People Will Talk (8 page)

"Oh, that kind of talk." Melanie handed her the
check.

"Nora, I'm married to a rich man who's
twenty-four years older than me. Gossip no longer scares
me."

"Uh, thank you." Embarrassed, Nora took the
check.

"I tell you what," Melanie suggested. "If you
won't believe that I married Jack for his money, I won't believe
whatever your fiancé says about you."

Nora smiled tremulously. "Thanks."

After agreeing on lesson times, Nora watched
the woman get in her car. Still in shock from the turn of events,
she could hardly believe her luck. Even with the check in her
hand.

The Mercedes backed out and headed down the
drive, passing Bret's truck as he pulled up to the gravel area
outside the barn.

Nora watched the white car disappear. If she
hadn't gone to the Roadhouse with Bret, she'd never have met Jack
Lockhart.

Maybe defiance had its reward after
all.

"Who was that?" Bret slammed the truck
door.

Nora turned, a silly grin taking over her face.
"The mother of my newest student," she declared saucily, "and the
wife of our friendly pool-playing stranger."

"Really?" Bret looked down the road.

"Yes. He was Jack Lockhart. Do you know
him?"

"I know of him," Bret admitted. “I thought he
looked familiar the other night."

"I didn't recognize him at all and I have no
idea what made him decide on riding lessons for his daughter, but
I'm deeply grateful." She carefully tucked the check in her
pocket.

"From what I've heard, Lockhart moves in big
money social circles, but he's a down-home kind of guy. I bet
you'll be getting referrals from other socialite mothers who want a
classy activity for their kids," Bret predicted with a
smirk.

"I hope so," Nora said. "I know you think
English riding is only useful for social climbing. Go ahead and
sneer. I don't care. This is my first real break and I'm
thrilled."

"I never said it wasn't useful," he said. "If
nothing else, you brighten the scenery in those riding pants. I'm
just not sure that your average Texan is gonna sign up."

"Then I'll have to attract above-average
Texans," she retorted, turning toward the barn.

"An excellent plan," Bret agreed, falling into
step with her. "Say, how about, we take a celebratory ride to mark
the occasion of your first big break?"

Nora glanced at him. "Don't you ever
work?"

"Of course," his voice was wounded, "come
spring round up, I'll be so busy directing men that you'll hardly
ever see me."

''I'll believe it when I don't see
you."

"So how about the ride?" he pushed.

She looked at him. The urge to go and wallow in
his presence felt almost like a physical need. Although he
presented a risk to her peace of mind, her feelings about him were
changing. Not only did she feel the edginess of her attraction, she
also felt, at some basic level, peculiarly safe. A feeling of
rightness settled over her spirit whenever he was near.

Why not go riding?
temptation whispered
in her ear. Nothing bad happened after the last time you went with
him.

"I don't know," she said. "I've been wondering
since the other night if being seen with you is damaging for my
reputation."

"How can you say that, woman?" His eyes danced
in contrast to the shock on his face. ''I'm the reason your luck
has turned."

"Maybe so," she conceded. "And maybe the
gossips are burning me in effigy. I haven't really gone anywhere
over the weekend to see if I’m even allowed in town."

"Naw." Bret hooked an arm around her shoulders.
"You're home free now. Just stick with me."

Nora laughed. "Jumping from the frying pan into
the fire."

"Yeah." His arm tightened around her. "But fire
can be so nice and hot. Come ride with me.”

"Well," she weakened, battling her own urges
and the exhilaration of his nearness, "maybe for a short
ride."

Nora's heart fluttered ,while she saddled
Chessie. Hearing Bret whistling as he readied his horse, she
decided to go with the moment. Just this once, she'd let herself
revel in a golden afternoon with the man of her fantasies by her
side.

They were unlikely to be seen and if they were,
it couldn't do much more damage to her wary heart. As long as she
remembered that fantasies had their place, she'd be
fine.

Leading the horses out of the barn, they
mounted up and rode down a hard-packed dirt road that wound beside
the ranch house and then away into pasture land.

Last week's blue norther had drifted to the
south, leaving them with pale blue skies and sun-warmed
earth.

"Steady, boy." Bret held his impatient mount
with a firm hand.

“
I guess you haven't taken General
out for a run lately," Nora commented. "He's full of
energy."

"He had a good gallop yesterday. He just tests
me every now and then," Bret replied as the horse settled down.
"So, are you ready to go dancing with me again? Give me a chance
for a rematch at pool when I'm not in a state of shock?"

A giggle escaped Nora. Never had she hoped to
use her innocently-acquired ability to such good. ''I'm sure you
could beat me if you were prepared," she said demurely.

Bret's laughter rang out, causing Chessie's
ears to twitch in his direction. Nora kept the reins steady in her
hand, empathizing with the horse's reaction. Bret's laugh
frequently caused various parts of Nora to twitch, too.

They turned west as the road dwindled into a
pair of tire ruts across open pasture dotted with scrub brush. An
easy silence descended on them, broken only by the creaking of
their saddles and the occasional jingle of the bridles.

Birds fluttered in the brush along the fence
line, rising in a flurry of wings as the horses neared. The fields
showed yellow in the sun, the whisper of winter weeds moving in the
breeze.

"Want to do a little exploring?" Bret asked,
stopping General at a broken spot in the rustic fence. "I don't
think old lady Turner would mind if we just look
around."

Nora shifted Chessie's reins. "You don't think
she'd care?"

"Naw," he clicked softly to his horse,
"besides, it's always easier to get forgiveness than
permission."

"Sounds like your life motto," commented Nora,
following him through the gap in the fence.

Bret grinned. “Works as good as any. Come on,
we'll inspect the buildings."

Excitement thrummed in Nora's veins at the
thought of showing him her dream. "Most of the acreage is west of
here, isn't it?" she asked, trying to maintain her
equilibrium.

He slanted her a glance. "You’ve decided to buy
the place and you don't know the lay of the land?"

"I'm mostly interested in the house and barns,"
Nora replied. "Although I will need some pasture land."

"Well, you're right. The biggest part of the
property lies west of the house. You can see the stock tank over
there. I think there are one or two others in the far pastures."
The brim of his hat dipped as he nodded toward the western
horizon.

A cluster of farm buildings came into sight as
they crossed the open field. Nora studied the simple white house
huddled beneath a grove of oaks. There was nothing grand about the
house or barn, but something about the homestead called to her. It
was a feeling so personal she'd never been able to explain
it.

"So this is it," Bret said as they skirted the
corrals around the barn. "Your Shangri La."

"Yes," she retorted firmly, knowing he was
seeing the place in comparison to the well-kept Maddock spread.
Even before the years of neglect, this small ranch didn't compare
to Bret's.

He halted his horse with a low-spoken word. "So
tell me what you have in mind."

''I'll show you." She dismounted eagerly and
looped Chessie's reins loosely around a corral post.

Bret followed suit and walked with
her.

"It's not as large as the set-up you've got,"
she admitted, "but the barn's in good shape. I'd have two riding
rings outside and build a small indoor working arena later." Nora
pointed to the left of the barn, the new building clear in her
mind.

"What about the house?"

"It looks like it'll need some updating, but
I'm sure it's livable." The thought of having a place to herself,
any place, made her feel warm and comfortable.

"Have you been inside?"

"No," she said. "I just peeked through the
windows, but they're big enough to give me a good idea of how it
looks."

"You've got lots of ideas," he said, as they
walked around to the front of the house.

Bret tried not to look discouraging as they
stood on the cracked sidewalk, surveying the dilapidated building.
He could practically feel Nora's excitement about the place. Her
voice held a vibrancy when she spoke about her plans, her face
glowing with enthusiasm. All Nora had to do was breathe, and
shivers went through him.

The house, on the other hand, made him tired
just looking at it. Nora couldn't have any idea of how much work it
needed.

Winter honeysuckle framed the porch, its tall,
shrubby shape dotted with small dirty-white blooms. From this
angle, he could see three broken windows and a roof that sagged
ominously. How on earth could one woman take this on?

"Nora, honey," he said. "Have you thought about
what you'd do if you don't get the riding school thing off the
ground?"

She glanced up at him swiftly, a challenging
light in her eyes. "I’m going to make a go of this."

Taking her arm, he turned her gently toward
him. "Sometimes things don't work out the way we plan. It's not
anyone's fault. You've got to be able to see other
possibilities."

"No," she declared, turning away from his grip
to stalk up to the porch. "I know the academy will be a success if
I can get beyond the gossip." Nora sat down on the front porch, her
oval face transformed into a picture of determination.

"It's not just the gossip," he said softly.
"You're fighting an uphill battle to get folks around here
interested in paying to learn how to ride a horse. They grew up
riding."

She shook her head, her dark hair spilling over
her shoulders. "If I can get beyond the stuff about Richard and
convince Mrs. Turner to sell me this land, I'll make a go of it.
I'm just afraid all the talk will keep her from selling to
me."

A niggle of guilt tugged at Bret. In the
beginning, it hadn't seemed necessary to tell Nora about his plans
for the Turner property. He hadn't thought she'd go this far with
the riding school. But standing here with her now, his body half
aroused by her presence, he was beginning to see problems
ahead.

All her dreams were tied up here. She had her
heart set on having her riding school in this exact spot. Stealing
land out from under a woman wasn't the way to win her
over.

Not that she really had any claim on the
property. He'd seen it first and had already put out feelers about
buying the place for a landing strip complete with a hangar. Its
proximity to his family's ranch house and his cabin made it
perfect.

Bret had no doubt that the old lady would
listen to the recommendation of the guy who handled her finances.
Fortunately, he and Jim Carlyle went back a long way.

"You know, honey. This isn't the only piece of
land hereabouts." Bret sat down next to her on the top
step.

"This is where I belong." Nora threw her arms
wide. "It feels right. I can see myself living very happily
here."

Her perseverance felt like a stone on his
chest. "Why did you come back here, Nora, where Richard has such
influence? You could have gone anywhere to start your
school."

She shrugged. "When I first came home, I didn't
realize what Richard had told his parents. It never occurred to me
that anyone would think I'd tried to seduce his boss."

"But now," Bret pursued. "Why are you staying
now? People have been so nasty I'd think you couldn't wait to
leave."

Her moving away would make things so much
easier. Not too far away, but out of Stoneburg where she faced such
unfair treatment and where the land they both wanted could end his
hopes for winning her.

What had started as a casual pursuit was fast
taking on larger proportions. Bret wasn't totally sure what all he
wanted with Nora, but he knew he wanted her in his life.

"I don't know," she sighed. "My mother refuses
to move away. And Stoneburg is home. I never realized how much so
until I lived in Dallas."

Sitting close like this, her scent drifting
over him, Bret longed to touch her, to slide his hand beneath the
weight of her hair and pull her to him. "Not much of a
homecoming."

"I don't know how to explain it," Nora said.
"It just seems like I have to stay. Not run away from this.
Sticking it out here, starting the academy—I feel like I have to do
it."