Wild At Heart

by Susan Fox

  Ardis maintained the silence as she served breakfast, but to Rio’s surprise, the cook gave her shoulder a gentle pat as she set her plate in front of her. The small gesture had been unexpected and, as Rio was finding, kindness made it more difficult for her to keep her emotions in check.

  “Did you sleep?” Kane’s brusque question disturbed the tense silence.

  Rio shook her head, then decided to bring up the subject she’d been mulling over. She couldn’t look at him. “I know I haven’t been around to do my share the past two days. But since I’ll be leaving after the funeral, I thought I might as well use the day to get my things packed. You can dock my pay accordingly.” She slid her fork under a fluffy corner of her scrambled eggs and lifted them off her plate.

  “Are you quitting?”

  Somehow his question made her feel in the wrong, as if she were running out on him, and she resented that. “I suppose you’d rather fire me,” she guessed wearily. “Be my guest.”

  The silence that followed was ominous. She got the forkful of eggs to her mouth, but had to force herself to eat them. Though they tasted wonderful she had a terrible time getting them down. When Kane tossed down his napkin and shoved his chair back, the violence of the action startled her. Rio kept herself from looking his way as he left the room, and sat frozen until she heard the back door slam.

  She lowered her fork to her plate, no longer interested in food at all. She laid her napkin aside and rose to begin the sad task of collecting her things and preparing to leave.

  Rio worked most of the morning moving the belongings she’d stored in the attic down to her room. About midmorning she went out to the attic space over the huge garage to search for the boxes of her mother’s things that she and Sam had stored there.

  There weren’t many boxes. Lenore Cory had never been rich, never had many belongings. She’d owned only a few pieces of jewelry, none of it expensive. There was a shoe box of photographs, a baby book and a scrapbook of pictures. She found a box of legal and personal papers. There was even an old cookbook crammed with extra recipes her mother had clipped from magazines or written on recipe cards and bits of paper. Rio almost overlooked a box that held the small sewing chest and the hand-stitched quilt top she remembered her mother piecing together. There was also a box of her mother’s dresses, one that held a very feminine Western hat and another with two handbags and a pair of black low-heeled pumps.

  Something about those few boxes—that contained what remained of her mother’s meager possessions— increased the weight of grief she felt. She carried them down from the top of the garage, then moved them into the house and got them up to her room.

  By the time she’d gathered everything from both attics, it was time for lunch. She went downstairs, though she dreaded having to deal with anyone. The activity of the morning had given her another focus besides grief, but the full weight of it came back by the time she made it down to the dining room.

  Rio hesitated in the doorway when she saw Ramona sitting opposite the head of the big table. Tracy sat midway down the table, and Kane was nowhere to be seen. Though Kane was more antagonist than ally, it surprised Rio to discover how much more at ease she might have felt had he been there.

  Ramona glanced toward where Rio stood and gave her a spiteful smile. Tracy looked her way, too, but the indifference on her pretty face before she found a sudden interest in the fresh floral centerpiece on the big table made Rio feel like a nonentity. As usual, Ramona started in.

  “You might as well come sit down, Rio,” she invited, and made a weary sound as if she were resigned to some awful task. “Ardis and Estelle warned us you’d be in for lunch. They also said you were packing to leave, though I hardly dared hope until I saw you lugging in those boxes from the garage.”

  There was no reason for Rio to subject herself to a meal with Ramona. Her appetite was poor enough as it was. She shook her head. “Just looking for Kane.” With that lie uttered smoothly enough, Rio retreated from the room, then took a circuitous route through the large house to the kitchen where Ardis was putting the finishing touches on the meal she was about to serve. Estelle was taking salads from the refrigerator.

  “Do you mind if I eat out on the patio?” Rio asked Ardis.

  Her quiet words got both women’s attention at once. It was Estelle who said, “Ain’t good for you to keep to yourself so much.” Rio glanced away from the faint reproach on the housekeeper’s face. The brusque remark landed hard on her tender feelings. Ardis was looking at her as if she was waiting for her to change her mind.

  Rio had rarely asked anything of the two women. When she’d first come to the big house, she’d been afraid of the dour sisters. She’d learned quickly that if she took care of her own room, did her own laundry and always carefully cleaned up after herself, the two women tolerated her presence well enough. Friendship was something neither one of them had hinted at, and Rio had never been presumptuous enough to make any overtures. As a result, she didn’t know Estelle well enough to decipher the personal comment she’d just made about. her behavior. Instead, she backed toward the door to the hall. “On second thought, I need to get into town to pick up a few things. I might as well get something there.”

  Rio turned and left the room too quickly for either woman to comment further. She dashed upstairs for her car keys and her purse, then hurried back down, exiting the front of the house to avoid everyone else.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  BY SUPPER that evening, Rio had returned from town and finished sorting the stack of boxes she’d stashed in her walk-in closet. She’d been down to the stable to locate any odds and ends of tack, then packed it in the large trunk in one of the tack rooms that held the rest of her gear. Because of the trunk’s size and weight, she needed to leave it and her saddles in the stable until after she went to pick up the small U-Haul trailer she’d reserved for the next day.

  The shock of losing Sam and having to leave the only home she’d ever known jarred her emotions every time she slowed in her efforts to gather her things and get them in order. The hour of inactivity she endured before the evening meal left her feeling edgy and emotional by the time she’d showered and changed and gone downstairs.

  Ramona and Tracy were in the living room, so Rio waited in the hall. Kane arrived just after she did. His dark hair was still damp as if he, too, had just showered. In his Levi’s and white shirt with its sleeves folded back, he looked even more darkly tanned and fit than normal. Despite her grief, Rio had a hard time keeping her eyes off him.

  Fortunately, Ardis called them to the dining room before the moment became too awkward. Rio led the way, then silently took her usual chair down from the head of the table. Ramona sat at the other end, but instead of taking his father’s place at the head of the table, Kane sat across from Rio as he normally did. Tracy—who usually sat next to Rio—now sat down next to Kane.

  It was a departure from the norm, but Rio was careful not to let anyone see that she’d noticed. She was very aware of the sharp tension in the room, which only seemed to emphasize the fact that Sam’s place at the table was empty.

  After Ardis served, Ramona barely gave anyone a chance to taste their food before she began a fresh campaign against Rio.

  “Will we all be riding in your car to the visitation tonight, Kane?”

  Ramona gave the word “all” just enough emphasis to let everyone know that she not was not only talking about Rio, but hinting that the idea of Rio riding in the same car with the family was unacceptable.

  Kane hesitated as he cut into his steak. His dark blue eyes came up and connected with Rio’s for a heartbeat of time before he looked over at Ramona. “You and Tracy might as well take your car, Ramona. Andy washed and serviced it the day before you got back. Besides, Rio and I have other business to take care of.”

  Ramona’s mouth rounded in a little O of surprise before she recovered. “What kind of business could the two of you possibly have at that time of night?” she scoffed gently. �
�Honestly, Kane, now that Sam’s gone and she’s leaving, why would you feel the need to include her in any kind of business, particularly on the night before your father’s funeral?”

  If Ramona didn’t recognize the warning signs, Rio certainly did. Kane had paused after he got the piece of steak cut. His handsome features turned hard, and a dull flush crept along his cheekbones. His eyes were flat with disapproval when he looked toward Ramona.

  “Since you’ve never been privy to the business end of Langtry, Ramona, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t try to tell me when or with whom I can do business.”

  Ramona looked stricken, her beautiful eyes going misty. “Why of course, Kane, dear,” she fluttered. “I wasn’t trying to tell you what to do, exactly. No—I was merely reminding you that as far as I could see, there’s no reason to burden yourself with Rio any longer.”

  Kane went utterly still at that, and his blue gaze began to glitter. He didn’t say another word, but then, he didn’t have to. Ramona grew genuinely fretful under that harsh gaze, then finally bent her head and turned her whole attention to her meal.

  Even though Kane had deflected Ramona’s attack, Rio’s frail confidence had taken a blow. No doubt there were many other people who’d be at the visitation tonight and the funeral tomorrow who would think those same things.

  The reminder added nervousness to the grief she already felt, and all but demolished her weak appetite. She forced herself to eat a few bites of steak, then made a try at the chocolate parfait Ardis brought in before she gave up. It was a huge relief to excusé \e herself from the table and retreat to her room.

  * * *

  The visitation at the funeral chapel in town was just as nerve-racking as Rio feared, but the worst part was bearing up under the ordeal of seeing Sam in his casket. The crushing grief she’d worked so hard to escape that day overwhelmed her, leaving her raw emotions more battered than ever.

  Ramona added her touch to the cheerless evening, doing everything she could to ensure that she and Tracy were all but attached to Kane’s arms. It looked to Rio as if Kane and Ramona had smoothed over their differences. Certainly no outsider could have detected anything but closeness between the three, because Rio could not.

  She stood carefully to the side, a bit away from the threesome so she wouldn’t look presumptuous. She lost count of the number of people who eventually got around to her and asked what her plans were now that Sam had passed on.

  She did her best to evade the question when she could, until her raw emotions and bad nerves became too much. She was about to slip away when the soft chime of the clock in the foyer of the funeral chapel marked the hour.

  It wasn’t long after that before, the suffocating crowd began to ebb away, taking much of Rio’s tension with it. To her vast relief, Ramona and Tracy walked out with the last cluster of people, until only she and Kane remained.

  By the time they reached Kane’s car, the sun had set and most of the traffic had thinned. Kane opened her door for her, then closed it solidly beside her once she was inside.

  The black dress she’d chosen for tonight was less formal than the one she planned to wear for the funeral. Less formal and with a shorter hem, she was reminded as she again tried to adjust the slim skirt so it didn’t reveal so much of her legs. She’d just got settled when Kane got behind the wheel and shoved his key into the ignition. The expensive car purred to life, but he didn’t immediately put it into gear.

  He was wearing one of his best suits, the fine cut and black color emphasizing his size and his very masculine physique. By comparison, with her hair up, the black dress on and the slinky feel of silk stockings and satiny underthings, Rio felt supremely feminine.

  Guilt assailed her for the thoughts that had nothing to do with grief. She felt her face pale and turned her head to stare miserably out her window. She jumped when Kane touched her wrist.

  “Are you all right?” Kane’s voice was a low, warm drawl, and Rio swore she could feel it gust gently across her skin. His strong, calloused fingers slid down her wrist to her hand. Rio turned her head and looked at him before her gaze fled the calm watchfulness in his.

  His hand wrapped around hers and the firm flex of his fingers pressed her palm against the hardness of his. Rio cautiously forced her gaze back to his, as fearful as she was amazed that he was touching her like this. The bleakness in his blue eyes matched hers, and she realized that the small gesture was an acknowledgment, however fleeting, of their common grief.

  “Are you all right?” she returned quietly. “I don’t think I told you that I’m sorry your father—”

  She’d been doing so well that her sudden inability to finish what she’d meant to say surprised her. Kane’s grip tightened briefly.

  “I know.”

  With that, Kane slowly let go of her hand and faced forward a few moments. She was watching when his expression hardened, when the grimness came back over him. He reached down to put the car into gear, then slowly pulled away from the curb.

  The other business that he’d mentioned to Ramona didn’t materialize. The long ride home through the dark, star-studded night was slow and silent.

  Rio slept poorly that night. She awoke feeling heavyhearted. The 5:00 a.m. breakfast she was accustomed to had been delayed until seven, so Ramona and Tracy could join them and Ardis would be spared having to prepare two meals. She was so restless by the time she dressed in slacks and a blouse to go downstairs that her insides were in knots.

  The moment she got to the hall outside the dining room, she heard Ramona’s voice. “All right, Kane, perhaps I should explain why I despise Rio Cory.”

  Rio came to an abrupt halt in the hall. Indecision made her take a half step back before Ramona’s next words froze her.

  “I don’t think her relationship with your father was healthy at all. Not that Sam, rest his dear soul, ever did anything dishonorable,” she hastily added. “But God knows how it’s looked to everyone else with her hanging around all these years, fawning over him. I’m ashamed to say that several people have made remarks to me about her.”

  Kane said something to Ramona then, but his voice was so low that Rio couldn’t make out the words.

  A second later Ramona blurted, “Dear Lord, that girl came between Sam and I from the beginning! She made me feel as if I didn’t belong here, as if I was too citified and frivolous to bother with. And she was so unkind to poor little Tracy—oh, not in front of the two of you, she was too clever for that—but in secret. Tracy came crying to me many times, heartbroken and mystified by Rio’s jealousy and spitefulness. If Sam hadn’t felt so sorry for her, the four of us might have had a happy little family…Sam and I might have had a different marriage.”

  Ramona’s voice broke tragically on the word before she paused, then continued in a voice sharp with dislike. “But it’s too late now, too late because of her. And if losing my dear sweet Sam isn’t bad enough, then it’s the worry that she’s still so obsessed with him that she’ll cause a huge scene at the funeral. My God, we’ll be lucky if she doesn’t throw herself on the casket and beg to be buried with him! Oh, Kane, what can we do? That girl has robbed us all of so much!”

  The tide of nausea and outrage that swept Rio made her step back, staggered by the monstrousness of what she’d just heard. She was shaking so badly that as she turned to retreat to her room, her knees almost gave way.

  The added shock of suddenly coming face-to-face with Tracy, who must have been standing just behind her, almost accomplished what her mother’s cruel words had started. Tiny dark spots swirled before her eyes and she felt her body start to go limp for a terrifying second before she somehow rallied and stayed upright.

  Tracy stared at her a moment, then looked away. The aloof set of her delicate profile gave Rio the impression that she’d heard the outlandish things her mother had said. That she didn’t intend to get involved—even if it meant condoning a pack of lies— was clear by her tight-lipped silence.

  Tracy’s comp
lete lack of friendliness toward her had been perplexing, but there was no way now to avoid the notion that Tracy had turned against her. Since she and Tracy had gotten along well in the past, she couldn’t begin to guess the reason.

  Rio stepped around her and retreated to her room in a haze of fresh shock.

  For someone who shrank from emotional displays, Rio’s worry that the rising tide of grief she felt would overwhelm her self-control added a new torment to the painful business of the day. Of the cruel things Ramona had said that morning, the one that haunted Rio was the remark about throwing herself on the casket.

  With the funeral a mere hour away, the volatile mixture of heartbreak and nerves combined with the terror of being completely alone in the world. The knowledge that there was a tiny, sad part of her that almost wished she could be buried with Sam only magnified the horrid possibilities that Ramona’s cruel words had conjured up.

  Though she would never do anything as dramatic as throw herself on Sam’s casket, the notion that she might be capable of making a scene that would shame her—or worse, shame Sam—upset her deeply. Later, when she tried to brush her hair and pin the hip-length tresses into a conservative knot, she was shaking. Again and again, the thick length escaped confinement before she could get it pinned into place.

  By the time a knock came at the door, her hair still wasn’t tamed and she hadn’t even tried to put on her dress. Holding on to the thick swath of dark hair, she hurried to the door, certain it was Ardis or Estelle reminding her of the time.

  She pulled the door open, saw it was Kane, then shoved the door closed until it was only open a crack. Her cheeks burned at the knowledge that Kane had seen her in little more than her black slip and stockings.

  “Are you about ready?” The gruff words sounded impatient.

  Rio glanced over her shoulder, spied the black dress on the bed, then was suddenly, maddeningly overcome with emotion. The knowledge that she was too upset to get ready in a timely manner undermined her confidence in being able to handle herself at the funeral. Oh, God, she couldn’t go disheveled, and she couldn’t go if she was going to burst into tears and weep through the service.