Hannah Howell (22 page)
Authors: Stolen Ecstasy
“Sounds like a horse. Go on, get out of here.” He shut the door after Laurie hurried out, then moved to help Leanne, who was struggling to finish doing the buttons on the back of her red gingham dress. “What was she up to?”
“I do believe she was trying to balance the scales,” Leanne murmured as, her dress done, she moved to tidy her hair. “Isn’t your room next door?”
He ignored that last question as he sat on the bed. “What do you mean ‘balance the scales’?”
“I don’t think your sister is quite as much her mother’s daughter as you may think. She’s at an age where she feels a little rebellious. I think that is coming out in questioning what her mother says and does.”
Hunter frowned. “Think so? She’s always been Mother’s little shadow. Mother made certain of that. Whenever we tried to play with the kid, Mother whisked her away, claiming that was no way to raise a lady. Laurie was always this little perfect doll.”
“Laurie also has eyes and a brain. I think she sees the rift in your family and is determined to understand why it exists. It might not hurt to take a little notice of her. If I’m right and she’s seeking answers, she must be having the devil of a time turning them up when six members of her own family don’t have anything to do with her.”
“Well, part of that is the result of Mother standing square between us and her. Also, just before I left, Laurie was starting to get very hard to tolerate. She can’t seem to say anything that doesn’t start with ‘Mother says’.”
“I noticed, but I think she does it on purpose.”
“What’d she say to you?”
Seeing the way he was already glowering and tense, she murmured, “Nothing worth repeating.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
“You’ll just get angry.”
“No doubt. What’d she say?” After listening to Leanne’s recital, he swore colorfully for a moment. “Damn the woman.”
“You can’t tell me you’re surprised. It’s just as you warned me it would be. It’s best to just ignore it.”
“And it’ll go away?”
“Well, maybe not, but it might just shut up.” She was glad to see his fleeting smile.
“And you think Laurie has a reason to repeat that poison other than spreading Mother’s lies? What could it be?”
Moving to sit beside him, she answered, “She says it, then watches you like a hawk. She listens intently to every word you say. My first reaction was to get angry, slap her face, and shove her out the door.”
“But you didn’t. Why not? She deserves it for spouting that trash.”
“What I think she deserves, what she wants, is someone to respond to charges like that with reason, with something she can think over and weigh against what her mother tells her. She might not be fishing for answers with the best of bait, but I feel certain fishing for answers is exactly what she’s doing. Maybe, just maybe, if you give her some answers, a little of the division in this family could be healed. It wouldn’t hurt to try, would it?”
His arm around her shoulders, he tugged her close and kissed her. “Couldn’t hurt. Might be impossible when she opens her mouth and out pops ‘Mother says’ but, no, it couldn’t hurt to try.”
When they gathered for the evening meal, Leanne was a little dismayed. Lorraine Walsh claimed a headache and was not present. It was an insult, a slap in the face which she knew stung Hunter badly. She felt the sting herself but had rather expected it. Also, she mused sadly as she glanced at Hunter’s brooding face, the woman was not her mother.
Laurie was late but marched in and took her seat as if all the men in her family were not staring at her, eyeing her with wary suspicion. Leanne suspected the lateness of the girl’s arrival was due to the need to elude Lorraine. She could not fully suppress a touch of amusement. Laurie was but fifteen, yet she had six grown men on tenterhooks simply by entering the room.
“I’m sorry your mother is unwell,” Leanne said after the food was served. She met Laurie’s direct, intense gaze with calm.
“Mother says—” Laurie paused only briefly when a muttered round of curses came from the Walsh men. “She says she will have a headache until the house is cleaned of all trash.”
Before any of the bristling men could speak, Leanne replied, “Then maybe you should rise early in the morning to take mop in hand and set to work. Perpetual headaches can be wearying.”
A quick glance at the men showed Leanne they were all eating but watching her and Laurie very closely. She saw a smile twitch at the corners of Laurie’s mouth before the girl controlled it. It helped to make her feel more certain in her judgment of the girl. There was a good chance that young Laurie was outgrowing her mother’s tiny world.
“Mother says it’s all the scandal she has to endure that makes her head ache.”
“Laurie—” Sloane began, but Hunter quietly shushed him.
“Well, I’m sure Mother will survive,” Leanne murmured.
“Ladies are expected to endure all—”
“ ‘The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,’ ” Owen drawled, and Leanne concentrated on her food to smother a laugh.
“ ‘—all the trials their menfolk put them through,’ ” Laurie finished.
“Really?” Hunter watched his young sister closely. “Women don’t put men through any trials, of course.”
“No. Mother says a lady is at all times demure and obedient, catering to her husband’s wishes.”
“I hope you’re listening closely to this, Leanne.” Hunter grinned at her.
“As if it were gospel.”
Laurie looked at Leanne. “Mother says there are some who will never be ladies.”
Seeing the Walsh men bristle, Leanne smiled at Laurie. “The world is a richer place when there are differences between people.”
The “Mother says” game continued for the rest of the meal. By the time Laurie left, the men were looking very puzzled. Leanne decided it might be best to leave them alone.
Hunter slouched in his chair after Leanne excused herself and sipped his wine. “Mother’s not going to make this easy, is she?”
Sloane shook his head and sighed. “ ’Fraid not. I can talk to her ’til I’m blue in the face. It won’t stop her doing what she’s doing. The only thing we can do is wait her out. She’ll turn her attentions elsewhere after a while.”
“I know but, damn it, Leanne doesn’t deserve such treatment.”
“No, she doesn’t, son. She seems a sweet kid.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go so far as saying sweet.” Hunter grinned. “She can be as tart as green apples when her dander’s up.”
“Then maybe there’s no need to worry. She’ll handle your mother, and she’ll know we’re behind her and welcome her.”
“Maybe. Sometimes she seems so strong, then . . .” He shrugged. “Remember what I told you about her? Her father deserted her, leaving her with that woman. That woman tossed her out without a by-your-leave and the town she grew up in turned on her. I think it’s badly shaken her confidence. She might need more reassuring than we think. I wish I didn’t have to be away as much as I will.”
“We’ll keep an eye on her, son. Least I can do is get Laurie to shut her mouth. I don’t know what’s gotten into that girl. She seems to be out from behind Lorraine a lot lately, tagging at our heels and goading us with that nonsense your mother has filled her head with.”
“Yeah,” agreed Owen, “and when you finally answer, she stands there staring at you like you’re something very curious.”
“Leanne has a theory about that.” Seeing that he had everyone’s attention, he related Leanne’s opinions on the way Laurie was acting. “She thinks we ought to try just answering—reasonably.”
“Can’t hurt, can it,” Sloane murmured. “Hell, if nothing else, at least the kid will have both sides of the story. Since she’s started this ‘Mother says’ business, I’ve come to see just how much nonsense Lorraine has been feeding the girl over the years. Truth to tell, it’s revealed a few things about the way Lorraine thinks that I never really knew before, and I don’t like any of it.”
After a murmured agreement, conversation turned to the business of the ranch. After a few more glasses of wine, Hunter’s brothers rose almost as one to turn in for the night. Hunter, intending to do the same, started to rise only to have his father grasp his arm and urge him back into his seat.
“Something wrong?” he asked as soon as his brothers had left.
“No, not really. Tell me, are you certain about this marriage you’re planning? Don’t bristle. I’m not saying anything against that little girl. I’m only interested in what you feel. Are you real sure about this step?”
“Yes, I’m real certain. It’s what I want.”
“You love her then.”
Hunter shrugged. “To be honest, I haven’t given much thought to that. When I had Watkins in my hands and could see the end, see myself and her getting our names cleared, I saw us going our separate ways—only I didn’t want her going anywhere, not without me. I wanted her right where she’s been since Clayville—at my side. Marriage will settle that.”
“I’m not revealing any big secret when I say my marriage is as sour as one can get. Hell, if I didn’t feel so responsible for her after nearly thirty years of marriage and six kids, I’d toss the woman out. She only makes our lives miserable. Because of that, I’m anxious that you’re sure, real sure, before you take that step. Are you sure you even know the girl?”
“After all we’ve been through together, Pa, if I don’t know her now, I never will. I know I won’t surprise you by saying we’re lovers. She was a virgin, educated in the east, and has most of those well-bred morals despite what Chanty—her foster mother—was. Yet she came to me when she thought I was nothing but an outlaw on the run. Oh, she had a plan or two to set me on the straight and narrow, but even those weren’t grand or devious. She wanted me to be a storekeeper, if you can believe it. The fact that she accepted me for what I was, which wasn’t much, meant a lot to me. She trusted me when I was apparently not one to be trusted. That means a lot too. I want her with me.”
“I think you’ve said that clear enough. I wish you luck.”
“Thanks. Pa? There’s been talk. You might not have heard it yet . . .”
“Gossip travels faster than a dog with its tail on fire. I’ve heard it. Some anyways.”
“Damn. Think it’ll die down?”
“Most of it, soon as you marry the girl. Hell, that’ll probably have some of those gossiping biddies turning it all romantic.” He laughed at the disgusted face Hunter pulled. “Well, I’m easier in my mind about it now. Go on to bed, son.”
By the time Hunter reached the top of the stairs, he was feeling almost lighthearted. In that short talk his father had made it clear that he accepted Leanne and he cared—cared enough to expose his own hurt and failure in marriage in hopes of helping his son.
He stopped in his room to strip to his trousers and wash up. As at the hotel, the two rooms were simply for appearance’s sake, to placate his mother. Once ready for bed, he walked into Leanne’s room. Smiling faintly at how tiny she looked in the large bed, he shed the rest of his clothes and slipped into bed beside her. He would play the game of separate rooms, but he would not sleep alone.
Feeling herself tugged up against a familiar hard body, Leanne murmured, “Hunter.”
“Nope. George Lansing at your service, ma’am.”
“Is that so. Well, I hope you reward a girl better than that pinchpenny Hunter Walsh.” She laughed softly when Hunter gave her hair a gentle punitive tug, then yawned.
“You were supposed to respond with maidenly horror and leap from the bed.”
“And provide you with untold amusement? Sorry, I’m too tired.”
“I’m not surprised, after all the demands you’ve made on me the last few nights.”
“My, we are feeling chipper this evening. Got some good news or something?”
“Not really. Just a comfortable talk with my father. To be honest, he wanted to be certain that I was confident of the step I was taking in getting married. Now before you start fretting, it had nothing to do with you. He was thinking on how wrong his own marriage had gone and wanted to be sure I knew what I was doing.”
“Yes, he would worry, wouldn’t he? Poor man. Your poor mother too.”
“My poor mother? She’s the reason this has all gone sour. She should have stayed in New Orleans and married some society dandy.”
“Now, Hunter, if she had done that, you wouldn’t be here. Besides, there must have been something good between your parents in the beginning or there wouldn’t be six of you. I said ‘your poor mother’ because she has lost so much, even if she did it to herself. If I’m right about Laurie, your mother could soon find herself very much alone. Some day, unfortunately, probably when it’s too late, she will wake up to what she’s done and I pity her that revelation.”
He thought about that for a moment and nodded. “I think it is already too late. Pa actually spoke aloud the wish that he could just send her away. He’s barely fifty and still in good health. He could, perhaps, find someone else, someone to add a little happiness to the years he has left. He sure as hell won’t find it with my mother.”
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