White Lightning: Episode 2 (Rising Storm) Read online

  Daddy, where did you go? Why did you leave me?

  “Sorry. We’re all mad at her right now,” Jeffry said. “We’re your friends. Maybe we’ll be less mad once we can’t see her handprint on your cheek.”

  Dakota got up and searched for her purse. It was lying on the dresser and next to it sat her phone. She caught sight of herself in the mirror. She looked rough, mascara and eyeliner having smudged during the night. She looked older and harder than she thought of herself, but maybe that was a good thing. Maybe if she got harder then no one could hurt her.

  She looked down at her phone and there was a text from an unknown number. She flipped through the screens to read it.

  Thanks for the save last night, White Lightning. I call you that because you’re the brightest thing in the sky. Maybe you’ll come by my office sometime. I would love to talk…policy with you.

  She wasn’t sure how Sebastian had gotten her number but she was so glad he’d communicated. She supposed it wasn’t hard for a senator to find someone’s cell phone number. He probably had staff to look those things up.

  He was still interested. Was she?

  The door opened and the one person she didn’t want to see walked in.

  “Are you feeling all right?” her mother asked. Unlike Dakota, she was clean and pressed, though there were dark circles under her eyes.

  “I’m fine. I didn’t need the cavalry to ride to my rescue. Did you set him on me?” She wished she’d had the chance to clean up. After the sheriff had shoved her into the back of his squad car, the effects of the emotions and liquor had worked their magic on her. She didn’t even remember him hauling her inside. She certainly would have pointed out that she didn’t live here anymore.

  “I just asked Dillon to send you home if he happened to find you. He said you weren’t in a position to drive. He had a friend drive your car here. The keys are back in your purse. Why did you go to that bar?” Her mother stood in the doorway, likely guarding it against her inevitable exit.

  As she’d so recently injured a family member, she chose not to barrel through her mom. “I was looking for a good time.”

  A long sigh came from her mom. “No, you weren’t. Were you looking for your father?”

  Stupid tears. She really hated them. She tried to call them back but had to settle for simply nodding.

  “I thought so. I hadn’t thought about looking there. I called all his friends and his coworkers. They all said the same thing. I wish I knew what to tell you. There’s not a thing I can say that’s going to make you feel better. At least when my father disowned me I could comfort myself that I thought I was doing the right thing. There’s no logic to this. All I can tell you is I believe no matter what the reason your father had for walking out, he still loves you.”

  “Do you think so?”

  Her mother stepped up and put a hand on her cheek. “I know so. And I know you don’t believe it, but I love you, too.”

  “Is he coming home?”

  Tears streaked down her mom’s face. “I don’t know.”

  “What are we going to do?” She didn’t know how to face a world without her father.

  Her mother put her arms around her. “I don’t know that either.”

  Dakota wanted to shove her away, to be strong and independent. Instead she was a lost little girl and for the first time in a long time, she found comfort from her mother. She cried and cried and wondered if she would ever stop.

  Joanne slipped out of Dakota’s old room, closing it as quietly as she could. Her heart was so heavy, and if Hector had been standing in front of her she might have found the strength to take a baseball bat to him.

  Somehow it was easier to get angry when it was her children and not herself at risk. She could understand how Hector could get angry with her, but these were his babies. How could he hurt them?

  Mallory stepped out of the kitchen as Joanne made her way to the living room. She was quiet for a moment, not wanting to talk about Dakota’s situation in front of others. Dakota had caused enough scandals. This one Joanne couldn’t muster up the strength to blame her for. She was just a girl looking for her father. She was young and she made plenty of mistakes. The last thing she needed was gossip to compound them. She wished Dillon had been a little more discreet. She’d seen the neighbor’s lights come on when Dillon pulled up. No doubt the gossip had already begun.

  She turned to talk to her other daughter. “You should be with your friends. Dakota’s fine.”

  Mallory shook her head. “They’re eating grilled cheese sandwiches. We thought about going into town, but I wanted to stay close to home. I told the rest of them to go ahead and go, but Luis wouldn’t hear of it and Lacey and Jeffry agreed. We’re just going to hang out here today.”

  Joanne could understand. They didn’t want to be separated. They’d seen how devastated their older siblings were by the loss of one of their own and sought comfort in each other.

  “Well, you’re certainly welcome to stay. I’ve got a big batch of stew in the Crock-Pot. I’ll make some cornbread for dinner, if your friends want to hang out here tonight.” She wouldn’t mind the company. She liked listening to them laugh and support each other. Luis Moreno seemed to be a fine young man who took Mallory’s feelings seriously. They’d been closer since they’d gone to the spring dance together. Mallory was young, but she had a good head on her shoulders.

  Unlike her sister.

  “Hey, is she really all right? Despite everything, she’s my sister. Even though the girl does know how to slap.” Mallory ran her fingers along the red spot. It was easing. Joanne had held an ice pack to it. By tomorrow, it would likely be gone.

  God, how had she become such an expert at hiding wounds? Just thinking about it made her weary. She wanted to go to bed and stay there, but she had to be strong for her girls. “She’s devastated and there’s nothing I can do. She cried herself to sleep again. I wish I could say she’s going to stay for a while. I think being back here would do her some good, but I doubt it. I caught her in a moment of weakness. When she wakes up again, she’ll likely run.”

  “Was she really in that skanky bar?” Mallory asked.

  The rumor mill in Storm was far too accurate for Joanne. “She went there looking for your father.”

  “But she stayed for the moonshine? I heard the sheriff caught her drinking moonshine.”

  What had Dillon been doing? Had he broadcast the incident to everyone? “She was doing what a lot of people do when they’re hurting. She made a mistake. I’m just glad she didn’t drive home.”

  “That wasn’t her choice,” Mallory replied.

  She held up a hand. The last thing she needed was to argue with Mallory. “It’s over now. We need to move on.”

  Mallory held her hands up in submission. “I’m sorry. I know she’s upset. I’m not trying to make this harder on you.”

  Joanne reached out and grabbed her daughter’s hand. “What about you, sweetheart? Are you all right? He’s your father, too.”

  “I’m fine. I know you won’t believe this, but I think this is a good thing.”

  “How can you say that?”

  Mallory squeezed her hand. “Momma, I don’t have to tip toe around him anymore. I don’t have to worry that he’s going to hurt you.”

  Oh, God. Please don’t let her have seen that. She’d been so careful. “He doesn’t hurt me. I’m just clumsy. You know that.”

  Mallory sighed and after one more squeeze, let Joanne’s hand go. Her eyes were far too wise for her age. “You can fool yourself, but you can’t fool me. I love you, but I’m not that blind.”

  The doorbell rang and Joanne was happy for the distraction.

  Mallory started back for the kitchen. “Saved by the bell. I’ll be around if you need me.”

  Her stomach ached at the thought of Mallory knowing some of the things that went on between her and Hector. She couldn’t understand. Mallory was far too young to understand men and the way they dealt with life. Sh
e knew she was a disappointment to Hector. She was always getting things wrong. She was the reason he’d left.

  She opened the door and Dillon was standing there. Big, gorgeous Dillon Murphy. His shoulders were almost too broad for her doorframe. He’d been so kind to find Dakota, but now she couldn’t help but be the slightest bit irritated with him. “Sheriff.”

  He smiled, showing off that movie star smile of his. When that man smiled, the world seemed to light up. It was another thing she found somewhat annoying about him today. He took off his hat and his hair curled just perfectly. He looked young, though she knew he was close to her age. “I wanted to come by and make sure our patient is resting comfortably.”

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw a shade moving on the window of the house next door. Why did people have to be so nosy? “Come in.”

  At least this way they wouldn’t know exactly what was being said. She wouldn’t put it past the neighbors to be able to lip read.

  He stepped inside and looked incongruous in her tiny living room. Such a big presence for a small space.

  She moved to her couch and indicated the space across from her.

  “Now you can explain how everyone in town seems to know what Dakota was up to last night.” She wanted to know how the man who always seemed so protective had turned into such a gossip.

  He went a nice shade of red. “Damn, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about it. I had my deputy go back with me to get her car. I think I saw him on his cell. His girlfriend is one of the biggest gossips on the planet. I’ll have a long talk with him. He’s not supposed to talk about what happens on the job.”

  At least it hadn’t been Dillon. She felt better knowing that. “See that you do. It’s not good to have public servants telling tales.”

  “Is she all right? She was drinking that mix of Cooder’s, Joanne. She’s lucky she didn’t go blind,” Dillon complained.

  Joanne had to smile. He sounded so irritated. It must be difficult for the sheriff to admit he’d never been able to find Cooder’s still. He wasn’t the first sheriff to find himself defeated by that ninety-year-old man. That moonshine was a legend across three counties. Every teenager in the area at one point or another ended up trying it and paying the price the next morning. Including herself. “Now, you know no one’s gone blind since the seventies. Cooder’s got that recipe down to an art.”

  “I’m surprised you’re not more upset.”

  “It’s to be expected. Dakota acts out. She’s not ever going to be the kind of girl who takes things sitting down. She’s not going to cry and wring her hands and hope for the best. She’s going to go out and do something, and when she figures out how helpless she is, she’ll burn everything down around her.”

  “That doesn’t sound so good.”

  She shrugged. “I know my daughter. She’s got a good heart under all that sass, but she’s been indulged too much. She’s too entitled. Unfortunately, she’ll have to learn the hard way now that Hector isn’t here to make things easy on her.”

  “Are you going to be all right if he’s gone for a while?”

  She hadn’t even thought about the realities of being on her own. She’d been so worried about Dakota and what the kids would think that she hadn’t seen the big picture. If Hector was gone, so was his paycheck. If he was gone, she didn’t have access to money. She’d always handed her checks over to him and he gave her a household allowance. Could she even afford to make the house payment? “I don’t know. Maybe I can take more hours on at the shop.”

  She wouldn’t be able to keep the house up the way she should. Perhaps Mallory could chip in. Maybe since it would just be the two of them, it wouldn’t be so hard to keep things tidy.

  She couldn’t lose the house. She had to keep everything running properly. She had to make this work.

  “Don’t worry about money,” he said. “I’m sure something will come up. You won’t lose the house.”

  That was easy for him to say. He had a huge family behind him. She could count on her mom for little things, but there was no way she could borrow money from her. The last thing she wanted to do was get her mother in trouble with her father. She’d risked so much already. “Has there been any word on Hector?”

  She was only now realizing how much trouble she was in. Everything was in Hector’s name. He took care of all the money. She wasn’t even sure she knew where he put the bills and how to pay them. If she could pay them…

  Dillon’s jaw tightened. “I’m sorry. I don’t have any new information on his whereabouts. I can’t put a BOLO out on him. He technically hasn’t done anything wrong. Leaving town isn’t exactly against the law.”

  She treaded carefully, not wanting to go into what Hector had done that was against the law. “I can file a missing persons report in forty-eight hours, right?”

  Dillon was silent for a moment. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

  His question sat there between them like a land mine waiting to go off. Did she want him back? Of course. She needed him. He was her husband. She loved him. He was the right man for her. Everything he did, he did because he loved her and wanted her to be the best wife and mother possible.

  She could hear her daughter’s voice. I think this is a good thing.

  But her other daughter was lying in the guestroom, having exhausted herself through tears. “Of course. He’s my husband.”

  Dillon sat down on the couch beside her. He took up so much space that their knees were practically touching. She’d always wondered what it would feel like to have that big hand holding her own. Not just in friendship, but with their fingers tangled together like vines woven in a lovely pattern.

  God, if she wasn’t enough woman for Hector, she was an idiot to even daydream about Dillon Murphy.

  “I’m just saying that sending cops out to find a man who doesn’t want to be found might be a good way to make him angry.”

  She hadn’t thought of that. Forcing Hector to do something he didn’t want to do was a very good way to get hurt. She would find herself “falling down the stairs” or “tripping” over something. How many excuses could she come up with? “I just don’t understand.”

  “I know. I can’t imagine how hard this is for you. Do you need anything?”

  She shook her head. “No. Now that Dakota’s home safe, I can rest a little more easily. I’ll think about what you said. Maybe I just need to give him time.”

  Dillon nodded. “I think that might be for the best. Joanne, we can’t pretend it didn’t happen. I saw him hurt you, Joanne.”

  She turned away from him. The shame she felt was like an ice bath. She’d gotten so good at doing just that. She’d pretended he hadn’t seen Hector slap her. She’d prayed he never brought it up. “It was nothing.”

  “Jo, it’s everything.” He was leaning toward her. She could feel the heat of his big body. “He can’t treat you like that. You can’t let him do that to you. I can help you. I can protect you.”

  She sniffled and told herself it was wrong to want to lean against him. She’d wanted nothing more that day than to bury her head against Dillon’s strong chest and let him handle everything, but that would be a failure on her part. She’d made her choice and she’d had children and she owed them everything. She couldn’t let them know their father wasn’t the man he seemed.

  She shook her head and forced herself to get off the couch. “No. I made myself plain that day, Sheriff. I don’t want you coming between me and my husband. It isn’t right.”

  Dillon stood and suddenly his hat was back on his head and all the intimacy was gone between them. He was polite, but cold. A lawman. “Of course, Mrs. Alvarez. You call me if there’s anything I can do to help you out and I’ll let you know if any news turns up on your husband.” He strode to the door, his boots thudding against the floor. When he got to the front, he swung the door open and turned around. “It looks like your daughter is none the worse for the wear.”

  She hurried to the door just in
time to see Dakota getting into her car. Apparently she’d snuck out the guestroom window. Well, she’d had plenty of practice doing that in high school, though she’d always managed to convince her father she’d been trying to rescue some stray cat or dog, even when Joanne had been able to smell beer on her breath. Maybe Hector had just gone nose blind to the smell.

  She couldn’t think like that. When had she started having such unpleasant thoughts about the man she’d married?

  Dakota’s car peeled out of the driveway and Joanne realized their little truce was very likely over.

  Dillon frowned. “You tell Dakota to stay out of bars until she’s twenty-one. Next time I’ll take her in.”

  Joanne watched as the sheriff drove away. It was a long time before she closed the door.

  * * * *

  Sebastian looked over the schedule his mother had given him and winced. It kept him in Storm for weeks at a time this summer. Couldn’t there be a special session? Anything to get him out of this godforsaken town?

  A vision of Dakota played through his brain. She’d been perfectly luscious. Blonde and gorgeous, with firm tits and legs that would wrap around his waist or his neck. He would bet she was a flexible girl. He could prop her ankles on his shoulders and drive into her. She’d be so tight, so hot that way.

  He glanced down at his cell phone. Not the official one. Oh, no. He always kept a burner so he could call his ladies without getting in trouble. The number changed as frequently as the women. He paid in cash and tossed them when he was done. Other politicians might be interested in flashing their dicks across the tabloids, but that wouldn’t be him. He wasn’t about to give any of his hookups leverage to blackmail him.

  It happened from time to time that a girl would decide to get a little something extra from their time together. He would simply shrug and tell the girl to try. They would find themselves with absolutely nothing to back up their claims but their “word.” He was always quick to explain that their word and reputation, and likely whole future, would be shredded by the press and he would still get reelected.