Trent Malloy was in his office waiting for Carlos to come back with lunch. Kim was on the phone arguing with someone about something. He couldn't help but laugh at the sound of her getting angry. He and Carlos found it extremely amusing although Kim didn't know it. Trent was hungry and hoped Carlos would hurry up with the pizza. Just soon as he had finished this thought, Carlos walked in with his food.

"Finally! I'm starving. What did you get to drink?"

"Just soda. I wasn't sure what else to get."

The two heard Kim hang up the phone. She came in looking angry. "Parents!"

Carlos looked at Trent and then back at Kim, "I'm guessing things didn't go well?"

Kim sighed. She knew it wasn't their fault, "No. It didn't. They were just telling me that until I get married, they will not visit me. Not that I care anyway, I mean, because when they come out, all they do is analyze my lifestyle so I guess it's a good thing they won't be visiting anytime soon. And once I do get married they'll probably criticize my husband for something stupid." Trent and Carlos just looked at her. They didn't know what to say.

Carlos broke the silence. "Any new cases Kim?"

"Uh, no. Nothing today. Things have been slow but it's kind of nice."

Trent nodded in agreement. They finished lunch talking about what each one was doing for the weekend.

Trent got home considerably early, in time for supper with his family. He decided it would be nice having dinner with them. Since he had become seriously involved with Thunder Investigations, he had hardly been able to have a nice relaxing family dinner.

"Mom, I'm home!"

Katie Malloy came into the living room where her son was waiting, and gave him a huge hug. "What are you doing home so early?"

"We didn't have any calls, so I decided to come home early and have dinner with the family instead of take out from somewhere", he said with a smile and a shrug.

"Well, I'm glad you came home. We're having your favorite tonight, roast beef with mashed potatoes and brown gravy, green beans and homemade rolls."

"Mmmm. You're the best mom." He kissed her forehead.

"I know. "

"I invited Carlos over for dinner too. I hope that's okay."

"Of course! Now, I'd better get back to making dinner."

As she left, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it! It's probably Carlos." Trent said. He walked to the door and opened it. A young woman, no more than twenty-five, turned around. She was dressed in khakis with a dark green tank top, and another shirt just as a jacket over it, with sunglasses on her head. She looked to be shorter than Trent by a couple of inches. She had medium length dark brown-black hair. Her big brown eyes had a slight twinkle about them. She seemed a little surprised to see Trent.

"Hi."

"Hi. Can I help you?"

"Uh, I'm sorry I thought this was the Malloy's house." She turned to leave.

"You have the right place."

Tandy came to see who was at the door. Her face lit up. "Anna!" She ran to the woman and she picked her up in her arms.

"Hi sweetheart!"

"Come on in!" Trent was confused.

Tandy started yelling, "Mom, Tyler, Tommy! Look who's here!" Everyone ran in.

Tyler was the first. "Anna!" She picked him up and hugged him too. He was followed by Tommy who also got a hug.

Katie was the last one in. Her face almost burst into tears. "Oh Anna! We've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too." Katie stood back and admired the young woman before her. Both were practically in tears.

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you. You haven't changed one bit." Katie saw the confused look on her oldest son and understood. "Oh, forgive my manners. Trent this is Anna Doyle-"

"Actually, I changed it back to James."

"Well, this is Anna James. Anna, this is my oldest son, Trent Malloy."

"Nice to meet you Ms. James."

"Likewise. And please call me Anna." Tandy came over and Anna picked her up. "Are you staying in Texas for a while?"

She smiled, "Yes I am."

"How long?"

"I'm not sure yet. We'll talk about that later okay?"

Tandy smiled. "Okay. Do you want to see my room?"

Katie stepped in, "Maybe later sweetie. I have to talk to Anna alone and then you can show her your room."

"Alright."

"Tyler, take your sister upstairs and play a game with her. I'll call you when dinner's ready."

"Sure mom. Race you upstairs Tandy?" The two kids ran up as fast as they could. Katie led Anna, Trent and Tommy into the kitchen.

Katie looked concerned. "Sit down. All of you please." Trent took head table seat, Anna sat next to him and Katie and Tommy sat across from them. Katie sighed and then began, "What's wrong?"

Anna looked around the table. "Nothing. Why would you think something is wrong?"

"You know why Anna." Tommy said in a worried tone. "You've only come to visit us twice since you moved to New York three years ago. And it wasn't for very long. It was for dinner and that was all."

Katie nodded. "He's right Anna. And where is Michael?"

Anna looked at the floor. She didn't know what to do. Tears began streaming down her face. She slowly began taking off her shirt. Once she just had the tank top on, she grabbed her hair and twisted it on top of her head. She slowly stood up and turned around. They all gasped at what they saw. Her shirt dipped down low and it revealed large bruises, as well as one long, stitched cut that went from the bottom of her neck, to the middle of her back.

Trent got up and examined them more closely. "My God. What happened to you?"

By now they tears were pouring down her face. She sat back down. "Michael." Tommy brought her some tissue and a cup of coffee.

Katie reached across the table and held her hand. "Start from the beginning."

She wiped her face and calmed down. "This has been going on now for about four years. It's never been this bad before. It started out very small. He would come home drunk, he would sleep it off, and the next morning he'd be fine." She paused for a minute. Trent gave her a sympathetic look while Katie tried to hold back the tears.

"But, eventually he would come home and just start hitting me. I called the police a couple of times. They would keep him overnight but I never pressed charges. It gradually became more frequent and worse but I thought I deserved it since he was always telling me I wasn't like his first wife. That I was too dependent. So I just kept my mouth shut." She allowed all of this to soak in. "About a month ago, I found out I was pregnant. I was so excited. I've wanted kids for the longest time and I was so happy. I planned a romantic dinner to tell Michael. I thought he would be thrilled to pieces. Unfortunately, I was wrong." She started crying again. "We sat down and he told me about his day at work. After he was done, I told him the good news. His face just dropped. He looked at me and said I should plan on getting an abortion. But I told him I wanted this child and I was not going to get rid of it. He blew up on me. Telling me he wasn't cut out for fatherhood and asking who would be taking care of it and saying how he wouldn't be doing anything to help. He said he would not watch it while I went out, he wouldn't get up in the middle of the night and he wouldn't feed it. We fought about it for what seemed hours." She sighed, "Finally, he just started beating me. He hit me until he felt like stopping. I went to the doctor the next day to get my bruises taken care of. He told me that I had, had a miscarriage. He said it must have been a result of what had happened to me. I came home and broke down into tears. That's when I began realizing that I was not any way responsible for Michael's temper. He never even told me he was sorry. " She took a sip of her coffee. "A week ago I found out that he had been having an affair for at least a year. When I confronted him about it last night, he did this. He would have done more damage but the police came and broke it up. They took him to jail and I just packed my things and got on a plane here. This was the only place I felt I could come to. Besides, I think it's one of the last places he'd come searching for me." They all gave her a sympathetic look. She dried her tears.

Katie asked, "Where are you staying?"

"The Plaza downtown."

Trent looked surprised. That place was extremely expensive.

Tommy saw the confused look on his brother's face. He knew he would have to fill Trent in all about her later.

"Well, Trent will go with you to get your things, you are staying here." Katie insisted.

"Oh no-"

"I won't take no for an answer. You are staying here and that's that." She gave Anna a look telling her not to mess with her.

She smiled. "Okay. As long as you're sure."

"Positive. Now, Trent, after we eat, I want Anna, you and Carlos to go with her and then bring her back here."

"You've got it."

"Thank you all very much."

"Oh, no thank you necessary. Let's have an enjoyable dinner. Tommy would you go up and get your siblings?" Katie asked. Tommy nodded. "Trent, I want you to help me set the table. Anna, you go upstairs and wipe off your face." Anna rubbed her face and a smile spread slowly up, casting a warm gleam over her face.

Anna had started to walk up the stairs when the doorbell rang.

Katie yelled, "Will somebody get that?"

Anna decided to get it since she was right by it. She opened the door. Carlos was standing there. His jaw dropped. "Hi," Anna said.

"Hi. Am I at the right house or am I in heaven and you are my guardian angel?"

Trent came up behind her. "No, you have the right house. Anna, this is Carlos Sandoval. Carlos, this is Anna James." They shook hands.

"Nice to meet you Anna"

"Pleasure."

Trent turned to Anna. "Go on upstairs and wash up."

"Alright." She turned around and left the two alone. Carlos came in and the two went into the kitchen. "So Trent, new girlfriend or is she single?"

"No she isn't my girlfriend, but you stay away from her." Trent walked into the kitchen, closely followed by Carlos.

"You know me."

"That's what I'm talking about. I'm serious."

"Okay, okay. Touché." Trent rolled his eyes. Carlos went over and gave Katie Malloy and hug and a kiss on her forehead. "Hi Mrs. Malloy."

"Hello Carlos. I'm glad you could join us tonight." Katie said while taking the rolls out of the oven.

"Thank you very much for inviting me. "

"You know you're always welcome here." Carlos gave her his classic human smile. As Katie finished up, everyone sat at the table. Tandy sat next to Anna. Carlos sat on the other side of her. After they said the dinner prayer, they all dug in. Carlos, Trent and Tommy ate like there was no tomorrow. Tandy and Tyler finished relatively quickly. Anna ate very slowly. She didn't seem very hungry.

As Tommy was clearing the table, Anna's cellular phone rang. "Hello?" Her face looked relieved after she heard the voice on the other end. "Hi Jaxs. Yeah I'm fine. . . .I can't tell you where I'm at. . . .uh, when I can, I'll give you a fax number and then fax me a couple of our clients. Until then, tell everyone that until I get back, I am putting you in charge. . . .no. If he comes to the office, tell him you have no idea where I'm at. . . .Yeah, I miss you too. I'll call you as soon as I can. . . .Bye." Everyone looked at her curiously. "It's nothing. I have someone to take over for me."

Katie turned to Carlos and Trent. "Why don't you two take her to get her things. When you come back, I'll have coffee and desert."

Trent looked at Carlos and Anna. "You guy's ready?" They both nodded and mumbled in agreement. Carlos turned to the two. "Why don't we take my car? Trent's can only hold two." Trent just nodded. Katie watched them go out. Trent had Anna sit in the front and he took the back while Carlos drove.

Carlos pulled into the Plaza hotel and stopped to look around in the lobby.

"Wow. I've heard about this place but I've never actually been in it."

Anna gave him a warm smile. "It seems glamorous at first glance but there is a price to pay for staying at places like this." She dropped her gaze for a second and then started walking towards the front desk. Trent and Carlos were close behind.

The receptionist gave her a warm welcome. "Hello, Ms. James. What can I do for you this evening?"

"I'll be checking out so if you could get things in order I'll be back in a half an hour."

"Yes of course. Shall I send someone to your room to collect your bags?"

"No. Thank you. I think I can handle it." She gave the woman a smile and turned around.

"Oh, Ms. James? You have a message."

"Could you transfer it to my room please?"

"Yes, of course."

"Thank you." Three stepped onto the elevator and Anna punched the button for the eighteenth floor.

Once they reached her room, Carlos again stared in awe. "How can you not want to stay here?"

"It's very cold and lonely."

"I'm not too sure I understand."

She smiled. No one ever did. At least that's how she felt. She looked over at Trent noticing he had been silent since they had arrived at the hotel. "I'll tell you what. After this, what do you say I buy you two a drink."

Trent said, "Yeah sure. Where at?"

"I know this really great place. I haven't been there in over two years. It's called Uppercuts."

Trent and Carlos looked at each other and smiled. "You know of that place, too?"

"Yeah. Butch is a very good friend of mine. Why? Do you know him?"

"Our office is right above his bar so, we're there all the time."

"What a small world. So it's settled then?"

"Of course. But we'll treat you."

"Oh no. I will not go unless I pay for all of you. And I mean it. I have the money." She let out a small laugh.

Trent simply sighed.

"Oh, my message." She pressed the red button on the phone. "Hello Anna? It's me, Jarod. I got the message you left and I'm really concerned. Michael has been calling me non-stop. Call me and I’ll fly out there as soon as I can but call me, ASAP!" The message ended.

Trent looked at her for a minute. "Who was that?"

"My older brother, Jarod."

"Did you want to call him?"

"I'll call him later on tonight. Right now I need a drink." She came out with her bags all ready. She only had three. Two for clothes and one for what looked like make-up and such, along with her purse. Trent grabbed a suitcase and so did Carlos. After she checked out, they all headed over to Uppercuts.

They arrived at busy Uppercuts. It was Friday night and everyone from town was packed in.

Butch spotted the three right away. A smile broke out on his face. He ran over and gave Anna a huge bear hug. "Hi Anna! My gosh it's been a while." Anna winced in pain from her back.

Trent came up to her with a look of concern on his face. She turned to him and said, "Pain medication is just wearing off."

Butch looked at her.

She smiled back. "I've missed you too, Butch. You think you could get us a table?"

"For you, of course. I'll be right back. We have a lot of catching up to do." He turned and left.

Anna looked at Trent. "Look, I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't tell Butch anything about me. He'll overreact and I don't want him worrying about me."

"Hey, it's none of my business who you tell, but I think Butch would be very understanding. I won't say a word. I promise."

"Thank you." As they were waiting for Butch to come back, Carlos and Trent heard a couple of familiar voices from behind.

"Hey Trent, Carlos." It was Alex Cahill with Walker and Trivette.

"Hey guys! What are you doing here?" Carlos asked.

"Just getting out. What about you?"

Trent smiled. "Pretty much the same reason." Trent was about to introduce them to Anna when Butch came back.

"Hey guys. Alex. I have a table all ready, and I saw you three come in so I set you up with them."

Alex smiled. "Great. Shall we?" Alex kept staring at Anna. She seemed so familiar. Butch put them at a table with a view of the entire bar. Anna was in between Butch and Carlos while Alex, Walker, and Trent sat on the opposite side. Trivette was at the head of the table.

Butch looked at Anna. "You cut your hair, didn't you?"

She smiled. "Yeah. I needed a change." The truth was her hair had been soaked in blood so she had been forced to cut most of it off. It used to be below her waist.

Trent broke in, "Anna James, this is assistant district attorney Alex Cahill, her fiancee Texas Ranger Cordel Walker, and his partner Jimmy Trivette."

"Pleased to meet you all." They nodded in agreement. Alex still couldn't figure out where she had seen this woman.

"So, Butch," Carlos said. "How is it that you know Anna here?"

"Well, I knew her daddy real well. He was a good man. Took good care of her and encouraged my boxing. He and his wife, Andrea, invited me over for dinner all the time so I saw Anna a lot when she was growing up. When her parents died, while she was still in college, I promised I'd take care of her and be there for her. Then she grew up and moved away on me." She gave him a fond look. "Anyway, that's how I know her. She also has the prettiest voice this side of Texas."

"Butch. . ." Anna said giving him an annoyed look.

"Do you still sing?"

"Actually I haven't sung for a while."

"Well, I hope that you sing to your kids. It would be a crime not to share your voice with them."

Anna's face just dropped. "Excuse me." She got up and left.

Butch turned to Trent. "What did I say?"

"She's just feeling a little under the weather."

"Oh. Should I go check on her?"

-"No. She'll be fine." Trent then turned to Walker. "So got any new cases?"

"Yeah. Right now we're working on a murder case. We just started it today. I'll probably go in tomorrow."

"What about you Alex?"

"Things have been pretty steady. I got one today, a murder case, but it'll be a breeze. They have everything that points to this guy, fingerprints, 4 eyewitnesses, surveillance tapes you name it, they have it. Other than that, nothing. How are things at Thunder Investigations and Karate?"

"Fine. Tommy's doing well with teaching the classes. Business has been slow at Investigations. No new cases."

Trivette finally joined the conversation. "So is this Anna a new girlfriend Trent?"

"No. She's an old friend of our family's. She's just a friend."

"So how do you know her?"

"Like I said, an old family friend."

"Ah ha. A family friend." He had a wide grin on his face. Trent looked around the table.

Butch asked, "You haven't met her before, have you?"

"No, I just met her this afternoon but my mom and siblings seem to know her real well."

Carlos started laughing. "This is just driving you nuts, isn't it?"

Trent rolled his eyes. "Yes. As a matter of fact it is. I'm sure it would bother you too. Butch, could you at least tell me a little bit about her?"

Butch smiled. "Sorry Trent. She'll tell you when she wants to. In the meantime, just be real nice to her." Anna came back and joined the group. "So Anna," Butch began. "How are Jarod and Ashley doing?"

"Doing good. In fact, Jarod might be coming out here to visit."

"Great! You'll have to bring him down."

"I will." She turned to Trent and Carlos. "I hate to spoil the fun guys, but remember that your mom said that she was going to have desert for us when we got back, so we should probably get going."

Trent looked at his watch. "You're right. Well, it was fun seeing you all but we really should be going." Everyone said their good-byes. On the way home, Trent sat in the front while Anna quietly fell asleep in the back.

Part 2

HOME