Southern Nights: Florida (The Americana Series Book 9)

by Janet Dailey

  "Of course, mother." Todd's hand reassuringly squeezed Barbara's shoulder before he took his arm away to walk to the drink cart.

  "Well?" Lillian said expectantly. "Is someone going to tell me what's going on or am I just going to be treated with silence?" She continued to smile, a maternal indulgence in the expression.

  "When we were children, you always managed to settle our disputes. Maybe you can handle this one," Jock stated. "You see, I knew Barbara before Todd did. And I'm not willing to give up my prior claim to her."

  It was obviously the last thing that Lillian would have thought of that her sons would be quarreling about. Her startled gaze flew immediately to Barbara.

  "You and Jock met each other before this weekend?" she asked for confirmation.

  "Yes, but he doesn't have any prior claim to me," Barbara insisted. "We said goodbye several months ago."

  "Several months ago?" Lillian echoed and turned to look at Jock with curious, questioning eyes.

  "Here's your punch, mother." Todd handed her a tall glass, frosty on the outside. "Barbara didn't realize J.R. was my brother until she came here. That's why no one has mentioned any of this before. She told me today, afraid it might make a difference. But it doesn't to me."

  "You are wrong, Todd," Jock inserted. "Because I'm going to take her back."

  "Barbara isn't a toy, Jock," his mother admonished.

  "Which is just as well because now you can't insist that I share her with Todd." His mouth twisted wryly into a smile.

  "I think it's the other way around," Lillian corrected. "Barbara is engaged to Todd."

  "Not for long," Jock replied with complacent certainty. "I'll win her back. I have the advantage over Todd in that I know all of her weaknesses. All I have to do is exploit them to the fullest." He lifted his glass in Barbara's direction, a toast of silent promise to carry out what he'd said. There was a mercurial rise in her pulse.

  "You can try, Jock," Barbara returned in weak defense.

  "I've arranged to have an engagement celebration after the riding competition Thursday night," Lillian stated, glancing at Jock. "If you and Todd are going to be at each other's throats, perhaps I should postpone it until the differences are finally settled between you two."

  Diplomatically Lillian didn't indicate which one of her sons she thought would win or which she supported. She didn't even suggest that Todd's engagement to Barbara might be in jeopardy. The only concern she voiced was a desire to have the celebration be a happy one. Barbara admired her tact.

  "Don't worry, mother. We aren't going to come to blows over this," Todd assured her.

  "Don't be too sure about that, little brother." Jock took a sip of his drink and didn't glance at Todd before or after his remark. He kept his attention focused on the drink in his hand.

  "I am certain," Todd replied. "This is Barbara's decision. She won't make it on the outcome of any fight between us."

  "My practical, sensible brother," Jock declared cynically. "Sometimes I'm amazed that we are related."

  "That's because you are so fiercely intense," his mother declared. "You can be very single-minded at times."

  "That's why I always win," Jock pointed out. "Because I never let anything stand in my way. So go ahead with your plans for Thursday night to celebrate this temporary engagement of Todd and Barbara. We need an excuse for a party. It might just as well be that. Any objections?" A raised eyebrow directed the question to Barbara.

  "A hundred," she said in irritation. "But go ahead with the party. No one listens to what I have to say anyway."

  "Maybe that's because you don't say what you are really feeling," Jock suggested with a glinting look.

  "How do you know what I'm feeling?" Barbara flared. "You can't crawl inside my body!"

  "I'd like to," he murmured.

  "Jock." His mother's tone said he had gone too far.

  Two quick blasts of a horn interrupted them. It was followed immediately by a slamming door and the sound of someone hurrying across the courtyard to the veranda arches. Everyone turned as the young wrangler, Mike Turbot, came into view.

  "Jock, we've got a mare down. We called the vet a half an hour ago and he should be arriving any minute. She had a stillborn foal and she's starting to hemorrhage. Sunny said for me to get you right away." While Mike was rushing out his urgent message, Jock was already setting his glass down and letting his long strides take him across the veranda toward Mike and the courtyard.

  "Don't wait dinner for me," Jock tossed over his shoulder as he followed the wrangler to the pickup truck waiting in front of the house, its engine still running.

  WHEN JOCK DIDN'T RETURN to the house for dinner, Lillian had Antonia, the cook, fix some sandwiches and hot coffee and sent her to the foaling barn with them. "Jock will forget to eat otherwise," Lillian explained.

  A little after ten o'clock, Todd suggested that they take a stroll in the moonlight and Barbara agreed. It was peaceful outside, the air holding a languid warmth. The moss-draped trees cast ghostly shadows in the light of a full moon. The Milky Way was a white gossamer ribbon of stars trailing across a midnight-blue sky. All was quiet as Barbara wandered beneath the oaks of the back lawn, her hand in Todd's. But her gaze kept straying to the buildings of the horse stables, white shapes in the night. Jock hadn't come back yet, and she couldn't help wondering how much longer he'd be. The realization drew a sigh. Even when he was out of her sight, he wasn't out of her mind.

  "Tired?" Todd questioned the reason for her sigh.

  "Yes, a little," she replied because she didn't want to admit the real cause for it.

  "Would you want to go inside or stay up for a while?"

  "I think I'd rather go inside to bed, if you don't mind." Barbara didn't want Todd to suspect or even think that she wanted to wait up for Jock. It was far better to pretend tiredness.

  "I don't mind," Todd insisted and turned toward the creamy arches of the veranda. "It's been a tiring day—in one form or another." His lips brushed the springing waves of her black hair. "Do you feel more relaxed after our walk?"

  "Yes, very much so," she agreed.

  As they neared the veranda, Barbara saw a small red light glowing in the shadow of an arch. It puzzled her until she caught the aromatic scent of burning tobacco and realized it was the red tip of a cigarette. Jock was on the veranda and her heart skipped a beat.

  She stole a glance at Todd to see if he had noticed it, but he gave no sign. With the aid of the faint glow from the cigarette, she was just barely able to make out Jock's outline in the shadowy darkness of the arch. He was leaning a shoulder against the inside wall of the arch, gazing out into the night, although Barbara couldn't be sure if he was looking at them.

  It was through another archway that they stepped onto the tiled veranda floor. Jock straightened, and the movement attracted Todd's gaze. He hesitated, then stopped, his hand closing tighter around Barbara's.

  "How did it go with the mare, J.R.?" Todd inquired.

  An interior light in the house spilled through the windows to dimly illuminate the veranda. It was just enough to permit Barbara to see the smeared stains on Jock's light-colored trousers and notice wisps of straw clinging to his clothes. He had a glass in his hand, a short, fat one. Jock didn't immediately respond to Todd's question. With a flick of a forefinger he tossed the cigarette into the night's darkness, and swirled the dark liquid in the glass before downing it in one impatient swallow.

  "The mare died twenty minutes ago," he announced flatly.

  "That's too bad," Todd offered in sympathy.

  "I'm sorry, Jock," Barbara inserted softly.

  It was to her that Jock responded. "Are you?"

  Even in the semidarkness the slanted smile of mockery was visible.

  "Yes." Her answer came back quick, drawn by his taunting skepticism.

  He faced her, an invisible force seeming to reach across the distance for her. "Then come comfort me," his voice invited her into his arms.

  For
a charged second Barbara nearly succumbed to the temptation of his seductive request. All her nerves were poised for the command to accept and glide across the space to him. A strangled sound came from her throat.

  Pivoting sharply to the house entrance, she pulled her hand free of Todd's and left a choked good-night behind to conceal her desperate flight. She raced into the house and up the stairs to her room. She heard Todd following and went into the private bathroom and turned on the sink faucet so she wouldn't hear his knock on her door. Coward, she called herself, but she didn't have the courage to face Todd. Even after he'd gone to his own room, Barbara let the water run to cover the sound of the dry sobs wracking her chest. But no tears fell.

  A KNOCK AT HER BEDROOM DOOR was followed by Todd's voice asking, "Are you ready yet?"

  "Almost!" Barbara shouted back her answer so it could be heard through the closed door and wiped at the streak of cinnamon lipstick that had strayed outside the curve of her lip. "Will I need a hat for church?"

  "No. I'll meet you downstairs," he called.

  "I'll be there in just a couple of minutes," she promised and heard his footsteps on the hardwood floor as he moved away from her door toward the staircase.

  After running a brush through her black hair, she fluffed the thick, long curls with her fingers and stepped back to inspect her reflection. The summer linen suit of emerald green made a startling contrast to the black of her hair and pointed out the vivid blue of her eyes. Yet its trim lines carried a subdued elegance that seemed quite proper for attending the local church while still flattering her slim figure.

  Satisfied with her appearance, Barbara turned away from the mirror and walked into her bedroom for the beige purse that matched her heeled sandals. Since Todd was already downstairs and waiting, she didn't linger and hurried into the hallway that surrounded the open stairwell. She had reached the first landing when she heard Lillian's voice in the foyer below.

  "Aren't you coming to church with us, Jock?" she asked, and Barbara paused, not wanting to encounter Jock yet.

  "I can't."

  "It's Sunday. Do you have to work on the Sabbath?'' his mother protested.

  "Somebody forgot to tell Mother Nature this is a day of rest," Jock teased. "Another mare is foaling. I'm on my way to the barn as soon as I change clothes."

  Barbara realized waiting had been useless. She wasn't going to be able to avoid Jock since he was on his way upstairs. She started down the steps and met him halfway.

  "Good morning." His gold-flecked eyes quickly skimmed over her in a familiar fashion.

  "Good morning," she murmured, trying to keep her gaze downcast without succeeding.

  Jock deliberately blocked her path, forcing her to stop. Her pulse started beating rapidly in her throat. He noticed it and a smile twitched at his mouth.

  "Say a prayer for me, will you, honey?" His fingertips touched her cheek, his thumb brushing her lips in a fleeting caress that was there, then gone, as he unexpectedly moved out of her way and continued up the stairs.

  Having braced herself for some kind of an assault, it took her a second to realize he had left. Yet brief as the meeting had been, it had been equally disturbing. Barbara continued down the stairs, encased in a warm feeling she couldn't shake.

  The small community church was an unpretentious steepled building of wood with stained-glass windows only in the area of the altar. The pews were old, made of hand-hewn polished cypress wood. The floor, too, was of hard cypress wood, except for a worn, carpeted runner down the center aisle. The church was hushed inside, a place of worship. No one used it for gossiping conversation, although Barbara noticed that Lillian Gaynor received many nods and smiles. She was obviously a familiar member of the congregation and well liked. The service was a simple one, the sermon short and filled with a message of God's love.

  After the doxology, the minister stood at the door. The exodus from the church was slow. Todd spied a childhood friend and excused himself to go say hello. Barbara lingered with Lillian at the back of the line.

  "This is a simple church, not nearly as grand as the ones in Miami," Lillian admitted, "but I prefer it."

  "So do I," Barbara agreed.

  "Jock's father and I were married here three weeks to the day after we'd met. It would have been sooner, but the minister was ill. J.R.—my husband—was furious about that." Lillian smiled and Barbara could tell by her expression that she was recalling happy memories. "His name was John Randolph Malloy, but everyone called him J.R. That's where Todd gets his nickname for Jock. When he was a toddler he heard people referring to Jock as J.R.'s son and just picked it up," she explained. "But my husband was quite a man. Once we'd met, he hardly gave me a chance to catch my breath. I never had time to say no, yes or maybe. Not that I wanted to, mind you," she laughed softly.

  And Barbara understood the feeling. That's the way it had happened to her with Jock. He had taken her up on cloud nine, three east of the Milky Way, and she hadn't wanted to come down ever. But he had finally pushed her off.

  "I suppose you and Todd will be married in Miami," Lillian remarked.

  "Yes, that's what Todd has discussed," she admitted somewhat absently. "All our friends are there," she added.

  "Sebastian and I were married in Miami, too. Todd's father," she added in explanation. "It was a fancy affair with an enormous reception afterward. Sebastian thought I had missed out on that excitement of a big wedding." Her gaze strayed to the altar and Barbara had the impression the simplicity of Lillian's first wedding to Jock's father was a more precious memory. As if concerned that she had sounded partial, Lillian added, "Todd's father made me very happy. He was very good to me."

  "Knowing Todd, I'm sure he was," Barbara murmured, understanding clearly that Lillian had not been swept off her feet by him as she had by her first husband. Barbara couldn't help drawing parallel comparisons between her reactions to Todd and Jock, and Lillian's to her two husbands, their fathers.

  Todd rejoined them and the subject was diverted. "I mentioned to Frank about the engagement party on Thursday. He said he would come."

  "That's wonderful," Lillian smiled.

  "What is this riding competition you were talking about?" Barbara asked.

  "It's a weekly get-together for the ranch hands. They compete between themselves in some jackpot roping and riding," Lillian explained. "A limited version of a private rodeo, strictly for our own benefit and pleasure. The cowboys get to show off their skills and have some fun. I think you'll enjoy it."

  "I'm sure I will," Barbara agreed.

  Chapter Six

  WHEN THEY RETURNED to the house after church, Jock wasn't anywhere around. The three of them had Sunday dinner without him. That afternoon Todd and Barbara walked to the foaling barns. Jock wasn't there, but they saw the mare and her hours-old foal, all legs and head.

  Sunday seemed to set a precedent. With a ranch the size of Sandoval there was always something happening, something needing to be done, and a major or minor crisis cropping up that demanded Jock's presence. Except in the evenings, Barbara saw very little of him.

  It was Todd who took her riding and introduced her to some of the foremen and their families who lived on the property. He showed her around and kept her entertained. This two-week vacation seemed to be going just the way they had planned it before she arrived and found Jock in residence.

  Sunday, Monday and Tuesday had passed without incident. Jock's threat to win her back was proving to be an idle one. Since that meeting on the stairs, Barbara hadn't spoken to him alone. And in the evenings he had made no attempt to maneuver her out of Todd's company.

  She was…disappointed, Barbara realized. She had wanted Jock to pursue her and attempt to win her back. Not that she was admitting that she wanted him to succeed. Irritated, Barbara struck out across the pool in a vigorous crawl. When her outstretched hand struck the concrete side, she stopped to catch her breath, holding onto the edge while she pushed the wet black curls out of her face.

&n
bsp; "Who are you racing against?" Todd laughed.

  Barbara looked up in surprise. He stood near the side, fully clothed. "I thought you were going to change into your swim trunks and join me. Or do you intend to come in like that?" she accused, half in jest.

  "No such luck. Mother has this long list of things she absolutely has to have for the party tomorrow night and I have been deputized to fill it. Instead of swimming, would you want to go into town with me?" he invited.

  Barbara hesitated. It was a hot, sticky day, which was why she opted to swim after lunch. The prospect of leaving the cool waters of the pool to ride into town and walk up and down store aisles did not appeal to her.

  "I'd rather stay here," she admitted.

  "I don't blame you." Bending down, Todd cupped the back of her head with his hand and pulled her halfway to meet his descending mouth. His kiss was hard and long—passionate if she had been so inclined to respond. Barbara simply couldn't fake that desire, so she settled for not resisting his. Todd didn't appear disappointed by the kiss when he straightened. "I won't be gone long."

  "Hurry back."

  He disappeared through the arches into the courtyard. A few minutes later she heard a car going down the private lane.

  She splashed and lazed around in the pool for a while longer until she finally tired and climbed out. She wiped the excess moisture from her skin with a long, thick beach towel, then laid it over a lounge chair and stretched out on it to let the hot sun dry her bikini and evaporate the water on her skin. Donning a pair of sunglasses, Barbara picked up the novel she'd brought along and began reading.

  The exercise and the hot sun made her drowsy, and the book wasn't really holding her interest. Giving up, Barbara set the book aside and removed her sunglasses to slip them under the chair out of the sun. She rolled onto her stomach and curved an arm under her head for a pillow. The sun's rays were warm and relaxing and she dozed.

  "Didn't anybody ever tell you that you shouldn't sleep in the sun?" Jock's drawling voice wakened her.