The Texan's Journey Home
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Jolene Navarro
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Chapter One
Lyrissa rushed out of the crowded restroom as she dried her hands. She hadn’t wanted to leave the boys alone for a second, but some things just couldn’t be avoided. Especially after being in a car for more than twelve hours. They were back in Texas and so close to the ranch where she grew up. Port Del Mar might live too much on gossip for her liking, but her father’s ranch was always safe.
They just had a few miles left and hopefully she wouldn’t run into anyone. This new situation was going to have stories flying along the shoreline and her father didn’t deserve any of it. Once again, the train wreck of a woman who called herself Lyrissa’s mother had rammed straight into their lives without any thought of others. Deeann Herff Martinez had torn apart their family for the sake of finding her own happiness.
She pulled the scrunchie off her wrist and tried to wrestle her curls back into a ponytail. The humidity and coastal air were not her friend. She hadn’t wanted to waste time in front of a mirror with the boys waiting.
Buc-ee’s was one of the best convenience stores in Texas, but still. She had told them if they stayed at the fudge counter then they would each get to pick a flavor when she returned. It was still hard to comprehend that she had two brothers, eight-and five years old. They were the only reason she had allowed her mother back into her life.
Of course, that had proven to be a huge mistake—not her brothers, but her mother. Dee was and would forever be a party girl first and foremost in search of an easy high. Why did Lyrissa think this time would be any different?
The sad part? At forty-five, Dee was still looking for the big score and next hit. This time, the woman had abandoned her two young sons and stolen everything of value from Lyrissa’s apartment and wiped out her checking account. At least Dee hadn’t been able to access Lyrissa’s savings, not that it was much.
She was resigned to the fact that her mother would never change, and it would be up to her to make sure her brothers had a safe place to live.
Her neighbor had told her to call the police and turn the boys over to Child Protective Services, but she couldn’t do that. The one time her mother had taken her when she had left the ranch, Lyrissa had ended up in the custody of CPS until her grandmother and father had been contacted. As a nine-year-old, she had been terrified that she would never see her father or grandmother again. She had just wanted to go home.
Her brothers didn’t even have a home. But they had her now... She stopped. Where were they? Fear seized her lungs.
They were gone. Frantically scanning the large store again, she gazed from person to person and in between. The Texas-size truck stop was clean, well-lit and huge. It was filled with a mix of tourists and locals but there was no sign of the boys.
Had Bennett, the eight-year-old, taken his little brother back into the bathroom? Breathe. She needed to find an employee to check for her. As she leaned over the counter to get the attention of one of the candymakers, a gentle touch on the back of her shoulder caused her to jump.
“Ma’am?” A deep Texas drawl, cool and confident, ran along her nerves.
She turned and saw both boys. She took a deep breath with immediate relief. They’re safe. She clenched her hands to her chest so she wouldn’t grab her brothers and startle them.
They wouldn’t appreciate the uninvited affection. Bennett had perfected the sullen look mixed with an air of boiling rage. Ray-Ray, younger by three years, was impossibly shy but wanted to trust her. He reminded her of a puppy that had been kicked too many times. The tears in his big brown eyes pulled pieces of her heart right off. His expression warned her that he could burst into sobs any minute.
“Lyrissa?” That voice.
Pull yourself together, girl. The question in the man’s voice brought her gaze up to his. He was tall, dark and good-looking. Had to be a little over six feet. And well-built. His large hand gently sat on Bennett’s shoulder. Not too tight, but firm enough to make sure the boy didn’t run. His golden-brown eyes stared at her.
Reno Espinoza. Her heart sank. Of all the people to meet on this little side trip into town, why did it have to be him? When she had left Port Del Mar eight years ago, that had included standing him up for the homecoming dance. Had she at least sent him a text saying she couldn’t make it? She hoped, but probably not. She had been humiliated and in too much of a rush to leave town.
Meeting his gaze, she expected judgment or resentment. But she only saw a genuine concern. The warmth and softness of his gaze was at odds with the hard jaw and wide mouth. Evidence of the Indigenous warriors who were his ancestors. His thick, dark hair was a casually tossed mess, just like in high school.
With a sigh, she attempted a smile. He was one of the Espinoza kids. It was a well-known fact that they were the nicest family in town. Reno was the youngest and had the reputation of being the party boy, the one and only wild child of the bunch. He was famous for always wearing a smile and having fun in any situation. But that was when they were teenagers.
Reno was a grown man now, very grown. A loud rumble of thunder shook the building. Ray jumped and the older boy put an arm around him, pulling him closer. She needed to focus and get the boys to the ranch.
“Hey, Reno.” She nodded, then looked back at her brother. “What’s going on, Bennett? You were supposed to stay at the fudge counter. Both of you.” Her gaze slid to Ray.
“He didn’t mean it. Please don’t get mad.” Sweet Ray-Ray was already pleading for his brother.
Reno’s eyes went wide for a second. “So, they are yours?” He looked at Bennett, doing the math. Great. She scanned the area. Rumors and stories, true or not, spread fast in these parts. Actually, the faster they flew, the further from the truth they grew.
Of course, when it came to her mother, there had been more truth in the gossip than Lyrissa had liked. In Port Del Mar, her mother’s shadow was overpowering. She had been guilty by association for most people. The rumor mill was going to have so much fun with this.
“Yes. They’re mine. They’re my brothers.”
Confusion clouded his face. “I didn’t know you had any brothers.”
A very unladylike snort escaped her. “Join the club.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. All she wanted was to get to her father’s house and hide under the quilt her great-grandmother had made for her sixteenth birthday. At least she hadn’t taken that one with her to Missouri, or it would be gone too. She turned back to her newly found brother. “Bennett, what’s going on?”
“Nothin’.” He rolled his shoulder but couldn’t dislodge Reno’s hand. “This guy’s just being a jerk. He needs to leave kids alone.”
Reno gave her a slanted smile, obviously not offended by the comment. “I don’t think the beef jerky and Dr Pepper accidentally fell into the pocket of his hoodie.” He looked back at Bennett with one eyebrow raised.
She gasped. “You’re stealing?”
The eight-year-old shrugged. “I was hungry. It’s overpriced. You said you don’t buy sodas.”
She dropped down on her haunches and tried to look him in the eye. He had a talent for staring right over her shoulder as if she didn’t exist. “If you were that hungry, you should have talked to me. Stealing is never okay. We’re almost home and you can have a full meal.”
His gaze cut to her. “Not my home.” Hostility burned, covering up the hurt caused by their mother. “Mom said stores like this mark everything way up because they know half of it’ll be taken. It didn’t hurt anyone.”
Ray-Ray eagerly nodded as he stepped in front of his big brother, his eyes wide. “She said that they didn’t mind if kids took stuff, it was...” He looked up at his brother.
“Charity,” Bennett offered. He shrugged. “They’ll just right it off as a donation.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The reality of her mother’s problems had become clear to her long ago. Alcohol and drugs changed a person. It took control and had to be the center of attention. There’s no telling what the boys had been exposed too. It shouldn’t surprise her that she had taught her sons to steal as a way of life. The woman had stolen everything from her own daughter and from the church where Lyrissa had worked part-time.
It was less than twenty-four hours ago that the church had called to say that they had Dee, her mother, on video, walking out with all the petty cash that had been in Lyrissa’s desk. Her mother had used her keys to steal from the church. Who did that?
Lyrissa had rushed home to find her apartment and checking account stripped clean. Only the boys were left behind.
She reached out to take Bennett’s hand, but he pulled back. Ray-Ray pressed himself closer to his big brother, looking at her with fear in his eyes.
After only a few weeks of knowing each other, the boys were still reserved around her. Asking them to trust another adult was too much. All they knew was a mother who had walked out on them. They hadn’t been blessed with someone like her father. A man whose compassion and unconditional love was an anchor in the worst storms.
He had always welcomed Dee back into their lives. No questions asked. Lyrissa had made a promise to herself to never be in that situation. Loving someone who only wanted a good time had to be fun at first, but it only led to heartbreak and misery. But the moment Dee knocked on her door with the boys, Lyrissa had welcomed them into her small apartment.
She was too much like her sweet father, foolishly optimistic. Where did that get her? Instead of reconnecting with the woman who never acted like a mother, she was now responsible for two young boys.
She was already messing it up.
And here stood Reno Espinoza, witnessing it all. This was why she never had gone into town the few times she had visited her dad and grandmother.
People knew her mother. It was so embarrassing, being the daughter of the town drunk. They looked at her father with a mix of pity and disgust. How could he love a woman like that? They had always eyed Lyrissa with suspicion.
All they saw was Dee.
Back in high school, after the pastor’s gentle intervention that day, she knew she’d never be more than Dee’s daughter, no matter how hard she worked to prove otherwise. She had begged her father to take her away. To start over somewhere fresh. But his mother-in-law needed him to run the ranch and Dee might come back. As much as she loved her father, she prayed to never be like him.
He had finally agreed to call his cousins and arranged for Lyrissa to finish her last year of high school in Dallas.
She hated and loved her father for his loyalty and capacity for forgiveness. But this was too much, even for the sweetest man she knew. Now, she was bringing home two boys who carried her father’s name but weren’t his blood. And they were caught stealing their first day in town.
She was in over her head.
Hand out in front of the boys, she stared Bennett in the eye. “Give me everything you put into your pockets. And listen to me. Our mother has an illness. You know stealing is wrong. Don’t ever try to justify it again. You are my responsibility now and there will be no stealing, lying or cheating.”
Heat spread up her neck and over her cheeks as she stood and looked at Reno. “Thank you for bringing him to me.”
“You’re heading to your dad’s? He didn’t say anything about—” he glanced at the boys “—you coming home. Does he know?”
Why did her family have to be such a mess? People in the store were starting to stare. Before the sun set, rumors would be everywhere. “I just called last night. We’ve been on the road all day. Thank you for bringing him to me and not...” She sighed. “Thanks. We need to be going.”
Reno reached over and took the items Bennett had taken. After placing them in a red basket he carried, he looked back at her. “Let me get these as a welcome-back-to-town gift and to let you know all is forgiven for leaving me high and dry for homecoming.” Giving her a charming smile, he winked.
Heat climbed up her neck. Great, my whole face will be strawberry red soon.
She took a few deep breaths, but she knew there was no stopping the scarlet splotches. “I...” Not knowing what to say, she bit her bottom lip. So, she hadn’t sent a text.
It had been the Wednesday before the dance that the pastor had accused her of stealing. In her humiliation, she had figured Reno wouldn’t want to be seen with her. Even though he had just been a sophomore and she’d been a senior, he had been a varsity player in their small school and was loved by everyone. It was clear she had been a pity date for him. Her best friend—who happened to be one of his sisters had probably made him. Now he caught her brothers stealing. Please God, let the ground open beneath me.
He leaned in closer to her, his forehead wrinkled in concern. “Sorry. If I had known that would make you uncomfortable, I wouldn’t have said anything.” Sincerity had replaced the teasing glint from earlier. “Did you know that Belle De La Rosa confessed and returned the money after she heard you had been blamed?”
Her mouth dropped open. “Belle?” That family might have had it worse than Lyrissa. At least she’d had her father and grandmother in her corner. Those kids had been all alone after the death of their mother. “I didn’t know.”
“She felt awful.” He laid one large hand flat on his chest. “Really, no hard feelings.” He gave her a genuine smile and squeezed her arm before dropping his hand. With a gentle nudge of his elbow, he winked again. The charmer was back. “Another underclassmen might have been scarred for life. Thankfully, my resilient personality protected the fragile teenage boy’s ego from harm. My sisters all agreed it was good for me. Humbling.”
He glanced at the boys, then grew serious. “Please, let me buy these for you to prove there are no ill feelings and send you out to your father with happy bellies. Your dad is one of my favorite people, you know.” He guided them to the side doors to check out.
“Mine too.” Her father deserved to be respected and she loved that Reno saw him for the kind human he was.
“What about the truck?” Ray-Ray asked.
She stopped. Dread knotted her stomach. “What truck?”
“Mama took mine, so Benny gave this one to me.” He pulled a mini metal truck from the front pocket of his jacket and held it out to her.
“Ray-Ray,” Bennett said between gritted teeth. “I gave that to you.”
“But she said no more stealing.” The sweet boy looked at his older brother in confusion.
Reno took the truck and tossed it in the basket. “Anything else, guys? Come clean now or suffer the consequences.”
“What’s that?” Ray-Ray looked between the two adults.
“It’ll be up to your sister, but it usually involves chores no one wants to do. Mucking stalls, shoveling manure into a compost bin, and there is always the old pulling weeds from the pastures.”
Bennett rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
Ray-Ray shook his head. “That doesn’t sound fun. What’s manure?”
“Lyrissa? Lyrissa Martinez?” A woman with unnatural red hair touched her arm. “I thought that was you. Hi, Reno.”
She hugged him, then turned to Lyrissa. A well-manicured hand rested on his arm as if staking a claim.
Madilyn House. Her throat went dry. The inadequacies she had grown up with surged into her system. Maddy. Why did she complain to God about seeing Reno? This was so much worse.
As nice as Reno had been, Maddy was the opposite. In school, the girl had taken every opportunity to put Lyrissa down. She was the one who had blamed her for the church’s missing money.
She would never make the mistake of coming to town, ever again. Small town homecomings were not her thing. The past was better off forgotten.
Reno stiffened at Maddy’s possessiveness. Ever since she’d returned to help her mom with the flower shop, she had made it clear she was interested in him. He had told her as gently as he could that it was a big no from him, but since he wasn’t dating anyone else, she didn’t think he really meant it.
Being nice was sometimes a huge pain. With a sigh, he shifted his attention to the two boys standing next to Lyrissa. He knelt to be eye level with them, then rested one arm across his knee. The move also dislodged Maddy’s hold on him. Two birds. One stone.
She was being nosy, and he didn’t want to give her any more information about Lyrissa and her brothers. He nodded. “As a welcome-to-town, I’m going to get these for you. Why don’t you also go ahead and pick up your favorite chips.”
Ray-Ray glanced at Lyrissa, then gave him a shy grin before turning to pick out a bag. Bennett shrugged as if showing any gratitude would make him weak. Lyrissa had her work cut out for her with that one.
“Which ones are plain? I like plain.” The little boy looked up at Reno.
A moment of panic blurred his vision. He had not been prepared to read. All the bags had the same design. He blinked then forced a laugh and rubbed the boy’s shoulders. “It’s the start of a new adventure. Be brave and grab one. Then guess what flavor it is.”
Ray-Ray grinned and nodded. Muscles he didn’t realize were tensed relaxed. He had been caught off guard. He had spent his life pretending he could read, and no one had caught on yet. Surprise attacks were the worst. Making sense of all the lines and shapes seemed so easy for everyone else.
Needing to get away from the situation, he stood and grabbed a couple cups of fruit. “It was good seeing you, Maddy. They’re running late. They need to beat that storm rolling in.” He placed his hand on the back of the smallest one’s shoulder and moved them away from the town gossip and toward the register at the other end of the store.
The woman didn’t take the hint. She stood in front of Lyrissa, not letting her pass. With a big friendly smile that didn’t hide the excited glint in her eyes, she forced Lyrissa to interact with her.
Maddy wanted to be the first to get a juicy story, so she’d have something exciting to talk about. It didn’t matter if it was all true or not or if it hurt someone. “So, it’s not Martinez anymore? I hadn’t heard you got married.”
Her smile tight, Lyrissa shook her head. “I didn’t.”
Maddy looked between the boys and Lyrissa. “Your dad didn’t say anything about being a grandfather. That’s so weird. When my oldest brother had his first, everyone in town knew about it.” She chuckled. “They were so excited about being grandparents.”
Stepping around her, Lyrissa held her forced smile. “They’re my brothers.”
Mouth opened, Maddy was wordless for a moment. “Oh. Well, that would explain why your father isn’t bragging. I just...” She waved her hand as if to gather the right words, and the spark in her gaze burned brighter.
Reno needed to intercede before this meeting spiraled into even murkier waters.
“Maddy.” He gently took the hand of the younger brother and moved around her. “Lyrissa and the boys have been in the car for hours and want to get to the ranch. You can talk later.” He glanced at Lyrissa. Her smile was softer as she nodded to him and walked around Maddy. How had he forgotten how stunning she was? She wasn’t the stereotypical beauty. Pretty was too tame a word.
Her thick curls were dark with streaks of fierce red that the scrunchie couldn’t contain. But it was her eyes that made his breath seize in his chest. They were a bold green with shattered flakes of gold surrounded by thick black lashes. To an outsider, she had the look of a fiery warrior, no matter how much she wanted to blend into the background and disappear.
Back in school, she had been at war with her looks. His sister had said no one really knew the real Lyrissa. She had always intrigued him. Over the years, that type of curiosity usually got him in trouble.
“Y’all want to get out to the ranch, right?” He gave everyone his best smile and guided the boys around Maddy. As they made their way to the cashier, Reno tossed a few of the BBQ sandwiches in the basket. “You can’t come to Buc-ee’s and not get the chopped.”
Lyrissa stiffened. “Really, Reno. This is too much.”
Her skin was pale. It looked as if she might be sick. He sat the basket on an available counter. As the girl started ringing up the items, Lyrissa fumbled through her purse.
He rested his hands on hers. “Let me do this. And don’t worry about Maddy. She just returned home after a divorce and is not in a good place.”
She glanced over her shoulder, then at the boys. They were hanging back.
The youngest blinked at them as if he weren’t sure they wouldn’t leave him here. Reno’s sister Savannah and Lyrissa had been good friends. He knew too many of the details of how hard Dee Martinez had made her daughter’s life. This new situation with the boys and her mother must have rubbed her nerves raw. And now she was back in the town she wanted to escape.
She leaned in close, keeping her head down. “What kind of lesson will this teach the boys if I let you—”
Reno shook his head at her. “Don’t. I remember being hungry all the time at that age. When I lost my dad, it helped when others saw me. They’ve lost their mom.”
“Your father died. Their...our mother made horrible, selfish choices.”
“Yeah. But losing a parent shakes up your world, no matter how or why they left. Let me do this. It makes me happy and lately I haven’t had a lot to be happy about.” Ugh. Too much personal information. Now why did he go and say that?
And in a second, the self-pity in her eyes turned to concern. “What happened?”
Great. He had wanted her to stop feeling guilty and now she was worried about him. He wasn’t sure if this was better or worse.
He put his smile back on. Complaining was something he never did. His family had already been through too much because of him.
She shook her head. “Sorry. It’s none of my business.”
“It’s okay. No big secret.” He shrugged then added a handful of candy bars to the growing pile of food. He could share the parts of his life everyone knew already. The real secrets he had kept to himself had been buried far too long to say them aloud now.
“I’m just wallowing in a little self-pity. My sister and I started a construction business, and it was going great, but she fell in love and they moved away. I mean, I’m happy for Savannah getting her happy-ever-after, but I’m feeling a little left behind. She considered you a good friend. So, helping you helps me feel better. See, totally selfish.” He made sure to give her the grin that his sisters said gave him his irresistible dimples.
“Sorry. I haven’t spoken to Savannah for over a year. Where is she?”
Not wanting to get into it, he shrugged and gathered the bags. “Come on. Let’s get y’all to the ranch.” He could get her and the boys to the safety of the ranch. That was the least he could do for her. He smiled.
No one needed his bad mood to make things worse.
