Suspicions of the Heart (14 page)

"So soon?" Fargate pouted, and then
pulled her against him for a kiss.

Candy soon pushed away though. "Want me
to pick you up in the morning?"

The steel edge of Joe's voice cut
through the thickness of the moment. "Don't worry, I'll be glad to
drop him off first thing."

"Thank you," Candy replied smugly.
"Goodnight."

~*~

For the next few days Fargate was
constantly under foot. It didn't bother Candy--she worked alone.
But Roscoe was peeved. It wasn't long before he encouraged Fargate
to grit his teeth and roll up his sleeves. Enthusiasm was all he
lacked.

His heart wasn't in it though. Why
should it be? He was a lawyer, not a rancher, Candy
reasoned.

Bronc-busting was a new experience for
Fargate--it petrified him.

There was one mustang in particular
that had everyone raising their brows. Candy was sure Roscoe had
acquired him purposely for a show. If there wasn't a little fun in
it, Roscoe would soon tire of things. But no one could break this
particular bronc.

How it came about, Candy wasn't sure,
but Joe Munroe decided to play the big hero. Fargate urged him on.
Roscoe merely chuckled to himself.

But as Joe mounted, everyone gathered
round to watch. This was no show. This was the real thing. The air
was suddenly still. The sun blazed like an inferno. The atmosphere
was charged with anticipation of the small war about to be waged
between man and beast.

Candy climbed the rails and sat on the
edge of the fence, her hands clutching the wooden rails so hard her
knuckles went white. Her mouth was dry, her heartbeat seemed to
stop. It wasn't a game, her mind screamed. One wrong move and the
horse would buck hard enough to toss Joe against the barn. But Joe
showed no signs of being afraid of the animal. His mount was easy,
accomplished in one fluid movement. But that was all it took to
unleash the power of the horse. It reared and bucked and thrashed
about the corral, first one way, and then another. All with
lightning speed. The dust stirred beneath his hoofs like a
storm.

The crowd cheered. Candy was glued to
the fence.

All the air fled from her lungs, her
body sensed each movement. She was unaware of the relief written on
her face as Joe finally gentled the animal to a trot, then
dismounted and handed the reins to one of the regular
hands.

They rallied him for his courage. But
as he wiped the sweat from his brow and looked up, his gaze locked
onto hers, almost hungrily. Like an unmentionable climax, her heart
skipped a beat and her limbs went weak.

Something flickered momentarily in the
depths of his eyes as though he knew. That was it! He knew how
worried she had been for him. That slow, burning smile darted
through her with precision accuracy.

She wouldn't give him the satisfaction
again. She was determined not to show Joe Munroe the slightest
attention as she left the railing. To prove her point she grabbed
Fargate as he happened by and walked off in another
direction.

From that day on, Joe Munroe was
inviting himself on her property, she decided. It was impossible to
completely ignore him. Roscoe was continually swapping ideas with
him, and Fargate seemed to like him, too.

Candy wished he wouldn't come around.
Aside from the fact that Uncle Roscoe valued Joe's opinions about
ranching over hers, she couldn't control the rising tension within
herself, because when he didn't come around, she found herself
looking for him. Dammit! She felt like a bomb about to explode any
minute.

If it hadn't been for the auction, she
might have lost her mind completely. But Uncle Roscoe saved the day
and offered to take Fargate with him.

"Aren't you coming?" Fargate asked her
as Roscoe prepared to load the truck.

Candy pretended to be engrossed in
figures. "No, I think Roscoe can handle it. He's a better judge of
stock than I am anyway."

"But, Candy," Fargate insisted, "this
is your ranch. Don't you think you should take more interest in it
than this?"

"This is our home, mine and Uncle
Roscoe's."

"Well yes, of course but--"

"Have fun." She couldn't very well tell
him why she wasn't going. So, she placated him with a few feeble
excuses. She needed some time alone. Ever since Fargate had
arrived, Candy's suspicions had doubled. Fargate had an annoying
way of pointing things out about the accident that really bugged
her. Like the fact that her uncle had been present during both
accidents, and her father hadn't left him a thing.

If there was one person she could, and
did trust, it was her uncle and she hated Fargate for planting
those suspicions in her mind. Nothing had happened since the day of
the storm and it was highly possible that what had happened was
accidental. At least that's how she preferred to look at
it.

Once they were gone, she felt the
tension drain from her. She finished her chores and returned to the
trailer for another cup of coffee. What was behind all that tension
and animosity was how fast Joe had gotten under her skin, too. Her
mind was constantly on him and she was constantly scolding herself
for it. How could she have let him kiss her like he had? Let him?
That wasn't right either. No, she had been a very active
participant.

And what was worse, she couldn't get
that kiss during the sand storm out of her mind. She had kissed him
back, that was what threw her. She had wanted it as much as he. And
that shocked her. Passion had flared between them like a lightning
bolt. And what really threw her was that it wasn't the kisses, it
was what lay behind those kisses. She wanted more, much more, and
worse still, she wanted it from Joe Munroe.

She didn't know if she trusted him
enough to let him take those the advantages. She didn't understand
anything anymore. Confusion warred in her mind.

"I don't need him!" She slammed the
refrigerator door, dug a pickle out of jar and crunched it. "And I
certainly don't need Fargate, either."

Men! They were constantly on her mind
lately and it irritated her. She was mad at herself, for being such
a--woman!

Joe Munroe wouldn't leave her mind
alone, and it was unthinkable what he did to her body. She spent so
much time trying to ignore him, she had little time for anyone
else. He consumed her thoughts day and night.

One minute he made her nearly swoon
with passion, the next he infuriated her with his teasing glances.
The concrete fact was--Joe Munroe was the one man who could melt
the 'ice maiden'.

Fargate had called her that. Was she?
Somehow she doubted it after responding to Joe like some kind of
wanton vamp. Or was she trying to prove she wasn't the ice
maiden?

By what lever could she learn to judge
a man? Her uncle was the only man in her life she could depend on
or trust. Not that she hadn't tried. She had trusted Fargate and
look what happened.

She glanced in the mirror, mesmerized
by the wideness of her eyes. How did she measure up against other
women? Nothing on the sensational side, she decided with a frown.
No, she was quite ordinary.

Doug had dumped her on one date.
Fargate had dumped their marriage. Her father had practically
dumped her when her mother died. Only Roscoe had been there for her
through it all.

"Get a grip, girl," she rallied. "So
Doug dumped you. So what! You weren't in love with him anyhow. So
Fargate cheated on you. So what? You aren't sorry now, are you? So
aren't you better off now, without a man. Well, aren't
you?"

Dumplin' scampered into the room, and
she bent to pick him up in her arms. Snuggling the furry ball
against her cheek, she smiled. "At least I've got you and
Lancer."

After changing her clothes she saddled
Lancer, eager to ride since his leg had mended so nicely. She
tucked Dumplin' into a handmade shoulder bag and galloped off to
the north pasture. The fences hadn't been checked there yet, and
there was plenty of territory to cover before Roscoe returned with
their first head of stock.

Gazing about the somewhat barren land
she visualized a house in its midst. Was it all just a dream, or
would she someday come to see the reality?

The land lay quietly sprawled into a
vastness that swept over her like a flash flood during a drought. A
light breeze whipped her hair. Lancer perked and seemed to be
enjoying the outing as much as she. Dumplin' scuttled his head out
of the bag, sniffing about and darting back inside
again.

Lancer wasn't favoring his leg any
longer, his spirit eager, aggressive even. She patted his mane, and
picked up her speed.

She shook her head; it would be a long
hard winter, if Lancer's coat was any real sign. Heavens, there was
so much to be done before a hard winter set in.

In the distance she spotted a cloud of
dust. As it neared she recognized its form, but not its person. All
she could see of the rider was a short-legged, stout-built figure
with a big brimmed hat.

The buckskin came to an abrupt halt
only a few feet from Candy.

She was about to embarrass herself by
greeting the gentleman when she gasped. It wasn't a man at all.
Beneath the big brimmed hat, dust covered clothes, and muddy work
boots was a woman. Not a young woman, yet not old
either.

"Morning," The calm in his voice and
the hawk-like dark eyes scrutinizing her made her
squirm.

"Morning," Candy returned.

"Hanks's kid, huh?" the woman half
grunted, pushing a wayward tendril form her eyes. She took off her
hat, displaying salt and pepper hair, thrown back in a careless bun
at her neck.

"Yes, I am. Did you know my father?"
Candy quirked a quizzical glance her way.

The woman straightened in the saddle,
suddenly relaxing her hold of the reins, allowing the buckskin the
freedom to graze. Narrow, blue-black eyes raked over Candy before
the old woman dusted a hand on her britches leg and extended it in
friendship. "I'm Aggie."

Candy hesitated, not sure if she should
have known the name or not. "Aggie," she repeated. "I'm
Candy."

"'Bout time you got to know your
neighbors, girl. Out here neighbors are important. You'll learn
that as you go along."

That had a familiar ring to it. Joe had
said something to the same effect.

"So, how come you ain't been over?"
Aggie asked as though she were no stranger at all.

Candy gesticulated. "I've
been…busy."

"Nonsense, nobody's too busy for a
visit now and then. You gotta learn to take things one thing at a
time. Well, come on, then."

Despite the mystery surrounding their
destination, Candy found herself following Aggie along the fence
line. Something about this woman seemed so familiar. And her sudden
command left no room for back talk, so Candy followed, a slow smile
spreading over her face as she eyed the woman with open curiosity.
Perhaps they could be friends. She could sure use a friend about
now!

Chapter Nine

The 'Rockin' Wheel Ranch' was little
more than a couple of broken down bunk houses, a well-weathered
barn, and a small, white house with a picket fence around it. It
looked as though someone had started to fix things and
stopped.

It reeked of the same character and
flavor as its owner. Short and rather rotund, Aggie must have been
in her late fifties, Candy decided. She had a point blank manner
and a stare that would knot your insides. Her deep, seedy voice
held a crude hint of her underlying sexuality. Roscoe would adore
her. Salt of the earth, he would call her.

"H…have you met my Uncle?" Candy asked
a half hour later as she set her booted feet beneath Aggie's homey
little kitchen table and waited for a fresh glass of iced
tea.

"That'd be Roscoe?"

"Yes, that's him."

"Shore I've met him. You know he used
to run with my brother down in Pecos country." Aggie grunted. "Yes,
Roscoe and I go way back. Saw him rewiring' a section jest the
other day. Invited him for some tea and we got reacquainted. I like
that man, he's good stock. But it shore takes a heap of doing to
unlock that tongue of his," Aggie said chuckling.

Candy's mind flitted, her expression
changing. Snapping out of it she replied, "Yes, he's a little woman
shy."

"A little?" Aggie chuckled.

Candy smiled.

"So, maybe you can tell me, how'd his
wife die?"

"Tuberculosis. Uncle Roscoe took her to
New Mexico, hoping the climate might help her recover, and also to
be with her folks. She didn't get better though. She suffered a
long time before that. I think it still bothers him to talk about
her. He doesn't discuss her much."

"You're pretty close to Roscoe,
then?"

"Very, he's the only family I have
left," Candy replied as she sipped her iced tea.

"He must have loved her." Aggie's voice
trailed away as though she felt the pain for Roscoe.