A Woman's Touch (13 page)

„The famous Ballard charm,“ Kyle said scathingly.

„Is Glen Ballard like that?“

„Wouldn’t surprise me. I warned Darla about that but she wouldn’t listen. She was convinced Glen was different.“

„Come on, Kyle. Tell me the truth. Is Glen like his father or grandfather?“ Rebecca persisted.

„How the hell should I know? I don’t keep track of Ballard’s affairs.“ Kyle leaned back on his elbows and scowled at Rebecca.

„In a small community like this everyone can’t help but keep track of other people’s affairs. You’d hear gossip if Glen Ballard was running around on his wife.“

„Okay, okay. So maybe Glen isn’t as bad as his old man in that department.“

„Aha! You mean he’s been faithful to Darla?“

„Far as I know,“ Kyle admitted grudgingly. „Let’s change the subject. The last thing I want to talk about this morning is Glen Ballard.“

„What do you want to talk about?“

„You.“

„What about me?“

„You’re thirty years old, and you’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever met,“ he said bluntly. „So why weren’t you married long before I met you?“

Rebecca was taken aback. „The sexiest woman you’ve ever met?“ she asked in amazement.

„You can drive me crazy just going through the weekly report in my office,“ he said flatly. „You walk through the door on Friday morning with your little clipboard in your hand, and the first thing I want to do is tear off your clothes and lay you down on the office sofa.“

She turned pink as she heard the ring of sincerity in his voice. She had to remind herself that Kyle’s desire for Harmony Valley was the strongest motivating force in his life. It could lead him to make a lot of wild, exciting statements that sounded quite sincere. In other words, he might be lying through his teeth.

Still, the thought of being able to drive him nuts with the weekly report was a dangerously thrilling one. Until she had met Kyle, Rebecca had never thought of herself as a particularly sensual woman. One of the things he had given her, she realized suddenly, was a new level of confidence in her own sensuality.

„Why, Becky?“ he asked again when she remained silent.

„There was a man once,“ she admitted slowly. „About four years ago. Everything seemed right.

We were both getting established in our careers. Both on the way up. We laughed a lot together. We enjoyed doing the same things. We talked a lot. About old films. Good food. Cats. We were in love.“

Kyle seized another chunk of granite and sent it hurling out into the valley below. „Go on,“ he said roughly. „What happened to this paragon of modern manhood?“

„We were together for about a year and a half. We were planning a wedding. Trying to set a date that wouldn’t conflict with my schedule or his. I should have realized something was wrong when we couldn’t seem to pick a date that fit his timetable. It took me quite a while to realize he had gotten cold feet and was looking for a way out.“

„Why did he want out?“

Rebecca folded her arms on top of her updrawn knees. „He said I overpowered him. That I was too assertive. Too aggressive for a woman. Too independent. Too managing. My biggest fault, I think, was that I was making as much money as he was. That bothered him. Really bothered him.“

„Guy sounds like a real jerk.“

„I eventually came to that conclusion myself.“

„What happened to him?“

Rebecca smiled briefly. „He married some little harebrained ex-cheerleader who happened to be his secretary.“

„Sounds like he got what he deserved,“ Kyle scoffed.

„Goes to show that everybody is capable of making a few mistakes in the relationship department,“ Rebecca mused. „You don’t have a monopoly on the ability.“

„Probably not.“ Kyle stared out over the valley from beneath hooded eyes. „But the Stockbridges tend to make more than their share of mistakes in that field and I’ve sure as hell done my part to live up to the family tradition.“

„Do you realize that this is the first really meaningful discussion about our pasts that we’ve ever had?“ Rebecca asked.

„It wasn’t a discussion I ever wanted to have.“

„I know. Why?“

„I figured it would scare you off,“ he said frankly. „I didn’t want you summing me up as a two-time loser.“

„You’re not a loser.“ Rebecca got to her feet and dusted off the seat of her jeans. „You just never met the right woman. That’s all.“ She started back toward the horses.

„Becky, wait…“ Kyle leaped to his feet and followed. „What do you mean, I never met the right woman?“

„It’s simple,“ she explained as she picked up Athena’s reins. „So far you’ve tried twice, right? You managed to choose a wimp the first time around, and the second time you went for the comfortable type you figured wouldn’t give you any trouble.“ She swung herself up into the saddle. „You made some mistakes, and now you’re gun-shy. That’s understandable. Obviously the choice of a bride is too complicated to be left in your hands. The Stockbridge men apparently need help in making such an important decision.“

Rebecca turned Athena and started down the hillside. Kyle watched her for a minute, trying to decide how to take her last words. He felt confused and disoriented. He shouldn’t have allowed Rebecca to draw him into a discussion of his past. He had long ago determined not to tell her about his record of failure with women.

But she hadn’t seemed all that upset by the story of his disastrous marriage and broken engagement. In fact, she had taken the tale in stride.

He worried on one hand that her casual attitude stemmed from her loss of interest in him. Maybe she simply didn’t care any longer. But there was another possibility, he told himself. Maybe Rebecca just wasn’t as alarmed as he had feared she would be by those grim details of his past. Maybe she didn’t consider them all that terrible, after all.

Kyle vaulted onto Tulip’s back and followed Rebecca down the hill. He wasn’t about to give up. The small flame of hope that still flickered within him wouldn’t be extinguished easily. Rebecca was the one woman in the world for him.

He had to get her back.

She had taught him what it meant not to be alone.

Rebecca spent the rest of the morning poking around Alice Cork’s house and barn. Kyle tried to coax her into coming back to his house for lunch, but Rebecca firmly resisted. He left her alone eventually, jamming his hat down over his eyes and stalking off to mount Tulip. The two horses cantered away in a cloud of dust. Rebecca watched them leave, and then she went back to work.

By midafternoon, she was hungry. She drove back to town and parked her car in the motel lot. Then she walked across the street to buy sandwich makings. She wasn’t in the mood for another hamburger at the small cafe.

The eager curiosity on the face of the grocery-store owner didn’t surprise her. She was getting accustomed to the interest everyone in the little community was taking in her.

„You been out to the Cork place yet?“ the elderly man asked cheerfully. „Not exactly a mansion, is it? Old Alice took good care of her animals, but toward the end she let the house and barn go. Probably didn’t feel up to the work.

The wife and I – I’m Herb Crocket, by the way – we took a load of groceries out to her coupla times a week when she got to the point where she couldn’t make it into town. Ethel, that’s my wife, tried to tidy things up a bit, but Alice didn’

t want her fussing. Alice always was real independent. Just like her ma.“

„I went out this morning,“ Rebecca said as she chose a loaf of bread.

„Pretty little valley, isn’t it?“ Herb asked, his eyes shrewd. „If you want my advice, I’d sell it quick. You don’t want to be in the middle when the war heats up between Ballard and Stockbridge. Take the best offer and duck. But don’t look for a buyer from these parts. Everyone here knows the situation. You’ll need to sell it to some fool from Denver or maybe a Californian.“

„The Ballards and the Stockbridges certainly have quite a reputation in this area,“ Rebecca observed mildly.

„They deserve it,“ Herb informed her with a certain relish. „Kyle and Glen have been wrangling since kindergarten.

Come by that attitude honestly, though. Their pappies were just as bad and the granddaddies were worse. Story is that the grandaddies actually took shots at each other. Folks got themselves killed from time to time over that valley.“

„While the townspeople took bets?“ Rebecca asked bluntly.

Herb Crocket blinked and then chuckled. „I won’t say that the warfare hasn’t provided a few interesting moments down through the years. I made five bucks off Stockbridge once, myself. He and Ballard got into it down by the river on the way home from a high-school dance. Ballard wound up in the water. Me and Tim Murphy was drivin’ by in my car, and we saw the whole thing. Murphy bet on Ballard, and I took Stockbridge.“

Rebecca had a mental image of a bunch of onlookers standing around placing bets while the town’s two bad boys went at it.

„Now, Herb, don’t you be givin’ Miss Wade a bad impression,“ said a gray-haired, bespectacled woman from the rear of the store. She came forward between two aisles of canned goods, her ample bosom covered by a large white apron. She smiled with sunny good humor at Rebecca. „Don’t pay him any attention. For years there’s been way too many of them like Herb here that didn’t mind enjoying the show those two families have always put on.“

„Ain’t my fault that feud has kept going for three generations, Ethel,“ Herb grumbled.

„Should have been stopped years ago,“ Ethel opined. She peered at Rebecca. „If you ask me, a smart woman could have done something about that situation somewhere along the line. But Bal-lards and Stockbridges never did tend to marry smart. Leastways, they didn’t before young Glen married little Darla. Always did like Darla. Sensible woman.

Good head on her shoulders. Glen’s calmed down a lot since the two of them got hitched. She’s a good influence on him.“

„Ain’t no woman born who could manage either a Ballard or a Stockbridge when it comes to Harmony Valley,“

Herb declared. „Ballards and Stockbridges have always been plumb crazy when it comes to that land.“

The bells on the door jingled merrily just as Rebecca put her selections on the counter. A lanky-looking teenager stuck his head inside the store. He was grinning with gleeful anticipation.

„Word is, anyone who wants to see Ballard and Stockbridge go at it better get down to Cully’s Tavern,“ he announced. „Stockbridge is in there shootin’ pool, I hear, and Ballard just drove up. Bound to be some fireworks.“

„Here we go again,“ Ethel Crocket said with a sigh.

„Yup,“ said Herb, looking enthusiastic.

„Nope,“ said Rebecca very quietly and very firmly. „Excuse me, Herb. I’ll be back to pick these things up later.“

„Where are you going?“ Herb asked in astonishment.

„To see the local sights. Care to direct me to Cully’s Tavern?“

Herb stared at her. „Outside to the left. Half a block down. Can’t miss it. But you shouldn’t be headin’ there, ma’am.

It ain’t exactly the sort of place a nice woman like yourself would feel comfortable in, if you know what I mean.“

„Thank you,“ said Rebecca. She headed for the door.

„Oh, Lordy,“ said Ethel. „Herb, you go after her. She doesn’t know what she’s getting into.“

„What the heck am I supposed to do?“ Herb demanded. But he was reluctantly untying his apron.

Rebecca paid no attention. She walked outside and turned left. Herb was right. It was impossible to miss Cully’s Tavern. Half a block down from the grocery store she stopped in front of a neon sign advertising beer and pool. The view through the narrow little windows was hampered by aging red curtains that hadn’t been cleaned in years.

A battered metal plate over the door warned minors they were not allowed across the threshold. There was a grimy, laid-back, males-only atmosphere about the place that warned Rebecca what she would find inside.

She ignored the warning and pushed open the door. A cloud of stale cigarette smoke, alcohol fumes and masculine tension greeted her. Through the haze she could make out a collection of colorful beer logos decorating the walls.

The jukebox was halfway through a song about cheating men and faithful, crying women. Several males dressed in jeans and work clothes slouched on shabby bar stools. They were sipping beer and watching the pool table with riveted attention.

Everyone at the bar looked over as Rebecca walked into the tavern. A rumble of questioning surprise went through the sleazy room. She scanned the row of faces at the bar and then looked over at the pool table.

Kyle was leaning over the table, cue poised for a shot. The planes of his face were harshly illuminated by the triangle of light that shone down on the table. An intricate series of balk was lined up on the green felt.

A tall, strikingly handsome man with copper-colored hair was lounging nearby. He was watching Kyle line up the shot with the same attention he would probably have given a rattlesnake.

„I’ve got a proposition for you, Stockbridge,“ the red-haired man said in a drawling western accent. „One of us buys out the woman. Once we get her out of the picture, you and I can play a game of pool for the land.“

„Forget it, Ballard.“ Kyle readjusted his aim.

„You always were a coward when it came to taking a risk. Guess you haven’t changed much over the years. Sort of a Stockbridge characteristic.“

„I can take a risk,“ Kyle retorted smoothly. „But I’ll admit I prefer the calculated kind. I leave the damned fool kind of risks to Ballards.“

„Just like you leave the women to us?“ Ballard retorted easily.

„Go to hell, Ballard. I’m busy.“ Kyle loosed the pool cue. The shot was right on target. A ball dropped into the pocket. Kyle stood up and walked around the table, sizing up his next shot.

He leaned down to check his aim and caught sight of Rebecca. His gaze flew to her face. „What the devil are you doing here, Becky?“