Tempestuous Taurus Read online

  Now she was here in Hardship. He knew she was coming because Jules had told him. What was she going to think? How would she react? What if she didn’t believe he was innocent? Would she still care about him? He had asked Jules, who had told him that she wasn’t married and Jules didn’t think she was in a serious relationship with anyone.

  Was he walking around with his head up his ass thinking that maybe by some crazy miracle she still loved him?

  Chapter 3

  The house smelled of Aunt Lacey. Little reminders of her were everywhere—the bluebonnet-patterned living room curtains, the pink roses she had tended so carefully that now overflowed the bowl on the hall table, with their delicate perfume. Mrs. Pocket, the housekeeper, must have cut them from the garden and put them in the vase. The high-backed chairs at the cherry wood dining room table had replaced the old ones she remembered.

  Tara slid her thumb over the tears that filled her eyes and ran down her face. One of her greatest regrets was that she’d never visited Aunt Lacey after she had been diagnosed with cancer. Even near the end when she knew death was coming. Why had she been so stupid?

  She’d convinced herself that being back in Hardship, the memories of everything else would have been too traumatic.

  She had suffered from PTSD and horrific nightmares for years after the murders, and she had almost had the worst symptoms under control until three years ago, when she’d come back to Hardship to celebrate Aunt Lacey’s sixtieth birthday. She had stayed three days and spent most of the time totally zoned out on Zoloft, reasoning with herself that she could take a larger dose than normal because she didn’t have to drive.

  Back home in Arizona, the horrific nightmares had come back with a vengeance. She would wake up screaming and drenched in sweat, her heart hammering so hard she could hardly breathe. She knew she should have pushed her fears aside and come to see Aunt Lacey before it was too late, but she hadn’t done so. And then, she couldn’t face coming to the funeral. People would judge her for not visiting Aunt Lacey when she was alive. Small towns were like that.

  Her brother, Cory, had made it clear that someone would have to be here for a few weeks to put things in order, considering there was a business to be managed. He had his own business and a family to take care of, while she had some long overdue vacation time. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and thumbed a call to him.

  “When are you leaving Florida?” she asked after she’d told him she had arrived safely in Hardship.

  “I—I can’t, Tara. Mel miscarried last night. I didn’t call you because things were too crazy over here.”

  Tara didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry, Cory. Is she okay?” Five months. Her brother and sister-in-law had wanted a little girl so badly. Mel had been told she would never be able to conceive, and they had adopted twin boys. Then a new specialist had come onto the scene and he told them about a new procedure that would enable conception. He thought he could prevent her from miscarrying with his proprietary program, but this was the third time she’d miscarried.

  “Not so good. She’ll be okay in time, but I’m really glad you’re gonna take care of things in Hardship. I can’t leave her or the other two. Not right now.”

  Tara had been hoping she’d be able to go home—back to her life in Phoenix, Arizona after two or three weeks. She didn’t want to stay in Hardship longer than she absolutely had to, especially if the nightmares started up again. She hadn’t had one for almost two years.

  But she would do what had to be done. She had an appointment the next day with the attorney handling the estate.

  She went into the guest bathroom and tore off some toilet paper to blow her nose and wipe her eyes. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and laughed out loud. She had on no makeup, a sweat-streaked shirt, and her hair was totally out of control. The humidity had made it curl up like wire springs.

  She slipped her cell phone out of her jeans pocket and re-read Mrs. Pocket’s, text.

  No need to go out and buy food right away. The fridge has been stocked.

  She checked just to make sure.

  A horse whinnied out back. Tara smiled as she stepped onto a sunlit paved path. She followed it to the recreational area, blinking in the bright daylight. She peeked inside the rec room. No one was there. Nor was anyone sitting outside on the patio, with its plastic tables, metal chairs, and yellow and orange umbrellas.

  A lone blue SUV stood in one of the parking area bays.

  The rec center looked out over the main arena, with wooden rails and a sand and sawdust base. She could see the two barns behind the arena, and the pastures spread out to their left.

  Two dogs came rushing from behind the barns and charged toward her, barking. Sox, the black and white fox terrier, recognized her first, and even though he hadn’t seen her for more than three years, he knew her. He yelped, wagged his tail, and launched himself into her arms. She braced herself and caught him as he plastered wet licks and doggie kisses all over her face, making her giggle. She let him down and crouched down to rub RJ’s head and run her fingers through his coarse border collie fur. He whimpered and wagged his tail like a flag in a windstorm.

  She breathed in the horse scent—fresh hay and sawdust—and rounded the corner of the barn to see Jules sitting on a chestnut gelding, walking toward the arena. Tara leaned on the wooden fence, warmed from the sun.

  “Looking good,” she said.

  Jules laughed out loud and trotted to her. “Well, it’s about time.”

  The horse pushed his head over the railing and Tara rubbed his face. Jules threw her legs over the front of the saddle and slid to the ground, holding her arms out.

  Tears came into Tara’s eyes and she held Jules for a few seconds while she composed herself and then stepped back. Jules had been her closest friend since the time they were in pre-school, but after her parents’ murders, Tara had cut all ties with Jules until five years ago when they had reconnected on social media.

  She had lost a little weight, Tara observed, but she’d always been slim and tall, and looked good in anything she wore, including the tan riding britches, tooled brown boots, and a navy T-shirt. Her sleek, dark hair had been pulled back into a ponytail that fell halfway down her back.

  “So good that you’ve come. You’ll do a great job of running this place. Sorry you lost her—your Aunt Lacey.” Jules took hold of the reins. “She was special.” She looked toward the house. “I was worried that some stranger would take over.” She lifted the black Stetson off her head and wiped her brow with the back of a hand.

  Tara frowned. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen with this place.” She couldn’t tell Jules she wasn’t planning on staying in Hardship. “I have to meet with the probate attorneys tomorrow. How are things with you? Any new hot males in your life?” Tara knew the answer. She knew just about everything that had been going on in Julia Hiscox’s life. Jules was one of those people who shared her whole life on Facebook and Instagram.

  “No one serious. Things are good, except—I’ve been worried about my job here. I love it so much. Being the head therapist of the Hardship Center for Equine Therapy is a dream come true for me. You remember all the times I came and hung around and cleaned tack and helped with the horses just to get a ride. I love working with people and seeing the results, and this place is so special, but I feel a lot better now that you’re here. A lot of needy people would be badly impacted if you shut it down—not that I would believe for one minute that you would ever do that. I know you love this place just as much as Miss Lacey did. And your mom.”

  Tara squeezed her eyes shut tight and gritted her teeth. Jules was right, the Equine Center was a great business. She wondered if she could ever grow to love it here again, as she had done before the murders—and before Jared was convicted and before Cassie took off.

 
“I hope money isn’t gonna be a problem. I know it takes a lot of dough to run this place and things have been tight the last couple of years. As you can see, it’s all been spent on the horses and the Center, and the house is falling apart.”

  Guilt squeezed Tara’s stomach. “What happened to the fundraising? Who was supposed to be taking care of it? Don’t we have a website?”

  Jules shook her head. “I told you Randall walked out when Miss Lacey died. The asshole just took off and there hasn’t been a manager here since then. He used to be good at getting donations, and we had a wide network of donors, but when your aunt got sick, he changed, and things just seemed to go downhill. I wish I knew what went wrong with him, because before that, he was a good manager. He was irritating sometimes, but he kept the place running efficiently. He took care of the accounting, too. The attorneys asked me to let them have all the outstanding bills, and I did that, but now there are more of them on the desk in the office.”

  Tara pictured the former manager, Randall, in her mind—a long face with a pencil-thin mustache and balding head. She had always imagined he was good at his job, though. Aunt Lacey thought the world of him, so why would he change? And to take off without an explanation—that was weird. Did they argue about something?

  “We have eleven therapy horses, plus the other three that we don’t use for the business, and me and Christy, and Roberto. We all cost a lot to keep. The helpers are all volunteers and free, but the maintenance of this place is expensive.”

  Tara grimaced. “I was hoping my brother would be here so we could discuss all this. He’s pretty good with suggestions.”

  “I’ve called Cory a few times to ask for help, and he took care of my problems at the time. I also asked him to come out and help me with some stuff when Randall quit, but I guess his own business takes up most of his time.”

  “Yeah. He has family problems, too. Mel lost the baby.”

  “Oh, geez—I’m sorry.”

  Tara sighed. “Luckily, I have some vacation time, and I can be here for as long as it takes.” She smiled and patted Jules on her arm. “Please don’t worry. We’ll figure it all out.” She hoped she sounded convincing. She just wanted to get the hell away from here. Especially after seeing that person who looked like Jared. Thoughts of him made her feel jittery.

  “Let’s see what happens when I meet with the lawyers tomorrow and we’ll put our heads together once I know more.” She gave Jules another quick hug. “I’m gonna take a walk around.”

  She knew she should have taken more of an interest in the Therapy Center, but Aunt Lacey had been so competent, she had no reason to think there were problems.

  She strolled to the barn, the dogs at her heels. It seemed like she’d been away for a lifetime and yet the Center looked the same as ever. The barn was spotless, the cobblestones swept clean, and the doors of the stalls had been recently painted, and the siding had been patched. It appeared that Aunt Lacey had put all the available cash into the business.

  “Buenos Dias,” she said to Roberto, who had been the stable hand ever since she could remember, a short, dark-skinned man wearing baggy blue pants and a white T-shirt. She thought he might show some emotion at seeing her again after so long, but he simply returned her greeting in his shy way and carried on sweeping, the smell of manure and horse urine strong. Jules must have told him Tara would be arriving soon.

  The horses were all out in the paddocks, and she strolled to the fence. Two dark bays lifted their heads from the hay rack and stared at her. “Come on, Brown Sugar. Come on, girl.” She held out her hand. The dogs whined and pawed at her legs, begging for attention, while the mare walked toward her and whickered softly as she approached. The horse pushed her head into Tara’s arms, and Tara hugged her neck and rubbed her face. “I should have brought a carrot,” she said, her voice choked up with emotion.

  Tara was about to climb through the rails when Jules called out to her.

  “Phone,” she said, holding up a cordless headset from the Center’s office.

  Tara hadn’t heard it ring. She mouthed the words, “Who is it?” but Jules shrugged and shook her head.

  She strode across the short grass and grabbed the phone. “Hello? Can I help you?”

  “Yes, is this Tara Ericson?” a woman’s voice said.

  “Yes.”

  “It’s me, Tara—Alex Lafferty. I heard you were back. I work for GreenFeed, and your bill for the therapy center is seriously delinquent. When do you think you’ll be able to make a payment?”

  Shit. In a small town, everyone knew everyone else, but it made her stomach churn when she realized her old school friend, Alex, was trying to collect a debt—a debt for which she was now responsible.

  “Nice to hear from you, too,” she said, unable to contain her irritation. “I only just got here today, as I’m sure Jules told you, and I have a meeting with the attorneys tomorrow.”

  Jules nodded and pulled a face.

  There had to be some funds. She just needed them to be released. “I’ll call you when I have access to the Center’s bank account.” She handed the phone back to Jules. “Fuck it!” she spat. “I hate debt collectors, and it’s even worse when they know you. How did she even know I was back? And why is the account delinquent?”

  Jules grinned. “Small town. And between you and me, I don’t think Randall was managing the cash very well. He and Miss Lacey were always having words those last couple of months. They never argued before that. Jared almost came to blows with him one time.”

  Tara’s heart lurched. “Jared?”

  “Yes.” Jules lifted a shoulder. “He’s been working here for almost a year now.”

  Tara’s jaw tightened. “J—Jared who?”

  Chapter 4

  Jules stared at her for a few seconds. “You don’t know, do you?”

  She looked down at her feet and then up again at Tara. “I wanted to tell you but he said I mustn’t. Jared White is out of prison. He was pardoned.”

  “What?” Tara felt sick. “What the fuck?”

  “Don’t yell at me. I’m just the messenger.” Jules held up her hands. “He’s our part-time maintenance guy. Miss Lacey hired him. I can’t believe she didn’t tell you. Or someone else. I know you tried to cut off all ties with this place, but. . . Don’t you know anything that goes on in this town?” Jules backed away as she spoke. “I didn’t feel comfortable going against his wishes and telling you, and maybe I was wrong, and if I was, I’m sorry.”

  Tara fought to get her breathing under control. Jared. Her ex-boyfriend. The man who had been tried and convicted of murdering her parents was out of prison? And working here. What in hell’s name had Aunt Lacey been thinking? Her hands were clenched so tight her nails dug into her palms.

  And how does someone get pardoned when they’re on death row?

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, but you’ve gone white and you don’t look too good. Let’s go into the house and I’ll make you some tea.” Jules nudged Tara toward the house.

  Tara couldn’t trust her own voice.

  Jules took charge and Tara sank into one of the easy chairs in the family room and kicked off her flip-flops. Jared—the love of her life who turned on her and hurt her in the worst way ever. She forced her clenched jaw to relax. This had to be a nightmare. It couldn’t be real.

  “You really didn’t know?” Jules said as she took the teabags out of the box and dropped them into the mugs she had set out on the kitchen counter. “It’s a long story, but he was—the Innocence Project took up his case. You heard of them?”

  Tara nodded. “I know what they do. They try to help people who have been imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit.”

  “That’s it. They re-tested the blood that was on the knife and supposedly matched Jared’s DNA—and this time it was
n’t a match. It looks like the lab mixed it up. It’s a long story and I won’t go into it now, but it took a lot of time and effort, and he was pardoned about a year ago. Miss Lacey felt sorry for him and gave him the job. Since then, he’s started his own handyman business and now he only works here when we need him. Here.” Julia set a steaming cup on the side table and dropped onto the sofa.

  Tara’s mouth had gone dry. “So, Aunt Lacey just suddenly believed he didn’t kill my parents? Just like that?” Her hand was shaking so much she couldn’t pick up the teacup. “That’s bullshit. He was tried and convicted.” Her entire body was trembling. “The fucking DNA matched and now all of a sudden it doesn’t?” Why didn’t Jules get that?

  “I don’t think he’d have been released if they couldn’t prove he was innocent. Jared always said he didn’t do it. Still does. He believes someone set him up.” She took a sip of her tea and Tara saw her watching over the rim of the mug. She looked nervous. “I don’t think Miss Lacey ever believed he was guilty, either.”

  Maybe Tara did over-react, but holy shit. Jared.

  Jared was free, and he was here when she arrived. She had loved him with all her heart and soul, given him everything and then . . . “You should have told me. I never knew. I didn’t want to know anything about what was going on in this town. It hurt too badly.” Her own voice sounded far away. She knew that was unfair.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine the pain, and this is a fucking big shock, but I promised Jared I wouldn’t tell you—and you just said you didn’t want to know what was going on here.” She held up her hands. “I’ve told you now.”

  “It was just—a shock to find out like this after he’s been here a year.”