Heart of Texas Series Volume 1: Lonesome Cowboy\Texas Two-Step\Caroline's Child (35 page)

“And you knew about it?”

“I...” She bit her lip. “I just found out about it myself. Millie Greenville talked to me last week. She suggested that perhaps we could trade something for the money Richard owes her. My roses, for example.”

Grady slammed the syrup jar down. “You didn't agree to this, did you?”

“No.”

“Good.”

“But—”

“I won't hear of it, Savannah, and neither will Laredo. Richard's the one who owes that money, not you and not me. He's going to repay it, too, if it's the last thing he ever does. Every penny.”

“I know,” she said. “Laredo and I've already discussed what to do, and he's as adamant as you are.”

Grady's fork sliced viciously across the pancake. He forced himself to relax, knowing his anger would ultimately hurt him far more than it would Richard.

Laredo had saddled the horses and was waiting for him outside when he finished his meal. Savannah walked out, too, and with an agility Grady envied, her husband leaned over his horse's neck and kissed her.

“If Richard shows up, tell him...” Grady paused, then shook his head. “Don't tell him anything. Let me do the talking this time.”

Savannah nodded. “He's been making himself scarce lately.”

“Now we know why, don't we?”

The sadness was back in his sister's eyes before she turned away and hurried into the house.

***

Richard dominated Grady's thoughts for the rest of the day. By the time he got home, he was ready to read his brother the riot act. To his surprise Richard was there waiting for him.

“I understand you want to talk to me,” his brother said.

Grady was so angry he needed every bit of self-control not to explode with it. “Damn right I want to talk to you.”

“It's about the stuff I charged in town, isn't it?”

“Yes. I can't believe you'd take advantage of our good name to—”

“Listen, Grady, you've got every right to be mad, but I don't need a lecture.”

“That's too bad because—”

“Before you get all bent out of shape, let me say something. I've been sick with worry about those charges. Ask Savannah if you don't believe me. I have some money owed to me, quite a bit as it happens—you know that. It was supposed to have been mailed to me long before this.” He frowned thoughtfully. “It must have been misdirected. I've spent weeks trying to track it down.”

If anyone knew what it was like to be low on cash, it was Grady, but he wasn't falling for his brother's lies again. He opened his mouth to tell him so when Richard continued.

“I figured I'd have those bills paid off before now. I haven't charged anything in weeks.”

“What about the suit?” Grady flared.

His brother's expression became pained. “That was a...mistake. I was tricked into thinking Ellie had agreed to marry me and didn't learn until later it wasn't true.” He inhaled sharply. “In my excitement I went down and bought myself a decent suit for the wedding.”

“Max said he'd let you return it.”

Richard smiled slightly. “As it happens the money was at the post office when I picked up the mail this afternoon. The first thing I did was pay off all the bills.” He slid his hands into his jeans pockets. “I realize it was a mistake not to discuss this with you earlier.”

“Yes, it was.” Grady's relief was tremendous. The problem was solved and the family's good name redeemed. And none of the business owners was losing any money.

“I'm sorry you had to find out about it the way you did.”

While reassured that the money matters had been properly dealt with, Grady wasn't willing to make any further allowances for his brother. Richard had worn out his welcome. “Now that your money's here, you'll be reimbursing me—and then moving on, right?”

“Yes. I appreciate you letting me stay this long. I know it's been an inconvenience, but I didn't have anywhere else to go. We've had our problems over the years, and I'm hoping we can put those behind us now.” He held out his hand for Grady to shake.

Grady accepted it, glad to see that his brother had revealed the maturity to confront him man-to-man.

Perhaps there was hope for Richard, after all.

***

Ellie had been restless all day. With the big Fourth of July weekend coming up, business was slower than it had been in weeks. She found herself waiting, watching, hoping to see Glen—and was furious with herself for caring.

She was finished with men, Ellie told herself. She'd rather herd goats than be married, but even as she entertained the thought, she realized it was a lie. Although she was fond of Savannah's goats, she was more than fond of Glen Patterson. Not that he deserved her affections!

Once the store had closed for the day, she returned home. The afternoon heat was intense, so she made herself some iced tea. She tugged her shirt free of her waistband, propped her bare feet on the coffee table and let the fan cool her. But it was going to take more than a fan and a glass of iced tea to revive her sagging spirits.

Because of the fan's drone she didn't hear her doorbell. When she finally realized someone was at her door, she got to her feet and hurried across the room. She threw open the door and on the other side of the screen was the largest bouquet of flowers she'd laid eyes on. While she couldn't see the man behind it, she could easily identify him by his boots.

Glen.

He waited a moment, then peeked behind the flowers and beamed her a smile. That slow sexy smile of his, capable of melting the hardest hearts, the strongest wills.

“Hello, sweetheart,” he said, his smile growing wider. “Aren't you going to let me in?”

Wordlessly she unlatched the screen door and opened it for him.

He carried in the flowers and set them in the middle of her coffee table. They towered over it, filling the room with a profusion of glorious scents. Then he kissed her cheek and said, “I'll be right back.”

When he returned, his arms were laden with gifts. She noted the chocolates, the basket of exotic fruit, the bottle of champagne. He set everything down next to the flowers and added three wrapped gifts.

“What's all this?” she asked, glancing at the table and then at him.

“Bribes,” he said, looking very pleased with himself.

“For what?”

“I'll get to that in a moment.” Taking her by the shoulders, he guided her back to the sofa. “Sit,” he instructed.

She complied before she realized she should have made at least a token protest about being ordered around, but curiosity won her over.

“Here,” he said, handing her the smallest of the wrapped gifts. “Open this one first.”

Christmas didn't yield this many presents. “Don't think you can buy my love, Mr. Patterson.”

“I don't need to, Ms. Frasier,” he said confidently. “You already admitted you love me.”

For the fleetest of seconds Ellie wanted to argue, tell him she'd been emotionally distraught at the time, but it was the truth—she did love him.

Inside the package she found a pen. An attractive looking ballpoint pen. Puzzled, she raised questioning eyes to him.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“It's very nice,” she said, puzzled but nevertheless excited. Before she had time to say anything more, he thrust another package at her. “This one is next.” He knelt on the floor beside the sofa while she unwrapped a shoe-size box.

“Are you going to tell me what this is all about?” she asked. She tore away the paper and stared in utter amazement at the mismatched items inside.

The first thing she pulled out was a Cal Ripken baseball card. Next she removed a shoelace, followed by rose-scented bath salts from Dovie's store, and, last, an ordinary key. Ellie examined each thing again, wondering what she was missing. As far as she could tell, the items weren't linked in any way.

“Is there a reason you're giving me one shoelace?”

He grinned. “It's blue.”

She would have described it as a dark navy, closer to black—but that was beside the point. “The key?” she asked, holding that up next.

“That's to Bob Little's vacation home on the gulf.”

“Why do you have it?”

“I borrowed it,” he replied, as though that answered the question.

“I see.” But she didn't. Changing tactics, she reached for the pen. “What about this?”

He gazed into her eyes. “The pen is for something special. I was hoping we'd use it to write our names in that old family Bible of yours. Maybe Wade should do it for us after the wedding ceremony, but then—” He stopped abruptly and leaned back on his heels. “I'm doing this all wrong again, aren't I?” Not giving her time to answer, he continued, “I spoke with Dovie earlier and she advised me how to go about this, but now I've forgotten almost everything.”

“You spoke to Dovie?”

He ignored her question. “Honest to goodness, Ellie, I don't know what I said that was so terrible when I asked you to marry me before, but whatever it was I couldn't be sorrier. I love you. I mean that.”

“I know.” She felt tears brimming in her eyes. She'd waited a long time for Glen to tell her how he felt.

“You do?” His relief was evident. “Dovie said I needed to tell you that, but I was sure you already knew. And I want it understood that my proposal doesn't have anything to do with the bets Billy D's taking over who you're going to marry.”

“I'd forgotten about that.”

“I had, too, until Dovie reminded me. I love you, Ellie,” he said again.

“I know, but it doesn't hurt to say the words every now and then. Or to hear them.”

“Dovie said the same thing.” He brightened at that, then clasped both her hands in his and got back on his knees. “Will you marry me, Ellie?” he asked solemnly.

When she didn't immediately respond, he reached for the box she'd just opened. “I wanted to be kind of traditional about this,” he said. “The baseball card is something old. I've had it since I was in junior high. The scented bath salts is something new. The key's something borrowed, since Bob said we could use his house on the gulf for our honeymoon. And the shoelace is something blue.”

“Oh, Glen.”

“I'm miserable without you. Nothing seems right.”

It hadn't been right for her, either.

“I know Dovie said I shouldn't mention this, but I want you to know that even though we've waited two months for the farrier's appointment, I'd cancel it if you decided Tuesday was the day you wanted to get married. I'm that crazy about you.”

“You're sure this isn't because of Richard.”

“Yes,” he said firmly. “Very sure. Although I'm grateful to him, otherwise I don't know how long it would've taken me to realize I love you.”

“Then I'm grateful to Richard, too.”

“We'll buy an engagement ring together, anything you want. Only please don't make me wait much longer.” His eyes filled with such hopeful expectation she couldn't have denied him anything. “Ellie, you're my friend, the best friend I've ever had. I want you to be my lover, too. My wife. The mother of my kids. I want us to grow old together.”

Rather than respond with words, Ellie wrapped her arms about his neck and lowered her mouth to his. She'd yearned for this from the moment he first kissed her. She understood now, with all her heart, what poets meant when they wrote about being completed by a lover, a spouse. She felt that. He completed her life.

Glen placed his arms around her waist and pulled her from the sofa so that she was kneeling on the floor with him. They kissed again and again, each kiss more fervent than the last.

“I hope,” he said, drawing back from her a fraction, “that this means yes.”

“Mmm. Kiss me.”

“I have every intention of kissing you for the rest of our lives.”

“That sounds nice.” And it did. She tightened her arms around his neck. “What's in the other box?”

“It's for the honeymoon,” he mumbled.

“You were sure of yourself, weren't you?”

“No,” he countered, nibbling her neck. “I was a nervous wreck. We
are
getting married, aren't we?”

“Oh, yes.” She sighed as his hands closed over her breasts. “Married,” she repeated, liking the sound of it.

“We're going to have a good life together,” Glen whispered. He kissed her. “I promise.” Another small kiss. “I'm crazy about you, Ellie.”

Ellie grinned. “You already said that. But for the record, I'm crazy about you, too.”

She pressed her lips to his.

Eleven

T
ime was running out and Richard knew it. He had to leave Promise and soon. It wouldn't take Grady more than a few days to discover there
was
no money. The check Richard had given him was written on a closed account; it was going to bounce like a rubber ball, and when Grady found out... Nor would he be able to hold off paying his creditors much longer. All he needed was a week or so to get everything ready. No one would think to look for him in that old ghost town. He'd just quietly disappear.

Until then, he had to keep the wool pulled over his brother's eyes. Even if it meant doing work he'd sworn he'd never do again. That morning Grady had insisted Richard fill in for one of his summer hands who'd suddenly taken ill. This time Grady wouldn't listen to any excuses, and Richard was forced into what he considered slave labor.

“I don't know how much good I'm going to be,” he told Laredo as he saddled Roanie.

“A little extra help is all Grady is looking for,” Laredo said.

Savannah's husband hadn't made any effort to disguise his dislike of him. It hadn't bothered Richard to this point. He wasn't a big fan of Laredo's, either, although he had to admire the way the wrangler had finessed himself a partnership with Grady. Smith had apparently sold some land in Oklahoma and was investing it in stock for their quarter-horse operation. There'd been a celebration the day Laredo discovered his newly purchased mare was pregnant with Renegade's foal. From all the fuss, anyone might assume it was Savannah who was pregnant, not some horse.

“Grady wants us to weigh calves and get them into the holding pens,” Laredo said as they rode toward the pasture.

“What for?” Richard demanded, bouncing in the saddle. He'd never been able to get comfortable on a horse. If he was going to be working his butt off, quite literally, then he wanted an explanation of his duties.

“They need to be weighed.”

“Is he selling them?”

“Eventually. He wants to be sure they're healthy and gaining weight the way they should before we send them to market.”

Richard stifled a groan. Anyone looking at those smelly animals could see they were doing fine. Better than he was, Richard thought bitterly. Already his backside hurt. By the end of the day he was bound to have blisters in places people didn't normally talk about—but then that was exactly what Grady had planned.

His brother was punishing him, Richard knew, for Grady was vindictive and a sore loser. He'd been jealous of Richard's skills and talents for years. The only reason he'd insisted Richard mount up this morning was to get back at him for the embarrassment of being confronted by Max Jordan a few nights earlier.

It would do no good to complain about it now. He didn't want to give Grady the satisfaction of knowing he'd succeeded in making him miserable.

After they'd ridden for several minutes, they came to the holding-pen area. Laredo told him to dismount, then had him sort through the calves. It was his duty to separate the steers from the heifers. No easy task, and it irked Richard that his son-of-a-bitch brother-in-law took such delight in the trouble he had. Even the dog seemed to be working against him, instead of with him. Laredo was at the gate while Richard herded the cattle one way or the other. All too frequently, Laredo had to correct him, but then, Richard had never been any good with animals. He hated ranch life, and Grady knew it. His brother was unfairly trying to make him pay for circumstances beyond his control.

When they'd finished sorting the calves, they broke the steers into twenty-head lots and weighed them. Nothing hurt Richard's ears more than the sound of ill-tempered cattle thundering onto the scale. They weren't any more interested in being weighed than Richard was in finishing the task.

“Are they loaded?” Laredo shouted.

“Isn't it lunchtime yet?”

“No. Answer the question.”

“They're on the scale,” he shouted back, waving his hand in front of his face. Not only were cattle stupid and nasty, their stench gave him a headache.

Laredo did whatever he did with the controls of the scale and checked the balance. Richard watched it bob back and forth until the correct weight was found. Then the steers were moved into the holding pen.

Laredo seemed pleased with the results. “They've gained an average of fifty pounds in the past twenty days,” he said.

“Whoopee.”

Laredo ignored him. “At this rate they'll weigh around six hundred pounds by the sale date.”

“Great,” Richard muttered, seeing that his sarcasm was lost on the wrangler. He stared at his watch. “Isn't it lunchtime yet?”

“Soon.” Laredo shoved back his hat with the heel of one hand. “When we're finished here, Grady wants us to vaccinate the steers.”

“
What?
You mean my brother actually expects me to give them shots? With a needle?”

“So it seems.”

“I hate needles.” Damn it, Laredo hadn't mentioned this earlier, and Richard just knew the omission had been on purpose. Probably figured he was saving the best for last, the bastard.

“I don't suppose the calves are fond of being vaccinated, either.”

“Fine, then let's skip the entire procedure.”

Laredo didn't bother to respond, and Richard accepted that there was no help for it. But down the line, his big brother was going to pay for the trouble and humiliation he'd caused. Oh, yes. Grady had learned about the bill with Max, but he didn't know about the others. Not yet. And by the time he
did
discover the amount of money Richard had charged...well, Richard would be long gone. Bye-bye Yellow Rose.

Who'd be smiling then? Who'd be feeling smug and superior? It was enough to carry Richard through the rest of the day.

***

Ellie spent as much time as she could with Glen, but not nearly enough to satisfy either one of them. A September wedding date had been set, and she was busy making plans. At the moment Glen and his brother needed to get the herd to market; that was their immediate priority and not something Ellie could help with.

“I thought I'd find you in here,” Glen said.

Ellie, who was in the sick pen with a couple of calves, smiled up at her fiancé. He wore his Stetson and cowhide chaps. His approach warmed her heart.

“Are these two going to make it?” she asked. Most calves had slick hair, bright eyes and big bellies, but the calves in the pen looked dull-eyed and thin.

“They don't have anything a little bit of medicine and some tender loving care won't cure.”

“Good.”

Glen joined her in the pen. “When did you get here?”

“Fifteen minutes ago. George is closing up this afternoon.”

He kissed her briefly. “Thank him for me.”

“He's going to have to get used to it. When we're married, I'll be leaving early sometimes.”

Glen wrapped his arm around her waist. “I like the sound of that word.”

“Married?”

He nodded, and opening the gate, ushered her out of the barn and toward the house. “I like the sound of it more and more every day.”

“So do I,” she admitted softly. And she thought to herself that her father would have liked the idea of his Ellie married. To her friend, who was his friend, too. She imagined him smiling, telling her she'd chosen well. John Frasier had liked Glen and respected him. Her only regret was that her father wouldn't be there to walk her down the aisle or dance at his daughter's wedding.

“Give me time to shower,” Glen said as they entered the house. “I'll be back before you know it.” He smiled down at her and then, as if he couldn't restrain himself, kissed her once again.

While Glen cleaned up, Ellie went into the kitchen to start dinner. Since they'd made their engagement official, she'd stopped by the ranch two or three nights a week. It only made sense for them to eat together. She'd taken a few cooking lessons from Dovie on preparing basic meals. Meat and potatoes, mostly. Next thing, she'd tackle pies. She enjoyed practicing in the big ranch-house kitchen, especially with Glen there to cheer her on. Ellie found she begrudged every minute she couldn't spend with him, and she knew he felt the same way.

She had a roast in the oven and was peeling potatoes when Cal walked into the kitchen. “Hey, Ellie, how's it going?” he asked.

“Great,” she said, dropping a freshly peeled potato into a kettle of water.

“You don't have to do this, you know. But let me tell you I appreciate every morsel.”

Ellie grinned up at him. She was discovering that she liked Cal. Actually she always had, but he could be a difficult man to understand because he often seemed so remote, and sometimes even gruff. She'd been spending more time with him lately, and they'd developed a comfortable rapport. Ellie had even talked him into attending the Fourth of July celebration with her and Glen. To all appearances, he'd enjoyed himself, although he hadn't asked anyone to dance at the evening festivities. It was a well-known fact that he didn't trust women, although he was obviously pleased for her and Glen.

“You're welcome to join Glen and me for dinner any time after we're married,” she told him. They'd already decided it would be most beneficial, considering her business, for Glen to move into town after the wedding and commute to the ranch every day. Soon they'd be setting up an appointment with a Realtor and looking at houses. Glen hoped to have the deal closed by August so that once they were married, they could move right in. Ellie hoped that was possible, too.

As soon as Glen reappeared, his hair wet and glistening from the shower, Cal quickly left the room. Glen's arms circled her from behind and he kissed her neck. “Damn, but I love you.”

Now that he was comfortable with the words, he said them often; he seemed to delight in sharing his feelings.

“I love you, too.” The words had no sooner left her lips when she turned in his arms to face him. “I'm worried about Cal.”

“Cal? What's wrong with my brother?”

“Nothing love wouldn't cure.”

Glen frowned and took Ellie by the shoulders. “You've got that look in your eye. I've seen it in my mother's and Dovie Boyd's.”

“What look?”

Glen kissed the tip of her nose. “I don't know what it's called, but it's what comes over a woman when she thinks she knows what's best for a man.”

“I'm not trying to be a...a matchmaker, Glen!”

“But you think Cal needs a woman.”

“He needs to fall in love.”

“He did once,” Glen reminded her.

“Next time it needs to be with a woman who'll love him just as much in return. Who'll appreciate him for who he is without trying to change him.”

“And where do you intend to find such a woman?” Glen asked, his gaze holding hers.

“I don't know, but she's out there and just waiting for someone like Cal.”

Glen eased Ellie back into his embrace and kissed her with a thoroughness that left no question about his own love for her. “You're a terrible romantic, Ellie Frasier-soon-to-be-Patterson.”

“I'm a woman in love and I want my almost-brother-in-law to find happiness, too.”

“He'll have to look for his own partner if he wants to do a Texas two-step.”

Glen drew her closer still.

She smiled up at him. “Well,” she said, “that's the thing about the two-step. There's no changing partners if you do it right.” She raised her mouth to his in a teasing kiss.

“You can bet on that.” And he kissed her back.