A Woman's Touch (15 page)

But Darla did not look like the kind of woman who would have done such a thing lightly. Rebecca tried to size her up as Darla led her through a whirl of introductions. It was obvious Darla was well liked and her smile was genuine.

Rebecca realized that, with very little effort, she could like Darla, too.

„Hey, glad to see you found the place,“ Glen called from the smoking barbecue pits. „Give the woman a drink, honey. She probably needs one. She’s been dealing with Stockbridge all day.“

Darla laughed. „What would you like, Rebecca?“

„A glass of wine would be nice. You have a beautiful home here, Darla.“

„Thank you. I just wish we could spend more time here,“ Darla said as she guided Rebecca over to where a young man in a white coat was pouring drinks. „Unfortunately Glen’s business keeps us in Denver a lot of the time. Can’t let the competition get ahead of Clear Advantage Development, you know.“

„I’m surprised we haven’t run into each other,“ Rebecca observed as she accepted her glass of wine.

„Are you kidding?“ Darla affected wide-eyed astonishment. „Ballards and Stockbridges socialize together?

Unheard of.“ She wrinkled her nose in a wry grimace. „Unsafe, too. No intelligent, thinking person would deliberately put a Stockbridge and a Ballard into the same room together if there was any option.“

„That bad?“

„It’s incredibly bad. The feud between the Bal-lards and the Stockbridges is legendary around these parts.“

„All because of Harmony Valley?“

Darla slanted her a quick, searching glance. „It started because of the valley, but over the years a lot of other incidents have fed the fire. It’s crazy, but the feud’s been going on for so long now that no one has any idea of how to halt it. Sometimes I don’t think any of these nice people really want to see it halted. It provides too much gossip and entertainment.“

„You don’t find it very entertaining, do you, Darla?“ Rebecca asked softly.

Darla closed her eyes briefly. „No. I find it stupid and dangerous. But maybe that’s because I’ve had the experience of being caught in the cross fire.“ She opened her eyes and gave Rebecca a level look. „I suppose you’ve heard all about that?“

Rebecca smiled gently. „Just the bare facts.“

„Well, the bare facts are true. I was engaged to Kyle Stockbridge. And to be honest, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the primary reason Glen started courting me was precisely that I was wearing Kyle’s ring. The temptation to try to take another shot at a Stockbridge was probably too much for Glen to resist, although he denies to this day that that’s the sole reason he went after me. These are not nice families we’re talking about, Rebecca. Believe me, I know. I was born and raised in these parts.“

Rebecca chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip. „Things seemed to have worked out for you and Glen,“ she observed.

Darla chuckled. „They worked out because Glen got caught in his own trap. He fell in love with me. I suspect he was as surprised as I was when he realized what had happened. Kyle will always believe Glen seduced me away, but the truth is, I was on the verge of breaking off my engagement to Kyle anyway. I would have done it weeks earlier, if I’

d had the nerve.“

„The nerve?“ Rebecca frowned.

Darla nodded and sipped at the glass of fruit juice she was holding. „It takes nerve to go up against Kyle Stockbridge. I’m sure you must have realized that by now. I had spent a lot of time agonizing over how to tell Kyle I wanted to end things when Glen showed up and made it easy. He took great pleasure in telling Kyle for me. I should never have agreed to let him do it. It was a terrible scene.“ She shuddered. „I’ll never forget it.“

Rebecca studied the throng of guests. „Why did you want to break off your engagement to Kyle?“ she asked quietly.

„Two reasons,“ Darla said bluntly. „The first is that he was quite capable of scaring the living daylights out of me.

Growing up around here, I’d heard about the Stockbridge temper, naturally, but I’d never actually faced it myself until I became engaged to Kyle.“

Rebecca’s eyes widened in surprise. „He frightened you?“

„I’m afraid so. Surely you’ve been around him long enough to see him lose his temper?“

„Well, I’ve certainly seen him get annoyed and heaven knows he can make a fuss when he doesn’t get what he wants, but he’s never really lost his temper with me.“

„You’re lucky. He did around me a time or two and I couldn’t stand it, Rebecca,“ Darla explained. „It left me shaking each time. I just couldn’t take it. Glen never raises his voice to me. Oh, I know he’s got a temper that’s the match of any Stockbridge, but he rarely displays it in front of me. Even when he does, it doesn’t frighten me. Not the way Kyle frightened me.“

„Kyle’s temper isn’t that bad.“ Rebecca wondered why she felt obliged to defend him. „He never really loses his self-control. But somewhere along the line he learned how to use the threat of his temper to control certain situations and he’s not above exploiting that.“

Darla eyed her dubiously. „He’s never blown up at you?“

„I’ve seen him get angry at his staff, and he’s yelled at me a time or two, but I’ve certainly never thought of him as terrifying.“

„Amazing,“ Darla said dryly. „Whenever he got angry around me my first instinct was to run and hide. But even if I

’d gotten over being nervous about that aspect of his personality, I knew I couldn’t handle the other thing.“

„What other thing?“

Darla slanted her another searching glance. „I didn’t know how to manage the dark side of him. There was a part of him I sensed I’d never reach. We never really talked. We never communicated. Half the time I don’t think he was even aware of me. He was too busy making big plans for Flaming Luck Enterprises.“

„Flaming Luck certainly consumes a big portion of his life.“

„It consumed all of it during the period of our engagement. Once he’d put a ring on my finger, it was as if he’d completed one more business deal. He was ready to turn his attention to another one. I felt left out. I realized he didn’t really need me. He didn’t love me. I came to the conclusion he might not be capable of loving anyone. That’s when I knew I had to end the engagement.“

„Did you love him?“ It was a hard question to ask but Rebecca had to know.

Darla tilted her head to one side, considering the matter. „I’m not sure. Whatever I felt didn’t last too long, so it probably wasn’t real love, although it might have grown into the real thing if I’d ever gotten any response from him. I do know I was very excited and thrilled when Kyle first started dating me. He was, after all, the son of one of the most important families in the area. And at first I think the darkness in him actually attracted me. It was a challenge, I suppose.“

„Kyle can certainly be a challenge,“ Rebecca admitted.

„Well, I got tired of the challenge when I realized I didn’t have the power to change him. I knew I needed a man who was more easygoing most of the time. More open.“ Darla grinned. „The only time Glen gets difficult is when he’s confronting Kyle. On those occasions the atmosphere takes on all the nuances of high noon in Dodge City.“

„I can’t believe those two have been at each other’s throats all these years.“

„I can’t, either, but it’s a fact.“ Darla patted her rounded stomach ruefully. „I’m probably about to start another generation of battling Ballards.“

„Maybe you’ll get lucky and have a little girl.“

Darla grinned. „That would certainly throw a monkey wrench into the works, wouldn’t it? But Ballards always seem to have male children. So do Stockbridges. If Kyle marries, I’m sure there will be another macho Stockbridge coming along who will grow up thinking the lowest form of life on earth is a Ballard.“

Rebecca’s brows rose. She smiled at her hostess. „Don’t look at me like that. It makes me nervous.“

„Sorry. But I did hear that you and Kyle had been living together, and I couldn’t help but wonder…?“

„We only lived together for ten days. If s over,“ Rebecca said flatly. „It ended when I found out just why Kyle had

'accidentally’ met me in the first place.“

„Harmony Valley? You just found out about it recently?“

Rebecca nodded. „The lawyers got in touch with me yesterday. I walked out on Kyle a few hours later.“

„And he followed you,“ Darla murmured speculatively.

„Sure. He hasn’t got his hands on Harmony Valley yet.“

Darla’s eyes narrowed. „It doesn’t sound like him.“

„What doesn’t sound like him?“

„I don’t see Kyle actually persuading a woman to move in with him just so he could get his hands on her land. He and Glen would both go a long way out of their way to get hold of Harmony Valley, but I don’t think either one of them would go that far.“

„Their fathers and grandfathers apparently were willing to marry for it.“

„Different times, different men,“ Darla said philosophically. „I might be wrong about Kyle. I’ll admit I never really got to know him. But I do know Glen would not have married just to get his hands on Harmony Valley.“ She broke off abruptly as if a thought had just struck her. „But…“

„But what?“ Rebecca demanded.

Darla smiled humorously. „It occurs to me that if Kyle had stumbled into a situation that provided the best of both worlds, he wouldn’t have hesitated to make the most of it. Glen might have done the same before he met me. There’s no getting around the fact that Ballards and Stockbridges take advantage of their opportunities.“

„In other words, if Kyle found himself attracted to the woman who happened to own Harmony Valley, he’d take both,“ Rebecca concluded bluntly.

„If he could get both. The Stockbridges have always been known for their business luck,“ Darla said with a soft laugh. „But not their charm. Folks around here will tell you the Ballards were the first in line when the charm was being handed out. Anyway, enough of this depressing talk. Let’s go see if we can find a steak with your name on it. Glen’s at his best when he’s standing in front of a barbecue. He says it’s in the blood.“

The next hour passed quickly. Rebecca began to relax and enjoy herself. Glen Ballard was busy with his other guests and made no effort to bring up the subject of Harmony Valley. Darla introduced Rebecca to several more of her friends, and the conversation turned easily on a variety of noncontroversial subjects. It was obvious everyone was far too polite to bring up the matter of the Stockbridge-Ballard feud or Rebecca’s role in it.

Rebecca was beginning to wonder if she might like to keep Harmony Valley. She could have a new house built on it, she thought, a place she could use on the weekends. She smiled grimly, wondering how Kyle and Glen would react if they found out yet another independent female had chosen Harmony Valley for her home.

Rebecca was in the middle of a conversation with a rancher’s wife when she first became aware of the disturbance near the swimming pool. It wasn’t much in the beginning, just a murmur of awareness that hummed through the crowd.

But a moment later she heard her new acquaintance gasp.

„Oh, my Lord, it’s Kyle Stockbridge,“ the woman said. „He’s here. Over by the pool. Will you look at that? Talk about nerve. Poor Darla.“ Scandalized horror and excitement were mirrored in her face. „I hope there won’t be a scene.“

Her tone implied that there would very probably be a scene – that she and everyone else would be extremely disappointed if there wasn’t a scene.

Rebecca turned around and saw Kyle standing near the pool. He hadn’t bothered to change his clothes. He was still wearing the snug jeans, scuffed boots and faded denim shirt he’d had on earlier in the day. His black hat was jammed down over his eyes and his expression was full of sardonic challenge. He was here to make trouble and he didn’t care who knew it. He caught Rebecca’s eye and smiled coldly.

Before Rebecca could move, she saw Glen Ballard start through the crowd, a can of beer in each hand. She breathed a sigh of relief. Glen, at least, apparently was going to try to avoid a scene. Rebecca lost sight of the two men as the crowd shifted position.

„I should have known Kyle would pull a stunt like this. It’s just like him to crash the party. He won’t want you left in our clutches for very long.“

Rebecca glanced at Darla who had appeared to stand beside her. She looked unhappily resigned to disaster. „It looks like Glen is going to be civil. Kyle won’t make a scene if Glen refuses to respond to it.“

There was a muffled snort from the rancher’s wife. „Those two will make a scene anywhere, anytime.“

„I’m afraid she’s right,“ Darla said. „Neither of them can resist baiting the other. My party is going to be ruined. I just know it.“

„How much of a disaster can they cause?“ Rebecca asked, exasperated. „They’re a couple of respectable businessmen, not two gunslingers. They aren’t likely to start brawling at a party, for heaven’s sake.“

The rancher’s wife and Darla both stared at her with pitying looks.

Rebecca blinked. „You mean they might actually start a fight? Right here in front of everyone?“

„It’s happened before,“ the rancher’s wife announced.

„When?“ Rebecca was truly astounded. This was a civilized party, not a tavern.

„The most notable occasion was my wedding reception,“ Darla said grimly. „But there have been other instances.“

„I don’t believe it. Two intelligent, full-grown men?“

„Wait and see,“ the rancher’s wife intoned knowingly.

Rebecca swung around and started through the crowd. „No, I don’t think I’ll wait and see. I’m going to put a stop to this right now. Kyle has no business ruining your party, Darla.“

„Rebecca, wait,“ Darla said urgently. „Come back here. Believe me, you don’t want to get in the middle of whatever is going on. There’s nothing anyone can do. I heard how you handled things this afternoon, but you mustn’t count on being able to do it a second time. You probably just took them both by surprise. You aren’t likely to get lucky again.