“This is very nice,” Gordon said. Then he frowned. Something was obviously bothering Miles. During their last conversation his son had seemed overworked and suffering from stress; he’d asked about the cruise, then left as soon as Karen phoned. Gordon couldn’t help wondering if there was a problem with his son’s marriage.
“How’s Karen?” Gordon asked, attempting a less-than-subtle approach.
Miles glanced up from the menu. “Good.”
“The kids?”
“Fine.”
The waiter approached and they both ordered the baked salmon with pecan crust and a glass each of a Niagara chardonnay.
“Actually I asked you to lunch this afternoon to talk about you,” Miles said, pausing when the waiter returned with the wine. “I never thought I’d be having this kind of conversation with my own father, but apparently it’s necessary.”
Gordon squared his shoulders, gazing at Miles over the rim of his glass. “Is something wrong?”
“You tell me.”
“What in heaven’s name leads you to assume I have a problem?” He was feeling better about life than he had in years.
Miles took a moment to smooth his linen napkin across his lap. “Then let me be frank,” his son said. “Are you involved with a woman?”
How Miles knew about Nessa, Gordon could only guess. “As a matter of fact, I am.” He fully intended to tell Miles about Nessa, and would have the night he’d stopped by the house if his son hadn’t left so suddenly.
“That woman in Texas?” His mouth was pinched and his tone disapproving.
Gordon tensed, disliking his son’s tone. He didn’t understand how Miles could object to Nessa, since he’d never even met her. “She has a name, son.”
“I already know her name.”
“You do?”
“I know more than you think I do, Father,” Miles continued stiffly. “I happened to see the telephone bill on your desk the other night. You two seem to have quite a thing going.”
Gordon wasn’t accustomed to being chastised by his son, and he didn’t appreciate Miles’s attitude.
“Are you planning an affair with a married woman?”
Gordon had never heard anything more outrageous in his life. “Have you gone mad?”
“What else am I to believe?”
Gordon nearly laughed out loud when he realized the misunderstanding. “You think I’m involved with Dovie Hennessey, don’t you? It might interest you to know it isn’t Dovie I’ve been phoning every night. My lady friend’s name is Nessa Boyd, and she’s Dovie’s sister-in-law.”
Miles frowned at Gordon as if he didn’t believe him. “Why didn’t you mention her before now?”
“Nessa and I decided not to say anything,” Gordon explained, “not at first, anyway. It’s a bit embarrassing to feel this strongly about someone you’ve spent such a short time with, and…well, Dovie doesn’t know.” Gordon paused when it became apparent Miles wasn’t willing to accept his explanations. “I thought you wanted me to see women,” Gordon said. “Wasn’t that the point of sending me on a cruise?”
“Yes, but I’d prefer it if you’d chosen a widow.”
“Nessa is a widow.”
“So you say, but ask yourself this, Dad. What kind of woman asks you not to mention you’re having a relationship? There’s got to be a reason. She doesn’t want her sister-in-law to know you’re—”
“Talking. That’s all we’ve done,” Gordon said. Miles’s assumptions were beginning to anger him.
“Have you had her checked out?” Miles asked.
“I’m not buying a used car!” Gordon’s anger turned to fury.
“In this day and age—” Miles started, but Gordon cut him off.
“That might be how you handle your personal affairs, but I refuse to act in such an underhanded way.”
“Don’t be stupid, Dad. She has to know you’re a wealthy man.”
“She knows nothing of the sort.”
A muscle twitched in Miles’s jaw. “You’re going to do it, aren’t you?”
Gordon glared at his son. “Do what?”
“Marry her. Promise me you won’t do anything that stupid without talking to me first.”
Their meals arrived, but unfortunately Gordon’s appetite was gone. He placed his napkin on the table and sat back in his chair.
“Now what?” Miles said, then noticed the discarded napkin. He motioned at Gordon with his fork. “For heaven’s sake, eat your lunch.”
“It’s been a long time since anyone’s treated me like an ill-behaved child, and I refuse to put up with it now. You’re not my mother and you’re certainly not my guardian.”
“No, I’m your son, and I’m doing everything I can to stop you from making an ass of yourself.”
“Then I suggest you worry more about being one yourself.” Before their argument could escalate further, Gordon stood and walked out of the restaurant.
This was the day Nessa had dreaded for weeks. She’d put off telling Dovie about Gordon much longer than she should have. Really, it was ridiculous to have worried about it at all. She waited until Saturday afternoon, when she knew Dovie would be home by herself.
Ever since Dovie and Frank had returned from their European vacation, Nessa had avoided her sister-in-law. That on its own was silly. How much easier everything would have been if she’d told Dovie the first time they’d talked. Now she had only herself to blame for these feelings of guilt.
Nessa had purposely timed her visit so Frank would be away from the house. He’d gotten more and more involved with organizing activities at the seniors’ center and spent much of his free time with his friends.
Dovie answered the doorbell almost instantly. “Nessa, come on in! I’ve hardly seen you in weeks.” She held the screen door open wide, then led her into the kitchen. “Would you like coffee or tea?”
“Do you have anything stronger?”
“Iced tea?”
Nessa laughed. “I was thinking more along the lines of a rum and Coke.” Under normal circumstances she wasn’t much of a drinker, but she needed it just then to bolster her courage.
Dovie hesitated. “Any reason you’re looking to sample the hard stuff in the middle of the afternoon?”
“As a matter of fact, there is. Oh, Dovie, I should have done this long ago.”
Her sister-in-law dragged the step stool to the refrigerator, climbed up and reached into the cupboard above, bringing down an unopened bottle of rum. It was the dark variety; Nessa suspected Dovie had purchased it on the cruise when she’d met Gordon. Obviously hard liquor didn’t see much use in this household.
Dovie poured a liberal dose of the rum into two glasses, then opened a bottle of cola and added that. “Okay,” she said, holding one glass and handing the other to Nessa. “I’m ready. Tell me.”
The words tumbled out of Nessa’s mouth. “I’m in love with Gordon Pawling.”
“Who?” Dovie asked with a frown.
“Gordon Pawling. You met him on the cruise ship a few years back. He stopped here to see you while you and Frank were in Europe and well…Gordon and I’ve been talking by phone ever since.”
“I see.” Dovie sat down on the stool and gave her an odd look.
Oh, my, this was worse than Nessa had feared. “I didn’t mean to fall in love with him,” she blurted. “It just happened. And I do love him, Dovie, really and truly.”
“Gordon Pawling,” Dovie repeated as if she had trouble taking it in.
“He’s asked me to meet him in Kansas City next week.”
“Why Kansas City?” Dovie asked. She still hadn’t tasted her drink, but Nessa had downed nearly half of hers.
“It’s neutral ground for us both. He’s away from his home and family and friends, and I’m away from mine. We need to see each other again—to test how we really feel.”
“You love him?”
Nessa nodded. “If he asked me to marry him—and, Dovie, I pray he does—I’ll leap at the offer.?
??
“Good for you.” Dovie hugged her.
“You don’t mind?”
“Good grief, why should I? I’d forgotten Gordon’s name, but I do remember him. He’s a real sweetheart.”
“I think so, too,” Nessa whispered. “But when you first realized who I meant, you got the oddest expression on your face.”
Dovie blushed. “I’m afraid I was beginning to believe Sylvia.”
“Sylvia?” Nessa couldn’t imagine what her daughter had said to Dovie.
“She thinks you’re having an affair and frankly, I was beginning to have my suspicions, too.”
Nessa smiled. “Well, now you know. But we’ve only met once—the day he came to the shop—and then it was just three or four hours. That’s why we’re meeting in Kansas City. We need to know if we’ll feel the same way when we see each other again.”
“All I want is for you to be happy,” Dovie told her.
Nessa hugged her sister-in-law. Happiness was what she wanted, too, but it seemed to be getting more and more complicated.
The last communication from Val Langley had come at the beginning of July. It was a perfumed note informing Travis of her arrival date—today. Nell had been scrubbing and cleaning the house all week. No easy task with a pair of two-year-olds underfoot, plus fourteen-year-old Jeremy and twelve-year-old Emma. While she might not be able to compete with Val in looks and sophistication, Nell was an excellent housekeeper. If ever there was a time she wanted her homemaking skills to shine, it was now.
Homemade bread and cinnamon rolls lined the kitchen countertop. A load of cotton-blend sheets hung from the clothesline. The windows sparkled, the floors shone and a bouquet of fresh flowers decorated the kitchen table.
“I wish you’d relax,” Travis muttered as he came into the kitchen. He’d spent his morning writing, with frequent stops to refill his coffee mug. “You don’t need to do anything to impress Val.”
“I’m not doing this for Val,” she protested.
Travis eyed her quizzically as though he doubted the truth of that.
“I’m doing this for me,” Nell said. “Val’s going to arrive looking like she walked off the pages of Vogue, and I’m going to look—and feel—like a country bumpkin.”
“I’ll have you know I’m madly in love with the woman you’re calling a bumpkin.”
“Good, and don’t you forget it.”
The front doorbell chimed, and Nell felt panic rise up in her. They weren’t expecting any dude-ranch visitors at the moment, and all their friends and neighbors knew to come to the back door. It had to be Travis’s ex-wife.
“Would you stop?” Travis groaned. “Val has nothing on you.”
He said it with such vehemence, she was inclined to believe that he believed it, anyway. The twins started to fuss, and grabbing her youngest daughter and son, Nell held their hands, pulling them with her as she followed Travis to the door.
As she suspected, the visitor was Valerie Langley. The woman was everything Nell had feared: petite, slender and sophisticated. Picture-perfect in what was obviously a designer suit, which probably cost more than Nell’s entire clothing budget for the century. This woman was every wife’s basic nightmare.
“Travis!” Val cried and threw her arms around his neck. You’d think she’d waited years for precisely this moment, Nell thought sardonically. “How good it is to see you again.”
She noticed that Travis extricated himself from the hug with a haste that bordered on rudeness.
Val smiled warmly at Nell and the children. “This must be Nell and those precious twins.”
“Hello,” Nell said, struggling to hold on to Dianna who wanted only to escape. Devon stared solemnly at the other woman as if she were an angel who’d graced the earth with her presence.
“Would you like something cool to drink?” Nell asked once she’d collected her wits.
“That would be delightful. You wouldn’t believe how long it took me to get the rental car and find my way here. You guys don’t exactly live close to anything civilized, do you?” She laughed lightly. “You’ll see to my bags, won’t you, Travis?” she said, trailing Nell into the kitchen.
“Something wrong with your arms?” Travis asked as he went to the kitchen, too.
“Travis,” Nell murmured, secretly glad but preferring that her husband display at least minimal politeness.
“Fine. I’ll take your things to the bunkhouse,” he told his ex-wife.
“Bunkhouse?” Val repeated. “But I thought this was a dude ranch.”
“It is,” Travis assured her. “All guests sleep in the bunkhouse, unless they’re driving the herd, in which case they’re required to sleep under the stars.”
Val pinched her lips together. “I’m sure the bunkhouse will be just fine.”
How she really felt about accepting accommodation in the bunkhouse they’d probably never know, Nellmused, smiling to herself.
“I’m sure it will,” Travis told her, his voice cool. “The price includes two meals a day.”
“I’m grateful you were willing to put me up,” Val assured them both. “You’d think a town this size would have a few more options than a bed-and-breakfast and a dude ranch out in the boonies.”
“That’s what makes it a dude ranch,” Travis said, not bothering to hide his sarcasm.
“I’ll get you some iced tea,” Nell told the other woman, and headed for the refrigerator.
“My,” Val said, glancing about, “you’re certainly the…domesticated type.”
“Well, I do bake all our own bread,” Nell said. What had made her feel proud only a short while ago left her feeling gauche and old-fashioned now.
“How…quaint.”
“Some women are willing to invest that kind of time and love in their families,” Travis said.
“Ouch.” Val spoke out of the side of her mouth. “I think that little barb was intended for me.”
Nell grinned, pouring Val a glass of tea. She had every intention of clearing the air before Jeremy and Emma returned from an outing with their grandmother. She didn’t want her two oldest children exposed to the hostile undercurrents that were bound to continue if Travis and Val went on exchanging insults. “I’m hoping we can be friends, Val.”
“That would be nice,” Val agreed, but she sounded as though she considered it unlikely.
“I’ll show you to the bunkhouse,” Travis said. “It has a communal bath and a two-seater outhouse.”
“Travis,” Nell protested, then turned to Val and added, “We don’t have any other guests currently, so you won’t be sharing the showers. There’s no need to use the outhouse, either. You can use the bathroom here.”
Val looked vastly relieved as she drank her tea. Putting down her glass, she announced, “I believe I’ll go freshen up. What time would you like me for dinner?”
“We eat a whole lot earlier than eight,” Travis informed her.
“Six, if that’s convenient,” Nell said, glowering at her husband.
“I’ll be here with bells on,” Val promised.
“We don’t dress for dinner,” Travis said. He reached for a bread stick and munched on it loudly. “I suggest you leave the bells in your suitcase.”
Nell waited until Valerie and Travis had left the house before quickly making the twins’ lunch. After that, she sat in the rocking chair with them for a few minutes before putting them to bed for their naps. Travis returned just as she finished rocking them to sleep. He carried Dianna and she took Devon. They placed the sleeping children in their beds and quietly tiptoed out of the room.
“Travis, what’s gotten into you?” Nell asked. “You were so rude to her.”
“I didn’t like her attitude toward you.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself.” Her protective feeling toward Travis’s first wife came as a surprise. She hadn’t expected to like Valerie, but she sensed a vulnerability beneath the polished exterior. “Don’t be so hard on her.” r />
Travis sighed. “I guess she’s not so bad.”
“You know, I think she has a strong need to impress others, which usually stems from insecurity.”
Travis nodded. “Seeing her now makes me wonder how I could ever have loved her. I find it hard to believe we were once married.”
At the moment Nell was wondering what her husband had ever seen in her, compared to the beautiful Valerie.
“She asked if you and I would set aside some time this evening to chat with her,” Travis said.
“About what?” Nell couldn’t help being curious.
“I’m not really sure. She asked about Grady and Savannah. I can’t imagine why she’d come all this way to meet them. Surely it couldn’t have anything to do with Richard, not this long after the trial.”
“I thought she wanted to know about the hill country and Bitter End.”
“So she said, but now I wonder if that was only an excuse to come to Promise. She hasn’t mentioned it yet.”
Nell shrugged. “Then why do you think she’s here?”
“Well, she’s after something,” Travis murmured thoughtfully. “And it sure as hell isn’t me. I know her better than that,” he said in response to Nell’s anguished look.
“If she’s interested in anything about me, it’s the success I’ve had,” he told his wife. “The money I’ve made. Not me.”
“Good thing, because she’d have one hell of a fight on her hands.”
Travis’s laughter filled the kitchen, and he slipped his arms around Nell’s waist and kissed her in a way that made her grateful she was a married woman.
“Travis,” she whispered, her eyes closed, “what was that for?”
“I love you, Nell, and I want to be very sure you know it.”
“I do.” She supposed her feelings were the same as any second wife’s would be after meeting wife number one. Perhaps a bit more complicated, seeing that Val was light-years ahead of her in the beauty department. It helped that Travis cherished her enough to want to reassure her.
“I don’t know why Val’s here,” Travis whispered, holding Nell close. “I just don’t know.”