Wandering Heart (2 page)

"Are you saying
you've changed?"

"I'd like to
think so. By the way," he said, nudging her with his elbow,
teasingly. "I like your disguise. It's so…original."

"Who said—"

He shook his
head and gave her soft chuckle. "Ah, come on, Angel, nobody wears
artilery anymore. Who are you hiding from?"

She made a face
at him, bringing back childhood memories of his constant
teasing.

When she didn't
answer, he leaned over and whispered. "So, have you remarried?"

"No." Then
seeing his sardonic glance she went on to explain. "And it's not
because I'm pining away for Raif. But I do have a child to raise,
you know."

He was a
hunter, his grin entrapping her like a snare. "That's good news. It
makes my trip here worth it. You know you're about the last person
I figured I'd run into. Last time I saw you, you were rounder, and
prettier than a snowman at Christmas."

"I was
pregnant!" she said nearly choking, her skin suffusing with a blush
she was sure he couldn't see.

"Mm, and on you
it looked good, Angel."

She could feel
his eyes on her.

It made her
nervous, and she bit a fingernail.

"Some things
never change. Be seeing you, Angel."

And then he was
gone, as quickly as he had appeared.

*****

Days passed,
days of endless work, both at the farm and the office, and Angela's
schedule never let up. She worked at campaign headquarters, for
Greg Thompson. And as the campaign got closer, Greg seemed more on
edge, almost unapproachable.

Thoughts of
Cooper flitted through her mind, but she quickly squashed them.

It was a cool,
rainy morning when Greg called her into his office just before
lunch. Angela sighed heavily as she sat in the chair opposite him,
she'd been up since four that morning, taking care of her stock.
Judging from his stormy expression, Angela knew he wasn't pleased
with her for some reason. A fret wrinkle grew between her eyebrows.
What had she done wrong now?

"Angela," he
said slowly, distinctly, the way he always spoke when agitated.
"I've wanted to talk to you about how late you've been the past few
weeks. Darling," he drawled effectively getting her attention. She
wished he wouldn't use politics on her. "I don't mean to harp at
you so much, but things are beginning to heat up around here, and
you've left Maxine to carry the load more mornings than I care to
count. I can't let our personal feelings carry over into the
office. I have to be fair."

Angela felt the
air squeezing from her lungs in one long rush. Greg was right,
guilty as charged. She stood up, then began to pace, sinking gently
into the soft plush carpeting, creating a cloud for her feet. The
word luxurious came to mind.

Quietly, she
reflected a moment about the man she was secretly engaged to. An
intelligent man, a man with a goal, a man not intimidated by money,
Greg had it all, enjoyed it, and his taste reflected it.

"You're right
of course. I'm sorry. But you must understand, Greg, I have other
responsibilities. I'm not the run of the mill kind
of office girl. I can't afford to be. My farm has to come first.
It's my home. I told you that before I came to work here. There's
no one to do the work but Josh and me. It means getting up at the
crack of dawn before I come to work here, and sometimes, it means
being late. I've hired help before and you know only too well how
that turned out."

Greg glanced
over his rimless glasses at her, shaking his head firmly.

"Yes, I
remember only too well. Perhaps I should interview some people for
you. You're working far too hard, and I'm partly responsible. I'll
put an ad in the paper. But, I think you really should consider
putting the farm up for sale, soon, Angela. It's simply too much
for you. Besides, after we're married you'll have to get rid of
it."

"Get rid of
it?" That thought froze to her brain; she had contemplated having
to sell out sooner or later, but Josh loved the farm. And she had
put her heart and soul in it too. How was she going to do it? She
wasn't sure she had the heart to sell, even for Greg.

Angela's first
marriage was such a whirlwind; she secretly imagined her second
being more sensible. She was right about that. Greg was a practical
man; and she was glad of it. At least she thought she was. So why
did deep down a secret part of her want romance too. Definitely
something Greg didn't waste time on. At first Angela had been glad
he was so sensible, but gradually Angela felt she'd been missing
something.

Until, she
wasn't marrying Greg for romance, but stability, a quality her
first husband had lacked. She was older, she had more sense now,
and she knew what to look for in a husband. Not that she hadn't
loved Raif with all her heart and soul, she had, but she understood
that it was a frivolous kind of love, full of mad passions and a
lot of warm summer nights.

Angela paused
at the edge of Greg's desk, feeling the rich texture with her
fingertips. No imitations for Greg, she mused.

She drew
closer, drawing his full attention, an indulging smile playing at
her full red lips. Greg liked red, and she was teasing him with her
perfect pout.

Funny, when she
thought about it, she'd never played at flirting much.

"The ads are a
wonderful idea, but I'd prefer doing the actual interviewing
myself. I mean it's only logical. I know what to look for in a farm
manager. And as for marriage, I don't think that's been properly
brought up yet."

A look of
indulgence crossed Greg's fine features, straining his reserve.
"No, I suppose I haven't actually gotten down on my knees with the
question. But at our ages, it's understood. It's only a matter of
time, and you know it. But getting back to the subject, darling, I
think I should do the hiring this time. I mean, remember the last
three you hired?"

Obviously
seeing the quick dismay she failed to hide, he cleared his throat,
adjusted his tie, and smiled that campaign smile at her

"That was
tacky, I apologize. But, you've got to admit, I'm right. And there
are a few things that women just don't handle as well as men. I
hired my own staff, I think I could hire your manager, given
time."

Angela bristled
as he spoke. Greg knew nothing infuriated her more than constantly
being reminded of her mistakes. She never considered herself a true
women's libber, but Greg was unsettling her with his macho act. In
fact, Greg had been making her anger flare a lot lately. More than
she cared to contemplate. They simply weren't getting along as well
as they should be. Greg liked calling the shots, being the manly
figure, and in the past, she had enjoyed him taking over, but today
wasn't one of those days.

"You know,
you've reminded me several times about my mistakes, Greg. And on
any other subject, other than the farm, I'd probably concede. But
you've got to admit, you are a regular green horn when it comes to
farming. You really wouldn't know what questions to ask."

"Fine, we'll
both ask them."

Sometimes
settling wasn't good enough. She wanted to win this one. But she
had a lot at stake. She was going to marry Greg. He would provide
her and Josh with a good life, for the rest of her life. She had to
learn to give and take, and be—diplomatic.

"Okay, we'll
both interview them." There was no use arguing, but she felt she'd
lost something and for the life of her she couldn't put her finger
on it. Or could she?

Greg had just
won the debate and he knew it, a smile radiated on his face as he
came closer. "That's what I like about you, Angela. You have a
level head. You know when to compromise. That's important these
days. Now that we've settled that, do you suppose you could stay
late tonight at the office?"

Late? Again?
When would it end?

Angela found
herself nodding, feeling the guilt for not being home with Josh
already. "I'll have to call Pat and see if Josh can stay over there
tonight. I really hate imposing on them so much. She's been a great
friend, and so helpful, but I hate to ask so often."

"I realize the
inconvenience, darling. And I'll have to personally meet and thank
this Pat myself, one day."

"Oh, you've met
her."

"Have I
really?" He shrugged it off, as though it was suddenly unimportant.
"I don't recall."

Angela followed
him to the file cabinet. "Yes, of course you have. She's the one
that helped design your campaign signs."

His brow raised
a fraction in question, and then his face cleared. "Oh, yes, that
one, very artistic."

"Yes," Angela
said, "she wanted to be an artist, but she had to choose between a
career and her husband. She chose George."

Greg was
absorbed in a file he had pulled from the cabinet, obviously not
listening, not caring. Funny, but Greg could put a person down
faster than concrete dried on a hot day. It was a minor flaw and
she overlooked it most of the time, but today it bothered her.
Today everything bothered her.

Yet, for all
his weaknesses, Greg was a fine man, Angela reminded herself, and
very handsome. Every girl in town practically swooned when he
walked by. And why not? He had a nice physique. He worked out at
the gym three times a week, played racquetball and tennis at least
once a week, and, of course, golf. Not only that but he was
intelligent too.

Angela raked
her gaze slowly over him. His hair shone with golden glints, his
green eyes danced with an eagerness to succeed.

Angela couldn't
keep the picture out of her mind. She'd conjured it more than once.
She could see him coming home to his pipe and slippers, reading the
paper, petting the dog, and inquiring eagerly about the kids. Oops,
kids, they hadn't discussed that yet either. The fact that Greg
wasn't overly fond of children had kept that question at bay longer
than it should have been..

"How about
dinner afterwards?"

As tempting as
it was, Angela found herself shaking her head. "No, I better not. I
need to pick Josh up as soon as possible."

It was a small
action, but nonetheless, Angela noticed it immediately as Greg's
shoulders tensed. "I understand, but you have to eat. And besides,
I thought you told me this Pat enjoys having Josh over as much as
possible."

"That's true,
she does. But I'd like to keep her enjoying his company. I really
don't like imposing. And I'm sure Maxine and I will just grab a
burger or something."

"A burger?" He
turned up his nose. "I don't know how you keep that hour glass
figure of yours, eating things like burgers. They're really not
that good for you, Angela."

"I know. That's
why I have at least four or five home cooked meals every week
with plenty of home-grown vegetables. There are advantages to
farming." Of course she knew she'd never convince Greg of that.

"A steak would
be much better than a burger."

"Granted, but
I'll survive."

"All right,
darling, you know best," he said with an indulging tone, his eyes
scanning the file in his hands once more. "Tell me, have you given
anymore thought to Josh attending military school?"

This was not
the day to discuss it and Angela bristled before thinking.

He sat the file
on his desk and reached for a nail file in his top drawer of his
desk.

"No," she
murmured distractedly, watching him with growing irritation. She
liked an immaculate man, but sometimes it was disgusting the way he
was always primping. A minor flaw, she reminded herself. It seemed
her mind was bent on concentrating on his negative qualities.

She glanced
down at her own bitten fingernails and grimaced.

When Greg
looked at her with a mocking smile she went on to explain.
"Honestly Greg, I need Josh home with me, especially now. Maybe
when he's older, and only if he really wants to."

"You're the
parent, Angela. Kids don't know what's best for them. That's what
parents are for, to guide them. They don't have the proper insight.
Besides, it's an opportunity of a lifetime for him. Do you realize
what it could do for him? It would make a man of him."

"A man?" Angela
murmured then slumped into the chair in front of the desk. "I don't
want a ten-year old man, Greg. Look, he's taking the piano lessons
you wanted, let's leave well enough alone, shall we?"

"As you wish."
Greg turned away from her, glanced at his watch, his way of
dismissing any issue he didn't care to continue with. "Good grief,
I'm nearly late for my meeting with Senator Gallagher. I've got to
run. Hate to rush off, but duty calls."

Again he had
turned off the subject of Josh.

Chapter
Two

Two weeks later
Angela was back at the "Palace", anxious to see "Gone with the
Wind", not that she hadn't seen it a dozen times before, but each
time was like the first. Old movie classics were her weakness.

She glanced
around to see if she recognized anyone. The same group of
teen agers were sitting in the back row again. She grinned.
Downstairs a couple of older ladies from the auxiliary were sitting
midway up the aisle. Several more walked in as they dimmed the
lights, and the big red velvet curtain rose.

After tucking
her raincoat under her seat, she sat back, her legs drawn under
her, Indian style. Baggy sweats and hair curlers intact, she smiled
to herself as she nibbled on her popcorn and sipped her soft
drink.

In her own
little heaven, she let the music surround her. The magic of the
romance captured her heart and soul. She was lost.

She didn't hear
the voice behind her until a warm breath feathered her neck and
ears, sending prickles of awareness through her. An awareness she
wasn't used to feeling, but recognized instantly.