Read Online Sweet Talking Lawman by M.B. Buckner - Free Book Online Page B

Rance’s lawyer and
they’ve assured me that I’m well within my rights as an equal owner, to come
back here to live.”
    “You relinquished all claim
to this place when you sneaked out of here in the middle of the night.” 
For the first time, Shirley began to doubt her own conviction.  “I don’t
need you coming in here turning my life upside down.”
    “I left because the man you
had living in the house with us at the time, tried to rape me the night I
graduated from high school and you were passed out in your room, too drunk to
help me or to care that I needed help.”  Mesa’s voice had raised an octave
and she struggled to regain control of herself.  “I left because I thought
I’d killed him.”
    Shirley’s eyes stretched wide
and she shook her head.  “That’s a lie!  You were just a kid and
Melvin wasn’t interested in you!”
    “Well, that wasn’t what he
said when he pranced into my room naked, so eager to show me what he wanted to
give me as a graduation present.”  Mesa turned away from her mother’s
fury.  “I screamed for you to help me, but he just laughed because he knew
you were too drunk to give a damn.”
    “I don’t believe you.”
Shirley said, but her voice sounded uncertain.  Vaguely she remembered Melvin
having a cracked head the morning they discovered Mesa gone.
    Mesa shrugged.  “That
night I was forced to realize that unless I wanted to become a part of the
arrangement he had with you, I needed to leave, so I did.”  She turned
around and faced her mother.  “But now I don’t need anyone’s protection
and I’m here to stay.  Go on back up to your big house on the hill and
don’t worry about me turning your life upside down.  I don’t want to be
involved in your life any more than I want you involved in mine. 
Between Uncle Rance and me, we’ll continue to see that you have your share of
the income from the ranch deposited into your account just the way he’s been
doing it all these years.”
    “I’m staying right here until
the sheriff shows up and throws you off the place,” Shirley replied
firmly.  “You don’t belong here anymore.  I’ll go to the nursing home
and make Rance sign whatever papers he needs to sign, but you are not welcome
on the Rocking H and I mean to see you gone!”
    Mesa walked over and pulled
the front door open.  “The rocking chair on the porch will be very
comfortable while you wait.  Until someone with official authority orders
me off, I’m staying and I don’t have any intention of entertaining you while we
wait.”
    Shirley walked to the door
and stopped, anger flashing in her eyes as she faced her daughter.  “I
will never understand how I could have been a mother to such an ungrateful
child.”
    A sad smile touched Mesa’s
face.  “If you’d been any kind of mother after Daddy died, I doubt we’d be
having this conversation.”
    The older woman snorted
loudly and stepped out onto the porch.
    Shirley had barely cleared
the opening when the solidly built door slammed shut behind her, and then to
make sure she didn’t barge back in, Mesa turned the deadbolt lock, feeling a
surge of perverse satisfaction, knowing her mother could hear the bar slide
into place.
    Inside she was quivering like
a puddle of gelatin, but she was thankful that she hadn’t given in to the urge
to scream curses at her mother.  In spite of the past, she had stayed
aware that the woman she was dealing with was her mother, and Raale’s
grandmother.  It was hard to believe that Shirley Howell would ever
embrace that relationship, but if the child had anything to say about it, they
would eventually become, at least, sociable.  Raale didn’t seem to
recognize negativity, or maybe she just chose to ignore it, Mesa wasn’t sure
which.
    Then she remembered the phone
call Shirley had made.  She’d summoned Rafe and Mesa was pretty sure he’d
respond.  Before she would have time to prepare herself, he’d be
there.  She’d known