after Jess did, and found an apartment, then dad went back to work. He was an engineer in Dallas, made good money, but quit working when we moved to Cali. They bought a small house in Fresno recently, and still live there, as far as I know. Neither one of us has kept up with them much.”

  “You think that might be where she’s headed?” Wade asked hoping like hell that wasn’t right.

  “Could be, but I doubt it…once she left there, she said she’d never go back.”

  Wade couldn’t imagine living like that, it must’ve been like being in prison or something, with people always watching you and telling you what to do. Travis was probably right, there was no way in hell he’d go back if he ever escaped a life like that, or had a parent that used him like her father had.

  He huffed out a relieved breath when he caught sight of the station, and scanned the street as they drove by, hoping to catch sight of them. Wade didn’t any sign of them, before he pulled into the bus station parking lot and stopped the truck.

  “Do you have a picture of Jess or Jazzie?” Wade asked as he slid out of the truck and started toward the door. People were milling about outside the door, some were sitting down smoking…this was definitely not a place he wanted his daughter to be…or her mother. Even though he was pissed at Jess, he still cared about what happened to her, Angel needed her.

  Travis reached into his pocket and took out his wallet, then flipped through a few clear plastic sheets of pictures, until he found the one he wanted and pulled it out. “It’s dated, but it’s a photo of both of them…I think they were twenty or so,” he handed it to Wade and he studied the fresh, hopeful and happy faces staring back at him. He wondered where that hope had gone, because he sure hadn’t seen it in Jess’s face, even the first time he met her.

  He scanned the waiting area for any sign of them, and there was none. Travis piped up and said, “I’ll go check the bathroom, you go ask at the counter,” then he took off toward the bathroom sign across the room.

  With his legs feeling like they had lead in the, he walked up to the ticket counter and got in line. There were only two people ahead of him, so he didn’t have to wait long. The tired looking ticket person, looked up and said, “Where to?”

  “I don’t need a ticket, I need to know if you’ve seen either of these women with a baby…if they bought a ticket somewhere,” he asked nicely then handed her the photo.

  She studied it a minute then shook her head, then said, “Haven’t seen them,” and tried to hand the picture back to him.

  Wade held up his hand and begged, “Would you please ask the other attendants, if they’ve seen her. She has my baby and is running with her. I really need to find her. It would have probably been around five this morning when she got here, maybe six.”

  The woman studied him a moment, then stood up and walked to each attendant, and showed them the photo. His heart went from zero to sixty, when the last attendant’s face lit up, when she looked at it. They talked a minute, then the woman came back to the window and handed him the picture back then said, “They bought tickets to Nashville, and their bus pulled out at six a.m.”

  Wade felt like a balloon that lost its air, his knees felt weak, as he asked her deflated, “Does the bus make stops before Nashville?”

  “Yeah, there are several transfers, maybe you can catch up with them there,” she said then shoved a schedule at him, “This should tell you where those stops are…and good luck, I hope you find her.”

  “Thank you so much for your help…” he said then ran for the bathroom to find Travis.

  It didn’t take long for them to get on the road toward Dallas, the first transfer station on the bus route, but even though he was pushing the truck to nearly a hundred miles an hour, They were an hour and a half behind the bus.

  “The next likely spot we can catch them is Greenville. They’re going down to Dallas first, then to Ft. Worth, before they stop in Greenville. If we go through Denton, and head straight there, instead of trying to catch them in Dallas, we’ll beat them there. I think that’s our best shot.