Best Kept Secrets(133)

"I, uh, I got Ms. Gaither's keys here. Remember, you

told me to--"

The deputy broke off when Reede opened the door. "I

remember." He extended his hand through the crack and the

deputy dropped the keys into them. "Thanks," he said

tersely, and closed the door.

He tossed the keys on the round table in front of the window.

The clatter they made when they landed on the wood

veneer was as loud as a cymbal's crash. Reede bent down to

retrieve his shirt and jacket, which he'd slung over the side

of the bed at some point that escaped his memory now. As

he pulled them on, he spoke to Alex over his shoulder.



"I know you're hating yourself right now, but it might

make you feel better to know that I wish it hadn't happened

either."

She turned her head and gave him a long, searching look.

She looked for compassion, tenderness, love. His features

remained impassive, his eyes those of a stranger. There was

no softness or feeling in his remote gaze. He seemed untouched

and untouchable.

Alex swallowed hard, burying her hurt. In retaliation for

his aloofness, she said, "Well, we're even now, Sheriff. You

saved my life before I was born." She paused, then added

huskily, "And I just gave you what you always wanted, but

never got, from my mother."

Reede curled his hands into fists, as though he wanted to

strike her. Then, with jerky, disjointed motions, he finished

dressing. At the open door, he turned back. "Whatever your

reason for doing it, thanks. For a virgin, you were a fairly

good f*ck."



Thirty-six



Junior slid into the orange vinyl booth of the Westerner Motel's

coffee shop. His engaging smile collapsed the instant

he saw Alex's face. "Darling, are you sick?"

She smiled wanly. "No. Coffee?" she asked, signaling

the waitress.

' 'Please,'' he told her distractedly. When the waitress tried

to hand him a large, plastic menu, he waved it off. "Just

coffee."

After she had poured him a cup, he leaned across the table

and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I was real tickled to



hear from you this morning, but something is obviously very

wrong. You're as pale as a sheet."

"You ought to see me without the sunglasses.'' She bobbed

them up and down in an attempt at humor that fell flat.

"What's the matter?"

She leaned back against the bright vinyl and turned her

head to gaze through the tinted window. It was bright outside;

her sunglasses wouldn't appear out of place. That about exhausted

the merits of this day. "Reede told me about Celina's

attempted abortion."

At first, Junior said nothing. Then, he cursed expansively

beneath his breath. He sipped his coffee, started to say something

he thought better of, and finally, shook his head in

apparent disgust. "What the hell's wrong with him? Why'd

he tell you about that?"

"So, it's true?"

He lowered his head and stared into his coffee. "She was

only seventeen, Alex, and pregnant by a guy she didn't even

love, a guy on his way to Saigon. She was scared. She--"

"I know the pertinent facts, Junior," she interrupted impatiently.

"Why do you always defend her?"

"Habit, I guess."

Alex, ashamed of her outburst, took a moment to compose

herself. "I know why she did it. It's just incomprehensible

to me that she could."

"To us, too," he admitted reluctantly.

"Us?"

"To Reede and me. He gave her only two days to recover

before he and I flew her back to El Paso to take care of it."

He sipped his coffee. "We met out at the airstrip, right after

sunset."

Alex had asked Reede if he'd ever taken Celina flying at

night. "Once," he had told her. Celina had been scared, he'd

said. "He stole a plane?"

"Borrowed is what he called it. I think Moe knew what

Reede was up to, but he looked the other way. We landed

in El Paso, rented a car, and drove to the army base. Reede



bribed the guards into telling Al Gaither that he had relatives

waiting to see him. He was off duty, I guess. Anyway, he

came to the gate and we, uh, talked him into getting in the

car with us."

"What happened?"

He looked at her, shamefaced. ' 'We took him to a deserted

spot and beat the shit out of him. I was afraid Reede was

going to kill him. He probably would have, if Celina hadn't

been there. She was practically hysterical."

"You coerced him into marrying her?"

"That same night. We drove across the border into

Mexico." He shook his head wryly at the memory of it.