Heart of Texas Series Volume 1: Lonesome Cowboy\Texas Two-Step\Caroline's Child (40 page)

“This discussion is over,” she said, jumping to her feet.

“Caroline, I didn't mean— Oh, hell, be angry if you want.” With an abrupt movement, he got out of the chair, leaving it to rock wildly. Once again he'd botched their conversation. “It appears you don't need any advice from me.”

“No, Grady, I don't.”

It damaged his pride that she'd so casually disregard his warning. “Fine, then, for all I care, you can marry Richard.” Not giving her a chance to respond, he stalked away, absolutely certain that any hope of a relationship was forever ruined.

His fears were confirmed less than an hour later when he left the barn and saw her again. She was in her car with the driver's window rolled down. Richard was leaning against the side of the vehicle, and the sound of their laughter rang in the twilight.

The unexpected twist of disappointment and pain caught Grady off guard. Well, that certainly answered that.

Caroline must have noticed him because Richard suddenly looked over his shoulder. Grady didn't stick around. It was too hard to pretend he didn't care when he damn well did. His stride was full of purpose as he crossed the yard and stormed into the house, sequestering himself in the office.

His emotions had covered the full range in a single day. He'd taken Caroline to lunch and afterward felt…ecstatic; there was no other word for it. Before dinner he'd been like a kid, thrilled to see her again so soon. Now, just a few hours later, he'd been thrown into despair, convinced beyond doubt that he'd lost whatever chance he might have had with her.

It was enough to drive a man to drink. He sat in the worn leather desk chair and pulled open the bottom file drawer. His father had kept a bottle of bourbon there for times when nothing else would do, and Grady had followed the same practice. The bottle was gone—which had happened before. Grady suspected Richard, with good reason, but at the moment he didn't really care. He wasn't much of a drinking man. A cold beer now and then suited him just fine, but he'd never enjoyed the hard stuff.

The knock on the office door surprised him. “Who is it?” he barked, not in the mood for company.

“Richard.” His brother didn't wait for an invitation but opened the door and sauntered in. He immediately made himself at home, claiming the only other chair in the room. He leaned back, locked his fingers behind his head and grinned like a silly schoolboy.

“So what's up with you and Caroline?” he asked.

Grady scowled. The last person he wanted to discuss with his brother was Caroline. “Nothing.”

His denial only served to fuel Richard's amusement. “Come on, Grady, I've got eyes in my head. It's obvious you've got the hots for her. Not that I blame you, man. She's one nice-looking woman.”

Grady didn't like Richard's tone of voice, but prolonging this conversation by arguing with him would serve no useful purpose. “Listen, Richard, I've got better things to do than sit around discussing Caroline Daniels with you.”

“I don't imagine it would take much to talk her into the sack, either. She's already been to bed with at least one man—what's a few more? Right?”

Grady ground his teeth in an effort to control his irritation. “I don't think it's a good idea for us to discuss Caroline.” He stood and walked over to the door and pointedly opened it.

“I wouldn't mind getting into her bed myself one of these days,” Richard went on.

Despite everything he'd promised himself, Grady saw red. He flew across the room and dragged his brother out of the chair, grabbing him by the front of his shirt.

Richard held up both hands. “Hey, hey, don't get so riled! I was only teasing.”

Grady's fingers ached with the strength of his grip. It took a moment to clear his head enough to release his brother.

“You don't want to talk about Caroline, fine,” Richard said, backing toward the door. “But you can't blame a guy for asking, can you?”

* * *

D
RIVING HOME
, Caroline realized she not only distrusted Richard Weston, but thoroughly disliked him. Before she'd left the Yellow Rose, he'd gone out of his way to let her know that Grady had asked Nell Bishop, a local widow, to the Cattlemen's Dance earlier in the summer. What was particularly meaningful about the information was that Caroline knew how hard Savannah had tried to convince Grady to invite
her.
He almost had. She remembered he'd come into the post office a few days before the dance, but within minutes they'd ended up trading insults. That was unfortunate. He
had
mentioned the dance, though, leaving her to wonder.

Their verbal exchanges were legendary. Only in the past couple of weeks had they grown comfortable enough with each other to manage a civil conversation.

Now this.

Caroline didn't believe Richard. She strongly suspected that almost everything out of his mouth was a lie. If the story about Nell
was
true, she would've heard about it. To the best of her knowledge Nell hadn't even attended the dance. Not that it was unusual for her to avoid social functions—it was widely known that Nell continued to grieve for Jake, the only man she'd ever loved. He'd been her high-school sweetheart, and their affection for each other had been evident throughout the years. Caroline had often wondered if Nell would remarry.

“Ask her.” Caroline spoke the words aloud without realizing it.

“Ask who, Mommy?” Maggie looked at her mother.

“A friend.” She left it at that.

“About what?”

“Nothing.” She smiled at her daughter and changed the subject.

As it turned out she had the opportunity to chat with Nell sooner than she'd expected. The following afternoon on her way home from work Caroline stopped at the local Winn-Dixie for a few groceries.

She collected what she needed and pushed her cart up to the checkout stand—behind Nell.

“Howdy, friend,” Nell said cheerfully. “Haven't seen you in a while.”

“Nell!” Caroline didn't disguise her pleasure. “How are you?”

“Great. I've been working hard on getting the word out that I'm turning Twin Canyons into a dude ranch. The brochures were mailed to travel agents last week.”

Caroline admired her ingenuity. “That's terrific.”

The grocery clerk slid Nell's purchases over the scanner, coming up with the total. She paid in cash, then glanced around. “Jeremy!” she called. “Emma.” She reached for the plastic bags, giving a good-natured shrug. “I warned those two not to wander off. I know exactly where to find them, too—the book section. They're both crazy about books, especially The Baby-sitters Club books and that new series of kids' Westerns by T. R. Grant. I can't buy them fast enough.”

Caroline recognized both series. T. R. Grant was the current rage; even Maggie had wanted Caroline to read her his books. Maggie was still a bit young for them, but it wouldn't be long before she devoured Grant's books and The Baby-sitters Club by herself.

“Have you got a moment?” Caroline asked, opening her purse to pay for her own groceries.

“Sure.” Nell waited while Caroline finished her transaction. “What can I do for you?”

As they walked toward the book display at the far end of the Winn-Dixie, Caroline mulled over the best way to approach the subject of Nell and Grady. She wasn't sure why she'd allowed Richard to upset her, especially when she believed it'd all been a lie. Not that she'd blame Grady for being attracted to Nell. In fact, at one time she'd believed they might eventually marry. They seemed right together somehow; both were ranchers and both had struggled against what seemed impossible odds.

In the back of her mind Caroline had always suspected that when the time was right, they'd discover each other. Grady and Jake had been good friends, and Grady had been a pall bearer at Jake's funeral. Grady and Nell were close in age and would make a handsome couple. Grady was an inch or two over six feet, with a broad muscular physique not unlike Jake's. There weren't many men who'd suit Nell physically, since she was nearly six feet herself.

“I hope you don't think I'm being nosy, but I heard a rumor…” Caroline blurted before she lost her nerve. This was even more embarrassing than she'd feared.

“About what?” Nell frowned.

Caroline drew a breath and held it until her lungs ached. “About you and Grady Weston.”

Nell frowned again. “Me and Grady?”

Caroline nodded.

“Grady's a friend,” Nell said. “I've always liked him and if I were ever to consider remarrying, I'd certainly think about Grady.”

Caroline broke eye contact. This wasn't what she'd wanted to hear.

“He's a good man and he'd make an excellent husband and father,” Nell continued, then asked a probing question of her own. “Is there any reason you're asking?”

“Not really.”

“He asked me to the dance last month,” Nell added, as if she'd suddenly remembered.

So it was true. Caroline's spirits sank.

“In fact, I received two invitations to the dance within a few hours.” This was said with a note of amusement.

“Two? Grady and who else?”

Nell's mouth widened in a smile. “You aren't going to believe this, but both Grady Weston and Glen Patterson asked me to the dance.”

“Glen?” That was a kicker, considering he was now engaged to Ellie Frasier. Those two were so deeply in love it was difficult to imagine that little more than a month ago Glen had invited Nell and not Ellie to the biggest dance of the year. In the end he'd gone by himself and then he'd practically come to blows with Richard over Ellie. Richard—always the spoiler.

“I don't know what was in the air that day,” Nell murmured. “Grady and Glen calling me up like that.”

“Did you go to the dance?”

“Briefly,” Nell said, “but Emma had an upset stomach that day. I made an appearance, said hello to some friends I don't see often and left shortly after the music started.”

“Grady was there,” Caroline said, fondly recalling their one dance. Ladies' choice, and she'd been the one to approach him. Those few short minutes in Grady's arms had been wonderful. Afterward she'd hoped he'd ask her to dance himself, but he'd wandered back to where he'd been sitting with Cal Patterson and hadn't spoken to her again. Caroline had felt bitterly disappointed.

“…any reason?” Nell asked.

Caroline caught only the last part of the question. “Reason?” she repeated.

“That you're asking about me and Grady?”

“Not really,” she said, then figured she owed her friend the truth. “He asked me to lunch the other day.”

“And you went?”

Caroline nodded.

“And you had a good time?”

“A great time,” Caroline admitted.

Nell shifted the weight of the groceries in her hands. “Listen, Caroline, if you're worried about there being anything romantic between me and Grady, don't give it another thought. Grady's one of the most honorable men I know, but—” her voice dipped with emotion “—I'm still in love with Jake.”

“Oh, Nell.” Caroline hugged her friend.

“Oh, damn it all,” Nell said, blinking furiously. “I've got to scoot. I'll see you soon, okay?”

“Sure.” It would be good to sit down and talk with her friend. Both their lives were so busy it was difficult to find the time.

“Jeremy. Emma.” Nell called her children again, and the two came running.

Caroline waved them off and headed toward the parking lot, deep in thought. So, what Richard had told her was true. This was what made him dangerous. He tossed in a truth now and then just to keep everyone guessing. But for once, she wished he'd been lying.

* * *

G
RADY HAD BEEN PENSIVE
ever since the night Caroline stayed for dinner, Savannah observed. He sat at the kitchen table, supposedly writing out an order for Richard to pick up at the feed store later that afternoon. But for the past five minutes, all he'd done was stare blankly into space.

Savannah had to bite her tongue. Laredo had repeatedly warned her against any further matchmaking efforts between her brother and Caroline, but he might as well have asked her to stop breathing. Grady was miserable and Caroline hadn't been any happier. If it was within her power to bring them together—these two people who were so obviously meant for each other—what possible harm could it do?

Considering that thought, Savannah poured her brother a fresh cup of coffee.

Grady glanced up and thanked her with an off-center smile.

“Something on your mind?” she asked. If he voluntarily brought up the subject, all the better.

“Nothing important,” he murmured and reached for the steaming mug. He raised it tentatively to his lips, then glanced at her as if tempted to seek her advice.