Brazen (25 page)

"Neither did I," Karen bit out.

In her heart, Karen had expected Michael to rush to
the hotel to see her just as soon as he got her note last
night. But it hadn't happened. Now here it was already
late in the morning, and still there had been no response
from him.

"Let's go out to breakfast. We can't just sit here waiting
forever for him to show up."

"Oh, yes I can," Karen said stubbornly. "You go ahead.
I'm going to stay here a little longer."

Dorothea realized then that her daughter needed some
time alone to deal with her troubled emotions. "All right, darling. I'll go over to the restaurant and have breakfast
on my own. I hope the food will be better than what they
served us for dinner last night. Do you want me to bring
you something?"

"No. I'm not hungry."

"I'll see you in a little while."

Left by herself in the hotel room, Karen paced back
and forth in growing agitation. She cursed Michael for not
coming for her immediately, and then she cursed herself
for caring.

How dare he treat her this way!

How dare he ignore her after she'd made this horrible
trip just to see him!

After a few minutes, Karen went to stand at the window.
She stared out at the miserable main street of the miserable town. Oh, how she missed Philadelphia! She longed
to be back home in civilized society. If she could have
arranged it, she would leave for Philadelphia that very
moment. But she couldn't.

Karen made up her mind right then and there that if
Michael hadn't shown up by noon, she was going to the
stage depot to book their return trip. She didn't know
where he was or what he was doing, but if he cared anything about her, he would have dropped everything and
come to her. The hours were passing, and she was still
waiting.

As Karen gazed despondently out the window, she saw
a cowboy riding up to the hotel. Something about him
held her attention, but she wasn't sure what it was.

When he dismounted and started inside, she finally realized the man was Michael.

Shock radiated through her.

The Michael she knew was a sophisticated gentleman.
The man who'd just entered the hotel looked like nothing
more than a lowly ranch hand.

Karen stood back from the window and turned to stare
at the hotel room door. Any moment he would be there,
knocking on it. Having just gotten a look at him, she
wasn't sure if she was excited about seeing him again or
dreading it.

Michael entered the Hard Luck Hotel to find Ernest at the
front desk.

"Good morning, Michael."

"Ernest," he said tersely, not looking forward to the encounter to come.

"It's about time you got here," Ernest said.

"So I understand."

"Your lady is upstairs in Room 203."

"My lady?" Michael repeated.

"Yes, sir. Your fiancee, Miss Whittington."

Michael stifled an inner groan. Casey had been right.
The news was all over town.

"Thanks, Ernest."

He wasn't going to waste time right then trying to set
the clerk straight. It was more important to set Karen
straight. He would take care of Ernest later.

Michael went up to Karen's room and knocked on the
door.

Despite her disappointment, Karen was tempted to run
to the door and throw it wide at the sound of his knock.

She controlled the impulse and asked calmly, "Yes?
Who is it?"

"It's me, Karen. It's Michael."

"Michael! At last." Karen opened the door to him.
"You're here finally!"

Without waiting for him to say a word, she forgot all
about caring how he was dressed or that he was so late
in coming to her. Instead, she launched herself straight
into his arms and kissed him passionately.

Michael was shocked by her kiss. He stood stock-still
for a minute, then took Karen by the upper arms and
pushed her away from him, ending the embrace.

"Karen, someone might come by.,,

"Oh "She managed to blush a bit as she took his
hand and drew him inside her room. She started to close
the door behind them to give them privacy, but he
stopped her.

"I wouldn't want anyone to question your reputation,"
Michael explained as he deliberately left the door open.

It made Karen angry that he didn't want to kiss her
more. They'd been apart for what seemed like ages. She
gave him a sweet smile instead of saying what she really
felt.

She eyed his cowboy attire but didn't remark on it. The
Michael standing before her bore little resemblance to the
sophisticated man she'd known in Philadelphia. She realized with a start that Michael was even wearing a gun
and holster! He looked almost primitive.

"To what do I owe this honor, Karen? Why are you
here?" he asked, ready to get this over with.

"When you left Philadelphia so abruptly without coming to see me, I was upset. I thought you'd be returning
right away, but when I didn't hear from you for so long,
I got worried. I spoke with your uncle, and he told me
where you'd gone. I thought you might need me here with
you," Karen explained. "I've missed you, Michael, and 1
can't wait for us to get back home."

Michael had known that confronting her wouldn't be
easy, but she was making it even more difficult than he'd
imagined. "I'm sorry about the way things have turned
out, Karen, but it looks like I won't be returning to Philadelphia."

"I know it won't be right away, but-"

"No. I won't be going back at all."

"You won't?" She stared at him, aghast. There she was,
standing before him, ready to throw herself into his arms,
and he was refusing her! Karen wanted to scream. "But-"

He quickly went on to explain, "My father was ambushed and seriously wounded."

"He was shot down?" She shuddered as the news emphasized her opinion of how uncivilized this place was.

"Yes."

"That's terrible. Who did it?"

"We still don't know."

"Dear God." In civilized Philadelphia, she was certain
the assailants would have been caught right away. She
wondered anew why anyone would want to live here.

"It's been a very hard time for my family."

"I'm sure it has, and that's why I came here. I knew you
needed me," she said ingratiatingly.

Michael had to disabuse her of that notion right away.
"There's nothing you can do, Karen. My father is paralyzed. He can't walk, so I have to stay and take over running the Circle D."

"No, you don't," she countered, dismissing his assertion
out of hand. She believed he would listen to her because
she was being logical, and her plan was, in her opinion,
brilliant. "There are many fine doctors back East, and I'm
sure they are far more qualified than any sawbones you
may have here. All you have to do is sell the ranch and
move your mother and father to Philadelphia with us.
Your mother came from there. I'm sure she wouldn't object, and surely you could find a physician there who
could help your father. If he is as bad off as you say he
is, his only hope is better medical care."

"That's not going to happen, Karen."

"But--" She couldn't believe Michael didn't want to do
what she suggested. It only made sense.

"My father wouldn't do it. The trip itself would probably
kill him, and he has no desire to leave the Circle D.He
loves the ranch."

"We could wait until he's stronger and then--"

"Karen." Michael realized the moment had come. He'd
tried to be gentle, but it wasn't working. He was going to
have to be blunt with her. "There's no point in going on
about this. This isn't just about my father anymore.
There's something else I have to tell you. Something you
don't know."

"What?" She couldn't imagine what he was talking
about.

"Karen, I won't be going back East with you, no matter
what happens with my father. Since my return, I've become engaged."

To say that Karen was shocked by the news of Michael's
engagement was an understatement.

"You're engaged to someone else?" she demanded,
staring at him as if he'd suddenly grown two heads.

"Yes, to Casey Turner. We're getting married next
week."

"Casey Turner?" She stared at him aghast. Never in all
the time she'd known him had she heard him mention
anyone named Casey Turner, and now- Now! He was
going to marry her! Next week! "Who is she?"

"The woman I love." He wanted to convince Karen
once and for all that there was no future for the two of
them.

"What about us?"

"What about us, Karen? We saw each other socially, but there was never anything more than that to our relationship."

"I thought we were going to be married when you returned from your trip to Europe with Nick," she insisted.

"I never told you I loved you, and I never proposed."
Michael was blunt. "I'm sorry if you had the wrong impression about my feelings for you."

"But you've only been back here for a matter of weeks."
In her mind she was trying to calculate if the other woman
could be pregnant. "How can you be marrying her so
quickly?"

"Casey and I have known each other for years. Seeing
her again after all the time I've been away made me realize how much she means to me." Michael was determined that Karen should believe his marriage to Casey
was a love match.

"And I mean nothing to you, Michael? After I made this
trip out here just to see you, to let you know how much
I care about you." Though she was furious, she forced
herself to cry, hoping her tears would make a difference
with him.

"I'm sorry, Karen."

Michael knew it was time to go. There was nothing
more for him to say. He turned and left the room, shutting
the door behind him.

Karen stared at the closed door for a moment, then her
fury erupted. She grabbed the nearest thing the pitcher
from the washstand and threw it as hard as she could.
It crashed against the door and shattered.

Michael had just reached the steps when he heard the
crash.

He kept on going.

Karen had never suffered a rejection before. Wealthy sophisticate that she was, she had always been the one who
ended relationships. She couldn't let Michael just walk
away from her. She wouldn't allow it! Karen was proud,
and she had no intention of just giving up and going back
home. Somehow she was going to find a way to make
Michael hers.

"Karen, dear, I'm back," Dorothea began as she started
to enter the room. She stopped when she saw the broken
china on the floor. "Oh, my! What happened? Did you
have an accident?"

"No. Michael was here."

"And?" Dorothea looked from the shattered china to
her daughter.

"And he informed me that he's become engaged to
another woman."

Dorothea understood how devastated Karen must be
and immediately went to take her in her arms. "I'm so
sorry, darling. We made this whole horrible trip for nothing.,,

"Michael may be engaged, but he's not married yet,"
Karen went on in a fiercely determined voice.

"What are you planning to do? Don't you think we
should go home?"

"Oh, no. 1 didn't come all the way out here to just give
up without a fight. There has to be some way I can see him again. Some way I can spend time with him."

"Well, you know, while I was eating in the restaurant,
I did hear some of the townsfolk talking about a church
social and dance this Saturday night. If you want a chance
to show Michael what he's going to be missing, that would
be your opportunity. But there is one thing I want you to
think seriously about."

"What's that?"

"Do you really love Michael, or are you just acting out
of anger? 1 know we came here to see him in the hope
that the two of you would become engaged. You won't
be opening yourself up to further embarrassment, will
you?"

"Right now I'm not sure how I feel about Michael. I am
furious with him for doing this to me, but love him? I don't
know."

"I understand. I know you were set on marrying him,
but everything has changed."

"Yes, it has. Michael also told me that he has to stay
here in Texas and take over the day-to-day running of his
father's ranch."

"Oh, then maybe it's fortunate all this happened. You
certainly don't want to live here, do you?" Dorothea
asked.

"No. I told him he should sell the ranch and move back
to Philadelphia with his parents." Karen went on to tell
Dorothea about his father's condition. "But Michael
wouldn't even consider leaving."

"Let's see what Saturday brings."

"Do you think he'll attend?"

"The lady I spoke with at the restaurant seemed to think
the whole town would show up. So we'll be there, too.
Maybe when Michael sees you in a social setting, the way
he's used to seeing you, it will remind him of how very
wonderful you are and what he'll be missing."

"In the meantime, I want to find out all I can about his
fiancee."