The Counterfeit Cowgirl (17 page)

After puzzling over these remarks a few moments, and recalling that Polly liked Tony, and so did Aaron, Felicity said, “Well, if he does, at least you’ll know where they are. Are you afraid your husband won’t take good care of them?”

“Oh, no.” Deborah seemed quite positive on this point. “He loves the boys. It’s just that I don’t want the boys exposed to the other woman in his life. They’re too young to understand.”

Felicity stared. “The other woman?”

“Yes. He doesn’t know I saw him with her, and I’ve been too upset to confront him about it.” Deborah covered her face with her hands. “Aaron doesn’t believe it and says I’m probably misinterpreting things.”

Felicity blinked. “Aaron likes your husband and probably doesn’t want to believe the worst. But you’ll have to have it out with Tony sooner or later, especially if he really doesn’t know why you left him.”

“He says he doesn’t know why, but he should,” Deborah said. “He was with her at a table for two. In our favorite restaurant,” she added, in tones that clinched the matter. “And this was a day after he had yelled at me and stormed out of the house.”

“Was he kissing her when you saw them together?”

“It was the next thing to kissing.” Tears spilled down Deborah’s cheeks. “They were obviously conducting a very intimate conversation.”

“You should have gone up to them that very minute,” Felicity said. “If anything was going on, you’d know it right away.”

“I did know it right away,” Deborah insisted. “It was very obvious. No wonder he yelled at me. He’s probably tired of me.”

Felicity had her doubts about Deborah’s interpretation of events, but she knew better than to dwell on the subject any longer. “One thing is certain. If your husband kidnaps the boys, he’s the one who will have to deal with the ghost.”

Deborah clearly did not find this thought comforting.

“It will be good for him,” Felicity said, smiling kindly. “When I was about five, my grandmother kidnapped me. She was mentally ill and had decided to remove me from my mother’s evil influence, so she just picked me up one day and drove off with me. She told me Mama was sending me to her house to visit for a while.”

“How awful,” Deborah said.

Felicity glanced at Deborah. The other woman had forgotten breakfast and sat with her hands tightly clasped, alternately twisting and tugging at the diamond on her left hand.

“Mama never dreamed her own mother had taken me,” Felicity said. “I knew my grandmother was peculiar, but I was used to obeying lots of different relatives because my mother was on the road so much.”

“Oh, God,” Deborah whispered, anguished. “How awful for your poor mother.”

Felicity agreed. “There were no clues and no ransom demands, and after six weeks, the authorities told her I was probably dead. The general opinion was that I’d been snatched from our own apartment and killed.”

“Your poor mother,” Deborah whispered, dead white.

Felicity could only guess at how terrible that time had been for her mother. That was the real reason she never demurred at how many times a day Becky called her. Becky needed the security of hearing her daughter’s voice.

“I didn’t know I’d been kidnapped until one night I saw my mother crying on television,” Felicity went on. “When my grandmother wouldn’t let me call and comfort her, I realized suddenly that she’d been lying to me. So I left in order to find a telephone.”

“You’re so brave,” Deborah said. “I could never do such a thing.”

“My great escape didn’t require a lot of daring,” Felicity said drily. “My grandmother had locked me in the bathroom, so I crawled out the window and shimmied up the vent stack to the roof. I climbed down a tree on the other side of her house.”

“You must have been a very clever child.” Deborah clearly considered her some sort of child-Houdini. “Most children would never think of defying an adult that way.”

“I was really upset to see my mother crying,” Felicity said. “All I could think of was calling to tell her I was all right. A policeman picked me up when he saw me walking down the street in the middle of the night.”

Deborah took a shaky sip of coffee. “What wonderful news for your poor mother.”

Felicity remembered the dead silence that had greeted her young ears when she’d managed to phone Becky at last. Becky had fainted for the first and only time in her life.

“Poor Mama thought she was talking to my ghost.”

The unfortunate mention of the word
ghost
made Deborah wince. “I was wondering … ” she said hesitantly.

“Yes?”

“What would you do if you thought your husband was seeing another woman?”

Felicity pressed her lips together before she could say she would likely take some sort of physical action. After a moment of thought, she spoke.

“First, I’d try to catch them together. Once I had them both together, I’d walk up and confront them, just in case I was wrong. There could be an innocent explanation, you know.”

Two big tears rolled down Deborah’s pale cheeks. “What if Tony is bored with me? All the women he meets at work are so interesting, so much more … ” Her voice trailed off.

“Then it’s time to take some action to become more interesting.” Felicity reached across the table and patted Deborah’s hand. “Have you talked to your husband since you left him?”

Deborah shook her head, blinded by tears. “I just don’t know what to say to him. He keeps calling, but I hang up or let Polly answer.”

“You haven’t told him why you left?”

“Oh, no. How could I?”

Felicity had to close her mouth forcibly a second time. “How could you not? I mean if he’s really seeing another woman, he deserves to know the consequences of his actions, don’t you think?”

Deborah buried her face in her napkin. “I’m afraid of him. He — he can get me to do anything.”

Felicity decided Tony Sachitano must be a man even bigger and tougher-looking than Aaron. Deborah seemed so fragile, the man probably terrified the life out of her.

“He — he’s so strong, and so
volatile
,” Deborah went on. “If he … were to get angry, I couldn’t stand it. I can’t bear any more, Felicity. I just can’t.” Deborah dissolved into tears and added, between sobs, “And I’ve got to get a job so I can support my children, and I just don’t know what to do. I’ve never worked before.”

Felicity bit her lip.

“Aaron never wanted me to work while I was in school,” Deborah said. “He thought it would harm my health and affect my grades.” She sighed and added, “Our mother died when I was ten, and our father was an alcoholic, so for all practical purposes, Aaron served as my parent. He was older and very responsible … “ She trailed off and added, “I had awful asthma as a child, and Aaron was afraid I might die before I could grow up.”

Studying the air of mental and physical frailty Deborah projected, Felicity acquitted Aaron of over-protecting his sister. Anyone would have done the same.

“If you have to get a job, I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll enjoy,” she said. “Besides, it may not come to that. Maybe Aaron can talk to Tony.”

Deborah looked doubtful. “Tony is … Tony is … I just don’t want Aaron to get hurt because of this.”

Felicity studied her plate in startled silence. Not many men were likely to be bigger or tougher than Aaron. How dangerous
was
Tony Sachitano? Maybe she ought to find out.

Accordingly, she returned to her own house and spent the larger part of the day plowing through more trash and stuffing it into large garbage bags, which she stowed on the front porch until she could find out where or how to dispose of household trash. The front porch now hosted a goodly pile of the sacks, and the living room had achieved a reasonably uncluttered look at last.

Well-pleased with her efforts, Felicity turned her thoughts toward the problem of Tony Sachitano. When she spotted Aaron’s pickup truck in the driveway next door and saw the two little boys racing toward the barn, she walked over and found them in the stalls, diligently brushing their two ponies. They confirmed her worst fears.

Pete said with enthusiasm, “My daddy is the biggest man in the whole world.”

“Bigger than your Uncle Aaron?” Felicity jumped nervously when Rhyolite snorted at her from the adjoining stall.

“Our daddy is
big
,” Joey added. “Really big — and strong.”

That settled it, as far as Felicity was concerned. Tony Sachitano had probably made his way through college by playing tackle for the University of Texas or something. She leaned against the stall door and thought on the matter.

“You may as well pet Rhyolite,” Aaron said from behind her. “He took a liking to you the day you rode him.”

Felicity edged away. “He’s probably wondering what I taste like. If you’ve got a minute, I’d like to talk to you.”

“Now, Miss Clayton, horses are vegetarians.” Aaron blocked her retreat, smiling encouragingly. “Come on in and let me show you how to pet a horse. Then we can talk.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve got to get back to sorting through junk. The living room is finally somewhat clean, so I’ll be starting on the kitchen next.”

“You’re bound to be worn out, what with all the ghost-busting last night.” He took her arm and guided her gently toward the stall. “This won’t take but a minute.”

“I need to check in at my shop. It’s time for our biannual inventory — ”

Thanks to her confusion at Aaron’s nearness, Felicity didn’t realize what was happening until he opened a stall door and propelled her inside. She dug her red-fringed boots into the concrete too late.

She tried to edge around him. “I’m supposed to meet the real estate agent this afternoon. I really don’t have time for this.”

Aaron didn’t seem to hear her. “Easy, boy. I’ve brought you an old friend who’s been avoiding you lately.”

“Who says?” Felicity quavered. “Will you stop shoving?”

“Reach out with your right hand and stroke his forehead,” Aaron said.

“Who, me? No, thank you.”

“Cowgirl, you have an image to uphold. The horse is waiting. Take your time.”

Felicity stared, frozen, at Rhyolite, who eyed her back in an interested way. She could have sworn the horse was curious to see what she was going to do next.

Rhyolite snorted and blew gently from wide, flexible nostrils. She gasped and stepped back into Aaron’s broad chest. He imitated a brick wall in immovability.

“Go ahead,” Aaron said softly. He slid his arms around her waist. “He’s wondering why you aren’t touching him. You wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings, would you?”

“He has feelings?”

“Put out your right hand and stroke his head.”

“I’ll tell you a secret. I’m a saleswoman, not a cowgirl.”

“You’re a true cowgirl at heart. Trust me.”

She knew she was being ridiculous, but stretching out her hand to pet the big horse was a tough proposition. Felicity took a deep breath, held it, and stretched out her hand. Nothing happened. Rhyolite watched, and so did Felicity, as her hand came within six inches of his muzzle and stopped.

Rhyolite shoved his soft, gray muzzle into her hand. Felicity shook, but she couldn’t jump backward because of Aaron. Forced to stand her ground, she gathered her courage and stroked her hand gently over the horse’s forehead.

“Now give him these.” Aaron placed several sugar cubes in her hand.

She held out her hand, palm flat. There was nothing to this horse business after all. One just had to have courage. Her courage left in a gasp when the horse lipped the cubes from her palm. She remained frozen in position, palm out, until Aaron gently pulled her arm back.

“Rhyolite is now your slave,” Aaron guided her out and shut the stall door. “He’ll make sure you get an extra-smooth ride next time you take him out.”

That would be never. Felicity said nothing and led the way out of the stable, setting a swift pace. Aaron probably thought she was a first-class coward, but she didn’t care at the moment.

Aaron laughed and caught up to her. “Slow down. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

She glanced around. Pete and Joey were still occupied inside the stables, grooming their ponies. “Do you think Tony Sachitano really is going to come here?”

He led her to the fence that enclosed the pasture where he let his saddle horses run and leaned against it. Felicity laid both her palms on the top rail and gazed absently at Quiche. Aaron slipped an arm across her shoulders in the way she had seen him do with Deborah and drew her close to his side. He stood beside her in silence for a moment.

“I’m surprised he hasn’t come,” he said at last. “That’s what had me worried — the fact that he hasn’t come yet.”

“You’re worried because he
hasn’t
come?”

“That’s right. Tony’s a great guy. I’ve always liked him, and he’s always treated Deborah with kid gloves, just the way she needed. So I’m at a loss as to what’s gone wrong, and all Deb will say is that he’s seeing another woman. Frankly, I find it hard to believe, but nothing will be sorted out until he does come.”

Felicity fell silent. Obviously, Aaron had the typical male outlook. Maybe he didn’t realize he was now the official protector of the woman Tony Sachitano had claimed as his own. That made him the automatic target of Tony’s wrath.

“This is one trouble I can’t pull Deborah out of,” Aaron said, in a soft rumble. “If I thought Tony was beating her or the children, I’d probably kill him, but she assures me it’s nothing like that. Deb is going to have to handle this on her own.”

She turned to stare at him. “Don’t you think you should be a little worried about this?”

“This, from you?” Aaron’s smile went crooked. “You’re the one who’s made me see that I’ve been guilty of fighting so many of Deb’s battles for her, she hasn’t learned any fighting skills of her own. I’m here for her if she needs me, but I’m refusing to get involved in whatever her quarrel is with her husband. It’s strictly between the two of them. As far as I’m concerned, the sooner she goes face to face with Tony, the better.” He sighed and added, “What worries me is why he hasn’t come before now.”

Felicity felt frozen with astonishment. Aaron was taking lessons in family relationships from
her
?