* * *
Sabrina sat alongside the barn wall and observed Trey and Carson Jarvis greeting each of their guests. Tonight was the biggest social event of the year and everyone from miles around had traveled to the Cactus Spread. The guests planned to stay over as the dancing would last late into the night. The men would bed down in the barn, while the women spent the night in the house. It was a rare occasion that brought the small community together.
The animals had been removed, the barn cleaned, and the smell of fresh sweet hay filled the air. Lanterns hung from the rafters, illuminating the makeshift dance floor the men had hastily constructed. Chairs were placed around the barn for the guests to sit and gossip.
Sabrina hadn’t been able to eat a bite, nervous and excited as she was. Old friends, people she had not seen since that fateful day two years ago, greeted her and made her feel welcome once again. Much to her relief, no one had mentioned the trial or her engagement.
Out of the corner of her eye, she observed Patrick strolling into the barn. He was here. All day she had warred within herself, part of her hoping he would show up, the other part wishing he’d stay away. The last dance they had attended was the night he had asked her to marry him. Tonight the past stood between them like a silent barrier, protecting her from his devastating charm.
The fiddlers were warming up their instruments when Carson called out, “Find your dancing partner for the Grand March.”
Sabrina glanced up to see Patrick standing in front of her. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized the moment had come. A small buzz of chatter began in the room as Sabrina saw people turn to witness the encounter between herself and Patrick. Everyone around them was staring, remembering the past, and remembering their engagement.
The glow from the lantern sparkled and danced in his eyes. His voice was raspy. “I believe this dance is mine.”
He was handsomely attired in a chambray shirt and blue pants. A ribbon tie lay neatly on his shirt and his hair had been cut since the last time she’d seen him. His spurs sparkled like brass bells, jingling when he moved.
Sabrina forced a smile upon her face. She had to dance with him. Standing up, she squared her shoulders and held her head high. “Not by choice.”
Sabrina took Patrick’s offered arm to line up for the dance. “I hope you enjoy having your toes stepped on, because I plan on taking advantage of every opportunity.”
“I think my boots and spurs will protect me, but who’s going to protect you from me?”
Before she could reply, Patrick swept her into his arms and the motions of the dance. His rough, callused palm engulfed her hand, squeezing it, sending her heart lurching into her throat. How could her mind have forgotten what her body immediately responded to? His slightest touch sent tremors down her spine. Years might have passed, but the effect was still the same.
After their promenade, they each joined their respective line of dancers. Sabrina cast a wary glance at Patrick. Had he heard her heart pounding when he squeezed her hand?
When they came together at the end of the dance, Sabrina fell into step with Patrick. Her pulse quickened when his hand touched hers. The nerves in the tips of her fingers tingled, sending messages up her arm and down the rest of her body. Why this man? What about his touch had the power to make her body respond in ways she’d never felt before?
When the Grand March ended, the fiddlers immediately started a waltz. Sabrina tried to walk away, but Patrick tightened his hold on her, gliding them around the floor.
“The first dance is over,” Sabrina insisted, the will to resist him almost nonexistent. Her eyes lingered on his lips. Those soft, full lips had kissed her days before and the memory of that kiss sent her pulse tripping.
“My feet didn’t know the first dance had ended,” Patrick said as he looked down into her sapphire eyes.
She looked dazzling tonight in her blue dress. Unknowingly, they had worn the same shade of blue and matched perfectly, reminding him that only two years ago, they’d been together. She had already hurt him once, and he wasn’t going to give her a second chance to break his heart.
Her blonde hair was pulled back from her heart- shaped face. Soft, slightly pink lips—moist as if she had just caressed them with her tongue—glistened, beckoning him. Hadn’t he learned his lesson the other day at the pond?
His eyes swept down the bodice of her dress and lingered on the scooped neckline. The soft exposed swells of her creamy white breasts surged over the material. A gold locket rested softly where Patrick had a wicked urge to put his lips and taste her bare flesh.
Sharp pain suddenly radiated in his left foot as her dainty foot stamped down on his. Patrick looked up, meeting Sabrina’s flashing blue eyes. “That was to bring your attention back where it belongs.”
Patrick grinned. He’d been caught. “I was enjoying the view. As nice as it is tonight, I’ll have to say I enjoyed it much more at the pond.”
“Patrick!” He watched with satisfaction as a warm glow started at the base of her neck, traveling up her cheeks.
“Well, I can’t help it. Those wet, clinging pants. . .” A sharp kick to his shin left his left leg tingling. “Ouch!”
“It’s going to hurt a lot worse if you don’t keep your mouth shut.” Sabrina stiffened in his arms. Her face was clearly red now and not from embarrassment.
He grinned. Unable to resist, he replied, “It already hurts, and I’m not talking about my foot.”
Her eyes clearly sent the message. If they hadn’t been amongst the townsfolk, she would have inflicted more bodily harm, but somehow unwanted attention was something she didn’t need. “Don’t mention the pond again, unless you want to dance alone.”
“I won’t mention it, but I definitely won’t forget it.”
His voice, deep and strong, sent a ripple of awareness through her.
The music suddenly ended and Sabrina didn’t wait for Patrick to escort her back to her chair as she dashed off the makeshift dance floor. Patrick had the ability to evoke feelings better left unexplored.
Patrick called after her in a teasing voice, “Don’t forget, the last dance is mine.”
Glancing back, she tossed the words over her shoulder. “If you can find me.”
Feeling the need for something to cool her down, she headed for the punch bowl. Anything to get her mind off Patrick and to still her racing heart.
As she poured herself a glass of punch, a low-pitched voice behind her whispered, “I thought I knew all the prettiest gals this side of the Rio Grande, but I don’t think I know you.”
Whirling around, she came face to face with Trey Jarvis, her brother’s best friend. “Hello, Trey.”
Sabrina watched Trey’s green eyes sweep over her in an assessing view. “Sabrina Callahan. It is you. You decided to come home from the big city.”
Hair the color of deepest autumn was combed to the side with one curl lingering over his forehead. Angel kisses spread across his face, dotting his nose and cheeks, but instead of subtracting from his looks, they enhanced him, giving him a rugged air.
“Yes, I don’t know why I waited so long. It feels great to be home.” Sabrina replied nervously. At one time Trey had had a crush on her that had left her feeling uneasy in his presence.
Carson Jarvis walked up beside his son and smiled charmingly at her. “Sabrina, it’s good to see you back home. The culture of Fort Worth must have agreed with you. You look radiant.”
“Thank you, Mr. Carson, I see your ranch is doing well.”
“Yes, girl, it’s better than ever.”
Ill at ease, Sabrina reached out and smoothed her skirt. The fiddlers struck up a new tune. Trey asked, “Would you care to dance?”
Sabrina started to say no, then realized if anyone would know where Matt was, Trey would. Matt hadn’t been home in the last few nights and her father had ignored her questions regarding Matt’s whereabouts. As much as she disliked using Trey, she had to find out about Matt. Reluctantly, she replied, �
�Yes, thank you.”
Reaching the dance floor, they glided to the music gracefully, each in step with the music. Eyes the color of a field of grass in springtime stared at her as he waltzed her around the barn. His palm felt nothing like Patrick’s. The calluses were smaller and his hands had a smoothness that Patrick’s were missing. An expert dancer, Trey very deftly guided Sabrina around the small floor, but dancing with Trey was not nearly as intimate as dancing with Patrick.
Sabrina gazed up to find Trey looking at her, the desire barely concealed in his emerald eyes.
Would he tell her about Matt? All he could do was tell her to mind her own business, but where Matt was concerned that was impossible. “Are you and Matt still friends?”
“We talk occasionally, play poker together,” Trey replied.
“Have you seen him lately?” Sabrina paused. “I’m worried about him. He hasn’t been home and I need to talk to him.”
Trey frowned and gazed down at her. “I’ve seen him.” Excited, Sabrina replied, “Where?”
He merely looked at Sabrina, not offering her the information she wanted.
“Please, Trey, tell me. Is he okay?”
“He’s fine.” His voice was quiet, but firm, and he offered no explanation as to Matt’s whereabouts.
Sabrina waited, not wanting to appear overeager. Finally, unable to resist, she asked, “If you know what happened between him and my father, I wish you would tell me.”
“Sabrina, it’s not my place to get involved. That’s between your father and Matt. I can only tell you he’s okay. ”
“Then tell him I want to talk to him,” Sabrina pleaded.
“If I see him.” Trey’s voice was cool. Yet he had agreed to tell Matt. If only she could get him to confide in her.
Trey pulled Sabrina in closer. She could feel his legs brush up against hers occasionally. Uncomfortable, she moved her arm in between them, anxious for the dance to end.
“You know I could bring a lunch over on Friday and we could go out to the pond on your place,” Trey invited.
Sabrina frowned. Trey was not someone she wanted to encourage or even spend a whole afternoon with. Yet, the thought of Trey possibly knowing Matt’s whereabouts made her decision.
“Okay, I’ll go.” She was probably going to regret this outing. “But if you see my brother, please tell Matt that I would like to talk to him.”
When the dance ended, Trey returned Sabrina to her chair. “I’ll be back. Save me another dance for later.”
“Sure, Trey,” Sabrina acknowledged, relieved the dance was over, exasperated, she had received so little information.
From the corner of the room Patrick watched Sabrina dance with different men. Her dress occasionally came up to show a slim ankle and the promise of her shapely legs. He remembered from the pond how tiny her waist was and how her legs stretched on into forever. Most of all he remembered the feel of her in his arms when he kissed her.
She looked exceptional tonight, and he watched one man after another claim her for a dance. She flirted and smiled at all of them, giving no man any special attention. A slow anger started to build inside him, though he acknowledged he had no right to feel the way he did.
Damn her anyway! If the trial hadn’t separated them, they would have been married by now. She should have been his, and would have been, except for Matt. And even now it seemed Matt hadn’t learned his lesson. He was in trouble again.
Trey Jarvis was dancing with her again; holding her in his arms, dancing to a waltz. He held her closer than Patrick thought was appropriate, but it was not his place to say anything. Patrick tried to appear disinterested, but when Trey danced her out the barn door into the night air he couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Damn!” he exclaimed. Where was Jed? Patrick looked around and saw him preoccupied in the corner of the barn talking to a group of men. Angrily, Patrick headed toward the opening of the barn. Sabrina was not his responsibility, but he couldn’t let anything happen to her, whether he wanted to admit it or not.
* * *
“Trey, why did you bring me outside?”
“I wanted to show you my new horse.” Trey tugged on Sabrina’s hand, urging her to follow him to the corral.
“I think we should go back inside,” Sabrina replied anxiously.
He pulled her past the barn to the corral. “I want to show you my horse Cactus Jack. Ain’t he a beauty?” His voice was low and seductive. “Just like you.” His arm wrapped around her waist as he pulled her to him.
“Trey, you’re overstepping your bounds,” Sabrina informed him nervously.
“No. I’ve wanted to do this all night. Hell, I wanted to do this two years ago.” His mouth came crashing down on hers.
Stunned, Sabrina simply stood there until a shiver of cold revulsion swept through her. Trey forced her mouth open and his tongue invaded, leaving Sabrina queasy.
Raising her leg to give him a swift kick, she heard a sarcastic voice call.
“I’ve heard of women not liking to dance with me, but I’ve never seen one go to the extremes you have, Sabrina.” Patrick’s voice was mocking. “You promised me the last dance and now I find you out here cavorting with trash.”
Sabrina pushed away from Trey, but he still held her by the arm. For once she was glad to hear Patrick’s voice. . . even if it meant facing his displeasure, because he was clearly angry.
Trey tensed and then reluctantly released Sabrina. “Be careful, Mr. Ranger, whom you call trash, unless you want to see the wrong end of my gun. Your timing’s really lousy.”
Patrick’s voice was heavy with sarcasm, “My timing was perfect. And anytime you want to try out that slow trigger finger of yours, I’ll be glad to oblige you.”
Patrick grabbed Sabrina by the arm. “Let’s go.”
He proceeded to march her back toward the barn, hostility radiating from him. Walking back into the barn, Sabrina heard them announce the last waltz of the evening.
“Just what in the hell were you doing outside with him?” Patrick hissed as he swept her out on the dance floor.
She spoke in a low voice, taut with anger. “He took me out before I could object”
“I didn’t see you protesting.”
“I didn’t expect him to kiss me.”
“What were you expecting, then? That’s usually why a man takes a woman outside at a dance, to see what he can get from her.” His voice lashed out coldly.
“Patrick!” Sabrina exclaimed. Why was she feeling guilty? She hadn’t wanted Trey to kiss her. “He told me he had something to show me.”
His laugh raked her like fingernails across a chalkboard. “I’ll bet he did. You may be old enough to go outside with a man, but I’d be a little choosier if I were you.” Patrick’s voice became low, almost seductive. “Anytime you want a man to take you outside, tell me. I’ll be glad to show you what it’s all about.”
Sabrina gasped and felt the heat start up in her face. Her feet came to an immediate halt, refusing to budge. She knew she was probably making a spectacle of herself, but didn’t care.
“Don’t flatter yourself. I wouldn’t let you show me how to kiss my dog. I can dance with or kiss any man I choose to, and don’t you forget it. Good night, Mr. Shand.”
Chapter 4
The next morning, Jed listened quietly to the men drinking coffee in Carson’s barn. These men were struggling ranchers just like him. Fighting the weather, the water shortage and the rustlers, attempting to make living selling cattle.
Carson walked toward him with a purposeful stride. He had wanted the Big C for as long as Jed could remember. Ample water and lush green pastures made the Big C one of the best spreads in the area for raising cattle. Everyone knew Carson wanted to expand the Cactus Spread and make it the finest ranch in west Texas. Jed didn’t trust Carson’s means of obtaining the land necessary to make the Cactus Spread the ranch of his dreams, especially with the Big C bordering one side.
“Jed, could I have a word
with you in my office?”
“All right.” This must be about Matt, Jed thought as he followed Carson out of the barn. He had not seen or heard from his son since that awful night. He worried about Matt, wondered about him, but didn’t know where he was.
Jed walked into Carson’s office. His eyes took in the rich furnishings, the cattle baron atmosphere. All the man needed was the land to complete his kingdom; his palace was ready. With a disapproving frown, Jed said, “You do quite well selling cattle.”
“Thanks. Have a chair.” Carson sat behind a large oak desk that couldn’t have come from West Texas. The furniture was a rich mahogany and Jed guessed it had been shipped from New York. The atmosphere was rich, pretentious, and Jed felt like a guttersnipe in a library.
Carson cleared his throat. “Jed, I’ve never felt that we’ve been friends, yet we haven’t been enemies either.”
Jed nodded his head. Carson would have to tell him what it was he wanted before he would comment.
“Last night I realized what an asset your daughter would be to my son.” Carson paused before he continued. “Trey needs a wife that would be an elegant hostess for the Cactus Spread that will help him in his future endeavors. I think Sabrina would be perfect.”
Clenching his fists in his lap, Jed kept them just out of Carson’s sight. “That’s not up to us, Carson. That’s between the kids.”
“Then you wouldn’t object to a union between Trey and Sabrina?”
“Oh, I would object, but it’s up to Sabrina.”
Carson scowled at Jed. “Why?”
“I don’t like your son. I don’t like you.” Jed watched as Carson bristled at his words.
“You know Matt is working for me.”
How could words cause your heart to stop for just a second, then speed up? Why was he surprised? Matt owed the man money and was being forced to pay it back. This was the consequence of his actions. Still, that didn’t give Jed any feeling of satisfaction.
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