Excerpt of Beneath the Texas Moon by Elle James

Present

Black, billowing storm clouds churned the western sky, crowding in on the small town of Spirit Canyon. With a sigh, Eve Baxter parked her SUV next to the building with the words General Store etched into the stone facade across the top.

The surrounding shops and homes reassured her that, despite the threatening skies, this town was exactly what she'd hoped for. Clean sidewalks, white limestone structures and window boxes filled with purple and yellow pansies welcomed her. If the pansies were wilting and the paint fading on the store signs, she didn't care. At least she was away from the coastal storms of Houston and tucked securely in the Texas hill country. Spirit Canyon was a place Eve could feel safe — a place to call home.

When she opened her door and slid to the ground, a blast of wind whipped her hair into her face. She stretched her road-weary muscles and opened the rear door. "Come on, Joey. We're almost there. I just need to get the key from Miss Addie."

She wrapped a sweater around her son's thin shoulders and lifted him out of his booster seat. Once she'd set him on his feet, she tucked his hand in hers and gazed down into his face. She willed him to feel the hope, the chance to start over.

He held tight, his expression guarded — too intense for a four-year-old child.

"This is our new town, Joey. What do you think?" Eve smiled.

Joey crowded closer to her legs and didn't answer. With effort, Eve forced herself to keep smiling. She'd give him time. Maybe in this new environment, Joey would snap out of his long silence and she herself could forget the dreams.

When she pushed open the rusty screen door, a bell jangled, the cheerful sound echoing through the building. Eve ushered Joey across the threshold into the store, standing for a moment to gain her bearings.

She inhaled the musty smell of ancient timbers and the dust of a century. She felt as if she'd stepped into another time.

The hardwood floors were worn with age, and rows of shelves held everything from canned goods to bolts of cloth and fencing nails. Against the back wall stretched a long counter with an old cash register, three old bar stools and candy jars filled with jelly beans, gumdrops and licorice sticks.

She'd been right about Spirit Canyon. Her chest swelled with optimism. "Don't just stand there, come on in." A white-haired woman, whose face was etched with a road map of wrinkles, counted change into the hands of a teenage girl. With a friendly flap of her hand, the older woman waved Eve and Joey toward the back where she stood.

A dark-haired, burly young man dressed in black, with silver chains draped from his pockets, stepped out from an aisle, grabbed the girl by the elbow and jerked her toward the door. "Let's go." He pushed past Eve and Joey, dragging the girl behind him, without a word of greeting or acknowledgment.

The girl smiled weakly and hurried to keep up. Okay, so maybe her quaint new town had a dark side. "I don't know what she sees in that boy. He's always up to no good." The older woman's frown followed the pair out the door. Then she looked up and smiled at Eve.

"Addie Shultz?" Eve asked as she tugged Joey past rows of dry goods.

"Yes, ma'am. You must be Eve Baxter." The older woman looked at Joey and her gaze softened.

Eve cringed. She hoped Miss Addie wouldn't mention the jagged, red scar slashed across her son's face from his eyebrow up into his hairline.

Addie's short perusal shifted into a broad grin and she planted her fists on her narrow hips, staring down at the little boy. "And you must be Joey." She leaned over the counter and swept her hand in front of the treasure trove of sweets contained in old-fashioned jars. "Would you like some candy?"

Joey's eyes widened. He looked to Eve in mute appeal, his expression nervous but questioning.

Eve smiled and patted his hair. "Go ahead, baby."

"What will it be? Licorice, gumdrops, jelly beans..." Addie stopped listing candies when Joey pointed at the jellybean jar. "Good choice. Can't go wrong with a pocketful of jellybeans."

With a small metal scoop, she measured a generous portion of candy into a paper bag, twisted the top and handed it to Joey. "There you go, young man." She waved her hand to the left. "Why don't you sit by the game board while your mamma and I talk?"

Joey clutched his candy to his chest and shook his head violently, reaching up to grab Eve's hand.

"It's okay, sweetie. I'm not going anywhere without you." Eve led him to the table. "I'll be right over there. Sit and eat your candy while I talk with Miss Addie."

Eve stood next to Joey until he opened his bag and selected a bright red candy to pop into his mouth. While her son fished for another jelly bean, Eve slipped over to the counter.

"What a sweet little guy." Addie clucked her tongue.

"Why does he look so sad and scared?"

Eve stared at her son, her thoughts on another day, not so long ago. The day the police had shown up on her doorstep. Even now the memory made goose bumps rise across her skin. Almost scarier than the police were the images she'd seen prior to the accident. The mauling had happened in her nightmares, and yet she had scoffed at them, thinking they were nothing more than aberrations.

"I'm sorry, it's none of my business." Addie ran a rag across the wooden counter.

With a shake of her head, Eve dragged her gaze back to Addie, her lips curving upward slightly. In a hushed voice she hoped Joey couldn't hear she said, "No, don't be sorry. The images are so vivid, sometimes I feel as if I'm still standing at my front door when they told me Joey and his father were at the hospital."

"Goodness." The hand pushing the old rag across the counter paused andAddie glanced up. "What happened?"

"A dog mauled them." Eve glanced back at her son's scarred forehead. "Joey only had superficial wounds and a few stitches."

Addie's eyes widened. "Dear God."

Her voice dropping even lower, Eve continued. "Joey saw his father mauled to death by the dog."

"You lost your husband? Bless your soul."

Eve shook her head. "My ex-husband. We'd been divorced for almost two years."

"Your decision or his?" Addie asked, then waved her hand. "That's too personal. Forgive an old lady's curiosity."

"No, that's okay. It was my decision." Eve shrugged.

"He loved his dogs more than his family, and I had a son to raise."

The older woman picked at a button on the front of her shirt, her brow furrowed. "How long has it been since the mauling?"

Joey chewed quietly, his deep green gaze never leaving his mother's face.

"Six months." Eve smiled reassuringly at her son, although the strain of forced cheerfulness made her face hurt. Six months of pain. Six months of silence. Since the attack Joey hadn't spoken a word. "The therapist said it'd take time." Eve turned her weak smile to Addie. "Speaking of which, I'll need to find a psychiatrist closer to Spirit Canyon."

"Should be some to choose from in Johnson City or Fredricksburg. If not, you could go to Austin or San Antonio." For several moments, Addie stared across at the little boy, tears welling, but not falling. Then shaking back her shoulders, she reached into her apron pocket and handed Eve two sets of keys. "I —" Addie cleared her throat and started over. "I went over earlier to open windows and air out the house. The place sure needs some work."

"I know." Eve swallowed past the lump blocking her vocal chords. She liked the way Addie had of getting back to business. The woman didn't wallow in the past. Thank goodness.

"What are your plans for that old house? Isn't it a bit large for just two people?"Addie sprayed furniture polish on the counter and rubbed a shine into the smooth wood.

"I was thinking of turning it into a bed and breakfast." Eve stared down at her purse. "I don't really need the money. My ex-husband left me as beneficiary to his life insurance policy. But I need the activity."

"You could work for me, just to keep you busy." Addie said.

Tears sprung into Eve's eyes. "You don't have to do that, Miss Addie. Besides, you hardly know me."

"Oh, fiddle." Addie waved her fingers. "We've talked so much on the phone, you're like one of my own younguns."

A lump rose in Eve's throat. Family was what she and Joey needed most. Eve twisted her purse strap. "I appreciate the offer, but I'll be busy fixing up the old place. If you know anyone who could help with the heavy stuff, let me know."

"Sure will." Addie slid the cloth further along the counter. "You know, our annual Harvest Festival is only a month away. If you get the bed and breakfast up and running by then, you shouldn't have any problem filling it."

Eve grimaced. "That's pretty close. I'm sure renovations will take longer than a month."

"I suppose that is a bit too soon." Addie tapped a pencil to her chin. Then her eyebrows rose and she smiled. "Since you won't have the place opened by the Harvest Festival, how about helping with the preparations for the event?"

Eve hesitated. Being new to town, she'd hoped to ease into a quiet existence. "I don't know."

"I'm sure you'll have your hands full setting the old house in order," Addie continued, "but you'll have a chance to meet some of the townsfolk."

Eve hated to disappoint the woman when she'd done so much to welcome her. "You're sure I wouldn't be in the way?"

Addie waggled her fingers. "Not at all. And Joey is more than welcome. Other young mothers bring their little ones to the meetings. Joining the group will give Joey a chance to meet a few of the local children."

Eve glanced at Joey, his serious expression cutting through her reservations. He needed to learn how to be a child all over again. How better than to meet others his own age? Spirit Canyon was her new home, and she might as well get started by becoming a part of the community. "Addie, I'd love to help. Somehow I'll make the time."

"Good," Addie said. "I'll tell Sandy Johnson and she can let you know when the next meeting will be."

The bell over the door jingled. Eve turned toward the sound.

A tall, broad-shouldered man stepped across the threshold. Poised in the doorway, with his face cast in shadows, he looked like the devil in a black Stetson.

"Mac? Is that you?" Addie called from beside Eve.

"Better get inside before the heavens open up and dump on you, son."

"Yes, ma'am." His voice rumbled deep and resonant, filling the rafters of the store as he strode across the room.

Now that he'd moved into the light, Eve had to adjust her first impression. He wasn't the devil, especially when he smiled at Addie, with full lips, a rock-hard chin and eyes the pale blue-gray of a summer sky.

But the smile was short-lived. As he turned to face her, his penetrating gaze seemed to read her most intimate thoughts.