People Will Talk (13 page)

Stopping in the open doorway, Nora saw them.
Bret stood by the corral gate, screwdriver in hand as he tinkered
with the gate catch. Standing close enough to breathe the same air
was Cissy Burton, encased in tight jeans and a skimpy knit
top.

"You're so handy," she said, giggling and
smirking at him.

"Yes, ma'am," he winked as he continued his
work. "I have all kinds of talents."

''I'm glad Daddy finally got around to cleaning
his office. Bringing back that report he borrowed from you gives me
a good excuse to visit even if I do have to stop by four more
ranches. He's terrible about borrowing things." She pouted
prettily.

Bret straightened, grinning as he shut and
opened the gate latch to check his work. "You won't mind running
your dad's errands. It'll just give you a chance to flirt with all
the ranch hands around here, you wicked heartbreaker."

Cissy giggled again. Bret's laughter joined
hers, low and easy as he went on adjusting the gate.

Nora stood in the doorway, a sick feeling in
the pit of her stomach. She'd known he was this way with women.
Bret Maddock, the town risk-taker, horse race champion and heart
slayer.

She'd always known he was a flirt. Every woman
in town knew that. Last night hadn't meant anything special to him,
it was clear. That fact should have comforted her. She was the one
who had wanted to avoid complications.

But as she stood there watching him flirt with
Cissy Burton, of all people, she wanted to throw up. Of course, his
warm, flirtatious words meant nothing more than the bantering and
sexual innuendo he shared with any willing, attractive
woman.

He'd never promised her anything, never told
her he loved her, never said she meant more to him than a roll in
the hay.

That was how she wanted it, she reminded
herself furiously. So why did she want to hurt him at this moment?
God, she'd let him get to her, let him come to mean something.
She'd made the stupid mistake she'd sworn never to make
again.

Nora took a step forward, and Bret's head
turned toward her.

"Nora." His smile welcomed her and she found
herself struggling with an overwhelming impulse to smash his teeth
in.

Cissy glanced over, another smirk crossing her
face. "That was some party you missed last night, Nora. Richard is
a wonder on the dance floor," she finished , with
satisfaction.

Richard could have made love to Cissy on the
floor of the VFW hall for all Nora cared. Not with her world
splintering around her. Without saying a word, she turned away,
blindly heading back into the barn.

"Nora," Bret called. "I didn't know you had
lessons today."

She swiveled around automatically.

"I don't have any," she spoke for the first
time, her voice feeling rusty in her throat. ''I'm just taking
Chessie out."

"Hang on a minute and I'll go with you," he
offered. "This gate is almost finished."

Cissy glanced between the two of them,
obviously unsure how to interpret the interchange.

"No, thanks," Nora said stiffly. ''I'd rather
ride alone." She spun on her heel and left the doorway.

"My! How rude." Cissy's voice followed
her.

Bret said something to Cissy, his response too
muffled to hear. Nora reached Chessie's stall and quickly saddled
the mare.

Absorbed in her need to get away and try to
make sense of the emotions jumbling in her, Nora barely noticed
footsteps echoing in the barn, followed by the revving of an
engine. After securing Chessie's girth, she took the reins to lead
the horse out of the barn.

Bret stood in the opening. "Are you
okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, glancing at him just long
enough to register an uncertain expression on his face. A few more
steps and she was outside, Chessie dancing beside her.

With trembling hands, she mounted the horse and
urged her away from the barn. Please don't come after me, she
prayed.

Almost unconsciously, she took the opposite
direction from the way they'd ridden together. Her hurt was too
fresh, her mind too confused to confront the sweet memories of that
day, their passionate abandon on the porch of the Turner
house.

All around her, the air was fresh with birdsong
and humming honey bees. Nora rode on sightlessly, oblivious to
everything.

What a fool she'd been. Was she doomed to be
this way always? Unable to keep her heart safe? When would she stop
handing her life over to other people, first to Richard and
now-without even knowing it—to Bret.

Setting Chessie on a path, Nora wrestled with
memories. Bret had been right about one thing. She'd never really
loved Richard. At the time it hadn't seemed liberating, but the
debacle with Benton had set her free. If it weren't for him, she
might not have realized how unsatisfying her life was.

Sad to say, even with the gossip and hostility
in Stoneburg, these past few months had been the best of her life.
She was doing something she'd always wanted to do. And her student
list was growing steadily, despite Cissy and Richard's
mother.

True, Nora still faced the hurdle of convincing
Mrs. Turner to sell her the land. In all likelihood, that dream had
been dealt a death blow last night. With her illustrious
background, Mrs. Turner had a reputation to maintain. Why would she
sell her family's homestead to a woman who caused such
controversy?

The greatest heartache was Bret, however. Nora
had been fooling herself to think she could indulge her passion for
him and not get burned. Like an idiot, she'd fallen in
love.

Surely, he'd never meant to earn her heart. He
was a captivating man, ever willing to engage a woman's attention,
but he never courted entanglement.

Nora's chin lifted, her hands steady on
Chessie's reins. Regardless of the mess she'd gotten her heart
into, she had to take charge of the situation now. Working at the
Maddock barn was no longer in her best interests. Seeing Bret every
day and knowing he was spreading his charm around might just kill
her.

If she wanted the Turner property, she'd have
to go after it. She had planned on waiting until she was in a
better position to ask for a loan. But she needed to take a
positive step right now. The damage of last night's confrontation
with Richard was done. Waiting another week or two wouldn't change
what had happened, and she might as well make Mrs. Turner an offer
today.

Shifting the reins, she turned Chessie back to
the barn, determination giving her battered heart new hope.
Trotting up to the barn, Nora noted with relief that Bret's
attention was engaged with several men she didn't
recognize.

She dismounted and swiftly walked Chessie past
the group. Despite keeping her eyes focused in front of her, Nora
felt Bret's glance on her, almost a physical touch as she passed.
With swift, economical movements, she rubbed the horse down and
watered her. Ready to go, she buried her face in Chessie's mane.
"Wish me luck, girl. I'm going to seek our fortunes."

Chessie huffed, blowing softly against Nora's
hand. Leaving the stall, Nora walked around the front of the barn
toward her car. If she could get there without having to face Bret,
she'd be all right.

She'd have to talk to him eventually, but her
feelings were too fresh to hide right now, and she'd probably burst
into tears.

"Nora!" he called as she darted
past.

"I can't talk now," she tossed back. Jumping
into her car, she couldn't resist looking in the rearview mirror as
she backed out.

Wearing a perplexed frown, Bret watched her
drive away.

Nora's steps echoed on the porch of Jim
Carlyle's office. She'd discovered weeks ago from Hoyt that Carlyle
handled Mrs. Turner's financial affairs. Finding his office had
been a snap in a town as small as Stoneburg.

The wide, wrap-around porch of the converted
house that served as Carlyle's office was empty save for the honey
bees that buzzed in the bushes nearby. Nora pushed open the front
door and found herself in a small parlor that appeared to be the
reception area.

On the other side of the room, a door stood
open revealing an inner office where a man sat bent over a desk.
Nora felt her pulse skittering nervously.

Crossing the reception area, she paused by the
open door and knocked hesitantly. A chair squeaked as the man stood
up.

"Come in," he invited her, his face open and
friendly as he rounded his desk to usher her into the room. ''I'm
afraid my secretary is running an errand. Can I help you with
something?"

"Are you Jim Carlyle?" Nora tried to keep her
voice businesslike. He looked familiar, but she couldn't be sure if
they'd gone to school together. The years changed
people.

"I certainly am," he beamed as he offered her a
chair across the desk. "Please sit down."

As he returned to his seat, Nora had a moment
to study him. She'd been expecting someone different, more polished
perhaps. Jim Carlyle looked like a hundred other small town guys. A
receding hairline topped his friendly face, and he wore a
western-style plaid shin beneath a corduroy blazer.

Nora felt her tension ease a little. The jumble
on his desk held family photos, a smiling wife and kids. A dusty
shelf behind his desk held a framed championship rodeo belt
buckle.

She'd never seen one framed before, nor could
she quite imagine him doing anything as adventurous as rodeoing.
Still, his office seemed as open and above-board as he
did.

"Now, how can I help you?"

Her heart rate picked up again. "I'm Nora
Hampton," she said baldly, hating that she tensed for his
reaction.

"Oh, uh...yes." Jim Carlyle cleared his
throat.

"How can I help you, Miss Hampton?"

"I understand you handle Mrs. Sara Turner's
business affairs." Nora made herself meet his gaze calmly. She was
here to make him an offer, not to try to sell him a vacuum
cleaner.

"Yes, I do." He looked puzzled, but still
friendly. Taking a breath, she forged forward. "Well, I'm
interested in buying some property she owns—the old Turner
homestead?"

"Umm, yes." Jim hesitated, clearly taken by
surprise. "As far as I'm aware, that property hasn't been put on
the market."

"I know that," Nora sat forward in her chair,
"but I’m prepared to make Mrs. Turner a fair offer on the property,
taking into consideration the condition of the land and
buildings."

"Surely," he nodded. "Well, ah, I'll be happy
to pass your offer along to Mrs. Turner if you bring me a formal
contract."

Relief flooded her. He hadn't immediately
dismissed her! She half expected him to bodily throw her from his
office for her presumption. Standing up on shaky knees, she said,
"Thank you. I'll have it back to you within a week."

“
Certainly, certainly.” Jim Carlyle
rose with her.

Thirty seconds later, Nora bounded down the
steps to her car, elated that she'd taken a significant step toward
her goal.

She might have foolishly lost her heart to Bret
in the last few weeks, but she could still salvage her dreams.
Hopefully, focusing on the academy would ease her
heartbreak.

"Please, please, Ms. Hampton. I'm just dying to
learn how to jump," Kaybeth pleaded.

Nora considered the bright, youthful face
looking up at her. "If you concentrate on your groundwork at our
next lesson, we'll talk about jumping."

Kaybeth let out a whoop of joy.

"Remember what I said," Nora warned, as Kaybeth
turned toward the barn, her hand on her horse's reins.

"I will," the girl promised, picking her way
around a puddle of water left over from last night's
rainstorm.

Nora's gaze followed the small figure as she
headed toward the barn. Then she saw Bret, leaning on the corral
fence, one boot propped on the crosspiece. His eyes met hers
steadily.

A flush seemed to suffuse her body, the memory
of tangled sheets and lovers' words flooding her mind.

The confrontation was unavoidable. They hadn't
really spoken since the night at his cabin. Fortunately, she'd had
some time to come to terms with her feelings.

She was an idiot. He was a typical
irresponsible male, and she couldn't help loving him.

Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her
jeans, she crossed the corral to where he stood. Caution told her
to avoid him, cut off any interaction and bury herself in her work.
But she knew that they would have to meet sometime.

"So am I still being punished for fraternizing
with the enemy?" A faint smile hovered on his face, the tiniest
hint of challenge in his eyes.

He had to mean Cissy. Nora shook her
head.

"What were you mad about?"

"I'm not mad." She lifted her chin and decided
to change the subject. "I went and talked to the guy that handles
Mrs. Turner's business. I'm making a formal offer for the
land."