“Yes, if you want the truth,” Colt finally answered, his voice low and firm. “I’ve taken scalps—Pawnee. They raped and murdered my wife and smashed in the head of my four-month-old son. Things like that can make a man do a lot of things he wouldn’t normally do.”
Gasps and whispers moved around the table, and Sunny’s eyes stung with tears of sorrow for Colt, and rage at Vince. Vince reddened with embarrassment but refused to show any remorse for his remark.
Colt’s jaw flexed in anger. He fixed his gaze on Vince a moment longer, then glanced at Blaine O’Brien, still seeing the challenge and contempt in the man’s eyes. He felt it was Blaine’s place to step in for Sunny in some kind of word or deed that would help her through this awkward moment, but it was obvious Blaine was as eager for Colt to look bad in front of Sunny and the others as Vince was. What kind of people were these vultures that surrounded Sunny? No one said a word.
He directed his gaze to each person at the table, women wearing diamonds, their hair coiffed into curls, pinned with fancy combs; the men scrubbed clean, even to their fingernails, gold watches hanging from their vests. “I’ve killed men,” he told them, “white and Indian alike, and all of them deserved to die. Out west the code of life is different from what it is here in what you call civilization. Out west it’s survival of the fittest, and for people like me violence sometimes becomes a way of life. I’ve got the scars to prove it.” He set down his wineglass. “There are a lot of graves along the Oregon Trail, and Sunny’s railroad is going to save a lot of lives in the future—maybe bring some law and order to a violent land. I hope all of you with your millions will do what you can to help her.” He looked at Sunny. “I’m sorry I broke in on your party. Like I said before, it’s better that I leave.” He turned to go, but Sunny grasped his arm.
“No,” she said firmly. “You are the most honored guest at this table. I owe you my life.” The words were spoken with fire, her voice suddenly lower and almost threatening. Colt looked at her in surprise, seeing the complete change in those blue eyes. The almost childish joy and excitement she had shown a moment earlier had been replaced by a firm determination. For the first time he saw the hard side of Sunny Landers, the strength and resolve one would expect from her father. She had turned her attention to Vince, and the look in her eyes was almost frightening.
“My brother has insulted a dear friend,” she said, obviously talking to everyone present, but keeping her eyes on Vince. “As everyone knows, I didn’t need to invite you here tonight, Vince. I did it because you are my brother, and because I thought now that the railroad act had been passed, you would see that Father’s dream can become a reality. I thought you would want to celebrate with us, maybe even take an interest. But since you have seen fit only to be insulting, then I think you and Eve had better leave. Besides, you’re already drunk.”
“Sunny, don’t do this because of me,” Colt said quietly.
“This has nothing to do with you,” she answered, her eyes still on Vince. “It’s more than that.”
Several guests cleared their throats, some looking down at their plates, everyone trying to hide their embarrassment for both Sunny and Vince, all well aware of the problems the two of them had had in the past.
“I agree with Sunny.” Stuart spoke up, glaring at Vince.
Vince sneered at him. “Well, you always were one to go with the flow, weren’t you, Stuart?” His eyes glittered with contempt as he turned them again to Colt. “Well, Mr. Travis, enjoy your meal. Where you are going, it could be your last one; but then, at least the Union Army is getting a man who won’t hesitate when it comes to shooting another man down, isn’t that right?”
“At least the people I hurt are the enemy,” Colt answered boldly. “Men who would kill me first if they could. I don’t go around attacking the people I am supposed to love, people with my own blood running in their veins.”
Vince stiffened at the intended slam, and others let out little gasps, some even grinning at the well-aimed remark. Sunny could not help a subtle smile of her own.
“This is an outrage!” Eve spat out.
Vince took her arm. “All we have done is try to keep Sunny from destroying Landers Enterprises,” he said, looking around the table. “If the rest of you want to throw your money away on this railroad, be my guest.”
“Get out, Vince,” Sunny told him firmly.
Vince glared at Colt a moment longer, then looked at Sunny. “Someday you’ll understand that everything I’ve done was to try to protect you.”
“The only thing you think you’re protecting is your source of income,” Sunny answered. “Please leave before I have someone come and take you out bodily.”
He glowered at her a moment longer, and Colt was astonished that the man could look that way at his own sister, especially one as sweet as Sunny could be; although at the moment all that sweetness had vanished. It was easy to see that Sunny Landers could be tough as nails when necessary. Vince turned and left without another word, Eve holding up her chin defiantly and following him out, skirts rustling, feet stomping.
“My apologies,” Sunny told her guests. She closed her eyes a moment, breathing deeply to regain her composure. As soon as Vince was gone she again became the sociable, generous, smiling Sunny Landers. She raised her wineglass again. “Now, I want all of you to enjoy yourselves. The servants will be bringing food until you think you cannot eat another bite—oysters, ham, turkey, shrimp, beef. I want you to eat and drink to your heart’s content. In a little while an orchestra will entertain you upstairs in the ballroom. This is meant to be a night of celebration, and I am personally proud and excited to have a man here who was a part of helping Bo Landers see for himself that a railroad certainly can be built across the western plains and mountains.” She looked at Colt again. “To Colt Travis—and the Union Pacific!”
Colt studied her eyes as others repeated the toast and drank their wine. He saw a strength in the woman that amazed him, and he also saw the side of Sunny Landers that belonged to this world of wealth and power. She ordered the servant who had been pouring wine to “give the signal.” Colt watched as the man pulled a cord that hung at the wall, and in moments more servants began streaming in, carrying silver trays stacked with food. Chairs made scraping sounds on the marble floor as everyone sat down. Blaine pulled out Sunny’s chair for her and she took her place. “Are you all right?” the man asked, leaning down to kiss her shoulder from behind before taking his own seat.
Sunny blushed, turning to give him a disgruntled look. “You could have said something on my behalf.”
Blaine frowned, taking his own chair. “Darling, you know I’m no fan of Vince’s. But I don’t feel I have a right to get involved in your family squabbles just yet. Once we’re married I’ll handle the bastard myself. You won’t have to ever face him again.” He put a hand over hers, but she drew hers away, looking at Colt.
“Thank you for what you said about the railroad—and for what you said to Vince. I suppose I never should have invited him.”
Colt glanced at Blaine again, realizing the man must be furious that Colt had inadvertently stepped in where Blaine should have. Blaine looked ready to kill. “I was probably out of line, Sunny,” Colt answered, “but I don’t lie back for insults. And don’t be upset with Mr. O’Brien,” he added, trying to smooth things over so as to avoid more confrontations. “The insult was directed at me, and it was my place to answer it, not his.” He looked at Blaine again and saw a hint of appreciation; but there was no doubt that the man considered Colt some kind of a challenge. Colt thought it absurd that he should think Colt had any intention of taking his place in Sunny’s life. This world he had walked into was as far from anything he would want as it could be.
Still, he could not help the irritation he felt at the thought of Blaine O’Brien touching Sunny the way he had; could not help wondering just how deeply Sunny
had fallen for the man’s charms. Did she give him more than kisses? He looked away, staring at an assortment of silverware, wondering which fork or spoon he was supposed to use first. More than that, he wondered why in hell he cared what kind of sexual favors Sunny gave to her “almost” husband.
“I see you’re wearing the bracelet I gave you,” Blaine was saying. While Colt’s thoughts had been reeling with confusion, Sunny had apologized to Blaine, and now he was rubbing her forearm affectionately. He glanced at Colt. “I gave Sunny this bracelet in Washington, after the railroad act was passed,” he explained. “Diamonds do fit her, don’t they?” He took Sunny’s hand and kissed it. “Even diamonds don’t seem good enough.”
Sunny blushed, and Colt felt he was being given the same subtle hints that Bo Landers had given him that night he had asked him to eat with them out on the prairie. He scooted back his chair a little. “I—uh, I really am not hungry, Sunny,” he said. “I ate a pretty big meal before I came. I’m very sorry about my timing. I’ll just leave you to your guests and—”
“No! Don’t go, please.” She looked at him with the same pleading look he had seen the night before he left Fort Laramie. It was awfully hard to say no to those blue eyes.
“Sunny, I don’t belong here.”
“Don’t eat if you don’t want to. But please do stay until we get a chance to talk. And you belong here just as much as anyone in this room. As far as I am concerned, your timing couldn’t be better, considering the reason we are celebrating here tonight.”
“Not to worry, Mr. Travis,” Blaine said, ‘if Sunny wants you here, you’re welcome, I’m sure. I personally am glad to have the chance to meet you and talk with you. After all those letters you exchanged with Sunny, I have to admit my curiosity was getting the better of me. Are you really only twenty-five? With all the things you’ve done in your life, I should think you would be older.”
Colt drank down his wine. “I’m really only twenty-five.” He pulled his chair back in a little, but he still was not sure he should stay.
“I wonder how hunting buffalo compares to hunting elephants in Africa,” Blaine was saying. “I’ve done big-game hunting myself, you know. Now, there is something you would probably really enjoy. Of course Indians, that’s another story. I have no experience in that area, but then, I just might soon. I’ll be leaving in a few days for Oregon. I’m interested in the logging business—figure once the railroad goes through, there will be quite a market. A man has to always be looking for new investments, you know. That’s how the money grows.”
“Is that so?” A waiter started to set a bowl of oysters in front of Colt, but Colt waved him off. “The most investing I’ve ever done is to buy a damn good horse,” Colt added, accepting more wine from another waiter. He looked at Sunny and caught the smile at the corner of her mouth.
Blaine stiffened slightly. “Yes, well, I suppose there is a comparison. Of course, when you own an ocean freighting and passenger service, you have a little more to think about than buying a horse, but then, it’s a matter of perspective.”
Colt did not miss any of the innuendos, nor did he miss the deliberate loving looks and touches O’Brien gave Sunny. “Sunny here is quite a woman, isn’t she? She’s done a hell of a job taking over Landers Enterprises and working to get the railroad act passed. That’s how we met, you know. I’m part of Thomas Durant’s investment group—president of his Pennsylvania Fiscal Agency. Sunny came to one of our meetings, and one look was all I needed. When she started talking and spouted all that business know-how and showed she was not only beautiful but intelligent, I knew what I wanted.”
“A perfect match, I’d say,” a lawyer sitting near Colt said. “Put them together and they could buy all of Chicago and then some!”
A round of laughter and cheers made its way around the table, and Sunny glanced at Colt almost apologetically. Colt felt dizzy with a mixture of emotions, wishing their first meeting could have been alone instead of in the middle of all this distraction.
“Another toast,” Stuart suggested. “To Sunny and Blaine.”
“Hear! Hear!” someone added.
Sunny could not take her eyes from Colt, could not help the shiver she felt when his gaze fell to her breasts. For a brief flash she remembered how she had thought of him when Blaine was kissing her breasts that night in the carriage. She felt the color come to her cheeks, and she forced herself to look at Blaine and smile as everyone raised their glasses and drank to them.
Blaine’s eyes also moved over her in that way he had of making her feel undressed. “Maybe it won’t be long before we’re holding an engagement party,” he told her.
Vi watched Sunny, wondering about the remark she had made about having special feelings for the man she would marry. She had not missed the light in Sunny’s eyes when she greeted Colt Travis. Where was the poor girl’s heart leading her? She had nothing against the handsome and apparently very brave and skilled Colt Travis, but an attraction beyond friendship between the two of them could lead only to disaster. Two people could not be more different.
More food was served, as well as more wine. Sunny’s guests began loosening up from the alcohol in their blood, and social conversation moved into a more frivolous mood. Several of those at the table began peppering Colt with questions about the West and Indians—could a railroad be built out there? Was it really just a big, worthless desert? Did every man who went west have to worry about his scalp? Were there really millions of buffalo? They wanted descriptions of the land, explanations as to why the Indians were so warlike. Why had he lived with the Cheyenne?
Blaine’s insides burned with frustration at the way Sunny’s eyes lit up as she listened to Colt’s answers. He wondered what the hell she saw in the man. He didn’t have much use for Vince, but at the moment Blaine had to agree with what he suspected Vince felt about all of this—that Colt Travis saw in Sunny a tremendous opportunity to become a rich man the easy way; but if Colt Travis thought someone of Sunny’s social status would ever consider linking up with a worthless drifter, a half-breed no less, the man was crazy! Still, Sunny had never looked at him the way she was looking at Colt tonight.
The bastard! Look at him, showing up out of nowhere, pretending just to be on his way to join the army. He hoped Mr. Colt Travis was destined to be shot and killed in the line of duty and would never return. He wanted dearly to challenge him, to show him up in front of Sunny for what he really was, but he knew he didn’t dare insult him at this particular moment. The mood Sunny was in, she would never forgive him. He noticed Colt studying his silverware, apparently confused. Blaine realized it was the perfect opportunity to get in another subtle insult. “It’s this one,” he said aloud, putting on a friendly smile and holding up a tiny fork to show Colt. “That’s shrimp they’ve put on your plate. Ever tasted it?”
Colt stared at the strange-looking food for a moment, thinking it looked horrible, but he was not about to admit it in front of Mr. Blaine O’Brien. “Of course I have,” he lied. He picked up the ridiculously small fork and stabbed one of the shrimp. He bit off a piece, surprised at how good it was after all. It reminded him of rattlesnake.
“But you prefer a good, tender piece of buffalo, I’ll bet,” Blaine said with a patronizing grin.
Colt set down his fork, returning the fake smile. “Actually, I would,” he answered. “And raw. It’s always better raw. Tell me, Mr. O’Brien, have you ever held the heart of a buffalo in your hands while it’s still warm and taken a bite out of it?” He watched Blaine pale, his smile fade. “Best thing in the world,” he added. “That’s what keeps Indians tough.”
Blaine looked wide-eyed at Sunny when she laughed at the comment rather than being appalled. “I’m afraid we don’t have any raw buffalo heart tonight, Colt,” she told him. “If I had known you were going to be here, I would have put it on the menu.” Colt laughed with her, glancing at Blaine agai
n and feeling the hatred behind the weak smile.
The rest of the guests were lost in their own chatter, a man here talking about how he had only ten thousand to invest, a woman there talking about the latest fashions, their empty laughter making Colt long for the quiet of the prairie. He tried to guess how long the table was, how much the china and silver settings must be worth. He looked around the room, noticing the chandelier above the table, the delicate scrollwork of the wooden beams that decorated the cathedral ceiling. He had no idea what kind of wood it was, but it was beautiful.
He wished now that he had followed his impulse when he first set eyes on the Landers mansion and had just kept riding. The ornate home was situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, surrounded by other imposing homes. The whole area, this house, these people, all reeked of money and power. In spite of her basic sweetness, Sunny herself emanated that same aura. He had seen her wield that power against her domineering brother, and he could just imagine how forceful and demanding she could be in business when necessary. She would never have survived to this point if she were not able to be as ruthless and clever as the people with whom she associated.
He sure as hell didn’t fit into any of this. Again he felt stifled, felt as though the whole house were going to fall in on him at any moment. He scooted back his chair again, feeling a sudden need for fresh air. “I really don’t belong here, Sunny,” he said then, sobering. “And don’t beg me to stay another minute. I’m leaving, and that’s that. I’ll come back in the morning, as God is my witness.”
The joy left her eyes. “Oh, Colt, you shouldn’t feel you don’t belong here. You’re always welcome in my home. You know that.”
“I do know it. But not when your home is filled with people who look at me like a wild animal who’s been let off his leash. We’ll talk after all these people are gone and things are nice and quiet. I’ll have a little time in the morning before I leave.” He rose. “Thanks for inviting me in and introducing me to everyone; but this is your night. I’m really sorry I put a dent in things.”
Thunder on the Plains Page 25
