Blue Mist of Morning (4 page)

"Well, Kirt, you said someone had given you a tip on some
foreign investments," Ty said at last. "Why don't you tell me more
about it."

"Oh, don't you dare, Kirt," Millicent commanded, swinging
her eyes around to Ty. "Really, darling, must we start discussing
business already? You're going to spend most of the weekend going over
the details of that shopping center purchase anyway, so…"

"I bought the shopping center a month ago," Kirt corrected
her imperiously. "This weekend, we're discussing another apartment
complex."

"Whatever. It's all deadly dull," Millicent drawled, then
gave Ty a beguiling smile. "Surely you don't have to start talking
business right this minute, do you?"

"Since Kirt never seems inclined to come to my office to
discuss business, we have quite a lot to discuss," Ty responded
matter-of-factly. "It's been quite some time since I've brought him up
to date on all his investments."

Millicent giggled rather foolishly. "Well, so what? You
might as well be speaking Greek when you talk to him about business
anyway. I'm sure he's quite content to let you handle everything for
him."

"I would like to be brought up to date," Kirt protested,
as he tried to light a long, fat cigar. "My financial investments are
complex."

Watching as he clamped the cigar between his teeth,
Millicent sniffed. "Oh, do stop trying to act like an entrepreneur. You
don't know much more about finances than I do. Ty does all the work for
you. He finds all the profitable investments."

"Even so, Kirt should know about the investments I make,"
Ty answered, before Kirt had a chance to make an indignant reply. "It's
his money and property we're talking about. I only manage it."

"Yes, darling, I get the point," Millicent countered,
pursing her mauve-glossed lips into a silly little pout. "But surely we
can just chat awhile before you begin discussing business."

Anne detected the barely perceptible tightening of Ty's
jaw and the hint of an impatient gleam that flared for a second in his
blue eyes, but at last, he shook his head resignedly and gave the other
woman an indulgent smile. "And what would you like to chat about?"

"Ooh, well, I just have scads of gossip to tell," she
whispered conspiratorially with a deep-throated chuckle. Patting the
sofa cushions beside her, she crooked one finger, beckoning him to her.
"Come and sit with me, darling, while I tell you about Scooter and
Tippie Bedford. They're clients of yours, aren't they? Well, you'll
never believe what I heard about them the other day! Nancy told
me…"

A half hour later, Anne heaved a sigh of relief when they
moved to the dining room. After doing justice to Ellie's trout
amandine, rice pilaf and tiny garden peas, she felt considerably
better, though somewhat sleepy. Sipping her white wine, she closed her
ears to Millicent's inane chatter and relaxed… until she
felt the hand descend on her knee. Unfortunately, she was seated next
to Kirt, and though he had brushed his elbow against her several times
during the meal, he hadn't actually laid a hand on her till now. She
stiffened, and when he suddenly squeezed her thigh just above her knee,
she reacted instinctively. Reaching down, she picked up his hand and
flung it from her. His knuckles hit the bottom of the table with a
resounding thump, and she felt herself blushing furiously.

Her eyes darted up and met Ty's, and he actually laughed.
Or at least he started to, then changed it to a cough. Pressing a snowy
white linen napkin to his mouth, he hid a smile, but amusement danced
in his eyes as they held Anne's. Obviously, he realized exactly what
had happened, though Mike and Millicent appeared thoroughly confused.

"What was that thumping noise?" Millicent questioned.
"Don't tell me you have ghosts in the house, Ty. That thump sounded as
if it came from under the table, just like the tapping I heard at a
séance I attended several weeks ago. I must confess I was really
scared. Nancy's medium conducts her stances in an old house on Front
Street, and it was really a terribly depressing place."

By now, Ty's amusement was becoming infectious. Anne had
to fight back a smile, no easy accomplishment when she glanced at Kirt
and found him massaging his knuckles and wearing a petulant scowl. He
made no attempt to touch her again, however, so she was able to enjoy
the raspberry torte Ellie served for dessert.

When they returned to the living room for coffee, it was
past nine o'clock. The long day and the hours of driving unfamiliar,
winding roads were combining to make Anne weary. She was relieved when
Ty announced that it was too late to start their business discussion.
They would make faster progress in the morning when everyone was
well-rested.

His announcement pleased Millicent immensely. Paying Kirt
scant attention and pointedly ignoring Anne, she focused all her energies on Ty and Mike.
Obviously a woman who enjoyed trying to impress attractive men, she
told them about the ballet troupe her women's club wanted to sponsor
and dropped the names of several important artists and sculptors she
knew. All the while, she included Mike by touching his hand
occasionally, but it was Ty she seemed more intent on impressing.

All in all, it was a boring evening, but just as Anne
thought she was surely going to fall asleep in her chair, there was a
commotion out in the foyer. A moment later a girl of about eighteen
sauntered into the living room. Anne recognized the pretty teenager as
Ty's younger sister Jenny, whom she had met once at the office. On that
occasion she had seemed a nice enough girl. Tonight, however, something
must have been bothering her, judging by the rather defiant expression
on her face. Languidly, she strolled across the room, her hands slipped
into the back pockets of snugly fitting designer jeans. "Surprise,
everybody," she said liltingly, stopping beside Anne's chair. "Guess
you didn't expect to see me here, did you, Ty?"

If Ty was surprised, he concealed it admirably. Subjecting
his sister to a long, steady stare, he asked calmly, "What's brought
you up here, Jenny? I thought you planned to spend the weekend with
your friend Beth. Wasn't she having a big party?"

Jenny turned up her nose rather disdainfully. "I changed
my mind about going. My friends are really silly sometimes. They're
beginning to bore me." Running her fingers through her hair, she
abruptly changed the subject. "The snow's really coming down out there.
But would you believe I made it up here in less than two and a half
hours?"

"And how did you accomplish that daring feat?" Ty asked
flatly, though his hardening expression conveyed disapproval. "Surely
you didn't try driving through this snowstorm in your MG?"

"No. I borrowed Charlie's jeep. And I think maybe you
should have borrowed one too, considering what happened to the
Mercedes. I can't believe
you
, of all people,
drove off into a ditch."

"He didn't," Anne spoke up compulsively. "I was driving."

"Oh, really?" Sounding almost disappointed, Jenny smiled
sardonically at her brother. "Well, I should have known you weren't
responsible. You never make mistakes, do you, Ty?"

Though Ty ignored her slightly sarcastic tone, he folded
his arms across his broad chest, watching her intently. "I have a
feeling you're going to wish you'd gone to Beth's party, after all. I'm
afraid you're going to be much more bored up here. We're going to be
discussing business all weekend."

Shrugging, Jenny ambled across the room and trailed her
fingers along the mahogany-topped bar as she walked behind it. Her
eyes, as blue as her brother's, seemed to be issuing a challenge as she
looked back at him. "I'd like a drink, but I suppose you'll insist I
have something insipid like a soft drink or fruit juice?"

"You know the answer to that," Ty replied, his voice
deceptively soft, as impatience tightened his jaw. "Have a ginger ale."

Jenny glowered at him. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather
have nothing at all than have that," she proclaimed with a rebellious
toss of her head. When her brother simply ignored her belligerence and
turned back to Millicent, Jenny moved restlessly around the room.

Anne watched her, noticing the slight downward curve of
her mouth and suspecting that something more serious than a mere tiff
with her older brother was causing her unhappiness. Her tension seemed
nearly tangible. Wandering around the room, she picked up a brass
statuette, then put it back down on a side table with more force than
was necessary. Moving on, she stopped for a moment to stare morosely at
the snow still falling outside the glass-enclosed room. Twirling a
strand of her long dark hair, she prodded the nap of the plush carpet
with her toe and sighed deeply, as if she didn't quite know what to do
with herself.

Sensing that an underlying sadness had brought on the
girl's rebellious behavior, Anne felt a rush of compassion for her,
then realized she was not the only person in the room who was surveying
Jenny with interest. Leaving his chair, Kirt Callen strolled across the
room to where she stood. Glancing over his shoulder at Ty and finding
himself unobserved, he whispered something into Jenny's ear, then
pressed the cut-glass tumbler he carried into her hand.

For a second, Jenny looked surprised. Then, giving Kirt a
conspiratorial smile, she turned so that her brother couldn't see what
she was doing and took a large swallow of the amber-colored liquid.
Though her face suddenly became flushed, she managed to suppress a
cough and forced herself to take another smaller sip of the drink,
before handing the glass back to Kirt.

As he deliberately brushed his hand over Jenny's during
the exchange, Anne gritted her teeth, feeling a nearly overwhelming
desire to get up and push him through one of the huge plate glass
windows. During the five minutes that followed, unfortunately, that
desire intensified Playboy that he was, he took full advantage of
Jenny's obvious discontent, despite the fact that he was far too old
for her. More disturbing than that was the realization that Jenny
seemed to welcome his attentions. As he talked softly to her and
occasionally touched her face and hair, she became more animated,
obviously flattered by what he was saying and too young to see what a
fraud he was.

Anne looked at Ty, hoping he would notice what was
happening and do something to get Jenny out of Kirt's clutches. But
Millicent, babbling away non-stop, was sitting forward on the sofa,
blocking Ty's view of his sister. With an inward sigh, Anne turned back
to watch Jenny again. A frown knitted her brow as she saw Kirt slip the
girl his glass again. After taking a sip, Jenny glanced surreptitiously
over her shoulder. Her eyes met Anne's, and as she apparently decided
Anne's frown conveyed disapproval of her, she stiffened her shoulders
defiantly. Her blue eyes glittered icily, issuing a silent challenge as
she moved forward one step.

"Well, well, Miss Fairchild, I guess you're enjoying
seeing how the other half lives," she said loudly enough for everyone
in the room to hear. "Or are you feeling a little out of place?" She
attempted an encouraging smile that failed miserably. "You shouldn't
feel uncomfortable, you know, just because Millicent's all decked out
in an expensive designer original and you're dressed in your plain
little black skirt and off-the-rack blouse."

Though Anne heard Ty's muffled imprecation, she didn't
seek his help. Being a secretary for five years had taught her how to
deal with rudeness, and she was quite capable of handling Jenny
herself. As she touched the collar of her pristine white blouse, she
gave the girl one of her warmest smiles. "Oh, do you like my blouse? I
think it's nice, too. And would you believe I got it on sale for half
price?"

For a fleeting instant Jenny seemed startled that her
attempt to embarrass Anne had failed, but she recovered quickly. With a
disgruntled sniff, she turned around to stare out the window again.

At least the incident had made Ty aware of Kirt's interest
in his sister, and he ended their private little discussion
immediately. Without being the least bit obvious, he made certain Kirt
was drawn into the conversation he was having with Millicent, so that
finally the other man had no choice except to leave Jenny and return to
his chair.

After that, the time dragged by, at least for Anne. Jenny
plopped down on a bar stool and stared sullenly at the floor, while
Mike tried valiantly to keep his eyes from fluttering shut. Realizing
he must be finding Millicent as boring as she was, Anne smiled to
herself and shifted restlessly in her chair. Finally, she could stand
the woman's inane chatter no longer and resolved to be the first to
make her excuses and go up to bed.

Standing, she smiled politely at Ty. "If you'll excuse me,
Mr. Manning, I think I'll go upstairs now. It's been a long day."

His gaze narrowed and he intently surveyed her face for a
moment before finally nodding. Even as Anne left the room, she felt he
was still watching her, though she had no idea why he should be. She
finally decided weariness was making her over-imaginative. Yawning
behind one hand, she climbed the stairs and was halfway down the hall
to her room, when Ty called her name.

She stopped and turned, watching him approach with a
questioning smile. Her smile faded slowly as she saw the grim
expression on his face.

"I want to apologize for my sister's rudeness, since she's
in no mood to apologize for herself," he announced abruptly, his
magnetic blue eyes piercing the gray luminosity of hers. "I hope she's
not the reason you decided to come upstairs."

"Oh no," Anne assured him honestly. "I really am tired.
Jenny didn't upset me. I could see something was bothering her."

Massaging the back of his neck with one lean hand, Ty
nodded. "She's going through a difficult time right now but, still,
that's no excuse for her behavior."