Heart of Texas Series Volume 1: Lonesome Cowboy\Texas Two-Step\Caroline's Child (12 page)

“Maggie certainly seems to be taken with him,” he noted, frowning as he brought the beer bottle to his lips. His younger brother danced with the five-year-old, twirling her about the floor. The youngster's shrieks of delight could be heard over the music. Richard's success with Maggie rankled, especially since the child ran away in terror whenever she laid eyes on Grady. Somehow or other, without realizing what he'd done, Grady had frightened the kid. For the life of him, he didn't know how it'd happened, and despite his efforts, he hadn't been able to repair the damage.

Caroline kept a close watch on her daughter. “She's easily swayed by charm, it seems.”

“She isn't the only one.”

“Are you jealous, Grady?”

“Hell, no,” he protested before he had a chance to fully consider the question. On second thought, he had to admit there was a grain of truth in Caroline's words.

It was bad enough that Richard had implied—or outright said—that Grady and Savannah were throwing him this party. The fact that he had just about every woman in town fawning over him and almost every man eager for his company only added insult to injury.

“I don't suppose I could convince you to take a spin,” Caroline said, motioning with her head toward the dance floor.

“Not on your life.”

Caroline sighed as though disappointed. “That's what I thought.”

“Hey, you don't need me.” He gestured toward a group of single men standing under a live oak tree. “Any one of them would be happy to dance with you.”

“I suppose.” But she didn't budge and, truth be known, he was glad she didn't. He thought of inviting her to go bowling with him—that would be more to his liking—but hesitated. It'd been so damn long since he'd gone out on a date he wasn't sure how to go about asking.

Then it dawned on Grady that maybe Caroline was interested in him. “Are you saying you want to dance with
me?
” In other circumstances he probably wouldn't have asked, but he'd downed three beers on an almost empty stomach and his inhibitions were definitely lowered.

“I might be,” she responded.

He mulled over her answer. He liked Caroline, admired her for the good friend she was to Savannah, and while he'd certainly noticed her, found her attractive, he'd never thought to make anything of it.

“You should get married,” he said, and for the life of him, Grady didn't know what had prompted him to suggest such a thing. Horrified, he stared down at his empty beer bottle.

“Do you have anyone in mind?” Caroline asked.

“Not me.” He wanted that understood.

“Don't worry, Grady, you aren't in the running.”

He'd asked for that, but he didn't like hearing it. Then, thinking he should resolve this before things got out of hand, he decided to explain. “Maggie needs a father.”

Caroline was on her feet so fast it made his head spin. “Don't tell me what my daughter needs or doesn't need, Grady.”

“Fine, I won't.”

“Good,” she declared, and stomped away.

Women! They had to have the last word. But after Caroline left, Grady regretted the conversation. Worse, he knew he was one hundred percent at fault. He should never have said the things he had. It wasn't his place to suggest Maggie needed a father. It had made him sound judgmental or disapproving when that wasn't his intent at all. He respected Caroline; he just thought her life as a working single mother was too hard. And he hated the way little Maggie seemed so susceptible to any man's charm. Any
con
man's charm. Well, nothing he could do about it now.

The sun set and after a while someone lit the Chinese lanterns. The lights swayed in a soft breeze, casting shadows that danced about the yard. The band switched from lively melodies and line dances to slower, more mellow songs. Couples, wrapped in each other's arms, slowly circled the floor.

Families with young children packed up their youngsters and started home, prompted by thoughts of work and school in the morning. Playing the role of gracious host to a T, Richard escorted them to their cars, then stood in the driveway and waved them off.

“Nice party,” Adam Braunfels said as Grady headed toward the house, around nine o'clock.

“Not
my
party,” he was quick to tell the owner of Chili Pepper.

“I hope everything was satisfactory,” Adam said next.

Grady tucked his hands in his back pockets. “Great. I certainly didn't hear any complaints.”

“Good. I want you to know I was as fair as I could be with the tally.”

Grady didn't know what Adam was talking about or, rather, why Adam was telling
him,
but he nodded his head, which had started to pound. He hadn't eaten since breakfast and his mind continued to dwell on his disastrous conversation with Caroline.

Adam pulled a slip of paper from his hip pocket and handed it to Grady. “I'd appreciate if you could write me a check now, Grady, before I go back to town.”

“What?” He was sure there'd been some mistake.

“For the barbecue,” Adam explained as if he were dense. Grady knew why he wanted to be paid; what he didn't understand was why Adam expected
him
to do it.

“I already said this wasn't my party.”

Adam's mouth thinned. “I don't care whose party it is, I need my money.”

“And you expect me to pay?”

“Yes.”

“This is Richard's business.” Grady was about to walk off when Richard raced to their side.

“I need my money,” Adam repeated, looking from one brother to the other.

Richard's feet shifted nervously. “Would you mind paying him, Grady?” he asked. “I honestly thought my check would be here before now.” He looked down at his boots. “I...I feel horrible about this.”

Arms folded, Adam stared at Grady, ignoring Richard completely.

Grady felt as though the top of his head was about to explode. He had no choice but to pay up. His brother had done it to him again. Either he wrote Adam a check now or he came off looking like the bad guy.

***

Laredo was elbow-deep in the kitchen sink when Frank Hennessey walked into the room. The sheriff nodded politely at Savannah, who sat with her feet propped up on a chair. It was the first time all day Laredo could get her to take a break. He knew she was exhausted. Hell, he was himself, and he hadn't worked near as hard as she had.

While he hadn't been particularly fond of Richard before, Laredo actively disliked him now. He'd been around men like the younger Weston in his time. Fast talkers. Users. Selfish and thoughtless. Richard certainly knew which buttons to push when it came to his sister, Laredo had noticed. All he had to do was mention their mother, and Savannah crumbled. It infuriated him to watch the jerk take advantage of her that way.

Laredo knew Grady was on to Richard, but he suspected Savannah wasn't. Even if she did find out what kind of man her brother was, she was perfectly capable of overlooking it, and that worried Laredo.

“If you don't mind, Mr. Smith, I've got a few questions I'd like to ask you,” the sheriff said.

A little confused, Laredo lifted his hands from the dishwater and reached for a towel. He didn't like the idea of the sheriff singling him out, but he didn't want to make a fuss in front of Savannah, either.

“Is there a problem, Sheriff?” Savannah asked, looking concerned.

“No, no.” Hennessey caught Laredo's glance. “Perhaps you'd like to step outside, Mr. Smith.”

“Sure.” Laredo dried his hands and squelched his growing sense of irritation. Grady had put the lawman up to this; he'd admitted it earlier himself. Not that Laredo had anything to hide, but he hated the way it made him look to Savannah.

He waited until they were in the cool night air before he spoke. “I don't have any kind of record.”

“Wrong,” the lawman was quick to correct him. “You ran a red light back in 1995.”

Stuffing his hands in his back hip pockets, Laredo glared at the sheriff. “I stand corrected.”

Hennessey ignored the sarcasm. “I got a couple of questions for you.”

“Fire away.” Laredo clamped his teeth together, anger simmering.

“How long do you plan to stay in Promise?”

“As long as I damn well please.” His tolerance for this kind of treatment was gone.

“Listen, Smith, it won't do you any good to get smart-mouthed with me. If you want trouble, you don't need to look any farther than right here. I can make enough trouble to last you a lifetime. Now I suggest you check your attitude.” He gave him a moment to let the warning take hold, then repeated the question.

“I plan on heading out as soon as I can pay for the repairs to my truck.” Laredo kept his voice a monotone and trained his gaze on the barn door.

The lawman's crisp voice mellowed when he next spoke. “Miss Savannah's a mighty fine woman.”

Laredo's eyes clashed with the sheriff's. “You think I don't know that?”

“No one wants to see her hurt.”

“I don't, either,” Laredo said. He didn't understand why everyone assumed he'd purposely do anything to hurt Savannah.

“For reasons I can't quite grasp, she seems to have taken a liking to you. But if you're leaving soon, I figure you'll be gone before there's any real damage done.”

Laredo kept his mouth shut, knowing the lawman would use anything he said against him.

“Look, I know I'm speaking out of turn here, Smith. It's none of my affair when you come or go. All I'm saying is that a lot of folks around here think highly of Savannah. No one wants to see her used, especially by a drifter who'll desert her without a second thought. You get what I'm saying?”

Laredo pressed his lips tightly closed in order to hold his tongue.

“Good. Like I said, Savannah's the sweetest, gentlest soul in these parts, and if you or anyone else decides to take advantage of her, you'll answer directly to me. You got that, boy?”

Laredo's shoulders ached because of the stiff way he held his back. It'd been a lot of years since anyone had called him “boy.” Laredo hadn't liked it then and liked it even less now.

“You heard me?” Sheriff Hennessey asked, more forcefully this time.

“Loud and clear.”

The lawman nodded and slapped Laredo amiably on the shoulder. “I'm glad we had this little talk. Now you go back to whatever you were doing, and I'll give Miss Dovie one last spin around the dance floor.”

Laredo didn't comment. He stood rigid and angry while the sheriff strolled away.

“Laredo?” Savannah said his name softly as she joined him. “Is there a problem?” The distress in her voice melted away his anger. Hennessey was only speaking his mind, prompted, of course, by Grady. The long hours he'd spent working with Roanie hadn't been enough to prove himself to Savannah's brother. But Laredo didn't imagine Grady was ever going to accept him, no matter what he did. Not that it was necessary, other than to ease Savannah's mind. The situation weighed heavily on her, and for that reason alone, it bothered Laredo.

“Everything's fine,” he told her.

“You sure?”

“Positive.” He took her hand and led her to the porch swing, then sat down beside her. After a few moments he slipped his arm around her shoulders and she rested her head against his chest. To hell with Grady Weston, Laredo decided. He was holding Savannah and he didn't give a damn
what
her older brother thought.

Despite his defiant attitude, Laredo had taken the sheriff at his word. Hennessey could easily make trouble for him. He wasn't looking to cause problems, but he wasn't going to run off with his tail dragging between his legs, either.

Savannah was quiet, and after a moment he assumed she'd gone to sleep. Content to hold her, Laredo entertained himself by watching the party, which was still in progress, although the numbers had dwindled considerably. He figured things must be winding down.

When the band took a break before their final set, Richard brought out his guitar. Taking advantage of the more or less captive audience, he started playing. A dozen people gathered around him. A few children, including Maggie, camped at his feet. A sing-along ensued, and Richard performed several of the songs he'd massacred a few nights earlier in the bunkhouse. Only this time he managed to do a respectable job of carrying a tune, and the words were recognizable.

Twenty minutes later the band returned, and the lead singer encouraged all the men to bring their sweethearts onto the floor. Laredo watched as Richard chose Ellie Frasier—and even managed to steal a kiss when he thought no one was looking. He didn't dance with Ellie long, though, changing partners and dancing with several elderly ladies and then with Maggie and a few of the other children still at the party. The little girls' delight at having the guest of honor pay them such attention sounded in their excited shrieks. The guy was smooth, Laredo gave him that.

“Is this the sweetheart dance?” Savannah asked him, lifting her head from his shoulder.

“That's what he said.”

She sighed deeply. Laredo had never been much of a ladies' man, but he knew what that sigh meant. Savannah wanted to dance the sweetheart dance with him, but she wouldn't ask. He had to be the one to invite her.

Damn, he wasn't any good at this romance stuff, but he hated to disappoint Savannah. Nor was he good at dancing. It always made him feel awkward and uncomfortable. Especially in front of an audience. And especially when it was this slow music.

Rather than disillusion her, though, Laredo stood and extended his hand in a courtly fashion. “May I have the honor of this dance?”

Her responding smile was worth any embarrassment he might bring on himself, Laredo decided. Savannah's beautiful blue eyes filled with happiness. “Does this mean I'm your sweetheart, Laredo Smith?” she asked softly.