Through His Heart (Mind's Eye Book 3) Read online

  Capturing her hands, he brought them up and over her head. He curled her fingers around the iron bars of the headboard and grinned down at her. “Hold on, baby. I’m going to go at you hard and fast. We’ll make this old bed rattle and roll.” He kissed her lips, sucking gently on her upper one. “Let’s test it out to see if it can hold up under us.” Then he undulated his hips and Trudy wrapped her legs around him.

  The bed groaned and moaned right along with them.

  ###

  Seeing Trudy’s mother coming toward him across the backyard, Levi tensed and prepared himself for another hug. The Tucker family members were huggers. He hadn’t been embraced so much in his whole life. When they’d first met him and he’d extended his hand, they had grabbed on and pulled him into a bear hug. Even the men – Trudy’s dad, her brother Derek, and her brother-in-law Bryce – gave abbreviated versions by dragging him closer and whapping him on the back once before letting him go. He hadn’t known exactly how to endure it all, much to Trudy’s amusement. More than once, he’d caught her smothering a grin or turning away from him so that she wouldn’t laugh right in his face!

  Dinner last night with the family had been awkward for him, but also fascinating. He’d seen Trudy in a new light – that of daughter, sister, and aunt. The way she looked at her parents made a lump form in his throat. The love and devotion shining in her eyes and the light-heartedness of her laughter did funny things inside of him. The love she showed to them was returned, redoubled. Her parents doted on her – on all three of their children – and were even openly affectionate toward Bryce, Sadie’s husband.

  The conversation at dinner was lively and varied with discussions of everything from the antics of Sadie and Bryce’s children – precocious five-year-old Jill and two-year-old Clark – to a new park planned along the Arkansas River that snaked through Tulsa. Even though Tulsa was a sizable city, it might as well have been the size of a tiny village for Trudy. She’d attended grade school through college within a three-mile radius of her family home and her present home. In many ways, Levi realized, Trudy was a small town girl.

  Her upbringing and her family couldn’t be farther removed from his own, he mused as Trudy’s mother smiled sweetly at him. Sunshine glinted off Cleo Tucker’s red hair and sparked in her brown eyes as she joined the three men gathered around the charcoal grill. “Are the coals ready yet, George?”

  “It’ll be another ten or fifteen minutes,” her husband answered. “You want to put some corn on the cob on with the steaks?”

  “Sounds good. I’ll get them ready. Will one of you boys run to the store for a bag of ice and a gallon of vanilla ice cream?”

  “I’ll go,” Derek said, then clapped Bryce on the shoulder. “Want to come with me?”

  Bryce nodded and the two moved away. Levi stared at their departing figures, silently cursing them for abandoning him. It seemed he couldn’t escape George Tucker’s assessing stare. Unnerving was a mild word for how it felt to be studied by Trudy’s ham-fisted, stern-faced father. From the minute Levi had entered the Tucker’s ranch style home today, he’d had the feeling that George Tucker meant to have a word alone with him. At least he still had Trudy’s mother to run interference, he thought, sending her a grateful smile.

  Glancing from one man to the other, Cleo smiled nervously. “Okay, then. I’ll get back to the kitchen.”

  “Where’s Trudy, hon?” George asked her.

  “She’s across the street visiting the Bullards. Their new grandbaby is over there and they wanted Trudy to see her.”

  George nodded. “That’s good.”

  Cleo hooked an arm around Levi’s waist and gave him a side-hug and another smile before leaving. That did it. This was definitely a set-up. Levi sat in one of the metal lawn chairs, resigned to his fate and even a bit curious as to what George Tucker wanted to say to him.

  George poked at the coals with a long skewer before sitting opposite Levi in one of the other metal chairs. He removed his Dallas Cowboys ball cap and ran a hand over his brown hair before settling the cap onto his head again. He leaned back and stared at the long, bare tree branches above him.

  “We have a good crop of pecans this year,” he said. “That means pecan pies for Christmas. Lots of pecan fudge, too. And divinity. You like divinity?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never eaten any.”

  George’s green eyes – eyes the color of Trudy’s – focused on Levi. “You haven’t lived a full life if you haven’t eaten divinity. I’ll be sure to have Cleo make a big batch for you and Trudy.”

  “I’m told you whip up a mean stack of pecan pancakes.”

  Dimples appeared in George’s cheeks as a grin overtook him. Derek looked a lot like him – same brown hair, green eyes, pugnacious nose, and dimples. “Trudy told you about them, huh? Yeah, she’s partial to my pancakes.”

  Levi watched a cardinal hop along a branch before soaring across the cloudless sky. A companionable silence descended and Levi released a long breath that eased the tension in his shoulders and neck.

  “So, you’re shacking up with my baby girl.”

  Oh, fuck. Here we go. He leveled his gaze on Trudy’s father. “We’ve decided to live with each other. I have never thought of that as ‘shacking up.’”

  George shrugged and his eyes became hard like stones. “Took her a few days to tell us. When she called and I heard her voice, I knew something had upset her pretty bad. She finally told us about this arrangement she’d agreed to. And she was crying, of course.”

  Levi had opened his mouth to defend himself, but the words shriveled on his tongue. He sat up straighter. “What do you mean, she was crying?”

  “She wasn’t boo-hooing, but she was choked up. It was hard for her to tell us that she’d compromised herself – that she was bending to your will because she wanted to try to make this relationship work.”

  Levi cautioned himself not to tell the man to go straight to hell. He drew in a deep breath and answered as levelly as he was able. “I didn’t bend her to my will. I asked if she would live with me and she agreed.”

  “Trudy was raised with integrity.” Each word was a hammer blow. “It’s not like her to live with a man who has made no commitment to her.”

  “I have committed to her,” Levi said, hearing a slight tremor in his voice. “I love her.”

  George stared hard at him for a few seconds before his mouth twitched at the corners and his expression softened slightly. “I can see that you do. So, what are you going to do about it? How are you planning to do right by her?”

  Levi stared at him, momentarily at a loss. What was he supposed to say to that?

  “Were you waiting to speak to me and Cleo before you asked her to marry you? Cleo thinks you’re going to propose at Christmas.”

  Marry. Did he just say marry? That was a word he’d always avoided, feeling it had nothing to do with him. So, what was the odd, sweet feeling circling his heart?

  “Cleo likes what she sees in you so far and I want my baby girl to hold her head up high again, so you have our blessing.” George clapped his hands onto his knees in a gesture that was tantamount to a judge lowering his gavel. “Ask her before the year is out, put a ring on her finger, and we can put this mess behind us.”

  Mess. One of the biggest steps he’d ever taken in his life was a mess to this man. What’s heaven to one man is a pile of crap to another. “What makes you think she’ll want to marry me?”

  George looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “I know my girl. She sure as hell wouldn’t be shacked up with you if she weren’t willing to marry you.” He jabbed a stubby finger at Levi. “She loves you a helluva lot to go against what she believes in her heart. She’s a good, decent girl.”

  “You don’t have to sell me on her, sir. She’s the finest woman I’ve ever known. I just wonder if she’s actually thought that far ahead – marriage to me.”

  “She has – even if you haven’t.” George flashed his dimples. “She’s fema
le. No matter if they’re free-thinkers or women’s libbers, when they start sizing up a man and moving in on his territory, they’re thinking marriage.” He drummed his fingers on his chest for a minute, his alert green gaze moving slowly over Levi. “She says you’re doing okay – financially.”

  Levi lifted one brow. “I am.”

  “Guess you’ll have one of those prenuptial agreements.”

  Levi mulled this over as his heart thudded overtime. “Of course, I’ll sign one if that’s what she wants.”

  George’s eyes rounded and then he chuckled. “I was thinking that you’d want her to sign one to protect your money and investments in case this thing goes south on you two.”

  Levi gave a little shake of his head as a pain arrowed through his heart at the thought of losing Trudy. “If she leaves me, she can take what she wants. I’ll have nothing of importance left anyway.” The conversation had gotten away from him and he felt foggy-headed.

  George cleared his throat and swallowed hard. “You’re all right, I guess.” He stood and checked the grill again. “These coals are just about perfect.” He was quiet for a minute before chuckling to himself. Glancing over at Levi, he gave him a cagey wink. “There’s nothing like a ring on a gal’s finger to send a message that she’s off limits.”

  Levi straightened slowly in the chair. The man had something there. His ring on Trudy’s finger. He smiled to himself, loving that image. He’d buy her a rock that would shout, She’s taken, assholes! Touch her and you die.

  “Just one more thing.” George stepped toward Levi’s chair and looked down at him, his face shadowed by the bill of his cap, but Levi could feel the intensity of his squinty-eyed glare. “Hurt her in any way, shape, or form and you’ll be wearing your balls round your neck. Got it?”

  Affection for George Tucker took seed inside Levi. “Got it.”

  Chapter 2

  A November wind created whirlpools of autumn leaves and made Trudy pull her gray sweater closer around her. She scanned the water, searching for the pair of swans that resided in Swan Lake.

  “Are you sure this is a lake and not just a big cow pond?” Levi asked, stopping to let Mouse sniff near the fence that surrounded the area to keep people away from the fowls.

  Trudy frowned at him, taking umbrage at his crass description of one of her favorite places. “This used to be called Orcutt Lake. At one time there was an amusement park next to it.”

  Levi gripped the top bar of the chain-link fence and smiled. “That must have been fun. The houses here are nice. I wouldn’t mind waking up every day to a view of this. All the ducks and – hey! There are your swans, Tru.”

  Trudy followed his gaze and spotted two of the elegant, white birds nestled in front of some low bushes on the bank. “Oh, yes! There they are!” The very sight of them made her instantly joyous. It always did and she supposed it always would because Swan Lake held treasured memories for her. “My parents would bring me here when I was a kid and let me feed the swans. They have posted signs now that forbid feeding them, but back then we would bring a couple of bread loaves and I’d throw slices of it into the lake. Fish would come to the surface. Huge fish!”

  Levi smiled at her. “Sharks?”

  She stood beside him and shoved her shoulder into his. “Yeah, sure, smart-ass.”

  “Your mother showed me some photos of you when you were about five or six. You looked like a mischievous, auburn-haired pixie.”

  “I was a handful at times. Especially after I started having visions.” She admired the homes across the lake. One of them had statues of swans bracketing the front walkway. “It’s pretty here, isn’t it?”

  “It is. We should look into buying one of these houses.”

  “Ha!” She sent him a chiding glance. “As if.”

  He turned slightly to look down the curving street. “There’s a For Sale sign on that one down there.”

  “These houses are very expensive, Levi.”

  His smile bordered on indulgent. “And I have very deep pockets, Trudy. If you want to live in one of these houses, then that’s what we’ll do.”

  She opened her mouth and then closed it, realizing he was serious. When he talked like that – like they were a real couple, sharing everything—. Wait. She closed her eyes for a few moments, irritated with herself for doubting the strength of their relationship. Gazing into his sapphire eyes, she reached up to brush curls of raven hair off his forehead. “I’d love to see pictures of you when you were five. I bet you were a gorgeous little boy.”

  The pleasure slowly drained from his expression. “I doubt if there are any pictures.”

  “No school pictures? You were in public school for a few years, weren’t you?”

  He shrugged. “If there were pictures, they’re long gone.”

  She linked her arm in his and leaned her cheek on his shoulder. He wore a black, turtleneck sweater, black jeans, and boots. She rubbed her cheek against the cashmere as words of comfort formed in her head – but then other words stamped them out. Words that didn’t belong to her. A stranger’s words, snaking through her mind as a black mist veiled her eyes.

  “Brought you a pretty outfit, sweetpea. See the ice cream cones on it? Do you like ice cream? If you do all your chores, I’ll bring some home for you tomorrow.”

  A young girl with straight blond hair sat on a window seat. Suffused November sunlight spilled over her, illuminating the sadness of her expression, the wrinkles in her clothes. She wore jeans and a blue t-shirt that was too big for her. Her little feet were encased in yellow socks and red sneakers.

  “To my home? You’ll bring it to my home?” she asked. Her voice was soft and flutey.

  “Yes. This is your home.”

  The girl’s lips trembled and her little chin quivered. “I want to go home to Mommy.”

  “God gave you to me. I needed a little girl like you and He let me have you.”

  “Nuh-uh. Mommy is looking for me.”

  “Your mommy knew I’d take good care of you. You want me to help you slip into these new clothes?”

  “No. I can do it all by myself.” Her brown eyes brimmed with fear and tears.

  “Okay, okay. Don’t start crying again. Be a big girl and quit that bawling all the time. Think happy thoughts. That’s what I do. When I get blue, I think about happy things like puppies and kittens, ice cream cones, and pretty, little, blond-haired girls named Rachel.”

  Rachel!

  That name seared Trudy’s mind. Images that she’d seen during her Internet search flooded her mind. A blond girl. Rachel Lynn Rudd, seven-year-old daughter of AmyLynn Comfort, second wife of the Rev. John Comfort. Missing for more than a week. Kidnapped while on a children’s campout at Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee. The sheriff’s department and FBI were working the case, but had turned up nothing.

  AmyLynn must be grasping at straws to call Levi. She must know that Levi and his father hadn’t spoken to each other in years. And her husband preached against psychics and mediums.

  Trudy sucked crisp November air into her lungs and blinked. She was at Swan Lake. But now she was sitting on a bench and Levi was beside her, holding her hands, his expression equal parts worry and fascination. Mouse sat at her feet, tail wagging, gray eyes pinned on her.

  “It’s her.”

  A frown line appeared between Levi’s eyes. “Who?”

  “The girl I’ve been seeing. It’s Rachel. Your stepsister.”

  His dark eyebrows lowered and he let go of her hands.

  “You know all about her kidnapping, don’t you?”

  He sat back against the bench, putting more distance between them. “It’s been in the news, Trudy.”

  “I’ve been dealing with stalkers and crazy ex-girlfriends of yours, so I’ve been too preoccupied to keep up on current events.” She saw him wince and regretted her hasty words. It wasn’t his fault that Lizzie, his ex-girlfriend from England, and her sicko, murdering boyfriend Taser had turned his life upside-down and placed
them in danger. “Look, I’m sorry, but I don’t understand you, Levi. Rachel is seven years old and her mother has been calling you, wanting you to help find her, most likely. How can you be so cold?” She leaned forward a little so that she could see his face better. The wind picked up again, feathering through his black, already tousled hair. His expression hardened as he leaned down and picked up Mouse.

  “Mouse is the one who’s cold. We should get out of this wind and head for home.”

  “No. We’re talking about this now.” Trudy took Mouse from him and pulled her sweater around the shivering Chihuahua. “Ever since you went DEFCON 1 on me over that phone call from your stepmother this has been eating at me. I know you have a heart, Levi, so how could you turn your back on her?”

  “Just let it go.”

  “I can’t. I’m getting visions about her. She’s scared and she wants her mother. There isn’t all that much on the Internet about it. Very few details. I assume that the FBI is keeping a lot of it under wraps. Have they received a ransom demand?”

  “I don’t know any more than you do.”

  “What a bunch of hooey! Let’s not kid each other. Sure, you refused your stepmother’s phone calls, but I don’t believe for one second that you haven’t paid Gonzo to look into it for you.”

  At the mention of Pete Gonzales, his friend and co-owner with him of Gonzales Security, Inc., Levi ran a hand down his face in a gesture of frustration even as his shoulders slumped in resignation. “It happened during a children’s campout, co-sponsored by Comfort Ministry. There were twenty children. They arrived on Friday afternoon. She went missing Saturday night after they’d all gone to bed. That’s what I know. Period. End of discussion.”

  “Was her sister there, too?”

  “No. The older girl attends boarding school in Maryland.”

  “She’s what . . . twelve?”

  “Closer to fourteen.”

  “Have you met them? The children and their mother?”

  “No.” He stood up and ran his hands down his black-jeaned thighs. “I’m finished talking about this, Trudy. The only reason you’re getting visions is because you’ve obviously been dwelling on it. Quit thinking about it and the visions will stop.”