Texas Lucky (34 page)

“Oh?” She regarded him with suspicion. “Then what?”

He shifted his holster absently…nervously…as his eyes flicked over her.

She looked good.

Damn good.

She was wearing a yellow dress that hugged her bosom and her hips, and he could see she had put on a few pounds in the right places.

There was something else about her that intrigued him, and for a second it didn’t dawn on him what it was.

And then it hit him.

Spirit.

Tess now had spirit, and it showed.

No longer was she an insecure little girl fighting back at the world to prove she belonged.

She was a mature woman who knew what she wanted and how to get it.

Which was probably why she had agreed to marry Wendell Thorpe. Thinking about it now made Curt mad.

Real mad.

“Maybe I came to congratulate you,” he said finally, coldly. “It happened quick, didn’t it? I mean, one day I see you in town with him, and the next thing I hear, you’re getting hitched. You fall in love fast, don’t you?”

Her lips parted in a quiet gasp.

“That is why you’re marrying him, isn’t it—because you love him?” he goaded. “I mean, you wouldn’t marry anybody for his money, would you?”

Tess was too stunned to speak.

He looked toward the house under construction, then back at her. “You’re going to have quite a place, aren’t you? And I suppose he’s going to build barns and stables and buy you all the longhorns you want.”

“Yes.” The word exploded from her as she finally came out of her stupor. “Yes, he is, and I might ask what business it is of yours, Curt, and what you’re really doing here.”

What am I doing here?
he angrily asked himself.

Was he so prideful as to think all he had to do was show up and she would fall right in his arms?

She didn’t care beans about him.

The reality was that she had latched on to a wealthy man and it didn’t matter that she didn’t love him. His money was all she cared about.

“Well, I’m waiting,” she said irritably. “And I don’t have all day.”

His grin was crooked and the tilt of his head arrogant. “I came to congratulate you, Tess.”

“The hell you did,” she all but growled. “You came to stir up trouble. How much do you want?”

Bewildered, he asked, “What are you talking about?”

“How much do you want to keep your mouth shut about what happened between us? I’ve never told Wendell I was in jail, much less with you.”

“I don’t—”

“It probably wouldn’t make any difference to him,” she continued, “but I’d still prefer that he not know because I want to forget it. I can’t pay you anything now, but if you can wait a few weeks, I’m sure I can manage something.

“But that will have to be all,” she said with finality. “You aren’t going to bleed me over and over, Curt, and if you try, I’ll…I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” he ground out, coming to life with a flash of indignity that the snippity little bitch could jump to the conclusion he was blackmailing her, for God’s sake.

“You won’t do a damn thing,” he said, nostrils flaring. Leaning right into her face, he spoke low so the workers could not overhear. “Don’t you ever threaten me, woman, and get something straight.”

He jabbed his finger against her chest so hard she stumbled backward a few steps, eyes wide with fear and mouth open in shock.

“I didn’t come here to ask for money. I came…” he trailed to silence, the belligerence leaving him like air from a dying man’s lungs.

Why had he come?

To tell her he loved her.

Only now he felt like the world’s biggest fool, because the only thing she felt for him was contempt.

Otherwise she wouldn’t have jumped to such a damning conclusion.

He floundered for a moment, then said, “I came because I thought Wendell might be here. I wanted to tell him about the mare I just bought.”

“Oh.”

It was her turn to feel foolish.

“I also wanted to let him know I’ll be leaving in a few days on trail drive, but I’ll be glad to help him start up his quarterhorse stock when I get back.”

“Fine,” she said thinly, cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. “I’ll tell him, and about what I said…”

“Forget it.” He tipped his hat. “And congratulations to you both. I guess it’s a good thing you managed to hang on to that wedding gown.”

“But I’m not—” she bit her lip, gave a little nervous laugh, and said, “Look, I really have things to do, Curt, although I want you to know I hope we can be friends now. After all, we’re neighbors, and Wendell seems to think the world of you”

“Sure.” He swung back up in the saddle. “I think a lot of him, too.”

He rode away and did not look back.

At the ranch, he found all the hands standing in line for their turn at the bathtub.

Caleb, wrapped in a towel and holding a bar of lye soap, waved him over. “Where you been, boss? I was gonna ask if it was okay for all of us to quit early so’s we’d have time to get ready for the shivaree, but you weren’t around.”

“It’s fine,” Curt replied, having come to terms with himself once more on the ride from Tess’s. It was over. Never should have started. She was marrying somebody else, and that’s how it was, and he had to stop thinking about her, dammit.

“So where’ve you been?”

Curt saw no reason to hide it. “I was looking for Wendell Thorpe. He’s interested in buying quarterhorses, and I wanted to tell him what Richard King has to offer. I thought he might be at the Partridge ranch, but he wasn’t.”

Caleb laughed. “You oughta know better’n that. The groom can’t see the bride on her wedding day. It’s bad luck.”

Pete chimed in, “Yeah, and she’s had enough o’ that lately after losing near ’bout all her cattle this winter and then what happened to her brother.”

Curt whirled to ask, “What about her brother?”

“Ain’t you heard?” Then Pete remembered, “Oh, that’s right. It was while you were gone.” He proceeded to tell him how it was believed the boy had been taken captive by the Apaches.

Curt was jolted to think what Tess had to be going through. He knew how she felt about Perry. And now he felt like an even bigger fool for going over there, because she probably wondered why he hadn’t mentioned it…hadn’t shown one goddamn shred of concern.

Pete went on to tell him how Wendell Thorpe had spent a small fortune looking for the boy, as well as posted a huge reward.

Hearing all that, Curt knew why Tess had agreed to marry Wendell.

Brokenhearted, the loss of most of her herd having left her in dire financial straits, she had been desperate, with no one else to turn to and easy prey for a wealthy man like Wendell Thorpe.

Suddenly Curt felt like somebody had slammed an anvil in his gut.

Had he known the whole story, maybe he could have done something about it…like let her know he loved her, that he was there for her and would take care of her.

But it was too late.

He turned toward the house.

“Come on to the shivaree with us,” Pete called. “What else have you got to do tonight?”

Get drunk
, Curt silently replied as he kept on going.
Get drunk and think about what a mess I’ve made of my life.

Tess was bewildered by all the noise and carryings-on. She had never heard of a shivaree before, and neither had Wendell.

Granger had to explain it was actually an honor for everyone to stay up all night making merry outside their window, a custom bestowed only upon well-liked people. After all, he pointed out, Wendell had endeared himself to so many with his generosity toward Tess, as well as others in need from time to time, and Tess had always been regarded fondly.

Banjos and guitars played, and people sang and danced, and the beer and whiskey flowed like water.

The women had taken the children and gone home after helping clean up from the huge banquet Wendell had provided in the yard, but the men stayed to continue their drunken revelry.

After a time, Wendell took Tess inside the cabin amid the hoots and hollers of the men as they made lusty innuendos as to what was about to take place.

Seeing Tess was a bit unnerved by it all, he had drawn Granger to the side and asked him to see if he could get the men to continue their party farther from the house.

Granger was able to do so, and the noise lessened. Tess, feeling terribly self-conscious, excused herself, leaving Wendell in the main room of the cabin while she went to the little bedroom.

She had not worn her mother’s wedding gown. It was white, meant for a virgin, which she was not. No one knew, of course, but she would not have felt comfortable. Instead, she had bought a pretty ivory satin gown in Dallas, but not a veil. Wendell said she was beautiful, so everything had turned out all right.

Actually she had been surprised when he said he wanted the wedding to take place at her ranch. He had been asked to join some kind of exclusive club for wealthy men in Dallas, and she had thought he might want to be married there. It had a nice ballroom, where parties were occasionally held for the wives, who were never allowed upstairs in the private saloon where all the gambling and drinking took place.

She had also been surprised when Wendell said they would not be going on a honeymoon trip…not even a little one. He pointed out that not only was there so much going on at the ranch, but they also needed to be available should Perry be found.

Tess had agreed, not minding one bit, especially when she was dreading that part of their marriage, anyway. She knew it was expected, however, and resolved to try to please her husband in every way.

But she also knew she was going to have to be a good actress, because the last thing she wanted was for Wendell to make love to her. She prayed she would not slip and whisper the name of the one she wished were possessing her instead.

Curt.

Damn him for coming today
, she silently cursed, tears stinging her eyes as she slipped off her dress.

She had tried to put him out of her mind, her heart, but seeing him had brought everything whirling back to cruelly slap her in the face with tender memories of what was…what could never be.

She had just put on the silk and lace nightgown she had selected for her wedding night when Wendell knocked on the door.

He’s impatient
, she thought, unable to hold back a shudder of resentment.

But he would never know how she felt, she vowed once more. He had been kind to her, and she would do everything he expected.

Pasting a smile on her face, she opened the door.

He had taken off his coat and was wearing a white shirt and pants, suspenders rolled off his shoulders to hang loose about his waist.

Carrying a half-empty glass of whiskey, he stumbled a bit as he walked to a chair and sat down to face her with bloodshot eyes.

“There’s something I should’ve told you, Tess.”

She was at once alarmed, not only from his expression but his tone of voice as well.

“I was afraid to…afraid you might not understand.”

Since there was not another chair in the room, she sat down on the edge of the bed. “I’ll try to understand anything, Wendell. Please tell me what’s bothering you.”

“You know why I married you.”

It was a statement, not a question, so she did not respond.

He continued pragmatically, “Because you need my help now, and one day I might need you to take care of me if I get sick.”

She nodded, the hair on the back of her neck standing up as she wondered what he was leading up to.

“I didn’t marry you for…for anything else,” he said lamely.

Ducking his head, he was unable to face her as he confessed, “I can’t…you know…be a man…like that.”

She did not speak, did not know what to say, because even though she had dreaded that part of marriage, she had still dreamed of having babies one day.

“It happened a long time ago. I just stopped being able to—you know…” he trailed to an embarrassed whisper. “But Leona didn’t mind, and I’m hoping you won’t, either.”

He lifted his gaze then, and never had Tess seen such misery and despair mirrored in a person’s eyes. Tears spilled as he said, “I should have told you before now, but I couldn’t. I was afraid you wouldn’t marry me, and I just can’t bear the thought of growing old alone.”

She knew it probably would not have mattered if he had. After all, the one man she did love did not want her, and she supposed, without realizing it, that she had resolved that if she could not have him, then it made no difference who she married.

“Yes, I would have,” she told him soberly. “I would have married you, anyway, Wendell. Because, like you said, I need you now.”

His face brightened like he had swallowed the sun. “You won’t be sorry, Tess. I promise. You’ll live like a queen. You’ll have everything you want, and we’ll never stop trying to find your brother.”