He shrugged. "I wasn't used to getting a chance like that, free, for nothing. But then, I'd never met a man like your father." He paused. "I miss him."
"So do I," Sharon said softly, looking down at her hands. She looked up again. "But you paid him back. You helped him when your mother died and he couldn't help himself. I know that meant a lot to him."
"He engineered this, you know," Tay said, smiling slightly, gesturing at the two of them seated across from each other. "He wanted that will to bring us together. I think he had an idea what would happen when it did."
Sharon smiled too. "Was he that smart?"
Tay nodded sagely. "My interest in your activities over the years was not lost on him.''
"I think he knew I fell in love with you that summer," Sharon said. "And he respected you for not capitalizing on that with a young and innocent girl." She grinned suddenly. "Although he wouldn't have thought me so innocent if he had seen me sneaking into the bunkhouse with my teenage seduction routine."
"Don't make light of it. You were very successful," Tay said grimly. "You almost got exactly what you were looking for."
"Our lives would have been so very different if I had," Sharon said softly.
The musicians segued into Vivaldi.
"This place has gone a little highbrow, hasn't it?" Tay said, glancing over at the dais. "Do you think they know any Grand Funk?"
"I doubt it," Sharon said, laughing.
The waiter arrived and Tay ordered a Lambrusco to go with the meal. Sharon decided on veal francaise and Tay got the scalloppine, a specialty of the house.
When the waiter left Tay reached over the table and took Sharon's hand in his.
"Do you know how many times I've been in a place like this with a woman, looked across at my date and wished she were you?"
"I'm here now," Sharon said, twining her fingers with his.
"And in honor of the occasion, I'm going to tell you about the big deal I have pending," he said, smiling mysteriously.
"What big deal?"
"I've been negotiating with one of the banks in Glendora for a loan to buy a brace of Arabians. It just came through last week."
"Tay, that must involve a lot of money."
"It does. But the ranch has been doing well, and I had the down payment money, so they gave me the go-ahead. It should mean about ten or twelve horses, all blooded, nothing but the best.”
"That's wonderful."
"It's a big step for me," he said. "I'm taking a chance branching out like this, but it was a move I had to make sooner or later."
The waiter brought the wine for Tay to sample and left the bottle when it was approved.
“A toast," Tay said, filling their glasses.
"To your upcoming purchase," Sharon said.
“And our future together.''
"Hear, hear."
They drank deeply.
The band changed again, to a slow tune popular a few months earlier.
"That's more like it," Tay said, pushing back his chair. "Would you care to dance?''
Sharon nodded.
He walked around, held her chair as she stood and led her to the dance floor. She slipped into his arms and followed him easily, enjoying his closeness as she always did.
Please let it stay like this, she prayed silently. Please let nothing happen to change it.
She closed her eyes and let her head fall to Tay's shoulder, drifting to the music.
* * * *
When they got back to the house Tay said, "Do you plan on leaving your little duds in your own room?”
“Sure. Why move them?" She hooked her arms around his neck. "But I'm moving myself into your bed. Permanently."
"Sounds good to me." He reached behind her and ran her zipper down its track. He pulled her sleeveless sheath off her shoulders and it dropped to her feet.
"That's the kind of dress I like," he said, kissing her neck. "Easy to remove."
"I'll buy some more of them."
"Do that." He started to work on her one piece teddy, pulling the straps down and pushing the silky material to her waist.
"Don't like this so much," he said judiciously. "Let's get rid of it."
"I agree." She tugged it over her hips and it puddled on the floor.
"Time to adjourn to the inner chamber," he said huskily, scooping her up and walking down the hall to deposit her on his bed. She sprawled in a deliberately seductive attitude, arms over her head, one knee bent to display her legs to best advantage.
"No fair," he said in a low tone, tugging at his tie. When the knot wouldn't come loose he yanked it over his head. He tossed his jacket onto a chair.
"I'm waiting," Sharon murmured, trailing one hand languidly between her breasts.
"You're gonna get it." He unbuckled his belt.
"I hope so."
He pulled off the rest of his clothes and dropped next to her on the bed. She rolled onto her stomach playfully, feigning resistance, and he trapped her quickly. She could feel him, hard and urgent, against the back of her legs. He planted kisses along the ridge of her spine, moving her arms up to slide his hands under her breasts.
"Oh, I like this," he said softly. "Don't move."
"I'm not going anywhere," she whispered, closing her eyes.
He positioned her carefully and said, "I hope you realize I'm trying to get you pregnant."
"If you can't do it, nobody can," she answered, sighing with satisfaction as he entered her.
Conversation ceased as they became lost in each other.
* * * *
Tay was sleeping as Sharon slipped from the bed an hour later. She was very thirsty. Her meal had been highly spiced and she remembered a pitcher of iced tea Rosa had left in the refrigerator.
She picked Tay's shirt off the floor and thrust her arms into the sleeves; the tail hung down to her knees. She was heading for the kitchen when she spotted a pile of mail that Rosa had deposited on the hall table. One of the envelopes was addressed to her, with the Citrus Farms logo in the upper left hand corner.
She picked it up and slit the seal with her thumbnail, then quickly perused the letter it contained. What she read gave her a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Citrus Farms was informing her that it had acquired a parcel of land on the far side of her half of the ranch. A stream flowed across it to Sharon's land through a longstanding easement. Citrus Farms was threatening to cut off her water rights, a serious matter in the arid valley.
So this was the latest scare tactic in the ongoing war to acquire the ranch. Without water the ranch would be useless.
Tay was right. The developers were not just going to give up and go away.
Chapter 11
Sharon took the letter to her room and hid it in a drawer under a stack of clothes. She didn't want Tay to know about this latest problem. He'd gotten the loan to buy the Arabians based on the anticipated continuing success of the ranch. The down payment money was gone, and he could be stuck with the horses and unable to keep them if Citrus Farms followed through on its threat.
Sharon didn't want to worry him. Her mind was racing; she thought she could solve the problem herself.
She went back to Tay's room and slipped into bed with him. He turned to her in his sleep, and she settled blissfully into the comforting warmth of his body.
She would deal with Citrus Farms on her own.
* * * *
In the morning after Tay had gone out to work, she showed the letter to Rosa.
Rosa read it quickly and looked up, her dark eyes mirroring her concern.
"Does Tay know about this?" she asked.
Sharon shook her head.
"Don't you think you'd better tell him?"
"I don't think I have to. He's got so much on his mind right now, it would be nice if 1 could solve this without telling him."
"Do you know what will happen if he finds out on his own?"
"I've got a call in to Pete to contact me when he gets back to th
e office. He knows a lot about real estate and his father knows more. I'm betting he can help."
"Pete? In view of his history with Tay, do you think he's the best person to ask?''
"He's the only person to ask. Besides, he and Tay made up before he left, you know that."
"But he's not going to be back until after his vacation."
"It will have to wait until then. It's only a few days. In the meantime I'm going to research the situation in the county records office. If I can arrange to get water from somebody else the Citrus threat will be meaningless."
"How do you propose to do that?" Rosa asked skeptically, looking at her.
“Have a little faith, will you?''
"I'm trying to, but the only thing more precious than water around here is a guarantee of safe passage through the pearly gates."
"I'm a good lawyer. I'll come up with something."
"A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client," Rosa said dolefully.
"Rosa, if you start spouting aphorisms like my mother, I am going to scream."
"Just bear it in mind.''
"I'm not representing myself. This isn't a legal case."
"Yet," Rosa said meaningfully.
That afternoon, with Rosa's words ringing in her ears, Sharon went to the records office and looked up the ownership of all the tracts of land that bordered her own in Glendora. Most of it was in private hands, but she discovered that Sun City owned the tract that ran north of hers, a recent acquisition. It had an aqueduct fed by the runoff from the hills and, since Sun City was the direct rival of Citrus Farms, she instinctively knew that she might be able to use the information.
Pete Symonds called that night, fortunately while Tay was out with Miguel.
"Pete! Aren't you still on that coastal vacation? How did you get my message?"
"I checked in with the office and they told me you called. I must say I was surprised. I thought Tay would be keeping you too busy to make phone calls.''
Sharon laughed. "He's been keeping me busy all right, but I managed to squeeze one in."
"So what's up?"
"Well, I'm getting remarried next week. To Tay."
"I thought it might be to Tay."
"He wants a real wedding. The one at the municipal building was kind of cold and formal, so we're going to do it at a church here.”
"That's very touching, Sharon, and I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to hear it, but something tells me that's not the only reason you called me."
"True."
"Well?"
"I'm having a little problem with one of the developers trying to buy the ranch."
"What kind of a problem?"
"My father's will divided his land into two parcels, next to one another, mine and Tay's. Well, a stream flows onto mine from land on the side not bordering Tay's. Citrus Farms bought it, and I got a letter saying that they're going to cut off water rights from the stream easement."
"I see."
"Can they do that?"
"They can try. I doubt if a judge would let it fly if it would cut off your water supply completely. But Citrus they can sure make trouble for you, tie you up in court for a long time, cause you a lot of expense.''
"That's what I thought."
"Sharon, you know how the system works."
"I know, I know. I have an idea, but I think it's going to be pretty expensive."
"As I recall," he said dryly, "your legal ideas are frequently expensive."
"Just listen, okay. I looked up the plot plans in the county office, and Sun City, which is Citrus Farms' biggest rival, just bought the tract north of mine. It has the water too, an aqueduct fed year round from melting snow."
"I know what you're thinking, and you're right. Expensive."
"What am I thinking?"
"You want to buy the tract from Sun City, right? You keep the water and tell Citrus to go scratch."
"Good idea?"
"What are you going to do? Threaten Sun City that you'll sell your half of the ranch to Citrus if they don't cave in?"
"Great minds run along the same channels."
"Where are you going to get the money?"
"That's the one small hitch in my plan."
"Nobody knows you out there. A local bank should finance it. Your husband is well known. He would be able to swing it."
“I don't want to tell Tay.''
There was a significant pause at the other end of the line.
“Why not?'' Pete finally said.
“He has a deal pending to buy a bunch of expensive horses. I don't want him to worry that it could fall through because of this. Besides, I can put my half of the ranch up as collateral for the loan without him."
"I hear what you're saying, and I can't tell you that you're wrong, but this has all the earmarks of a questionable situation. You know that. Tell Tay."
"Can you help me get the loan if I run into trouble?"
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"Pete, your father is wired into every real estate lending institution in the country. If he doesn't know somebody he knows somebody who does. The ranch is a good bet, it's viable collateral, but I've never had a mortgage, not even a chattel mortgage. I have no credit history. A good word in the right ear could do the trick. You know how these things work."
Pete sighed audibly. "All right. Set it up. See the Sun City people and make the offer, go to the best bank and make the loan application. Keep in touch, let me know how it's going. I'll help if I can."
"Pete, you're an angel."
"I'm an idiot. If this thing falls the wrong way your husband is going to kill me."
"No, he's not. That I can promise you. This is my party and I'll take responsibility for it."
“Hah.'' Pete remained unconvinced.
“You've been a big help.''
"That's my job."
"Have you met anybody on your vacation?" Sharon asked, a smile in her voice.
"I have a couple of possibilities."
"How's Big Sur?"
"Big."
"And Monterey?"
"Everything the travel poster says it is."
"Good. I hope you're having a fine time."
"Your small talk obligation has been discharged, Sharon. You can go now."
"Thanks."
"Bye."
"Goodbye." Sharon hung up with a feeling of elation. It was possible; it was even probable with Pete's help. She could pull this off and Tay would never know.
She stood and ran happily into the living room to make her plans.
* * * *
During the next week Sharon negotiated with Sun City for the purchase of the land, telling Tay she was going shopping when she went to talk to them. When they agreed upon a price she went to a Los Angeles bank for the financing, fearing that a Glendora loan officer might alert Tay to what was happening. She also thought that Pete's father would carry more weight with a larger, more cosmopolitan outfit.
The loan was in the works on the day of her second wedding, or so she thought of it. Rosa had helped her pick out an off-white cocktail length dress with a beaded bodice and a bell shaped embossed silk skirt. She wore it with a short veil suspended from an off-white bow of the same material as the dress and carried a nosegay of white roses. Everyone said she was a beautiful bride.
Her mother mercifully decided not to show up; Sharon wanted at least a year with Tay and a course in family counseling before she had to deal with a meeting between that formidable lady and Sharon's husband. Sharon's mother sent a set of china and an elaborate floral piece, both of which Rosa deposited in the living room like trophies.
After the candlelit ceremony they had a reception at a restaurant in town for the ranch people and some of Tay's friends. Sharon enjoyed herself immensely, convinced that she was on the right road at last. The loan would come through, Tay would get his horses, and all would be well.
Tay insisted on a short honeymoon at the most elaborate hotel in Los Angeles. It w
as almost midnight as he carried her across the threshold and into an elaborately decorated sitting room. The bedroom was beyond, the bed curtained with a fringed canopy.
"Do you believe this place?" she said to Tay as he took off his jacket. "There's a private bar stocked with everything over here in the corner, and a fruit basket on the coffee table."
"Champagne," Tay added, indicating the bucket standing next to the cherry secretary by the door.
"Did you arrange all of this?"
"Some of it. But a lot comes with the bridal suite— nothing but the best."
Sharon threw her arms around his neck. "What a guy I married."
"Twice," he reminded her.
"I liked the second wedding a lot better than the first."
"Me, too," he said, kissing her briefly. He held up her left hand, on which sparkled a new gold band. "Do you like the rings?"
"I love them."
"Rosa helped me pick them out. She has great taste."
"I wonder some smart guy hasn't come along and snared her," Sharon observed.
Tay shook his head. "She told me that after her husband died she didn't want anybody else. I think she's a one man woman."
"I know another one of those," Sharon said, taking the studs out of his shirt.
"Yeah?"
“Yup. How do you untie this cummerbund?''
“It unhooks at the back.''
"Then turn around."
He reversed position obediently. She removed the sash and pulled his shirt out of his pants.
"May I help you?" he asked, smiling over his shoulder at her.
"I wish you would. You're being about as cooperative as a Barbie doll."
"A Ken doll, please." He began to undress but stopped when Sharon reached behind her neck for her own zipper.
"I'd rather undress you," he said. He removed her clothes swiftly and led her to the bed.
"I feel like Marie Antoinette in this contraption," Sharon said, glancing up at the canopy.
"Wrong period. This is a Regency bed," Tay said, removing her underwear.
"Lillie Langtry then. How do you know it's a Regency bed?"
"Because this is the Regency suite," he replied, pushing her back on the bed with one hand and unzipping his pants with the other.
"Oh. Well, you booked it, you should know."
A Marriage of Convenience Page 20
