Maggie had actually witnessed that. Sometimes she wondered if it hadn't happened because of her.
She'd been spending a couple of weeks with his sisters at the ranch when she was about sixteen. They'd gone into town with Janet to shop, driven by one of the hands, a new man with too interested eyes and a way of talking to the young girls that amused Robin and Audrey but terrified Maggie. Gabe had been at the hardware store, right next door to the grocery store where Janet shopped. And when the girls had come out, the new man had put his hand on Maggie's waist and insolently let it drop to her hip in a blatant caress.
Gabe had moved over a rack of shovels with alarming speed, and his powerful fists had made a shuddering mess of the new cowhand. Gabe had fired him on the spot, oblivious to the fascinated stares of passersby, and in language that had colored Maggie's face a bright red.
Gabe had started to move toward her, and with visible apprehension she'd backed away from him, her green eyes wide and frightened. Whatever he'd meant to say never got said. He'd glared at the girls and demanded to know what they were staring at. Then he'd ordered them back to the car and stalked off, lighting a cigarette as calmly as if nothing had happened. The girls had said later that he'd explained the man had gotten in trouble for mistreating an animal. But Maggie had always wondered if it hadn't been because he'd insulted her. It was one of those unfinished episodes that haunted her.
Maybe it had all happened a long time ago, she conceded. Still... Memories were one thing, but living under his roof was quite another. And she definitely preferred to keep Gabe at a safe distance. Like the distance from San Antonio to the Cole-man ranch.
But saying no to Janet Coleman was like talking to a wall. Within minutes, Maggie found herself agreeing to the visit.
Chapter Two
If Maggie had thought Janet would just go back home and leave Maggie to follow, she was dead wrong. Janet helped her pack and even drove them to the exclusive boarding school to drop Becky off and tell the office where Maggie could be reached if she was needed.
Mrs. Haynes, who ran the school, was a good friend of the family. It was comforting to Maggie to know that the woman was aware of the situation with Dennis and knew not to let him take the child. She still felt uneasy about leaving Becky, but she needed time to think and plan. If she was to keep her daughter, she had to act quickly.
"I hate leaving you here," Maggie told the child as she hugged her goodbye. "Becky, I promise you, as soon as school is out, we'll make some better arrangements, so that you can stay with me all the time."
"You mustn't worry, Mama," Becky said seriously, sounding for all the world like an adult. “I’ll be just fine. And as soon as school is out, you come right back here and get me, all right?"
"All right, darling," Maggie promised, smothering an amused smile. "I will. Be a good girl."
Minutes later, Maggie and Janet were on their way to the massive ranch the Colemans owned, which was far to the north of San Antonio, up near Abilene. The nearest town was Junction, a modern little place with just enough stores to qualify for a post office. It even had an airport of sorts.
"I'm sorry I couldn't get Gabriel to fly me here," Janet apologized as they sped up the long highway in the sleek silver Lincoln Mark IV that was the older woman's pride and joy. "But he was busy with roundup and couldn't be bothered," she muttered darkly. "After all, I'm just his mother. Why should I come before the cattle? He couldn't even get a good price for me; I'm too old and tough!"
It was all Maggie could do to keep from laughing. Janet had a dry sense of humor and she was delightful as a companion. Yes, maybe this would turn out for the best after all. It was going to be a nice visit, and she'd be able to put Dennis and the horror of the past into perspective and plan her strategy to keep Becky out of her ex-husband's clutches. If only it weren't for Gabriel...
It was spring and already hot in this part of the world, and the ride was tiring despite the air conditioning and the car's luxurious interior. Janet had to stop frequently for gas and soft drinks and rest rooms. But eventually they passed through the edges of the beautiful hill country, nearing Abilene, and brush turned to lush, cultivated flatland.
"We have two airplanes, after all," Janet continued her chatter as they drove the final few miles. "Not to mention a helicopter." She glanced at Maggie. "You're worn out, aren't you, dear?" She sighed.
"No, not at all," Maggie said gently, and even managed to laugh. It had been a long time since she'd felt like laughing, but there was something very relaxing about Janet's company. "We've seen some beautiful country, and I'm really kind of glad we did it this way. You're tired though, aren't you?" she probed gently.
"Me?" the older woman scoffed "My dear, in my youth, I could break wild horses. I'm a Texan."
So was Maggie, and the girl she'd been would have gloried in the challenge of a wild horse. But so much of the spirit had been drained out of her in the past few years. If it hadn't been for Becky, she wasn't sure how long she could have kept her sanity under that kind of pressure.
"I hope you're going to enjoy the ranch," Janet was murmuring as she pulled off onto a graveled road with a huge sign near it that read, "Coleman Ranch, Purebred Santa Gertrudis Cattle."
"I know I will," Maggie promised. She smiled at the sight of the big red-coated cattle grazing behind rugged, rustic fences. "Santa Gertrudis is the only native American breed, isn't it?" she murmured knowledgeably. "Founded on the King Ranch and now famous all over the world. They're so beautiful.... Oh, what I wouldn't give for some of my own!"
Janet drew in a deep breath, her gaze wistful. "Oh, my dear, if only I'd brought you here sooner..." She shook her head as she turned back to the road and eased the car forward. "It's so ironic. Gabriel is obsessed with cattle. You'd have made the perfect daughter-in-law."
"No matchmaking," Maggie cautioned, feeling herself go taut with apprehension. "With all due respect to your son, the last thing in the world I want is a domineering man in my life again. Okay?"
Janet smiled gently. "Okay. And I wouldn't do that to you, truly. But you are so special, my dear."
She smiled back. "You're pretty special yourself." She glanced toward the big white clapboard house with its graceful long porches and green shutters. It had a faintly colonial look about it, but without the huge columns. There were wicker chairs all over, a big porch swing, and flowers blooming in wild profusion everywhere. It was spectacular.
"It's about the same size as your own, isn't it?" Janet laughed. "My father built it with no particular style in mind. It often draws comment for that."
"It's lovely," Maggie sighed. She glanced toward the long wire fences, frowning. "I expected white fences," she murmured.
Her companion laughed. "Gabriel is tight with a dollar," she teased. "There are hundreds of acres of land here, and fencing is expensive. Especially electric fences, which are all he uses these days. He cuts costs wherever he can. Actually," she added, "it's a full-time job just keeping track of cattle and keeping rustlers out. We only keep purebreds here, and when a bull can bring as much as half a million dollars, you can understand why Gabriel is so careful about security. He had a man full-time to do nothing but maintain security here."
"Good heavens" Maggie exclaimed. "People still rustle cattle?"
"Yes, they do. They come in big trucks; it's been modernized along with cattle ranching, but rustling is still a problem."
"I wouldn't have guessed," Maggie said as Janet pulled up to the steps and stopped. She barely noticed Janet's sudden stiffening or the disturbed look in her eyes; she was too busy watching the man who was approaching the stopped car.
He was tall. Lithe and lean, he walked with an arrogance that immediately put Maggie's back up. He was dressed like a working cowboy, but he moved like no other man she'd ever seen. He was graceful, from the top of his wide-brimmed tan hat to the toes of his worn, warped boots. His dusty leather batwing chaps were flying with the sharp movements of long, powerfully muscled legs, and
what she could see of his darkly tanned face under his hat wasn't at all welcoming.
He paused beside the car, and Janet rushed out with an exclamation of pleasure to hug him with the enthusiasm and warmth that seemed so much a part of her. But he drew back sharply.
"For God's sake, stop that!" he bit off, grimacing. He held his side and caught his breath with a hot curse. "I've been bitten by a rattlesnake. The arm's still swollen, and it'll be days before I can get back to work. I don't need it broken!"
Janet flushed, looking flustered and taken aback. "I'm sorry, dear..."
"I can't ride a horse, can't bounce around in the damned trucks, I can't even fly the plane!" He glared at Janet as if it were all her fault. "Landers is even having to drive me around. I've been sicker than an overfed dog."
"I...I'm sorry. You do look pale," Janet said uneasily. "It must be painful."
"I'll live." He looked past Janet to the younger woman, and his chin lifted, his eyes narrowing. He scowled thoughtfully as Maggie stepped from the car, and she saw his eyes under the shadowy brim of the hat.
She was tempted to turn around and run. It was that kind of look. There was nothing welcoming in his lean, sharp-featured countenance. He had a crook in the middle of his nose, as if somebody had broken it. His black eyebrows were as shaggy and thick as the hair on his head, and his protruding brow shadowed eyes as light as candles, as penetrating as only blue eyes could be. His high cheekbones ran down to a firm, hard-looking mouth over a stubborn chin. He wasn't a handsome man, although his face had character and his body was as sensuously powerful as that of a movie star. The fabric of her dreams—in the flesh. But it was no surprise to Maggie that he was thirty-eight and unmarried. It would take a strong woman, a fiery woman, for a man like that. She felt cold chills at the thought of what he might expect of a woman in intimacy.
The feeling must have been mutual, because the look he was giving her spoke volumes. She could imagine how citified she must seem to him, in her lacy white blouse and white slacks, with dainty strapped sandals. She should have worn jeans, she thought belatedly, as she'd planned to in the beginning. Why had she dressed up so? She needed this vacation so badly, and here she'd gone and antagonized him at first glance.
"Gabe, you remember Mary's daughter, Maggie Turner, don't you?" Janet asked.
Maggie stared up at him, watching the fleeting lift of his eyebrows. He looked at her with cold disinterest. "I remember her."
"It's nice to...see you again," she faltered.
He nodded, but he didn't return the greeting. He dismissed her without a second thought and turned back to his mother impatiently as a truck with the ranch logo purred to a stop nearby. "I won't be gone long, but I'm expecting an important call from Cheyenne. If it comes through while I'm gone, have the party call back at five."
"Certainly, dear," Janet agreed. "I'm sorry if I've...we've come at a bad time..."
"Don't you always, Mother?" he asked with a cold smile. "Isn't Europe more your style than dust and cattle?"
"I came to see you," the older woman said with quiet pride.
"I'll be back directly." He turned without another glance and walked to the truck, grimacing despite his iron control as he climbed inside the cab and managed to close the door, waving away the cowboy who offered to help him. They drove off in a cloud of dust.
Janet sighed half-angrily. "I'll never understand him," she said under her breath. "I didn't raise him without manners. I'm sorry, Maggie."
"There's no need to apologize," Maggie said quietly. "I gather that he's in some pain."
"And irritable at having to stay at home when there's work to be done. Roundup is a bad time for everyone. Besides that," she said miserably, "he doesn't like it when I come here. I have to confess that I needed you as much as you needed the rest. I don't like having to cope by myself. But truly, you'll enjoy it. He won't be around much," she added with a hopeful look. "Just until his arm will let him get back to work. Knowing my son," she added bitterly, "it shouldn't take more than a couple of days. Nothing keeps him down for long. He'll convince the doctor that strapping it will accomplish miracles."
"He isn't the most welcoming man," Maggie murmured.
"He'll be gone before you know it. Now come on and let's get settled in," Janet said firmly. "This is my home, too—even if I'm not allowed to visit it very often!"
Maggie didn't reply. She wasn't sure that she'd done the right thing in coming. Gabriel was stone-cold hateful, and time hadn't improved his old dislike of her. She knew instinctively that if his mother hadn't been around, he'd have packed her right back to San Antonio. It wasn't the brightest beginning.
She spent the next two hours reacquainting herself with the big house and getting to know the new cook and housekeeper, whose name was Jennie. She was small and dark and gay, and Maggie liked her immediately.
She settled in, changing her white outfit for jeans and a yellow blouse. She brushed her short hair toward her face and hoped that her appearance wouldn't antagonize the cattleman any further when she went down to have supper with the family.
Gabriel was already at the table, looking furious and glaring at her the minute she walked into the spacious, elegant dining room. In fact, his look was so accusatory that she froze in the doorway, flashing on a line from a dog-training manual about not showing fear and making no sudden moves. Perhaps it would work with the half-civilized cattleman whose mother was obviously kicking him under the table.
"Do join us, dear," Janet said with a glare toward her taciturn son.
"I'm sorry if I've held you up," Maggie said gently, seating herself on the other side of Janet for protection with a wary, green-eyed glance at Gabe that seemed to amuse him.
"Dinner is promptly at six," he returned with a lifted eyebrow. "I don't like being held up, in case you've forgotten." She started to speak, but he cut her off with a lifted hand, ignoring his mother's seething irritation to add mockingly, "I don't bite, Miss Turner," his voice deep and faintly amused.
"Could I have that in writing, please?" she asked with a nervous laugh. She smiled at Janet. "The air smells so fresh and clean out here. No exhaust fumes!"
"That's right, city girl," Gabe replied. He leaned back carefully, favoring his right side, with his coffee cup in his lean hand. He wasn't even neatly dressed or particularly cleaned up. He was still wearing his work clothes, except that his dusty shirt was open halfway down his tanned chest, where a wedge of thick black hair arrowed toward his wide leather belt. That disturbed Maggie, just as it had in her teens, and she looked down at her plate, fiddling with putting the napkin in her lap.
"I would have cleaned up," he said unexpectedly, a bite in his slow drawl as he obviously mistook her expression for distaste, "but I'd just come in from the holding pens when I went to the doctor, and I'm a bit tired."
Her eyes came up quickly, with an apology in them. "Mr. Coleman, this is your home," she said gently. "I wouldn't be so rude as to criticize how you dress."
He stared at her calculatingly for a long moment—so long that she dropped her gaze again to her plate. Finally, he reached for the platter of beef and helped himself, to his mother's obvious relief.
"How did you get bitten, darling?" Janet asked him.
"I reached for a rope without looking."
Janet gnawed her lip. "It must be painful. You won't be able to work for a few days, I guess."
He gave her a cold stare. "I'm managing. If I felt a little stronger, I could ride. It's just the swelling and the pain, that's all. I won't be stuck here for long, I hope."
Janet started to make a comment, but she forced herself to remain silent. It did no good to argue with him.
He glanced from her to Maggie as he buttered a huge fluffy biscuit. "What are you doing these days?" he asked curiously.
"Me? I'm working at a bookstore," Maggie told him. She glanced up and down again, hating the surge of heat to her face. He had the most incredible effect on her, even after the anguish of her
marriage.
"Working, did you say?" His light eyes lifted and probed hers like a microscope. "Your people were wealthy."
"Times change," she said quietly. "I'm not wealthy now. I'm just a working girl."
"Have some peas, dear." Janet tried to interrupt.
He put the biscuit down and cocked his head, studying her with narrowed eyes. "It shows," he said absently. "You don't look like the spunky little kid who used to play with my sisters. What's happened to you?"
Maggie felt herself going cold. He was watching her, like a cat watching a mouse. She felt vulnerable and a little afraid of that single-mindedness. Once, she would have taken exception to his blunt challenge. But there had been so many fights, so much struggle. Her spirit was carefully buried— had to be, for Becky's sake.
She laid down her fork and stared at him. "I've grown up," she replied, her voice soft.
His level gaze sized her up. "You had money. And now you don't. Then what brings you here, Miss Turner? Are you looking for a vacation or a man to support you?"
"Gabriel!" Janet slammed her napkin down. "How dare you!"
Maggie clasped her hands tightly under the table and stared at him with a courage she didn't really feel. "Your mother offered me a visit, Mr. Cole-man," she said dully. "I needed to get away for a little while, that's all. You'll have to excuse me for being so dim, but I didn't realize that I needed your permission as well as Janet's. If you want me to leave...?" She started to rise.
"Oh, for God's sake, sit down," he snapped. His eyes cut into hers. "The last thing I need is a Texas society girl out here at roundup, but if Mother wants you, you're welcome. Just keep to the house," he warned softly, his eyes emphasizing the threat. "And out of my way."
He tossed his own napkin down, ignoring his mother's furious glare.
"I won't get in your way," Maggie said, her voice, her whole manner vulnerable.
Gabriel's pale eyes narrowed as he bent his dark head to light a cigarette, watching her the whole time. "Won't you? What a difference," he added as he took a draw from the cigarette. "The girl I remember was like a young filly, all long legs and excitement and blushing fascination. How you've changed, Maggie Turner."
Books By Diana Palmer Page 14
