by Janet Dailey
“Can you arrange to fly home with me next weekend?” she asked. “I’d like you to meet the Major.”
“I fully intended to, anyway,” Rand said and smiled, “so I can formally request his daughter’s hand in marriage.”
“Not right away,” Diana said quickly. And she hurried to explain: “I’d like him to meet you first and let him have a chance to get to know you, however briefly, before you ask him. Sometimes fathers can become overly critical if they find out immediately.”
“Whatever you say,” he agreed. “When we have his consent,” Rand went on confidently, “we’ll go pick out your engagement ring together.”
Between kisses and nuzzling caresses, they discussed the future. Not even to herself did Diana admit that she had avoided agreeing to marry him until after she had obtained the Major’s opinion. She cared for Rand, and his touch was not distasteful to her. He seemed to be all the things she had ever wished for in a husband. But she wanted to make sure the Major approved of her choice.
When she called home the next evening to let her father know she had invited Rand to return with her for the weekend, he didn’t ask any questions. The last week of college seemed endless to Diana, but the flight to Ely was quickened with anticipation.
The Major seemed to have made a full recovery from his heart attack, although Diana noticed on her return that he tired more easily now, and there was considerably more gray in his dark hair. She let him surmise that Rand was someone special without knowing how special and gave him time to form his own impression.
On the last night before Rand was due to fly back, Diana met her father alone in his study before dinner. They talked for a few minutes in generalities before she asked, “What do you think of Rand?”
“He seems very intelligent and charming. Is it serious between you? I presume it is, since you brought him home.”
“He’s asked me to marry him.”
“And you want my approval,” the Major concluded.
“Yes.”
“What about your degree?”
“Rand and I have talked about it,” Diana admitted. “I’m going to continue, but I’ll carry fewer hours than I do now. It will mean we’ll have to wait a few years before starting a family, but it will give us time together, too.”
“Then I don’t see that I have any objection to put forward. I like him, and as long as you want to marry him, there isn’t anymore to be said, is there?” He smiled.
“No,” she agreed. “Rand is waiting on the porch to speak to you. He wants to ask your permission to marry me.”
“Don’t keep him waiting. Send him in,” the Major ordered with mock severity.
An August date was set for the wedding to enable the newlyweds to have time for a honeymoon before Diana returned to college for the fall term. It left little time to plan the wedding. Her whole summer seemed to be consumed with all the necessary arrangements. It was to be a big wedding, with the reception at the ranch afterward.
Even at the most hectic moments, Diana was relieved that she had something to do. There had been changes at the ranch since the Major’s illness, small changes, but disturbing just the same. Holt and Guy now took their noon meals at the main house. There was a twofold purpose to it. The Major insisted it was senseless for Sophie to try to cook a meal for two. There was always too much. Plus the noon hour permitted Holt time to confer with the Major and get his advice on any problems that had arisen.
Holt had suggested, on Diana’s return, that the practice be discontinued to give the Major time with his daughter, but it had been rejected as unnecessary. Diana made no comment, but tried to arrange to be elsewhere for the noon meal. She still disliked Holt as intensely as she had before, but she no longer tried to oppose his presence at the ranch and chose to ignore it as best she could.
The weekend before the wedding, Rand flew to Ely to be with her. Diana was at the airport to meet him when his plane arrived on Friday. No words were wasted in greeting as Rand immediately swept her into his arms and claimed her lips in a long, possessive kiss. When he finally dragged his mouth away, his hands remained locked behind her back.
“Have you missed me?” Rand demanded. “It seems like a month since I’ve seen you, instead of two weeks.”
With all the last-minute wedding preparations and gown fittings, the time had flown as far as Diana was concerned. But his statement pleased her.
“When have I had time to miss you?” Diana teased. “You’ve called me every single day.”
He kissed her with hard, punishing force, his dark eyes blazing over her face when he lifted his head. “I had to call you every day or go out of my mind wondering what you were doing and who you were with.”
That hint of jealousy was exciting. “Don’t you trust me, Rand?”
He seemed to force a lightness into his voice. “How am I supposed to know what you are doing when you are so far away from me? You could be seeing some of your old boyfriends, not to mention all those rugged-looking cowboys on your father’s ranch.”
Diana tilted her head back and laughed. “You haven’t taken a close look at the men who work for us.” Still smiling, she assured him, “Outside of the Major, there is only one man in my life—and that’s you.”
His hold loosened around her as he lifted a hand to lightly stroke her cheek and the outline of her jaw. “You are so beautiful, Diana. I don’t know if I’ll ever trust you out of my sight.”
The burning intensity of his gaze made her uncomfortable. His jealousy was unnecessary. When she gave her allegiance to a man, it was total. Rand was to be her husband. She had been raised with too strict a sense of moral values to not take her marriage vows seriously. Vaguely unsettled by his attitude, Diana shifted his attention from her.
“What have you been doing these last two weeks?” she issued in mock demand. “Did you find a couple of showgirls in Reno to keep you company during the lonely nights? I’m here at the ranch with the Major to keep an eye on me, but there’s no one to watch you. You might be sowing a few last wild oats.”
“But there is a difference, my love.” Rand kissed the tip of her nose. “How I am spending my last, precious days of bachelorhood is none of your business.”
“Chauvinist,” Diana accused with a laugh.
“Now you know the truth about me,” he chuckled and curved an arm around her shoulders to walk to the terminal exit. “Seriously, though, I found out yesterday that a larger apartment is available in the complex where I’m living. I mentioned to the manager that we might be interested in it. My place is rather small. I don’t want us to be rushed into buying or building a home in Carson City.”
Diana nodded in agreement. “I wish there was time for me to see the apartment next week.”
“Don’t worry,” Rand assured her. “The manager promised to hold it for us until we come back from our honeymoon. He owes me a few favors.”
When they had collected his luggage from the baggage claim area, Diana directed him to the ranch station wagon. She handed him the keys to stow his suitcases in the rear.
“Peggy Thornton, our neighbor, gave a wedding shower for me last week,” Diana informed him. “Wait till you see all the presents! I’ll show them to you as soon as we get to the house.”
“I’m afraid it will have to wait until later, honey,” he said, closing the rear door of the wagon and walking to the driver’s side. “I have some business calls I have to make first.”
“But I thought you came to spend the weekend with me,” she protested.
“I did. That’s why I’m getting these calls out of the way today.” Rand opened the door so Diana could slide under the wheel to the middle of the seat.
“Can’t you forget business this one weekend?” she demanded with faint irritation as he sat in the driver’s seat.
“Not if I want this trip to be a tax deduction, which I do.” He smiled and started the car. “All I have to do is talk to a couple of men at the copper mines and take them to lunch. I want
you to come with me so you can get some early practice in what it’s like to be the wife of a lobbyist.”
“Are you sure you want me to come with you? I don’t know all that much about mining,” Diana admitted.
“Darling, you don’t have to.” He slid her a twinkling glance. “All you have to do is look beautiful, smile, and be nice to the men, flirt with them a little. You see, it isn’t going to be hard being married to me.” Rand grinned. “You should be able to do it with one hand tied behind your back.”
“It’s a snap.” Diana was willing to do what Rand wanted, just as she had been willing to do whatever her father had wanted in the past. “The Major is expecting us for lunch,” she remembered.
“There will be a phone at the mine,” Rand stated. “You can call to tell him we won’t get to the ranch until sometime this afternoon.”
Diana’s initiation into Rand’s world was a pleasant one. She wasn’t the least bit ill-at-ease with their men-talk, having been surrounded by it all her life. Occasionally, the discussions about mines and their operation became too technical for her to follow, but they rarely lasted for long. One of the mine operators would notice her silence, smile, and shift the conversation to include her. And Diana remembered Rand’s advice. She was friendly, smiled a lot, and flirted a little.
When Rand finally pointed the station wagon toward the ranch, Diana glanced at her watch. “Your estimate was off. It’s almost four o’clock. The Major was expecting us a little after two. Maybe I should have called.”
“He knows you’re with me. I doubt if he’s worried.” Rand dismissed her concern.
Diana was sitting close to him, her head resting on the seat back. She turned her head slightly to study his profile and smooth good looks. Rand had been fairly quiet since they’d left the mine.
“How did I do?” she questioned softly.
“You were a smashing success.” He slid her a brief, arrogantly smiling look.
The compliment warmed her and Diana smiled. “Wasn’t I supposed to be?”
“Yes, but don’t overdo it,” Rand cautioned.
“Did I?” Uncertainty glimmered in her eyes.
A straight stretch of highway was in front of them. Rand put his arm around her and snuggled her closer to him, kissing her hair.
“No,” he answered. “I guess I’d better get used to looking at men and seeing the way they covet my wife.”
“One more week and I will be your wife,” Diana murmured and let her head nestle against his shoulder.
Diana was as nervous as any bride on the dawning of her wedding day. There was no need. The ceremony was flawless. The ranch yard was crowded with guests. Not even the summer heat could dampen the high spirits and festive atmosphere that claimed everyone. Rand was well known, and a lot of his important clients had attended the wedding and the reception. He and Diana were surrounded by several of them now, accepting the champagne toasts being offered in their behalf.
The Major was with them. Diana could tell by the look on his face that he was pleased she had married so well. It made her feel proud when she glanced at Rand, her husband.
As glasses were lifted in another toast, one of the men exclaimed, “Do you know I haven’t kissed the bride yet?”
“Neither have I,” a second chimed in.
More claimed to have neglected the same privilege. Diana knew better, but she said nothing. None of the men was offensive, nor did any attempt more than a friendly kiss. She obligingly submitted to each of them. As the last moved away, she tipped her head back for the next. The smile froze on her lips as she saw Holt Mallory standing in front of her.
“You are just in time, Holt,” the Major declared. “Diana is letting everyone who forgot to kiss the bride at the church make up for it now.”
The hard mouth twitched in a mocking smile. Holt made no response to the Major, but offered an exceedingly polite, “Good luck, Mrs. Cummings.” Briefly his head bent, his mouth insultingly cool against her lips. Then he was turning to Rand. “Congratulations.” He shook hands with her new husband.
Her lips were chilled by the feather touch of his, a touch so light, yet sufficient to prick the bubble of happiness she had felt. She hated him for spoiling her day, for making his presence known when he was aware how much she despised him. It didn’t matter that the Major would have noticed if Holt hadn’t come forward. She just knew she would never regain the special feeling that had been hers before he appeared.
Resentment shimmered in her eyes as she watched Holt moving away. It was several seconds before Diana realized someone else was standing before her. A tall and gangly Guy bent his head and kissed her cheek.
“I hope you’ll be happy, Diana,” he mumbled and shifted uncomfortably, a faint blush staining his suntanned face.
“Thank you, Guy. I will.” She tried to sound sincere; but there was a bitterness in her tone left over from her encounter with Guy’s father.
“Yeah, well ...” He grimaced uncertainly and turned to Rand. There was nothing friendly in the look Guy gave him. “Congratulations.”
Awkwardly, Guy shook hands with Diana’s husband and moved quickly away, losing himself in the crowd as Holt had done. Diana stared after him for a second. Then Rand’s arm circled her waist and he murmured near her ear.
“Do you think I could kiss the bride?”
She forced a smile and lifted her head to him. “Of course.”
Chapter III
Diana stared out the porthole of the aircraft. In the distance below, she could see the smoky haze of the smelting plant north of Ely. Soon they would be landing and she would be home, this time for good.
Her hands were clasped in her lap, her thumb absently rubbing the finger where her wedding ring had been. The divorce decree was in her purse, dissolving the marriage that had lasted almost four years. The “NO SMOKING” light came on, indicating the plane’s final approach, and Diana leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes and wondering for the thousandth time where she had failed.
It had been so good in the beginning, filled with all the passion of new lovers discovering each other. It had burned too hot too quickly. Trouble began brewing under the supposedly blissful surface in less than a year. At first Diana had accepted the bitter arguments as something every new couple experienced, and had ignored the vicious accusations as something that would go away when they learned to trust each other.
When she realized they were warning signals, it was already too late. She fought to the bitter end to save the marriage, refusing Rand’s demands for a divorce and enduring more than a year of separate bedrooms. Finally Rand had taken the situation out of her hands and the whole affair had become messy and ugly.
The wheels bumped once on the runway, then rolled smoothly forward. Diana opened her eyes and sat up straighter in the seat. Once the combination of black hair and blue eyes had made her strikingly attractive. Maturity had added beauty. She looked out the window as the plane taxied to the small terminal building.
When it rolled to a stop on the cement apron, she joined the few other departing passengers standing in the aisle. It was April and the morning sun was pleasantly warm as she walked down the steps of the ramp.
Entering the building, Diana glanced around, but recognized no one in the miniature terminal. Was the Major so upset that he hadn’t sent someone to meet her? Her chin lifted a bit, a defense mechanism against the pain of the thought. It was more than two years since she had been home, two years of wanting to go but postponing the trip until things got better between her and Rand.
“Diana.”
She stared at the young man who seemed to know her. Tall and leanly muscled, he had hair the color of desert sand and light blue eyes. He stepped forward, dressed in crisp new Levi’s and a clean white shirt.
“Welcome home,” he offered in a low voice husky with emotion.
Diana stared at the sensitivity of his mouth and his slightly tousled hair, cowlicks tamed by the weight and length of it. Disbelief
trembled through her.
“Guy?” She identified him hesitantly and laughed naturally for the first time in months when she realized she was right. “Guy! I can’t believe it’s really you. You’ve changed so.”
“You haven’t.” His grip was fierce as he held both of her hands, his look as adoring as it had always been.
His comment sobered her. “I have changed, Guy,” Diana corrected him quietly.
“How are you?” His concerned gaze searched her face, noting the strain and tension through the paper-thin mask of composure.
“I’m fine,” Diana lied. She felt broken, her world scattered like pieces of a puzzle. She didn’t think the picture would look the same when she put it all together again. “I never expected the Major would send you to meet me,” she said, changing the subject.
“Who else? Wasn’t I always your slave?” Guy teased, but there was something very serious in his eyes.
She realized he was still holding her hands, and she gently withdrew them from his grasp. “I guess you were.” She smiled and pretended, too, that it was a joke. “Where are you parked?”
“Right outside. We can pick up your luggage when we leave.”
“It should be there now.” She looked around but didn’t see any of the passengers who had been on the plane with her. Besides the ticket agent and the security guard, the only other people in the one-room terminal building seemed to be waiting to board the flight out.
“I guess so,” Guy agreed as he also became aware that they were the last to leave. Outside, only her two suitcases were sitting under the sheltered canopy. “Is this all?”
“Yes. The rest of my things will be arriving by freight in a day or two.”
As he carried her luggage to the car, Diana studied him. Except for his coloring, there was little about him that resembled the pale, thin boy who had arrived at the ranch ten years ago. Ten years ago, she thought. That would make Guy nineteen. She hadn’t seen him the last time she was home. She’d come only for the weekend, and he had been off somewhere on the ranch checking fences.
