He pulled his emotions up short. It wouldn’t do to give in to this unexpected yen for her. He was playing with fire, and God forbid he should get burned a second time.
Nicole, unaware of his thoughts, was having some difficulties of her own trying to figure out his taciturn somberness after the new and delicate camaraderie between them. She guessed, rightly, that he was holding back out of apprehension, and she even understood. But she didn’t want him to leave her alone. She was beginning to love him, and it was only when she admitted it that she realized how desperately she wanted him.
Four
W inthrop wasn’t at the supper table. Nicole didn’t really expect him to be, because it was early November now, and according to Gerald, the boss was getting his management program in gear for winter. That included culling cattle; weaning, preconditioning and delivering calves; making the initial selection of replacement cattle and starting them on feed; and all the veterinarian-related chores that that entailed. With the sheer immensity of the cow-calf operation, it was a full-time job for the boss to keep up with what was going on. Mike, the foreman, relieved Winthrop of a lot of headaches, but even with a firm of accountants to do the paperwork, Winthrop still had to make the big decisions. No wonder he was putting in so many late hours, Nicole thought after Gerald had explained his absence.
Later that evening, Gerald had some correspondence for her. They went into the study to work. The room had Winthrop’s personality stamped all over it. There was a bear’s head on the wall, and burgundy leather furniture. The rugs were Indian, and the huge stone fireplace was made of native rock in comparable colors. The desk was oak, the chairs man-size and comfortable. There was a copper kettle on the hearth, and it reminded Nicole of the huge copper mining operation she’d seen as they came through Butte on the day they’d arrived. On the wall was a portrait of a man in buckskin, and she wondered if that was the French trader who was an ancestor of the Christophers.
“By the way, Sadie’s invited us for dinner Friday night,” Gerald said as he sorted out his mail, which had been forwarded from Chicago that afternoon. “Is that convenient for you?”
“That’s fine,” she said. “I look forward to meeting her again.” She sat poised with her steno pad on her lap. “Uh, Winthrop asked if I’d go into Butte with him tomorrow night. To a restaurant.”
Gerald pursed his lips and smiled mischievously. “I see,” he mused. “So Winthrop’s out to take my girl away from me, is he? I’m not sure if I like that.”
It was an old joke between them, dating from her first six months as his secretary when two of the vice presidents had tried to steal her out from under his nose. She laughed and he was smiling. But the man out in the hall, overhearing him, didn’t see that. Winthrop was within reach of the doorknob, but his lean hand faltered.
“He’s not likely to try to take me away from you, so you can stop worrying,” she said, tongue in cheek. “Anyway, he couldn’t do it, you’re quite unmatchable. Are you reassured?”
“I am.” Gerald sighed theatrically, his brown eyes playful. He wasn’t at all bad-looking. He just seemed very young beside his brother. “What a frightening thought!” he added with a mock shudder. “That I could lose you to my own brother. But Winthrop is too much a gentleman to steal from people, so I can relax. Now, suppose we get down to work?”
Winthrop turned and walked out the front door. His footsteps were so soft, and the closing of the door so quiet, that the occupants of the study didn’t hear him.
He hadn’t expected Nicole to be like that. He’d been sure that her ardor was real, that she’d felt the same tenderness he had. And here she was telling Gerald that there was no chance Winthrop could turn her head. He felt sick to his stomach and furiously angry. He couldn’t bear the thought of being near her anymore, not after hearing her conversation with Gerald. What a close call, but at least he’d been spared. His face hardened as he began to work out what he was going to do. Thank God, she’d never know just how close she’d come to getting under his skin.
There was no sign of Winthrop for the rest of the evening, and the next morning, Gerald found a note waiting for him when they sat down to breakfast. He read over it, obviously puzzled.
“Winthrop,” he said, waving the slip of paper. “He’s gone to Omaha, God knows why. Something about a cattle deal. He said he’s sorry about this evening, but he’ll have to take a rain check on your dinner date.”
“That’s all right,” she said, hiding her disappointment. “I’m sure he couldn’t help it.”
Gerald, who knew his older brother a little better than Nicole did, was uneasy. Winthrop hadn’t offered to take a woman out to dinner since that blond barracuda did him in. Nicky had touched something in him, something cold and dormant, and now Winthrop seemed determined to fight it to the last breath. Gerald studied Nicky, wondering if she had any idea how disturbing Winthrop must find her. Probably not. She was a sweet person, a little reserved most of the time. Gerald was fond of her, in a brotherly way, and he felt responsible for Winthrop’s unexpected coolness toward her. Knowing how his brother felt, Gerald should have been more wary of bringing a woman to the ranch. But it had been Winthrop who’d mentioned bringing Nicky. Come to think of it, Winthrop had asked a lot of questions about her after he’d seen her that day at the Chicago office. He pursed his lips. Well, well. Big brother had an Achilles’ heel, it seemed. He smiled as the thought warmed his mind. And now that Winthrop had the quarry near the hook, he was going to play her for a while, was that it? Or had he gotten cold feet and was now running?
“You’re very quiet,” Nicole said hesitantly.
“I’m just thinking. By the way, with Winthrop gone, would you rather spend tonight at Sadie’s?” he asked with old-world politeness.
She smiled. “You’re a nice man. Would you mind?”
“Heavens, no,” he murmured. Besides, it would give him an excuse to see Sadie again the next day, when he went to fetch Nicky. And it would kill any potential gossip stone dead. Winthrop might appreciate that one day.
They went that night to have dinner with Sadie. She was a tall woman with blond hair and soft brown eyes. Nicky had always liked her, and the two of them found plenty to talk about when Sadie had come by the office to wait for Gerald.
“I’ll be delighted to have you stay the night,” Sadie told her enthusiastically. “It gets lonely with just me for company. Mother likes people.”
“How is she?” Gerald asked gently.
Sadie sighed and shook her head. “No better. No worse. She just lies and looks at the wall and begs to die.” She bit back tears. “Here, Nicky, help me get the food on the table, will you? Gerald, would you like to go in and ask Mother if she needs anything?”
“Certainly,” he agreed, and paused to exchange a look with Sadie that was long and bittersweet.
Sadie watched him leave the room, her eyes wandering over his tall figure in the becoming tan suit.
“I’m hopeless,” Sadie sighed, smiling shyly. “I love him to death, but there’s not a thing I can do about it. I love Mother, too. I can’t leave her.”
Nicky studied the wan face. “He hasn’t been well, either,” she said.
Sadie glanced up. “Oh, dear.”
“An ulcer,” Nicole said. “Just an ulcer. But he pushes so hard.”
“He always has. Competing, you know,” she added with a loving smile. “He feels he has to come up to par with Winthrop.”
“That would be a tall order,” Nicky said without thinking as she laid the table.
Sadie glanced at her as she filled cups with steaming black coffee. “He’s a cold man.”
“Not really,” Nicole replied softly. “He’s just hurt, that’s all.”
The older woman pursed her lips. “How did you wind up on the ranch?”
“Mr. Christopher wanted to come home for a month to rest and work. I have car payments, furniture payments, payment payments…” She grinned. “I couldn’t afford to lose a mont
h’s pay, so I came, too.”
“And now Winthrop’s done a vanishing act. Why?”
“I don’t know,” Nicky said honestly. “He asked me out to dinner tonight, and then this morning he left.” She shrugged. “He’s very difficult to understand.”
“He always was. I’ve known the two brothers for years. I went to school with Gerald.” She filled the coffee cups and then placed them in their lovely china saucers on the linen tablecloth. “Winthrop was always a loner, although he was something of a rounder in his younger days. He broke hearts…”
“I’ll bet he did,” Nicky murmured. She looked up. “Did you know about the blonde?”
“Everybody around here knew about the blonde,” Sadie replied. “It was a nine-day wonder. The gossip went on forever, as it does in small communities. Winthrop got back on his feet and lived it down, but I imagine he hasn’t really gotten over it. She was a first-class barracuda. She’d have cut him up like fish bait if they hadn’t been in that wreck. She’d have taken him for everything he had, and left him bleeding without a backward glance. She married an oil millionaire, you know. They say she’s got a closet full of mink coats.”
“How sad,” Nicky said genuinely, her green eyes full of bitterness. “So many people marry for money. Or try to.”
“I’ll bet you never would,” Sadie said unexpectedly. “Gerald always did like you. I’m a bit jealous of you.”
“Me?” Nicky grinned. “Thanks, but he’s too nice a man to make a play for his secretary. I’d do anything for him, but only in the line of duty. I’m shy that way. Most men don’t appeal to me physically.”
“Does Winthrop?”
Nicole flushed and flapped around while Sadie burst out laughing.
“I’m sorry, but your guilty secret is safe with me,” Sadie said with a laugh. “Oh, Nicky, what a man to get hot and bothered by. The iceman!”
“It could be worse. I could develop a case for some married man with twenty kids.”
“True, true.” She put the finishing touches on the table arrangement. “Come and meet Mother, and then I’ll show you where to put your overnight case.”
“You’re nice to let me stay,” Nicky said. “You and I know that nothing would go on, but people talk. I don’t want any gossip about my nice boss.”
“Neither do I, and I’m glad you’re old-fashioned.” The nurse narrowed her eyes. “You really are old-fashioned, aren’t you?” she asked with startling perception.
Nicky cleared her throat. “I always thought…well, marriage is nice. They say white only means it’s your first marriage, but it means a lot more than that to me. I had old-fashioned grandparents.”
She didn’t add that she had wildly liberated parents and a succession of stepparents, or that her grandparents had gone to court to save her from the glitter.
“Good for them,” Sadie said. “Her room’s through here.”
Sadie’s mother was small and withered and very quiet. She looked like a little doll lying there, white hair and pale blue eyes and a beaten look about her. She could only move one side of her body—even one eye and part of her mouth were affected. It must have been a massive stroke.
“Mama, this is Nicky,” Sadie introduced her.
Gerald moved. He’d been sitting on the bed beside the little old woman, holding her hand. He got up so that Nicky could sit and take the wrinkled little fingers in hers.
“Hello, Mama,” Nicky grinned. “Or should I call you Mrs. Todd?” She raised her eyebrows.
“You may call me Mama if you like,” Sadie’s mother said, with the first hint of a twinkle in her eyes.
“That would be nice,” Nicky said, smiling. “Mine died a long time ago. I don’t have one. So if Sadie doesn’t mind, I can share you. It’s a pretty big deal,” she added with mock solemnity. “I live on a tight budget, so working another person into my Christmas shopping list is a great honor. I give Godiva chocolates as presents,” she whispered.
The old lady actually laughed. Her thin fingers tightened on Nicky’s. “Do you?” she whispered.
“Do you like chocolates?”
Mama managed to smile. “I love them!”
“Lucky you, to have just adopted me,” Nicky said. She searched the tired old eyes. “I’ll bet you were as beautiful as Sadie, at her age,” she mused.
“Yes, I was,” the old woman said emphatically. “Sadie…show her.”
“This was Mother at my age.” Sadie held up a small portrait study. The woman in the photograph was standing beside a tall, dark man, and she was the image of Sadie.
“Weren’t you a dish?” Nicole sighed, studying it. “You’re still a dish,” she added, glancing down at the smiling woman. “What can we bring you to eat? I saw roast beef and mashed potatoes and a salad….”
“Mashed potatoes and gravy,” the woman replied eagerly. “And is there pudding?”
“Yes,” Sadie said quickly, although there wasn’t and she’d have to rush back and make one.
“I’ll have pudding, too,” came the pleased reply. “Now go and eat,” her mother said. “Then Nicole can visit with me while you and Gerald put everything away.”
“Nicky’s staying the night. Winthrop’s away,” Sadie explained.
“If it’s all right,” Nicky asked.
“It’s all right,” the old woman said fiercely. “Go and eat, child. If I adopt you, you must be fattened up. I don’t want any thin children.”
Nicky laughed, her green eyes sparkling in her elfin face as she got to her feet. “I’ll double up on portions. And I’ll bring your pudding myself.”
Sadie just shook her head when they were back in the dining room. “Never,” she whispered, smiling. “I’ve never seen her so animated. She just lies there and hates it. Tonight, for the first time, she came alive. Nicky, what did you do?”
“I stirred her up,” Nicky said with twinkling eyes. “That’s all. People need stirring up now and again, especially when they’re bitter.”
“You should see what Nicole did to Winthrop,” Gerald mused. “He left home.”
“That wasn’t my fault.”
“Tell me about it,” Gerald invited, a mischievous twinkle in his dark eyes.
“It wasn’t. All I did was…” She hesitated, her face turning red as she thought about what she’d done and the way she and Winthrop had kissed so hungrily in the woods.
Gerald raised an eyebrow and exchanged a glance with Sadie.
“Is everything on the table?” Nicky asked quickly, sitting down.
With the subject safely changed, they took their places and began to eat. Watching Gerald and Sadie, she could easily see that they felt something for each other. Nicole’s gentle heart went out to them, because it was obvious that they couldn’t have any kind of future together in this situation. Putting Mrs. Todd in a nursing home would be condemning her to death. And Nicole had a feeling that she was very possessive about her daughter, perhaps without realizing it. Sadie was shy and so was Gerald, to a large extent. It was a difficult situation.
Sadie made a vanilla pudding and when it was dished up, Nicole took a tray to Mrs. Todd’s room.
“I haven’t enjoyed anything so much for a long time,” Mrs. Todd sighed when she finished. “It’s so hard to bear, being like this. I was always active, able to do as I pleased. And now…”
“Won’t you get better?” Nicole asked quietly.
“I don’t know. The doctors said I might. But that was a year ago; I think they’ve given up now.”
Nicole put the tray to one side. “That’s a nice bird feeder outside the window,” she remarked, glancing at the elaborate chrome and glass affair.
“I love birds,” the old lady explained. “I can watch them.”
Nicole pursed her lips. “Do you have any binoculars?”
Her eyes gleamed. “No.”
“I’ll get you some. How about a book on birds, so you can identify them?”
The old eyes got brighter. “I’d love it!”
“Done. Just give me a few days. Now, how about a good murder mystery? There’s one on television, one of those Agatha Christie ones, and I won’t even tell you who done it.”
Mrs. Todd actually laughed. “You should be with the young people, Nicole.”
“The young people are—what did you flappers call it—spooning,” she whispered conspiratorially. “At least, I hope they are. Gerald’s very shy, and I think your daughter is, too.”
“Yes, she is, poor child. She’s such a good girl, and she’s been so sweet to come and look after me. A lot of children would have turned their backs, or put me in a nursing home,” Mrs. Todd said worriedly. “She hasn’t said anything about it, but I know she’s lonely here.”
Nicole patted the old hand. “She loves you.”
Mrs. Todd looked up. “And that young man…is he yours?”
She shook her head. “But I think he might be Sadie’s. Would you mind?”
Mrs. Todd thought about it for a minute. “Well, no. He’s a good boy. Not a patch on Winthrop, mind you, but the Christophers are fine people. I knew their mother. She was a dream girl.”
“I hear their father was a nightmare man,” Nicole said, fishing for information.
“Oh, no. He was a dynamo. We were all so jealous when he went to New York after Margaret. She didn’t want to come, they’d had some terrible falling out. But he made her, kept her down at that house a virtual prisoner, until she agreed to marry him. Just between you and me, I think he took unfair advantage, too, but she loved him like a tigress. They were very happy.”
“Did he look like Winthrop?” Nicole asked softly.
The old eyes seemed suddenly young. “Yes.”
“A big man?”
“Body and heart. How is Winthrop? Is he getting over that woman?”
“I don’t know him that well.”
“Of course you don’t, but you light up when I mention him, all the same. Turn on the television, child, and save your blushes. And then why don’t you say good-night to the young lovers for us both and we’ll hope something nice develops.”
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