Suspicions of the Heart (8 page)

"Well, don't." Roscoe rallied her from
those morbid thoughts and she was thankful. "Hank had cancer, not a
broken heart. You being married to that Fargate fella wouldn't have
changed anything. You being miserable wouldn't have helped ol'
Hank. You did your part by your dad. You took care of him when he
needed you. That's all you could do. The only reason I asked was
because I know how close the two of you used to be. I mean, before
Fargate. I wondered what drove the wedge. Myself, I'm glad you're
free of the man."

"Thanks, I'm glad you feel that way,
Uncle Roscoe, it means a lot. Funny, but Fargate hasn't changed a
bit. He's still very handsome; still chasing every skirt from what
I could see, too. He's got a new secretary, beautiful, of course.
And you should see his office; very impressive. I guess he's done
well for himself."

"That's fine for him. But what he's not
the one I'm worried about. What about you?"

"What about me?" she asked.

"Don't you want to get married again?"
Roscoe looked as though he could have bit his own tongue out for
asking.

Candy half smiled, half frowned. "I
guess deep down every woman wants a husband and family. But I want
the right man this time, a man who loves me. And I'll do my own
picking this time too. That is, if there is a this
time."

Roscoe's somber face broke into a
familiar grin. "You sound just like your mama talking."

Candy smiled, but something inside her
hurt. "Oh, Uncle Roscoe, you don't know how many times, I wish I
could have known her."

"She was a rounder, she was. Thought I
was trying to marry her off, too. Now that I think on it, I did
sort of nudge her in the direction of your dad. She didn't like or
trust him at first. But he was a persistent cuss if there ever was
one. He just kept hanging around 'til she finally decided to give
him a chance. Boy, how she loved that man, once she quit fighting
it. They didn't waste any time getting to know one another either.
I guess he must have loved her about as much as a man can. And it's
probably why he let things sort of go bad after she
died."

"That's the kind of love I want to
find." Her voice trailed away as her eyes misted. It was a
daydream, not reality.

"I thought you liked old Doug?" He was
baiting her, and she knew it.

"I do like Old Doug'," she mocked. "But
that's all it is. Just like! He's as reliable as Fargate." She
reached for the only candy bar, dividing it down the middle and
offering him half. "He's not exactly the marrying kind of man. If
there is such a creature. The next time I settle down it's going to
be for good, and for all the right reasons. I want someone with
backbone, guts, and he'll have to know a lot about women as long as
he doesn't know too much." She smiled at Roscoe.

"Sounds like you've done some thinkin'
in that direction lately. Got anyone picked out for the job?" he
snickered.

"Nope." She leaned back in the chair
and kicked her sneakers off, giving an exaggerated sigh.

"Sure you're through with
Fargate?"

"I've been sure of that for three
years. But, now that you mention it, he did ask me if he could come
out and visit."

"Visit? I hope like hell you didn't
tell him he could," Roscoe quipped.

Candy's head flew up and she met the
eagle eyed stare of her Uncle with shock. Uncle Roscoe didn't swear
unless he was angry. "As a matter of fact, I did." She slanted him
a curious glance. "Well," she tried to defend herself, "I couldn't
think of anything to prevent him from coming."

"Wonder what he's up to now?" Roscoe
mumbled as though talking to himself.

"Does he have to be up to
something?"

"Why else would he come?"

"I don't know."

Roscoe seemed frustrated with her
answers. "I better go bed down the horses."

Candy fretted as she cleared the table
and put things away. Roscoe being upset had upset her, but what
choices did she have short of just saying no?

Chapter Five

Joe Munroe restlessly shifted his
weight against the fence railing, the barbed wire eating at his
elbows. Sweat trickled down the sides of his face and he
absentmindedly wiped it with the back of one arm, then removed his
straw hat, and slipped it further back on his head. Even the sparse
shade of the mesquite tree wasn't enough to stop the heat from
penetrating.

Squinting, he scanned the small grazing
herd of Texas Longhorns he had acquired from an old rancher south
of the Big Thicket way. So far, he had accumulated a couple of
mulberry blues, four duns, a red and white pepper and his pride and
joy--the washed-out Jersey crème bull that stood majestically
against the flat plains. Like a picture on a postcard, the bull
stood, thick-boned, wide-shouldered, with horns that stretched the
imagination. Everything from the sway back and flat ribs, to the
determined look in his eyes said he was a real survivor.

"What a picture you make, old fella."
Joe sighed with satisfaction.

Still, something was missing. At
thirty-two Joe was financially stable, well respected, and had
achieved most of what he set out to do. So, what was wrong? What
caused that empty pit in his stomach? What made him feel as though
he had missed something? Sure, he had worked from sunup to sundown
for years to accomplish this. And it was all worth it. He was even
making his life-long dream a reality. He brought the Longhorns back
to Texas, even though his friends and neighbors thought he'd lost
his mind. Not a one of them complained when they saw the longhorns
standing serenely in the evening sunset. He conquered those
niggling feelings of self-doubt.

"Maybe I just need a little R & R,"
Joe said aloud and watched Butch wag his tail. Butch was his best
work dog, not a pet. Still, they shared a lot of time together. He
shook his head and walked the fence line. He wasn't kidding
himself. He knew what was missing.

It was Candy Arnold who brought it to
his awareness, and how she brought it to his attention. God, after
holding her, and kissing her into a soft melting submission, he
knew exactly what he'd been missing. He hadn't even kissed a girl
in months.

Now, to make his life come together
completely he needed a wife and family.

"Yeah, I spent so much time worrying
about you critters, I forgot to worry about myself," he chastised
himself.

What good were all the accomplishments
if there was no one to share it with, or leave it to? If he died
tomorrow who would continue the rare breed of cattle he had managed
to build? Who would have the same dreams as he?

No one... that's who!

Sadder still, where was he going to
find anyone at this late date? Most of the women he knew were
married with kids of their own. It was useless to fret about it.
Things weren't going to change by themselves. He furtively blamed
Candy Arnold for making him so astutely aware of his own needs.
What really got to him was the fact that it had been weeks since
he'd seen Candy Arnold and yet he remembered almost every beautiful
detail of her.

"Don't look at me like that." He cast
the bull a frown.

Had that one kiss been ineffectual, he
might have put her completely out of his mind. He had misjudged
her, thinking her phlegmatic. From rumors he'd picked up around the
rodeo that day she had been tagged a real cool fish. He sure
couldn't prove that by her kiss though.

Someone was sadly mistaken. That woman
had become a fireball in his arms. She might be prickly, but she
damned sure wasn't cold.

With grim reluctance he had let her go,
knowing almost instantly he had found something he didn't want to
let go of. Little good that would do him; the woman wanted no part
of him.

"Typical," he scolded himself. "How I
manage to pick out women who want no part of me, I'll never
know."

His heart pumped faster just thinking
about Candy. He couldn't erase how her breasts firmed against his
chest, how perfectly her small hips fitted against his. And there
was a sweet smell about her, and taste…he loved the taste of her
lips.

Why she, of all women, stood out in his
mind, he didn't know. Maybe he'd been neglecting the personal
department lately.

But considering he'd had his fair share
of women, why had a hot-tempered little redhead gotten under his
skin? None of the others lingered in his mind. None of the others
harassed his sleepless nights. Yeah, and none of the others
quenched his male appetite quite so thoroughly with nothing more
than a kiss.

"I'm not going to get anything done
like this," he mumbled to himself. "And that woman is totally off
limits. I better learn that now. I've darn sure spent enough time
pining over the wrong woman."

He tossed his gear into the back of the
truck, and then slid behind the wheel.

The dust flew in a red-brown cloud as
Joe headed for town. The sound of the engine, purring like a
kitten, soothed his raw nerves, reminding him of the hours he
worked on the confounded thing. Obviously, it was time well spent,
just like his persistence in bringing the Longhorns back to
Texas.

It reminded him of something his father
once said. "Son, nothing worth its salt comes easy. Just remember
that."

Joe smiled to himself. "Yeah, dad, you
were right."

As he drove into Channing he waved at
several of his friends passing by. Several times he stuck his head
out the window to yell a greeting to someone. There was a certain
pride in belonging to a community. Joe sighed comfortably behind
the wheel as he parked his truck in front of the bank. Nothing
could ruin his day.

Nothing short of running into an angry
little redhead who didn't know he was alive. Hell, if he'd paid
attention, he would have seen her dashing out of the bank as though
she'd just robbed it and was making a getaway. They practically
collided into each other's arms.

"Excuse me," he drawled as he caught
her by her arm to keep her from falling. My God, she was so soft.
And that scent, what was that! He abruptly pulled away when angry
brown eyes narrowed on him. "Morning, Dumplin' how are you today?"
he purred softly so as not to stir her dander.

"What's so good about it?" she snapped
pulling out of his grasp and narrowing a very intolerant glance his
way, "And don't call me Dumplin'. It's Miss Arnold to
you."

"Yes, ma'am." He tipped his hat in a
mocking gesture.

"Are you following me?" she accused
when she seemed to notice his direction.

"Following you? Why, no, ma'am. I was
just stopping off to see an old friend. If you don't mind," his
voice tightened a notch.

"Don't you ever work?" she asked,
chilling the air between them.

He pushed his hat away from his
forehead and grinned. "Maybe we should go somewhere and discuss my
raising Longhorns again."

She pinked, and the color brought her
face to life. "No, thank you. Unlike you, I have a lot of work to
do. Which reminds me, that's a sloppy excuse for a fence on the
south pasture. Or were you waiting 'til I fixed it?"

A long, lazy finger shot below her chin
to raise her stormy brown-eyed gaze to meet his. "Meet me in the
morning and we'll discuss who fixes what."

She moved away, raised her pert little
nose to the air and added, "Forget it, cowboy. I'll take care of it
myself."

Joe chuckled softly as she stalked away
from him.

Too bad she had to waste all that
emotion on anger. He could think of a lot more pleasant ways to
express such fire.

"Joe, what brings you to town?" called
a tall sandy-headed man from just inside the bank.

Without hesitation Joe walked into the
bank and reached to shake hands and smile at his friend. "I thought
I'd pay my old friend a visit."

"Come on in, have some
coffee."

Joe glanced over his shoulder in time
to see Candy retreating with a pout to her finely etched lips. Lips
he couldn't quite forget.

"Thanks, George, I've already had a pot
this morning. I don't think I need anymore."

"She's a real fine looking lady, isn't
she?" George nodded in Candy's direction.

"Yeah, be even prettier if she'd smile
once in a while."

"I take it you and Miss Arnold have
met?" He led Joe into his office to the right.

"You might say that, yes."

"No man could ignore her, not even
you." George slapped him on the shoulder, then went to stand behind
his desk. Joe kept on watching Candy as she got in her old Pontiac
and started it.

"If I wasn't already married I'd beat a
path to her door every day," George said chuckling.

Joe whipped about. "Well, you are, and
unless you want me courting your wife you better keep your eyes in
your head." Then he broke into a real grin. "How's
Lisa?"

"Great." George's smile began to fade.
"In fact, we have a little news flash and I'd like you to be the
first to know. Lisa is going to have a baby." George finally got
the words out.