[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
"You might not believe this, but he told me himself," he said.
She was even more still than before. She looked apprehensive.
"He told you... everything?"
Fishing, he thought, was an enjoyable sport. He carefully looked at the coffee cup she was holding in
her neatly manicured hands.
"How is it that you know?" he asked.
She put down her cup carefully. She looked at the white linen tablecloth instead of him. Softly a
Viennese waltz played in the background from speakers over their heads.
"Senator Holden had to tell me everything to get me to help him," she said after a minute. She looked
up into his lean face.
"You're very calm about it," she said.
"And you aren't angry with me?"
He smiled carelessly.
"Why would I be?"
"I thought it would be more traumatic than this," she ventured. He looked puzzled, and she wondered
if she'd been deliberately led.
"Suppose you tell me what Matt Holden told you?"
"Holden says he's being blackmailed because of a woman in his past," he said.
"They had an affair while he was married, and the woman lives on the reservation."
She nodded, reassured.
"Yes. And?"
He scowled.
"And what?"
He didn't know! She hadn't thought he'd take the news of his true parentage so calmly. Now she'd
almost given it away.
"The senator will have to tell you the rest," she said flatly.
"I've said all I'm going to. Why did you want to see me?"
He studied her face curiously.
"Why do I always want to see you?" he countered. His voice was like velvet.
"You're part of me now, Cecily."
She colored. She couldn't meet his eyes. Did he think she didn't know about Audrey?
"And you wouldn't lie to me," she said.
"Any more than you'd lie to me," he replied softly.
So they were both liars. She stared at the big silver-and-turquoise ring on his lean finger. Leta wore a
matching one, smaller of course.
She sipped her coffee without speaking. It was hard to talk to him.
She couldn't make the transition that he'd made so easily, from affection to intimacy. That must be the
difference between experience and naivete, she thought glumly.
They drank the rest of their coffee in silence. She smiled politely and got to her feet.
"I have to get back. I'm working on a new display, and I have a lot of phone calls to make."
He stood up with her, scowling. His expression was uneasy.
"What's gone wrong between us?" he asked abruptly.
She searched his eyes with sadness in her own.
"Not a thing."
"Talk to me!"
She drew in a breath. "Audrey was cooking supper for you," she said, unable to hide the pain of it that
showed in her voice.
"She said she'd picked out a wedding gown. And that you're terrific in bed, of course."
"Damn Audrey!" he said under his breath.
She moved one shoulder.
"I have to go." She noticed that he wasn't denying anything.
He could barely get his mind to work. He fell into step beside her as they reached the sidewalk,
reluctant to let her go until they'd smoothed things out.
"You're going the wrong way," she pointed out.
"Pierce Hutton's offices are that way."
"Your office is this way," he reflected.
"I'm not going away until you finish that accusation."
She turned to him, pulling her jacket closer against the chill in the air.
"You went back to her."
"I did not."
"I called you. She was there, in your apartment...!"
"She got the apartment manager to open the door for her. She was waiting for me when I got home. I
threw her out." He looked completely inflexible.
"I've only lied to you about one thing--who was paying your bills.
Other than that, I've always been truthful to you. But if you don't believe me, you don't."
It reminded her that she'd lied to him, by omission, about the threat to him and his real father.
"Audrey is beautiful," she said.
"So is a rattlesnake, in the right light."
She smiled in spite of herself.
He sighed.
"We've still got a long way to go. Are you sure you won't move in with me?"
She shook her head.
His eyes narrowed.
"How about dinner tonight. Maybe a play."
She stared at his chest.
"It isn't a good idea."
"I want you!"
"I want you, too, desperately." She looked up at him hungrily, but with eyes that held sadness.
"But you don't want me permanently, Tate. Sooner or later, you'd tire of me and find someone else.
Isn't that how it's done? You live with someone until they bore you and then you just find another
lover."
His face tautened. She made him sound like a rounder, which he never had been.
"What are you going to do, Cecily, walk away from me and pretend that nothing happened in my
mother's guest room?"
"That's exactly what I'm going to do," she replied quietly.
"Because I can't bear the thought of living day by day with a man who doesn't share my dream for the
future."
He dug his hands into his pockets. "You could give it a chance."
"I'll live with a man when I get married," she said abruptly.
"That's the only way I ever will."
And he never would.
"It's the twentieth century," he said coldly. "Marriage is no longer a necessity for people to be
together. I've told you that I have no plans whatsoever to marry, now or ever. And what the hell is the
difference when you've already slept with me?"
"If you can't see the difference, I could never explain it to you."
She turned away.
"Cecily."
She glanced at him over her shoulder. "Did you go to the clinic?" he asked.
He wanted to know if there was any risk of her getting pregnant.
Actually there was a terrific chance, and she hadn't gone to any clinic. But if there was a baby, she was
going to have it and love it.
She wasn't going to present him with a child who wasn't Lakota.
Presumably that was what frightened him most.
"You have absolutely nothing to worry about," she lied.
"See you around, Tate."
She walked away. He stood and watched her with his hands still in his pockets. He couldn't remember
a time when he'd ever felt so alone. He didn't want her out of his life, but she was making demands he
couldn't meet. Marriage was simply out of the question; so were children. She knew that already. So
what was wrong with two consenting adults living together? Especially two adults who could share
such a passion, such a feast of the senses. Why was she being so stubborn?
He wondered exactly what she and Colby had found in South Dakota. He wanted to phone his mother
and try to dig it out of her, but if Colby hadn't told Cecily, he wasn't likely to tell Leta.
Tate was frustrated. But he was feeling something else as well: curiosity. Cecily knew something
more about Holden's past that she wasn't telling him, something that would apparently make him
angry with her. He wondered what it was. He was going to do some digging of his own. As for his
future with Cecily, that would have to wait. She was as stubborn as he was, but perhaps she'd come
around yet when she became lonely enough. His job, his heritage, his love of freedom combined to
make marriage a distasteful prospect, but he loved the feel of Cecily in his arms. Even if his
conscience was killing him by degrees for seducing her, he couldn't stop wanting her. And he wasn't
giving up until she came to her senses.
Chapter Nine we weeks later. Matt Holden came to see Cecily at her apartment.
"Sorry about this," he said as she led him into the small living room and offered him her easy chair.
"I think my office is bugged. I had to get a stranger to upgrade my security and now I think it may be
worse than it was before. At least Tate would know if there were bugs here in your apartment."
"Only if he's psychic," she said darkly.
"He doesn't come here anymore," she added in a subdued tone.
He sighed.
"I gather you've seen the ring Audrey's flashing around."
She swallowed hard.
"Ring?"
"A copy of the turquoise one that he wears." He leaned back in the chair and crossed his long legs,
looking unspeakably irritated.
"Everyone in town knows that she's a man-eater. As soon as she's sure of Tate, she'll be off looking
for new men to conquer. She won't really marry him."
He leaned forward. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl akte20.pev.pl
"You might not believe this, but he told me himself," he said.
She was even more still than before. She looked apprehensive.
"He told you... everything?"
Fishing, he thought, was an enjoyable sport. He carefully looked at the coffee cup she was holding in
her neatly manicured hands.
"How is it that you know?" he asked.
She put down her cup carefully. She looked at the white linen tablecloth instead of him. Softly a
Viennese waltz played in the background from speakers over their heads.
"Senator Holden had to tell me everything to get me to help him," she said after a minute. She looked
up into his lean face.
"You're very calm about it," she said.
"And you aren't angry with me?"
He smiled carelessly.
"Why would I be?"
"I thought it would be more traumatic than this," she ventured. He looked puzzled, and she wondered
if she'd been deliberately led.
"Suppose you tell me what Matt Holden told you?"
"Holden says he's being blackmailed because of a woman in his past," he said.
"They had an affair while he was married, and the woman lives on the reservation."
She nodded, reassured.
"Yes. And?"
He scowled.
"And what?"
He didn't know! She hadn't thought he'd take the news of his true parentage so calmly. Now she'd
almost given it away.
"The senator will have to tell you the rest," she said flatly.
"I've said all I'm going to. Why did you want to see me?"
He studied her face curiously.
"Why do I always want to see you?" he countered. His voice was like velvet.
"You're part of me now, Cecily."
She colored. She couldn't meet his eyes. Did he think she didn't know about Audrey?
"And you wouldn't lie to me," she said.
"Any more than you'd lie to me," he replied softly.
So they were both liars. She stared at the big silver-and-turquoise ring on his lean finger. Leta wore a
matching one, smaller of course.
She sipped her coffee without speaking. It was hard to talk to him.
She couldn't make the transition that he'd made so easily, from affection to intimacy. That must be the
difference between experience and naivete, she thought glumly.
They drank the rest of their coffee in silence. She smiled politely and got to her feet.
"I have to get back. I'm working on a new display, and I have a lot of phone calls to make."
He stood up with her, scowling. His expression was uneasy.
"What's gone wrong between us?" he asked abruptly.
She searched his eyes with sadness in her own.
"Not a thing."
"Talk to me!"
She drew in a breath. "Audrey was cooking supper for you," she said, unable to hide the pain of it that
showed in her voice.
"She said she'd picked out a wedding gown. And that you're terrific in bed, of course."
"Damn Audrey!" he said under his breath.
She moved one shoulder.
"I have to go." She noticed that he wasn't denying anything.
He could barely get his mind to work. He fell into step beside her as they reached the sidewalk,
reluctant to let her go until they'd smoothed things out.
"You're going the wrong way," she pointed out.
"Pierce Hutton's offices are that way."
"Your office is this way," he reflected.
"I'm not going away until you finish that accusation."
She turned to him, pulling her jacket closer against the chill in the air.
"You went back to her."
"I did not."
"I called you. She was there, in your apartment...!"
"She got the apartment manager to open the door for her. She was waiting for me when I got home. I
threw her out." He looked completely inflexible.
"I've only lied to you about one thing--who was paying your bills.
Other than that, I've always been truthful to you. But if you don't believe me, you don't."
It reminded her that she'd lied to him, by omission, about the threat to him and his real father.
"Audrey is beautiful," she said.
"So is a rattlesnake, in the right light."
She smiled in spite of herself.
He sighed.
"We've still got a long way to go. Are you sure you won't move in with me?"
She shook her head.
His eyes narrowed.
"How about dinner tonight. Maybe a play."
She stared at his chest.
"It isn't a good idea."
"I want you!"
"I want you, too, desperately." She looked up at him hungrily, but with eyes that held sadness.
"But you don't want me permanently, Tate. Sooner or later, you'd tire of me and find someone else.
Isn't that how it's done? You live with someone until they bore you and then you just find another
lover."
His face tautened. She made him sound like a rounder, which he never had been.
"What are you going to do, Cecily, walk away from me and pretend that nothing happened in my
mother's guest room?"
"That's exactly what I'm going to do," she replied quietly.
"Because I can't bear the thought of living day by day with a man who doesn't share my dream for the
future."
He dug his hands into his pockets. "You could give it a chance."
"I'll live with a man when I get married," she said abruptly.
"That's the only way I ever will."
And he never would.
"It's the twentieth century," he said coldly. "Marriage is no longer a necessity for people to be
together. I've told you that I have no plans whatsoever to marry, now or ever. And what the hell is the
difference when you've already slept with me?"
"If you can't see the difference, I could never explain it to you."
She turned away.
"Cecily."
She glanced at him over her shoulder. "Did you go to the clinic?" he asked.
He wanted to know if there was any risk of her getting pregnant.
Actually there was a terrific chance, and she hadn't gone to any clinic. But if there was a baby, she was
going to have it and love it.
She wasn't going to present him with a child who wasn't Lakota.
Presumably that was what frightened him most.
"You have absolutely nothing to worry about," she lied.
"See you around, Tate."
She walked away. He stood and watched her with his hands still in his pockets. He couldn't remember
a time when he'd ever felt so alone. He didn't want her out of his life, but she was making demands he
couldn't meet. Marriage was simply out of the question; so were children. She knew that already. So
what was wrong with two consenting adults living together? Especially two adults who could share
such a passion, such a feast of the senses. Why was she being so stubborn?
He wondered exactly what she and Colby had found in South Dakota. He wanted to phone his mother
and try to dig it out of her, but if Colby hadn't told Cecily, he wasn't likely to tell Leta.
Tate was frustrated. But he was feeling something else as well: curiosity. Cecily knew something
more about Holden's past that she wasn't telling him, something that would apparently make him
angry with her. He wondered what it was. He was going to do some digging of his own. As for his
future with Cecily, that would have to wait. She was as stubborn as he was, but perhaps she'd come
around yet when she became lonely enough. His job, his heritage, his love of freedom combined to
make marriage a distasteful prospect, but he loved the feel of Cecily in his arms. Even if his
conscience was killing him by degrees for seducing her, he couldn't stop wanting her. And he wasn't
giving up until she came to her senses.
Chapter Nine we weeks later. Matt Holden came to see Cecily at her apartment.
"Sorry about this," he said as she led him into the small living room and offered him her easy chair.
"I think my office is bugged. I had to get a stranger to upgrade my security and now I think it may be
worse than it was before. At least Tate would know if there were bugs here in your apartment."
"Only if he's psychic," she said darkly.
"He doesn't come here anymore," she added in a subdued tone.
He sighed.
"I gather you've seen the ring Audrey's flashing around."
She swallowed hard.
"Ring?"
"A copy of the turquoise one that he wears." He leaned back in the chair and crossed his long legs,
looking unspeakably irritated.
"Everyone in town knows that she's a man-eater. As soon as she's sure of Tate, she'll be off looking
for new men to conquer. She won't really marry him."
He leaned forward. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]